Walking, Soft Foods and all that jazz. Five days post op

I will be five days post op tomorrow and am starting to feel human again.  I have not taken an pain pills today, just tylenol, which two days ago I never thought would happen.

We live on a very busy road, so I have been waking laps in my house, outside, back and forth on my wrap around porch etc.  I have an elliptical/bike but do not feel ready for that yet.  My first post op appointment is in the 31st. I was just curious how much walking people were doing at this point. Driving should be an option soon so I could go to a park and walk there.

Also is it just me or was anyone else terrified to start soft foods.  I am scheduled to start yogurt, cottage cheese, cream of wheat Wednesday and that scares me!  What brand are good to start off with?  I know yogurts have a lot of sugars in them and I do not want to face a potential dumping episode.

The soft food stage re-introduces food with taste! 14 days after surgery, I started with plain greek yogurt, 0% fat, and added some Crystal Light for flavour. With tiny bites, it goes down as easily as jello, and is quite filling. Plain unsweetened applesauce is good too.

After a few days of yogurt & Babybel Light cheese (I'm in Canada, don't know if you have the same brands), I tried some refried beans which were blended with a hand mixer, and the next day, some split pea soup. Both tasted great, and neither gave me any trouble eating or digesting, as long as I went slowly. Next week I get to try scrambled egg - yum! - and canned salmon or tuna mixed with light mayonnaise.

For walking, I started out at about 10 minutes a day, then gradually worked up to additional 10 minute intervals per day. Now I can do some light gardening as well. Sometimes your doctor will tell you how much exercise is right for you.

Good luck with everything - sounds like you're doing really well!

I was excited to eat soft foods, scrambled eggs with cheese, yumbo.  Don't worry, just go slow and chew well.  You'll be fine.  I only use Fage Greek 0% fat yougurt.  It has 14 grams of protein. I add some unflavored Unjury protein powder to up my protein intake.  works well.  You can add some sugar free jam to it for flavor.  Really filling.  

I ate cream of wheat as well as oatmeal.  I walked outside when I felt up to it.  I have a treadmill and did that for 5-10 minutes every couple of hours when I was first home.  Really helped.  

Hope this helps.  I had my surgery Feb. 4 and down almost 80 lbs.  Just follow what your doc and nutritionist say.  Take those vitamins, they are important.

You've got this!

Thanks ladies for the input - I am walking for about 5-10 minutes now, so I guess that is good news.  I will start with the plain greek yogurt, great protein plus basic taste.  I just need to take it day by day, that is what I have learned so far in this journey.

I really appreciate hearing about your experiences.  They also allow me strained soups next week.  I guess that is going to be trial and error as well.  Ahhh!  I never have not wanted food before.  I mean I definitely do, mentally, but the idea of actually eating has no appeal to me right now!

You will do just fine as long as you take your time when you eat. If you get a plain or vanilla yogurt the sugar that is there is natural sugar from the milk and doesn't usually cause dumping for most people. Enjoy this time when food doesn't sound good to start gaining new habits because most people eventually get their hunger back at some point. Sounds like you are doing just fine!