16 days out and its hard to "fit" food in.

Hey All :) Its Amber again with my daily question! LOL! I have been trying to eat soft solids (tuna salad, refried beans) atleast once a day, to start trying to incorporate food back in. However, when I do that it makes it hard to get the shakes and water it after, as the food fills me up for a while. Have any of you all exp this, and it is okay to maybe eat a bit less at lunch so I can get the shakes and water in? Our what would your recommendations be? Thank you as always!!

I am far from an expert but I remember being in the same boat as you at 2 1/2 weeks out.  I could barely eat 2-3 spoonfuls of cottage cheese or scrambled eggs.  I focused on reaching my miniumum protein goals of 60 grams a day by drinking shakes.  I still believe IMHO that drinking water & protein shakes that early out was best while still eating a few spoonfuls of pureed foods to switch it up a bit.

Thanks Shag! Shoot, even the protein shakes (made with water) fill me up for a while. If I use almond milk, even longer. Maybe I should try adding in snacks like Sting/soft cheese twice a day? All recommendations are welcome! I would like to try to cut out mid-day shake atleast.

I do not know what your dr's plan is, but my plan did not call for adding soft foods in so early.  Call your dietician, but my suggestion (keep in mind I have no medical training) is to get in the protein, however you have to do that (shakes, whatever), and then add soft solids as there is room.  The priority, for me, was always the protein goal.  You will progress as you progress.  My understanding is you can go too fast, but you can't go too slow, when it comes to eating "real" food.  I am over a year out and in maintenance and still have a shake every morning.

Thank you! My Dr has me starting on soft solids this week, and then on Wens of next week he said to start trying to take a tiny bite or 2 of actual solids. I am going to just try and eat less and see if that helps, and make shakes with water onlyfor now. Thank you again! 

Shrinking Sarah is right.  The priorities should be in this order: 1) hydration 2) protein 3) solid or soft food incorporated back into your diet. If it's too hard to eat solid food, back off for a bit or take smaller portions.  Just keep drinking and getting protein from shakes.  Eventually, your stomach will heal more and the swelling will go down.  You will be able to eat more again.  Just go easy and back off as needed.  

Hi Elina - yes I think I need to go back to the basics and focus on protein and water. I think I am going to try and eat half the portion (like 1 ounce or less) and only make shakes with water for now. Thanks so much for the advice! My surgeon lost their a NUT a week before my surgery, so I did not get a whole lot of info :( They are supposed to be having a new one start on the 28th :)

Hi, I agree with Shrinking Sarah and Elina. While my program was slightly different at two weeks out I was encouraged to introduce soft solids into my daily diet, but hydration, then "liquid" protein were priorities. The soft solids were only used to introduce my stomach back to foods. I did not really rely on food for any type of nutrition for about a month - maybe more. Heck, I still use a protein shake each day to meet my protein goals. While I can eat a boat load of crap food, I can only eat a limited amount of dense protein and green veggies at one sitting.

Thanks a lot Kairk! I agree, I think I am going to take it easy on the actual food intake for now. I just wanted to make sure I was not doing anything wrong, in cutting back. Thank all of you for chiming in and giving me needed advise!

At two weeks out, I was moved to pureed foods.  I think I ate about 2 ounces of protein rich purees 3x a day.  Then I drank one or two shakes and lots of water.  I set a timer for 30 minutes after each meal and drank the rest of the time.