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@@Armygalbonnie, You’ve gotten some great tips here! One of the best ways for a lot of people to get over a sugar addiction is to quit cold turkey. Staying away from sweets can really help you stop craving them. You’ve also gotten good ideas about making the healthy foods more available. Think of all the times you would normally grab a sweet – a candy, some Cookies, etc. – and have a substitute available that is ready to eat. Maybe you can have string cheese instead of a chocolate bar, sugar-free gum instead of candy, popcorn or grapes or apple slices instead of cookies, and frozen bananas, stewed apples or pears with cinnamon, or refrigerator oatmeal with cinnamon instead of ice cream. Celery is always good for mindless munching. Be honest with yourself – if brownies are sitting next to unpeeled whole carrots, you’re not going to choose the carrots. But if brownies aren’t in the house and all you see are ready-to-eat baby carrots or peeled carrots cut in sticks, it’ll be easier to eat the carrot sticks. So, keep ready to eat health foods on hand. Wash and peel and cut produce. Don’t (unless you want to!) feel the need to make elaborate healthy Snacks. You can always depend on hard-boiled eggs, single-serve items like yogurt and string cheese and beef Jerky, and Nature’s fast food – oranges, apples, and bananas, for example! A lot of quitting sugar is getting in the habit. It’ll get easier after as little as a few days or weeks, and the nice thing is that you may find some new, healthy favorite foods. Good luck!

1) when does your stomach area begin feel less swollen? About a week out for me. 2) what was the best stool softener that really made you go to the bathroom? I never had this issue post-op but I know my surgeon recommends Dulcolax + smallest adult dose of Milk of Magnesia. 3) how did you feel about wearing a compression binder? Positives? Negatives? Highly recommended, it really helped with the pain from moving around. 4) did anyone feel like they may of a had a bit of a tooth ache? No but I know it isn't unusual after general anesthesia -- sometimes the tube they use for your breathing knocks against your teeth. If it doesn't feel better after several days, you may want to get seen by your dentist to make sure something hasn't been knocked loose. 5) when you showered to you let your bandages get wet? Also when did you start showering without bandages? I didn't have bandages, my surgeon used surgical glue to close the incisions. I was allowed to shower (but not bathe) starting 24 hours after surgery, just advised to pat the incisions dry rather than rubbing at them with a towel. This all should have been included in your discharge instructions. If it wasn't, you may want to ask your surgeon or team for their specific instructions. 6) Did anyone have very itchy incisions? Yes, this means your incisions are healing quickly, it's all good. 7) how did you plan your purée diet and real food diet? How do you keep up the weight loss? (I'm really into meal prep, or I was in college until the very end when school became so much), I loved to know any Pinterest boards, or maybe you can post a picture of your sample menus of puréed diet, introduction to foods & maybe a sample menu of what you eat now after a couple of months since your sleeve Well, I'm three years out, not a couple of months. When I was on pureed I ate a lot of cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, scrambled & poached eggs, Ricotta bake, and refried Beans. I would also make little "micro-casseroles" -- a bit of meat and flavorful sauce, pureed, then heated up in the microwave with a little shredded cheese on top to melt. Things like chicken breast + marinara sauce + mozzarella cheese and ranch flavored tuna + fat free ranch dressing + Gruyere cheese or turkey breast + peanut satay sauce + jack cheese. The important thing in my team's plan is that ALL pureed food must be high Protein. 8) Has anyone experienced hair Loss? I've heard it's not so intense but it can make your hair look really thin. Any tips on shampoos or Vitamins or trick to keep your pre op hair?? Almost everyone experiences hair loss. Don't waste your money on shampoos or vitamins or magic potions to try to prevent it -- it either will happen or it won't. Save your money for things like Toppik, Nanogen, or a new hairstyle to camouflage the loss if it happens. PS I never had any back pain. I did have shoulder/collar bone pain from the surgical gas, but that was all gone within a day or so after surgery. I just walked a lot, sat upright (instead of lying down), rocked in a rocking chair, and used a heating pad. Good luck!

I am with James on this one, you may be advancing sooner than your tummy will allow. I struggled terribly on pureed stage. I would gag and puke and I (now) I believe it was more of an aversion to pureed meats, eggs and fish. I still 22 months later have an aversion to eggs because of the pureed stage. I would still with Soups, cottage cheese, applesauce, cream of wheat, Protein shakes. Anything that will slip down vs. have to swallow. For me it took some time before my pouch even appreciated meats of any kind. I could eat fish fairly easily but even shrink was difficult. By 8 weeks post op, most if not all my swelling was down and then I was able to start eating ground beef, ground chicken, soft juicy chicken breast in a mushroom gravy, thinks like that.....another month down the road it got easier and easier. But my suggestion would be to go back to creamy Proteins like cottage cheese, yogurt, refried Beans, unsweetened applesauce, and definately protein shakes at this stage. Premier Protein for me were the best because they had a whopping 30 grams of protein and only 1 gram of sugar. I had to actually add lactose free milk to them in the beginning so it would take me almost a whole day to drink 1 shake. Best of luck to you and I promise it really does get better, if for some reason you can't get even softer foods down like I suggested then there is more going on and you might have a stricture. I would check with your doctor if that becomes a problem. Your tummy just needs a little longer to heal and honestly it will be better for you in the long run.

Once you start your protien drinks you will feel a lot different. You will get some energy back hopefully, then you will also feel what others have felt about, when you can tell when your full. You also can have sugar free jello, Popsicles. Once on puréed I saw some eating baby food, I never thought of that. I would have refried beans with cheese as my go to eats. Also cottage cheese, yogurt, I even did a plain sweet potato which was put in my tiny food musher. My daughter mad some white chicken chili! It was amazing blended up. There are other members who may have more tricks to eating puréed foods, this is just what I can remember. Good luck with your journey!

First, I applaud you for going through the exercise. I never did and wish I had. Second, and I don't know if this will be helpful or not, but I still eat at some of those places - just making better (and smaller choices). For example, did you know that BWW has naked grilled chicken tenders? Are they as good as the others? Maybe not, but they honestly are quite good. At Chick-Fil-A, I eat the grilled nuggets (and honestly have had the regular ones once at goal which aren't awfully terrible nutrient-wise if you have room for it in your budget). They also have a small cup of fruit (once you can have fruit) and greek yogurt parfait. Certainly, these are not an everyday occurrence for me, but I do eat out quite often and have even during my weight loss phase. This last week, I started a new job, and it was VERY stressful emotionally, and in addition to eating lunch out everyday (where I didn't necessarily have a choice in where to go), I also found myself binging at night when I got home. UGH! I tracked it. I am changing it as of Friday and will talk to my therapist about it on Tuesday. I do not want to go back where I was and I am sad that I let my emotional eating rear it's ugly head. All that to say, kudos to you for working through the emotional part now, and know that it will be a life-long work. We (well I anyway) will always be in recovery from food addiction. That is a very sobering thought but it is what it is. I don't dwell on food as much as I used to but I do think about it - more in the fashion of "what CAN I eat" versus "what do I WANT to eat" and sometimes, that alone can be exhausting, but at almost 14 months post-op, it is becoming more normal. But man it is so scary how slippery that slope is. I could VERY easily just "not care" and grab whatever I want. In fact, I was so close to a fast-food stop last night and luckily, I made it home and made a better choice (though not great because I need to go to the grocery store!) Tracking is definitely something I will do forever (or for as long as I can type) because otherwise I don't remember or really reconcile the nutrients if I don't see them in writing. One other thing that has helped me is finding new recipes. I cook now (well I like to call it assemble not so much cooking but still). That is not something I did in the past. And just this morning, as I am trying to decide what to buy at the store, I am trying to figure out what I can make to take for lunches (to avoid eating out so much and to pre-portion it) and what I can make today that will be readily accessible for dinner during the week (so that I don't just pick at stuff and binge when it doesn't satisfy). Pinterest has been a huge help with recipes though I tend to stick to the same meals over and over. Wow, clearly I digressed again - I really want to say Best of Luck to you! You are doing great! Keep up the great "emotional" work. That is the toughest part and will get you through in the end!

I bring my morning yogurt, put it in a baggie. leave it in my carry on, and go through TSA pre all the time, without problem. My surgeon typically allows patients to start on pureed 2 weeks out, but from what I read here, that may be pushing it for most. Mentally, I preparing to take it slow. I'm older, a very busy worklife, although plan to stay close to home for the first month. I'm going to be a month out when I have to fly to NYC for a wedding (2 night trip). I am going to forgo the blender for that. The following weekend I drive 4 hours to a wedding and spend 4 nights in a hotel. I think I want to bring the blender for that. But thats fine, I'm driving. The day after I return I fly, only with a carry-on, to California for two nights and vegas for 4 nights. I'll be in a Residence Inn. I guess I can call ahead and ask if they can give me some type of blender. Hopefully so, although doubtful. In add these instances, I should be able to hit up a grocery store. My adult daughter is so disappointed not that she's meeting me in Vegas, but that I won't be visiting the wonderful buffets there. Skinny minny that she is, she is somewhat very disappointed in my journey as she truly feels our numerous vacations will change quite a bit. Some of our vacations have revolved around wine tours. We also cruise often, but rarely ever ate in the main dining rooms. She can't have it both ways. She has seen me slow down considerably the past two years. I just have gained too much weight and can't keep up with the walking and adventurous tours. I hope my WLS restores the adventurous me again.

Yeah I was allowed unsweetened apple sauce on my purée already. And banana in yogurt! They are different surgeons. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Sorry. YUCK! As you can tell, I did not do well on pureed foods. I lived on yogurt, cream of wheat, cottage cheese and Protein shakes. I also cannot eat bean and that is a really good source of protein for those on purée stage. Most people talk about that and ricotta bake. Maybe if I had done baby food I would feel differently. For me it was an aversion to the texture. Yuck. LOL. I could not wait for that phase to be over. Best of luck......

I am on full liquids also. I can have pudding, jello, and yogurt, so grits aren't that far off I guess Sent from my SM-G900V using the BariatricPal App

I didn't like Greek yoghurt before surgery, and now I am hooked on Oikos Triple Zero Greek Yogurt (in black container) vanilla.

Hi I'm starting pureed foods and would like some suggestions as to what I can eat besides yogurt, cream of wheat and creamed Soups. Any suggestions would be helpful! Thanks Sent from my SCH-I545 using the BariatricPal App

Lol, ok so this was my list from the other day. We have the program where they shop for your order at Walmart and bring it out to your car, so while it's not costco, I buy a whole pile of stuff all at once so I don't have to grocery shop. I bought 6 cases of diet Root Beer, 6 cases of Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper, 6 boxes of flavor blasted goldfish crackers, 3 giant boxes of Fiber One bars, 4 cases of Water, 10 packs of Crystal Light, steam in bag veggies (corn, peas, and caulliflower for calliflower shepherd's pie, and pepper and potatoes with light sauce), several Protein power packs (cheese and turkey chopped up for 2 year old with nuts in a pack) , ground turkey (for turkey burgers and shepherd's pie), sliced monterrey jack from the deli, sliced turkey from the deli (because they are good rolled up), and probably a few other things. I'm almost 3 years out and I know what I can and can't eat and that involves plenty of crackers and goldfish, and not a whole lot in the way of things like cottage cheese, yogurt, fruits, etc. Before surgery I would have had a lot of Lean Cuisines, which I now never eat, and some Cookies, which I also now rarely eat. My shopping list is by no means something most people think is something a sleeved person should be eating, but it's what works for me, and if anything it shows people that life does really go back to normal and boring after awhile.

Hi, I was also sleeved on June 28th. I am currently on soft foods. I eat 1/2 cup of food 4 times per day. I am only eating what is permitted, (Cottage cheese, yogurt , Soup, mashed veggies, scrambled egg and low fat soft cheese) . From Pre op to 9 days ago I lost 31 pounds. In the last nine days, 1 pound. I am walking more and more and not loosing anything. Has anyone hit a similar "stall"? Any suggestions???

I don't go to costco but some of the things that I rely on still are: eggs (and more eggs!), cottage cheese, ground turkey, chicken breasts or sometimes a whole chicken, cans of tuna fish though not all the time, frozen shrimp, Dannon Light and Fit Greek Yogurt (the cherry flavor is AWESOME!!) but Lemon Meringue is good too, Oikos Triple Zero Greek Yogurt (in black container, this is the one that all the NUTs are now recommending) in strawberry and mixed berry, string cheese and the wedges of Laughing Cow cheese, and then some veggies (green and red peppers, onions, radishes, etc), various flavors of Crystal Light, cans of diced tomatoes, cans of black Beans and kidney beans. But please note that I am 2.5 years out! I think that you can use some of this list if you are new (the eggs, yogurts, cottage cheese, things like that). I also always have a large container of Plain, Nonfat greek yogurt in the fridge and use it in lieu of sour cream, sometimes have it with fresh fruit on it. Early on, I also ate a lot of sugar free Jello and sugar free jello pudding. Even putting it into the greek yogurt can be good. Best of luck

I eat 5 times a day!! If its a work day I have a Protein shake for breakfast. I do that just because I leave very early and don't have time to sit and eat and this way its an easy way to get 37g in right off the bat My two Snacks a day I try to make sure there at least 10g ex. Greek yogurt w/ 1/4 c cashews or 1/2c cottage cheese maybe some chedder cheese w/ rice cakes. Sometimes one of those snacks I have for lunch so by dinner time I'm already at about 60g which I think is great. At dinner I focus on a meat maybe fish some moist chicken etc. I rarely ever get to get the veggie in. Just to full!!! I do get very sick of the shakes so I try to have something different on the days I don't work ex. Boiled egg, oatmeal etc.....on those days I do find my protein intake a lot less so if all else fails grab a Protein Shake I do struggle with the fluids but its a work in progress Keep working on it :-) Sent from my SGH-T999L using the BariatricPal App

In preparation, I'm working on my "out of milk" app and want to see what everyone is buying at costco. I have a membership but never go myself, my husband uses it occasionally. I'd like to add, that lots of articles say our taste bud changes after surgery. I'm really hopeful because I'm Irish, grew up on meat and potatoes (and ice cream). I can eat light yogurt, but always hated the taste of Greek yogurt. I can eat shell fish, but never cared much for any other fish and salmon, only if its covered in a french sauce. So I'm hoping my taste buds change and I welcome Greek yogurt and fish. Thanks

I am able to get all my Protein from real food, which is what my surgeon and my NUT want.....In order to do it here's a sample day's worth of food..... Breakfast - 1/2 flatbread = 4.5g protein scrambled egg = 6 g turkey sausage = 7g protein morning snack - Greek Yogurt = 12 g protein lunch - 2 oz Low sodium turkey breast = 13g protein 1/2 of flatbread = 4.5g protein 1/2/ serving of cheddar cheese = 4 g protein afternoon snack = 1oz dry roasted peanuts 7g protein dinner - 3 oz chicken breast = 18g protein 1/2 serving of cheddar cheese = 4g protein evening snack - 1 oz raw almonds = 6g protein So 86 grams of protein and 991 calories.......I didn't list the veggies but there is such a small amount it's not worth listing....for example at dinner I may have a bite of green Beans or summer squash...

In order to get Protein from real foods, you have to be more mindful of what you are actually eating. Did your doctor give you a list of what foods are acceptable to eat at each stage? Ask for one if not, and if they are not interested in providing, you can check through the hundreds of threads on here. In the early liquid stages, you're going to have to rely on the protein drinks/shakes, but going to mushies, you have things like yogurt, cheeses (cottage cheese and soft cheeses are the most discussed), eggs, refried Beans, canned tuna or chicken salad, baked fish (I make swai fish like three times a week - it is marvelous and cheap and I have fun changing up the spices), specially filtered, protein added milk like Mootopia or Fairlife (NOT the chocolate versions - that's added sugar that you don't need)... and you can always add Protein powder to most foods if you can tolerate eating it (I personally could not eat any protein powders - they made me sick just smelling them - even the unflavored versions). There are tons of foods that are healthy and would work, and lots and lots of ways to prepare them (recipes abound on here). And you should be eating often enough to get in your daily protein, Water and calorie requirements. If that means you eat 6 meals a day or 3 meals - that's what you shoot for. It doesn't matter what others do, you do what works best for your situation and what follows most closely with your doctor instructions. As far as your progress - 20 pounds down in 5 weeks is just fine. Don't compare your progress to anyone else. Your body will lose (and stall) at its own pace. Just keep on track with your water and protein/calorie goals and you'll be great.

I was sleeved on the 26th, starting weight 280, op day weight 222, goal weight 150, current weight 145. I'm a sous chef at a marina and I sweat all day long in an 80-90 degree kitchen, I am moving [all day long] in a two story building. I drink more than the minimum amount of Water needed (because I am sweating, I need to replace that). I put inventory up, (yes up a set of stairs, we call it "leg day"... we have 3 of them a week minimum) and this is just things off the top of my head as to what I do in a day's work. Oh and 12 hour days, 5-6 days a week sometimes 7 if someone calls out. I bring greek yogurt, Protein bars, I make sure to hit my protein count etc. I've cut my hair, gotten a new tattoo (already had a few), and have to make an effort to not shop for myself now that I'm in my dream size. I did everything the way my doctors program laid out for me and I reached the goal they set for me. I'm extremely happy with the decision to have this surgery and I am never looking back!!!! Sent from my NXA116QC164 using the BariatricPal App

My plan was different, I was only on clear liquids one day after surgery then went to full liquids for two weeks. I only had Protein shakes and Water. I'm in week 1 of soft foods which is a 2 week phase. I eat scrambled egg, cottage cheese, puréed foods, Greek yogurt, shredded soft cheese, Soup, etc. My team doesn't want me to worry about fat content or calories for the first two months-- just focus on liquids and protein. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

i am two weeks out and not Allowed mushy foods until 6 weeks. I am not allowed rice at all. Mushy foods would be cottage cheese, Beans, yogurt but at one week that seems way to early. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Had anyone tried eating or drinking since surgery? I've only been able to keep down a couple bites of yogurt and 2 sips of Soup besides Water, which still pains me. I feel like I need calories, but am afraid to eat. Sent from my SM-G900V using the BariatricPal App

Mudgy6 All I can have for 3 weeks is liquids. How is the cottage cheese and yogurt feeling? Today I had a post op visit with my GP. My blood pressure before surgery has been consistently high for about a year now. Today it was 122/67! So cool to see signs that our bodies are getting healthier! Every day is getting better pain and energy-wise. Passing gas, but no movement yet. Have been taking about three walks a day to help move things along. Yay kgarrettsatx on the weight loss!! Sent from my VS990 using the BariatricPal App

I can drink the pure Protein, I am up to an ounce every 15 minutes of that or lemon Water (which helps with the bloat).. I just want the soreness to go away so I can move better.. I haven't tried yogurt yet, just applesauce, about a teaspoon to get the Prevacid down.. but it hurts if I drink over an ounce, have you guys experienced that? VSG 7/26/16, Newby to the Losers Bench

I have tried a couple different protein powders they don't mix well how do u get it to mix up well I have tried unjury and Isopure Sent from my iPhone I use this: http://www.pipingrock.com/whey-protein/whey-protein-isolate-powder-unflavored-39404 dissolves well in coffee (after the coffee cools a little), yogurt and eggs.