Post-Op Meal Progression

The meal progression after surgery varies wildly from surgeon to surgeon. This page is less to talk about my plan and more to give some tips and tricks for making it through what some consider a tough period of this surgery process. However, make sure to check with your plan to make sure you are allowed to do these things. If you are interested in my post-op meal progression you can find that information here.

• Don’t compare yourself to other’s plans. Some will go faster or slower. Looking at other’s plans will have you questioning if you can push forward earlier or if you should hold back. Focus on your plan and stick to it. Your surgeon knows what is best for you.
• Know your plan ahead of time. Mine got changed on me during my first week. I thought I was going to be on clear liquids for 4 days and instead it was 13. That played huge mental games on me when I thought I could progress and then found out I couldn’t. Double check your dates with your NUT before surgery so you don’t have something switched up on you last minute.
• As I said with the pre-op diet – have an array of protein shakes you like as well as water flavorings. Mixing things up will help the repetitiveness that can happen on these food stages. Unlike the pre-op diet, you will probably now be allowed to mix things up a little more when it comes to your shakes. Consider adding SF syrups, PB2, or cocoa powder.
• When you’re progressing to the puree stage, don’t immediately jump to the carbs like mashed potatoes. I’ve seen a lot of people live off the pure starch of potatoes. You’re body just went through major carb detox – it’s better to keep it that way! With that being said I did have a couple tablespoons of ice cream from a local place before I left home for the summer. Didn’t ruin my plan and I enjoyed every morsel of it, but if I think if I ate nothing but potatoes for that period, I would have kept eating carbs right through to today. Try to limit them as much as possible. There are tons of great puree options that are high protein, low carb – scrambled eggs, ricotta cheese (add spices or make ricotta bake), hummus, guacamole, Greek yogurt, etc. Don’t think mashed potatoes are the only puree option!
• Listen to your body. Even if you’re “cleared” to progress does not mean you’re body is necessarily ready to accept everything in the next stage. My surgeon’s plan was very slow which he claims helps with food tolerance. If this is true or not, I don’t know, but I can say that I have not had one problem with any food ever. Even though at first I was shocked to see how slow my plan was compared to others, I’m thankful that I have never gotten sick from food post VSG.
• Find things to keep you busy. Some people really struggle with wanting to eat things they can’t have during this period. I think the fact that I stayed busy kept the thoughts of eating out of my head. Even if that’s just going out shopping for new post-op gadgets. Yeah, that’s right. I didn’t do it all beforehand, because I wanted reasons to get out after surgery. Sitting around the house will leave you wanting to put things in your mouth. For me, going out and slowly browsing a store got my mind off food and got in the light walking I needed in the first few weeks post-op.