Easing into "normal" foods

My surgeon cleared me to start a normal food diet next week (5 weeks post op).  I'm still afraid to eat anything that isn't soft or mushy so I'm just wondering what did you begin eating when you were able to start eating normally again?  

On another note, we are having a couple people over for a BBQ on Monday and my boyfriend wants to make BBQ chicken.  I love drumsticks and we have sugar free BBQ sauce that is quite tasty.  Can I eat the skin on the chicken or should I peel it off (totally defeats the purpose of a BBQ but I'll do it if I have to).  I just don't know how many extra calories or fat I'll be eating if I choose to leave the skin on.

I'd eat the skin.  I'd just make sure to chew really well and I wouldn't eat a lot of it because a) I don't know how my stomach would react and b) I want to maximize stomach space for protein.  At that point I wasn't able to get more than 2 ounces in at a meal and still needing to have a shake a day in addition to three meals in order to reach my protein goals.  

(I also should say that chicken has proven the hardest meat for me to eat.  I prefer every other animal these days!)  

In the beginning I experimented with 1 or 2 things & waited to see if I got a reaction from my stomach. Like I couldn't wait to eat eggs & sausage for breakfast, but heard so many people had a problem with eggs early out, so I'd have the eggs, wait a few hours, then I'd have the sausage, did that for a couple of days just in case there was a delayed reaction, then I'd moved onto the next thing like pulled pork & repeat the process again. If i had a reaction then I'd know to stay away from that item for awhile & come back to it again a few months later. Then I'd know if it was a temporary reaction or if it'd be my new normal. 

I did eggs, sausage, meatballs, chicken, salmon, tuna, bread (yeah I know carbs, but had to know if I could have toast, or if pizza was forever off the menu) I did the same process with each item & had great results, so far I can tolerate all of it depending on how well the meat was cooked, Dry chicken tends to get stuck, otherwise ok. & I still indulge in grilled cheese every now & then. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Hi Amy,

I'd suggest going slow with the new foods. Chicken was a bit hard for me to digest at first.  But give it a try, just eat a little at a time and see how it sits. 

Enjoy your BBQ.  It sounds like fun.

Carol

I eased in terms of volume and speed. I made sure to chew well and eat slowly. (like we are supposed to do for the rest of our lives) 

I did not ease in terms of variety.

Hearing that some people have issues with different types of foods, I wanted to find out right away if there were types of food I'd have issues with - didn't want any surprises down the road. That first week or two I ate chicken, cheeses, turkey, ground beef, steak, pot roast, shrimp, fish, salad, veggies, lots of spice, eggs, sausage, bacon, even 5 tortilla chips to see how bread/carbs sat in my stomach. 

I was mindful to keep my total calories 600-900 calories usually 750 and my protein over 80 grams

Thank you all for your responses! I guess it is a good idea to try out a bunch of different things to see what I am able to tolerate.  Going shopping today.  Excited!