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Thank you all of you!! I seem to be going back and forth on the 1lb. Yea I am on regular food but I really watch it. They said I was a fast healer and if I am comfortable eating it then its fine but be mindful about it. I couldn't eat a hamburger but more like salmon and some salad. I eat some crackers and suck on them to get them mooshy. But I also am on soups and yogurt. But I am proud of one thing, NO CAFFEINE or REGULAR POP!!! Good Luck to all of you!! And THANK YOU AGAIN

Thanks for the well wishes, everyone! I'm still having some trouble sleeping, as I expected as I am normally a tummy sleeper. But, otherwise I guess I'm doing ok. Trying to sip Water through the day. I haven't eaten much of anything, maybe 1/3 cup of Soup broth, 4 or 5 bites of yogurt and half a packet of cream of wheat (and we were out of milk so it was just the Cereal lol). It's not that I can't eat, I just really don't feel the need to. This morning I'm having a medifast chai to try to get some nutrients and Protein in me.

Try eating tougher foods later in the day and see if that helps. Supplementing with protein powders may be an option. Yogurt and cottage cheese are good protein sources too. Brad

Don't know if this will help, but here are some foods I use... A typical day is: Scrambled egg and cheese for bfast Egg Drop Soup 2 nuggest of chicken wings (boneless) Ricotta Dessert Surprise Chili This game me: Cal: 500 Carb: 17.3 Protein: 33.7 I was seriously low on Protein but was full. Add two muscle milks and you have 63 protein, 700 cal and 23 carbs... It can be done! Lactose sugar free LIght chocolate Muscle Milk Cal: 100 Carb: 3 Protein: 15 All Natural Greek Yogurt (with fruit in bottom) Cal: 130 Carb: 18 Protein: 13 Aimee's Surprise Chili (Check Recipe forum) Cal: 70 Carb: 9.3 Protein: 6.7 Scrambled Egg and Cheese Cal: 140 Carb: 2.23 Protein: 9.1 Egg Drop Soup (2 CUPS): Cal: 146 Carb: 2.2 Protein: 15

The following is a few cuts from an article written on the website "Web MD" regarding "Restaurant Traps." Eating out can be a challenge those of us who eat bariatric style......restaurants don't make it easy, do they......... :ohmy:Applebee's doesn't want you to know:That many of its "low-fat" items have more than 500 calories. (In fact, its low-fat chicken quesadillas have 742 calories and 90 grams of carbohydrates per order.) :eek:IHOP doesn't want you to know:That its Omelette Feast has 1,335 calories and 35 grams of saturated fat. (By the time you finish eating this behemoth Breakfast, you'll have consumed 150 percent of your daily fat requirement and 300 percent of your suggested cholesterol intake.) Said IHOP's director of communications, "We do not maintain nutritional data on our menu items, so I am unable to assist you." :unsure:Dunkin' Donuts doesn't want you to know:That each of its medium-size fruit-and-yogurt smoothies packs at least 60 grams of sugar—more than four times the sugar in a chocolate-frosted cake doughnut. The fruit purees used in the smoothies are mixed with liberal doses of sugar and/or high-fructose corn syrup. :blink:Baskin-Robbins doesn't want you to know:That, unlike Jamba Juice's all-fruit smoothies, the top four ingredients in its Blue Raspberry Fruit Blast are Sierra Mist soda, Water, sugar, and corn syrup. :scared2:Maggiano's Little Italy doesn't want you to know:Just how many calories and carbs you're consuming in those massive Pasta portions. (As the menu puts it, "Family-style service or individual Entrees are available...Whichever you choose, you'll have plenty to share or take home.") In Italy, a standard pasta serving means 4 ounces of noodles with a few tablespoons of sauce. At Maggiano's, a large order of pasta translates into 2 pounds of noodles piled high on a hubcap-size dinner plate (15 1/2 inches in diameter)

Yes we have all felt the need to "eat/chew" something. Totally normal. As mentioned previously however just because you can does not mean should. I recommend spacing out your allowed foods. When I was on mushies I was allowed 8 oz of tomato soup (or sweet red pepper whatever but vegetable, smooth and low fat/cal); I'd wait an hour and then have the yogurt of cottage cheese. If I ate everything in one setting I would be both head and body hungry in an hour. If you are hungry eat more of the foods you are allowed. Don't eat pizza or fries. A bit of a lecture. If pizza, fries and chicken fingers are bad for you they are bad for your children. Feed your kids versions of what you are eating. They literally won't starve. If they are hungry enough they will eat it.

Egg drop soup was my favorite and filled me up. I also ate thin gravy, yogurt, fruit juices, bouillon cubes. Hope this helps. Good luck.

yogurt (kroger carb master, danon light smoothie/yougurt) low fat cottage cheese,apple sauce (will be hard to find sugar free bc of natural sugar) cream soups (solid pieces strained, you shouldnt be eating any chunks!) broths. Protein shakes (3 gram rule. no more than 3 grams of fat/sugar per serving) Dont exceed 4oz per meal Just because its a liquid doesnt mean you should eat it lol. Thats the list my surgeon has given me. I will have to do that for 3 weeks.

I eat the Walmart brand, great value, light Greek yogurt. The banana cream is really good and has 90 calories, 0 fat, 9 carbs, 7 sugar, and 12 protein. I eat one just about every day.

Prior to my surgery, I had to attend one general informational session, one support group, one psychological assessment, got clearances from a heart doctor, a pulmonologist, and my PCP, and attended a 3-hour seminar on what to eat during each phase of the process. I started my pre-op diet on May 15, and follow the diet to a "T" -- twelve days of the following (no more, no less): 1 cup low-fat soup (cream or tomato) 1 cup veggies (carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, or iceberg lettuce), with optional 1-2 tbsp fat-free dressing ½ cup of each of the following: sugar-free pudding, sugar-free applesauce, fat-free yogurt, and oatmeal. 3 protein shakes 48-64 oz. water The doctor said the pre-op diet was to reduce the fat around my liver, but it had some great psychological benefits as well. I savored every bite I took, took my time to eat and enjoy it, used smaller utensils and plates. Surprisingly this filled me up, thanks to the protein shakes and yogurt. I went to a restaurant with family and ordered only water, I brought my own meals to barbecues with friends and did not cheat once. It felt very empowering! Also a bit frustrating as my friends tried to push their food on me -- "Are you sure you don't want to try this? It's really good. One bite won't mess up your diet." I sat there very happy with my soup and salad, and finally shut them up by asking if they wanted to try my delicious iceberg lettuce and cream of tomato soup. The final day of pre-op (the day before surgery) was clear liquids only. I drank a gallon+ of water, and ate about 4 sugar-free jello cups. I did go to bed hungry that night but happy to do so because I knew what was coming next. My husband and I are avid boaters with lots of friends in the boating community who we spend most evenings and weekends with. Two days before my surgery, we had 7 of my girlfriends on our boat and one of them took a group photo. There they all were looking cute in their bikinis, and there I was looking fat and frumpy in my t-shirt and jean shorts. Any nerves or qualms I felt about the surgery were instantly gone when I saw the photo. I was ready! The surgery itself on May 28 went well. It took about 2 hours, and my surgeon also repaired a hiatal hernia. I did have one problem in the recovery room. Apparently my body can't handle opioids very well, and every time I pushed the pump for more pain medicine I would fall asleep and then quit breathing. I had a dedicated nurse who was closely monitoring this. She quickly contacted my surgeon who recommended a dose of Narcan to reverse the effects of the opioids, and then ordered only manual doses of pain meds. If it weren't for the constant care of the recovery nurse, it could have been a bad situation. I spent one night in the hospital, where they encouraged me to walk the halls, and even refused to discharge me until I did so. I took and passed a second leak test the 2nd day. They sent me home with an abdominal binder (#gamechanger), a pill crusher, and prescriptions for pain, nausea, cramps, and reflux. I have 6 purple incisions on my belly -- they aren't bruised, the glue they used is purple. It feels like a scab, and will fall off on their own in 1-2 weeks. I am up and walking around, even up and down stairs, although more than about 8 minutes at a time is exhausting and painful. But each time gets easier. Tomorrow I start the puree phase of my post-op diet. Protein shakes, applesauce, pudding, cream of wheat, yogurt. Nothing with anything but a smooth consistency, so I can puree canned fruits & veggies, fish, etc. Twenty days of that, then on to soft foods. At 6 weeks I will no longer have restrictions but plan to eat most of the same (eggs, fish, lean chicken, veggies, etc.). Thanks to everyone here who have shared their stories, challenges and victories. It really has been helpful for me, and I'm sure many others.

My doctor requires 48 hours clear liquid and then a full-liquid diet until our two-week follow-up. As long as everything is OK, we are allowed to do the soft/pureed food for the next 2 weeks. I was told we could have cream Soup, smooth yogurt, puddings, applesauce w/out chunks, and whipped cottage cheese during the liquid stage. Of course, this is in addition to any low-calorie non-carbonated beverages and Protein shakes. I pureed a can of vegetarin chili 'til it was liquid today for lunch. I hope I didn't push it too far. I just couldn't stand the darn cream Soups anymore. There were no chunks in the chili so I hope I didn't damage anything by cheating a bit. Anyone have any creative ideas for the liquid stage?

I use milk normally. If I'm really treating myself I add fruit, fat free pudding, or yogurt and ICE. Makes them taste like milk shakes. My new BF is our bullet. Handy little blender.

You can always try adding to it. I add Greek yogurt and PB fit to my morning protein breakfast shake, both add extra protein

@@Debbie915 I second the Unjury! I'm 4 weeks post-op now and the unflavored unjury has been great (well...as great as you can get when you're dealing with Protein powder). My favorite is the protein pudding I make - a box of sugar free Jell-O Pudding (I'm partial to vanilla, but any of the SF flavors will work), one packet of unflavored Unjury powder and two cups of Fairlife Skim Milk (for the extra protein). Each 1/2 cup serving is 11.75 grams of protein. It's a nice change when you get sick of greek yogurt or other things and want something smooth. The Unjury chicken soup flavor is surprisingly decent, as well, if you want something that will just stand on it's own.

Thanks everyone!!! My surgery went very smoothly on the 8th. No problems at all. I actually had surgery at 8am and was discharged by 1030---that was crazy, but I was up and walking, peed and took my xray very quickly. There was once after I drank some juice that I thought I was gonna vomit, I went all pale they said, but I just belched like a man for like 5 minutes and felt soooooooooooo much better. The first night I did a lot of walking to relieve the gas pains. Yesterday was better, adn today I just feel a little sore. I got to eat some creamy soup and yogurt today---I was AMAZED at how little it took to FILL me up...I was stuffed with 1/2 cup soup, and 1/2 of the yogurt....thats great!!!!!!

I feel lucky with my pre-op diet after reading through this. I get to have an egg and/or yogurt or toast or Protein shake or bar, followed by a Protein Shake, then 4 to 6 oz of meat and a vegetable and then a protein shake for dinner. Had a few tough moments but this seemed to be more of a "practice" time for after than anything else. Although I am 12 days in (with a day "off" for Thanksgiving and a couple of slip ups) and down 6.4 lbs so it must be working. I am with Dr. Marsden in Argyle, TX - he is one of the top docs which is why I picked him. He is pretty laid back and his staff is terrific. I am really hungry today, but I now know I need to keep my complaining to a minimum Hang in there!!! Sending positive thoughts!!

If you had asked me a month or two ago, if I had a sweet tooth, I would have said yes!! However, I have noticed that since the preop diet, I haven't had any "cravings" for sweets like before. Before, I could think about a sweet and just have to go get it. I even noticed that when I went out to eat with the family this week, one child ate ice cream and the other ate a piece of cheesecake, I didn't even desire them. Talk about a shock because these are two of my FAVORITE desserts! Having said that, for my Protein shakes on the liquid diet, I did choose the chocolate flavor and now that I am on mushies, my yogurt is key lime pie flavor. So I guess I am getting my sweet fix flavor without the calories of the real thing.

I am finally home from the hospital. I have a drain plug to care for but I'm home. Able to tolerate cottage cheese and yogurt, but not ice cold water. Weird what is so different in taste and textures. Just taking it one day at a time.

I started sliming this last weekend and it seemed to be a result of consuming a very small portion of non fat frozen yogurt (it was literally a spoonful). It happened again today when I ate a piece of a banana. I'm thinking my kryptonite for the time being might be sugar since other diary products have not bothered me. I'm glad to hear that it is not always permanent although an aversion to sugar could be a positive thing!

43 pounds is great! Don’t lose heart. For me I find premier protein shakes, Atkins bars, babybel lite cheese and Dannie Greek yogurt easy to always have on hand or in the car. For more meal foods, soup with extra chicken added, Trader Joe’s “zucchini fritters” basically an egg and vegetable frittata, grilled chicken and beans from my local Mexican place. Trader Joe’s has some good low carb ready foods. I hope this is helpful. Good luck!

Frankensleeve: Attention! We are about to vomit!! Erin: Frankensleeve, don't be stupid. We don't have any food in you. All we had for dinner was yogurt and that was hours ago! Frankensleeve: I don't care! We are about to vomit! You can't tell me what to do. Erin: Frankensleeve, just calm down. Frankensleeve: No!! Here it comes.... [Erin vomiting VIOLENTLY] Erin: What the f*$#, Frankensleeve?! We didn't even have anything in there. You just made me spend 30 minutes violently throwing up clear liquid and bubbles! And now I have petechial bruising around my eyes from heaving so much. You a#*hole! Frankensleeve: Enjoy the post-vomit nausea, b(*$#! What was Frankensleeve's problem? Has anyone else randomly vomited on an empty stomach? Did you ever figure out why? If so, please share so I can avoid ever doing that again. Afterward, I was (barely) able to keep an anti-nausea pill down. (BTW, I am 4.5 weeks out from being sleeved and everything had been going swimmingly until last night when the intense nausea struck suddenly and fiercely.)

Protein shakes actually can be really harsh on the stomach, not to mention if you're making them with milk, its often a lot more milk in a day than the average adult is used to. Also, liquids in tends to equal liquids out. its a fairly normal post op experience, but you do have to be mindful of dehydration. Things like benefibre and metamucil help as they provide some bulk to the stool and slow down its passage through your body. Also, you could ask your doc if you can have something like Imodium. But also - I was never put on a shake regime. I got through liquids on things like fruit smoothies, thin yogurt, pureed fruit and home made vegetable Soups - with meat blended into them for protein. Protein Shakes just arent such a big thing here, they can be part of a post op regime but are not often prescribed as the be all and end all weight loss. so perhaps try taking in some other foods too - in liquid form of course.

Thanks for reading everyone I just need some help and advice...Okay so as alot of you know I had my surgery on monday 11/20 and since then I havent been able to get much down which I understand is normal...Yesterday I defiantely got more down and today even more...I just want to ask someone if what I got down today is normal or too much becasue I feel it is a lot...okay here it is: 7:30am 8 ounces of carnation instant breakfast (skim milk) 9:30am 4 ounces of water 11:30am7 ounces of yogurt smoothie 12:30pm 4 ounces of water 1:30pm 8 ounces of chicken broth 3:10pm 4 ounces of water 4:45pm 8 ounces of carnation instant breakfast 6:15pm 3 ounces of water 7:10pm 4 ounces of jello pudding and I plan on just having water until I go to bed....Please tell me if this is normal or what....I am getting used to this so I need all the help I can get...Also, I can drink things pretty quickly is that normal? It is hard for me to slow down...Thanks for your help

Hi everyone, Glad you are all doing well, hope you manage to sort that rash out Christy. I ended up back at the hospital yesterday as the pain next to my naval was so bad. They gave me some stronger painkillers but since then it's not been too bad so the crushed paracetamol is doing the job fine. How do you feel Christy, still holding your tummy? I am, but not as much as before. Did you find anything on bad breath? My kids keep telling me to clean my teeth LOL! My teeth are clean but my breath still smells! I'm feeling a bit hungry today which I suppose is a good thing that my appetite is coming back although I still feel bloated and my stomach is still hard to the touch. Does anyone else feel like this? I'm having my 3 cartons of milkshake each day which I think are around 250 cals each and some SF Jello. I also had an Actimel drinking yogurt today as I thought the good bacteria in there might help my stomach get back to normal. I am supposed to be on these liquids for another week yet before going on to mushies but I think I will need something else to eat before then! Craig, do you make your own broth or are you buying it? Do you think we could strain some canned soup like minestrone and drink the liquid from that? Not got weighed yet as I feel really fat and bloated so I don't want to be disappointed! I'll wait until all this gas has gone!

Hi Christy, Sound like our post-op diets are pretty much the same. Week 1 Clear Liquids (but that includes Jello and Popcycles). Second week Full Liquids (which includes low-fat, low-sugar yougurt/pudding) and low-fat creamy (strained) Soup. Third week Soft Foods (Protein and carbs). Fourth week solid food. My preop diet (to reduce fatty liver) is two weeks of (6) Glucerna shakes, (2) cups low-fat yogurt and (2) cups %100 fruit juice per day (I can also have clear broth). Eight days to go on this diet. I'm not craving anything except almonds (very weird) which I liked to snack on before I started the diet. I have a follow-up one week after surgery and normally the first fill is one month after surgery. I don't have a time for my surgery yet, but they told me I was the only lapband patient scheduled for that day. I'm going to my first support meeting (with my wife) Tuesday nite (before my surgery the next Monday). Have you chosen a band yet? I'm going with the new generation of the Realize Band (Band-C) which was just FDA approved in October 2008. Craig