I can't sleep and I can't eat. Sooo frustrated!

I woke up after about an hour of sleep and now at 4 am I am wide awake. I think part of the reason I can't sleep is I want to eat and cannot.  I am not really hungry but I want something salty and crunchy. A cracker would be heavenly.  

I was told my doctor wants us to stay on liquids for as long as possible for healing time but after 10 days before surgery and 21 days since, I find I am getting anxious.  I see others moving on with their eating in here and I want to eat also.  It seems everything I am eating is cold and somewhat sweet.  I want something with spice and that is warm.  Oh I eat soup - but mostly have protein shakes.  I went to the bariatric foodie site and oh so many of those recipes look good.  I am at the point where I am starting to be hungry. This is what got me to 300 pounds to begin with.

I don't do therapy. Should I? Do I follow my heart and eat that cottage cheese with a couple of Ritz crackers, or do I try to stick with the jello and strained cream soups the dr wants me eating for another month.  I didn't expect my choices to be so hard.  I was POSITIVE I could do this and now I don't know if I can.



 

On my liquid phase I can have thin grits. Add a dab of butter and salt and pepper and YUMMO! I too needed something salty and it was a welcomed treat

 With most programs, the Dr. allows you to start pureed at 2 weeks. I can understand the Dr. is trying to keep you from having any problems but you should start trying something.  Maybe you could try some yogurt.  Tomato soup was my favorite (still is) when i was in the liquid/pureed stage. I am supposed to be on stage 4 foods (soft foods), but I am eating very little of that stuff.  I certainly understand the wanting of something salty & crunchy, I would love a couple of chips w/ some dip right about now. LOL!!
I would call your Dr. and ask about advancing you diet since you are getting hungry,  

My doc has a very conservative post-op program compared to many, but I was still starting pureed foods at 3 weeks. Seriously, your doc wants you on a full liquid diet for seven weeks?? That's really unusual. Are you working with a nutritionist? If so, give him/her a call and ask for some suggestions. 

You might also want to talk to your doc and ask why he feels it is so important to continue full liquids for so long, so you understand why he has chosen this particular protocol. Maybe that will help you stick with it. 

My husband is going through something similar. He's over a month out, and has a pretty wide variety of foods to pick from, but he can't eat his beloved chips and pretzels. He says he is actually hungry, and so when he fixes a plate, he makes too much and throws up. He misses food something terrible!
Your doctor seems to have a pretty strict diet plan. Mine didn't require a two week liquid diet before surgery for the very reason you are talking about....people miss chewing! When you're stuck on full liquids for weeks after, it DOES get hard! Another month of full liquids seems really strict! I guess every doc is different because I've read about people who were eating cottage cheese withing a few days after their surgery. I was on full liquids for two full weeks after, and just started eating food again a week ago. I've done fine with the soft foods (aside from eating too fast once.)
Can you maybe go for a walk or to the gym when you start feeling anxious? That helps. I also chewed on ice and frozen diet cranberry juice. That took the edge off at times too. It's tough, but just think, it's worth it! You can do it!