I Can't Stand This Anymore: Moving On to Phase 3

I'm moving on to pureed foods, two days early.

According to the hospital, I'm due to advance to pureed food on Wednesday of this week. From everything I see online, these are approximate guidelines. I cannot stand the liquid diet one more day! It's not the liquid that's getting to me, it's the total lack of variety. I need to taste something other than protein shakes, V8, and plain yogurt. 

The pureed food phase is a bit complicated. In looking for more information, I've discovered an overwhelming number of bariatric recipe sites. Most are like all recipe sites -- loaded with ads, floating video ads, stealth marketing, and the same recipes over and over again.

There are also myriad people advertising their services to be your "bariatric coach". I'm hoping I already have that in the WRD (I've added Wonderful in front of Registered Dietitian), but if I need more support I'm not adverse to finding it online.

Regarding the pureed food phase, there's a lot of conflicting information on what you can and cannot eat. These recipes look yummy, but they contain small amounts of some high-fat ingredients like tahini and blue cheese. I thought those were off-limits.

Do not worry: I'll stick to foods that the hospital says are safe until I can speak with WRD for more clarification. So far this means:

* Pureed tuna, chicken, ground turkey, eggs, tofu, and whole grain hot cereal are all OK. That's plenty to get me started! 

* Serving sizes are 4-6 tablespoons -- and this is supposed to take 20-30 minutes to eat! This will be my single greatest challenge. I eat too fast, and I will have to teach myself how to slow down. Waaay down.

* Food is put in the food processor rather than the blender.

* I'll use a muffin tin to separate and store portions.

* There are some restrictions. At this phase, your stomach is not ready for red meat or for any bread products. And you're not supposed to waste calories on high-sugar food. 

* You're supposed to drink a lot of water between meals, but not with meals. I'm finding the water guidelines challenging.

Here goes! I'll report back soon.