Full Liquid Diet

I have had a number of friends ask questions about what I can eat after surgery.  It isn't exciting, that is for sure!

Right now I am on a full liquid diet.  It is giving my stomach a chance to heal from the surgery, keeping pressure in my stomach low, and keeping hydrated to avoid nausea.  The goals I am trying to hit during the day are:
- 60-80grams of protein
- 6-8 cups of fluids
- multivitamins

So what can I eat?
- protein drinks
- fat free or 1% milk
- reduced fat cream soups that are blended or strained so they have no particles
- light or greek yogurt
- pudding and jello
- broth
- apple juice

It takes me a very long time to drink anything.  I take tiny sips at a rate of about 2oz every 15 minutes.  I am constantly sipping on something!

In the morning and evening I take a liquid multi-vitamin.  I will be adding in calcium, vitamin D and B12 in a couple of weeks once I move past the full liquid diet.

If I drink something too quickly or take too large of a sip I feel like someone has punched me in the sternum.  It is a pretty miserable feeling.  I get the same feeling when I am outside walking around.  It is just going to take a while to heal.

So a typical day on the full liquid diet looks like this:
breakfast: 8oz protein drink
snack: 1/2 cup sugar free pudding
lunch: 1/2 cup chicken broth
snack: 1/2 cup thinned yogurt
supper: 8oz protein drink

In between each of those meal times I am sipping water or a small bit of juice.  I am taking in about 500 calories a day right now.  Right now my favorite is a chicken protein drink and the chocolate protein drink.  I mix the chocolate protein power with milk and it tastes just like chocolate milk.

I will be on liquids until I get home to Faro.  Stay tuned in a week or so to find out about the pureed food stage.  Yippeee!