Hey everyone!

I hope you're all doing well. I wanted to reach out and ask about your experiences during the first week after gastric bypass surgery. I had mine on July 24th, so it's been 6 days since the procedure, and I've been feeling a bit concerned about my eating progress.

I had my surgery in Belgium, where I'm from cause it's free there! Unlike most of you, we don't have to stick to liquids only for an extended period. After the first 2 days, we can move on to puree and soft foods, which is a relief.

However, I can't help but feel like I'm eating too much already. Today, for breakfast, I managed to eat 2 small french toasts and 1 egg in one sitting. While I did feel some restriction afterwards, I can't shake the feeling that it's still a lot of food for this early stage. I've been consuming around 900 - 1100 calories a day, and it's making me worry that the surgery might not work effectively for me. Additionally, I've been having trouble staying hydrated, which is something I never struggled with before.

I would really appreciate hearing your experiences and any advice you might have. Thanks a bunch!

8 hours ago, pintsizedmallrat said:

They have plenty of sweets and junk overseas, don't you worry about that. If their diets were perfect they wouldn't need to offer surgeries like this "over there" because no one would be heavy.

Ok

8 hours ago, summerseeker said:

Yes the sugar tax is a thing, Anything with more than recommended levels are taxed. Things like Sugary sweets, cakes, biscuits, cereals and fizzy drinks. If you buy the diet version its cheaper. Its a choice you make at the check out.

Many suppliers have reduced the sugar in their products which can only be a good thing in the long run.

That sounds like a bonus to eat healthy. It’s opposite here obviously. Lol I was a pescatarian for 8yrs and switched back because I couldn’t afford the food anymore. It was cheaper to go back to a carnivore. Smh

22 hours ago, MsTeeTee said:

That sounds like a bonus to eat healthy. It’s opposite here obviously. Lol I was a pescatarian for 8yrs and switched back because I couldn’t afford the food anymore. It was cheaper to go back to a carnivore. Smh

Fish is wickedly expensive here too and as we dont live on the coast its never totally fresh. Beef steak can be cheaper than cod.

2 hours ago, summerseeker said:

Fish is wickedly expensive here too and as we dont live on the coast its never totally fresh. Beef steak can be cheaper than cod.

Wow thats crazy.

2 hours ago, summerseeker said:

Fish is wickedly expensive here too and as we dont live on the coast its never totally fresh. Beef steak can be cheaper than cod.

Wow thats crazy.

Hi everyone I’m new here I had my surgery July 6th so im a month out and really struggling with eating to fast. I also ate something I had absolutely no business eating I also ate to much! I am now super disappointed in myself because of my behaviors. Just needed to vent!

My love @Scusani if we were all perfect we would not be here. It’s going to be ok.

On 7/31/2023 at 4:56 AM, MsTeeTee said:

Doesn’t the UK have sugar tax and restrictions on garbage being put in the food in that country? USA does really care what they put in our food and that may be why we have to restrict the we do before we are able to get a full meal. They don’t want our new stomach to be filled with crap too early? Lol idk.

May I ask where you had your surgery? I see you recently had it done. And, what advice would you give a fellow North Carolinian?

@Traci-Lynette I sent you a private message friend ?

@Traci-Lynette I sent you a private message friend ?

On 7/31/2023 at 12:08 PM, ChunkCat said:

My partner is Chinese and from New Zealand so we have these "I call it this, you call it that!" discussions all the time. LOL It is very informative!

OP, have you tried different temperatures of fluids to see if they all cause the pain and bubbles? Sometimes warm fluids go down easier, or really icy ones, depending on who you are. Also, some can't stomach Water but do well with broths, teas, and sugar free drinks which all count toward that Fluid requirement. Even skimmed milk would be better than getting dehydrated and it may feel smoother going down... Or a thinned out, pureed Soup?

@Big MattyI had not considered mixing a meat puree into a soup! Good call. I'm remembering this for my surgery... LOL

Yeah I've found cooking anything in chicken bone broth and adding a jar of the chicken puree to things really amps up the protein and if I'm struggling with getting my food in, I'll mix my unflavored protein powder in to make it less to eat to get all my protein for the day.

Last night I made kraft mac and cheese because I was craving it majorly and i made it liquidy with extra milk and then added a full scoop of protein powder so the serving I made up was half of my protein for the day. (unfortunately my stomach wasn't a fan of the noodles despite them being overcooked.)

On 7/30/2023 at 8:07 PM, lolyschmoney said:

I had my surgery in Belgium, where I'm from cause it's free there! Unlike most of you, we don't have to stick to liquids only for an extended period. After the first 2 days, we can move on to puree and soft foods, which is a relief.

However, I can't help but feel like I'm eating too much already. Today, for Breakfast, I managed to eat 2 small french toasts and 1 egg in one sitting. While I did feel some restriction afterwards, I can't shake the feeling that it's still a lot of food for this early stage. I've been consuming around 900 - 1100 calories a day, and it's making me worry that the surgery might not work effectively for me.

Hello from the Netherlands! I had my surgery on July 25th, and it sounds like our programs are nearly identical. Soft foods for a few days, and then we're allowed to progress to normal when we feel we are ready.

I had the same concerns that you have, and I talked to my nutritionist. She assured me that ~1000 calories a day is fine, that I shouldn't even be counting calories (yeah, right) and everyone responds differently to different kinds of foods - we can't compare ourselves to others.

On 7/31/2023 at 4:56 AM, lolyschmoney said:

Well I don't know. I got mine from Tesco and it reads "French toast" so I thought that's how you british call them. In Belgium/France where I'm from originally, we call it "Biscotte" and what you described as french toasts we call it "Pain perdu" which translates to "Lost bread" in english lol. Anyway, vive la différence indeed!

when did you start eating these after your surgery

I'm 6 days post-op. I got my surgery in Iceland. We were originally told to be on a clear liquid diet for 4 days then 2 weeks of full liquid diet and then 2 weeks of purred diet. After that, we can start solid soft food and experiment with different types of food to see how our stomach responds. My doctor told me to start my full-liquid diet the day after my surgery. I had apple juice and a broth the evening of the surgery. Every doctor is different.