Post Surgery Diet Questions

Ok any advice here would be helpful.  My surgeon has a 5 day post op clear liquid diet - got through it fine. 

Days 6 and 7 are full liquids - milk, protein shakes, yogurt, pudding ect - this is to "help the digestive system prepare for pureed food" - I haven't be so good here - my protein shakes and milk have upset my stomach so I haven't done much - will I be ok on the pureed diet?

2nd Question - So I know we are not supposed to drink with meals but all I am doing now is drinking my food - does this start later?

3rd Question - Do you worry about calories and carbs in the pureed stage of the diet?  My Dr. suggests aiming for 50 gr of protein per day and I have some pureed recipes his office suggested but I put them through a calorie calculator and they all have like 800 calories per serving.

Thanks in advance,
H

Ive been on full liquids since leaving the hospital. I am 8 days post op today and literally just now feeling hungry. Since you are having trouble with the milks, have you maybe tried a different protien like the isopure punch or something else?

I was told pretty much sugar free puddings and low sugar yogurt. I dont really remember discussing particular calorie counts, but then again a BIG meal for me is to actually finish a whole small jar of yogurt! LOL I cant finish the Campbells soups to go I picked up and they were recommended by my NUT.

I get to start mushies tomorrow after my post op appt. I cant wait. Im dying for some French Onion soup with the mushy crouton on top....but I wonder about the cheese...could that pass as mushy? LOL 

I wouldn't worry about the transition to pureed, a number pf people find that having a lot of dairy can be upsetting to the stomach. Have you tried mixing your shakes with a non-dairy option, such as rice milk?

It is OK that you're drinking your meals now..the no liquid with your meals will start once you're on soft foods and solid foods. Then, you can drink up until you start to eat, but not while you eat or for 30 minutes to an hour after, depending on what your surgeon recommends.

Don't worry too much about your calories and carbs right now, that will mostly come later. YOu can start worrying about them if you want, but be aware that either way, many people gain a few pounds back once they start on soft foods. It sounds like you're doing just fine!

I never mixed the protein powder with milk.  I just use water, or you could use decaf coffee also, just make sure it's cold.  Protein powder doesn't mix well hot. 

When you get to actual food, that's when you do not drink with meals. 

You don't count calories here or carbs, but your suppose to stay with protein at this stage.  We were on soft proteins for about 5 weeks until the first fill.  Never had to do what you all refer to as pureed or mushies.  But we stayed with very soft proteins.  We had totally clear liquids for the first 5 days.

Example, thin sliced deli meats, low fat cheeses including cottage cheese, eggs, tuna, other fish.  No veggies, no salads, no fruits, just about all protein.  Didn't even do protein shakes during this time because we got a lot of protein from what we were eating.

If you start with the carbs you won't lose weight.  Some of the doctor's do not care about losing during this time,  but we both (husband and myself) lost during this phase.  Between meals you drink a lot of water, because we were eating food, we stopped the water during the meal.

Our program you never count calories, grams of protein are to be at least 65, but you must drink lots of water or you'll hurt your kidney's.   You should stay with your doctor's program, just make sure you understand it.  There are so many different ways of thinking among the bariatric surgeon's.  I have no idea which one works best, buy our doc runs a center of excellence so she's suppose to know what she's doing.  She has a very high success rate. 

Take care....it's a journey...be patient.

Carole

It's more likely the milk or protein supplement giving you trouble than full liquids itself. 

It starts when you start your mushies.

Would you mind sharing one of these 800cal recipes? Holy moly! That's a LOT! My cals were around 400-600 ALL DAY during the mushy phase (couldn't get enough in, but I was following NUTs post op suggestions).

One of the recipes is Taco Soup:
1 lb ground beef browned
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 package ranch dressing mix dry
1 package taco seasoning
1 onion diced
Place all ingredients into crock pot and cook on low 4-6 hrs.  Blend and serve.

I ran this through the recipe calorie calculator on calories.com.  I didn't think it would be that mu*****alories although I did assume it was only 4 servings.  The nutrition broke out:
Cal 881, Fat 19.5, CHO  112.3, Fiber 27.8, Sugar 7.6, Protein 65.4