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I've been eating puréed black Beans with mashed potatoes. This was really good. I've also been eating Greek yogurt, applesauce and tomorrow I'm going to make guacamole and try a tuna salad. I may even make the deviled egg mixture too. Just open to anything right now. The nurse pretty much told me what I already knew. I've been able to eat about 1/2 cup or so.

Thanks! And I know you will do just as good if not better, just keep a positive outlook the whole way through...by the way I forgot to mention and this might sound silly but it wasn't silly for me. I had two prior surgeries about 2 years ago for my back and my gallbladder. Right before surgery I was so nervous that I started crying and my recovery afterwards was not easy for either surgery but I have to say this time I did just 2 things differently and I think it helped tremendously. This first is that I prayed the night before and right before surgery (I know not everyone can/will do the same thing depending on beliefs but it worked for me) and the second was I purchased the "Preparing for a successful Surgery" CD from the SSF Kaiser. at my final appointment before surgery. And at the hotel the night before I played it on the CD player just as I laid down in bed and listened to that as I fell asleep and even left it playing while I sleeping. I think it made a real difference. I was so calm this time before the surgery and this time I didn't even have my mom there like I have always had her in the past. My best friend who went with me kept asking if I was nervous and I didn't get nervous at all! Not once! I think that CD really put me in the right mind set. As far as the foods on stage 2, I started adding cottage cheese (1/2 c. a day) about 5 days out from surgery, then I also had instant mashed potatoes with a lowfat (Campbells) turkey gravy on it to thin it out a little bit. I ate that 2 times a day. A typical meal for me from Day 5 until I was cleared for Stage 3 was: Breakfast: 4 ounce Activia Vanilla Yogurt 2-4 ounces of Unsweetened Applesauce Lunch: 2 ounces (1/4 of med. size) Sweet potato 1/4 cup Lowfat Cottage Cheese Dinner: 1/2 cup Mashed Potatoes 2-3 Tbsp Turkey Gravy 1/2 of (4 ounce) Activia Yogurt Snack: 1-2 Sugar Free Popsicle or Sugar Free Fudgesicle About 3 days before my 2 week follow up I started to get really hungry so I started adding in some Stage 3 foods slowly and I was ok with that. I told Dr.Alami about it at my 2 week appt., because he told me to stop the protein shakes and I told him I stopped taking them a while ago because I had a hard time drinking them. At that time my typical meal was: Breakfast: 2 ounces (1/4 of med. size) Sweet potato 1/4 cup Lowfat Cottage Cheese Lunch: 2 ounces cooked ground turkey meatball (cut up in 8ths);topped with 2 Tbsp tomato sauce; little Italian seasoning (sort of like a spaghetti sauce) 1/2 - 1 (4 ounce) Activia Yogurt Dinner: 2 ounces cooked ground turkey meatball (cut up in 8ths);topped with 2 Tbsp tomato sauce; little Italian seasoning (sort of like a spaghetti sauce) 1/4 cup mashed potatoes Snack: 1-2 Sugar Free Popsicles or S/F Fudgesicle Sorry for the BOOK, I hope this helps!!! If you have any more questions let me know

My favorite is to mix two cups Greek yogurt with a pack of sugar free cream cheese pudding mix. It makes several servings (at least four depending on how much you eat I guess) and then I microwave some frozen strawberries for a minute and add them to it for a strawberry cheesecake-ish taste.

You can use it to make a chicken salad--use pre-cooked chicken (or canned), a bit of green onion--not too much!--and some Greek yogurt--zap in the processor (I make it in my magic bullet). Delicious! You can add whatever seasonings you like, but I tend to like it sort of plain. I also like to get it very smooth, so it's more like chicken salad paste, if you get my drift, and I can eat it with a spoon or on a cracker or on a slice of cucumber.... You can also make really good deviled eggs--I can't eat eggs any more after surgery, but even before surgery, I liked deviled eggs with the Greek yogurt. Smush up the hard-cooked egg yolks with some Greek yogurt, some Creole mustard (or I bet sweet-hot mustard would be yummy), a little salt and pepper, and, if you want to get fancy, some fine-chopped pickles or olives. Stuff the egg whites and enjoy.

This is going to sound so obvious it's stupid but please do try your best not to vomit AT ALL between now and your surgery date. If you have a slip and a lot of inflammation they may not be able to revise you to a sleeve at the same time as band removal. You need for all the swelling to go down in order to have a safe revision. Risks are already triple for a revision vs. if you never had a band. Swelling makes it much worse. Milk and yogurt? (eye roll)

I started on yogurt today. Kroger has a brand called Carbmaster which is pretty decent tasting. Out of about a 6 oz cup I've only been able to down about 2 oz. Still, feels good to be able to add a little of variety to my diet. So far it has sat pretty well in my sleeve. I also get to add creamy soups and have nice broccoli cheddar soup waiting at home I can try tonight. I had to take the stairs a few times at work today and that also has not been too bad. So far a decent day.

I'm 26 months out and have been below goal for 18 of them. Of course the further out I got my portions increased. I could only eat a couple tablespoons at a time at 2-3 months and reached my max capacity of about a cup by 14 months. I can eat more in the evenings than in the morning and I can eat more of things like Soup and yogurt than I can chicken or steak. When I was close to goal I upped my fat and carbs by adding in more fruit, whole grains and full fat dairy, nuts, etc. in order to slow down and stop my loss. I can't give you numbers as far as grams of fat, Protein, carbs and calories because I don't track or measure. But I shoot for protein first, minimize (not exclude) carbs like Pasta, rice, bread and sweets and pay no attention to fat content. Besides my high protein diet I drink a protein shake and eat a Quest bar everyday so I know I'm getting well over 60-80g protein/day. I drink 64-100oz every day. I eat fruit, veggies and grains every day. I take my Vitamins every day. I don't ever feel like I'm dieting because there's nothing I can't or don't eat, just in moderation. I saw the nut on my day of surgery and haven't talk to her since. I just figured out what worked for me based on the basics of meeting protein and Fluid goals and making healthy food choices.

Keep in mind I'm 15 weeks out tomorrow! Some days are great others are terrible, I want to eat my arm or my husbands, but then I eat something hearty like soft beef or a mini red potato dressed up and feel better, followed by fruit, Propel and Water... All serving sizes unless Soup are typically 2-4oz in either volume or weight. What I ate today: Two egg white bites Apple slices with peabut butter and a date Sushi Rice 1 Peanut Butter cookie Non-fat greek yogurt, made locally, with a sliced banana and mashed strawberry sauce & granola What I ate yesterday: 2 egg white bites - 13g carbs 13gr Protein 170cals 3oz split pea soup (was still full from egg white bites) 1/2 pc pizza (no end crust) 2oz yogurt with granola, half a small organic banana 1 baby potato chopped and mixed with avocado hummus, seasoned rice vinegar and seasonings What I ate two days ago: Thai Cashew Slaw ( I LOVE IT) cheese wedge and almonds More Thai Cashew Slaw (no mayo) Pot salad - 1 baby red potato cooked and chopped, with 1 egg, 1/2 of an avocado, cilantro, herbs, green onion other seasoning. Mashed avocado with herbs and other seasonings to make a dressing Raspberries KEEP ON KEEPING ON! <3 Shana

Wow, thank for all the examples, I will put this to use immediately. I basically eat farina/cream of wheat in morning , a premier shake for snack , tuna or some eggs for lunch, Oykos zero yogurt for snack, and either flounder or chicken for dinner so that does get very old to me especially if I'm not good in the kitchen. Those sugar free ice pops are a life saver though LoL Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I am not limiting but I am meeting my protein goals without it.. I get 30 from the one shake and then get 15 from breakfast (yogurt) and then the balance from dinner/lunch. I am on soft foods now so have not needed the two shakes to get 60-65 protein. If I have a second shake i'd be closer to 90+ protein and over what I should have. The nutritionist said 1 a day was fine as long as I am meeting the 60-65 range which I do every day. I noticed the FL choc had a lot of carbs....so that is a no. UGh this is tricky lol I was thinking maybe I could add in a string cheese with lunch and something else during the day but I don't know what!

I am not starting this thread for actual answers, merely to get it off my chest. I am struggling, I mean really struggling. I am so out of control and I blame noone except myself. I wont clean my house out of these foods because I have done that a million times in my life and it hasnt worked. I have to learn to have them in the house and ignore them, or have them in moderation. I mean, before banding I hated ice cream. I love it now, I have it about 4 times a week. Grrrrr...peanut M&Ms, my biggest downfall. I have great restriction, eat small meals and feel full, then BAM 7.30pm comes...the kids are in bed and I am like a raging animal going through the cupboards looking for food...cant just be anything though...fruit, yogurt or healthy things just dont cut it. Now let me talk about exercise, each night I go to bed thinking tommorow I will start walking or anything. I go to sleep so motivated, and the next day I just cant be bothered. I have to give up smoking for my TT next month. I gave up for 3 days last week and in those 3 days I put on about 5 lbs. it scared the crap out of me and I turned into this psycho that bit the kids head off with anything that came out of my mouth. Hubby didnt want to come home from work...he was scared!!! I have read all the threads...keep temptation out, see the bigger picture, wake up to yourself...I know!!! I really know and I knew it before banding and it didnt work, and nearly 11 months later its not working after banding. I wish I had energy...I wish I wasnt tired all the time, I wish I wasnt addicted to chocolate...I wish I had motivation and I wish I had self control...One more thing, I wish I could give up smoking without going to hell and back in the process. *sigh*

I'm obsessed with peanut butter. I love ANYTHING with peanut butter. I was having difficulty controlling myself with it, so I've stopped buying it pretty much. However, I do always keep a couple jars of PB2 in the pantry. Its really great for all kinds of things: mixing into shakes/puddings, making peanut sauce for salads or anything really, low cal peanut butter icing, peanut butter sauce for ice cream, peanut butter greek yogurt...Its amazing stuff. And two tablespoons only has 45 calories (as opposed to 180-190 calories in 2 tablespoons of regular PB). Anyways, peanut butter is really good in moderation. At whole foods you can grind your own PB (thus you can take as much or as little as you want, and since youre literally grinding it straight from peanuts, there isn't any sugar or salt or any other additives/chemicals). But look into PB2 - it definitely helps me with my PB craving.

Hey there all I am happy to announce the I now am also an August Bander, 8/28/03 I weighed myself yesterday 9/2/03 and have already lost 10 LBS YAHOOOOO. Boy some of what you guys had to go through was a little crazy. I went down to Mexico on 8/24/03 to party and vacation for a few days before my surgery. I got to the hospital which was beautiful at 7:00 am, I was in pre-op at 7:50am, then the OR at 8:15, I looked up at the clock at 8:30am and they told me they were putting me under. I woke up at about 10:30 am and was in recovery, then at about 12:00pm I was in my suite. I was up and walking around 4:30 pm and was drinking chicken broth, Apple juice , Water and Tea at about 6:00pm. I was released the next moringing at about 10:00am. I hung out in Mexico until 8/31/03 and am now home and drinking my fluids and taking nibbles of yogurt and pudding. Can you beleive it 10 LBS Well I will talk to you all later. Congradulations on all of your successes, it is great that we can all count on eachother for support!!!! Keep up the awsome work. All my love, Nicole:banana

I've been living off beans and greek yogurt for the last 4 days and I need ideas for purees. What is this ricotta bake everyone is raving about? Sent from my SM-G930V using BariatricPal mobile app

I'm 11 months out of sleeve surgery. I came to build a routine in what I eat, and I absolutely enjoy every meal. Even if it's exactly the same as yesterday. I love it. Here's what I eat in a day (and the day after, and the one after.... 🙂 Breakfast: 2 eggs, 4 oz of diced lean ham (pork or turkey, or a turkey patty), 1 oz leek, 1 oz sweet peppers, all scrambled together. Add 6-8 cherry tomatoes and an espresso with 1 oz of 2% milk. Lunch: 5 oz of lean meat (chicken breast, pork loin, beef sirloin) grilled or pan seared, 2 cups of shredded fresh cabbage, one tablespoon of light mayonnaise Dinner: 5 oz of fish (cod, mahi, salmon, tuna, shrimp) and 1 cup of sliced zucchini or snap peas, all pan seared together, plus one Danon Light&Fit yogurt. That's about 1100 calories a day. Throw in the occasional apple or cup of berries, and it's 1200 calories, all in. And that's ALL I've been eating for the last 10 months. The only variation is the type of meat or fish I have. Or what flavor yogurt I choose. I'm not bored, and I look forward to every meal. It makes it easy to shop for and cook. Do yourself a huge favour and throw away ALL the crisps, cakes and any other greasy or sugary snacks you may have in the house. Then don't buy them again. If you really must snack, bite into an apple, or chew on a carrot. It keeps the mouth busy, without adding much caloric content. Oh, and I drink a gallon of water a day, to stave off constipation. Hang in there, believe in yourself, and maybe talk to a therapist or a friend about it.

Broth, tea, soup or lighter fare like yogurt. It takes time to adjust also but here are a few videos

Ok, well I'm gonna try your protocol! Hell you're already winning me over to dark side: match yogurt bowls and I've been considering adding kale salads...and thinking of beans. *snort*

Set a trap baited with yogurt

I thought I should relate this especially to Tea: My yogurt smelled a little dicey this afternoon, but I figured, "Meh, I'll give it a gamble." (You know, cuz I thought of you throwing out your good yogurt due to the expi date being past its prime.) Well, that might not have been the smartest decision I've ever made. I'm not feeling so fresh and lively right now.

Hi all. You are right Joany, you can eat all the icecream and candy you want, no restriciton will stop it, to bad we don't have a quick super fill, close the whole up when you are near stuff like that, then let it out- ha ha. The other problem with the sweets is they make me even hungrier once I've had the sugar. my instinct diet book is big on desserts with fiber and fruit and protien- all three if you can, so you feel more full and satisfied. My favorite one is a 100 calorie- light and fit vanilla yogurt (the low cal kind- with aspertame or whatever, my yogurt during the day is a live active yogurt, and has more cals, but this is dessert) high fiber cereal, frozen raspberries, and melted dark chocolate- the portions work out to 100 cals- and it is so satisfying - and feels like a real dessert. not really pretty, I wouldn't serve it at a party, but for me it's great. so Joany I am self pay, no coverage- I have an HSA that I use for this, I hope the IRS doesn't mind. This blind fill place I think should be good, I hope, and if not they are close enough to not be a problem. I guess some blind fill places say if you have to come back for adjustment within 2 weeks it will be 50$. so hopefully that will be the case. I love the OCC dr's in Tijuana, very professional, and they do a great job. Thier fills are tops for sure, wish I lived in the area. But for me it's a day off work, babysitting, plus probably like 500$ in flying, parking, ground transport and other fees. I know some places charge almost 400 for a fill, so this 150 place is exciting prospect and I won't have to take off work or get a sitter. well have a great day all

Lisa, I'll give you the run down of my typical week exercise and nutrition-wise. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday - lap swimming for 35 minutes at 5:30 am, 30 minute walk around 12:30 pm, 35 minute walk with the dogs 4:30 pm, 60 minute zumba (all except Friday) 6 pm Tuesday/Thursday - 30 minute walk 12:30 pm, 45 minute walk with the dogs 4:30 pm, 3-5 mile run 6 pm, 45 minute video - either kickboxing or some other cardio Saturday - 60 minute boot camp 9 am, 60 minute walk with the dogs (sometimes longer) Sunday - 60 minute walk with the dogs, run and/or video As far as my diet goes, it's pretty monotonous, especially during the work-week. It generally looks like this: Breakfast 10 am - fat free plan greek yogurt with .33 serving of Protein powder mixed in (146 calories, 26.6 g protein) Snack 1 pm - Protein shake (30 grams protein, 160 calories) lunch 3:30 pm - 1 hard boiled egg, 1/4 cup low fat cottage cheese, 2 oz raw veggie (cauliflower, broccoli, or carrots) (about 132 calories, about 14.4 g protein) Snack - 6ish pm - protein shake and one serving PB2 (115 calories, 18 g. protein) dinner - 8 pm - large salad with either tuna, salmon, edamame, bun-less veggie burger, or tofu - salad includes 3 oz romaine lettuce, 0.3 oz alfalfa sprouts, 2 oz broccoli, 2 oz cauliflower, 2 oz mushrooms, 1 oz celery, 1 oz green or red pepper, 1 oz carrots, 1/2 tablespoon greek dressing - 88 calories for salad without protein, protein ranges from 60-100 calories. Lately I've added in a small amount of fruit - 4 oz peach, 1 small plum, 4 oz mango, 6 oz apple, or a large tomato. I take one chewable multi-vitamin per day, 1200 calcium - one at breakfast, one at dinner, 2 times a week, I take a B12, and 2-3 times a week, I take 1000mg D3. (my multi-vitamin and calcium are an extra 30 calories per day) I just had my blood taken last Saturday in preparation for my year appt on the 20th. I'll know better then how my Vitamin levels look, but I'm really strict with taking my Vitamins. Eventually, when I'm in maintenance, I'd like to up my calorie intake to somewhere between 1000-1200 per day, but for right now, I'm sticking with the range I've been eating. I hope that helps!

Thanks for that laugh Bunny. I had to keep a spoon on the top of the cottage cheese to keep four footed friends from having some!! The only people food they like is cottage cheese and yogurt, go figure.

HI all, back finally! good to read the comments. Miss Joany, I hope your infection keeps getting better! eat lots of live yogurt while you are doing those antibiotics. So I am curious, doing a bit of a survey. sort of long. Just curious about some of this stuff howdy there. so I'm taking a poll, let me know. I hope you all are doing well. 1. how many cc's you have in your band 2. do you feel you have restriction- what does that mean for you? 3. are your calories tending to stay below like 1600 (or what are your calories generally.) 4. what is your weight loss like. 5. are you hungry between meals. 6. are you exercising, and how much 7. how much water are you drinking? I'll start. 1. how many cc's you have in your band<br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> 4.5 from OCC. I'm planning on going back, for 1 more fill, maybe depending on what people say with restriction about how they feel. But it won't be till after the holidays.<br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> 2. do you feel you have restriction- what does that mean for you?<br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> last week, there were things that I felt were cool, like I would get a tiny nasal drip, and I took that as a soft stop, and I wasn't getting hungry between meal. I feel like this weekend I ate till I felt very full, and never got the nasal drip. this was the first time since my fill. so maybe that sign is not happening. I will see today if I get hungry between meals, if I'm able to keep at 1200 cals per day, and not feel hungry between meals I will be happy with the way things are. we shall see.<br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> 3. are your calories tending to stay below like 1600 (or what are your calories generally.)<br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> generally yeas, below 1300-1200. but I don't count everyday, I also do some days where I just do what Miranda said for portions. I feel Sunday I went over my goal. but I didn't count, I need to get better with keeping track and knowing even when my schedule is strange.<br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> 4. what is your weight loss like. I've lost all the weight plus 1 lb that I gained from Thanksgiving weekend. I started 298 I am now 266 my surgery date I was 280 so since surgery I've lost 14 lbs in basically 10 weeks. that is not my goal, I'd really like 2 lbs per week, would still be happy with an average of 1.5 per week. I'm at 1.4, I guess with the holidays in the mix maybe I should still feel happy. but I would like it to be more, of course. <br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> <br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> 5. are you hungry between meals.<br style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> I feel I am mostly not hungry between meals, as time goes on since my fill, my hunger has increased between meals, but I am still able to deal with it, with my yogurt or piece of fruit, which is part of my daily food plan and staying under 1200 cals. so I am ok with that. Once I went to bed, and my belly was grumbling. but I drank some water, I abated and I fell asleep. 6. are you exercising, and how much this has not been that good this last week. I have a goal to walk somewhat briscly for a mile each day. This is 20 minutes of exercising a day. I'd like to add to that, but haven't yet. and last week durning hunting season, I did not walk at all. 7. how much water are you drinking? besides exercise this is a huge obstacle. I am trying to drink 64 oz a day, I am pitifully below that. If I could drink during meals I could jack that up. but I don't so I need to increase this a lot.

I was banded on the 6th.. I came home feeling good.. A little gassy and had these killer heartburn pain, but that is pretty much all gone now.. Yesterday, I introduced some 0 fat Greek yogurt and sugar-free pudding, and still doing the broth. My problem now is the diarrhea.. It is beyond horrible and my stomach is so upset I have no desire to eat or drink anything... My post-op diet told me I could have low fat yogurt and sugar-free pudding.. Is this not good? Is this normal due to introducing foods after over 3 weeks of liquids??

I always have the chobani yogurt but it has alot of carbs 19g and 160 calories with 14g protein any ideas and anyone have an idea how many carbs allowed per day , to lose weight