The Liquid Diet

"Blythe was shocked to discover her hair had turned pink overnight"

Day 2 Post-Op
Weight: 14 stone 13lbs
Weight loss: 1 stone 4lbs


Well here I am on the liquid diet. Not hungry at all and 200mls of homemade smoothie sipped very slowly is giving me a golf-ball in the chest type feeling. The dietician has given me lots of handouts on this 1st month of liquid diet. I'm going to post some of it up here in case it might be useful to anybody else out there.


Having reread all my information and chatted to the surgeon I need to correct what I had said about the post-op diet prior to the first fill at 12 weeks.


Month 1: Liquids only
Month 2: Pureed / soft foods
Month 3: Normal foods


Okay, the following are not my words of wisdom but, those of my dietician. I'm reluctant to name her without her permission on a website and, if I am infringing intellectual copyright, then I will remove this part of the post.


GENERAL GUIDELINES

• Follow a liquid diet for the first month after your band operation.


• Liquids should be smooth and not contain any 'bits' as they may cause pain or discomfort or get stuck; use a sieve if you are unsure. If a drink will go through a straw then it is the correct consistency for this first month. However, do not drink through a straw as you may take in a lot of air causing you discomfort.


• Sip slowly but frequently throughout the day at the start of the month, allowing a few minutes between sips. Progress to cupfuls of drinks taken slowly over a 15-20 minute period as the days go by. If you experience pain, discomfort or regurgitate your drinks take smaller sips. Some people find hot drinks go down more easily to start with; others find sucking ice cubes can help if you are struggling to get fluids down.


• Consume a minimum of 2 litres of fluids every day. There is no maximum amount but let your band be the guide. Drinking plenty of fluid will help prevent constipation.


• Avoid fizzy drinks as these can cause severe pain from trapped wind. You may be able to drinks these later on when your band is less tight.


• Make sure that your drinks (especially nutritional drinks) are spread out over the day. If you go for long gaps without anything to drink you may start to feel light-headed and nauseous.


• Some people get a 'furry mouth' in the first month so it may be useful to use a mouthwash and brush your teeth well. When you have nothing to chew on, you produce less saliva to protect your teeth.


• To ensure you drink enough fluids throughout the day carry a sports bottle of water / low sugar squash with you at all times.


• Take a liquid, dissolvable or chewable multivitamin daily.
  

She goes on to suggest that you have 3-4 items from the 'protein' list
As much as you like from the 'free' list
1-2 items from the 'limited' list


THE PROTEIN LIST
400mls skimmed or semi-skimmed milk
400mls Soya milk with added calcium
2 smooth diet yogurts (125g each) to blend with milk to make 'drinkable'
1 x 325mls can of Slimfast or other supermarket brands. Choose low carb varieties if diabetic.
3 heaped teaspoons skimmed milk powder
15g protein powder (from health food shops) they can be added to soups, fruit or vegetable juices.

FREE LIST
Water, plain or flavoured still.
Squash - low calorie.
Oxo, Bovril, Marmite or stock cubes.
Soups: tinned, dried, cuppa or homemade. You may need to dilute with water and sieve them to remove any bits.
Miso powder (sieved)
Coffee and tea (including herbal or fruit teas)

LIMITED LIST
150mls unsweetened fruit juice. If making your own always dilute and sieve to remove bits and lumps.
200mls vegetable juice - V8, tomato, carrot etc.
1 x 100ml low fat/sugar Actimel or similar.
1 x 100mls Vie or other Smoothie drinks
1 x low calorie hot chocolate or Ovaltine.
1/2 banana or other soft fruit to make into a smoothie with milk. Ensure thin consistency and sieve for bits and lumps.

She gives a sample menu made up of the 3 proteins, 1 limited and free items which has something scheduled to be consumed every 1 and a half hours from 8am until 10pm.

Yesterday and today I made my own smoothies.

MELONDRAMA SMOOTHIE
1 x M&S Thick and creamy, low fat, spiced rhubarb yogurt
6 large chunks of honeydew melon
200mls of skimmed milk.
I whizzed it up in the blender and it made 2 pints worth - God knows how - it just seemed to expand as it was whizzed :) Anyway it made 3 glasses full and tastes bloody great.

I have a 2 litre water bottle which I'm carrying around with me like Linus with his comfort blanket. And its Campbell’s Beef Consume for lunch - I may pass out with excitement!

I'm glad I didn't do the milk and yogurt diet pre-op or I would feel really unmotivated because I do get bored of eating the same thing. I'm sure I would have lost more weight pre-op if I had done the milk and yogurt plan but for my pre-op diet I turned into carnivore woman and followed a very Atkins-esque plan. I ate loads of steak, pork chops and roast chicken. Hopefully, with this post-op diet being so very different, I'll still lose weight.

Tomorrow I'm going to roast a small butternut squash, fry up an onion and add a can of beef consume, whiz it up in the blender and make a tasty soup. Right, I must stop typing and thinking about food :)

In terms of how I’m feeling today – well I feel great. I managed a really good kip last night, although I did give myself a helping hand with a swig of NightNurse (naughty rabbit). Not feeling too sore in the old wound area and the bruising, amazingly, seems to have gone down a little since yesterday. I’m still being a bit cautious and used Hibiscrub instead of shower gel. Also comfortable enough to put a (non-underwired) bra on this morning which I really couldn’t tolerate yesterday. So definitely feel I am on the mend. Bloody marvellous.