Search the Community

It Is my first day home since band removal (slept in my own bed last night after four days in the hospital). I feel like I got beat up and my entire body hurts, joints and all. I still feel the "phantom lap band" pains and they used surgical glue to close the 5 incisions. I was sleeping in recovery unit after surgery for about 4 hours. Full body pain and severe stomach, neck, back and throat pain (from tube during surgery). Clear liquid diets for now and liquid hydrocodone for pain. I also got xanax to help me fall asleep. My diet consists of broth, creamed soups, Jello, ice cream, pudding, yogurt, Sorbet, flan, broth, and water. Going to eat this diet for the next week or so and then slowly introduce new foods like oatmeal and eggs. I will keep everyone updated as time goes on. I feel like crap today but did mange to sleep through the night on my back. I woke up one time during the night to use bathroom and take my medication dose (every 6 hours). My husband has been absolutely AMAZING helping me through this and running errands for me. I could not have done this without him. I do suggest having some help when coming home from hospital. Especially when it comes to picking up my meds from pharmacy (hard to find liquid narcotics) and running errands. I am not allowed to drive so he has really stepped up and he never left my side. Hopefully I will improve over the next few days. I do not think I will be going to work tomorrow especially because I cannot drive. I will take it one day at a time. My husband may drive me to work if I am feeling up to it, and I will possibly do part-time days this week if anything. I will keep everyone ppsted as time moves on. I also tried my best to keep my band once removed, but the state I live in sends it to pathology and cannot give back to the patient by law... what a bummer!!!

@@Indieflickers I too dislike the use of artificial ingredients and try really hard adapt recipes that call for them in other ways. I do use Splenda more than I care to but I don't use it a ton. I am getting more on board with Stevia and Monk Fruit; though I still find both to leave something to be desired. I bought this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LMJ26YG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER And it keeps my yogurt, my hummus, my chicken/egg salad and whatever other "cold" foods cold. It also keeps everything really fresh, it is super attractive and I get compliments on it daily. I had one lady ask me "why do you keep your lunch in that pretty purse?" She was amazed when I showed her it was my lunch bag!

Cottage cheese Cups, Greek Yogurt with some trail mix mixed in for substance, chicken salad ( you can make a big batch to last you through the week), Hard boiled eggs (I make mine into deviled eggs), in a pinch I always have Protein bars on hand. Hope this helps a little.

I was also sleeved Mon Nov 5th so far getting 81 proteins a day using isopure water which has 40 grams plus my shake and Greek yogurt. My Dr told me about the isopure not to bad tasting at least it helps to get the protein in

Almost everyone hits a stall at the third week. It doesn't matter what you eat (unless you are eating milkshakes and french fries or something awful and need to fix it). That said, my doctor prescribed a maximum of 60 g carbs and a minimum of 75 g protein while on purees. I also ate a lot of eggs, protein shakes, and refried beans. Other things I ate: Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and various white meats pureed with different sauces, such as: sweet & spicy tuna (the kind that comes in a pouch) pureed with sriracha sauce hickory smoked tuna pureed with low cal bbq sauce lemon dill salmon pureed with olive oil mayo chicken pureed with marinara sauce, then heated up with melted mozzarella cheese turkey pureed with peanut satay sauce I was limited to 3 tablespoons of food per meal, 3 meals per day, no snacks (other than liquids/protein shakes). All of that said . . . the three week stall is completely normal and it doesn't mean you are doing anything wrong with your eating! I promise!

I wanted to follow up on how this went in case anyone having the same issues I am finds this thread. I purchased NOW Sports Dairy Digest Complete V-Caps. They are: BioCore Dairy UltraT 108 mg* Protease 630 BLGU* / 25,000 HUT* (from Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae) Lactase (from Aspergillus oryzae) 1,000 ALU* Lipase (from Candida rugosa) 600 FIP* I decided to take them for a full week before even attempting dairy. I'm still on soy shakes, but I'm so happy to have lower lactose things like my Dannon Light'n'Fit 2X Protein Greek Yogurt back! Today I went "crazy" and had .75 oz of light cheddar. I haven't tried to push it too far, though. One serving of low-lactose dairy a day. That's a major improvement when you consider that I experienced cramps and diarrhea from a vegan cream cheese with a scant 1 mg of non-dairy lactose!

I drink up until my first bite as well and typically wait at least 45 minutes before drinking anything more then a sip to rinse my mouth. Immediately post op for the first month I used the Bariatric Advantage Protein powder, but have after I got on soft foods, I switched to a single ready to go Protein shake (Premier Protein from Costco) which I drink halfway between Breakfast and lunch. I didn't puree anything either (puree actually wasn't on my plan) - for me it was 3 days of Clear liquids, then 2 weeks of full liquids, then 2 weeks of soft foods, then back to regular food as tolerable. As far as Snacks, at this stage I find I do need to snack a bit between meals in order to get in my recommended protein. A snack for me is usually something like a cheese stick or a Danon Light and Fit yogurt (12g protein,80 cal!) My surgery team didn't outlaw caffeine out right, just to cut back. Immediately after surgery I didn't have any caffeine until I was on regular foods. At this point I usually have one Americano every other day or so. I use Crystal light powder or other flavor liquids in my Water.. post op I find I can't drink water as well when it is plain. For movies, I only get a water, and maybe take in a Protein Bar and eat half of it. I'm staying away from popcorn until I get to my goal.

I'm 6 days out. I had yogurt for the first time and I'm a little uncomfortable. Could I have done damage? I had 3 ounces over an hour and half. Ate with a baby spoon. Pressure and maybe a little painful in my left shoulder. Maybe too soon? I didn't thin it out with milk and maybe I should have but I've done well with puréed soups. Thought I could handle it.

You are lucky! I've been on liquids for three weeks and have two more to go (although I am allowed LF/SF yogurt and FF/SF pudding). I can't wait to have other options besides yogurt, pudding, strained soups, Protein drinks, and Water.

I was on full liquids from day 1(Soup, greek yogurt, Protein shakes). I Start Purees tomorrow after 2 weeks on liquids. Every surgeon is different, but Clear Liquids for over a month doesn't sound very healthy to me. You have to get your protein in.

B - plain greek yogurt with 1 scoop vanilla Protein powder L - 2 oz tuna in Water with 1 tbspn mayo D - 2 poached eggs and steamed mushrooms S - Vitamins - tea with cream and 2 sugar - coffee decaf with creamer still working on the water so far 36 oz down. . . .

Hey there, it is almost Friday! Having a deep Freeze here in the North East! BRR! LND was so YUMMY - 1egg, 1bacon, and this potatoe thing that mom made! warmed the tummy and soul if you know what I mean! Here is today's menu: B-Yogurt w/blueberries L-Baked Potatoe Soup S- colby Jack cheese stick D- what ever mom cooks! Water - 30 oz in the form of hot tea vites - yup exercise- walked a bit, and zumba on Xbox Kinect tonight with the twins! NEXT.....

yesterday I had Breakfast: coffee with coffee mate creamer 1 piece pumpkin bread with butter Lunch: 4 chips /salsa 1/2 a cheese enchilada Dinner: 1/2 a soft taco with meat, cheese, salsa, sour cream snack : greek yogurt

My favorite "first foods" were oatmeal and cream of wheat thinned with protien drink. Also had great luck with yogurt (greek whipped) and cottage cheese. Mashed potatoes were recommended by my nutritionist because they are very easy to digest and are often tolerated when other things are not. They are on our encouraged list.

Is anyone else having snacking issues? I'm finding that i'm eating less at meals, but i'm snacking more....popsicles (Sugar Free and/or regular-whatever I can get my hands on) crackers, popcorn, chips if they are close (usually NOT-I DO NOT buy them) yogurt, cheese and/or whatever anyone near me is eating...after I eat dinner and feel full, i'll feel like snacking 1-2 hours later, it's harder during the day since i'm working, but i'm making up for it at night and my weight isn't dropping...does anyone have any suggestions for good "snack" foods that satisfy and don't add up? Or better yet will more fill help me with that or does that even make a difference? HELP the poor Snackasaurus...:help::eek::help: :faint:

Well I had surgery June 4th and I'm still on liquids. You are saying you hope you have not gone through all of this for nothing...Are you keeping track on myfitnesspal.com of how many calories and how much Protein, carbs & liquid you are getting in? Are you eating as much as you would before surgery? Have you lost anything at all? I imagine you have lost some weight, so any pounds lost is not a failure. It is up to you to not put the wrong food in your mouth still and by looking at what you are eating, you are doing what you are suppose to be doing. The sleeve is a tool. You are lucky you aren't feeling sick or restrictions by eating those foods. But you are mentioning 2 ounces of tuna. That's not a lot. A Greek Yogurt, again not a lot. If you ate a scrambled egg, a hardboiled egg 2 ounces of tuna and a greek yogurt, all at once, then you got some sort of issue there to worry about and then you should be worrying about the restriction issue. Eating one of these at a time without drinking for at least 1/2 hour afterwards, and you are doing great is wonderful. Take this time while you are just learning to eat to chew your food and maybe stop worrying about what restrictions you should be feeling. After being on the diet roller coaster for as long as you have been, you know what you should and shouldn't be eating, and you know how much is too much. Trust me, try eating 2 hardboiled eggs and cottage cheese and the restriction will hit you like a two ton heavy thing and you will realize the truth of the sleeve. (don't try to eat 2 hardboiled eggs at once..I was being facetious. I think you are doing well. I went from 330-128 and then gained it back. We both know what the issues is, we need to keep on moving....a lot and we need to up our protein, keep lower carbs and most of this is still mental. Try some positive thoughts and maybe someone else will have more advise for you. Good luck

I didn't feel any restriction at first with the small amounts of food either. Same with yogurt, which is sort of like a liquid - I don't get restriction with that 1/4 cup equals two ounces so that's not that much food, but my NUT had me on 1/4th cup to start for the first week or so and then gradually increasing to 1/2 cup. She doesn't want me to eat any more than 3/4 cup of food total at any meal. I would imagine, however, that once you graduate up to a larger quantity, maybe even at 1/2 cup of something (not liquid), you will feel the restriction. Believe me, you'll know it when you feel it. The foods you are eating are not very dense either so they will process better (at least for most people they do). I could probably eat a whole cup of cottage cheese, but I don't because of the carb content in that food, so I keep it at 1/2 cup which still gives me plenty of protein. I also eat it for a snack instead of with a meal. But that's just me. I believe that the first true restriction that I felt was with grilled tilapia. Even though it is soft, I tried to a fairly nice size piece and about 3/4 through, wham, I got this tightening in my stomach and I burped. For me burping is the signal that I am through. Everyone has their own way of knowing when they should finish by the change in their body. You'll figure this out as time goes on. I can tell you that the "one bite too many" feeling is not pleasant, so maybe you'll be fortunate and not have that happen. You are doing everything right by following the plan your doctor has you on at just over two weeks out, so don't worry if you're not feeling restriction yet. Good luck!

I wish I could have them.but my taste buds are bad the sf jello or pudding are way to sweet now and the yogurt just can't stomach it. I have gone thru 3 different chewable vitamins can not stand any, protein water neither. Just hoping to get to my puree stage because looking forward to egg, tuna and chicken salad. Hope my taste buds like them. Keeping my fingers cross. Good luck Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

7/24 - 10 weeks out, 30.5 pounds down, from 271 to 240.5 Well, I'm truckin' along, and although it SEEMS slow to me, I just realized it actually hasn't been all that slow since I got my first fill. I just looked back at the calendar, and my fill was 2 weeks ago, on 7/10. On 7/10 I weighed 249, and I now weigh 240.5. So, that's a little less than 10 pounds in 2 weeks!! That's actually fantastic!! Wow, all of a sudden I'm counting how many weeks till we go to the beach for our summer vacation, and calculating potentially how far down I COULD be if this restriction holds out!!!!!!! I could be a svelte 210 pounds by then if I play my cards right! Ahhh!! Can't even let myself hope for that, because I don't want to end up feeling discouraged. I've been telling myself that I'd be happy if I could be somewhere in the 220's by September 6, which is the day we leave for the beach. Haven't seen the 220's in several years. Haven't seen 210 since I met my husband in 1999. Under 200 - haven't seen Onederland since I was in college in the early 90's!! The last time I was able to squeeze into a woman's size 12 was when I was in either 9th or 10th grade, and I was able to wear one specific pair of my mom's jeans. They were a size 12, and I have no idea why she had them, because she has always been a size 8 her entire life. But for whatever reason, she had these jeans that were a size 12, and I BARELY fit into them, but I could button and zip them, and that's all that mattered to me. It made me feel so good about myself for that brief period when I could wear them. Funny how you remember things like that. So, getting into a size 12 again someday is going to feel like a HUGE milestone for me. Anyway, so since I got this fill 2 weeks ago, I have noticed that I experience what many other bandsters have described on LBT - my restriction seems to fluctuate day by day, sometimes hour by hour. It's weird, there doesn't seem to really be any rhyme or reason to it? Some days I can eat breakfast and lunch, albeit carefully, but with no problems whatsoever. Some days I can hardly get yogurt to go down without a whole lot of gurgling and noise and burping (non-productive) and other fanfare. On most days, I've found that it's much easier to eat dinner than lunch, and breakfast, forget about it. By the time I get all my pills and vitamins down in the morning, I'm full and don't have any time left for breakfast anyway. That makes me feel guilty, because I know it's bad to skip breakfast, but I really can't help it. Sometimes I'll bring a yogurt along to work with me, and I can eat that at my desk, although it takes a while. Several times I've tried to eat lunch and ended up having to throw it away. I know that SOMETIMES it's because I take too big of a bite right off the bat and don't chew it enough, and then whatever it was gets stuck, and then I'm just done - can't put anything else on top of that bc that will just make it worse (learned THAT the hard way) so I just have to give up and wait till the next meal. But sometimes even if I'm following all the rules and being very conscious about it, even the smallest most chewed-to-liquid bite won't go down easily at lunch time. It's very strange! Every few days I find dinner is challenging as well, but most days dinner is easier than lunch. Mind you, I'm measuring my food intake in bites now, not cups. Lord, I never thought I'd say that. I'm amazed at how my sense of portions has changed. I still have food envy when I watch my husband take a gigantic bite out of some big juicy cheeseburger, or gobble down a bunch of crispy crunchy salad vegetables. (never thought I'd say THAT either! LOL) But when putting food onto my own plate I've gotten very, very good at taking the smallest possible servings of things. And then after I eat, I'm constantly worrying in my head that I've eaten too much, that I'm ABLE to eat too much, that I'll never lose any more weight if I eat this much, etc. And then I remind myself that I only ate, for instance, one tablespoon of mashed potatoes, or something like that. It's weird how your brain processes this phenomenon. Mostly what I've read on LBT is from people saying that they are still ordering the Extra Large Value size of everything, even though they can only eat a small fraction of it. With me it's been the opposite. I automatically order or plate-up the smallest portion, but then have some sort of dysmorphic thing happen where I panic I've eaten too much. I think part of the problem is that I never really feel hungry anymore - and I also never really feel full. That is to say, I never get the feeling of full that I got pre-band.....which was a sickening, oh-my-God-all-I-want-to-do-is-unbutton-my-pants-and-lay-on-the-couch sort of feeling. I regularly ate up until I felt that way at dinner time, almost every night. Not so much at lunch, because I had more distractions from food during that time of day, I guess. I wouldn't say that I MISS that awful stuffed to the gills feeling.....but maybe psychologically I miss having a full belly feeling?? I don't know. And I can't really say that I have ever really recognized true stomach hunger - certainly not pre-band, bc I ate all the time. And not so much post band either. I don't know, maybe I'm just not skilled enough to recognize the feeling yet? So, without being able to discern those specific feelings - hungry vs. full - I think I have a tendency to panic and to STILL think that this surgery is not going to work for me after all (present evidence disregarded) and that I'll end up sabotaging myself, despite my best efforts, as I have always done in the past. I know I've got to work on that. In my ideal world, I wouldn't have to think about, worry about, panic about, plan endlessly for, or obsess over food a-n-y-m-o-r-e. I dream of a day when I can just live my life - and eat whenever it's appropriate to do so to feed my body. Period. I think I'm on my way. I'm amazed to no longer be compelled to nightly binge sessions in front of the TV. I'm incredulous that leftover cookies or bbq chips from weekend cookouts will stay in my pantry, unmolested for weeks. Pre-band, these foods would have literally called out to me over and over again, every time I was in my house, until I either devoured them, or in a fit of fortitude stoicly dumped them down into the gargage disposal so that they couldn't torture me any more. Now, I FORGET that they are even in there. Now, that's not to say that I don't still have a weakness for junk food, and believe me, if it's in a basket somewhere at a party, I'm definitely going to eat some of it. But I don't feel like it has a power over me anymore. That is really quite remarkable. This band certainly requires it's share of sacrifices, but so far, I'd say I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. Thirty pounds, no longer weighing me down, gone forever. Amen!

With my liquid diet it is only a week but I am able to eat unlimited amounts of raw or steamed vegetables. I can have limited amounts of plain nonfat yogurt, unsweetened applesauce, v8 juice, and low fat milk. 3-4 protein shakes a day and as much broth, jello, and popsicles I want. Has anyone else had a pre op like this? I'm on day 2 and so far it's not too bad. Certainly not pleasant but tolerable. My surgery is June 2nd!!!

Hanging head.... No, Jessica, but it is helping my headache. And I counted the calories that I'm getting in daily, and with the Isopure, Premere Protein, greek yogurt, cream soup, and other fat free, sugar free things, I'm still only getting about 700 calories per day. I'm open to your thoughts.

Oh I'm sorry! I could have sworn I'd proofread my initial post well enough. No, I was sleeved on 3/18 which makes me 5months, 1 day post op. Believe me, I'd be in the ER right now had I lost so much in a single month! o_O It serves me right for looking like an idiot in my first post for starting and stopping several times writing the initial post and not realizing I'd not retyped the beginning properly. I'm aware that I'm starving myself and have started trying to use a timer to remind me to eat every few hours but that only works if I can choke things down - that's how I can occasionally bump up my caloric intake. I'm having some troubles with my Protein - are others having issues with eating things like chicken and turkey? Sometimes I don't have a problem at all but others...ugh. Yogurt is my go-to but I'm typically at about 30g a day. I'm on handfuls (it seams) of Vitamins so I don't think I'm too nutritionally off. It's primarily the low calories and my complete disinterest bordering on apathy towards eating I'm worried about. It's like I don't even like to chew things anymore and there's just no point in eating. Which is stupid, I know. :/ Has using a timer/alarm actually helped anyone with their eating? I feel like such a fool for needing to do this. I may have been hungry all the time and could eat a Water buffalo in one seating before my surgery but at least then I wasn't constantly eating or thinking about having to eat. I don't regret this surgery exactly but I'm certainly not happy with it at the moment!

I have to do a 2 week liquid diet. I did one week then my surgery was canceled bc of a sinus infection. It was very hard! I like the " oh yeah " protein drinks. They are good. The vanilla and chocolate so I bought a case of them on amazon it was cheapest there. I can also do broth, cream based low fat soups and blend out so there's no chunks and they were good too. I also had the sf jello which wasn't so bad but I didn't like the sf Popsicles. I did make a smoothie of low fat yogurt low fat milk a banana and a scoop of vanilla protein. Blended it up and it was good too. Hope this post helps some.

I do feel guilty! But I'm back on the wagon today. I'm using Carnation Instant Breakfast and I add a scoop of whey Protein powder. It's actually delicious! I think I had not been drinking enough of them, though, so I was so hungry! Two days will be no problem! It is hard, but you can totally do it! Just be really mindful, and get out of the house as much as you can to distract yourself! That is exactly what I am looking forward to! I can have fat-free yogurt and fat-free cottage cheese. I add a teaspoon of sugar-free fruit preserve to the cottage cheese to make it a bit more palatable.

hi guys long island ny here... i am just curious why you are on clear liquids for so long?? i guess every doctor is different.. i was banded on april 21st and the next day i was allowed full liquids like cream soups yogurt and pudding..protein shakes also...today is day 10 for me and i am feeling good.. i am due to start mushy foods on thursday and it seems you will still be on clear liquids..i wonder why such an extreme difference??