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I choose to not take the "menu" point of view, because with 2 small kids it is hard for me to figure out a menu. What i like to do is just figure on how much I am going to eat, and try to make a majority of it protein. I also have 2 fruits and 3 veggies I HAVE to get in throughout the day. So When I make meals for the kids, I will have one egg, some cottage cheese, or yogurt. I will have a piece of fruit for a snack. For lunch I will have some lean fish or chicken and a small salad with vinegar and oil. One more fruit snack. For dinner I usually have a small piece of whatever protein we are having, and I always serve two veggies with my dinners, so I have my last two veggie servings at this point. I then treat myself to some sort of dessert. Either a sugar free jello, pudding, popcicle or fudgecicle. I really try to not focus on food so much. If i do I get obsessed.

I can not give you a normal meal day for me yet, i'm still on liquids. but, i was told by my nutrititionist to eat 6 small meals a day, as she puts it. I do eat breakfast, lunch and dinner... but i have a healthy "snack' 3 times a day. The nutritionist requires this to have Protein. I use string cheese, yogurt.. turkey rolled up and so on. I'm told with the exception of sleep time. I should never go 4 hours without eating, it will set me up for a bad meal choice. but like always, listen to your own doc or nutrit. best of luck to all!

I have an egg pluss a white, scrambled...WITH ketchup. When I first wake up. 730 am. ON the way to work, I get a 20 oz Water and 42 oz iced tea with saccharin. I try to get those both down beteen 930 and 1030. I have a weight watcher smart ones frozen lunch...under 300 cal. My afternoon is great until about 400pm...I want to eat EVERYTHING. I try to satisfy myself with some peanuts or turkey. I make dinner at home for my husband and I eat 6 oz of that. Then around 8 pm I have a fat free sugar free pudding or yogurt. I think I need a fill.

As soon as I get up, I go get a cup of hot green tea and a Slimfast Lo-Carb chocolate shake. I take them back to my bathroom. I sip the hot tea and take my morning meds. I also take 2 Fiber Choice Tablets, 2 Max Strength Antacids, and 1 Flintstone Vitamen. I then shower. I get out of the shower and start drinking my slimfast. I put on my makeup and blow dry and fix my hair. By now I am done with the slim fast and my lotion has dried. I get dressed and take my empty tea cup back to the kitchen to prepare myself a cup of oatmeal. I use the Weight Control Cinnamon with hot Water, which I thin down. I add a package of sweet-n-low to it. After eating my oatmeal, I grab a bottled water if I am headed out the door. At lunch, I usually have a Lean Cuisine Meal, or Single serving Tuna with unsweetened applesauce, Light Miracle Whip and some relish., or Non-Fat Cottage cheese with snack size Lite fruit, or Cup of Turkey Chili with a little shredded cheese, or Broccoli Cheese Soup (Like Quizno's or Panera), or 1/2 a Grilled chicken Breast and some Grilled Veggies. Mid Afternoon I eat my Yoplait Nonfat Yogurt. I usually swim for 30 minutes around 3 pm. That is my exercise! dinner - If I cook dinner I eat 1/4 cup of whatever I fix. Example: 1/4 Cup Meatloaf, 1/4 Cup Green Beans, and a 1/4 Cup of Mashed Potatoes. If I don't cook, I eat leftovers or what I usually eat for lunch. Around 8:00 pm I usually have Fiber One Cereal, Skim Milk and either strawberries or blueberries. How much I have depends on how much or little I ate during the day. I use Fitday.com to keep track of my calories, Protein and fiber intake. I eat no less then 1000 calories and no more then 1200 calories per day. My protein intake 60 grams minimum. My fiber intake 25 grams minimum. I don't worry about the carbs because I am not eating Bread or Sugar. Other things I eat sometimes: sugar free Jello with Cool Whip Free, Sugar Free pudding, Canned Spinach with sauted onions and garlic, sugar-free popsicles, deli prepared chicken salad, grilled fish, broccoli chopped and well cooked, Refried Beans, Guacamoli, Vegetarian Baked Beans, Black Beans, 1/2 Baked Potato, 1/2 or less Baked Sweet Potato, Minestrone Soup... Eating out - I ate Chinese last Wendesday. First time since banding. I ate Hot and Sour Soup. I ordered Moo Goo Gai Pan. I ate 4 small pieces of the chicken, all the mushrooms, and 4 peas. It looked like I didn't touch the plate. I took the rest home. The next day I made chicken salad out of the rest of the chicken. Mexican food I usually order one cheese or beef enchilada, small guacamole and refried beans. Other restaurants I either order a cup of soup or a potato with everything on the side. I don't eat sour cream, chives, or bacon bits. I do put a small amount of margarine sometimes and some shredded cheese. I don't even try to eat the skin and I only eat one half of the potato. I don't eat bread, sweets, or anything that is empty calories except a sugar-free jello, or sugar-free popsicle every once in a while. I drink at least 64 ounces of water a day...never with meals. Staying away from the fried foods, bread and sweets has helped most. I never have the food cravings that I use to have. I use to never eat Breakfast. No wonder my metabolism was shut down. Now eating small amounts 4 to 5 times a day really has helped!

Glad to see your tummy feeling better Kim. I hate to have an upset stomach and with those stupid antibiotics for the h pylori, my stomach is not a happy camper. With food, no food, lots to drink, not lots, still getting upset stomach. only 6 more days of it left. Still no "itchies" , but I am figuring I will be soon. I did fall into a marketting trap and buy the new Bryer's light yogurt with PROBIOTICS (ta-da). Made me feel like i was just doing a little more for the situation. And other than that, and driving my new car, I havent done much. I do have scream HOOORRRAAAY !!!! for no more mini van. I hated that thing. I have a Pontiac G6 green, with sun roof. I looooove my new car. I am a pontiac girl. Its fun and has a killer sound system in it. I drive around listening to "Du Hast" by Rammstein almost all the way up. Yea,,, they are a German metal band. But, I also listen to Enya cranked on the stereo too. Melissa, I need your tri-lingual brilliant daughter to translate it. I know half of it... but some words I cant understand what he is screaming at me. So thats me in a nut shell. I'm gonna call Dr B friday to see what's the status of my paperwork. He's got everything. I just wanna know when he is gonna review it and send it to the INS.

greek yogurt and ranch dressing mix... Great dip for veggies (I use spicy ranch sometimes) yummy. Even my kids eat it and love it.

Hey Everyone, I'm 11 days post-op and feeling great. I have been very lucky to have had no nausea, vomiting, very little pain, and all around I can do all the things I used to do before surgery. I was wondering if anyone else this early in wasn't having any problems with their liquids. I can drink a bottle of water fairly easily. I have very little restriction when it comes to water, crystal light, etc. I do have some restriction when it comes to cream of wheat, yogurt, S.F pudding. I just want to make sure my little belly is working right. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I tried to start early and wound up throwing up in the parking lot of Whole Foods. So I am sticking to the rules! :-) Thanks for the good advice. I will stick to Soup and yogurt....

I am just finishing up my 2 week post of liquid diet(I also had 2 weeks of Clear liquids before surgery). My Dr didnt allow yogurt or sf pudding. The closest to normal I got (besides the clear soup) was sf Jello and sf popsicles. My next phase is 4 weeks of pureed/mushes. I have to admit I am thinking of staying on liquids another week because I have made slow but steady progress while on liquids only. The first few days are the worst, but after that you accept the limitations and make due.

I'm not going to lie, I struggle with it. Eggs are a great source of protein, but I don't always feel like making them. I buy the Garden Veggie Patties by Morningstar from Costco (they are bigger and have 18g protein). I try to drink one Muscle Milk Lite or Premier Protein daily, but that's not always the case. Cottage cheese and greek yogurt are great sources of protein, as well as beans. I like making salads that are protein packed (spinach, eggs, beans, sunflower seeds, cubed fake meat if I have it). I snack on low-fat string cheese almost daily. A lot of the processed fake meat products have a good deal of protein, but they are also pretty dry so I have to take tiny bites and chew like crazy. They are the #1 thing that makes me PB or in the beginning, get stuck. I have, to date, lost 61 pounds. I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian (though I don't drink milk, I do eat dairy products). Before surgery, I was definitely a "starchitarian" so the lap band lifestyle has most definitely helped me lose weight. My body loves the extra protein that I get, and the band limits the amount of starches I can eat. I'll definitely be following this thread to see if more suggestions come through. I would love to hear them!

I was banded december 22. I lost 1 pound pre-op and 14lbs post op. I was not put on a pre-op diet and tried to do it on my own...and lost the one pound. My first pre-op appointment is January 4. But anyways, I am on week two creamy liquids. I'm making it, but its been hard to do the 48 oz of water everyday. The pain is gone. Mylanta gas chews are the bomb! I was so glad to sip my tomato soup and eat sugar free pudding! I mix my protein mix with kefir and I will be so glad when I can have regular protein. When I saw John Stamos on the greek yogurt commercial I wanted greek yogurt. Since we cannot have fruit yogurt, I've been tolerating vanilla flavored greek yogurt. Tastes like sour cream. None of this takes the place of waffle fries or chicken minis...lol and I came to my mom's house and she made a brown sugar pecan cake and a yellow cake with cream cheese icing with pecans. Then my brother and my son just came home with Micky D's for everyone (my treat, but none for me). I'm staying in the room sipping my water. I'm excited about getting to the next levels and back to a new normal. I know that I will have to eat healthier but that's ok. I'm ready to EAT and not sip everything! But I love my band.

I started trying just one meal a day of solid meats, and still chose to stick to super soft meat. Things like fajita meat worked really, flank and skirt steak are kind of fatty, so it helped keep them moist, and easily chewed down. I always added some sort of gravy/condiment/sauce to meat even if it was just a hint of steak sauce, or greek yogurt, it helped me transition to solids. I know you're frustrated. The B12 will actually help with energy. I was popping one 2500mcg sublingual every day, and at my 18 month f/u appointment, my levels were double the high normal so my surgeon had me cut down to 3-4 times a week and my levels scaled down to normal. Honestly, I had some outside life stressors that I think contributed to my "fear" or slow transition to solid food, plus I felt like sh*t for the first 3 months. I was hospitalized again around 6-7 weeks post-op, my husband was in a shithole of Afghanistan getting mortared every day, we went over 30 days with zero communication at one point so my life was pure stress with trying to fully recover before my husband returned was a top priority. I can honestly say that once my husband came home, life was so much easier. I still struggled with solids, but it seems that with that stress out of the way, things really progressed. I know how you feel, I remember those days all too well even though it was so long ago. I also wasn't battling depression so I can not relate to that aspect of your recovery. I was just stressed to the max. I had to really become "Positive Polly" to get me through. Positive affirmations, and just really trying to "self-talk" myself into feeling better every day. I would ask for a scope, but don't surprised if they find nothing. I went through several contrast studies, watching different consistency of liquids move through, and nothing was wrong with my stomach. Have you considered trying a Papaya enzyme to help with digestion? You add it to your food, and it helps break down meats. You could also be experiencing slow transit time. There are drugs for that as well. Bentyl is one that we discussed me going just this January when I was burping up food several hours after eating, and having some gastritis symptoms. I did add some papaya enzyme to my dense Proteins, and it did seem to help with digestion. Please feel free to message me anytime if you need to talk.

I left Austin in plenty of time to catch my 1:30 flight from San Antonio to Monterrey, Mexico. I was relaxed and in a really good place. After missing the exit for the airport, I had to drive a few miles to turn around and get back on track. Still time....but a little rushed now. I get into the airport complex and can't find any signs that point me to parking for Terminal 1....so I drive around in circles for 10 minutes or so.....but now, I'm starting to get annoyed. I finally find the parking garage and speed up and down the isles looking for an open spot. I finally found a spot, grabbed by luggage and starting trying to figure out how find Terminal 1. No signs, no arrows, none to help...I'm just running in circles looking for a way out. Finally I get out of the garage, but I'm at Terminal 2. Now I'm beginning to PANIC. I start jogging across the parking lot to Terminal 1 - it's 94 degrees. I get into the terminal, make it to the Ticket counter and was told the plane was delayed by 2 FREAKING HOURS:cursing: I calm down, email my patient coordinator, eat some yogurt, and listen to one of my audio books. We finally board, but sit, and sit, and sit in the hot sun. The plane backs up, stops, then RETURNS TO THE GATE:scared2: and we sit some more. FINALLY we take off and have an uneventful trip to Monterrey. More later

Thanks Alot!! Best of luck to you as well. I drank the EAS Carb Controll Shakes from Wal-Mart. Mixed them with some crushed ice, a little bit of milk and plain yogurt in the blender and they were pretty good. Now its no mac n cheese but after all mac n cheese is what got me here.. They are low in carbs and sugar. Plus when you add the milk and plain yogurt that gives you a little more protein. Hope this helps.. Keep us posted on how your doing!!

It's so interesting to see what each doctor says. Like pre ops. I had liquids the day before with mag sulfate that night to "clean me out". I would love some yogurt. But i didn't see that on my list, darn.Lucky you get to go to mushies already tomorrow? I still have to go this route a few more days, some cream of wheat would be nice LOL

I think I am going to be sick....I so blew it on Friday (and over the weekend) So on Friday...I was starving.....starving....starving....my monthly friend is here and I'm totally on a roller coaster. I can't believe everything I ate: Protein Shake Yogurt Soup at hand drink Tator Tot Casserole And then I walked over to the coffee shoppe...I totally forgot about my band...and I ordered a loaded hot chocolate AND a blueberry danish. If I needed proof that I have no restriction and the band won't stop me---I ate/drank them both. I felt so sick to my tummy after that...I didn't need to throw up I just felt ill from the sugar overload. We went to the beach this weekend and I tried to be good but I snacked quite a bit. My husband pointed out last night that I was stress eating. I wanted to cry-- I didn't even realize what I was doing. I have an appt tomorrow morning and I am going to beg beg beg for my second fill. I Can anyone else feel their port? When I sit for too long ot after I eat I swear I can feel it---it's almost like it's buldging out and poking my ribs........ Sorry for my babbling confession.....any tips of getting back on the right track???

I made homemade stews and chili's. I also had the yogurts, tuna and canned chicken with some low fat cream cheese or mayo (heated). My fav was meatloaf and gravy !!!

One week post op and I feel really good. Barely any incisional pain left. I feel like I can bigger drinks of water, well more than a sip. I've just been eating soup, yogurt and protein drinks or shakes. My daughters birthday is the weekend and we are having a party tomorrow. I had to go into Subway (smelled like heaven) and GiGi's cupcake to order food and cupcakes for her party. She has to have surgery to remove her Thyroid on Thursday so it will be really hard to to stress eat with a 4 oz pouch. I need to take food with me to the hospital because she'll be in a few days. Hope everyone has a good weekend! HW 229.8 (pre-op) CW 211.4

Hi!!! I am Mary Jo. I am 53. Have two children, age 31 and 26. Husband - SKINNY always. Started at 319, by time of surgery was 270. Surgery was Mon Aug 8th. Not alot of weight loss since, maybe 5-6 lbs and I am sure it is a lot of that water weight. Still doing shakes only with some jello and broth and can do yogurt. I can't have anything more solid until 9/22 apparently. I see others are actually able to have soft foods etc. I am not sure if I feel the band or not. I don't have any real issues but if I drink too fast or even sneak a bite of something when the fam isn't looking (Daughter and BF live with us) I feel a "heaviness" mid-belly which for a person of size probably is the lapband area, right? Surgeon feels it is my "trigger". I do not have a fill. That won't be for three more weeks until I am healed. Just keep the convo going. It is nice to know I am not alone. I live in Lakeland, FL and will go back to work tomorrow. Glad I took a whole week off just to chill.

I love the new look of everything here, I thought I had gone to the wrong website! I decided to modify the two protein shakes a day...I have one in the morning, then at lunch I am having a sandwich with fruit, then dinner is lean meat with yogurt and a veggie and fruit. This is working, I am already down 2 lbs. and this will be the third day. So maybe I can lose some of the 12 lbs. before my next appointment.

Caryn, I don't really like eggs that much but I have 1/4 c scrambled egg beaters and one Jimmy Dean turkey sausage patty for breakfast. I cook 4 patties in a non stick skillet to get them browned and reheat one a day till they are gone then do it again. When I want one I nuke it and it takes me less than 3 minutes to fix it since the sausages are already cooked. I put some 2% shredded cheddar in the eggs so I can tolerate them. The reason I like this breakfast is because it stays with me for hours and is 170 calories and 20 grams of protein. The bar and mini wheats are both carbs and go thru you quickly. That's why you get hungry faster. We are supposed to eat our protein first and then round out our meals with vegetables and carbs. My Dr wants me to eat at least 70 grams of protein a day. Protein stays with you the longest and you won't get as hungry. It's hard to get in that much some days but maybe you could take some deli meat, nuts and Greek yogurt with you for lunch. Apples, dry roasted almonds and one of the little mini Babel cheese rounds are good together. Lots of protein. Tuna fish has lots of good protein too. You can make it ahead also. Thanks goodness Halloween is over. My hubby and I stayed home. We usually go to the Fall Festival at church but I did not want the temptation of all that food I could not eat. I didn't buy any candy and turned off all the lights and pretended we were not home. Isn't that terrible? I am one really bad grandmother and neighbor. Everybody throw all that extra candy out or give it to your kids. Tell them to hide it from you. I remember hunting down my kids pumpkins when they were at school. I know none of you have done that have you? It called to me all day long so I understand where you all are coming from. Hang in there Stronagnoff. You can last another week. Only weigh in the mornings. If you weigh in the afternoon you have all you have had to eat and drink all day in there and you will weigh more. Nor a correct weight and it can be discouraging. Drink lots of water and don't stress. We can do this! Blessings, GG

@@MamaTo3inNH I am cleared for full liquids right now ie yogurt, pudding, popsicles, broth, strained cream soups, etc.

Post op, you can eat soup (add cottage cheese and put in a blender for protein), greek yogurt, pudding. (if your dr lets you, mine did for liquid)...........I drank my pre op optifast post op, because I couldn't stomach anything. You can make smoothies with yogurt and fruit (no seeds), you might be able to add some of the powder to a smoothie.

I have been asked so many times on this board about what Protein drinks are good and some sample meals that I used during the first month and things I did after the 1st month. These are very valid questions and I know when I first started out I had all the same questions. Again this is long so please print this out if you would like. Protein Drinks. My all-time favorite is: Premier Protein Drink. It comes in 11 oz. drink boxes already mixed. There are 30 grams of protein in each box, 160 calories per box, 1 gram of sugar and 5 grams of carbs. The flavor I buy is Chocolate—that is all I can find at costco. I get mine at Costco and I understand that you can get them at Sam’s Club too. You can order these on line at Costco and Sam’s club. They are also available at this Web Site. http://www.premiernutrition.com/product.html I pay about $25.00 for a carton of 18 drink boxes at Costco in the city where I live. I drink one of these every morning for my Breakfast and nothing else and it has been almost 3 years since my “sleeve surgery.” The next Protein Drink that I have tried is called: Matrix 2.0 Mint Cookies made by Syntrax. You can check this out on this Web Site. http://www26.netrition.com/syntrax_matrix_page.html The cost for 2.16 lbs. is $22.99 plus postage. Item # 39-0963 My next Protein Drink that I have tried and like is: nectar, variety pack, you get 13 single servings in a variety pack. The cost is $22.95. This is the Web Site and they are made by Syntrax also. http://www6.netrition.com/syntrax_nectar_page.html There is one other Protein Drink that I found on Obesity Help.com that was rated really high by 188 people. I have never had it, but you might want to check it out. The name of the protein drink is: Carb Solution High Protein Power—it comes in more than one flavor. They also have cans of it already mixed. The Protein Powers cost $12.99. It has 110 calories, 1 gram of sugar, 4 carbs, and 20 grams of protein. This is the Web Site for Carb Solution at Wal-Mart. http://www.buycheapr.com/us/result.jsp?q=Carb+Solution&qs=ti&ga=us7&ts=go On www.ObesityHelp.com they have a lot of different information about Protein Drinks and they list so many different brands and people have rated the ones they really like check this site out. It has a lot of information about almost all the protein drinks that we find out there. http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/nutrition/a,prodsearch/searchtype,1/criteria,11/ I hate Isopure. It does NOT taste good to me—I know that some people like it. I call it Isopuke, and it reminds me of pond scum. I have been told if you buy it at a GNC and don’t like it and still have your receipt they will refund your money if it hasn’t been more than 30 days since you purchased it from them. I guess they will do that with protein powers too—ask before you buy what their policy is about returning something if you don’t like it. So if you want to try it remember this. There always seems to be a GNC in most Malls. This 1st month after weight loss surgery is going to be the hardest one to do. You just get tired of what they want you to do. It is for a reason—the doctors know what they are doing. You need to let your new stomach heal from a major surgery, so that is why you have to do these things the 1st month. You should try to keep your calories at 800 per day and no more than 20 carbs a day if you want to lose weight. The 1st month you really don’t eat a lot. So in the following months keep track of everything you are putting in your mouth. You can track what you eat on this site. I found it to be very helpful to write down EVERYTHING I was putting into my body. If I didn’t write it down I was going over 800 calories per day and would not know I was. It does take time to keep track of it—you are worth the effort, but once you get the hang of it you will know what 800 calories really are. When you exercise this site helps you figure out the number of calories you have burned and that allows you to eat more than 800 calories. It is an easy site to use and it if FREE. http://www.livestrong.com/ The 1st 10 days for me had to be clear liquids—you had to be able to see through them. broth. I used and love “Better Than Bouillon.” It comes in a jar and it is like a paste. I like it because it tastes great and you can make single servings. It is located with bouillon cubes and Soups in the grocery store. I had chicken and beef. I also made some home chicken Soup and strained everything out of it and just had the chicken broth. I would try to have ¼ of a cup of it for part of my meal, but sometimes it was just too much for me. Remember you have a new smaller stomach and it is swollen and can only hold about as much as the size of your thumb. Jello-- sugar free. I might have 2 tablespoons of Jello. That was something I had fixed and ready when I got home from the hospital. I tried to drink 64 oz. of Water and sometimes I could get it in and sometimes I couldn’t. Do the best you can, and just sip it all day long. I would add Crystal Light to the water—it made water taste a whole lot better. Apple juice, white grape juice, sugar free sports drinks, decaf hot tea, also decaf ice tea. Veggie broth or the broth from French Onion soup. Sugar Free Popsicles if my stomach was upset this really seemed to help. The 2nd 10 days. This was much easier to do. If I didn’t mention it, it was difficult for me to swallow my medication so I would crush the medication up and mix it with about 1 tablespoon of applesauce and some Equal and mix my meds in the applesauce and take my medication that way. You will have creamy foods the next 10 days I loved so many of the creamy soups. I used regular Campbell’s creamy soups that they had. I was only having about ¼ cup or maybe a few tablespoons of soup. Jello was still good for me. Sugar Free pudding, maybe 2 tablespoons full. Yogurt a few tablespoons of it. Frozen yogurt. Applesauce a couple tablespoons. A little cream cheese. Sugar Free Fudge Cycles. Premier Protein chocolate Drink mixed in blender with about 4 ice cubes and 1 cap full of Miralax. When you have a lot of protein you get constipated and Miralax works for that. It is tasteless and blends really great in the blender with the protein drink. I use the Miralx daily and it is NOT habit forming. Soft boiled eggs or soft scrambled eggs—eggs didn’t work that well for me. Low fat Chocolate milk. Cottage Cheese. Sugar Free Popsicles Creamy Peanut Butter. The 3rd 10 days and final part of the first month. Yeah the 1st month is almost over. I could eat mushy food. This was more of a challenge than I thought it would be. Mashed sweet potato or mashed yams with a small amount of butter on it. Mashed up chicken noodle soup. Mashed up homemade veggie soup. Eggs that were soft boiled or soft scrambled. Applesauce. Cottage cheese. Premier Protein Drink with miralax blended in the blender with 4 ice cubes. Mashed up steamed carrots Mashed up and blended a little tuna with a small amount of mayo. Blended chicken breast with no skin on it. Ham blended with a small amount of mayo. Water with Crystal Light Jello with fat free cool whip. Yogurt and frozen yogurt. Sugar free pudding. Protein Bars chewed up really well—I could never eat a whole one—just a few bites. Mashed potatoes and cream cheese mixed in with them. Mashed black Beans they have a lot of protein in them. I would have about 1/4 the a cup and that is about 9 grams of protein Sugar Free Popsicles Hard Boiled eggs made into egg salad. If I went out to eat I found that a cup of soup was about the best thing I found that I could eat. I also felt like I was on display sometimes because family and friends would watch me eat. It used to bother me, but not anymore. I watched them eat and I thought to myself. “Oh my gosh they inhale their food and they hardly chew it.” I was always the last one to finish eating. That is OK too. At first I actually mourned the loss of food. Later on I was thrilled that I had the restriction of a sleeve because I was losing weight. I found that chicken and fish were easier to chew and I liked them a lot more than red meat. I said that chicken was one of the main sources of protein for me. I found Kirkland (Costco brand) grilled Chicken breast strips. It is already cooked and I would put one bag (1 pound) in the freezer and use the other (1 pound bag later.) It is really handy to have around and a quick meal to fix if the chicken is already cooked. We also ate more fish. I would buy Halibut or Sole—a mild fish. I would marinate it in OJ or crushed strawberries or blueberries all day. I would also marinate it in law calories Italian Salad Dressing all day. I would cook it in a pan with Pam spray and put garlic or rosemary in the pan when I was cooking it. I don’t eat a lot of red meat and I used to be a real red meat lover. For me it took too much chewing and it just didn’t taste as good as it used to. I will now have a small hamburger and only eat 1/3 to ½ because it just is too much food for me. Ham was something that worked well for me too. I found I could get a large think slice of from the grocery story deli and I would have it for a protein—I would slice off about 2 oz. of the ham. I also enjoy a Taco Salad and I make mine with chicken instead of beef. I love Shrimp and lobster too, so those are my treats that I reward myself with. A typical meal I ate starting the 2nd month after WLS. Breakfast: Premier Protein Drink with Miralax and 4 ice cubes in the blender. Lunch: 2 oz. of chicken or ham with a small amount of cheese melted over it. I would have a bean salad—it has 4 different beans in it. Snack: I would have about 10 dry roasted almonds and maybe 10 dried cherries Dinner: 2 oz. of Chicken or Fish, steamed veggies of some kind. Sometimes my husband and I would split a small baked potato I put a teaspoon of butter and sour cream on it. Snack: Some type of fresh fruit or a Protein Bar. Carbs and what to eat and what NOT to eat About the 3rd month after WLS I would add a little bread in my diet—I could only eat about ½ a slice of bread or ½ of a hamburger bun and they are the “thin” buns that they have out now. They also make a thin bagel. You just have to look when you are shopping in your local grocery store for these things. Try to find Whole Grain carb products and if you can’t the do the whole wheat. Try to stay away from WHITE carbs. They are white refined carbs and that is how we got fat eating a lot of them. Rice should be brown rice and only a small amount—NO white rice. Pasta comes is Spinach or Whole Wheat and you can have only small amounts of it. banana – Medium size has 27 Grams of carbs—I stay away from the banana, and I love them, but I just don’t want to spend all my carbs for the day on a banana. I use a Mexican soft flour shell made of spinach or sun dried tomatoes for making a small sandwich too—you know they call them wraps. Beverage: They do not want you to drink something when you eat—you need the room for the food so that you can get your protein in firsts. During the day I would have water or decaf tea for my liquid after I ate or all during the day. As I said the Crystal Light Individual packs and different flavors worked well in a bottle of water. It seems like it took me forever to eat and drink all the things I was supposed to be eating and drinking. I was always sipping on the protein drink and water. supplements you should take. It is important that you take a multi-Vitamin. I had a difficult time trying to swallowing large pills. Look for an Adult Chewable multi-vitamin. I also have the Chocolate Chewable Calcium that I buy at Costco. As time goes on it will get easier to swallow larger pills. Do NOT take the multi-vitamin on an empty stomach, it may make you sick. My Primary Care doctor was very helpful and after I had been home 2 weeks from WLS, she had me come into for an office visit. She ran a full blood panel and made sure all my levels were ok. I knew my potassium was low when I left Dr. Aceves in Mexicali—they ran my blood test before I left and gave me a very detailed report about my surgery to give to my doctor here in the US. Dr. Aceves told me to have it watched when I got home. I now take a potassium tablet prescribed by my doctor and work on eating food high in potassium. Starting the 3rd month I started to eat more salads about here. I had a favorite and still eat it. It is Fresh Spinach, with slices of almonds, feta cheese, dried cherries, or fresh strawberries, a tablespoon of bacon and Paul Newman’s Light Raspberry & Walnut dressing on it. I sometimes add some of my Kirkland (Costco) Grilled Chicken breast strips to it and then it is an entire meal in one bowl. Chef’s Salad is a great one meal in a bowl thing to have and I just use any kind of dressing I want on it. This salad has lettuce, tomatoes, olives, sliced hard boiled eggs, turkey or chicken, and some ham sliced on it with some cheese. REMEMBER make this in a much smaller bowl than the normal Chef’s salad comes in. Sometimes I will add a small amount of Whole Grain dinner roll or some bread with it. Stir Fry is a great way to get meat and veggies all in one meal too. I have a pan that works great on the BBQ grill and I do a stir fry on the BBQ in the summer time. Have a sense of adventure and take some of your old recipes and see if you can convert them into a healthier recipe. Use veggies that you have never tried. Try some “rubs” on you meat located in the spice section or the grocery store and try to marinate some of your meats all day before cooking them—it really changes the taste of them. Desert I don’t want you to feel deprived. I learned that sometime just a bite or two of a desert really satisfied my need for it. Instead of the WHOLE piece of cake or pie, just a sliver of it worked for me to satisfy my need for it. When you want a cookie have just one small cookie and not the entire bag OK. Sugar free pudding with a small amount of Fat Free Cool Whip is good too. Use Splendia to make a desert that you like. So everything in moderation works. Exercise I was never a fan of exercise until I started to walk and I found out how much I benefited from it. Now I try to exercise 5 days a week. Find some form of exercise that works for you and do it. Start slow and then add more until you are comfortable with it. I am sure I have missed a few things, and I will write those down as I think of them and make a Vol. 2 if I needed too. These are just my suggestions, spice them up and make your food interesting and don’t get in a rut. This is not a diet, you will learn to adapt it and find things that work for you and that you like eating. This is a LIFESTYLE change. Make it work for you. You have the tool of restriction now use your new tool to your advantage. The fat doesn’t just melt off of you. It does require work and effort on your part. Stalls—No weight loss for a period of days. Be prepared you may have periods where you lose NO weight. We call those “Stalls.” You will panic and think for sure that you are the “one person this is NOT going to work on.” I know I was sure that was me. NOT true at all. Our bodies just do this. Mine lasted for 9 days—no weight loss at all. Just keep doing what you are doing and the weight will start coming off again I promise you. I can tell you not to panic but most of you will anyway—that is pretty normal too. Hugs, Suzanne Sleeved 10/21/2008 Lost 105 pounds.

I don't chart anymore, but the entirety of my diet consisted of: - Wife making home made meatballs, of lean ground beef, eggs, and almond meal in place of bread crumbs (tbsp of low sodium ketchup), eating no more than 2-3 at a time, 0g carbs - String cheese (0g carbs) - Maple Leaf farms chicken nuggets (3 at a time, 8g of carbs, tsp of KC Masterpiece original BBQ sauce) - Burgers with 0-2g sliced block cheese, generally cut up to ~ 1/6 of a pound and eat in small bites with dabs of ketchup (NO BUNS), 0-2g of carbs - Peanuts and almonds, unsalted, 1/4 cup, 3-5g carbs, mostly nullified from fiber - 2-4L of water a day - Vitamin supplements (Bariatric Advantage ADEK MV, Bariatric Advantage calcium citrate + vitD chewable tablets.. bottle is fricken huge, Jamieson C+D chewables, Walmart OTC iron mini tablets) - At the beginning I estimated it between 1000-1400 cals a day, didn't really change the diet much, stuck to the same regimen every day switching meats between chicken and beef daily. Post-op after I get to the stage of being able to eat anything (i.e. meats), I plan on sticking to a similar premise of 1000-1400 cals a day, less than 20g carbs a day, 2L+ of water daily, and of course the supplements. I plan on it being a permanent diet, just expanding my diet a little more to include vegetables I can tolerate (hoping my taste buds change). Kinda paranoid about my immediate post-op foods (yogurt drink, unsweetened applesauce, oatmeal, etc., which tend to have more carbs than I'd want) but more than willing to be patient given the importance of healing.