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I can see so many possibilities of tweaking it to make it have more Protein easily. White pizza - combine greek yogurt or ricotta with garlic, cheese and an egg and spread it over the crust. Add chicken and broccoli as toppings....for example. Or just make it a meatza pizza. I'm sooo gonna experiment with this recipe.

Hi, I wasn't either. Luckily I'm one of those crazy people that prepares for emergencies and one of my preps is this: https://smile.amazon.com/SurvivAMINO-Emergency-Substitute-Vitality-Sciences/dp/B00MAG75FU/ref=sr_1_10_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1492109292&sr=8-10&keywords=protein+tablets those shakes are disgusting! I am not taking 15 tabs (90 g of protein) I'm taking 9 a day instead. I don't need 90 g of protein!! Plus I bought these: http://www.oikosyogurt.com/products/yogurt-drink/strawberry they are amazing and taste so delicious and have 10g protein!!!! I will start those when I feel like "eating"

Try the oikos yogurts. They are so delicious!!! 10 G protein each. I have also seen the light regarding hunger. It's funny, I used to say, but I don't eat that much!! How am I fat?? I blamed my lupus meds and diabetes. Now I am remembering every time, I just casually walked past the pantry and stuffed an Oreo in my mouth. Or finished off the kids fried chicken so it wasn't wasted food. Or all the times I had "just a few bites" of the cake on the counter while I cleaned the kitchen. YES, I did eat that much!! I just did it without noticing.

It may just be a stall. There really is no rhyme or reason to them. It's your body adjusting to the changes going on. Just keep working your program, you may even try upping your calories and/or protein. I know for me having protein before and after a workout produces good results so I make a large protein shake with greek yogurt and have half before and half after.

Hey yall! Good luck to the preOpers and good work to the postOpers! Just wanted to share my fave way to get proteins and veggies in. I use my protein powder (Combat Protein Powder cookies and cream flavor, by Muscle Pharm from Costco). Then I add about a cup of fresh spinach leaves (from the bags in produce dept), a half of banana, some milk, ice, and peanut butter powder (PB2). Throw it all in the blender and u get a yummy nutritious protein shake! U can't taste the spinach at all! The drink has a light green color but it is wayyyyyy tastier then the protein shakes alone! The spinach helps me use the bathroom without taking pills. There's so many different things u can add to the shakes to agree with your taste buds cuz the shakes alone kid of were hard to get down even preop! Look for different ways to make them. Greek yogurt and peanut butter also adds more protein to the shake which is always a plus! Another tasty treat is Fat free sugar free black cherry jello mixed with greek yogurt! Again adds lots of protein even as a snack- it reminds me of jello with whipped cream when u mix it up. I also live on SF and FF Popsicles and Fudgicles! Very low cal snack that soothes my sweet cravings! I wish lots of luck to everyone who's sleeved or getting sleeved! Knock it out the park people!!!! ✌️

When it's hot outside I make the following: I scoop Protein powder or one container of Greek yogurt I cup of frozen tropical fruit 10-12oz of calorie free liquid 4 ice cubes. Blend the jeepers out of it and enjoy a summertime smoothie--approx. 180cal and 15-24+gr of protein. Yummy and so cooling. Good luck and keep cool. Prayers going up.

so the idea is the protein that's it ! i don;t get the 60 per day i now can't handle shakes or even yogurt with high protein i also don't eat Breakfast i only eat once a day i don't want to eat more i even can't handle more than once i so pissed of since the surgery which was on the 27th of july i lost 37 pounds i am so mad of myself don't know what to do You can't possibly do well post-op if you only eat once a day. That is a recipe for disaster. You have to eat breakfast. Even if you don't want to eat you just have to do it. The way I understand my surgeon's instructions, you should consume no more than 20-25 grams of protein at a time. So for me, that means I need to eat at least four to five times a day to reach 100 grams. That can be 3 meals and 2 Snacks.

Homemade purees should be completely smooth, like yogurt or pudding. No bits, no lumps, no bumps. I was advised to take bites no bigger than my thumbnail and yes, use a baby spoon! Most of us use smaller utensils, at least at the beginning. Even with bites that small, and even though it is pureed, you should chew it just to ensure it is smooth before swallowing. Then set down your spoon/fork and give it time to work its way down. The advice to eat a 1/4 cup is the MAX you should do, NOT the minimum. Most of us could only do a few tablespoons of food to begin with, if that. Don't eat more than your tummy can handle. Give food time to move down your throat and into your stomach before you eat more. Relax, eating should be slow and deliberate. And it should take a lot of time to eat, like 30 minutes or more. Don't drink within 30 minutes of eating. 20 minutes is too soon. Some have to wait a little longer than 30 minutes, it depends on how long you personally need to give digestion to complete and move the food out of your stomach. In the beginning I needed to wait 45 minutes. For many of us, yogurt was considered a puree, it is a heavier texture than a liquid. So if you can do yogurt without thinning it down, you are doing good! It is fine that it was in your full liquid stage, but it is still good to have in pureed stage. Try the above suggestions and see if that helps. It really sounds like you are eating too much too fast. Take the amount of time you think is slow and double it! Take the bite you think is small and half it, at least! Your tummy is very brand new, purees are heavier than shakes, it is normal for them to take longer to make it to your stomach, and longer to digest. ❤️ Good luck!!

I seem to be more hungry in the evening as well. I can also eat about 1/2 cup of food. I can do six ounces of yogurt but it takes me awhile.

@@Daisee68 How'd you do? I'm two weeks post op as of today. I haven't been eating much because I'm not hungry and broth, cream of chicken and greek yogurt can only be interesting so long. Need to "make" something.

I wasn't feeling well at all this morning. It wasn't until I told my husband about my symptoms (queasy, dizzy, etc.), that he said "Sounds like dehydration to me." I drank some G2 and I felt much better. However, we had company this morning for 3-hours and I was absolutely exhausted after they left. I was so tired, my eyes were burning. I had to take it easy for the rest of the day -- I had no energy to do a thing. We need to remember to drink, drink, and drink our fluids. I'm on liquids and a few mushy foods (cottage cheese, yogurt, canned fruit, refried beans). On Tuesday, I can add some solids into my diet. Hopefully, I'll feel restriction then, because I don't feel it much now. Bunny

Janette, I eat a lot of greek yogurt, favorite is apple cinnamon Chobani yogurt, lots of string cheese for Snacks, a handful of goldfish cracker in the evening for my evening shack after getting my daily Protein. I think you get just over 100 calories in those and there are something like 50-60 in a serving. I dont eat that many because being a cracker, they fill me up. I will sometimes have chili for lunch, maybe 4 oz of grilled turkey breast, or chicken, or even a plain hamburger patty with mustard or A1. With the hamburger, I do need to avoid the healthier lean ground beef becasue it sits in my stomach like a rock and isnt comfortable. I do eat a very small portion of a sweet item sometimes (ice cream, cookie, muffin, etc...) but they are limited and I never eat the whole thing. I find the diet very easy becasue I am not a person who requires a lot of diversity in my meals, I could eat the same thing every meal and be content. My general daily diet is Yogurt for Breakfast, 2x string cheese for morning snack, yogurt or a high protein food from my work cafeteria for lunch, a Protein Bar later in the afternoon, then some type of meat or a yogurt for dinner (depending on if I had a yogurt for lunch), then something small later in the evening if I feel like it. Gets my protein, keeps me full, and keeps me losing weight. I feel great so it must not be too bad of a diet....oh, plus my required Vitamins....

Thanks for the link up there - I am going to check that out! I completely understand the intolerance to eggs-me too! I have tried, and can do it, but it takes forever. It sounds like you are getting bored of the same food and want some variety and flavour. I also understand this and started hunting out curry recipies as they deliver nutrition, flavour, and you can make them low carb. Getting my veg in has been tough but this has definitely been the cure-slow cooking a huge mix of veg in a tasty sauce. I can eat about a quarter cup at a time, and use a cracker or two as my dip-it is delicious! You can definitely use fruit-I made yogurt parfaits for breakfast as well not too long ago! Use low fat, low sugar greek yogurt, with 2 tsp applesauce on top and a sprinkle of cinnamon and oats, almost tastes like the real deal Good luck!!!!

It is mind over matter. After the fifth day it got alot easier for me. I also tried to drink 100 oz of water a day. If you get any snacks, like sugar free jello, or yogurt, eat them. You can do it!

I struggled with this, too, until about 6 weeks out. It defiinitely gets better. In the meantime, my tips are the ones you hear so often - eat very, very, very slowly. "Full" takes some time to register, so if you're eating with any rapidity, you'll likely become over-full suddenly. I also measured based on the volume I was currently tolerating. Early on, 2 tablespoons was my standard measurement for mushies and about 1oz for solids. That increased little by little. I'm at 7 weeks now and can tolerate about 2-3 oz of meats, 6-8 oz of mushies like yogurt or Soup. But still only with a very careful watch on eating slowly and analyzing how I feel. And even tonight I mixed it up, with 1 oz of cheese, 1/2 cup of soup, and some Protein puffs and suddenly realized I had mindlessly taken two bites too many. It doesn't happen as often these day, but it can still happen if I'm not being mindful. Hope this helps. Here's wishing you much luck and patience and you adjust.

My Dr says no fruit or yogurt etc in the pre opp! It's very strict, water + protein powder + anything sugar free flavoring wise & then 4 oz of meats, cheeses or eggs.

You can do it. I was banded over two weeks ago and now in the mushy stage. I have to admit tonight I have been a little bad. I eat a cookie because we were baking for christmas. But other then that I have been sticking to it... I eat for liquids yogurt, protein shakes that I added everything to to make them taste yummy... sf puddings, sf jello.. I also made homemade custard that was yummy.. You can do it..

If it's not enteric coated, you can just crush it. Doesn't always taste the best, but there are things you can do to help, eg. don't mix it with something like applesauce you have to chew, sprinkle it into drinkable yogurt and spoon it down your throat. You won't want to crush enteric coated meds, so be sure to check with your pharmacist or doctor on this one. If it is enteric, maybe it's small enough to get down anyway, or you could be a situation where the size of mandatory medication determines the amount of fill you're able to get. I've tried something the size of a Tylenol, cut into quarters, and couldn't pass it. But others share stories of taking full size vitamins with no problems. Like most things band, it's a matter of personal tolerance levels.

Try to eat as healthy as possible and work out a lot. I eat a light fruit yogurt for breakfast. 4 strawberrys and 6 cheese cubes for lunch. Then I walk to the gym .5 miles and run 2 miles on the treadmil and walk back another .5 miles. I drink a lot of water!! Then I will do two scoops of protein in 16 oz of skim milk. When I go home from work I will usally eat a grilled chicken breast with some broccoli and maybe some long grain rice if I am really hungry. Then I will do 50 min of circuit training after my stomach has settled. I have lost 131 lbs in 8 months so it must work. Good luck to you I hope this information has helped you.

I've been on 3 cruises since being banded 2 1/2 yrs ago. The first one, I actually lost a couple of pounds! The dining room always has a healthy choice at every meal - and their portions aren't huge (I couldn't finish one, but I felt stupid asking for a doggy bag!). For breaskfast every morning, we went to the buffet and I ate oatmeal, eggs, and yogurt. You'll get so sick of the sight of food that it won't look that great by day 3! Good luck to you! Have fun! Marci

Like everything regarding diets and weight loss, ask here and get a million different answers. I wasn't given a carb limit or number. I was given a calorie range. Along with my protein and fluid goals that is the only limitation my nutritionist gave me. I do not eat low carb and my NUT doesn't push it. However I do pay close attention to the source of my carbs. Plant based carbs I don't worry about. I avoid "white carbs", like those found in breads, pastas, white rice and refined sugar. I try to eat as cleanly as possible. No "diet" food . On the occasions I use butter, I use real butter. However those occasions are few and far between. I buy plain yogurt and add my own fruit. I eat whole plants and grains. I am never constipated and have been losing steadily.

Hi all, This group is pretty buried within the forums, so I can see how I missed it until now (and I can also see why it's pretty inactive). I would have really liked to read a story like mine from someone else while I was researching the sleeve surgery. So, here's my story and I hope it helps someone. I would love to hear from anyone and try to pump some life into this forum! I'm a newbie, just 12 days post-op, so I am still learning everyday and ask the veterans dumb questions all the time. But I still think my experience just coming to terms with knowing the sleeve was for me might help another low BMIer in a similar situation. I'm 31 years old, 5'6" and started at 180lbs (29 BMI). I had a lot of backlash from friends and family when I made my mind up to go forward with this, but ultimately everyone ended up being supportive after they realized there was no talking me out of it and the surgery was done. For low BMIers wondering if the sleeve is too drastic for them, I'll tell you it's a personal choice and a lifelong commitment. That being said, I was a major yo-yo dieter. I binged on food for weeks, gain 35 pounds, then went vegan cold turkey (cold tofu? Lol). Lost 30lbs. Then went on a binge, gained 40lbs, then did Atkins (extreme difference from vegan), lost 35lbs. I've been repeating this cycle of bingeing then dieting (insert any fad diet here: HCG diet, Orange Theory obsession, phentermine, personal trainer 3x, vegetarian, back to Atkins, Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers...) since I was 12 years old. Anyway, the highs got higher and I never made it back to my pre-binge numbers. I got exhausted from dieting. Frustrated with myself and my lack of impulse control. I looked into WLS. My mom is the same as I am, just add another 100lbs. I went with her to a weight loss seminar and learned about the sleeve. I was ready to sign up then and there; finally, I found something that could be a real tool to help me maintain a healthy weight for life - you can't binge if you can only eat a half a cup of food at a time! Unfortunately, the US healthcare system wanted me to be a 35 BMI to get the surgery. And, if I wanted to waste a couple years of my life, I guarantee I would've made it there, and I would have brought along my new friends diabetes, high BP, and joint pain. Instead, I researched getting the sleeve in Mexico where I could pay a fraction of the cost of surgery in the US, and they were willing to do the surgery within 2 weeks of my filling out paperwork and a deposit for just about anyone BMI 28 or higher. I went w/ Dr. Ortiz at OCC. I was THRILLED with the entire experience. When I arrived in Mexico I began having doubts, but the staff and the other patients put me at ease. There were several very low BMI patients with my same issues. An interesting fact the surgeon told me is that once you gain 30 pounds the likelihood of you losing the weight and keeping it off without surgery is 10%. I already knew I didn't fall into that 10%. So I did it on 7/22/16. After my pre-op diet (which was absolutely the hardest part of this entire process!), I weighed 173 pounds on date of surgery. I'm 12 days out and weigh 163lbs now. I really think that being low BMI and healthy were 2 major reasons I had such an easy surgery. Aside from a little nausea caused by the anesthesia (I never threw up, just felt icky for about an hour) and getting the gas out, I had no complications. My incisions are all tiny. I have no pain in my abdomen. I'm a stomach sleeper and can sleep on my stomach. I was only on pain meds a couple days past surgery (and I just took what I was told, not sure I even had any pain ever). Getting 64oz of liquid in the first 2 days didn't happen for me, but as soon as I could introduce the Protein Shakes, this process became totally workable. I'm currently drinking 3 Premier Protein drinks p/day and get 90g of Protein per day. I drink 48oz of regular Water and 16oz of Vitamin water. I enjoy tomato Soup with almond milk and yogurt drinks (the yogurt adds another 12g of protein, bringing my count up to 102g) as my Snacks. I mix my Vitamins with the soup and the yogurt, because I'm not supposed to take them as pills yet. The biggest issues for me are mental. At this point, I haven't had solid food yet, so I just miss eating. I get to start my pureed phase on 8/5, so I'll let you know how it goes. I'm very excited for cottage cheese, poached eggs and the ricotta bake! My dr's goal for me is 150lbs, because that puts me in the healthy BMI range, but my goal is 130lbs. Here's my before shot, I'm going to update it on the 22nd of each month: Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Wow Im so happy I found this forum and topic!! Im a 30 BMI 5’ 3 170 and have dieted since I was 12. A few years ago I reached my highest weight ever of 229 but that was pregnant. my skin has been stretched out terrible. I lost 70lbs after losing the baby weight of 29lbs. So I got down to 130. But of course Im back up again. My pre diabetes keeps coming and going depending on my current weight. I honestly can’t handle it anymore. I eat 80 percent paleo not sugar or breads. No soda. I mean CLEAN!! But the scale keeps creeping up. I can’t work out like I use to do some health issues and joint pain. I don’t dare tell anyone because of the shame I feel about getting this done. I wanted to be a health coach and now Im having surgery. Its hard to explain. No one knows but my husband. So I have you guys to talk too. Im headed to Mexico next month to have surgery with Dr. Ponce at INT. Any advice on pre op and post op would be most appreciated. Im afraid of getting hypoglycemia after surgery. Also will I be able to work out hard like running and stay hydrated down the road? Im worried about throwing up and having acid reflex the rest of my life and regretting my decision. My doctor wants me to do 3 days before surgery of just yogurt and water. Is that really necessary? Also 10 days liquids. That freaks me out!!

I eat so slow that I pretty much eat throughout the day. It's not like grazing because I pack my lunch in a little bento box. I have 2 oz of cottage cheese, 3 oz of meat and/or cheese, sunflower seed crackers, 2 oz of fruit and maybe a Greek yogurt dip. It seems to keep me busy at work until it's time to go home. On the weekends I'm so busy that I usually have to remind myself to eat and then grab a quick meal. Is eating through the day unhealthy in the long run?

Oh, bless you--small constant sips for fluid. Keep a beverage with you all the time and sip like a fiend. I never managed to get in all the protein I was supposed to, but folks do--have you looked at the pureed food suggestions on this forum? People make mashed-up chicken and egg salad and all kinds of protein-rich foods. I know I ate a lot of yogurt and a lot of smushed-up cottage cheese during mushies, plus refried beans with melted cheese--that seemed SO decadent at the time, after a couple of weeks of liquids! Hang in there--it gets a lot easier once your options expand. :-)