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Butterly24, hang in there. I think a lot of us have been there also. I know I have. My suggestion would be to try drinking more Water before you eat. Eat items with more Protein and/or Fiber. Eat really slow too. Also, a favorite Breakfast of mine is 1/2 a cup of plain low-fat yogurt, 1 spoonful (about a tablespoon) of orange marmalade for a little sweetness, and a 1/2 to 1 full serving of a high fiber Cereal. Sometimes I add a few little mini chocolate chips or shopped walnuts and sometimes I do a different cereal, like one with flakes, almonds, 'yogurt' clusters, cranberries/raisins. I know when I have used the all-bran fiber buds, I only use about a 1/2 serving, because it would be too filling on a full serving. Anyhow, it's been something that I enjoyed eating and you can change up the ingredients. Anyhow, I told you this, because when I eat this breakfast especially, I have to eat slow. But the best part is it's fairly low cal and I usually work it off in the gym. Hang in there. Don't give up.

I eat 3x a day...was told not to snack. Breakfast: dannon light & fit greek yogurt. Lunch: 2 oz turkey lunchmeat & 1 oz cheeze Dinner: 2 oz tilapia/2 small pcs broccoli. I still need 1 Protein shake (30g) per day to supplement so I drink that at some point between meals.

18.3ibs - pure milk and yogurt diet stayed only 8 days before surgery Sent from my SM-A300H using the BariatricPal App

Visit the Eggface site referenced here. GREAT ideas. I make up several kinds of bites on the weekend and put 4 of them in a snack bag and freeze them for quick meals. I also enjoy her Protein "granola." The nuts are a little expensive but they go a very long way and you could make up a double or triple batch to nibble on all week. Her protein pancakes are another recipe that I make up a batch of and keep in the fridge for quick meals. Ground turkey is cheaper than beef usually. Make sure you buy the very lean product though or it's too much fat. Once a week, I buy one big package of very lean ground turkey and cook it up with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Once its cooled, I divide it up into small bags and freeze it for use during the week. Another suggestions is to make up a batch of turkey meatballs and freeze them. This recipe made 36 baby meatballs: 1.25 lbs turkey, 1 egg, 1/3 cup oats, splash of milk, salt, pepper. Mix it up and scoop out into little meat balls. Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes. You could add veggies if you wanted to- such as chopped onions, bell pepper, mushrooms, etc. I personally buy sugar free Peanut Butter, block cheese and cut my own "cheese sticks", low fat cottage cheese, greek yogurt and lots of canned or dried Beans to mix with meat and make it go father (yes, they have some carbs but they're loaded with Fiber and it's not like you're eating a huge amount of them). I quite frequently use coupons for greek yogurt, cheese slices, ground turkey products. Every penny counts on a budget! Learn to shop wisely and stock up that freezer! My freezer is full of little bags of goodies. I squeeze the air out of them and date them and put them inside another bag for double protection.

I am scheduled for 1 week liquid protein 4 times a day, 1 cup of veggies and 2 servings of milk or yogurt.

I hate yogurt and it taste like sour ass mush......... I never did eat it on my pre op because of this an dI still don't like it. I was so tired of protein shakes and powerade zero at 4 weeks that I just couldn't go on with them. Now I'm able to tolerate and like drinking 1 protein shake a day when I do drink them. Other than that I just eat the real food.

I avoid "ose"es (sugar) unless it is in the veggies or maybe grains, but I did let myself have some frozen yogurt once...George (my sleeve) did not like it.

Did your doc specify what calcium sources he wanted you to use? I do have yogurt sometimes, but usually mixed with Cereal so it doesn't slide right through. It's a mushy, so it's not going to give you the satiated feeling that solid food will. My center says no liquid or mushy calories except 2 dairy servings per day. Which sounds more sensible to me than excluding dairy. I still don't get enough calcium, so I take a Viactiv chew these days.

Jenny, Did you get the answers to your questions about your pre-op diet? You should've gotten some written instructions from the nurse. What flavor AmazeRX did you choose? I love the vanilla and the Mocha Zap. I'm on my 4th container already! Cha-Ching!!!!! I still love to drink my Protein shakes post-banding. This is what I have about the pre-op diet: Breakfast: I serving of 2 of the following: yogurt, fruit, Cereal, toast, bagels, waffles, muffins, eggs or oatmeal. (I stuck to oatmeat, coffee, and yogurt---but I was only on the diet for a week....long story!) lunch: AmazeRX shake dinner: 1 serving lean meat, one serving veggie (have some skinless chicken and a veg of your choice, or a pork steak, or a fish filet, etc....) Go to Pappasitos and have a fajita without the tortilla and cheese/sour cream. You get the gist.... Night-time Snack: AmazeRX shake ....and because you are STARVING on this diet, you can supplement between meals with salad all you want....just choose fat-free/low calorie dressing. My Girlfriend has that book you mentioned and loved it. I couldn't find it at Barnes and Noble or Borders, but heard it was better to read pre-op anyway!!! I just saw Dr. Collier yesterday....he was wooooonderful and really gave me a kick in the pants for not exercising like I should be! I think he's such a fantastic surgeon and doctor---so kind, competent and caring. His office staff is great too, just give them a chance and get to know them!!!! Let me know if you have any more questions. Cheers, Toni

Hi Janifer! Just wanted to give you an update...I had my surgery on 10/29. I had quite a bit of pain for the first 24 hours or so until they finally was able to manage it with the correct pain meds. They said that since I have chronic back pain and I am on daily pain meds already, that the normal pain meds that they give someone coming out of surgery was not working for me. They adjusted everything though and got the pain tolerable. So after that, I only had to stay 2 nights and once I could tolerate full liquids they let me go home. I went through my first week with full liquids ok. I did get very emotional for a few days starting on the Saturday after my surgery. That was a little rough, but it seemed to last about 3 days and then I was ok. Now I'm just in the middle of my 2nd week and I am able to eat puréed food. That was exciting! I've never really cared too much for refried beans, but let me tell ya, those beans with some melted reduced fat cheese and just a little scoop of Greek yogurt tasted amazing that first day!! Everyday things are getting better and better and I'm so glad that I made the decision that I made! I wouldn't change it for nothing in the world! So how are you doing? Hope everything is well with you!

Hi. I am wondering if anyone is able to get enough protein, per day, by food. I am 10 weeks post op and have been on “normal” food for over a month. I absolutely detest protein powder, protein shakes, protein drink and any form or protein supplement. Not only do I detest, but it doesn’t sit well inside my stomach. I try to eat protein throughout the day (eggs, chicken, turkey, Greek yogurt, tuna, some cheeses) but I feel like I am no where near my protein gram goal. Wondering if anyone is hitting their protein goal with actual and food and what you are eating. Thanks.

Do you like greek yogurt? It is very high in protein- 12 grams for 1/2 cup. Add SF preserves to it along with splenda or stevia- sooo good!

I am 8 days post-op, and I go to start eating my light Yoplait Yogurt again. Before surgery I always thought that it was sort of tart, but now after surgery it taste like eat full fat icecream it is so sweet. So I can totally relate!

For my doc - yogurt is week 2.

Hey, BariatricPal Members! Happy Fourth of July! This summer holiday is filled with parades, barbecues and concerts, and we hope that your holiday involves family and friends! Any weight loss surgery patient or potential patient can use a little advice to get through a three-day weekend, so that’s why we’ve put together this newsletter! Here is what you’ll find. Pay It Forward This Independence Day July 4 Barbecue: What Are You Bringing to the Party? Go, Team USA, at the FIFA World Cup! A Little Honesty, Please! (From Yourself, to Yourself)! Have a safe holiday weekend! We hope you find some time to spend part of it with us. Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder BariatricPal.com Pay It Forward This Independence Day On July 4, the United States celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence as a significant step in the separation from the United Kingdom. Since then, Americans have enjoyed a degree of prosperity that is unparalleled in most places in the world, and many of us are grateful for the freedom that we have to express our thoughts, pursue our interests, and choose our friends. This weekend, we suggest that you take a few minutes to reflect on some of the things in your life that you are grateful for, whether that includes your family and friends, your job, or your freedom to make decisions that affect your own health. We also suggest taking a few minutes to help someone else out in any way that you can think of. You could help your neighbor clean out the garage, volunteer at a homeless shelter, or read a book to children at a local library. Your way of helping may be as simple as logging on to BariatricPal and giving a struggling member a few words of encouragement. Kindness can only make this country better! July 4 Barbecue: What Are You Bringing to the Party? Your friends or parents invited you over for a barbecue this Fourth of July weekend, and you know what that means: ribs, hot dogs, baked Beans, potato salad, coleslaw, and cupcakes. Unfortunately, you know from past years that there is not going to be anything that you can eat. What can you do without being rude? Be polite, of course! No good guest shows up to a party empty-handed, so why would you? Think about the foods that you need to stick to your diet during the barbecue, and bring them. Just make sure you bring enough for several people because these healthy treats may be the biggest hits of the afternoon. First, make sure that you bring some lean Protein. You might bring a package of vegetarian burgers or turkey burgers to be grilled along with the other meat. If you don’t think the host will be willing to grill your protein for you, bring your own pre-cooked veggie burger, low-fat cheese, or hard-boiled eggs. Another option is to bring a high-protein salad to share. You might try chicken breast, egg white, or tuna salad made with Greek yogurt. You’ll also want another dish or two to eat with your protein. These are a few foods to consider bringing. Classic green salad with a bottle of dressing on the side. Raw or grilled veggie kebobs with cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, bell pepper pieces, and zucchini slices. A cut-up watermelon so that you and the other health-conscious guests can have something to eat for dessert instead of brownies and chocolate chip Cookies. Frozen bananas. These may simple, but a half of a frozen banana can keep you from digging into the ice cream. When you bring enough delicious and healthy food for everyone to share, you can be certain that you will be able to stick to your diet at a barbecue and still be able to enjoy the occasion with everyone else. Go, Team USA, at the FIFA World Cup! Soccer is nowhere near being as popular in the U.S. as in many parts of the rest of the world, and it lags far behind the major sports of football, baseball, hockey, and basketball. Many Americans do not watch any Major League Soccer games during the professional season, and can’t name the top American or international players. Still, that lack of interest changes once every four years during the FIFA World Cup. As the games play out in Brazil, millions are watching these incredible athletes. Whether you are a patriotic American who roots for Team USA, or you have chosen your favorite teams based their stories or on your or your family’s ancestry, you can use the FIFA World Cup 2014 as motivation to get in better shape. You may not have the athleticism of these seasoned and talented athletes, but you can use a soccer ball to get yourself moving. One great idea for getting some exercise is to bring a soccer ball with you whenever you go to a picnic or another outdoors event. Take it out and kick it around with your friends and family when you have a few minutes to spare, and you’ll burn a few calories without much effort. You would be surprised at how much of an effect this can have on your weight loss when you do it regularly. You don’t need to be a good athlete to have fun and burn calories with a soccer ball. If you’re not up for sprinting up and down a soccer field during a full-out game, try one of these lower-intensity alternatives with a soccer ball or another kind of ball. Kick the ball around with your friends and family. Play dodgeball. Play monkey-in-the-middle. Play kickball. Whenever you make exercise fun and convenient, you are more likely to do it. So, keep your soccer ball handy and get it out whenever you can! You’ll also be showing your support for the World Cup teams. A Little Honesty, Please! (From Yourself, to Yourself)! This topic comes up all the time on BariatricPal, and it’s worth mentioning here as a little reminder. The only way you will be able to lose weight and keep it off is to be honest with yourself with respect to your food choices, portion sizes, and exercise. What other people believe doesn’t matter. Tricking yourself into thinking you are following the plan when you really aren’t will not lead you to lose weight. If you hit a weight loss plateau, you start to feel sick frequently, or your health numbers are not as good as your doctor expected, ask yourself these questions. “Am I measuring every single bite?” “Am I drinking enough Water every day in between – not with – meals?” “Am I eating a source of lean protein at every meal and snack?” “Am I choosing nutritious foods or sugary, fatty foods?” If you’ve fallen into a few bad habits and you’ve noticed that you might not be telling yourself the whole truth and nothing but the truth, a three-day weekend like the Independence Day weekend can be a good time to get back into it. Use the extra time to figure out what you can do better, and how you will make it happen. Good luck, and let us know how it goes on BariatricPal!

Everyone is different...being 8 days out and have lost 15 lbs. I have gotten in all my protein today with shakes but tried I table spoon of mashed potatoes with my homemade tomato soup (made with 16 oz. of plain yogurt) I thought I was in heaven as I didn't think I could look at 1 more protein shake, jello, sugar free pudding for 8 more days.....my world lifted up as I also tried mashed & mashed cottage cheese....2tsp. A great day....and my little tummy is happy and I am not dragging as I have been....it's all new and I'm carefully walking the path.

In my diet packet, it says to start a full liquid diet on day 3. So, according to my instructions, I'm allowed Protein shakes, yogurt, creamy Soups, that kinda thing. It says always do a Protein Drink first, at least 2 a day. I've only had one so far and it took me 5 hours to finish it. Now just the thought of drinking one makes me feel kinda sick. The gas-x strips aren't really helping either. That taste is just totally grossing me out.. I haven't even really been into the popsicles or jell-o either, so pretty much all I've had is Water. I think it will be ok, just because I've seen a variety of different pre-op diets posted.. some don't start full liquid stuff till later. I know protein is really important though. Honestly, I think I'm kinda scared of losing my hair.. which is why I feel so compelled to go ahead and push myself to do it. Realistically, I know it will probably take longer than 2 weeks for that to actually become an issue. Walking hasn't really been too bad for me. Course, I say that, but I haven't really started doing anything more than just leisurely walks yet. So far I've just been doing a couple laps around my apartment parking lot. I've also been making excuses to go to Target or the mall a million times to wander around. I have a fitbit which tracks how much I've walked and I've tried so far to get at least 3000 steps in a day. I think once my incision pain gets a little better and I feel more comfortable getting sweaty, I'll start increasing my pace. It's kinda weird, but for me.. the fact that I've spent so little time eating has made me feel pretty restless. The good part about it is, it makes me want to get out and be more active instead of just sitting around and stuffing my face! How's your walking going? Are you having any issues with pain still?

lite yogurt cream of chicken soup

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 love the fuzzy navel, but then again, I flavored mine with some additional items...I first took 1 bag of frozen raspberries and 1 bag of frozen strawberries, allowed them to thaw, and put them through a food processor. I strained out all the pulp and seeds, and then froze the juice into 2" silicone ice cube trays. the silicone makes them very easy to pop out. For my Protein drink, I used one frozen 2" cube of raspberry-strawberry juice, a handful of regular ice cubes, 1 cup of Light and Fit vanilla Yogurt, 1 cup of soy milk, and a small packet ( 1-qt size drink mix) of Crystal Light in either Pomegranate-Cherry, or Fruit Punch flavors (just the mix, no additional water). I put this through my smoothie blender, and have my taste buds dancing! It makes a lot, but with little sips, I'm satisfied for a hour or two. This helps to meet my hydration requirements of 64 oz a day, and puts a nice dent in my protein requirements too. I ran this recipe by my Dr, & she had no problem with me having this Post-VSG surgery & I'm only 1 week out. Enjoy everyone! ????

Normal? Depends on the day, but often I have a tuna salad kit for lunch at work. Today, I took homemade chili Beans instead and had about 6 saltines with it. This evening, for dinner, I have had only shredded roast beef cooked in the crockpot with onions, no gravy. I will probably have some yogurt later to take my medications. I don't often eat Breakfast, but if I do, it's normally a Protein bar. I am 3 yrs out and no longer have alot of restriction due to esophageal relaxation. I struggle with the carb hungry monster and the only way I can beat it is to detox myself from it. Often a weekend will be spent on boiled eggs and chicken breasts. For veggies, I'll open a can of green beans, sometimes asparagus etc.

This too shall pass. :-) I've actually regained my tolerance for chocolate Protein powder, which I thought would never happen. I may have broken up with Fage yogurt tho ...

I had followed a low carb diet focused on fruits and veggies with lean meats, and lost some weight, but then gained and lost the same 2-4 lbs for months. Once I was approved, I was given a diet to follow that pretty much allowed all of those things, but no grains (not even oatmeal). Grains cause inflammation in the body. Then there was the two week liquid diet, that had 3-4 Protein shakes, one small green salad and one yogurt a day. I only lost 7 lbs on that one. My body, even after surgery, loses slowly. I can tell you that removing grains from your diet (and sugar) will have an effect on your weight loss. You could focus on the types of foods you will eat post-op - high protein, lean meats, veggies and fruits... which would prepare you for the lifestyle change AND help you with your weight loss goal - pre-op. Having surgery does require some discipline, and only you can decide if you are ready to take this step. But if you choose a plan and get started, you may just find it to be tolerable and well worth it. Good luck!

I'm four days post-op, absolutely no problems, feeling great! My follow up appointment isn't until next Friday, that would put me at 24 days on this liquid diet, and I'm getting a little sick of it. I'm loosing weight like a champ, but I'm hitting a mental wall with all of the protein drinks and massive amounts of yogurt. I was thinking of calling my doc on Monday and seeing if I can switch to mushy foods. How long post op did you continue with the liquid diet? I'm actually shocked how good I feel, it is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!

I am SO struggling with a major sweet tooth. I have always had one so this is nothing new since lap band 6 months ago but goodness gracious me, I hate this, I literally crave somethings sweet all of the time, especially at night. I drink Water and only water with crystal light in it so that has artificial sweetner in it, don't know if that's causing the cravings or not. Can't stand plain water, I'm doomed! I didn't have to give up soda or anything like that I've always drank water. Now back to the sweets, I know some of you are saying don't have it in the house, well, since my untimely and devastating divorce last year I am forced to live with my 73 yr old mom, who is very active by the way but she keeps her candy around and I'm tempted and I cannot ask her to remove it, that would break my heart. I want to succeed on my journey and I know this is a head game with wanting, needing and eating but I think that is why I'm only down 50 lbs at 6 mos, I mean it could be more had my hand not been in the candy jar a time or 2! I know, I know, confession time here. I need help and advice. I love Oikos greek yogurt with the fruit in the bottom of it and that satisfies my sweet tooth and I keep that around all of the time and I do turn to that but when I grab that let's say 10:00 at night my mom nags me "are you eating again"? and this is the only snack I've had for the day along with 3 meals, it makes me feel guilty and a failure. I know she means well and is being my food police and my accountability partner in this journey but dang. Heck, maybe I am wrong for eating a snack like that at 10:00 at night. Help!