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Hello, I am wonderful! Thank you for asking. I drink water with flavor enhancer or powerade zero. Anything fluid wise has to be 15 calories or less per serving. Some times I have diet ocean spray because it's 15 cals per serving. And I just recently found a minute made orange juice that has 10 calories per serving. Food: I eat a lot of eggs, egg salad on whole wheat crackers, baked or steamed fish, chicken, cheese of all kinds, 0% Fage yogurt, tuna.. My trick to keep calories low and protein high. I do that by adding plain non fat Greek yogurt to anything that makes sense, I replace it for mayo in egg salad and I replace it for sour cream on chilli or in mashed potatoes.. My other trick is to add non fat powdered milk to lots of things, I love oatmeal so I make it with skim milk and then add 1/4 cup powdered milk while cooking to give it even more protein... Portion size I can only eat about 4-6oz. of most things.... chicken I can only eat 3oz of cooked chicken. My intake is 60 grams of protein and 64 fl oz of water/powerade zero.

Yes. Dumping is not that common with the sleeve, but it happens to some people. I had a dump at around 12 weeks eating frozen yogurt with fresh strawberries. Not fun at all.

My question is basically for those that have been through the liquid diet part of the RNY surgery. I was told that the liquid diet is basically Protein shakes. So I have picked up some Premier Protein drinks. I have both chocolate and strawberry & cream. I have to be on this 2 weeks before, and 2 weeks after my surgery. I was wondering about other liquids like V8 Splash Diet. Drinking plenty of Water has never been a real problem for me. So what would you suggest to break it up, so I am not drinking 4 shakes every day. I did buy a Ninja blender to make smoothies. I have been experimenting with that, and ESA Protein powder. Mainly Greek Yogurt based smoothies.

Hey there... Lisa's back and ready to chat, chat, chat.. Where O where do I begin ?? My "last meal". I felt like Jesus at his last supper. The Friday before my surgery after eating very good for two months I had the wonderful " I will never eat like this again meal". I went with my daughter to Hurricane Grill and had 3 Conch fritters, 1/2 chicken wrap, few chips, 1/2 chicken fajita and OH YES a Sangria... TOTALLY off my diet but I was going to go out with a bang if I wasn't going to eat for the next two days. Saturday was an OK day. I got to have a "no chew" diet of Yogurt ( with no fruit in it), Protein shakes and sugar free pudding. Sunday was a little harder as it was a "clear liquid" diet of Chicken broth, Water, sugar-free Jello and Vitamin waters. I ate my last bite of jello at 12:02 and then that was it until after the surgery. I didn't have to wash with any special soap or use listerine to cleanse my mouth. I showered, shaved and went to bed. OH on the bag note.. YOU will pretty much need NOTHING in the hospital. What did come in handy was pull-up toilet wipes ( for personal hygeine), Lip Balm b/c you can't eat anything at all for two days, No slip shoes b/c you will be walking and about 20.00 for the phone/tv hook up. Other than that you are provided with a gown, socks, tooth brush, tooth paste, lotion for your legs and arms, any "food" your allowed to eat. You sleep 75% of the day and the rest of the time you are being poked, prodded and bugged by nurses. Woke up early on Monday morning, dropped my daughter off at cheer camp and had my husband drop me off at the entrance to the hospita at 9AM. Some people invite people to sit with them.. I just wanted to have peace and quiet. He was a nervous wreck. Advice... if your spouse/parent/sibling is more nervous than you don't have them with you unless necessary. I walked over to admitting and got my paperwork put throu, went to the admittance area and had my urine tested for a pregnancy test ( NOT ). Ended up waiting for 4.5 hours in the waiting area. About 8 other people were taken for various surgeries before mine. UGH what a LONG wait. Finally was called at 1:20. Was given a great comfy cozy blue gown with these terrific interesting slits in them ( for surgery ??) and some fuzzy "no slip" socks. My stuff was put in a bag and labled with my name. I went to sit in the nurses office where I was poked and prodded trying to find my vein. And this was the "good nurse". Finally the officer came to take my things, I was given a blanket and reclined back to take a nap until my name was called to go back to the Operating Room (OR). Apparently my name was called but they couldn't find a stretcher for me b/c the next thing I knew the OR nurse came to the front nurses station asking how long I was going to take. UH.. I had been ready since 2:10 and it was now almost 3PM. My Doctor and Anestesiologist came to the nurses station to ask if I was ok. Doc made me sign my last consent form to do the surgery and the anestesiologist asked if I had any concerns. I said " Uh yeah. When are we going to get this show on the road?? Can't I just walk to the OR ".. He laughed and said in his Russian accent " I like this one. You want to walk... well lets go". What a nice little parade it was me being led by the Doctor, Anastesiologist, Head OR nurse and an assistant. It all seems like a dream but I walked right into the OR, smiled at the attending nurse as she said " SHE WALKED ??!! Never in 10 years have i seen a patient WALK into the Operating Room" LOL. I hopped up onto the table and said " Now what??" They told me to lie down with my feet against the foot pads, I put my arm out onto the extendable arm rest and the anestesiolagist said " We're going to give you a cocktail mairtini now" I said "Sir... If its a chocolate martini give me a double".... AND THAT WAS THE END OF MY PRE SURGERY LIFE... According to the calls to my hubby from my doctor I went into surgery at 3:20 and was out by 5:10. Apparently I got the 2 for 1 special... I had a hernia in my abdomonial wall and my intestines were poking out... in addition to the gastric sleeve. Come three hours later I wake up super groggy like "Holy Cow it was over !!" I looked at the clock and it was about 8PM. I was not feeling any pain at all just super groggy from the anestesia. I woke up about an hour later with a clearer head and just remember asking for my cell phone. I planned to call my hubby to let him know I was OK and tell my daughter goodnight. By 10:30 the phone still hadn't come so I asked the nurse to wheel me to the nearest phone and let me call my daughter. LOL Persistant little bugger I was. She got me a phone and I spoke to the hubby. Daughter and mom were sleeping. I have NO IDEA what my conversation was about I was still out of it. My throat was a bit sore from the breathing tube they put down my throat but not worst than a dry throat. Next thing I know I was being wheeled into my room and my roomy ( who was one of my nurses at the baratic center who also had her's done the same day) was calling my name. I said " Hey Stacy.. welcome to the other side" and passed out again. The nurses do not leave you alone for the entire first night. They check your blood pressure and temperature every two hours. They poke you will small needles every six hours to give you medicine to thin your blood ( choice arm / belly ) and you are not allowed to eat anything. UGH. Thank goodness my "swallow test" was the next day. I was given 3 cotton swabs flavored with Lemon that tasted delicious ( but later when I tried them taste HORRIBLE ). I slept on and off that night and the next morning. Funny thing was.. there was no pain. I read this on another persons report but really aside from the "fear" your going to rip something you don't feel any pain. it is mostly just an ache. Mainly in one area where they remove the remaining stomach from. Mine is still tender three days later. You do get a little button to push to get meds when you need them but for the most part the only real uncomfortable feeling is the gas left in your bloated stomach. Oh the other gross thing was the catheter. I mean it didn't really hurt persay but its not comfortable. When they wake you up in the morning the nurses made me sit up in a chair to get my blood circulating and that damn thing hurt when I sat down with it. In the morning the doctors came in and looked at my gross belly then it was time for my test. Woo Hoo. The swallow doctors took a general xray of my belly area. They then handed me a cup, laid me on a tilted table and told me not to drink it until they said. They left the room and I swallowed it. The doctor could see the gross tasting 1oz of liquid run down my esophogus and into my stomach. She repeated the test and then it was over. I was cleared to eat. NO leaks. YAY !! Good news one.. good news two I got to get the damn catheter out. OK so we don't feel it going in ( for ladies) b/c we are sleeping but when they deflate it and pull it out feels like a burning UTI. So not comfortable but it's only for a second and then its gone. Only sucky thing is its replaced with peeing on a "hat" thing that fits into the toilet so they can measure how much you are peeing and how much fluids you are intaking. Back up to my room. More blood pressure and more temperature taking then it was lunch time. Ohhhh what's for lunch... Oh joy... a 3 oz cup of yellow jello, a 3 oz cup of chicken broth and 3 oz of crystal lite lemonade. Ohhhh before you get so excited you can only have 3 oz TOTAL of these three. So the first meal was 1 1/2 oz of chicken broth and 1 1/2 oz of jello. I was also allowed to drink water non stop as much as possible. That night I was able to sleep a little better and was only bothered twice in the night by the nurse. The day passed pretty uneventful with another visit from the doctor and not too much sleep. The next morning my doctor cleared me to go home so after another Breakfast and lunch of broth/jello I got to go home. WOO HOO !!! And so begins my new life after Vertical Sleeve surgery... Short recap of since I've been home... Got out of the hospital and told my hubby to go to McDonalds... ( GASP.. Not for me silly people for him... LOL). He ordered a Big Mac meal with a soda and large fries. I sat there with my bottle of water and watched him eat. What I used to love now became disgusting. I have been eating just my Protein Shakes for the past two days and haven't been hungry at all. It's all been fine and you will be fine too. Still a little sore on my biggest scar but it will pass in time. Hope you all enjoyed my story. Take care and Good Luck to all.. OH BTW... I've lost 8 pounds since Monday. WOO HOO !! I'm on my way !! Oh kind of what to expect after surgery. The two incisions on my left ( close to each other ) are where they took the rest of the stomach out and are the ones that bother the most. The other 4 I don't even know are there. I was closed up with surgical glue so it will fall off over the next two weeks. No scars except 1/2 " to 3/4" lines. YAY !!!

Yes, you definitely need to be more vigilant right now. Remember that even with no fill, you're still supposed to be eating small amounts. It's ok to have yogurt or something between meals to help with the hunger, but try to keep a grip on how much you're eating. As far as the pains, I don't personally know, I didn't get any at all.

What does your program recommend? My regimen was: 2 weeks clears (I did 17 days) 2 weeks of full liquids (my surgeon let me just do one week) 2 weeks of mushies 2 weeks of soft solids then slowly progress to regular solid food I followed a few different variations of surgeon's post-op diet. This one is from Dr. Aceves, and it gave me some ideas to break up the monotony of the "regular" stuff on the full liquid and mushy stage. POST-OP DIET: Here are a few ideas concerning the post op diet Day 1 thru 5 ( Clear Liquids Only ) fruit juice ( apple, grape, cranberry ) Propel broth Jello-O Water Tea Protein Water by Kellogg’s Water popsicles Clear Protein drinks only ( example Isopure, unjury ) Day 6-10 ( thin liquids ) All of the above and: Natural Vegetable Juices ( example Carrot, V-8 juice ) Protein drinks mixed with water ( example Matrix ) whey nectar Protein Mix Day 11 thru 20 ( full liquids ) Cream Soups Yogurt Jello-O Boiled pureed fruit ( example apple, pear) applesauce Watermelon, papaya or melon in small pieces Low fat milk 1 or 2% Water, Propel, tea Soy beverages sugar free pudding Protein shakes and protein powders mixed with milk Day 21 thru 30 ( soft food ) Soft food should be the consistency of a thick liquid ( no chunks or solid material ) and it should be chewed very well before swallowing until it is a liquid consistency ) Tofu Low fat cottage cheese Cereal oatmeal Precooked pureed rice Low fat Yogurt Yogurt mixed with fruit very well blended Cream soups eggs Boiled pureed fruit ( example pear, apple ) Watermelon, papaya or melon in small pieces Boiled pureed vegetables Beans Day 31st and beyond ( solid food ) Fish, Chiken meat Turkey Vegetables Fruit A diet consisting of 800 calories and 70 grams of protein should be your goal. There is a book called " Weight loss Surgery for Dummies" Authors: Kurian, Thompson and Davidson You might find it helpful. I contains several recipes and ideas on what to eat after surgery Grilled Marinated Tuna with Lime Herbed Beef Patties Turkey Meatballs Seafood salad chicken Salad A diet consisting of 600-800 calories and about 70 grams of protein should be the goal Protein will not only help you heal and build muscle mass but acts as a natural appetite suppressant. Concerning protein supplements here are a few ideas: Isopure protein drinks - 40 grams of protein per bottle. Isopure you mix with water - 50 grams of protein. You can find them at GNC. "Protein Water" by Kellogg’s - 5 grams of protein per drink. You can find it at WallMart Unjuryclear protein drinks - UNJURY Medical Quality Whey Protein Isolate. Great Tasting Whey Protein Supplements for Everyday Health! High Protein and High Quality. Not so good tasting. New Whey Nectar Protein mixis very good but it is kind of expensive. It is said to be one of the best tasting protein products in the market today. You can get itat GNC or on line www.google.com/products?client=safari&rls=en&q=whey+nectar+protei n&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title Some patients enjoymaking popsicles and Jell-O Jigglers out ofproteinliquid. Others enjoy Swanson Clearbroth that comes in a can . But most enjoydelicious homemade broth using chayote squash for flavor ( they strain the broth to make it clear) CHICKEN AND FRESH VEGETABLE BROTH 2-3 pieces of chicken for every 2 bowls of broth1 celery stalk 1chayote (hispanic grocery stores)1 carrot 2zucchini2 small tomatoes 2small onionscilantro (optional) salt to taste - BOIL chicken pieces for approx. 20 minutes - ADD celery, chayote, and carrot - SIMMER 30 minutes - ADD zucchini,m tomatoes and onions - SIMMER15 more minutes (cilantro is optional) - STRAIN and serve. You can also buy powder chicken broth that contains 10 grams protein per serving. You can find it on Amazon.com, it is called ProCel When you start on full liquids try Matrix 5.0 protein drinks. Protein shakes and mixes are very good tasking.You will need to wait until they are allowed in you food stage. Advocare high protein drinks called “Meal Replacement shakes “have Vitamins added to them andare a great optiontoo FOLLOWING THE POST OP DIET IS VERY IMPORTANT REMEMBERWE ARE TRYING TO PROTECT THE STAPLE LINE THE SCAR TISSUE IS STILL FORMING AROUND IT DO NOT OVERFILL YOUR STOMACH AND DO NOT JUMP ANY FOOD STAGES

At six months out, I increased my daily calories from 900 to 1200 per day. I was only eating 2 meals previously, since I hadn't found anyting I could eat in the morning without feeling queasy. Now I've added Greek yogurt & fruit for Breakfast, and an ounce of nuts on my way home from work in the evening. I also have a few Triscuits with a light Lauging Cow in the evening for a snack. Oddly, my weight loss has accelerated. I had been losing about 1 pound per week, but now it's closer to 1 3/4 pound. I've only been doing this for 2 weeks. I also started increasing my Fiber intake (with Fiber Choice) but I have not changed my exercise routine or general activity level at all. I certainly feel more satiated. Has anyone else experienced something similar?

Have you tried putting the bariatric chewables in yogurt ( crush them) or blend them with a protein drink?

What types of food is everyone eating post op? I need to mix up my diet. I'm 3 months out and mainly eat yogurt, granola, protein bars, meat,cheese,and veggies

I've visited this wensite a few times over the past few months. Mostly looking for info and thoughts and support and everything inbetween. I never signed up, but I did today. My surgery is scheduled for the 26th of this month. As in next week. As in 6 days. I have been so sure of everything I was doing. So confident, and right now I am scared out of my mind. I am so worreid about complications and dying on the table. Not waking up. I'm worried that the surgery is going to go wrong and I am gonna be using a feeding tube for the rest of my life. I'm wondering if I should back out and get my $2000 co-pay back and really work hard on regular excerise and eating right (which never worked before for any decent length of time). I have a baby at home, well a toddler. I'm doing this surgery for her. So I can be a healthy fit mom. So I can run around with her and not be easily winded. So I can show her what being healthy is all about and what to eat and do to live a long healthy life. I want to be a good example. I want to be a better wife. I want to be more comfortable in sexual situations. My God I have been with my husband for 12 years. Married for 5 on 10/5/12. Why do I shudder when he touches my stomach!?!?! I'm one week into my liquid diet, which is so confusing. I always feel like I'm doing it wrong. Which I would be lying if I said I did it by the book, but over all I am proud of myself. I quit smoking on 9/3 started a liquid diet on 9/12 and today I just drastically cut down on my coffee intake. My liquid diet consists of full liquids. So I'm allowed to have cream soups and cottage cheese and farina. I'm allowed yogurt also. I've lost 10lbs this week. I spoke to my bariatic coordinator about an employee party that was suppose to take place tomorrow but was postponed to next week. I wanted to know if it would be okay to eat a piece of chicken. Not that I wanted to cheat but I wanted to know. She said yes, but to chew it til it was paste and then swallow it. She said the issue is I should not be producing stool. Well, I am. Not alot of course and nothing like before but I still am and I told her that and she said everything is fine. So it brings me to the question of whether or not this diet is 100% neccessary. You can shrink your liver by cutting out carbs and sugars, you don't have to go to straight liquids. So why am I not suppose to be pooping, or why do I need to avoid producing it???? Does anyone know? And cottage cheese isn't a liquid so wouldn't that come out a solid??? Very confusing to me. Any advice anyone has and words of encouragement and info on the pre-surgery diet would be so nice and helpful!

Hi there, Here's how I incorporated fruits and veggies early out: Yogurt shake for breakfast: greek non-fat yogurt, a couple of strawberries, a splash of OJ, bigger splash of Water, and some Splenda. Melons for snack:Watermelon and cantelope both sat well. Applesauce cups: another good snack 1/3 bananna: snack Frozen peas and carrots: Cooked them alongside whatever Protein I was having Zucchini: cut off a few slices with a mandoline slicer and cooked them alongside whatever protein I was having Soups: Split Pea, Veggie, Tomato, Butternut Squash Peppers and onions, spinach: Added to sandwich after I could tolerate bread again Spinach: wilt and serve under protein I couldnt eat much because early on protein took almost all my room, but I love veggies and fruit and would have felt deprived without any. To control constipation, I used a fiber supplement, benefiber and Colace stool softener. Lynda

Per my doc eat slowly until you feel satified. Although in the pureed stage, I was told not to worry about calories or protein, but make sure and get all my water in. Liquids went down easy for me from day one. I think I started with a 1/4 cut but it didnt take long until I could handle a 1/2 a cup. Keep in mind the diet really doesnt start until you can eat solids. Once there high cal liquids are taboo. I also found that creamed soups did not sit well. I did better on low sodium vegtable soups ran through the blender and greek yogurt.

If I had to eat the plain kind I would just skip the yogurt all together!!

I like the Voskos brand Greek yogurt, as well as Brown Cow and sometimes Chobani. I am a yogurt snob and won't eat any yogurt that isn't 100% natural. I refuse to put artificial sweeteners or flavors in it. All natural yogurt will have a few more carbs, so I just eat low carb elsewhere, or don't eat as much of the yogurt.

I used 1T of raspberry sugar free syrup in the roadside lemonade and that was good. There is so many things you can do with lemon flavor. I bought the iced tea, the lemonade and the chocolate truffle. Choc truffle with sugar free vanilla and steamed milk is wonderful. Like hot chocolate. Love it, but I preferred the fruity ones mixed in water or ff Greek yogurt.

Thank you & that's totally fine as long as i can stalk yours lmao! I was in the hospital for one night, didn't need anything longer than that. I was literally doing laps in the hallway (walking that is) you want to walk as much as possible to alleviate the major gas pains you'll have (from them pumping you with air) I was out of work for two weeks, if i didn't have the issue with constipation i think i would've been fine to come back after the first week but id suggest if you could take the time off take it just because you will be very tired and still healing. Im not sure which line of work your in and if its a physical job or not but me i sit at a desk and get up and down throughout the day to file charts. I couldve taken off a month but i knew that we didnt have anyone in our office that was going to do all my work and the longer i was out the more it piled up lol. Protein shakes....i went with the Premier Protein for a while but i soon became tired of those esp vanilla, you may be different but they were delicious to start off with ( i liked the chocolate one more, it reminds me of chocolate milk) I have since bought the big container of Syntrax nectar fuzzy naval ( fuzzy naval is the flavor) its ok, not too bad its tolerable but i know for the nectar brand you can go on there website and try sample packs ( you do have to pay for them) but that way you dont buy something and not like it. The premier Proteins can come in packs of 4 pre made at like walmart and then they have bulk at like sams club or costco (not sure if you guys have these places where you live but you guys should have something similar) My diet now...Im pretty much back on everything but everything is very minimal. I can make a whole can of tuna (with light tuna of course) and eat on it for days. I have to stay away from raw vegetables right now just because they can get stuck. and i have to make sure that if i do a meat that i chew it super well otherwise that can also get stuck. liquid/puree stage... i didnt really puree anything except for Beans, i lived on beans for awhile along with all my liquid stuff: broth, sugar free Jello, sugar free pudding, yogurt, cream of wheat or cream of rice. YOU WILL GET TIRED OF ALL OF THIS STUFF, but once you start having solid foods again my doc told me to cut all of that stuff out completely except i could still enjoy some yogurt (high in protein) As far as the loose skin thing, were young still so our skin is more elastic compared to if we were to do this down the road so m hoping that with continued exercise that it wont be as bad but im sure its somewhat inevitable just because of the amount of weight were dropping in the period were dropping it. Have you bought all of your Vitamins yet? Do you have any issue with taking pills now? And its no problem about how many questions you ask im just glad i can share some stuff with you to make it hopefully an easier transition. http://www.premierprotein.com/ http://www.vitacost.com/syntrax-nectar-whey-protein-isolate-powder?csrc=GPF-PA-Sports%20%26%20Fitness-893912123536&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=893912123536&gclid=CKmOu-OwisUCFVGUfgod0IoAKg ive put links to the proteins, hopefully they work

I think it is very normal for good to not taste good at the stage you are at. I didn't care for much of anything, which sorta taught me to eat for sustinance, not pleasure. I personally tolerated meats fine, but small portions, eaten fairly slowly. Try shrimp, sandwich meat and some of those kind of things if pork or beef feels too heavy. Try greek yogurt, try new things. And then, try them again a few months later as my tastes evolved several times. Think of food as your fuel, and just get the highest quality that you can.

I have oatmeal, yams, mash potatoes, eggs, fruits, tuna, yogurt, applesauce, puddings, and refried beans of course everything will be puréed.

invest in unflavored protein powder..usual has low calories fat and sugar. Plus its easy to add it to everything. I add a tablespoon of it into my gravies, soups, sauces, yogurt, pudding etc. At first it wont seem like a lot but throughout the day it adds up. Just be careful not to add too much at a time or else you'll end up with a gross unbearable meal!

So I've been on liquids for 13 days and I've lost 10 pounds. However, for days I've been thinking that I haven't cheated, but unfortantly now I'm wondering if I have. I've been drinking 3 shakes a day and have a small I mean small salad with olive oil and vinegar with like 2-3 strips of grilled chicken, I don't do the chicken everyday. I was also told I could have no sugar pudding and yogurt and low fat cottage cheese. Do you guys think I screwed up by having the small salad? My nutritionist said that I could eat as many fresh veggies as I wanted, so isn't salad fresh veggies, I just am worried about the grilled chicken and oil and vinegar. I also went out for girls night last night and my friends were so proud of me, they all drank and ate appetizers and I drank my Water and eat NOTHING!!! I was so proud of myself. I'm just scared now about the salad and my surgery is on Tuesday!! Anyone that can tell me their thought or opinions would be greatly appreciated!

On Nov. 28, 2009 I had lap band surgery in Burlingame, CA. My suergeon Dr. Pamela Foster is great. Afte about 6 months I was throwing up all the protein I was eating. I could keep a little soup and frozen yogurt down. After 8 months of constant throwing up and every test known to man kind they decided to remove the band. They did a sleeve so I wouldn't gain any weight back as I had lost about 70 lbs by then. While they were in doing the sleeve they found the scar tissue had wrapped around my esophogus and had been causing all the sickness. The opened it up and once I learned how to eat again I lost another 30 for a total of 100 lbs. I had the sleeve surgey Nov. 3, 2010. I feel great and look pretty good but my stomach is still na little sore and would love to find out what I should be eating. I was trained what to eat with the lap band and keep going back to that mind set. I would love to find a menu of what I should be eating with the sleeve.

Do they not give you a number you can call or someone you can email or something to ask questions? Every program is different. My full liquids included things like yogurt.

Kathy, It will get better. I had gastric bypass 14 years ago. Everything I liked before surgery (eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese) I couldn't eat at all after surgery. Eventually the taste for it came back. Unfortunately 3 years ago my mom passed away and I've been gaining the weight back. I'm scheduled next month for a revision. I'm kinda nervous, my last surgery was in a different state and with a different surgeon. This surgeon is great, did my sister-in-law's sleeve. There are a lot more "rules" and steps than when I had it done the first time Hope all goes well. I'm missing out on too much with my children and grandchildren - time to get my life back!

Try vanilla yogurt. .. its really good... warm things seem to really feel good going down... have you tried cream of wheat?

Hi all! Karen here from Pennsylvania. I had my lap band surgery last Dec. on the 16th after trying way too many costly weight loss options that never worked, including about $900 on hcg injections. I'm the only patient in my county who has Hashimoto's hypothyroid autoimmune condition so my doctor says I'm "special" because he's the only doctor who has a patient with this condition, so he gets to report back on my progress, which so far seems to be going really, really slow. I lost 15# in the first month and another 3# in the second month and nothing since, despite two fills, the second of which was just last month. The only difference I've notice is that I have to eat a lot slower, especially my scrambled eggs & cheese, so it takes me longer to eat. Since I have this autoimmune condition which is accompanied by a gluten intolerance, I rarely if ever eat any breads. My menu is so simple it's pathetic: gluten free Chex Cereal or eggs & cheese for Breakfast, brown rice & peas for lunch and again for dinner and an apple and yogurt with each meal. Evening snack, 1-2 bags of microwave popcorn. That's pretty much it. My doctor says that's fine as long as I take Vitamins. I just started my exercising again last week so I'm hopeful that adding an hour mixed cardio and stretching will help speed up the process but I'm not going to stress over it. I'm eating healthy and not overeating and I'm exercising, and right now I can't afford a third fill on the band so I'll just have to be happy with whatever my body decides to do, right? So anyway, glad to have found you all! I get busy with a couple of home businesses so I'm not sure how often I'll get here but keep up the great work everyone!