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Not true. Here in Austria we start normal food at day 4. It has to be chewed to mush, and there are restrictions, like no seeds etc, but we start solid food on day 4. Day 1 is water, day 2 is soup, 3 is yogurt and 4 is solids. But, you can't eat the amount the OP mentions. You have to eat within a 20min window and follow all the rules etc. I started the gym 4 weeks post op. Cleared of course.

Wow, have you gone meatless too?? I am a Sleeve to RNY revision. I've always LOVED meat and milk products and eggs and butter etc etc. All 40 years of my life I have never gone without it! And I ate it with my band, and with my Sleeve. So here's how the Vegan happened. My doc had me on clear liquids for 3 weeks with no diary...then told me to add back in eggs, and grounded meat. And I LOVE yogurt, milk, cream, Cheese OMG, on my last trip from France I had a WHOLE suitecase Packed with cheese from Hard to downright Stinky! I'm a certified Cheesaholic! But, I survived the 3 weeks without it, and without much veggies, fruits etc. But I was tired, and felt malnutritioned and unhealthy and constipated etc. Which is kinda to be expected. But seeing as this is not my first rodeo, I wanted to listen to my body more and not repeat the same mistakes. So...I started to educate myslef of nutrition nightly to see how best I can support my body through the healing process and nourish it while loosing weight. One profound influence was watching the documentary "What the Health" on Netflix (I so recommend you watch that!). So I replaced my morning Egg (s) with my Green Smoothie (which seamlessly incorporates my 1 a day Bariatric Vitamin chew from ProCar Bariatric health and the rest was history. Like right now, post my dinner, I'm not just feeling full, I'm feeling Satisfied and harmonious. Hard to explain but there is a difference. Like I said, I know it's not for everyone, but I'm super excited about the results, not just in the scales, so if anyone is cooking a vegetable or even a meat, I would love to be inspired. Because that said, it's not like I'll never touch another chicken or egg again, just for now, I'm doing so well without, trying not to tinker with the formula. Veggie or not, we need to learn how to cook again and enjoy a positive relationship with food again, but with Bariatric friendly healthy food, so we don't feel deprived and one fine day when we can eat more, start slipping into old habits. So were you Veterinarian before or thinking of becoming? Would love to hear more about your veggie meals. I try to post mine

Yay! Congrats! Seems like your progression is quicker than mine has been! In no time you’ll be joining me in puréed land! Thinking about having some cottage cheese or yogurt tomorrow morning...yum!

My mom always used to make these no-bake peanut butter/chocolate Cookies at home, and they were one of my favorites. I just switched the recipe up a little bit to make it LB friendly. The recipe is half of the "normal" and makes about 16 cookies, feel free to double it. Use no-sugar added cocoa (Hershey's makes it or look for baking cocoa). Also, I used reduced fat Peanut Butter and instead of butter I used Brumblen Brown (spelling?) yogurt butter spread (1/2 the cals of butter). All in all, these are pretty tasty and not terrible for you. Ingredient/Cals/Prot: 24 pckts Truvia/0 /0 1/4 c skim milk/22.5/2 4 tbsp cocoa/80/4 1/4 c PB/760/28 1/4 c yougurt butter/180/0 1 1/2 c oats/450/15 Total/1492.5/49 Per cookie (16): 93 calories and 3 grams of Protein Boil sugar, cocoa, milk, butter and salt for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and oats and vanilla. Use a tablespoon to place dough out on waxed paper. **If you want, you can go ahead and add the PB and the vanilla before you boil it, it doesn't make a lot of difference. Tip: 24 pckts of Truvia = 1 cup of sugar (For those that don't know, Truvia is a zero-calorie natural sweetner derived from the Stevia plant, I like it better that Splenda. Tip 2: Instead of cocoa powder, you could try choco Protein Powder to make these a little more guilt-free.

I was the same way. A friend of mine who is nurse helped me but my issue was the sweetness, she added some FF greek yogurt, unflavored, the protein shake a a little coconut milk. It made a huge difference in my being able to tolerate the shakes without getting nauseous.

First Question: How do you get your info on the left side of screen to show? I can't get it to let me edit my screen to put that stuff in.... PeggyAnne: You are NOT alone! I see a HUGE difference in the various drs and care that we all seem to get. Some of us get all the hand holding and people who are there every step of the way, others get a handout and a call if you have questions kind of experience. My dr suggested ground sausage and so I got some Jimmy Dean ground breakfast sausage, cooked in air fryer then diced it on a cutting board until it was finely minced and kept part to put in my scrambled eggs and took the rest and made a sizeable skillet of sausage gravy to go over those scrambled eggs. Honestly, it has been the least painful of foods. I got brave again and tried the mashed potatoes and gravy for lunch and am now regretting it!! It seems to create a suction/vacuum feeling in my stomach, weird and uncomfortable. I have enough gravy and eggs to last through September so I may just stick to that Beans work okay too as long as I have enough broth with them, I have had red beans and then lima beans but the Limas with a lot of broth and picked out the ham and sausage that was initially cooked with them before I froze them into containers. Dry foods seem incompatible at this point, no matter how soft. My dr SPECIFICALLY TOLD ME NOT TO EVEN TRY CHICKEN IN ANY FORM AT THIS POINT BC HE SAID IT IS ENTIRELY TOO DRY and I'm thinking he's right. I may try the same thing with some ground beef at some point and a brown gravy. Everyone seems to jump up and down when you mention this food or that food but what he basically said is that the goal at this point is just to find things that will actually go/stay down without making you sick or stuffed and in pain. I am seriously a very slow eater but it hasn't helped me here bc even eating slowly, putting utensil down between bites, chewing slowly, etc. some things are just making me feel like I ate a whole slab of beef! The eggs may work well bc they're scrambled? maybe the gravy makes it mushy enough? I don't know but I can't do 'pureed' and he said not to try chicken bc I was asking if I could make a chicken salad (NO) and so I'm just like you WTH can I eat? LOL my list says eggs, pureed veg, yogurt & pudding. at the end of week tomorrow that's 4 weeks and I guess I could move to the next stage but frankly not comfortable moving forward after another mashed potato fiasco today. I have a cake "frosting" recipe made of SF cool whip, dry pkg of sf jello and crushed pineapple and I'm very tempted to make it. I've only had one chocolate protein drink/shake and I mixed w/ice in blender and put sf whipped topping and it was like a milkshake but I'm not much into sweets so I may just have to make myself drink them.

At almost 2 years out I can almost eat anything. Some meals are always the same. Breakfast is always Greek yogurt and berries. My lunch is usually a bit like pick and mix - a bit of a few things, Which could be a selection of these, Smoked salmon, deli meats, burrata, cashew nuts, walnuts, blue stinky cheese, any fruit, tuna, boiled egg or any left over from a previous meal. The evening meal is usually food cooked from scratch for the family with carbs that I can not fit in my stomach yet, casseroles, roasts, pies, stews. I eat what I can. Later in the day I either eat my meals, left overs or have a protein bar or a protein yogurt. My protein is about 80 grams a day now and my calories are between 1200 and 1500

Thanks, everyone, for the fantastic recipes! I've been experimenting, and here's a game-changer I discovered: the "Berry Bliss Delight." Blend together 1 cup almond milk, a scoop of vanilla protein powder (I prefer GNC brand), a handful of mixed berries (frozen or fresh), and a dollop of Greek yogurt. It's a burst of flavor, packed with protein, and totally masks the usual supplement taste 🍓🥤💖 see my work info

I'm exactly one week out from surgery and everything has been going awesome but I hit a bump in the road...! This morning after taking my meds I got very nauseated and then when I tried to eat yogurt my stomach hurt after a spoon. I decided not to eat and slept off the pain. I was able to drink without problems all day but when it came time to take my meds again the same problem happened. I also had the same stomach pain and ended up throwing up, which I had not done at all until today. Any suggestions as to why this could be happening and what I should do? Please help...! Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi everyone, I am home! I am 4 days post op and feeling Great. My Dr has me on a complete clear liquid diet for 7 days. I'm not even hungry. I have been drinking, water, Propel (for vitamins etc,) broth, and now that I am home some SF jello and SF popcicles. I finally lost 2 lbs. I think it is because I retained water after surgery. With being in the car for 8 hrs straight 2 days in a row and in hot weather (up to 112) and just what surgery can do to you, my body has just been in shock. On day 8 I can add 3, 1/2 cup servings of LF yogurt, with no chunks. Then on day 10 I add protein drinks, at least 30g. Then starting day 22 SOLIDS, and NO more protein drinks ever. Of course with this I am supposed to be taking my vitamins, walking and always staying hydrated. So far this has been easy. I was also told NEVER to drink anything carbonated as this can cause the band to slip. Was anyone afraid to take the first bite of solid food? I have absolutely no restriction when it comes to drinkink clear liquids so I don't know if I have much restriction at all. Leila, thank you so much for reminding us that all those little calories add up, and that the band is a tool, not a guarantee to weight loss. Barbara, thank you again for keeping us posted with those being banded each week! You are awesome! Congrats to all those being banded this week! We have such an awesome support group here. Please don't leave just because you are banded...stay and share and continue to support. We all have a long journey ahead of us!

Barbara, sublingual b12, like the shots, bypasses the stomach, and goes directly into the bloodstream. It gets absorbed through the lining of the mouth. Small particles are able to pass the mucous membranes of the mouth and nose. People who lack intrinsic factor in their gastrointestinal tract and are unable to subsequently absorb B12 gastrointestinally can absorb it sublingually. The B12 passes through buccal mucosa membrane in the mouth and into the sublingual vein where it has direct access to the blood circulation and is then carried throughout the whole body. This is a tough time, pre-fill, I've heard it lovingly referred to here on the forums as 'bandster hell', the time post-op before your first fill, so hang in there those of us still waiting. I call my surgical center tommorow to talk about when I'm going to go in to get mine, I'm hoping for a week from now. Today I bought a few things to help inspire me. I bought a pedometer, you can get them so reasonably, to help encourage me to move a little more, and try to increase my walking, as I'm very sedentary, and exercise is my hardest challenge. I bought a kitchen timer to take to the pool with me - I'm travelling around Canada and the US in an RV right now, have been for almost 3 months! And will be until October. We decided to turn the cross-country trip to get lapbanded into a North American tour at the same time. We try to stay at campgrounds that have a pool so I can excerise more. I don't do well walking in the heat, as I take medications that make me overheat easily. Exercising in Water works really well to keep me cool. What I've been doing in these tiny pools is just hanging on the edge and kicking my legs hard enough to splash, and since there is no clock to check my progress around usually, I've been just counting my kicks... I'm sick of counting! So now I can set up my timer for half an hour, and kick until it goes off, no more counting kicks. I also wanted to find other exercise that I can do while travelling that doesn't take equipment, so I bought a book on Pilates - The Big Little Book of Pilates, it was really reasonable, and looks good, and focuses on exercises that don't need equipment. Something I can do on the firm bed of my camper in air conditioned bliss! I've been trying to manage good eating habits and nutrition patiently while waiting till I get restriction. So far so good, but it's not easy, and every day it becomes just a little bit harder. I've cleared all the unhealthy food and junk out of the camper cupboards and fridge to make it harder to lapse into bad habits, and bought lots and lots of good options. Flavored egg whites in the carton, low fat cottage cheese, fat and sugar free yogurt drinks, lots of berries and melons... I love how I can eat a cup and a half of blueberries and it's only 120 cals, or 25 cherries is a 120 cals, and the best... raspberries, 2 cups only 120 cals, and all that Fiber is doing me good. I bought fat free onion and herb sour cream to use as a dip for lightly steamed veggies to add protien and make chewing it softer easier. I add it and salsa to things I want to make moister without adding much in the way of calories, no fat, and lots of good nutrition. I've also bought lots of water packed salmon and tuna to make salad with low fat mayo and a little relish, I eat it on whole grain thin low fat crackers. Also light creamcheese, and fat free artificial crab. crab salads, or crab and cream cheese and some veggies in a whole grain wrap. I've cut out sugar and artifical sweetners totally and just sweeten using stevia now, I only just discovered the stuff a month ago and I love it, no aftertaste, no calories, no chemicals, I don't know how I got along without it. I bought white tea (like green tea but made with baby leaves, more antioxidants and more metabolic stimulation than even green tea) and I make ice tea with it and the stevia. Or I make limeonade with lime and stevia. I've been browsing and reading the bodybuilding forums for tips on nutrition and fat loss from the people who consistently do it succesfully and it's given me lots of tips. I've been trying to keep motivated by doing internet research on health and nutrition. My goal is to use the band to help me become a healthier and happier person, with weight loss being a part of that over-all process. I also decided to switch from using butter and margerine to using un-hydrogenated cold pressed coconut oil, you keep it in the fridge and it's a solid, but melts on warm foods, even at room temperature even. There are all kinds of interesting health reasons for that choice, but if I get into it, I'll ramble on -way- too long, and I feel I've done that allready. It's easy to get good information on online if you're interested. Take care everyone, and just keep doing your best, and don't get down on yourself if you slip up now and then. We're not perfect, and this is obviously one of our biggest most challenging areas in our lives to deal with, if it wasn't we wouldn't have gotten lap band surgery. It will get better and better as time goes on. XO Leila

Good grief today has been hard. I must be swollen. I could not even finish a whole yogurt for lunch, but liquids are going down fine. Crazy...

During my pureed stage I was allowed scrambled eggs, soft cheeses and shredded meat, so I really lived on those. I made Shelly's Ricotta Bake (recipe on this page) and had that almost every night for dinner. I had tuna salad or a a scrambled egg with some melted cheese for lunch. I was still having two Protein shakes a day (one for Breakfast and one a couple hours after dinner). I had cottage cheese, string cheese, light greek yogurt, or Peanut Butter for Snacks. My nutritionist wants me at 85-100 grams of protein a day and I was able to get at least 85 grams in all through my pureed stage with those foods. I never actually pureed anything.

Ah! Well, I just made it much harder than needed. :h Is there a way you can adjust your nutrition requirements??? I want to up my protein and sugar. I'm tired of seeing red for eating fruit and Greek yogurt!

I had some tomato soup, didn't know it was spicy when I bought it. I was able to tolerate it just fine. I'm one week post-op and on full liquids. I find that yogurt sits harder in my tummy than other things. I'm definitely dealing with head hunger, but my sleeve has no problem in letting me know it's too much. I had broth from Chinese soup the other day and it was the first time I felt over full. I had about 6-8oz total but felt like I'd had a 6 course meal.

I had a nice weekend. On Saturday, I went to a breakfast on the beach sponsored by Kashi cereal. Breakfast was served on tables on the beach with white tablecloths, umbrellas and sunflowers in vases. There was yogurt, juice, cereal, milk, fruit, coffee and tea. Then they had several activities going. My cousin and I did the yoga class, a walk on the beach and kayaking in the ocean! I had never kayaked before. It was really fun and not too hard! We even saw 2 dolphins swim by! Then we all got a gift tote bag with a big towel, Kashi cookies, granola bar and cereal, a bowl and a sports bottle. It was a Chamber of Commerce Day in San Diego too-just perfect weather. My scale has been the same for awhile now, but I'm not worried. I have no fill and I'm not gaining! I will redouble my efforts once I'm off for the summer. Work is just too stressful right now. Hope everyone had a good Mother's Day and has a great week.

So no PB problems since my issue with the mackerel, I'm pretty sure I was eating it too quickly and not chewing well enough, even though mackerel is soft and a high oil fish. Yesterday I ate some low fat refried black beans with fat free sour cream, salsa and some grated low fat swiss cheese for breakfast. Snack midmorning of fresh raspberries and some protien powder in water. Lunch I had some maple smoked salmon and some corn. Dinner I had out at a restaurant, I had one piece of bruschetta - which consisted of a small piece of toasted baguette with goat cheese and fresh tomato salsa on top, about 2 ounces of steamed salmon off of hubbies plate, and a couple of tablespoons of baked potato with a little sour cream, and a couple of slices of grilled zucchini. Then we went to a movie, I brought in two small sticks of turkey pepperoni and a couple of small cans of V8 juice for movie snacks. Then before bed I had a sillhouette yogurt drink with my meds. I had great restriction, was full on my meals, no discomfort, no hunger. Today so far I had couscous salad with tomatoes, onions, lemon, garlic, garbanzo beans and mung beans about half a cup and half a cup of cottage cheese for breakfast. then for snack had about a 1/4 cup of mixed nuts - cashews, almonds, pecans. The key for me seems to be that I can handle even toasted bread when I have restriction, or corn, or...? the key is little bitty bites, chew very well, and take my time. I do try to eat my food moist though most of the time, I have fat free sour cream, fresh salsa, lemon juice, low fat hummus, low fat mayo, even some guacamole, in the fridge, and I use them as condiments on food to help break it down smoother when I chew. Made water goal again yesterday, and today is off to a good start as well. I'm super happy to be having restriction!!!!!!!! It was amazing to have such a small meal in the restaurant last night, a little taste of everything hubby's entre had, and splitting the bruschetta appetizer with him, and feeling totally satisfied! Hoping my restriction stays where it's at over the next week, as I know it can shift tighter or looser in the first week, sometimes even two weeks. Keeping my fingers crossed! Keep up the great work everyone with working on the water. I'm tracking mine on fitday (I have the home PC version) and I really love the program, I've entered in my multivitamin and my other supplements, and I was amazed to find even with the careful focus I have on healthy eating, and taking a multivitamin, taking calcium, taking b vitamins, and some other supplements, that I've still been low in vitamin E and in zinc many days, so I have to pick up a some of those. I love that it calculates your levels of everything and so I can take a supplement, or not, as I need it, or I can search for a food high in that nutrient and have it as a snack. Okay, enough out of me! XO Leila

I notice most people saying they are eating mushy or creamed food. I was told very clearly by Dr. Ortiz's nutritionist not to eat/drink anything but clear liquids for the first week and only add yogurt and protein drinks on day 8. I wonder why the big difference in diets? Anyone know? My stomach is so rumbley, I would love something thick!

So, I'm 10 months out and still having problems eating solid foods (doc knows, nothing they can do). Since this appears to be my life, I need to get out of the rut of only eating yogurt for breakfast and dinner. Lentils seem like they go down fine. We have a meal delivery service here that is run by immigrants/refugees and I have been able to get all sorts of delicious Middle Eastern, Indian, and African (lots of stuff from Eritrea and Ethiopia)-style lentils from that. But those have a lot of salt and oil, so I'd love to be able to replicate them by cooking at home. Does anyone know of a good lentil cookbook that has a lot of different styles of cooking? Thanks!

I just wanted to update for those who are headed to surgery soon. I am one week and a day since sleeve surgery and I’m pretty much feeling 100%. I didn’t really ever have pain from the wounds. I did experience gas, I wouldn’t call it pain but it was very uncomfortable. It lasted about 24 hours and got better with walking. I had minor pain when I left the hospital but Im a single mom with a one year old and it was hard not to pick him up. I had to lift him onto the changing table, give him baths, etc you know regular mom stuff. That pain subsided pretty quickly too and I didn’t have to use pain meds much. Being on liquids again for another 2 weeks is the worst part but it’s not unbearable. It was difficult for me to get a protein shake down this first week. They just felt heavy and sweet and weren’t setting right but I kept trying different ones and found ones that I could tolerate. Protein water has been a life saver. I found some sipping soups yesterday that have been helping me feel more satisfied. I also talked to my surgeon’s office and they told me I could try some Greek yogurt and that went well today. I went back to work day 6. I’m a teacher and all my student are virtual for now so I’m basically just sitting in front of a computer all day. I was feeling really tired like I needed a nap midday and then super exhausted when I got home from work but not today. Today I felt great. You feel better every day. I’m just so excited to start seeing results. I have lost 11 lbs since surgery.

B - EAS Carb Control Dark Chocolate Shake L - 2 bites of sloppy joe meat, 1/4c salad toppings & 1tbs bday cake (we had staff bday lunch at work) S - 1 piece jerky & Dannon yogurt drink D - 1/4 grilled cheese & 1/4c tomato soup S - slim a bear ice cream

yesterday: B: malted mocha protein shake S: chips & salsa, candy at the nurses station L: the toppings and 2 bites of the crust from a sm. piece pizza D: 3 oz plain nonfat greek yogurt w/ 4 large strawberries, 1/3 c. mango ginger granola

yesterday... b- atkins shake 150 s- 100 cal cheezit l- fruit on the bottom yogurt 150 l2- maybe 3 bites of a lean cuisine.. 100? s- atkins pb cups 160 d- 1/2 cup of chili 150?

yesterday B-coffee, 1 chix drumstick (baked), 1/2 c greek strawberry yogurt L-Lean Cuisine meatloaf & mashed potatos S-15 sun chips & 1 chix wing D-1/2 c tuna w/1 Tbl spinich dip and 6 wheat crackers S-1 c honey nut cheerios, splash milk (Silk light)

Well, I joined my Lucky #7s Thanksgiving Challenge to lose 10 lbs. by Thanksgiving...then I weighed myself and found I was 4 lbs. heavier than when I last weighed myself. DANG! But, it DID motivate me to excersize...yes, Anita....EXCERSIZE! I got out my pedometer that sometimes works, but gives me an idea of how much I'm moving throughout the day. I started getting on the treadmill (OK, not for more than about 20 minutes, but that's 20 min. more than I was doing before) I also started doing some crunches (you should see Stormy try to do them with me! She even grunts! I'm a sound-effects mom, makes everything more fun.) I've been swimming with the family at least twice a week and for the past 4 days I've gone out to chop wood! Makes me feel powerful. I found it funny that today Andrew and I were fighting over who was going to go chop and who was going to stay inside and monitor the 2 yr old eating yogurt...I won! I'm feeling good and even if I don't accomplish the 10 lbs., I feel like I've already won. The Halloween candy likes me a lot. Soon the bag will be empty and I'll be safe! I'm doing a lot better than before though! Maybe I should just adopt my neighbors' way of thinking and just call Halloween demonic and not Celebrate it? Nope, can't do that, it's too much fun! Well, the cruise is just around the corner and I'm actually feeling like I might look ok! I've been tanning and that always helps! Now, I just need to get my hair done and that's a real problem out here! Seems my stylist has used all of her products on herself and is out and awaiting a shipment...I'm curious if the chemicals went on her head or up her nose. (Inhalent abuse is HUGE out here! Sad, but true.) Later folks! I'd name you all, but do you really need to be reminded as to what your name is? Oh, just to make this even longer.... I came to the realization this week that I actually DO have a mental problem with food. I always thought that I wasn't one of "those people", but I AM! Oh my gosh! I really DO have a problem with food and I can actually SEE it now that I can't eat! I really DO have a problem with eating small/regular portions! Thanks for the support!