Search the Community

I make my own cheesy sauce that is great with pasta or veggies like broccoli. I do not use the processed products, as I don't think they taste that good, they are expensive, and I try not to use processed food products as a rule. To make a cheesy like sauce, I soak cashews for 30 to 60 minutes in hot water. Then I put them in the blender with a cooked yellow potato, soy milk, a small avocado, and sometimes some tofu.. Add a good amount of nutritional yeast and some miso paste, pepper to taste. Blend until smooth. The avocado taste does NOT come through, but the fat makes it "creamier." I will admit that the Beyond Beef burgers are pretty tasty. I might have one of those once a month or so, but not often. My protein comes from a wide variety of legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, tofu, tempeh, soy milk/yogurt or Nancy's Oatmilk yogurt which is pretty high in protein. I easily get 60 grams a day. Sometimes I will add a half scoop of protein powder to a smoothie or yogurt bowl.

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

Wow, well with this surgery most people have some of the same negatives (the liquid diet), or have similar negative side effects (nausea/constipation), but also have good things to balance it out. I have gone through a lot of the same things as everyone else on here, and am also going through some stuff that may not be as common. Whether or not it makes us regret the surgery is definitely a personal experience based on many factors, but it seems like the majority come out on the side of No Regrets. Like you, I considered backing out a month or so before my surgery date. My daughter helped me realize that with surgery things may or may not get better, and yes, some things could possibly get worse (small percentage). But without it, probably nothing was going to change (at least not for the better). So it ended up being a no brainer and I felt extremely confident going forward even through the sucky pre-op diet (over Xmas) and what I assumed would just be a terrible first few months of puking and misery post-op. Things did not turn out the way I thought, and as I have just been journaling, I will share, if you care to read: I am 5 months post-op as of yesterday. I am down 51.2 lbs, 31 total inches overall since pre-op, body fat percentage back under 30%. My weight loss has been a bit slower than most - they say probably bc my starting weight was lower (205.8) and also I have a lot of chronic pain so my workouts are not exactly intense. But thankfully the more I lose the better I can move. My body did not want to let go of these last couple lbs - I thought I'd never reach the 50 lb milestone! It was like 48, 48.5, 49.2, 49.6...like seriously? Lol, talk about a frustrating month! But I'm finally over that hurdle and goal is between 14-20 lbs from here. I'm short, so honestly I have always looked better lower than that - say in my 120's, but I'm older now and my skin is not bouncing back the way it once did, and gravity is a real son of gun. So I will probably stop around 135/140 in order to keep things looking a little more "well-rounded" - and I also think it will be easier to maintain. That's my thought process right now anyway. My surgery itself went smooth, so no issues there. I have never vomited (which shocks me no end as I'm prone to nausea), I have felt nauseated 2-3x max - but it passed quickly. I do, however, have issues with reflux. Had reflux pre-op that was well controlled by OTC Nexium. Now it can be very painful at times. Like some others, I too think maybe I should have considered the by-pass more seriously, but also bc my ins did not cover and I went to MX as self-pay, the sleeve seemed like the best option overall. One thing for me is I never lost the hunger sensation. My "Ghrelin Game's" strong, I guess. But the biggest "issue" I have had, and it's no small thing, is I still struggle with many solid foods. I have slowly introduced them as instructed and when instructed, chew chew chew, etc. But after maybe 5 small bites of MANY foods (I do ok w/some), I still feel hungry, so I intend to probably eat a few more bites to become satiated, but all of a sudden start getting bad pain in center of diaphragm...feel completely "clogged" or "backed up" with food even though I've eaten so little and I still felt hungry 2 seconds ago...then usually get some reflux...get the hiccups...will need to take Tums...often suck on 1 or 2 wintergreen Lifesavers as they also seem to help w/digestion...then suck on ice chips for a little while which also seems to help. It sounds pretty miserable, and honestly, it is. To avoid, I could probably take 2-3 small bites, wait 20-30 minutes and have another 2-3 bites. Or, just stick to eating softer food. So, most nights I have yogurt for dinner with unflavored protein powder, chia seeds, a few mashed fresh blackberries, and a little organic coconut granola. It's about 5 oz. total, and I take my time eating that also - about 20 mins I'd say. Luckily, I enjoy the yogurt combo, but once or twice a week, I want Real Food for dinner, and that is my struggle. It's especially hard on the weekends bc my husband and I like to go out on Sat to a farmer's market or something and then have lunch (or dinner & a movie...). But it's miserable for me to sit at a restaurant where I can barely eat anything on the menu (comfortably) and then have to sit (w/back pain & probably stomach pain) and wait for my husband to enjoy his meal. Lately we haven't been going out much, which is a real drag. I expected it to be like this for the first several mos, but figured it would slowly be getting better by now. I knew I'd have diet restrictions and certain foods would take longer to agree w/me (some might never work well again), but I didn't expect that So Many real foods (meaning meats/veggies, etc. dinner type foods) would be too painful to eat. For me this is the most difficult thing and I am praying it gets better w/time. If I can eat a couple oz. of chicken/turkey/fish/steak + say 1/2 cup of cooked veggies/salad/potatoes (whatever), w/o any pain or reflux, and enjoy my food & comfortably sit & enjoy the company of my husband (sisters/kids) until they finish eating, even if it's at 9 months or a yr post-op, I will be ok w/that. It's the thought that it might never happen that worries me. On the other hand, when this happens, my husband feels so bad, and sometimes says, "I'm sorry babe, you must really regret having that surgery now." And I'm like, "No I don't! How else was I ever going to lose 50 pounds in 5 mos w/all the health/pain issues I have?" I never thought I would weigh 154 lbs again, much less 135-140 where I hope to land. So, yeah. It sucks that I have to eat yogurt for dinner most nights. (There are a handful of other things I could have instead, but some of those I have for breakfast/lunch/snacks, and also the yogurt is easy to throw together). But hopefully that will get better as more time passes, and if it doesn't...I don't know...I have to think it's got to be better than stuffing my face w/whatever I wanted but then feeling awful every time I got dressed or looked in the mirror...

Yes, I thought of that. I am eating quite a bit in the way of nuts and seeds, legumes, homemade granola, oatmeal, butternut squash, sweet potato, avocado, peanut butter. I add protein powder to smoothies and yogurt. I even eat some 80% cacoa chocolate covered almonds in the evening. Can't think of more calorie dense foods, except for adding sugar, which I cannot do. Sugar and wheat cause massive inflammatory reactions in my joints.

I loved Mc Donalds french fries pre surgery, I don't like the greasy taste now. I loved all style of eggs before, now I can only have fried over medium and I can't eat the whole egg. I would drink milk with every meal pre surgery, after, I can't have milk with lactose, but I can have cheese and yogurt. I love my sleeve and I have learned a new happines with different food. My favorite right now is 2 crackers, each has 1/4 of a wedge of laughing cow and a little prosciutto on top. Fills me up and is very flavorful. I do miss popcorn and the joy of throwing it up and eating it.

I suffered through protein shakes preop. Postop, I just couldn't do it. My tastes had changed, and it just wasn't gonna happen. Stuff tasted like rat poison, and if I'd HAD to drink it, I would probably just opt for the rat poison and be done with it! Lol. Fortunately, I didn't have to endure it. A cup of milk or bone broth has 8g protein. A quart of milk, and a quart of broth each day, and I met both my liquid and protein goal in one fell swoop. Then I moved to high protein kefir, cottage cheese, and greek yogurt. Then pureed tuna and beans.. then on to solid foods. I never really had days that I didn't meet my goals. If I'd stressed about the carbs in milk or kefir, it would have been another matter. But how I looked at it.. the first 8 weeks is for healing the tummy, and if it meant taking my carbs with my protein, then so be it. I have another year's worth of "honeymoon" phase to worry about cutting carbs and "doing it right". And you know what? I lost at about the same rate as everyone else. (Keep in mind, I'm talking about the naturally occuring sugars in milk and dairy products.. not a bunch of added sugar). Sometimes people can't tolerate dairy, and that makes it much harder. Broth would have to be your bff if you can't tolerate dairy or protein shakes.

I am 6 weeks post-op and have noticed that meat doesn't taste good anymore. I have tried chicken several ways (kung pao, teriyaki, grilled) and fish (even with lemon and tartar sauce) and they don't taste right. I don't even want to eat them but feel I need to in order to get enough Protein in for the day. I know there are other sources of protein. Other things still taste the same to me (yogurt, eggs, cheese, iced tea). What the heck is going on?

I've eaten a lot of these foods. Wings are on my menu at least twice a month. I can only eat two whole wings (drummet plus the tip) so big wow right? -- unless it makes me drink beer that is A lot of the other stuff I do minus the bread and tortillas. I substitute plain Greek yogurt for sour cream or mix it with avocado. Today I'm having Italian turkey, a salami called Alpino which is ground Prosciutto basically, light string cheese, raw broccoli and a Greek yogurt/mustard dip. Fat does not stop my weight loss. I eat about 25+ grams a day. Carbs stop my weight loss. Speaking of edible food porn, I have this recipe for a cheesy egg zucchini casserole. MMMMMMMMM, I forgot that I can have that.

Follow what your doctor tells you after surgery. I think of my diet as a prescription. Ice chips and sugar free popscyles were good as I had a sore throat from the tube down my throat during surgery.I spent the night because I am slow to wake up after surgery always. I was a little dehydrated so got extra fluids. I only needed tylenol after surgery. Laying down and getting up is a little tricky. Using a pillow under my left side when I slept helped me. I went back to work two half days on days 7 and 8 after surgery and then full time the next week. I have been very tired the first part of this week but better as the week goes on. My surgeon says it is all normal. I ate cream soups, protein drinks, sugar free pudding, sugar free jello,applesauce, water, Crystal light, yogurt. I was not hungry as long as I had enough protein. I have lost 17 lbs which feels really good.I moved on to mushies at 14 days for the next two weeks. I hope your surgery goes well. You are very courage to take this action to improve your health. Carol

Hello Kamala, I just wanted to speak from personal experience since I am one of the few people who actually had a partial unfill before going to the Middle East on vacation for three weeks. My reasons for having the partial unfill were precipitated by having an emergency unfill the prior month. I then got a refill and was still pb'ing regularly and had developed reflux issues, so I knew I was too tight. I had also found out I was pregnant 2 weeks before traveling and was worried about traveling in this part of the world with the potential for a medical emergency. I also intended to travel to the countryside during the trip and hospitals outside major cities there are nothing like hospitals here . . . although medical care is great in Europe and you should be able to find great hospitals nearby in most touristic locations. Prior to this I had posted on similar threads to this regarding and unfill like most people here . . . don't do it, it is a mistake, it goes against the reason you got the band in the first place, etc. I did not advocate doing this at all. However, now I have a different perspective since I did do it. I got a partial unfill and did find that I had some problems on the plane (10-11 hours travel) and got sick both there and back, however pregnancy might have had more to do with that then my band. Most meals were taken in peoples homes and not in restaurants. I can tell you that I was continuously offered every possible delicacy continuously and had to refuse food all the time. Even if I could have eaten several plates of food, I realized that it is the nature to keep offering and it would have made no difference. Another issue is that we would have Breakfast . . . and then maybe a mid-morning snack of fruit and tea, lunch, tea somewhere else with pastries (usually baklava of some sort or another), dinner, dessert, and late evening Snacks with hot milk or yogurt drinks which could be nuts or fruit. Even with the band partially filled, I could not eat more than the average child at best. No one was offended because I would take a token bite of anything (except for fermented turnip juice which smelled too bizarre and the smell turned my stomach, fish that still had their heads where I could see their cloudy eyes peering at me, tripe Soup made of sheep intestine . . . I just couldn't bear the thought of looking at it, let alone trying it, lol). I doubt I ever went over 2,000 calories in a day and I ended up coming back a couple of pounds less than when I left the US. Now that I have been there and done that, my decision to do it again would be based on numerous factors . . . primarily how tight my band is to begin with. If I am very tight, I would advocate getting it loosened for safety sake since I do suffer from a fickle band that has changing levels of tightness. However, if I can eat semi-normally I would leave it as is. I would never empty it for the sake of just eating more but I would do it for the sake of having a safer level of looseness to accomodate potential problems. One last comment and a word of warning . . . I have had to have all the fill removed from my band per my doctors policy on pregnancy. I have been completely unfilled for a couple of months now. My hunger was controlled almost completely by the band before and I ate food to fuel my body. With a complete unfill, I am HUNGRYYY almost all day long. After being banded for so long and losing all my excess weight, I thought I had beaten my personal demons of over-consumption. I found this was totally not true . . . they were just hiding, lol. Just keep in mind that every day without a fill may take you immediately back to pre-banding days. I have not gained much since the unfill . . . but this is only after struggling everyday with food choices and quantities. Without my band, I know I will gain some of my weight back even if it takes a while to do so.

I am 5 months post op with about 8 cc's in my band. Although I still feel no real restriction I have found myself vomiting a lot of stuff I could tolerate prior to my last fill. The 1st week following my fill was fine .. no issues, no restriction, but no vomiting either. I guess I should clarify the vomiting is usually related to being stuck. It can happen on bite 1 or bite 4 and it seems to have not started until the 2nd week post fill. Yesterday was beef stroganoff.. chewed real well and just a few bites before I was in agony and stuck.. today a hamburger patty, no bread .. again tiny bites, not overcooked, melted cheese for moisture .. no go. Lunch I stuck w/ greek yogurt which is never an issue but a boarderline slider I think.. Tonite even a 1/2 cup of chicken salad took forever and was not comfortable but did not come up. I'm thinking chicken salad is moist, pretty chopped up. Am I in need of an unfill? I feel like I should be able to eat solids and not have to live on mushies.

Ugh, bananas - IMPOSSIBLE for me to eat with any fill. I could eat an apple with the skin more easily than a banana. There is no rhyme nor reason to what our bands will tolerate. I couldnt eat easily bananas, yogurt, ice cream, juice, milk, but I could easily eat bread, steak, raw carrot and salads.

I ordered some of this off Walmart and liked it so much I used quite a bit of it already so ordering more tonite - got the chocolate and the vanilla so far but this one sounds best of all. A half banana or a little sugar free yogurt? Yum http://www.walmart.com/ip/Body-Fortress-Super-Advanced-Whey-Protein-Chocolate-Peanut-Butter-Supplement-2-Lb/13274590

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

MiniMandy_ be careful with what you eat..while healing if you "try out" foods and your swelling isnt down it will catch up with you..you need to stay on liguids and soft mush for awhile..believe me its not easy but its neccessary...i ate potatoe soup one day thinking id be fine but within hours i was hurting. it irritates your stomach. and when i started more harder foods this week its still hard to do..i kinda had to start over lots of liquids and maybe one solid a day now..but my solid is like chili or mash potatoes that are watery..i live off of yogurt and protien drinks..I LVOE THE EQUATES from walmart! the chocolat rocks! or i blend a banana with the vanilla one! YUMMY! Take care and be careful!

I'd respectfully disagree with Grady here. Advice varies in the medical world & each body/stomach is unique. You may require the odd nutritious snack, especially if its high protein. I'm exercising at a level that requires more protein than many at my stage (I'm pretty new to this too!) My nutritionist wants me to have protein yogurts or bars post work out to prevent muscle loss. I know someone who has a long thin stomach & can't fit enough in at normal meal times so must supplement by snacking.

That will definitely be the challenge. I went on a strenuous hike Saturday - lost of steep terrain, both up and down, 4 1/2 hours, approximately 1800 cal burned. I am starting to hike/train for a rim-to-rim in one day Grand Canyon hike (24 miles) that is 1 mile down and then 1 mile up. The training hikes alone will burn so many thousands of calories, I can't imagine eating enough, so I think for me, I will have 500 cal days, 1200 cal days, and then 2000-2500 cal days (hiking days). I hope the book will help give some tips for this. I think I will also end up on an elimination diet for a while if this EE comes back positive. (No wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, fish/shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts). Then add 1 at a time back. Only the soy, peanuts, and tree nuts will be hard, as I have already eliminated the others, for the most part. Salad, soup, seeds, grains, and veggies, with pea protein powder. Yum Yum. Do-able. I found oat milk yogurt the other day that is pretty good! Never knew it existed, and amazingly, more fiber, less carbs, and just as much protein as soy yogurt, with live cultures! Who knew?

@@bubbles2015 Hi there Bubbles! I am 4 weeks out also. I noticed that you said that it takes you 40 minutes to finish your egg. I can't eat a whole scrambled egg (w/cheese) yet. I can feel full after just over half. My nutritionist told me to stop eating after 20 minutes. I eat about 1/4 cup of food each meal. I can eat a little more yogurt. Anyway, eating over a period of 40 minutes cuts down on your Fluid intake time. Maybe ask your Nut about the 40 minute meals?

Thanks! I am still working on getting 64oz. I am still on stage II foods. My staple food is greek yogurt mixed with cottage cheese, soups, broth, and Isopure Zero Carb. If I eat 2oz, then I really have to wait to drink for 30 mins, otherwise I can feel pressure going down my stomach. Working on increasing my fluid intake, and it's slow but getting better. If i sip too much it feels weird, so it's a learning process coz I sometimes forget and gulp too much and then i feel sick. I am back to work so it's even more challenging, but I really try to make a conscious effort to drink. Two weeks ago, I could only drink 1oz/hr, but as you heal and the swelling goes down, IT WILL GET better...and I was in the same boat as you, and many people posted they are father out than us and it's a challenge too for many. Just keep trying HAve a speedy recovery!

No,Nibble the Super-Surgery- Chick,is not firing on all cylinders. Dr Needleman took me to Stage 3 at 6 days. I now do not agree with him. In the last 2 days I have kept down 6 protein shakes I premier protein , I AdvantEDGE soy 4 muscle milk 6!8 sugar free jello 5 tropical,sf,popsicles 1C low sodium V8 in 2 oz portions applesauce Musselman low sugat assorted water and no cal fluids to make Q.S. 1/4 c pureed vegetable soup Things I puked, urped or otherwise forcible up check cottage cheese both small curd and pureed greek yogurt thinned pureed flounder pureed soft roast pork 2 T scrambled egg creamed wheat thinned out to runny Do,you see a pattern ,,I am not ready

Frustr8, had RnY on August. No prediet required. One day ahead of surgery all liquid diet. I’m 65 years young. 8 days out of surgery and doing great. Transitioned to puréed soup and yogurt yesterday. So far so good. Good Luck to you.

Georgia, stop in the grocery store. Grab a yogurt or applesauce that are in the tubes so you can eat on the go.

If you are on liquids then i would recommend the fruit and yogurt shakes from McDonald's or sonic.

Normally I have no issues bc there is a fridge, ice, etc at work. Tomorrow my mom is having surgery. I will be taking her & not leaving until she can leave. What can I take that doesn't need to be refrigerated? Normally I am at work at 8, have a yogurt at 9, snack at 11, and so on. I'll be leaving the house at 4 am, so I can take my yogurt with me. The surgery is at 7, and I'm sure I will be hungry before. Ideas? Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using VST

Ok....so let me start by saying.....please don't take what I'm getting ready to say as a complaint in any way. I am so thankful for my surgery and wouldn't change my decision if I had the chance. I am in a bad place right now so I need to vent and hopefully get some advice. I was sleeved 4/24/12. Since my consultation appt 3/28 I'm down 58 lbs. Yay! I'm so excited about that! BUT.......I have not felt well for several weeks. I'm never hungry (which is not a bad thing) but it keeps me from eating like I should. I even have alarms set on my cell phone to remind me to eat and I still don't eat right. I actually forget to eat....NEVER thought I'd be able to say that. I stay nauseous a lot of the time...even when I take nausea medicine. I have not been getting in my water and I probably haven't had a protein shake in about 2 weeks. I am still excercising. I play softball with my church, go to zumba class and walk about 3 miles. I'm doing something almost every day. This is my thing.......I know I'm setting myself up for a fall! Let me give you an example of my day.....This was today.....I had about 2 tsp of egg salad. I drank about 1/2 of a 16 oz water...then I went to softball practice and sweated my butt off. While at practice I drank another 16 oz water. I got home and had about 2 tsp of homeade chicken salad. I'm working on another glass of water right now. I didn't reach any of my goals. I know if I don't do better I'm gonna end up flat on my back. I don't like feeling nauseous so I think I just put eating out of my mind and I can't stand protein shakes so I have trouble making myself drink them. My nut is so very strict. Basically she wants me to stay on the same old bland food......eggs cheese Ham Turkey yogurt ........that's about it. Blah!!!! I am not a cook I'm not creative when it comes to cooking and worst of all.....I'm a convenience eater.I am always on the go with my boys, working, exercising, etc! A lot of times I just need to grab and go and the things I need you can't just grab and go. So I think ok I'll eat later and then later never comes. I just don't know how to get on track! I don't know what to do! I put on a front but I really just want to feel good!