please advise

Hi, here is my problem I had my surgery on Jan 25th. when I eat yogurt I am fine but when I eat meat it feels like its stuck I wanna make myself throw up!! but it's not all the timee. I am not sure if I have a picky pouch or eating to fast I am going CRAZY!

I haven't had my surgery yet, but I'm super close - 2/29!

I've been reading the boards daily for the past few weeks and there have been a lot of posts about meat.   Meat is very dense so it's hard for the new pouch to digest, even if you have chewed it well.  A lot of people have said that they couldn't tolerate it until 3 months out or later. 

Maybe your pouch is just too "new."   Ground beef might work for you.  Even better - stick to fish for now and try another meat later on.  Fish is not is dense and your pouch might tolerate it better.

When introducing new foods, often times meat seems to cause the most discomfort. Be sure to chew them thoroughly, and eat slowly. The good news about eating meats is that what doesn't work now, will often work later, so try something different. Although everyone if different, I found ground beef difficult early out, but filet mignon was fine, now I can eat ground beef with no issues. I read that papaya enzymes work well when meat gets stuck, so I bought some in anticipation. I never had to use them, but the peace of mind was worth the effort to have them handy.

Kat

I am surprised you are trying meat already, though I know every surgeon's recommendations are very different. I know of some RNY patients that have never been able to tolerate steak even several years out. I tried my first steak at about 3 months out and the only problem was that it took so long to chew I couldn't finish in the 20 minute time limit. I would go back to soft foods for a while and try it again in a month or so. You also want to make sure your meat is moist. Never reheat a piece of meat more than once. If you think it may be dry have something liquid to dip your fork in  before taking a bite.

meat was on my plan at 2 weeks out. I just made sure it was super moist. I started with like canned shredded chicken (not the tastiest, true, but it was moist). Moist and chew really well and eat slowly.

But I have heard that some people have a hard time tolerating meat.

I had RNY on 1/24 and haven't done well with meat no matter how pureed and moisturized it is. I'm kicking myself  for having some homemade wild rice soup on Friday because it's now stuck in my colon and I'm very constipated. I won't be doing that again. I do best when I eat hardboiled eggs with light mayo, blended very well and cut and chewed like crazy, and cottage cheese and sugar free jello or pudding. I've had bad pain in my pouch when I had meat of any kind. I've learned that even with my doctor recommendation of advancing my diet, my body still might not be able to handle the foods she says I should be able to. Some of us just need more time.Maybe stick to softer foods like yogurt until more time has passed and you will tolerate more foods. Good luck!

I would take my chicken or whatever and put it in my ninja and blend it very well. That is still working for me. I am afraid to eat chicken unless it is processed in my ninja. Stringy meats do not do well in my stomach. I had a stuck episode and that was all I needed to teach me. Good luck.

I had a lot of problems with meat especially in the beginning. Chicken was the worst. I still had problems with it even at 8-9 months. Surprisingly I did better with pork chops cooked tender and moist. I can eat chicken fine most of time now if it is not dry. I still can't eat beef roast, steak or any stringy meat!

Just keep experimenting and see what works for you. Like other posters said, some of us take longer than others and you have to go at your own pace no matter what your doc allows at a certain stage. Back off for now and try again in a few days. Good luck!

Rhonda

This early out, I too am surprised you're cleared for meat. 

Stringy, shredded, pork and steak items seem to be an issue for many an RNY post-op. Chicken and tuna is the best, but really it needs to be moist. Puree your meats in a Ninja (or other food processor) for a season. I bet you will find you'll tolerate it better.

Meat has continued to be a struggle for me even at 8 months out.   For the first 4 months I don't think I ate any meat at all.  At the beginning I used beans, legumes and dairy products to get the protein, and of course the protein shakes and bars.  The thing I struggle with the most is chicken.  I use sauces and gravies to help get it down  (check out theworldaccordingtoeggface.com for some terrific recipes for healthier sauces)  I actually do better with roast beef and 80/20 ground beef - anything leaner does not go down.  I also just tried a pork chop baked with Oven Fry coating and dipped in a low fat honey mustard sauce.  

Discovering what you can NOW can eat is a learning process.  It's all about what works for you and I know the trial and error process can be frustrating.  Even if I can eat something today doesn't mean that I will be able to eat it tomorrow.  But I've learned to move on and try it again at a later date.

I am surprised that you are allowed meat so soon.  I was 3 months out before they let me add it to my diet.  But I am finding that each plan is unique according to the doctor.

Hang in there - it will get better!