Planning on surgery - Questions for those 6+ months out...

I know, at the grocery store (I'm three weeks out!) I did a slow walk through the produce section looking at all the lovely fresh spring vegetables and thinking - one day/soon. I really want to try watercress and sautéed bok choy, and fennel bulb, and and and.

I am 21 months out, I eat raw veggies for snacks most of the time. I started with mushrooms and tomatoes at about 3 months because they are softer. I added others a few at a time. So far, nothing that I like bothers me. Don't try before they are allowed on your DR's plan, your smaller stomach will need time to heal.

I used to joke saying I have a sleeve of steel- I tolerate everything.  The only thing I have issues with is a few months ago I noticed that hard cooked eggs were making my stomach unhappy.  Prior to surgery I didn't eat a lot of veggies. Post sleeve, it is all I want to eat. Everything you isted above, except a few items I am allergic to, are absolutely no problem for .  I crave them actually.  It is weird- the 6 weeks post op forces clean eating and it was enough time for my brain and tastes to completely rewire.  I started craving salads before I reached the 6 week mark when I could actually eat them... and that hasn't changed. So no worries about veggies. 

My surgeon has a very conservative progression, and I wasn't allowed any raw veggies until six months out. I could have small amount of raw fruit starting 2 months out, but it had to be soft enough to cut with a fork. I followed my surgeon's plan and did not push his limits. I have tried just about everything you have mentioned except maybe grapefruit and I have had absolutely no problems tolerating any of them.

That said, I keep my portions of veggies small and fruit has been rare so far, just because I don't have room for those things while eating protein first and low carb. I'm actually about to try switching things up and eating a bit higher carb (complex carbs only) for the next several weeks due to cholesterol issues, but for the past year I've been focused on eating in a way to maximize my weight loss and health, not eating things because I like them or they are my favorite foods. I do enjoy the food I eat, but that isn't my priority when planning meals.

I never had any issues with any vegetables, raw or cooked. I had some nice ones for dinner tonight, in fact. They were somewhat cooked but still pretty crisp.

However, now that I am at goal, I don't stuff myself with vegetables in order to keep myself from eating other foods I'd rather have like I did when I was constantly "watching my weight". You may also find you don't want to eat as many vegetables as you do now. Especially that first year, once I got all my protein in, there wasn't a lot of room for much else.