The Woes of Solid Food?

Last week was a tough one in my gastric bypass journey. This has not been an easy process by any means, but I have been managing everything really well. Last week, I finally arrived at the transition to solid food, and it did not go as expected.

Following gastric bypass surgery, every patient progresses through a series of food stages due to the amount of internal healing that needs to take place. Three days of clear liquids. One week of full liquids. Three weeks of pureed foods. Then, finally, solid food. All “meals” consist of only 2 ounces supplemented with protein shakes between meals in order to reach a total of 70-100mg protein each day. Protein is a primary concern for all WLS patients to aid in healing, reduce muscle wasting, provide an energy source, and help keep hair, skin and nails strong (I don’t consider myself to be a very vain person, but I really hope I don’t lose my hair).

So now SOLID FOOD…the goal, the object of every patient’s desire, the endgame, the holy grail for all bariatric patients. I reached my solid food milestone last week and felt like I had won the lottery. I made it. I could once again eat with family and friends. However, I was not prepared for the reality of this next step. I had no idea how destabilizing this transition would be for me.

Let’s review for a minute. Before my RNY surgery, I was on a two week liver shrinking diet (see blog post here) which consisted of reduced amounts of a very limited food selection. After attempting to shrink my liver so my surgeon would have a clear playing field (which apparently worked), I was on clear liquids for a day prior to surgery. After surgery, I progressed through the stages mentioned earlier. All that time added up to almost two months of mapping out every meal from extremely limited options. For me, those limitations made the process easy. It was easy for me to eat the same things over and over. Boring? Yes, but easy, and I’m a big fan of easy. I liked not having to plan, prep, or stress about snacks and meals. My family was so supportive during this time and I was not preparing meals either. I made it through all those limitations and finally made it to solid food. I should have been rejoicing, right? What I really felt was LOST.

I am discovering that I don’t function well in total freedom. I need structure, guidelines, and a framework in which to thrive. The newly open world of solid food completely threw me off balance. I knew how to drink a protein shake for breakfast, eat high protein Greek yogurt for snacks, enjoy pureed chicken for lunch and dinner, and drink all my water. Suddenly my food choices were so broad that I could not seem to manage them. Therefore, I did what was easy (remember, I like easy). I continued drinking the protein shakes for breakfast, eating the yogurt for snacks, and eating chicken for lunch and dinner. Unfortunately, I was starting to get really tired of the protein shakes and could barely get any of them down. I had not added other foods to my diet, so I was not hitting my protein goals and I started feeling really tired. I then developed a UTI, probably due to the catheter during surgery, and things continued to decline. I spent a few days with little energy which caused a domino effect into not enough protein, not enough water, and not enough activity. Therefore, I knew things had to change fast. After all, this is a marathon and not a sprint.

I am now going through a huge learning curve and educating myself on how to eat again. I am still limited to 2-4 oz intake per meal (which is surprisingly enough food), so protein supplements will be necessary for awhile in order to reach my protein requirements. For this reason, I have added flavored protein water to my daily routine so I can take a break from protein shakes. I’ve also invested in some unflavored protein powder to add to drinks and recipes. I am getting back to cooking meals for my family and we are eating together once again. I have had to realize that I can now eat what they eat, just in smaller amounts. I have also suffered the consequences of not chewing my solid food well enough, so I am learning to chew, chew, chew and chew some more. The feeling of food or vitamins getting “stuck” is extremely painful and something I will now avoid at all costs.

When I started this journey last year, my goal was to complete all the required education classes, have surgery, suffer through the liquids and purees, set up my post op lifelong vitamin regimen, and finally get back to eating solid food in smaller quantities. Little did I know how complex the return to solid food would be for me…mentally and physically. Now the education continues.