HELP! I'm feeling really lost

MissCT234 · May 11, 2008

Hey everyone...

WEll..I was banded last Monday on the 5th and things have been pretty good. I have been pretty confused about what to eat..I KNOW I KNOW I am going to see the nutritionist tomorrow I think...

I ot a FIRST MONTH MENU and that is what I got..liquids..pureed..mushy..

When I talked with the nurse on Wed she said I would know when to move to a new stage cause I would be hungry...

Well I started getting hungry on Friday...I ate four crackers..let them dissolve in my mouth..no problem..

Yesterday I tried to let a soft meatball dissolve..BIG MISTAKE..got stuck which was uncomfortable and I felt like an idiot..like why am I screwing this up. SO I went to a bookstore and got a WLS cook book.

ANyway..got up today and had a shake for Breakfast..decided to concentrate on getting in the Protein...20 g there...

then for lunch I had some lentil Soup pureed...another 7 grams there...

IN the book thewoman showed so many things for week 1 of lap band...seemed a bit too much I thought but I'd settle on scrambled eggs...

So I cooked an egg with a sprinkle of cheese and kept it really soft...

I took three small bites..and now I am stuck..UGH>>>>

I got some of it up without wretching but the rest is stuck. SOmeone said they take small sips of drink so I tried that...not a good idea...

Anyway...it is beginning to settle but I am getting worried. What If I make the thing slip?????? What if I stretch something out?????????

I am truly not trying to push the envelope here I just feel like the guidlelines are really loosy goosey and I was feeling so damn hungry...

SO any advice? words of encouragement? condemnations? anything?

CIndi

juliegeraci · May 11, 2008

Hi Cindi, welcome to band land. Scrambled eggs are really hard to get down so I would move away from them. While you are healing I would stick to Soups, cottage cheese, maybe some chili when the time is right. Don't eat soft foods too soon. It takes about 2 weeks to move onto the next stage. I would stick to creamy soups without chicken, Protein Shakes and maybe some yogurt or apple sauce for a week or 2. Best of luck on your journey.

MissCT234 · May 11, 2008

thanks Julie...I feel so dumb..and so scared I am doing damage. I am going to vow at this point to not TRY anything new other than Soups and other "LIQUID" food until at least next weekend....

Would I know if I had done any damage? or does it take something pretty major and not three bites of scrambled egg?

Cindi

juliegeraci · May 11, 2008

thanks Julie...I feel so dumb..and so scared I am doing damage. I am going to vow at this point to not TRY anything new other than Soups and other "LIQUID" food until at least next weekend....
Would I know if I had done any damage? or does it take something pretty major and not three bites of scrambled egg?

Cindi

Hi Cindi, you are fine. You didn't hurt your band. I would move back to liquids then move to soft foods within 2 weeks. The swelling should be going down soon so when you do eat a soft diet you will know the difference. Good luck.

dancinglamb · May 11, 2008

Hey Cindy-

Congrats on the band!

It does seem really quite early to be doing solids. It was about 10 days before I did anything with 'texture'. To lend some perspective, I tried scrambled eggs with cheese this morning (I'll be 3w out tomorrow) and couldn't do them. I took one bite and just knew it would be a bad adventure if I went any further. Kinda sucks, since I love scrambled eggs.:welldoneclap:

About 5 days post-op, I was able to do really watered down oatmeal (the ones that come in the individual packs) with no problem. The first time out, I did put it through the food processor and 'drank' it. Looked gross, but tasted fine. After that , I let it sit with extra hot Water, then threw in some milk for the extra Protein.

The first 2-3w, the prime concern is getting nutrition, and not so much about keeping things low fat/low cal (it's helpful, of course, if you can, but not top priority).

I also was pretty hooked on those Campbells Soup at Hand things. I know, you probably are saying you're sick of soup. But for some reason (maybe because of the teeny tiny Pasta in it?), I was loving this stuff. It was just the right amount, and 1min in the microwave, it was ready. I also liked that I was able to get it at Target and didn't have to subject myself to the lure of the grocery store.:Banane53: chicken and Stars is my fave!

Ricotta cheese with a little spoon of Pasta Sauce is also good. You can warm it up and it's pretty close to eating lasagna or ziti. :Banane44: It's also *full* of Protein. (If necessary, you can thin it with some milk.)

Basically, a good rule of thumb is, if you can put it through a straw, you can have it. At least for the first 10 days or so. HTH.

Good luck!

-m

Edited May 11, 2008 by dancinglamb

FinallyFree · May 12, 2008

Hey, Cindy, Welcome to the healing phase of the lap band. It's hard to know sometimes, but sounds like you are being very careful and that is good.

I drank some pickle juice the first time I got stuck--it was on a meatball too. The acid in the juice seemed to help.

Don't worry about slipping the band, unless you start to vomitt alot. So it sounds like you're safe.

Dancinglamb has offered excellent suggestions. When you do try canned meats make sure you mix it with mayo, low fat mayo or miracle whip. It will taste better and go down easier.

L

MissCT234 · May 12, 2008

Thanks everyone...as I said...I have some vaque guidelines here...said I should do "mushy food" when I was ready..and this stupid cookbook showed eggs in week 1...so now I know.

I think I was too worried about the Protein thing. Man there is a LOT to think about here., I truly did my homework, and like I said, I lost 90 pounds on a pretty restrictive food plan (FAA) a few years ago so I thought this would not be so hard. WRONG~! it is not that it is HARD as much as it is a lot to think about and especially when you are still not feeling real well.

I had originally thought I would be on strict liquids for the first two weeks and then the hospital gave me custard three hours out of surgery! Then cream of wheat "gruel" the next morning.

SO>...I think , really think, i learned my lesson now. I do NOT want to cause any harm to this precious LAP BAND. So....my plan for tomorrow is...

BREAKFAST..protein shake with coffee and choc powder,...tastes like a mochacino...

lunch pureed fish chowder..mostly broth and nothing that won't go through the strainer.

dinner hmmmmmmmmm I thinkI miight try the ricotta and spaghetti sauce thinned out like a soup....I did have a bit of sauce yesterday and that was good. It had teeny tiny pieces of spinach in it..is that okay? or maybe I will just make cream of potato soup....YEAH...I think I;ll go with the soup...save the ricotta for later in the week.

If I am still hungry mid day or mid morning I will have a pudding or custard cup.

Does all that sound reasonable???

CIndi

dancinglamb · May 12, 2008

Thanks everyone...as I said...I have some vaque guidelines here...said I should do "mushy food" when I was ready..and this stupid cookbook showed eggs in week 1...so now I know.
I think I was too worried about the Protein thing. Man there is a LOT to think about here., I truly did my homework, and like I said, I lost 90 pounds on a pretty restrictive food plan (FAA) a few years ago so I thought this would not be so hard. WRONG~! it is not that it is HARD as much as it is a lot to think about and especially when you are still not feeling real well.

I had originally thought I would be on strict liquids for the first two weeks and then the hospital gave me custard three hours out of surgery! Then cream of wheat "gruel" the next morning.

SO>...I think , really think, i learned my lesson now. I do NOT want to cause any harm to this precious LAP BAND. So....my plan for tomorrow is...

BREAKFAST..protein shake with coffee and choc powder, ...tastes like a mochacino...

lunch pureed fish chowder..mostly broth and nothing that won't go through the strainer.

dinner hmmmmmmmmm I thinkI miight try the ricotta and spaghetti sauce thinned out like a soup....I did have a bit of sauce yesterday and that was good. It had teeny tiny pieces of spinach in it..is that okay? or maybe I will just make cream of potato soup....YEAH...I think I;ll go with the soup...save the ricotta for later in the week.

If I am still hungry mid day or mid morning I will have a pudding or custard cup.

Does all that sound reasonable???

CIndi

Sounds good. Don't get down on yourself. There's a pretty huge learning curve on all of this stuff, and we're all new to it at some point or another. :smile2:

Just remember that if you think that whatever you're trying to eat (even if it's something you don't need to chew) is going to stay in its original state... say thick pudding... you can thin it out with milk or whatever.

Don't forget to try and get in as many fluids as possible. I'm still having a hard time remembering to do that. My surgeon has me on a limit of nothing 15min before and nothing 30-60min after meals. I've found that I'm much more likely to drink Water if I've put Crystal Lite in it (iced tea at the moment). And I've also noticed that if I use those 20oz squeezy sports bottles and visually *see* it, I'll be more inclined to drink it. (Previously, I was being a good Earth person and using my very cool-gift from my husband-Sigg bottle... you know, good for the Earth, no recycling, etc. etc. I just found that if I couldn't SEE how much was in there, I wasn't drinking nearly enough. I know. Sounds stupid, but I'm a very visual person. :mad: )

Anyway...

You're doing great. Just try and plan ahead when you can. You can also try and let some Cheerios melt in your mouth and then chew the hell out of them. They're a good source of Vitamins, believe it or not, and they taste good.

Before you know it, you'll be a pro!!

hugs

-m