What are you eating? / Tips ?

Hey, I'm nearly 4 weeks out. I'm having problems eating some things - milk products are starting to bother me because I've basically been living off of them! Fruits do not want to stay down! Even peeled! Even some veggies aren't doing so good. Not to mention the NO BREAD!!! The only thing I can keep down is Melba toast or crackers and I'm getting SICK of it! So I was hoping anyone might have some tips of what to eat / meal ideas. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!!!

Hi Serena, I'm having the same problem. I'm 5 weeks out,milk intolerant, and sick to death of fish and chicken. Its so hard to figure out what to eat. Eggs sit hard in my stomach. anything with dairy is out of the question. I cant stand applesauce. I did get some of that special lactose milk, I just tried it, will see how it goes. I hope things get better for us. On the brite side, I'm down about 50 lbs. sure feels good. Donna

Hey guys I can totally relate. I can't stand eating...it's just a chore now. I do not enjoy it one bit. Someone suggested I try string cheese and it works okay. Not the greatest but gets the protein in. I've also tried oatmeal,oscar meyer shaved lunchmeat, canned fruit (but I think you said you have a problem with fruit)..umm lets see our diets are very limited and it's hard to find something that works that doesn't get old. Oh yea I LIVED on Wendy's chili for awhile. I found Louisiana Purchase brand chili and it was very good ****il the commissary quit carrying it)...I put fat free cheese on mine. The Wendy's chili goes down very well and tastes good too. I know how you feel with chicken and fish. I bought some prepackaged grilled chicken to put on my salads and I'm SOOOO sick of it. I tried tuna and was able to eat it but it makes me swell up like a balloon so I don't do that tuna that much. If I can't find anything that I want a I will put some peanut butter on a spoon and just nibble it. Also I don't know how you feel about shrimp or turkey but I've made some really good turkey burgers...I put a little bit of everything in there let it sit in the fridge all day and then make little burgers with cheese on top. With the shrimp I boil them for 10 mins or so in Old Bay and they are pretty darn good. I have a weight loss cookbook for after surgery but haven't really made anything out of it yet. It calls for things I don't keep around the house but I might try some soon. I LOVE stuffed peppers but can't have the rice so I use ground beef or ground turkey, peppers I just buy the frozen ones, stewed tomatoes (because they have more flavor than diced) and it tastes pretty good. Last night I made spaghetti and had two meatballs (no noodles) and I was soooo full! I drink Isopure shakes for my protein. I just drink two a day mixed with milk and you can use soymilk if the dairy bothers you. I didn't think I'd like it but the soymilk is actually pretty good..it comes in flavors too. I don't think I'm really helping much here but I hope you can find something in all this rambling that works for ya. I know it sucks because the head hunger is still there and the food still smells WONDERFUL but it just tastes horrible and sometimes hurts if we try it. I told my sister I feel like an impotent man..I really want to eat but can't... I'll keep you updated if I find some good things to eat and please let us know if you find something that works. HUGS, Jamie

At four weeks out what protein, other than dairy, have you tried? I wasn't doing fruit that early but did use Melba toast for my bread serving. I usually didn't have room for much veggie/fruit after I ate my protein. I didn't have problems with anything as long as I ate slowly and chewed very well. So I took up knitting to keep my hands and head busy and slow myself down. Have you tried any form of ground meat? Be sure to watch out for any grissly bits though. I don't have that problem with ground turkey or pork, but if I don't get a good cut of beef, I have had some problems. You can always combine the turkey with the pork or beef to lower the fat and to make it easier to chew. I add some sausage seasoning to some, make burgers with others, make tomato sauce with ground meat with others, etc. I even made some meatloaf this past weekend. Also you might try more seafood. Shrimp is easy to cook (but don't overcook it), but baked fish is pretty simply as well. But remember, just because it is soft, that doesn't mean you don't have to chew it. Salmon is avaliable just about everywhere and can be grilled. I was able to eat just about any meat as soon as I was on regular food, but it is important to try different things to find what works for you. Good luck, Sally

Thanks everyone, I have some ideas I'm going to try out Especially meatloaf - my mom made some spaghetti sauce once (ground beef) that she put in the blender, so I had NO problems with it. I think I'll do the same and try and make meatloaf! I've had lots of yogurt, cubed cheese, melba toast, cheerios, milk, some peanut butter, some jam- didn't go well, some potatos - sit heavy, some rice - doesn't go down well. Tomato soup / acidy foods don't sit well. Oh yes and I had a ceasar salad (not much salad dressing) at a restaurant, it went suprisingly well! I couldn't even finish a SMALL, so I brought it home for later! The only thing I can really recommend is cheerios - they might make you feel a bit sick, but they fill you up and stay down. Melba toast! I've pretty much been living off of it - with a bit of sliced cheese on it, warmed up in the microwave (usually only can handle about 3 1/2 - 4 pieces) Flavoured yogurt mixed 1/2 with plain yogurt really tastes great! It's not as heavy, and it still has all the flavor! I've also thought I could try stuff (shamed to admit it) and after I threw it up - I never want to eat it again. So although I was stupid enough to do it in the first place, I wont be doing it again! And I don't think I'll have a problem with sugar either - a couple of times I've had SMALL pieces of DQ Birthday Cake and I've just dealt with a really horrible stomach ache, but basically everything gives me a stomach ache! I'm realizing I don't really want to eat, I'm doing it out of habit. The truth is I DONT WANT TO EAT! But my problem is at night time, I start grazing - it's horrible. Maybe if I fix my sleep scheduel it will help. It's harder than people give us credit for! Thanks again ;)

Serena, My surgeon had me on a conservative eating schedule to allow my pouch to heal properly. I could only have clear liquids for the 1st week after surgery, then full liquids for 3 more weeks, then soft foods only for 7 weeks after that. Bread was not allowed for 6 months. Nothing but pureed meats were allowed during the soft foods phase. Be careful, let that pouch thoroughly heal. When I was at your stage, I made a lot of soups that I experimented with, then put them into the blender. You won't regret taking it easy! Now I can eat anything, except things with a lot of sugar. So, I think she was right. I'm 13.5 months out. Good luck! Lori 384/237/199

The first week it was alot of soup and mushy foods - the second week was mushy foods / try some solids. What do you mean by "Full liquids" ? You had Pureed Meat for 7 weeks? Didn't you get sick of it? Actually, I guess that helps because then you realize you're eating just because you HAVE to and not because you WANT to. It's so odd that all Drs have their own methods - I wish my Dr had given me a similar plan. They tell you it's all Trial & Error - but so far it's been mostly Error. I'm still on mostly mushy foods - the only thing solid I've really been eating is Melba Toast and Cheese. I'm trying a bunch of things, but I'd like to have more soup - it goes down easy!! I bet you lost weight faster because of what you ate those first few weeks! I wish I did that. Maybe I can start. Other than Melba toast - I don't think I'll EVER eat bread again! This coming from someone that used to eat like 8 pieces of bread a day! Thanks