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They are young enough to be happy with simple answers. You could probably just tell them that you are getting your tummy fixed and that will satisfy them. Tell them you'll be sore for a few days and won't be able to pick them up but that they can always climb into your lap. A poster on another site tried to give her daugher (who was 6 or maybe 7 at the time) a simple description of what she was having done....only to hear her daughter tell a neighbor (very loudly) "My Mommy had a rubber band put around her tummy so she won't be fat!" My great-granddaugher lives with me. She's 18 months old. She loves to eat whatever I'm eating.....Greek yogurt with honey, Soup, and Kelloggs whole grain crackers are her favorites, LOL. Oh, yeah, and cottage cheese. She sees that carton and after saying 'mmmmmmmm' she opens her mouth.

I am trying this next week. I'll let you know how it turns out. Looks delicious. I also found another recipe for pizza crust that I was going to try down the road that would be higher Protein. It's just self rising flour and greek yogurt. Supposed to make great crust but I can't eat anything resembling bread right now or I'll get sick.

I'm currently on purees and I can tell a difference depending on what type of food it is. I was able to eat a 5oz container of yogurt this morning, but more than 2-3 ounces of refried beans is a much different story. Follow your doctor's advice and you'll be fine! I think it's normal to feel nervous about everything this early in the game (I'm the same way), but you will be fine!

Do shakes with protein shake drink protein powder and triple zero yogurt with protein add ice put in blener and make it any flavor you want it makes enough for several glasses enjoy Sent from my SM-N920R4 using the BariatricPal App

Fish (salmon) chicken Greek yogurt cheese eggs Turkey Beans You can get there...remember eat Protein first so you get to that goal!

Liquid Diet, Day 1 Well, it's Day 1 of my pre-op diet, and I've had a grand total of 1 cup of coffee with Splenda and a splash of skim milk, and a low-fat yogurt. Drinking Diet Coke, of course. To be honest, I'm not terribly hungry. I do feel a bit of a gnawing pain in my stomach, so I think I need to toss back a protein shake. The noticeable effect is in my mood. I'm wicked cranky. Add to that the fact that I'm still having no luck on the job search, and I'm a bit of a bear, I'm afraid. Also, for the past 2-3 days I've been nursing the beginnings of what seems like a big fibro flare. So yeah, that doesn't help things at all either. All in all, the food thing is doable, but I'm in a black mood. We'll see how things progress tomorrow... Liquid Diet, Day 1 - Addendum Um, yeah, this sucks Having consumed the sum total of 2 yogurts, a protein shake, a coffee and a glass of juice all day, I gave in to the desire to actually chew something and ate a cucumber. Since a cuke is, like, 90% water (and not sugar water, like watermelon), I decided it still counts as a liquid diet. Meanwhile, I still had to cook for the fam, and today's menu included homemade mac and cheese with veggies in the sauce. As luck would have it, today's batch was the creamiest one yet. According to Josh and the kids, my best version ever. Awesome. I guess I'll just smell it. This being skinny business is no fun so far. Liquid Diet, Day 2 - A Hard Day Today has been a really hard day. First of all, I'm really hungry and feeling weak. I don't do well on drastically low calories, and I feel shaky, dizzy, and just weak. It's 7:30 pm and I've had a coffee, a protein shake, a cup of chicken broth, and half a cup of apple juice. My big treat in a little while will be a fat-free yogurt. This is sheer torture, and my body is feeling run down. Second, I argued with my husband, and went on a cleaning rampage, frustration-induced (normally, this would have been an eating rampage.) I seriously cleaned the CRAP out of my house, which sorely needed it. DH was being a complete a-hole, so he didn't lift a finger while I was busting my balls on all fours cleaning baseboards with a toothbrush. At one point, our brilliantly-designed (not!) WHITE kitchen floor was giving me so much trouble that I said, "Screw it!" and ran off to Target and bought a steam mop. Amazing! Why had I never bought one before? It effortlessly cleaned my disgusting, grimy floors, and did the hardwood, too! And all that in a very Earth-friendly way, with just water! Anyway. My house is resplendent now, but I'm feeling like ass. Certainly, a full-blown cleaning jag is not the thing to do when you're half-starved and on the verge of a fibromyalgia flare! Dumb me. Now, I'm gonna pop a pill, eat a yogurt, and hit the sack. Josh can damn well make dinner for him and Avi, and take care of his shower and bedtime. I'm freaking done. Eight more days of this no-eating torture. I don't know how I'll survive... Pre-op liquid diet - day 3 Today has been better than yesterday, mood-wise. Mostly, I attribute it to not fighting with my husband, because the diet situation is still dire. Today, I have consumed a protein shake, a cup of coffee, a yogurt, and a small bowl of sugar-free jello. I might have 1/2 cup of fat free cottage cheese for dinner, along with a sugar-free Popsicle. Meanwhile, the guys are eating kielbasa, pepper and onion sandwiches - and they smell delicious! On the plus side, I've lost 2.5 pounds already. However, if weight loss was parallel to hunger, I would have lost 100 pounds by now! One more week... Liquid Diet - Day 4 Much better today, so far. I have decided to allow myself a half a cucumber a day (nothing on it), just to let my mouth chew on something. I'm going to get a haircut today. I'm chopping off quite a bit of it. I need a change! And, although the scale is moving in the right direction, I need some instant-gratification change. The happy news of today is that I am now under 200lbs! The scale read 199 this morning. Woo hoo!

It takes a while to get up to that for most people. Once you can move on to real foods it gets easier. chicken, fish, cheese, yogurt, etc.

I don't like beans or yogurt, so I mostly eat fish. I can't eat enough eggs, to make them worthwhile. I try to make sure I have 20g of protein per meal. I eat 4 times a day, protein first. Usually a fish fillet. I have no hunger so sometimes I get busy and forget to eat. If it is near the end of the day and I am short on protein, I have a shake, but those days are rare.

I had a real problem post op and was miserable until I finally figured out it was the dairy. I was horribly frustrated (there's probably a grumbly post from me circa 2010 about it) because I had incredible restriction and couldn't eat much meat so I was relying on dairy for about 80% of my Protein intake. Lactaid did nothing for me - not the pills and not the actual Lactaid products like cottage cheese or milk. You are most assuredly not alone. I did not expect intolerance post op but I did discover that it's not uncommon. I had to do a few things. One - just eat more often. My meals transitioned from three tiny meals to pretty much grazing on small meals all day long. No junk and not the same kind of grazing that gets us in trouble prior to surgery. But I could not eat enough otherwise. I'd log my meals on MFP in the morning and eat until ten at night if I had to in order to consume my 500 calories and my 75-90 grams of protein. Two, I had to work (and hard!) to find a lactose free Protein shake I could tolerate. I started mixing with Water, tea and coffee instead of milk. I really don't care for commercial soy or almond milk and got tired of mixing with hemp milk. I would sometimes make my own soy milk and use that to mix. Certain varieties of Protein powder taste good mixed with juice, but I'd be careful with that because it's easy to go overboard on juice. Being able to drink at least half of my protein really helped me. I am three years out next month and I still like to have a Protein Drink each day to keep my protein high (I aim for 80-90 grams a day). Three - just find those other foods you enjoy that will give you the protein you need. Branch out of your old eating habits. You will likely find that your tastes are changing, anyway. Look for breads with Kosher certification that say they're P or pareve - they'll contain no dairy. And of course, no butter to cook your food - there's a Smart Balance spread out there that's also pareve that you can use in it's place. You'll find that even margarine contains dairy in most cases. The good news? My intolerance faded dramatically within the first year. Sometime during the first year I realized I could eat hard cheeses again. By the second year I was okay with just about any dairy, in small portions, except ice cream. The only foods I really have to avoid now are ice cream (even the lactose free ice cream kills me) and any dish that contains a lot of heavy cream. Those are foods I'd only consider an occasional treat, anyway, so this is no hardship for me. I can even eat cottage cheese and yogurt again! Good luck, ~Cheri

I know what you mean. I work at the hospital where I'm being banded on August 20. I have seen great results from the folks that had 3 weeks of liquid diet pre-op. One gent lost 33 lbs in that time. Had lunch with him and his wife (he was banded a month ago, she was banded last week). She had yogurt. He had tuna salad and some chopped veggies. Both seem to be doing quite well. He took a week off work. She is taking 2 weeks. She did not do the liquid pre-diet, but I can see the 8 lb difference in her already. Seriously.

Its no secret if you talk to me that i have a hard time making choices. Like buying toothpaste or choosing new foods to try, it takes time for me to make a decision. Lots of Googling and comparison. I've been looking up VSG guides from different hospitals to see what each says in regards to Foods, times and supplements. Here is what I've found after i broke down the charts and guides: (BTW I am not God, nor do i pretend to be, so please don't take this as THE word. Its just a guide-line cheat sheet i re-made for myself) (( Also, i am just 31 days post op, so this is tailored for my stage)) Breakfast *should be at 8am *(earlier then that if you have an early day, but it should be within 1 hour of waking up) *1/4 - 1/2 C of Fiber, fruit, OR Calcium * AND 1/4 - 1/2 C of protein or good carbohydrate (ex: yogurt, cottage cheese, apple sauce, soft eggs, cooked cereal) Supplements/ Vitamins *10 AM! * PLUS 1/2 c Protein Shake (or 25 g) * Some vitamins need FAT to be soluble (vitamins A D E K) If your taking these, use 1% milk or check your Protein drink labels! Lunch *12 pm *1/4 - 1/2 C soup or calcium * AND 1/4 C Protein ( ex: yogurt, cheese, egg/tuna/chicken salad, pureed fruit/veg) Snack *2 pm *1/4 - 1/2 C calcium or fiber *1 Sugar free treat (ex: cottage cheese, ricotta, pureed fruit or Veg, SF Popsicle, sf Jello, sf Pudding) Dinner *6 pm 1/4 - 1/2 C protein (or 1-2 oz) 1/4 C Fruit or Veg That's it. If you feel like you need more, eat more. If you can't eat quite this much yet, chill out and do your best! But make sure you get your liquids in each day!! If you need a reminder for that, drink 1/2 hour before each 'meal' You need to stay hydrated or your body will not operate, or heal, like it should. I like to add generic crystal light (walmart or target brands!), but i choose the sugar free, caffeine free ones that have vitamins included in powder ( ex: Kiwi-Strawberry or Grape from walmart) These are just suggestions, But are mainly for WHEN I have a brain power-outage and need some help! For easy food choices always get low/fat free food mind the sodium and the carbs Some little kid pre packaged foods are great! like pureed fruits (in little foil sacks, no spoon needed) fruits in light syrup or water deli turkey and ricotta cheese Go-gurt ect... Making this list has made me hungry! lol will have a 1/4 c OJ then off to bed. (didn't realize how much i missed OJ until i had some the other day!)

That is soooo awesome....and what a great opportunity for you:clap2: So here is an example of foods included in my diet during each stage: Liquids: Tomato juice, 100% fruit juice (no sugar added), creamy Soups w/out chunks (campbells Soup at hand was great for this), 1/2 C of slim fast at each meal, yogurt, smoothies, and Jello. Puree: I bought a food processor and made all of my meals like baby food. Some things I enjoyed (although they looked disgusting) were tuna salad, tofu (sometimes w/ brown rice), cooked carrots, cooked peas, baked Beans, chili, chicken, avacados, mashed potato, bake potato, canteloup,bananas, cottage cheese, grits, and anything from my liquid diet...I was also able to take certain lean cuisine meals (the ones w/ brown rice) an puree those...I could only eat 1/2 at a sitting. Soft Foods - I am now chewing foods. So basically it is everything mentioned above only I am allowed to chew it up. I am also able to add whole wheat Pasta, whole wheat toast, eggs, oatmeal, and crackers. Still no raw veggies or tough fruits (i.e. apples), no nuts, or white bread. So today...I had my first few crackers w/ salmon salad from whole foods...so far so good! I will get my fills in Mexico for now. I work from Houston a lot, so the travel is cheap, and I am a part of a fill prgm w/ OCA hospital so those are free. I will go sometime in April after my 6 week mark. So tell me more about you...your experience...where you are w/ the band...etc.

Hi everyone, I had my surgery in June and just had my second band fill on September 30th. For about a week everything was fine, business as usual. Then after a week I was disgusted by food. Nothing sounds appetizing. The thought of food makes me nauseated. When I do eat something - yogurt, protein shakes, veggies, whatever - it goes down all right so I don't think my band is too tight but I'm not really sure? Is this maybe just a psychological thing? I did have some bread stick for the first time, which freaked me out. Shortly after is when I lost my taste for all food. :/ Thanks in advance for the advice!

My snacks are usually reduced fat string cheese, Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt with some granola or Kashi cereal mixed in, 1 oz. of dry roasted lightly salted peanuts, some sort of meat stick (like a beef stick, but usually turkey instead), and protein bars.

Oh my gosh I am going thru the same thing. Surgery 5/4 and my first fill is 5/28. I was doing good until this week an now I am having to eat several times a day. I try to stick to the protein shakes or yogurt. Kinda looking forward to the first fill although a little scared too.

So I was sleeved on 11-12-13. Got home from the hospital on Thursday night. Yesterday was my first day home. I had 2 yogurts, one Greek, and about 6 oz of a protein shake. I got in at least 40 additional ounces of fluid like water and decaf tea. Is this acceptable ? I have no idea if I am feeling hunger pains or pain for surgery. Stomach is very sore. I'm on full liquids.

Haven't "gone" since last Tuesday the day before my surgery. I know I'm not really eating much besides yogurt and soup but isn't this too long?

Okay had a Greek yogurt this morning and went down well except tries to et last bite in too early and it hurt. As for my lunch which I am working on still it's protein shake it somewhat hurts going down like I feel a little pain in my tummy and burping a little is that normal?

Avocado with balsamic vinegar dressing, low-fat houmous, low-fat patés, soft cheese, over-cooked veggies with cheese sauce, scrambled egg, fish pie, shepherd's pie, natural low-fat yogurt with fresh berries, porridge.

I am six weeks out from bypass… Feeling very discouraged, only 23 pounds lost, dealing with major constipation and can hardly eat anything other than yogurt and cottage cheese… I hope I didn't go through all of this for nothing

Sleeved on 12/19. I still do mostly shakes. I also eat Dannon Light & Fit Greek yogurt 1/3-1/2 of a container at a time. I am supposed to be able to have mushy/soft foods as of now, but I may hold off a bit. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

When can I start eating a little more? Tomorrow I will post op 4 weeks. I am fortunate that so far I have had no issues. I have only told 3 people about my surgery. I have lunch plans with a client today and I am So nervous about eating like a bird in front if her. Right now I can drink 16 oz Water in 3/4 of an hour. Same with 11 oz premier Protein shake Soups go down pretty easy. As does Greek yogurt. It takes me 2 hours to eat egg and chicken salad. At one sitting I probably can eat between 1-2oz. I am very pleased with my sleeve. I just want some spence of normalsey. I would be so grateful if eventually I could eat 4oz at one setting. When did everyone start to eat a little more? Thanks

When you deny craving it can make you want them more. Keep healthy options for sweet and salty cravings on hand. Real food stage You can make old favorites in a healthy way. No need to add extra calories and gain weight. Make sure my examples fit your food plan and stay within your weight loss calories/macros for the day. (log your food) Try to satify cravings with real whole foods first. Pizza mushroom cap pizza bites or cauliflower crust pizza – add lots of veggies use the meats allowed on your plan. Limit or omit cheese depending on your plan. turkey meatballs dipped in pizza sauce Hamburgers – Turkey burgers – You can buy butter ball frozen patties for convenience or make your own. I place them on a bed of salad add pickles, tomato and onion. Optional olive oil mayo and mustard. Or a lettuce wrapped burger - Chips – Salty cravings crisp veggies dipped in hummus or any low calorie dip – to cut the calories in hummus I add plain yogurt quest protein chips. They are made from protein powder. The flavor is better if you dip them in salsa. I like the BBQ or nacho. I try not to make these a habit. (processed food) I use them as a snack to kick a craving. beef or chicken Jerkey chicken fajitas no tortilla Sweet – Dannon light n fit Greek yogurt - option freeze to make popsicle Protein bar or shake Small amount of strawberries – option dip in hersheys sugar free cholate syrup

I used it like crazy when I had the band. I mixed it into yogurt, Protein shakes, sauces for chicken and for baked goods. I don't think you can beat the flavor when you factor in the reduced fat. However, I still love Trader Joe's no sugar added Peanut Butter the most. I add 3 packets of splenda to the whole jar, mix well and keep in the fridge. PB2 is an excellent product. Just need to find ways to use it that you'll love.

Yes - this is a transition, rather than a step change (liquids only, then next week no liquids and just mushies). Try new things one at a time to check for your tolerance to it - if it goes well, then great, add that item to your menu and continue trying new things. If it doesn't, try something else and try that item again in a couple of weeks. Our program gave us the option to transition between the liquids, mushes and soft things as we could tolerate them, and go back and forth as needed (scrambled eggs, yogurt and pureed thing in the hospital). You usually wind up with a blend of things on the menu for a while as most protein will still come from shakes as that is where you can get the volume needed, but the stomach usually appreciates the "physical therapy" of working on small amounts of the more solid things.