1 week out- 1st post op visit

I saw my surgeon today for my first post-op visit and I lost 5 pounds since my surgery a week ago. My surgeon cleared me to progress my diet to soft foods..I am excited and scared!! I have tolerated the protein drinks with out any issues. The surgeon said only one protein drink a day and the other 2 meals have to be real food. I am scared to eat I know that I have to make that jump. What was your first "real" food and did it go well?

Congrats on your surgery and progress. First foods work differently for each of us. Remember that fluids should be your first priority and you will progress on foods day by day.

A lot of people eat refried beans or yogurt. Some people do well with soft scrambled eggs. I pureed meats like chicken, salmon and tilapia with a little broth and found that very filling and satisfying. I kept away from the carbs like mashed potatoes and applesauce which my surgeon suggested and ate meat to get in my protein. The foil packages of tuna and salmon were also easy and good protein.

The bottom line is that you will just have to experiment and see what your new tummy will handle.

Good luck!

I ate a lot of soups. Pureed of course. I had some hummus. Greek yogurt.

There's such a thing as plain/neutral protein powder that you can pretty much add to anything but the trick is you can't add it to anything hot because it clumps up.

Good luck!

Tuna salad - I think maybe an ounce of tuna mashed with a teaspoon of mayonnaise and some salt. Nothing has ever tasted that good.

A lot of folks said they couldn't tolerate tuna or tuna salad for weeks or months - but it was my first "real food" too - I had it six days post surgery and if I hadn't eaten it too quickly it would have been fine. My lack of nerves/feedback from my pouch caused me some challenges but not the tuna. I used canned tuna and (raw) salmon sashimi as a base for protein from week 1 through 4. I found the softness of the sashimi worked well and mentally it felt like my body could really utilize the protein well.

I had beans from Taco Bell with no sauce. More delicious beans were never had. Glad to hear you're doing well!

Jen

Mine were from Taco Time. 2 spoons.

It's also your recovery. If you don't handle something it's always okay to go back to what you can handle. Some doctors want you eating 3 meals a day pretty early out. Very early recovery is about fluids and gentle movement. You got a long time to get used to food.

I never did 3 meals a day. 5 meals works for me. For me it's coffee,meat,meat,yogurt,and more meat.

Congrats on your surgery. Your going to lose more weight this year than you ever have or will again. It's a magic year. It will really help you get the most out of your year to commit to reading and participating on OH. The menu threads are a good place to start.

Congratulations on making it through your first week and losing 5 lbs! Best wishes as you move through stages.

Before I checked out of the hospital I was given several of the plastic 1 oz cups to remind me to sip fluids (1 oz at a time) the dietician mentioned they might also be helpful when I started foods. I could put an oz of different foods in 3 of the cups. I started with pureed foods. I would make 1 oz fruit (pureed prunes were my favorite) an oz of pureed meat with broth to thin it out and a pureed veggie like squash. I bought baby food in the beginning.

I did add in soft scrambled eggs and cottage cheese ( no issues with dairy for me) as I could try new foods. If I couldn't finish the oz of each food I didn't worry. Some foods tasted better than others. I just ate really slow to feel when I was full. I admit that I did eat instant mashed potatoes but just the one oz plastic cup.

The soft foods went really well for me.

Besides canned tuna and salmon sashimi, I also had premade some venison taco meat which I'd portioned into little 2 to 4 oz servings and froze. I ate them with a little cheese sprinkled on top - very delish. Again, some couldn't handle meat for weeks so try a bite at first and give yourself a few hours to make sure you're OK before having a whole portion.

I have been lucky (or maybe it's unlucky?) in that my cast iron gut system seems to still handle almost anything I give to it, as long as I respect my pouch size, eat slowly (mindfully) and keep things protein forward. Obviously it's critical to follow your physician's guidance in introducing things that work with the healing process. For me that meant ZERO small seeds, nuts, anything that might not easily digest and then lodge in the stitches or generally inflamed areas of my (healing) gut system. I was also not allowed to have fibrous foods for the same reason, like raw leafy greens.

Greek yogurt was my very best friend. To meet some of my protein numbers on a given day I would mix in powdered/flavored protein powder to my plain Greek yogurt.