First nonliquids... and I need a bit of feedback.

I got sleeved two weeks ago tomorrow, and after a couple of days of nausea, then a couple of days of getting over the worst of the pain, I've been cruising!  I swallow with no difficulty, drink my shakes, soup, etc.  Have been getting all my protein, have been feeling great.

Even though pureed soft veggies were on my diet I was a little nervous about trying them. Everything was going so well I didn't want to trip up and end up sick or worse.

Yesterday the doc told me I was fine to start solid food, and he meant it.

Solid food!

I was very torn.  Obviously, I was hesitant.  But I had a pot roast I'd cooked for my husband that was very soft and moist, and I was tempted to test it (as I mentioned yesterday)...

Okay, I did it.

One teaspoon, finely minced, eaten in three separate bites, and chewed so thoroughly that by the time I finally swallowed I was considering spitting it out because the flavor was gone and it just felt like tasteless something in my mouth!

But I didn't.  And it went fine.  LOL  I'm laughing because it was such a TEENSY amount... and now that I think about it, it wasn't even a teaspoon.  It was a sliver of pot roast, minced fine, and taken in the tiniest bites you can imagine.

But it worked.

This morning I had my usual shake and the a few minutes ago decided to try my home-grown yellow squash, so soft and tender, cooked until it's limp like a noodle (not steamed), with a wee bit of butter.  In my mouth, it felt like mostly liquid (which it really is) and I was wondering if it even counted as a solid.  But lo and behold, after a few bites (about 1/8 cup, maybe) I feel full, I think.

Well, I feel uncomfortable.  To tell the truth, I felt each swallow as it went down, and now I feel like maybe my sleeve is full. 

So I'm stopping.

Should I be measuring by ounces instead of cups?  Is that a better way to judge? 

Also, part of my learning curve is complicated because I had a hernia for a long time without knowing it.  I suffered from acid reflux from time to time, and occasionally had severe pain, but I think I blamed it on my eating habits, my weight, all sorts of things, and never dreamed it went beyond that. And when I wasn't having actual "ow,this hurts!" kind of pain, I think most of the time I was just considering discomfort as "normal."

Which is where I've been with my sleeve. I'd be moving around doing stuff, and suddenly stop and think, this is discomfort I'm experiencing, and I have had it since I finished my shake.... maybe I drank it too fast? But I never recognized it as it was happening, because I think I'm just used to it.

Anyway, this means I have to be hyper-mindful as I test myself with solids, and be aware of discomfort, and learn what "full" feels like, etc.

And pot roast aside, which I don't think I'll be eating more of, I need to seriously think about what proteins I'm going to eat... And when and how. My pre-op diet allowed one "real" meal a day and I think that's what I'd like to do for now...

Part of me wants to just pull back into my full liquids and forget moving forward.

Part of me is dying for an egg.  Or--did I mention I have a small purple bell pepper fresh from my garden that I would love to coo****il it's totally soft and mix into something?

I am going to get myself into trouble.  I just know it!

Listen to your Sleeve first.

I didn't even try veggies of any kind until AFTER I was okay with all proteins - at least 2-3 months post op because I didn't start dense proteins until 4 weeks post op and it takes some time to try everything out.. Veggies are still hard on me sometimes. I have to really be carefull to chew chew chew.

I don't normally say "go against what your doc or NUT say", but, imo, some of these docs are expecting a lot out of a brand new tummy.

That's interesting about veggies being harder than protein. I hadn't thought about that.

There's no doubt that he is moving faster than anybody else I've heard. On the other hand, he did preface it by making sure I'd read all my materials and understood the food information I'd been given etc.  I'm not overly worried about it because I'm going to do what I want to do anyway, and that means going slower.

Thank you!

Sounds like you're doing fine and your doctor is definitely much more lenient than mine. I start a full liquid diet for one week then a clear for one week (with no meals during that time) then surgery, and then clear for a week, full for a week, puree for a week, soft for a week then Finally regular food at week 5! Heck I should lose most of my excess weight by the time I get back to regular food - LOL. Just take things one day at a time and work the program your doctor gave you.

That's what mine was PrettyEyes (minus the preop diet) - I think thats one reason I've done so well.

Good luck!

Congrats on your success!

The information I had from the hospital said clear liquids while I was there but full once I got home.  I've had no difficulty with the full at all.

However, it said full for three weeks and then soft foods, and so he's definitely jumping that forward.  Maybe because he thinks I'm doing well enough, I don't know.  I'm not going to leap into it, though. 

Thank you!

Have you tried cottage cheese yet?  I didn't start solids until closer to 4-6 weeks, but maybe you will feel more comfortable with mushies?

I ate blended home made chili, loved beans.

Umm, what about Tuna?

Also, loved mashed sweet potatos, very good for nutrients.

I used a 1/4 cup to measure in the beginning, now I am using a scale.  Seems like there as a lot more on the scale than in 1/4 cup.

Cottage cheese doesn't sound good to me, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't taste good.  Everybody keeps mentioning it and I probably should give it a try.

I'm having to fight with myself because highly-seasoned things sound so much better than the safer things, but I will let my better angels win!

Thank you!

I hear ya about the cottage cheese, it didn't sound too good for me in the beginning.  But it's very high in protein and tasted much better than I thought.  I added a a few tiny bites of canned peaches to get some flavor.

A great website to check out is: theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/

She has hundreds of recipes, if you go back to the beginning of her journey she has great soft food ideas!

I also did well on scrambled egg whites, hard boiled was too tough in the beginning.

You don't have to give up the seasoned, just the dense for a few days!