For the first five days after surgery, you can have only clear liquids: water, coconut water, grape juice, apple juice, herbal tea, strained broth. (Gatorade-type drinks, flavoured water, and jello are also allowed, but I don't eat those.)
The key to this is taking small amounts, frequently. The guidelines are 3-4 ounces, sipped, not gulped, every hour.
Today is Day 4. It's not bad. I already notice something that I know will be an ongoing adjustment. I open the fridge to get juice, and I see food -- and my head feels hungry, not my stomach. In other words, it's not actually hunger, it's a desire to eat.
Your stomach "teaches" your brain: the hormones secreted by your stomach tell your brain that you're hungry. While this is happening, you look at food, think about what you want to eat, and your brain associates looking and thinking about food with hunger. Your brain learns that food makes you hungry.
During Phase 1, 2, and 3 of the gastric sleeve diet, I'll be re-wiring that connection, listening to my stomach instead of my head.
I know you said that this blog is mostly for you, but I am continuing to read it with great interest, cheering you on every day and sending you covid-safe hugs!
ReplyDeleteI love that you're reading! I just don't want anyone to feel obligated.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your great support.
Fascinating to think of it this way. And I know that feeling---I often reach for dessert even after I'm full because my brain must be telling me to satisfy that desire for something sweet.
ReplyDeleteYes! The after-eating sweet craving. Or my incessant carb cravings. It can be very intense, and like clockwork, 90 minutes after I eat carbs, I crave more.
ReplyDeleteYep... But you are retraining your brain---how exciting!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe it will happen. A part of me thinks I'll just feel hungry and deprived for the rest of my life. I guess that part of my brain will be re-trained too!
ReplyDelete^^ I should say it's *sometimes* hard to believe. I mostly understand what's going to happen, or I wouldn't have had the surgery.
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