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Hi everyone! So I've been doing LOTs of lurking through the forums, and I noticed there were tons of recipes and food encourangements for POST-Op, but was wondering what you are all doing PRE-Op? I know many of us are required to lose a little bit of weight prior to the big Surg day, so was hoping to stir up some converation on how you are starting your life-changing diets. Not so much the 2 week pre-op liquid, because @FluffyChixhas a fabulous recipe selection for that, but more the diet you enact from your first day up until then! (I must admit guiltily that my surgeon doesn't require a 2 week liquid diet... only a 48 hour one) So some of the drastic changes I have made over the last month: Gave up caffeinated coffee. DAMN did this hurt. I am fairly certain my blood is 60% coffee. Many people mention that food is their go-to comfort source, coffee is mine. I switched to decaf cold turkey, and lord do I NOT recommend that. The headaches were a real PITA. Started focusing my food intake on protein: So my thought process behind this was to start learning what types of foods I would incorporate into my new life and start experimenting. I LOVE cooking, and the thought of challenging myself to find healthier versions of my favorite foods was exhilarating. For example: I am Italian, pasta is a major major (and did I say major?) part of my genetic makeup. I make homemade pasta with my kids once a month that we use for the rest of the month and its literally one of my favorite things to do. However, apparently I have a gluten sensitivity so I was pretty devastated. And it's like solid carbs so it'd have to go anyways. So I sought out ways to keep a pasta substitute, but bring on the health benefits. That's where my new spiralizer comes in! I made a zucchini pesto "pasta" yesterday that was pretty orgasmic (you know, for a veggie that is). AND super super healthy. If you cook the zucchini a bit longer than you ought to, it does become slightly mushy, making it a GREAT post-op meal too. (Nutritionist approved! Or at least mine did and she's pretty fabulous). I made butternut squash spaghetti for today's lunch to mix with a low-sodium beef soup punched up with super tender beef and a half scoop of Isopure unflavored protein powder that you can't taste which is a serious win in my book Gave up carbonated beverages. So in all honesty, this was easy peasy. Mainly because I haven't really drank them in a YEAR in hopes of losing a bit of weight. Because you know the hubby gave up soda for 6 weeks and lost 18lbs. Bastard. I gave it up for a year and lost... nothing. NOTHING! But anyways I gave up seltzer water too, which I did drink more often. Switched out high fat/high calorie things for substitutes. So this one sounds easy, but it kind of isn't. It required a ton of research. Some of them are a bit easier, like say for chicken salad swapping out the mayo (yikes I NEVER realized how fattening it was but damn it makes amazing chicken salad) and replacing with Greek Yogurt. This was difficult for me since I am kind of awkwardly texture sensitive. I also up the quality of meat I buy. With a family of 4, it was just more economic to purchase say 85/15 meat and simply strain the grease. But I've splurged on the super lean 93/7 much to my hubby's dismay (he can be a bit of a cheapo) and it has made a difference. To my wallet but more importantly to my intake counts! Non-Food Stuff My Fitness Pal. This app is amazeballs. Honestly. I realized that prior to implementing said changes, I was eating an average of 800-1000 calories a day. I would love to say this is because I was super health conscious, but that would be a total lie. It's because I didn't make myself a priority. I work in an extremely fast paced job and would end up not eating ANYTHING except for a banana here and there (they are free at my work), an obscene amount of coffee, and then go home and stuff my ever loving face with dinner. Now I am consuming anywhere between 1500-1800 calories a day, and f me sideways I've lost 9lbs! Fitbit. I totally thought I walked a bajillion miles a day because I am literally always on the go go go. But my bajillion miles is actually like 8-12k steps a day depending on how busy it is. Which to some people is GREAT. But my body is just apparently used to it and it doesn't really do anything for me. So I bought a fitbit (totally wanted an apple watch, but then I wouldn't be able to lie and say I didn't see that text message...) Not going to lie, the fitbit kind of turns it into a competition. My goal: Start walking before it beeps at me. Some days I win, some days I don't. But I like being able to see. If I notice I am say 1k shy of my goal, I will take the long way to my next meeting instead of the easy way. I know its not MUCH, but it has made a difference. I am down 9lbs since March 15th, and feeling really excited without feeling like I'm giving up the world. My next task: Find a protein shake that I can drink without all of the fancy crap I put in them now because that's not allowed. THAT will be a difficult challenge... HOW can you possibly hide that chalky taste? I tried the PBFit, but even that doesn't hide it! Anyways, I hope you all will share your pre-op diet and recipes!

Plain yogurt with any torani syrup and some berries. I am going to do a 5 I'm for the first time ever and I am concerned too about my stomach and closest washroom [emoji14] Good luck on your marathon. Sent from my Nexus 5 using BariatricPal mobile app

Have you tried adding protein powder to food or other liquids? I would think unflavored powder would work in Apple sauce and yogurt. Their is also protein water. I drink premier protein water, mango/orange, raspberry, and fruit punch. I also added some “unflavored” protein powder (you can still taste and smell it) to water and added some sugar free flavored water drops and it was good. Has anyone found a truly unflavored protein powder? The stuff at the hospital was horrible! I have (GNC whey protein) is Better but still has taste. I am still on full liquids so I haven’t tried yet in anything else. I can have soup, but it’s such a treat right now I don’t want to mess it up with the protein powder! I jazz up my premier protein shakes with sugar free hazelnut and salted Carmel syrup but my favorite is PBFit peanut butter powder!!

I can't remember where I got it, but I used a Ninja bullet blender, which was great for size and power. I didn't do much in the way of meal preparation--my big move in the pureed department was to puree a can of beef vegetable soup. But after all the sweet protein shakes, I was so happy to eat something that wasn't sweet! I also tried something with canned chicken, but I thought that was disgusting. Had about half a container of yogurt daily. I did not love the pureed or soft mushy phase at all--I simply put up with all that stuff for the first month. So happy to be eating real food again after that. A lot of people swear by refried beans or pureed chili, though, for what it's worth.

I was feeling like that yesterday too but I trie pho broth and miso soup broth and it’s making it a bit easier! Another thing is non fat Greek yogurt is keeping me sane . 5 days till phase 2(puréed foods) you can do it I’m having second thoughts too but I’ve seen results in my friends and people I know and no one regrets it.

Just curious...you're allowed to have this already? I had my surgery one day before you and I'm still only allowed Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes (all soft foods). I'm getting sick of the same few things pretty quickly.

Really??? I am allowed sugar free pudding sugar free jello low sodium clear broth and sugar free popsicles and non fat yogurt plain or vanilla . Can you have any of these or some not on my list ?

Might be too late, but I was allowed sugar free jello, and they also suggestef Oikos Triple Zero yogurt, it had 15 grams protein. Another is Unjury Chicken Broth protein mix. Sent from my XT1609 using BariatricPal mobile app

From the title, it sounds like the most unhealthy thing ever, but it is NOT! It is the equivalent of baking sweet potatoes along with poached chicken topped with a little cheese LOL. I bake sweet potato fries in the oven till they are crispy, I get the crinkle kind from McCain. The serving size is 3 oz (160 calories) but that's enough for two meals (if not more). I then cook some poached and shredded chicken (no more than 2 oz) along with a few tablespoons of Buffalo wing sauce till it's nice and coated. In a nice individual serving baking plate, I layer as follows: 1- The crispy sweet potato fries. 2- Finely shredded sharp cheddar. 3- The chicken with its sauce. 4- Mozzarella cheese and sharp cheddar. I broil it till the cheese melts and it's ooey gooey and golden, then drizzle with a little bit of homemade greek yogurt ranch dressing. This would be amazing with bleu cheese crumbles too. IT IS SO GOOD!

I make meats each week. Usually 2 or 3 different ones to use as bases. That way if I have grilled chicken, I can just pull off 1 1/2 or 2oz and mix it up any way I want. Same with fish/salmon/shrimp. Same with lean pork--I'm doing as well with it as with the chicken. I'm weird, I like chicken breasts rather than thighs. Meh?... I will spice the meats differently. Some weeks it is basic s/p/gran garl. Other weeks it may be Greek or Italian or Asian. I also freeze in 4oz cooked portions so it's easy to split. I also am now digging adding salads back using very simple ingredients. So far only baby spinach, red onion, low fat feta and WF zero cal Italian. But it's so nice to have part of an egg and some turkey on it. Or toss with white beans or garbanzos. Etc. I have a ton of different meat lube that spices the meats up and changes them: sf bbq sauce, Classico Asiago Romano Alfredo, Central Market Taste of Italy Marinara, Brown Chicken Gravy, Brown Beef Gravy. I also keep baby spinach and baby super greens, broccoli crowns, zucchini, yellow squash, and mushrooms as well as tomatoes/gr toms and avocados, onions on hand. I have frozen veg like green beans, greens of all kinds. And have canned beans of different types. I also keep different cheeses, frozen blueberries, cottage cheese, Grk yogurt, sf applesauce on hand. I can literally never eat the same thing twice this way with minimal weekly prep and keep variety alive!

Hey everyone! I had my surgery on Monday 3/19. I woke up nauseous and in pain regretting what I had just done. Nonetheless, I couldn’t go back so I did my best to move forward. I’m working on getting enough liquids in now, and yesterday I managed to drink 50oz! Now I need to work on the protein drinks. Just thinking about them makes me nauseous. Tomorrow however, I get to move on to unsweetened apple sauce, low-fat cottage cheese, plain yogurt and mashed potatoes.. hooray! Perhaps this will help me to meet my protein requirement. Anyways.. this is tough! I just hope that I’m tougher.

Hey all - I'm 8 weeks out and stuck in a rut with meal prep. I've been making hard boiled eggs every Sunday (i eat a couple - hubby eats the rest) and tend to make roll-ups with 1 1/2 oz of lunch meat/wedge laughing cow/veggies. I eat yogurt and this week have measured out cottage cheese. I made white bean french onion soup this weekend too. But am getting bored with eggs and my rollups. I have done egg cups previously but am not overly fond of them. Looking for new ideas, ideally with dense meat protein rather than all the cheese and eggs I'm eating. Feeling like if I cook, I have to eat it FOREVER. Hubby helping now that he's over the nutrisystem he bought for himself during my first post surgery stages.

So I am confused. Your title says on-the-go purees. And only the second one is a puree. But in the body of your post you discuss progressing to real foods. Quinoa is not part of that progression to soft solids. No way would I at 2weeks post-op put any kind of nut or seed in my pouch and that means (no nuts, no chia, no quinoa, no strawberries or fruit/berries with peels, no hemp hearts, nada, zilch). Your hotel in vegas will at least have a breakfast bar (continental) where you can get boiled eggs, yogurts, etc. You can brink applesauce (unsweetened in the tube), and other veg if you must...but at dinners, just cut your food by each bite and make that bite really small. Engage in conversations. Move the stuff around on your plate. And eat your fill of the following fork soft foods: fish chicken MAYBE shrimp (I did fine on shrimp but YMMV) crab eggs eggs yogurt cottage cheese soft veggies (which most banquet food is soft veg anyway) soft skinless fruit (think fruit salad canned consistency) And that's it. You will likely only be eating 1 to 1 1/2oz protein + 1oz veg at the most if you are anything like my progression (and I have had a super easy progression) Hope that helps. But you want nothing that could possibly hang up in the seams of your new anatomy. And seeds and nuts, nut butters, tomatoes with seeds will absolutely do that!

Ok first things first take a breath. Now from my binder I'm pre surg by the way but you can have things like soup think tomato butternut squash anything that is not starchy you can have yogurt Greek is best I personally love oikos triple zero. You can have protein shakes provided they are whey isolate first ingredient. Sent from my SM-T380 using BariatricPal mobile app

Curious, how did you know? I’ve heard a good rule of thumb is if any food (ie something on your plan like a Protein Shake or yogurt) will satisfy then it’s real hunger... if you want a specific taste or sensation (salty, crunchy) or food (cookie, burger or even a healthy food) then it’s head hunger.

My nutritionist gave directions for fat free & sugar free everything for full liquid diet. Then NSA (no sugar added) after that in pureed diet. I think the real key is the No Sugar Added (NSA). For yogurt she highly recommend a blended greek yogurt with no chunks like the Oikos Triple Zero. It has 0 added sugar, 0 artificial sweetners & 0% fat. I found at least 4 of the flavors I liked. The Oikos 000 has 120 calories, 15g protein, 6g sugar, 14g total carbs. Chucks are fine after you get passed the pureed stage. One other thing, They told me to focus on the protein, carbs and liquid intake. The carbs would cover the sugar since it would be a big driver of carbs.

Hi all, I’m currently wondering if anyone knows how much sugar we should be minding post op when it comes to yogurt ? I don’t see doc till Tuesday and hoping to get an appt with the NUT for questions like this. Just wondering if anyone has any knowledge. My favorite has always been the Greek whips 100 cal , 9g protein but 12g sugar

My instructions are sip 64 ounces water, about 70-80 oz protein through liquids/yogurt/shakes. And sip the protein every 2-3 hours in "meals" stopping water before and after protein for 15-30 minutes. I am not exactly on the 2-3 hours, but I am reaching the protein and total water. But, my stomach still growls and I do get hungry at times. Is this normal? Sent from my XT1609 using BariatricPal mobile app

Is greek yogurt allowed yet? Also, have you tried bone broth?

I am sick to death of milky protein drinks, too, blech! I'm a longtime green smoothie gal, so hopefully one day I'll get there again. My next stage is: flakey fish, tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, eggs, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, greek yogurt, refried beans, smashed bananas, applesauce, mashed potatoes/sweet potatoes/cauliflower. Its a veritable cornucopia of food, 2 ounces at a time! I can't wait.

My default advice for this is protein water--there are several different brands and you can get it on Amazon if not in a local store. I still have shakes occasionally but have pretty much settled on chocolate as the only flavor I can stand. If you can find an acceptable way to get protein otherwise, go for it--maybe puree beef or chicken soup, for example. Drink some milk if you can tolerate that? Try some Oikos triple-zero yogurt when allowed. Good luck--getting sick of protein shakes seems to be pretty normal!

i am in the process of getting my stuff ready now & have chapstick,hand lotion,toiletries,baby wipes,swab sticks,favorite pillow,incentive spirometer,comfy clothes,slip on shoes,pajama pants,air freshener,medications,gas x strips,& phone charger for overnight stay.im sure im forgetting something on here,lol.at home i .have my protein water,protein shakes,bone broth,soups,sf jello,sf popsicles,sf fudgecicles,sf pudding,crm of wheat,oatmeal,sf lf yogurt,sf lf cottage chs,lf ricotta,pb2,crystal lite,sf koolaid,gatorade2,powerade zero,ls v-8 jce,diet snapple,&unflavored whey isolate protein powder.i bought sippy cup,baby spoons,small bowl,small containers,ice trays,popsicle mold,pill cutter/crusher,liq adult tylenol,metamucil smooth,miralax,tums,chewy vitamins(debating between bariatric advantage or celebrate),protein shaker w ball,& magic bullet so far.sorry for the long list but i know it was so helpful for me.im sure im still forgetting stuff.

Hello Everyone:) I'm new here! and I am in need of a support system. I had gastric sleeve surgery on 1/29/2018, which makes me 7 weeks post op! it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. My surgery went very well, I was back to work in 2 weeks. I'm a Finance Manager so I mostly sit at my desk all day. Now, let me take you through the good and the bad that I went through. Constipation after the surgery was horrible until I was introduced to Miralax! It's awesome...tasteless, odorless and you can add it to any beverage. I added it to unsweetened ice tea and water and it did the trick. My incisions healed fast except for the one in my belly button. It was a uncomfortable but tolerable for awhile until the pain stopped altogether. For the first 4 to 6 weeks, I tried to follow the diet but some days it was just too much! I had a hard time getting my protein shakes in after the surgery. Everything tastes different, it's kind of weird. I don't like eggs anymore and the smell of meat cooking makes me so nauseous! Before surgery I was a steak lover! now just the thought of steak makes my stomach hurt! So what am I eating when I do eat?? LOL:) My day pretty much goes like this, When I wake up the first thing I do is take all of my vitamins, Breakfast is 1 halo (clementines) and a yogurt, Lunch would be apple slices and cheese or chicken soup with 5 oyster crackers, Dinner.....honestly it varies because sometimes I'm not craving anything but if I am I'll eat a piece of fruit, or a grilled/baked chicken breast (skinless/boneless) and a cup of veggies. I never finish it all...after 5 bites I'm done! At this point, shrimps and fish are my favorite. In the beginning I was really depressed because of head hunger!!! It drove me nuts! I would crave something but as soon as I take a few bites I'm done! Then I would depressed because my mind wants to eat all of it but my tummy can't accept it! Once I thought about it, it was easier to move on. Why in the hell would I go back to same old habits that blew me up to 345lbs??? I didn't get surgery for nothing! so now, I absolutely love my sleeve because no matter how bad I crave something after a few bites, I'm done! As for exercise, I work out 3-5 times a week, most of my weight is on my lower body so I stay on the treadmill, bike, leg press (125 pounds) and the elliptical machine and also 5lb free weights. My oldest son is built like a freakin power ranger (obviously, he has his Dad's genes thank God!! But he's an excellent trainer and doesn't allow me to slack off. I would recommend gastric sleeve surgery to anyone who is serious about changing their life for the better. The surgery is only a tool, you have to be motivated and focused for it to beneficial for you. Every week the number on the scale goes down and that's all the motivation I needed! Don't be scared! Just do it! If you keep procrastinating, you're just delaying living your life to the fullest and being happy! and remember NO PAIN, NO GAIN! You have to go through something in order to get something!

I'm gonna buck the trend here and say, meh. I eat as late as 10 o'clock frequently. I'm hungry, my calorie goal for the day wasn't met and I needed the protein. I'll frequently make a protein cake with peanut butter and "iced" with plain yogurt. Bed time is about midnight. I believe that it really comes down to the relationship you have/had with food. I was a bulk eater, never a snacker. I didn't eat from boredom frequently, so the late night snack isn't a slider habit for me.

Omg thank you I’m sure you look gorg!![emoji4][emoji176] Okay I’m 5’7 measurements are 32-25-38. Yes I have about 20 more pounds I need to lose but it’s hard cause I snack on and off! Yes at the gym I just do treadmill and elliptical, I did yoga for months, I did Zumba a few times but I’m done with that I still be out of breath fast [emoji81] way too fast to deal with Zumba. I honestly just google different ways to exercise and at home exercises also. But again I realized I can go hard in the gym and do other things but I won’t lose my last pounds if I keep snacking so also look at other things that could be slowing down your last goal!! I’m still miss protein to the T. I make sure to have eggs, yogurt or salmon atleast 2 of the 3 a day. I’m always at restaurants because I don’t know how to cook so I always get salmon or grilled chicken. Now I can eat salad so lately I get grilled salmon or chicken Cesar salads. I watch little things like dressings, condiments on sandwiches, butter whenever I try to make eggs etc. Also drinks are a big deal. I started drinking alcohol again for the first time in over 15 months... gained 3 pounds after I went out twice and had brunch. I know it’s from those drinks (still till this day I can barely finish half of a reg plate of food). So I stopped that also. I only drink water, maybe I’ll have some iced tea in the week but water is literally the key. Like when I’m properly hydrated I don’t feel hungry or wanna grab some Doritos. So yes it’s Little things that’s truly helped me! Water, STILL & always thinking about protein and watching my snack intake. Everybody is different but I hope these tips helped !!