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I am in the puree phase and only eating the following. Greek yogurt one per day, sugar free pudding at least one maybe two per day and mashed potatoes. I am not getting near enough protein in on a daily basis. I really feel hungry today so hungry!!! This Friday I can move onto soft foods and I cannot wait! My question is do I start slowly with different foods? Do I stay away from spicy? What about ground beef? Should I just stick within hard boiled eggs and tuna/chicken salad with low fat mayo? Can I have toast with the egg or salad? Thank you all in advance for your wonderful suggestions!!!!!!

First, welcome to these message boards! You'll find a wealth of information here to support you through the process. And I too agree with previous posts that perhaps this is all too quick for you. Take your time with this decision. It's a major life change, and you need to commit 100%. Having said that, I will answer your questions as honestly as I can. I am 4 months post op. I started at 366 (with an all-time high of 380). I'm 5'6" and 49 years old. My weight is now 290, and I'm in the middle of a stall. 1. Anyone out there with hypothyroidism? Yes I have hypothyroidism too. Pre-op I was close to maximum dosage, and at 3 months post op I had full blood work done and my numbers are normal, but still at the higher dosage of synthroid. 2. ...The thought of having to center my eating around a piece of meat or fish...is making me cringe.... I'm lucky where I like meat, so it isn't an issue for me. But this should be a concern for you, as Protein will be the staple of you diet. It doesn't have to be animal-based: greek yogurt, soy protein (though with hypothyroid, you might check with your physician/nutritionist on that), and Protein shakes would work too. You could also consider pureed Soups, stews, and chili as well, once you are cleared for those items. 3. Heartburn - does everyone have to take acid medication after surgery or only some people? I never needed the heartburn medicine. 4. I am already battling anemia...will this surgery make that battle even harder? I would imagine no here, but again, check with your physicians. 5. Vitamins...the whole Vitamin taking sounds a little daunting. Does this get easier? I never had to crush up the vitamins myself past the first week, and taking one a day is no big deal to me. If you are taking synthroid, just add it to your daily medications. 6. Recovery- how long did it take most of you? I was lucky. I had surgery on a Monday. The first few days at home were rough. But by Fri/Sat, I was feeling better, and I was back to work that Monday: one week post-op. I started boot camp for exercise the following Monday (with my surgeon's blessing, of course). For me, this has been the best decision I have made (so far). I acknowledged right from the start that I needed to change some very fundamental things about myself in order for this to work, and I am working hard to build a strong foundation of support now, in the early stages, to help me through. And while the sleeve is a tool that make some things easier, the process is, by no means, easy. So take your time. Breathe. Process. And when you're ready, you'll know. Either way. Please be well, and keep us all posted!

It sounds like diet may be a part of the problem. Right now you probably don't have much if any restriction. Fish and yogurt are fine. Chicken is good for protein but you want to stay away from fried food with breading. Yogurt is very good for you if it is not a sugar laden variety. Most of the items listed are heavy in carbs. Typically our diets involve proteins first (lean proteins without a lot of fat), vegetables second, and if there is any additional room left high quality carbs such as whole grains are eaten. This kind of diet leads to success for most bandsters and also is a healthy enough diet to provide necessary vitamins and nutrients. One problem with eating a diet heavy in carbs/fats/sugar is that it does cause you to continue craving it all the time. Your blood sugar levels have a fast high quickly followed by a severe drop causing intense cravings for more. The best way to move away from these cravings is to give yourself at least one solid week avoiding all carbs/sugar. After a week, cravings start to diminish and will continue to do so over time. The band will help diminish the amount of food that a person can eat once they hit their sweet spot. However, the quality of food makes all the difference in making significant progress towards goals. Dietary changes are a necessary part of the banding experience. Good luck to you.

Fried chicken, baked potatoes, mac n cheese, fish, french fries, oatmeal, yogurt. This is some of the food i eat on a typical day. I crave for sweets all the time.

One thing to consider: Dr. C's clinic gives free fills/de-fills for only five years (after which they charge a fee) whereas at the TLBC they provide free fills/de-fills for life. Also, Dr. C's clinic uses Optifast (I don't know if that is an extra charge or if that is included in the total fee...others can respond to that) for their pre-op diet (to get rid of the fat in the liver) but TLBC does not rely on Optifast....it is a different "food" diet depending on your individual circumstances (ie. cottage/cheese yogurt diet and chicken)....personally I find that more appealing than doing optifast (& I do have the experience to comment on that because I went thru the entire optifast program a few years ago). Just more info to consider is all. As was said above, you wouldn't buy the first car you look at....something this serious I would recommend checking into 2 or 3 places and then making the best decision based on your own personal perspectives/circumstances. I have nothing but amazing things to say about TLBC in all aspect; both pre and post op.....but I have also heard only good things about Dr. C.

cottage cheese and applesauce. tuna with mayo bean and bacon campbells soup pureed chicken with chicken broth protein smoothie with strawberries yogurt pureed hot and sour soup (i was craving FLAVOR)

@BurningButter! I stocked up on Protein shakes (obvs), yogurt, sugar free Jello, sugar free jello pudding and low-sodium soups. But all diets are different so your doctor will tell you what's ok to have. I'm going out today to pick up some sugar free popsicles to mix it up a bit. My favorite yogurt is Siggi's fat free. It tastes weird at first b/c it's really low sugar, but that keeps the carbs low and once you get used to it it's really good. I'll eat this post-op, too, if I still like it then.

A lot of people are worried about the liquid diet pre-op (I know I was before I started it). I thought I'd give some info for the curious or worried. I'm on day 3 of 12 of my liquid diet. It is not that bad. Really. I mean, day 1 was extremely hard. I was super hungry and it was hard to watch my family eat all day (and I have a toddler who is constantly sticking grapes in my mouth, etc.). Day 2 was easier. Day 3 is going great. I guess it depends on what your doctor says you can have, but I'm on Protein shakes (4/day), yogurt, sugar free pudding, sf Jello, and certain low-cal low-carb Soups. The Soup saves my sanity because it's not sweet. So far I haven't had any headaches. I am allowed one cup of coffee per day, but I hear this is unusual. I have lost 5 lbs already. In 2 days. That alone will help me stay on it. So, not that bad. If you can, ask your family to help by not eating your very favorite foods for those 2 weeks. Otherwise, it's pretty smooth sailing. I'm eating less than 1200 calories a day (just under) and I don't feel all that hungry. Good luck to those of you starting your liquid diets soon!

what about diet Jell-o and pudding? I also ate yogurt, the fruit flavored, no small pieces of fruit though.

Besides scrambled I had poached, soft boiled, hard boiled, over easy, sunny side up, deviled, essentially any way I could cook an egg I could have it. In addition, I could have mild steamed or poached fish; canned or packet tuna, salmon and chicken plain or as salad with lowfat mayo; vegetarian soy products; cooked cereal thinned with skim milk; nonfat refried beans; nonfat yogurt without added sugar; low salt V-8 juice; unsweetened apple sauce; mashed ripe banana; skim or lowfat cottage or ricotta cheese; mashed squash, white potato, sweet potato. These were all considered a good consistency so none of it had to be pureed.

I haven't had to take any post surgery because of the amount of yogurt I eat. I have always taken them to maintain intestinal flora. Had MRSA and heavy duty antibiotics once. Never did them for weight loss.

There are alot of foods you can try. Tuna, baked fish, salmon, cottage cheese, hummus, beans (add cheese), ricotta bake (recipe online), greek yogurt, home-made Protein Shakes (watch sugar), chicken salad..Experiment and see what works.

I add Protein powders to everything, including my morning eggs and my afternoon yogurt. I want it up to 100+g.

Your Dr will tell you what meds you should continue, or discontinue for a few days. Mine said if they are smaller than a pinky nail you could swallow them. But I chose to crush mine just to be safe. I crushed them and put in a spoonful of pudding or yogurt.

I really like this woman's site and blog - she has come up with some marvelous recipes that I look forward to trying: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/ Here are two I found there: 1) Shelly's Dill & Onion Tuna Salad 1 can (5 oz.) Albacore Tuna 2-3 Tablespoon Greek Yogurt, plain several dashes of Dried Dill dash of Oregano 2 Green Onions, diced fine Salt & Pepper to taste Mix till well blended. 2) http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2009/10/terrific-tuna-salad.html

At 3 days out the focus is on getting in all the Protein and Fluid. Your nutritionist should have given you list of foods you can eat at this stage. I was on full liquids and could add a tsp of nut butter or pureed fruit to my yogurt.

I agree that you shouldn't even be thinking of having any kind of ice cream or frozen yogurt, I say until you reach goal. It is not a protein food and you could start on the slippery slope of getting into your old eating habits. Get yourself on the right track and stay there. You can do it.

The first mushy thing I ate was a scrambled egg and only a couple bites of it. I have a love/hate relationship with eggs, sometimes they are great and others make me feel like I am going to be sick just looking at them. I hate greek yogurt and cottage cheese so those were a no go for me. Before surgery I made a pot of my homemade beef stew and froze very small portions of it. I put it through a blender and ate that heated up. Lots of flavor, something I had been craving. Lots of creamed Soups, cream of potato, mushroom, chicken were my favorites. Lots of mashed potatoes and since they were just small portions I made the small Betty Crocker packets instead of making them from scratch each time. Those have different flavors so it wasn't the same old thing every day. I also did the blended tuna w/mayo or chicken w/mayo. It took me awhile to really slow down and get used to the insanely small amount I was eating.

I had been so looking forward to cottage cheese when I came up on mushies...and then I tasted it and ran for the bathroom. Sleevie & I still don't see eye to eye sometimes. I lived on shredded chicken and mayo during mushies. I also ate scrambled eggs nearly every morning. Other than that I couldn't tolerate much. I've found my taste buds changed since surgery (I'm 13 weeks out). Yogurt and cottage cheese still taste bad to me. I had a small bite of banana bread over the holidays and had to spit that out too. I do crave broccoli (go figure) and meat now (specifically steak). I have a little ice cream several nights a week to satisfy the sweet cravings I still get daily. Listen to your body, but don't be afraid, like BrownDoesAll said, to try it again in a few days. Sometimes Sleevie can just be temperamental!

One moe thin' about protein-I've noticed, for me, 10 grams of protein satiates my hunger for an hour (1 egg=1 hour). My morning Premier shake (30 grams) lasts me from 6 - 9 am. Then I'll have a Greek Yogurt which takes me through to lunch. I have Crystal Lite with unflavored protein (1/2 scoop/10 grams) added to 32 oz water bottle and sip this when I can between meals (watching the 1/2 hr. before and 1-hr. after rules). I can't seem to get more than the one bottle down a day-Pre-op, I easily drank 2. My problem is what to eat for lunch and dinner when I'm not really that hungry and a lot of things don't agree with me.

yes... I was swollen for almost 3-4 months. I am 20 months post op and eat quite normal portions. But I was just like you in the beginning! Normal this is what I ate yesterday: 1 large slice of whole grain toast and a half a banana and peanut butter for breakfast. 1 cheese stick and 8 carrot sticks with dip for a snack. 3 oz of tuna salad and 8 crackers for lunch, a 8oz yogurt for a snack. a 6 inch sub from subway with half the bread removed for dinner, and a few chips. and for a late snack I had a 100 cal bag of popcorn. yes the entire bag! Don't worry! It gets better!

I had my first meeting with my NUT on Tuesday which also officialy marked day 1 of 90 to be approved by my insurance. I expected to be given a TON of information, including a program to follow during the next 90 days, I was underwhelmed and honestly a bit disappointed. I answered questions I'd already answered at the original consult with the surgeon and was not provided with anything more than generic information I'd already learned on my own with the help of Google. I had to straight up ask her what I need to be doing the next 90 days and how much they'd like me to lose. I was told that as long as I don't gain anything I'm good, and if I see I'm up a pound or 2 soon before the 90 day appointment, to give her a call and she'll guide me through a Protein diet for a day or so to shed those few pounds. I have been on Weight Watchers for a while but "fell of the wagon" in the last few weeks since I thought starting Tuesday, I'd be really getting into this new program. She said I should just get back on track with that, which I guess I'll do, but I also want to start incorporating post-op routines so it isn't a total shock to my system. I want to start trying Protein shakes to get a feel for what I may like. I also have a hard time getting lunch in, so I was thinking I could use them as a Meal Replacement of sorts for the time being. Any advice on protein? Brands? Flavored vs. unflavored to add to yogurt? What other things should I start focusing on?

Congratulations on taking steps to get healthier! I think your plan to add more Protein is a good one especially as the meal replacement. Protein drinks are tricky because everyone has their own taste and that can change drastically after this surgery so I would not invest a fortune in powders and such. Also if you are a busy person and do not want to fool around with blender cups or actual blenders I would recommend giving Premier Protein ready made shakes a try. They are excellent for post surgery as well. There is no grit, no nasty taste, in fact they are actually very good. They have 30 grams of protein in 1 shake, 1 gram of sugar and are 160 calories. I turned to them post surgery when I could not tolerate most of the whey protein powders. My nut suggested them and I am thrilled she did. You can get them in smaller packs at Walmart and Walgreens or you can buy them at a higher discounted rate and larger quantities at Sam's and costco. Some of the others that are more tolerable is the syntax nectars. These are a powder and you need to use a blender cup to ensure you don't end up with that grit. Leverage things like yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts and seeds to help boost your protein as well. Focus your meals on lower carb, high protein. Leverage good carbs like fruit and vegetables. Stay away from bread, Pasta, rice, white potatoes. Leverage Beans, sweet potatoes, corn, peas, carrots, cauliflower.....pretty much any vegetables you love. Salads with some protein make an excellent well balanced meal, just watch your dressing to make sure it is not loaded with too much sugar. The goal is to remove as much sugar and bad carbs from your diet. Remove all processed foods from your house. They are not something you will be able to eat after surgery. Honestly they are so very bad for us. If you drink caffeine or alcohol you might want to stop that now because you will be required to at pre op diet and beyond. My nut had me practicing mindful eating, getting my Water intake up to 64oz. Per day, eating slowly, not drinking anything when you eat and removing all distractions. I hope some of this is helpful to you! Please keep us posted on your progress!

thats just what I have eaten so far today like by 4pm I will try maybe some eggs n yogurt later or a grilled chicken salad. I have to make myself eat because I dnt really have an appetite.... my doc tells us nt to count calories eat haelthy food choices until we get enough and after 2 bites I feel that hurting painful feeling in my chest. yes Im chewing and chewing and chewing and when I feel that feeling I think this is what restriction feels like

I like refried beans with some greek yogurt, split pea soup and I took fresh spinach and cooked it with onion, garlic and chicken broth drained it and put in food processor with some ricotta cheese and a few eggs and salt and pepper to taste. Bake in a pan sprayed with pam and added mozzarella cheese on top last 15 min. Yum. I then let it set and cut into small portions that fit in those little snack baggies and freeze. You can do the same with cauliflower and put spaghetti or marinara sauce over it. Check out eggface.com. There are lots of recipes. Hope that helps.