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I can finally tolerate yogurt! I tried the Yoplait 100 calorie Greek Yogurt and I didn't have to get on the BM train to Crapsville!!!! This is an awesome day! Just because you get severe lactose intolerance after surgery doesn't mean you will have it forever ...your new tummy may decide to start making lactase again!!!! Mine did!

I'm on all liquids now for the last 2 days. Yogurt, fat free cream soup, protein shakes and sugar free pudding or jello. First week was liquids with one high protein solid meal.

I was wondering when did you start eating raw vegetables. My favorite thing in the whole world is cubed tomato, cucumber, onion, salt pepper and dash of plain yogurt, but I am not sure how long I have to wait... Probably until next local farmers season.. I would chew on anything raw at this point, I am so sick of drinking my meals ( it has been almost 4 weeks - 2 weeks preop and then almost 2 weeks post op... I am losing it in between preparing meals for my toddlers and for my husband.... Ugh, it would be easier if we all could drink Protein shakes and have yell-o for desert... (cue romantic music... I can almost see the whole family skipping and dancing happily on the beach with Protein Shakes in our hands, I don't know, I am just in a desperate need of chewing. Popsicles make me sick and I hate puddings... Roar... Help me Obi-wan Kenobi, you're my only hope....

I am almost where you are. I completed all my requirements last week, but am waiting for my Dr. to receive my psych evaluation so they can submit to insurance for approval. I am hoping to get approval very soon so I can get a surgery date. I am nervous about the pre-op diet too. I will have to do 1 week of clear liquids+ protein shakes. Then after surgery my surgeon has the first meal be clear liquids then switches you to full liquids for 2 weeks. Since there full liquids includes cream of wheat and low fat yogurt I think I will be fine on that.

I've wondered the same thing. I'm still struggling to eat slow and I'm not tolerating soft foods as well as I thought. I'm going back to my cottage cheese and yogurt tomorrow.

Just abdominal region. I had absolutely no gas pains following surgery (this was my tenth surgery so unfortunately I know what those feel like lol) Dr has me on Slim Fast Advanced and the New Whey and I've also been having Powerful Yogurt (the Slim Fast has 20g of Protein and 5g of fiber. Powerful Yogurt has 20g of protein and zero fiber, and the New Whey is 42g of protein and doesn't mention fiber) Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

You would have to take sooo many of them to get up to any appreciable level...I think it would be a lot worse than just adding some protein powder to your food (have you tried it in Greek yogurt?) or drinking a shake (I like Premiere protein, 30 g of protein and 160 cals mixed with coffee over ice; I actually look forward to it).

I'm 4 weeks post op and I've been having some stomach discomfort. I can only describe it as a gnawing feeling that you'd get when VERY hungry or if you were to take a medication that needed to be taken with food and didn't eat. I guess it's like a mild nausea. I've tried 4oz of low sugar yogurt, that didn't seem to matter either way. A few minutes later I would feel the same thing. During the day it is annoyiing but at night it's hard to get to sleep because of it. Drinking water sometimes will aggrivate it. I cant tell if I'm hungry because my stomach is always gurgling or bubbling or making some new noise. I was wondering if any of this is just normal. I have a "one month" appointment comming next week so I can ask my Dr. then but figured I'd try here first.

It sounds like you are right on track. I don't eat refined carbs either. But I do get carbs from fruit and beans. I eat either Greek yogurt or a scrambled egg for breakfast. Lunch either chili, chicken soup or a chicken breast on top of greens. Dinner I eat what I make for the family but not the starch. So if I make them turkey burgers, for example, I just eat the patty and tomato. If I have an evening snack it is usually fruit or string cheese. I often supplement with a protein shake if I'm low. I average about 900-1100 cal per day, 90 G protein and 40 g carb. I've lost 130 pounds and am 6 pounds from my personal goal.

So I start my 3rd week post op this Thursday, we are leaving to go camping for the weekend on Friday. I know I can bring yogurts, cans of tuna and applesauce, etc. I can cook eggs also.. Any other easy ideas anyone can give me? I will bring my personal blender too lol, just need a few more ideas without it getting into too many ingredients or time spent on meals. My post op instructions had a few ideas but not many.. I really can't wait to cook for my family again, but I don't want to make big dinners just to have to puree them for myself. I think I will wait a couple more weeks then be able to make healthy high Protein meals for dinner.

I guess everyone is different. My sister had her gastric bypass surgery around 15 or 16 years ago. She can eat, but still has trouble with certain foods such as ketchup, ice cream, rice, and yogurt. And she said pasta fills her up extremely fast. My mom on the other hand had her surgery like 13 or 14 years ago and pretty much can anything except for rice regular sodas, and ice cream.

It's strange how pre-op diets differ so much. I am "very low calorie" for 2 weeks. 2 shakes, 2 ff greek yogurts and 1 small meal per day up until the day of surgery. Maybe they tailor the diet to how much you weigh, or if you have diabetes, or? I just find it interesting.

The short answer to your question is you can run a Protein deficit for six weeks or so without major heath consequences. They body adapts but usually with lots of hair falling out ;-(. But that's not where you want to be. So keep trying shake mixes, or get some genpro and mix it in with yogurt and your puree. Tasteless and it dissolves well.

Happy Labor Day from BariatricPal!#subject#> body,div,dl,dt,dd,ul,ol,li,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,pre,form,fieldset,input,textarea,p,blockquote,th,td { margin:0; padding:0; } table { border-collapse:collapse; border-spacing:0; } fieldset,img { border:0; } address,caption,cite,code,dfn,th,var { font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; } caption,th { text-align:left; } h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { font-size:100%; font-weight:normal; } q:before,q:after { content:''; } abbr,acronym { border:0; } address{ display: inline; } html, body { background-color: #d8dde8; color: #5a5a5a; } body { font: normal 13px helvetica, arial, sans-serif; position: relative; } h3, strong { font-weight: bold; } em { font-style: italic; } img, .input_check, .input_radio { vertical-align: middle; } legend { display: none; } table { width: 100%; } td { padding: 3px; } a { color: #225985; text-decoration: none; } a:hover { color: #328586; } div.outer { margin: 0 auto; padding: 14px; } table.wrap { max-width: 800px; margin: 0 auto; } td.logo { background-color: #0f3854; padding: 8px; } td.content { background-color: #fff; font-size: 14px !important; color: black !important; line-height: 150% !important; padding: 8px; } ul { margin-left: 25px; } Hey BariatricPal Members, Happy Labor Day! It’s the last official chance to throw a summer party, go to a parade, and if you’re lucky, see a few fireworks. It’s a good chance to make sure you give summer a healthy send-off and you greet autumn with healthy intentions…and that’s what we hope this newsletter does. Here’s what you’ll find. Packing Your Labor Day Picnic Basket Getting Back into the Groove Enjoying the New You – A Reminder Have a great time going through the newsletter, and also have a great and healthy holiday. Happy Labor Day from BariatricPal! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder, BariatricPal Packing Your Labor Day Picnic Basket Going on a picnic this Labor Day? It’s a nice idea if you’re going to watch a parade, take the family to the park, or watch fireworks later on. Here’s how you can get in a good meal without going off your WLS diet. Picnic Favs You Can Eat Picnics tend to have a lot of food you can’t eat, at least, not if you’re serious about losing weight. Fried chicken, tuna salad subs, and potato chips just aren’t on the diet. But there’s no reason you can’t make your own picnic favs! Have grilled chicken or baked “fried” chicken coated with high-fiber cereal instead of breadcrumbs, or make tuna lettuce wraps instead of tuna salad sandwiches. Instead of potato chips? Try baked kale chips. You can round out your basket with proteins and veggies like hard-boiled eggs, fat-free refried bean dip, salad, and cut raw carrots, cucumbers, and celery sticks. Prepared Salads…The Healthy Way It’s not a picnic unless it has pasta salad. Just skip the pasta! Take your favorite pasta salad recipe and make a few small changes. Use cooked zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash instead of pasta. Substitute fat-free Italian dressing for full-fat dressing, or use Dijon or spicy brown mustard as your main flavor. Add plenty of veggies, such as cherry tomatoes, green onions, and broccoli florets. Add some sliced olives for a little healthy fat and a lot of flavor. Add low-fat feta or diced lean pastrami for some flavorful protein. You can always healthify other traditional prepared salads, too. Use cooked cauliflower instead of potatoes in potato salad. Toss shredded cabbage with low-fat Asian dressing instead of mayo for coleslaw. Use Greek yogurt or fat-free mayo instead of full-fat mayo when making tuna or other salads. The “Extras” Can Fit into Your WLS Diet The “extras” at a picnic can be high-sugar, high-calorie, and devastating to your weight loss efforts. Drinks like soft drinks and sweet tea, and desserts like brownies and chocolate chip cookies, can set you back by days, not to mention make you feel sick. Be sure to pack plenty of cold water to drink. Also, bring some appetizing fresh fruit to eat instead of sugary, fatty desserts. Apples and oranges are about as easy as it gets, but you could also make a red, white, and blue fruit salad with strawberries, white peaches, and blueberries. Getting Back into the Groove Summer is a little more relaxed than the rest of the year. Even if you’re not a student or teacher who gets an extended summer break, the season is a little slower moving. It’s easy to lose focus. Your diet may get a little less strict, or you might have trouble getting out the door for a workout in the summer heat, or you may be a little less aggressive about being on the phone with the insurance company or finding the right surgeon for your WLS. After Labor Day, that all changes. Now that kids are back in school and people are back from vacation and going back to their regular schedules, it’s time to take a look at your own schedule. Did you hit your summer goals? Are you following your WLS diet to a “T?” If you haven’t had surgery yet, are you doing everything you can to get it scheduled and paid for? Think Back and Ahead Think back over the past couple of months. Were there some times when you knew you weren’t making the best choice for your health, like when you went out for ice cream and got your own scoop instead of bringing an apple to munch on? Did you skip a few workouts? Did you get out of the habit of measuring your food? Did you stop making phone calls to the insurance company because you just couldn’t face being on the phone anymore? Plan Your Schedule With everything starting up all at once, things can get pretty hectic. That gives you the opportunity to create a new schedule for yourself. You can be sure to include the things that are important to your new healthy lifestyle, such as time for cooking at least once a week, and going to the gym a few times a week. Sometimes it seems hard, but success is largely a question of building a habit. The sooner you get started, the sooner your healthy behaviors will be habit. You won’t have to think about making the “right” decisions, and it’ll be easier for the weight to come off! Enjoying the New You – A Reminder The WLS journey is hard, no question. You form new eating habits, give up some favorite foods, develop new relationships with food and sometimes with people. You may spend a lot more time thinking about your health and acting on those thoughts. With all that hard work, we thought we should take a second to remind you to enjoy the rewards! There are probably some victories you can’t help but notice and celebrate, like hitting milestones on the scale. But don’t bury yourself so deep in the daily choices that you forget to enjoy the journey. Notice how much better you feel when you’re sitting in the car, or how much easier it is to push the shopping cart around the grocery store. Notice how much easier it is to spend time with your kids, friends, and other people. You can even appreciate your changes in mentality, from “I can’t,” “I’m not worth it,” and “Maybe I shouldn’t be eating this pizza,” to “I can,” “I deserve it just as much as everyone else,” and “I’m so proud of myself for enjoying these carrot sticks!” Thanks for reading the newsletter and making BariatricPal part of your Labor Day weekend. Have a healthy, happy, and safe holiday, and thanks for your support!

I do agree about the hydrolyzed collagen being a "poor quality" protein, but what does your nut say about the protein in cheese, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and milk? Less than 20% of the protein in them is whey protein.

How about: Plain Yogurt, no fruit (Try vanilla ect) Jello Low Fat Mil Soy drinks sugar free pudding Protien shakes mixed with MILK Rice Cereal (Try checking out the baby/toddler section for this)-You can add a touch of real maple syrop to make it taste better.... Hope this helps!

I recieved it in the mail not to bad. 2 Protein shakes 1 1/2 pieces of fresh fruit. 4 oz turkey or lean meats 2 slices of lite whole grain bread. and 6 oz of lite yogurt. about 800 calories. this seems about the same or less than I will eat when I am on the full food stage. Oh well. I have to bear down and just do it. It starts 9/9 and then a battery of preop tests and nutrition classes on the 15th and surgery on the 23rd. It will be here before I know it. Greg

i,m sure its ok as i have my surgery on this tuesday coming and my dr. just started me 3 days prior to clear liquids and plain no fat yogurt. today i started it.

She really can't eat much at only 11 days out by Christmas. I was on cream soups, cottage cheese, yogurt, and sf pudding. That doesn't give much leeway for holiday food choices. And she will not know how her sleeve will react to any new food, especially in a social situation. You can say you picked up a UTI and the antibiotic upsets your stomach - so the doc said you should stick to yogurt to get your gut bacteria back in shape. And when I'm better I would love some of your lasagne so I'm going to take some home and freeze it if that's okay with you?

style="margin:0;padding:0;background-color:#d8dde8;color:#5a5a5a;font:normal 13px helvetica, arial, sans-serif;position:relative;"> Hey BariatricPal Members! Happy Mother’s Day from BariatricPal! For everyone who is a mother or is a mother figure, thank you for all that you do! For everyone else, I hope you will take this opportunity to thank your mom and any other mother figure in your life. You moms out there do a lot for us! This newsletter is all about treating yourself, treating yourself, enjoying your family, and becoming healthier together. Here’s what you’ll find: A Mother’s Day Meal to Celebrate Be a Great Mother: Be Good to Yourself Time-Savers for a Healthy Family Have a great Mother’s Day, and enjoy the newsletter. Then spend some time with your family, and don’t forget to logon to BariatricPal and discuss family, recipes, and whatever else is on your mind. See you on the boards! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder, BariatricPal Be a Great Mother: Be Good to Yourself Mothers often find themselves putting everyone else first. You might feel so busy you can’t squeeze in a quick workout. You might cook your family their favorite meals while you depend on nothing but canned tuna and hard-boiled eggs to stick to your WLS diet. You might skimp on sleep so you can take care of the house and get the kids ready for school. And the idea of losing yourself in a good book or spending a few hours at a day spa? Those may be distant dreams. Are You Putting Yourself Last? Too many mothers feel they need to put others first. After all, taking care of your children and maybe your spouse and parents is your job, right? Add that to possible duties of housekeeping and holding down a job, and your time and energy are easily accounted for. Weight loss surgery magnifies the problem. You may feel guilty about surgery, especially if it was expensive for your family. You may worry that WLS pulls you apart from your family, since you need to eat a new way and set aside time to prepare food and work out. You may fight the guilty feelings by trying to put everyone else’s needs and wants behind yours – and that just doesn’t work. The trouble is, you can only give so much for so long without taking care of yourself. You need to make the time to recharge regularly and to keep up with your own emotional and physical health habits. If not, sooner or later, you will not be able to give your best to the ones you love. You’re Not Selfish; You’re Smart What happens when you think about putting yourself first? What feelings come up when you think about making your own meals before you make your family’s, or going to the gym in the evening instead of coming directly home from work, or postponing the housecleaning so you can meditate? If you’re like many weight loss surgery patients, you may feel guilty. That’s not fair or productive. When you take care of yourself, you are in a better position to take care of others. You will be stronger, happier, and more cheerful when you are healthy. Take some time to identify what you would ideally do if you did not have family responsibilities: which foods would you eat, what kind of workouts would you do, and which hobbies or relaxation activities would you pursue? Then figure out which ones are necessary for your long-term stability and work them into your life – even if it means making some of them a priority over less important things. Really, it’s okay to skip the dusting for now if you need that time to plan a few healthy meals. Take Care, Mother or Not By the way, being good to yourself so you can be at your best is not just for moms. No matter who you are, you can give your best if you are at your best. You’ll be better father, friend, son or daughter, and coworker. You’re not being selfish when you take care of yourself. You’re putting yourself in a position to give your best to the world. A Mother’s Day Meal to Celebrate After weight loss surgery, holidays are about more than just food. You can focus on family and on other fun activities besides eating. But the truth is, you’re likely to end up around the table at some point if you’re celebrating Mother’s Day. Almost all family gatherings tend to revolve around food, so instead of fighting it, you might as well make the best of it. Mother’s Day Breakfast in Bed If your Mother’s Day includes a little pampering at home…lucky you! Fresh fruit salad, cottage cheese with raw veggies, and Greek yogurt pops with fruit are some of the easy and healthy options you might want to ask your little helpers to serve you. You can also enjoy breakfast in bed or a more luxurious brunch at home with the help of The BariatricPal Store. We suggest whipping up a batch of instant Protein pancakes in chocolate chip, golden delicious, or blueberry flavors. Serve them plain or with fruit or Greek yogurt for yourself, and let your children make their own feasts with toppings such as whipped cream, syrup, Peanut Butter, and fruit. For an early morning or mid-morning treat while hanging out with your kids or spouse, everyone might enjoy a cup of hot cocoa or cappuccino – protein included! Mother’s Day Brunch Out Are you going out for Mother’s Day? Lucky you! While that buffet or 12-course menu may look like a disaster at first glance, there’s a good chance there are plenty of healthy choices for you. Look past the breakfast pastries such as muffins, danishes, and doughnuts, doughy options like bagels, pancakes, and waffles, and fatty options like bacon and breakfast sausage. Think that doesn’t leave you with much? Think again! Check for any of the following. Omelets and egg white omelets with add-ins such as vegetable and natural ham. Fresh fruit. Seasonal fresh vegetables. Simple protein items such as cottage cheese and yogurt. Smoked salmon. Freshly carved turkey breast. The rules of your weight loss surgery diet hold here, too. Keep portions small, eat slowly, and You’ll have even more to celebrate than Mother’s Day when you realize you just got through Mother’s Day brunch without losing control. A Time to Reflect and Be Grateful We know not everyone celebrates Mother’s Day or approaches this day in the same way. Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t take the time to reflect and be grateful. Any opportunity is a good one for realizing all that you have, even though life can get tough sometimes. You may be grateful for the opportunity weight loss surgery has given you to get healthy and have a new lease on life. Maybe you’re thankful for your family and friends who support you and make life worth living. Maybe you’re happy to have a job that puts (healthy) food on the table and a roof over your head. These things are simple and basic, but remembering to be grateful for them can truly make you appreciate them and be a happier person. So, have a wonderful Mother’s Day, and keep working towards those goals for weight loss and health! BariatricPal is there for you at every step of the way, so we hope you will keep contributing to the forums. Thanks for all of your support!

Me me me, I'm May 18! I'm excited, I'm on the Pre op. I've been drinking premier Protein shakes , fage plain 0 fat Greek yogurt with low sugar strawberry preserve. Drinking v8 light fusion and crystal light . My treat is sf Popsicles. What have you had on your Pre op?

Premier Protein 11oz - 30g Dannon light & fit greek - 12g Babybel or string cheese - 6g 1.25 oz beef jerky - 14g That is 62 grams... If I have a piece of fish for dinner I'm well over 60 grams. Maybe cottage cheese instead of yogurt?