Re: Re: What can you eat in the 1st month and 2nd month after WLS

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I am glad that what I wrote helped you. If you continue to be tired, go to your primary care doctor and have her run a blood panel. They did that for me, and I found out my potassium was really low. It is an easy fix, I take potassium tablets everyday and will always do this I am sure. Not that you may have this, but I felt like I couldn't hold up my arms to comb my hair. Better to have it checked and to know that everything is OK.

Hugs,

Suzanne

In a message dated 06/08/11 19:29:30 Pacific Daylight Time, crispene@... writes:

Thanks for sharing this Suzanne....I am 9 days postop and am struggling. Dr Aceves added 5 days to my thin liquid phase, due to the excessive scar tissue from the band.I am down 17lbs since surgery...I am just so tired and weak..I emailed Gaby today and she said I could add those Premiere Protein drinks to my diet now, since they aren't too thick, I think this will help...Your post was exactly what I needed...THANK YOU!!!! I am not regretting this for one moment...just tired of my thin liquid options and struggling to get my protein in...the Unjury chicken soup and whey nectar makes me gag!!I just keep telling myself that this is for just a short time and it will be worth it!!>> What are you able to eat the 1st month?> I have said over and over that the 1st 30 days after having weight loss surgery are the very hardest to do. I think there are several things that make it so hard. The first is we were used to chewing a lot of food at one time and then swallowing it. Now you are on clear liquids. I got bored with them. The 1st 10 days was the worst. Then the creamy stage came along and I loved being able to have creamy soups. Remember now you can add your protein drinks that are creamy to this stage—you will be able to get some good quality protein. When I got to the mushy stage this was a bit of a challenge for me. (My husband and his great sense of humor suggested Gerber baby food.) Believe me I considered it. I made some chicken soup and put it in the blender and it was chunky—it was good and I was getting some protein too from it. I also made a big pot of veggie soup and mashed it up in the bowel when I ate it. If you make a big pot of Veggie s

oup everyone in the family can eat it. The last 10 days are when you are learning to take that tiny baby bites and then swallow. > > > I suggest that when you get to the mushy stage that you start to practice taking tiny, small baby bites of food. For most of your life you have been inhaling your food, barely chewing it and almost swallowing it whole with 2 or 3 bites. That will NO longer work for you once you finish the 1st 30 days. That was my biggest problem when I started to eat regular food again. I still sometimes have to set my fork down and chew and chew and chew. It is a learning lesson.> During the 1st month after WLS, your brain is still thinking in the mode of where you used to be before WLS. > > PLEASE remember that our brain really could convince us before to eat and eat and eat. We ate for all the wrong reasons. We ate when we were bored, upset, hurt, scared, or anxious. I am sure there was many more reason why we ate.

NOW you are going to have to learn to listen to your stomach and know that you are full. Some signs are hiccups or runny nose—pay attention to those signs. The brain plays tricks on us—many of us call this "head hunger." The brain really will try to tell you that you are starving and you should eat more. Those are "head hunger games" and you need to learn the difference between do I NEED to eat or do I just WANT to eat.> > SO WHAT DO I EAT STARTING THE 2ND MONTH> > I started with what I will call soft or easy to chew proteins. > > 1. Soft Boiled eggs or scrambled eggs cooked in a pan with PAM spray.> > 2. Chicken breast with NO skin—baked, grilled, broiled, steamed, boiled, or roasted. Look for a cookbook that shows you 100 different ways to fix chicken.> > 3. Fish no skin no bones it is worth getting it this way—Grilled, roasted, steamed, broiled, or in a pan cooked with PAM spray—dip it in a little

egg for more protein.> > 4. Turkey breast with NO skin—baked, grilled, broiled, steamed, boiled, or roasted. You can also cook it in a pan with PAM spray.> > > These proteins can be cooked so many different ways. At first I would cook them pretty simple and use different "rubs" on them for flavor. Fresh squeezed Lemmon or Lime really added a lot of flavor to them. I eat very little RED meat. I was a lover of red meat in the past, but I no longer eat much of it. I try to keep my carbs down to about 25 or 30 carbs per day. I use WHOLE GRAIN carbs and not whole wheat. > > It takes time and effort to plan what you are going to eat. It takes a while to adjust your lifestyle to eating like this. This is NOT A DIET, but a lifestyle change that will last a life time. I also exercise at least 5 days a week.> > I ate fresh veggies and usually steamed them or had them raw and a small amount of fresh fruit helped too.

gt; > You are only going to be able to eat small amounts of protein—maybe 1 oz. per meal and ¼ of a cup of veggies this second month. You will look at your plate and think is this all I am going to get—then you eat and figure out pretty quickly that you are full. > > > I still eat these same foods 2 years and 8 months later, only I now eat a little more of each of them. I also STILL drink my Premier Protein drink for breakfast every day. It has 30 grams of protein and it just works for me to drink it—that is all I have for breakfast. I have some small snacks during the day too, and they consist of nuts or veggies. > > Yes, I have a something sweet now and then, but in small amounts and NOT every day. A sliver of cake—not a big piece, or 1 cookie, not 5 or 6. It is more about the taste, and once I have satisfied the taste, I am ok and I don't feel deprived at ALL. As time goes on you will become more creative with what you are co

oking and will find what tastes good to you. > > Take some of your old recipes and reinvent them to something that you can eat now with you new and improved stomach. > If you have any questions just E-mail me.> > Suzanne> Sleeved 10/21/2008> Lost 105 pounds.>