First Taste of Real Food A Let Down

 I just finished phase two, week three. I have been wondering if my tummy is too big  i have been able to drink water more than little sips since a week out and from the second week a cup of broth at a time this week closer to two cups... I am concerned as everyone is talking ounces and half cup size. I have been living on chicken broth, this week i added an egg to make a kind of egg drop soup which i loved, yoghurt and cottage cheese and introduced cheese sticks this week as well they were a little heavy at first but I can eat one a start drinking my water within a few minutes.  I can start soft foods this week and thought I would try a cottage cheese pancake today one egg, half cup of cottage cheese and a few tbsp of bisquick. I thought it would make two small pancakes turns out it made 8 not as tasty as I expected and didn't sit too well. After a few bites that was it! I couldn't even finish two. And didn't feel well for an hour.  Boy what a difference from cold cottage cheese to fried... Maybe I will stick to my chicken soup and cottage cheese for another week. 

Hey! I had been wondering how you were doing! It's really been three weeks already?!?

I have no advice, but wanted to say that I'm glad to hear that liquids are going well for you. Sorry the pancake thing didn't work out, but I'm sure you'll get into the swing of the next phase soon.

 Hi Moonglo. 
Bet you are counting down the days. 
Well on Monday it will be three weeks. I am sure things will come along. I am just worried it is too big and that my weight loss goals won't come true. I need this to work so much .....

I doubt your sleeve is too big... Dr. Aceves has such a great track record! :) And yes, I am totally counting down the days, and driving my husband crazy with the updated countdown haha!

I have heard a lot of people here say that liquids are not a good indicator of how big your stomach is. They don't sit like a dense protein will, so most can generally hold much more fluid than they can solid food.

Keep taking care of yourself, and I think you'll do well! :)

 You are right. He has a good track recor and liquids are different than solids.  So far chicken noodle soup mix without the noodles an egg and hot sauce is my favorite dinner. Premier Protein premixed chocolate shake the best breakfast I heat it up in the microwave and add instant coffee crystals for my drive to work. 

Liquids and soft foods will go down much easier even with a small sleeve. Once you get to dense protein, you will find that an ounce or two will fill you up very quickly (so take it slowly). Even in maintenance, pancakes don't sit well with me. I do ok with toast or 1/2 of an arnold thin roll, but that's about all the bread type things I ever eat. It's probably just as well...better to have other foods than breads.

You may feel that I am wack after I say this but oh well. I had to have an upper GI done three days before surgery. After the surgery (day), I also had to have one done to see if there were any leaks. I made the tech both times show me my stomach. The first time, my stomach was huge and the liquid did pass rather quickly. The second time, my stomach looked tiny in comparison. I am one week out and I am not going to pu**** My NUT told me to try to stretch each phase for a day or two more to really jump start the weight lost and to help my stomach heal. I was 245 before the start of the liquid diet three weeks ago. Now one week and two days after surgery, I am down to 217.2. Just in case you were wondering, the doctor made my stomach a 38.

RIght from day one I didn't have any restriction with liquids, and no trouble at all getting in protein and fluid during the first post-op weeks. I actually emailed Dr Aceves about it and heard that I didn't need to worry - I was just healing fast. Was told that solids would feel very different - and they did!

Two years out and I STILL have a ton of restriction. Although there are days where for some reason protein goes down very easily and I can eat a bit more - I still tend to eat about 2-2.5 ounces of protein at a time, max, plus a bit or two of veg (like two small broccoli spears, or two pieces of asparagus).

There was a period of time at about 12-18 months when I seemed unconciously to be trying to eat as much as possible - and even though I was making healthy choices, it still wasn't really a habit that maximized the effectiveness of the sleeve. With a restriction-only surgery the idea is to minimize hunger and maximize satiety while continuing to restrict calories.

I try now to ENJOY the fact that I can be satisfied on very little most of the time.

A couple cautions: You still have healing nerves, so you may not be "feeling" full as soon as you will in future. Also, avoiding drinking for 30 minutes after eating is a good habit to establish in terms of maximizing satiety. Although it may not make you ill, in the long term you may find that spacing out eating and drinking helps you keep your calories lower while also avoiding uneccessary hunger - probably not an issue now in the early post op period, but may be something you want to do later on...and establishing the habit now is way easier than it will be later.

There is nothing wrong with staying on puree for a while longer if you feel you need to do so.

I am almost seven weeks out and still have cottage cheese and what not nearly every day while I introduce new more dense foods.

Also.....regarding the liquid restriction.  I only felt real liquid restriction for the first week as I was still very swollen.  Then after that......I can drink at a nearly normal pace.....especially warmer liquids.

For example....a 20oz bottle of vitawater zero takes me around 10-15 mins to drink now if I am really concentrating on it and not just leisurely drinking it.  I am able to take 2-3 medium sips at once with no issue.  So its no big thing that liquids go right through you....that is what is supposed to happen.

You WILL feel restriction when you start eating solid dense foods.  For example.....I can eat 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and I feel very satisfied.  My next meal....I will eat 1-1.5 oz of shredded chicken or ground beef and I feel STUFFED.  So once you move to real food you will begin to experience/practice your new eating habits.

Also....you need to wait after eating to drink.  I saw that you started drinking within a few minutes after eating a cheese stick.  Knock it off!  You need to wait 30-45 mins after eating to drink anything.  If you try that with more dense food you WILL make yourself sick and throw up not to mention it will interfer with your weight loss efforts.

 Hi doggz
Ok I hear you loud and clear I will stop drinking before and after meals. 
I prefer warm liquids as well. Thank you for your input