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basically I only have 3 meals a day no Snacks Breakfast might be greek yogurt or eggs scrambled with small cup of fruit or meat and veggies. lunch and dinner is meat and veggies or an occasional whole grain whole wheat with ham slices and mustard. I drink mostly Water with occasional crystal light I try to limit carbs to under 60 grams a day meat mostly consists of ground beef, turkey, chicken. Ill make the occasional beef or chicken stew with a pressure cooker. I dont eat rice or potatoes dont want the trigger foods. carbs crave carbs especially simple carbs. what i put in my body will influence what i will crave and influences hunger i use 85percent lean ground meat. once in a while Ill make pork like pork chops veggies mostly consist of broccoli, spinach, or string Beans sometimes carrots but carrots have a lot of sugar in them so I def limit them. sometimes asparagus steak sometimes but i cut it into strips and do a stir fry. so let me know what you guys think Im interested to know your input

Your ability to tolerate liquids will increase. If Protein shakes are giving you trouble, check with your doctor for other options (For a couple days I refused to eat anything because I HATED the shakes). He switched me to greek yogurts and a special low carb/high protein milk to replace the shakes, and I felt better. Don't be afraid to collaborate with your doctor to find a successful plan for you (just make sure it's with your doc, not solely with random internet posters). Also, breathe. It gets better, I promise.

I'm drinking soup and eating yogurt. Sent from my SM-G900V using the BariatricPal App You are never going to feel full on that, those are liquids. When you eat some meat, you will learn what full feels like

I did not do liquids, as he didn't ask me to. I lost 20 lbs in the two weeks of pre-op, but I cheated like there was no tomorrow (and if you think about it, that was reality). I had pizza four times, Italian sausage twice, clam chowder once, Belgian fries with all the dippings twice, and fell for Chipotle once. The rest of the time I had high-Fiber Cereal with greek yogurt, or else some extremely lean meat. I was sure to workout like hell while this occurred, because exercising was a lot easier for me than staying under 1000 calories a day (which was the requirement...and by the way, that is still hard now three months out, but I am losing weight just fine). There were no problems with my liver, and I was 286 (44 BMI) at my final pre-op appointment. Instances of cancellation are rare and occur in extreme cases (hundreds of pounds heavier than you or me), so I would take this day to relax and get in the zone...you've done it, and psychologically, you should be on the other side already. Congratulations.

I use salad dressing: ranch, vidalia onion, and italian are my current favorites. I either cook the food in the dressing or use it as a dip. Egg Face has a ton of recipes for dips made from greek yogurt and other liquids if you like different flavors. I'm still working on the flavor/spice thing as far as my tastes go, so dressing works well for me. I adore cocktail sauce these days, too!

Just wondering, I am at almost a year post surgery and I have been at a stall for months now. Has anyone not exercised much and still lost weight? Looking for menu ideas for day to day. I know I need to cut down on my carbs especially bread :-( I still cant eat much at one sitting and I do eat 4-5 times a day from yogurt to protein bars to protein filled meals. Do you eat red meat or did you make the switch to turkey and chicken only? I want to break this stall. I cant do protein drinks mainly because I got burnt out on them from pre surgery and post surgery. The banana one is the only one I can get down these days. I cant do the gym, I am looking into streaming the videos from beachbody.com. Just getting frustrated.

I got my band on 3-9, I am on full liquids--Carnation Instant Breakfast Drink (no surgar added), High Protein Slim Fast. I use the powder with skim milk. My doc says no 1% or 2% as it has to much fat. No sugar popciles, crystal light, tea and water. I can have apple or grape juice that is cut with water. I plan to have some egg drop soup next week as I head into the mushies just because I miss something that has a good taste. I can add yogurt and cottage cheese next.

Click HERE (LBT thread on Greek Yogurt). I love the stuff...it's replaced reg. yogurt and sour cream for me. I doctor it up all kinds of ways...just this week tried adding the Knorr Veg. Soup mix as a dip for veggies and I love the preserves with it.

yogurt, fruit, ice blender....smoothy!

Syntrax Nectars are Whey Isolate I think and they are wonderful. I add just a small amount of apple juice to enhance the flavor and I love them! Gold Standard makes a great product as well that is whey isolate. I became lactose intolerant after surgery and cannot eat cheese, yogurt or anything with dairy. But these protein drinks are fine... Living the dream, Laura

Ok everyone here is the thing, I'm being banded on 1/25/07, and I just have a few more questions to ask. Ok on the two week pre op diet should I A. Stop smoking until after surgery, and B. should I go on this 10 days or 14 prior to surgery date, because all I am allowed is glucerna weight loss shakes *very expensive* juice broths teas lowfat or plain yogurt not very exciting haha. Ask your surgeon. Each has their own pre- and post-op guidelines. Also what kind of anasthesea do they use is like gas or is it like the liquid valume stuff they pump in your iv. In the prep area I was given some kind of liquid thruogh my IV that made me a little loopy. They called it "happy juice" and "milk of amnesia". In the OR I was given gas. The last thing I remember before waking up was them putting the mask on... it was a little crooked on my face, and I thought - "All the gas will leak out and I'll never fall asleep..." Then I was waking up. Or does it depend. Also what I want to ask is some statistics like how many ppl have their band after years of having it in, Well, then you'd have to know specifically what you want to know. "How many people after years" is impossible to answer. I know two sisters banded in 2001 and both still have their bands. or how many have died from it None to date, that I'm aware of. Refererring to the band itself. or how many bands have eroded etc. The erosion percentage is something like - less than one percent (if that's now inaccurate, someone please correct me). So find some literature and get a number of how many people have been banded, and multiply by .01 and that's your worst case scenario. Just a few scary thoughts. One other thing guys I can't sleep on my back I have to normaly sleep on my somache is this going to be a problem? I doubt you'll be able to sleep on your stomach, at least in the first week. It took me (I think) 2 days to get into my own bed. Until then I was sleeping in a recliner. Once in bed I slept on my back propped up on about 5 pillows, or on my side with a pillow under my stomach to support the port incision. How much pain medecine do they give you is it all liquid, how much pain are you in when you wake up from sugery? When asked to rate my pain on a scale of 1 - 10, which they asked me before I was fully awake, I answered "like a half". I just didn't have any pain. Within the first 45 minutes of waking up I was given a dose of hydrocodone. And upon release they have me a rx for a week's worth. I took about half of it, then went to liquid Tylenol. I didn't have significant pain unless I was standing, sitting, coughing, sneezing... or hitting potholes in the road.

I was told I could have tuna fish with light miracle whip or light mayo, chicken breast with curry/mustard/light mayo or a little bit of sugar free bbq sauce, salad with dressings that were 50 calories or less per serving (I have to keep carbs to 50 grams/day or less). I plan to eat a lot of salads with chopped deli meat or tuna because after surgery it will be a while before I can eat salad again and I love salad. I like the bolthouse yogurt ranch and it's 45 calories for 2 tbsp (30g). It's the the refrigerator case in the produce section usually. I have to have light greek yogurt or a protein shake for breakfast.

i was banded yesterday morning.....here's what i've had so far...am i getting enough??? 9/14 @ 3pm 2oz nonfat yogurt, 3oz chicken broth @ 7pm 4oz nonfat yogurt, 2oz chicken broth 9/15 @12:35Am 2oz nonfat yogurt @ 7:45Am 2.5 oz hot tea @ 8:25Am 1 tablespoon applesauce w/morning meds AND 1.5oz Protein shake @10:40Am 2oz nonfat yogurt @12Pm 3oz chicken broth @2:40pm 2oz small curd Lowfat Cottage cheese and of course, i sip on Water throughout the days as much as possible. so, by being 2 days post op, and my above food log...does it look like i'm getting enough? i know i think i need more protein....so for dinner tonight i'll try to get in a few more ounces of the protein. but from the above, what do ya'll think? AND WHEN WILL THE SORENESS AND THE DISCOMFORT GO AWAY?!!! i just want to feel back to normal again in my mid-section/tummy area!

So this is my first journal entree. I think its a good day to make one. My surgery is on Thursday at noon. Today is Tuesday at 11:40 so its about 48 hours away. Everything happened pretty fast for me. I only went for my consultation last Friday and they had a cancellation so in I went. I have been on my horrible pre-op diet for 4 days now. I now hate yogurt. But I eat it cause i'm hungry and I always hated cottage cheese but i eat only about a tablespoon with every meal because I think I probably need the protein. I am actually excited to start the liquid diet because it means I will get a mix of juice and consume soup so I get the sweet and the savory instead of just berry flavored everything. Honestly right now my skim milk is the closest thing I have to something salty or not tasting of berries. I have lost 12 pounds in 5 days so I guess this diet is working. Everyone makes jokes like screw the band stick to yogurt. But I WILL DIE if i do that. My only saving grace is that tomorrow is the last yogurt day.

No I am not eating solids. Only soft mushy food like cream of wheat,grits,tuna with low fat mayo, steamed tilapia, eggs greek yogurt etc. Ok glad to see I am on track.

Tofu. Hard boiled eggs. Jerky. Yogurt. Protein bars. Cottage cheese. String cheese. Almost 7 years and those are my Go to foods. Best of luck. Keep us updated❤???´

Hello everyone. I haven't posted for a while. I hope you are all doing okay. I am at the stage post op where I can have all textures of foods. Problem is I don't really have a specific plan to follow, and it is difficult to stick to the diet when there aren't specific instructions. I've found that now that I can eat, I want to eat everything. Being hungry for the 3 weeks ppre-op, and then the past 4 weeks post op was difficult, and I think now that I am able to eat anything, I want EVERYTHING. I did not do well during the mushies stage, and in fact, I had a lot of high calorie puddings and yogurts. I was so hungry and after feeling deprived, my brain kept telling me that it was okay to eat. Anyway, I need to get recommitted and get started losing weight. It has been 10 days now since my 2nd surgery (unrelated but I have 6 inch incision in my abdomen and a 2.5 inch one in my back, and the recovery hasn't been easy). 2 surgeries within a month was a bit much for me and I haven't had the energy to fight through the dieting. So, I need to get completely back on track. What kinds of menus are you guys having. I need suggestions. Thanks, Cindy

Thank you for the replies... I appreciate them all!!! I love meat, not necessarily red meat, but I do love chicken, pork and turkey. It is not that I can't tolerate it, it is that I CAN'T GET IT PASSED MY BAND. It gets stuck, so no matter how much I chew or how small my bites are. I have an appt with my lap-band Dr Jan 7. They couldn't get me in before then. Since I can eat some things, they didn't think it was an emergent type visit. I have to be seen by the DR himself. Because I am an x-ray only patient, to begin with. I had a ventral hernia, BEFORE, my lap-band surgery. Well he placed the port right under my hernia, so when I had to go for fills, he couldn't find the port with out the live x-ray machine. So, fills are only done by the Dr and in the live xray machine. Also, when he did do them, he still stuck me 3-4 times to get the needle in the port. I would leave the fill appoinment, bleeding and bruised badly for a week later. The fills were a horrible experience, so i quit going. I initally lost about 40 pounds in 8 months, because I stayed on the Protein shakes. Well since I went back to food, I have practically gained it all back. Even before the band, I could only eat 3-4 pieces of a medium pizza. 2 pieces of a large pizza. Quantity was never my problem. It is what I choose to eat and lack of activity. Here is an idea of what I ate yesterday: Breakfast: (A Breakfast burrito made at home) 2 scrambled eggs with a slice of cheese, 3 slices of bacon, a low carb tortilla and ketchup; and a Diet Mt Dew. Snack b/w breakfast and lunch was 5 pieces of chocolate. (less than the total size of a handful) Lunch: was 3 slices of a medium pizza with 12 ounces of Diet Pepsi. Snack b/w Lunch and dinner: was a greek yogurt cup. Dinner: 1 cup of taco meat (very VERY VERY ground FINE small pieces) with 1/3 cup shredded cheese, and chips; with 16 ounces of Crystal Lite Kool-ail. Then last night after dinner, I had 2 sugar Cookies with a glass of milk. Some days I can't eat eggs at all, no matter what, they won't go down. Some days they do. Same with pizza, and most meats. More NOT times than they do, they just won't go down and I make a trip to the bathroom, sometimes 3-4 times to get it up at a meal.

Congrats on doing a video log. I'm sure it will be very helpful to pre-ops!! I used a few of the Wal-Mart bullets but thanks to some vets here at VST I learned that they are comprised of mostly collagen Protein vs. pure whey. I asked my NUT about them and she said they were not as good as Isopure, etc. which were a "better" form of protein. But she okayed them for use. I ended up taking ice and putting it in my snowcone maker and pouring the bullets over shaved ice and eating it with a spoon. I used "Premier Protein" RTD (ready to drink) shakes from costco (1 shake = 30g protein and only 1g of sugar) because they were easy and I didn't have to dirty a blender. lol. When I do use a blender I like Jay Robb Protein powder, it is my personal favorite. Try the greek yogurt when you get to mushies for more protein. Also use the powdered protein powder (the powdered whey you bought) and add it to your sugar free pudding, etc. to give it some more protein, once you are on to mushies. Good luck with your upcoming surgery! I hope everything goes well.

Is she getting all these fills and unfills done under fluoro? Have slips, erosion, and various band complications been ruled out? Something isn't right here, it takes a LOT of calories just to maintain a 130kg body, probably 3000 calories daily. If she is only eating tea, Water, yogurt, and thin soup she can't be getting more than 1000 calories daily and you explain she has no active thyroid issues going. Something isn't right. Also, two slips... usually that is from PBing too much or pouch packing. If she is only drinking her food, what is she PBing on? She needs to see her doc.

Thanks! I have been a very, very good patient. I keep to my four ounce meals. I don't cheat. Okay, I nibbled on a few Cookies over the week of Christmas, but other than that, I eat per the doctor's orders. I don't eat bread, Pasta or sugar now. For meals, I eat Protein first and my veggie "sides" are just a few tablespoons. The doc has me on chewable Centrum and Calcium +D to make up the difference. I am also required to drink 24 oz of Protein shake per day, about 60-70 grams of protein is the goal, but I probably don't meet it. I'm not shedding, so all is probably well. I'm only exercising a little, mostly little walks, a little bit o'weights, nothing major. I like simple pilates. As I lose more, I'll exercise more. Especially if I hit a long plateau. Secret weapons: s/f popsicles, s/f yogurt and canned Soup. Not perfect, but it works for me. I made a bathroom rug out of my pants that don't fit anymore. It's working. I am SO happy and wish everyone such good luck.

This actually is so much different from pre-band for me. I ate so much fast food it's ridiculous.. Favorite b'fasts.. Yoplait Key Lime Whipped Yogurt or Quaker Oat Bites Favorite Lunches.. Canned turkey mixed with cranberry sauce, small chili from wendy's, baked potato from steak out, egg salad(I've been craving this lately), a big handful of red grapes, or a small handful of colby cheese cubes. Favorite Dinners- My first mushy food: a crab cake (appetizer) from Ruby Tuesdays. My goodness, and it's still a favorite dinner for me. chicken & dumplings (homemade), swedish meatballs & a veggie, beef & broccoli from chinese take out, keilbasa & saurkraut.. These are things I like having for those meals. I don't have any specific favorite I guess for 'overall'.

I love raspberries. I wonder if you could puree and then freeze them for a lovely Italian Ice type treat. Or (I have seen this when blueberries, not sure if it will work with raspberries) but coat them in yogurt and then freeze them and they are lovely little yogurt covered berry treats? Can't wait to see what ideas people come up with. I need to go find a farmers market..

Hiya, You know what... I think all of our kidlings are going to be juuuuusssst fine because we are all being mindful of the things that led us to where we are and mindful to try something different with our children. (o: Well... I know my daughter has inherited the genes that will lead her to have to watch her diet as she gets older but I don't really want her to focus on that at the age of 11. I know that I turned to food at a very young age for comfort for abuse that nobody in my family knew about and that has compounded the genetic predisposition. Miss Em doesn't seem to need to overeat... she loves food but when she is full... she just stops. When I see that she is putting on a little pudge I just try to increase the time we spend as a family doing active things like biking or rollarblading...etc. Even grown-ups teased me when I was little ... I guess they thought if it was done with love it was okay. I'd knock someone on their ass if I heard that happening to her. (o: I have also worked very hard to teach her to be kind... I told her of my experiences in school and how terrible those times were. I think my afforts have paid off. SHe is stronger than I was... for instance... she told me this story the other day. She said she was walking into the classroom and two boys were like... "EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW don't let her touch us EWWWWW Emily!!!!" She turned to them and asked quite genuinely "What??? Am I disgusting or something???" I guess that wasn't the response they were looking for and stumbled all over themselves and shut right up. (o: My husbands children with his first marriage were not allowed to have ANY sugar... her nickname was wholewheat Susie. THey were not allowed to have ANY candy... no white flour... no chips... everything lowfat. His son is skinny... but the daughter is obsessed now with carbs... she battles the bulge even though there are few in the family that are overweight. I guess to me this says there should be a good balance. I keep healthy Snacks in the house but they are also things that my daughter really likes.... granola bars... fruit... yogurt... grahm crackers... and I buy juice in the little drink packs and she has those occais. for a treat as well. I keep FF Jello pudding in the fridge... buy lowfat frozen yogurt for the freeze and then I just hope for the best! I so hope her weight issues are "normal" ones...

I am clear liquids for 1 week (sleeved 4/12), then will go to purées which includes yogurt, sf pudding, applesauce, etc