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Yep, even after all this time (more than 18 months), I still am more careful of what I eat at breakfast. My tummy is still a little grumpy, so not to much grease or anything heavy. I have a couple of soy lattes, some greek yogurt, and a piece of toast or 1/2 cup of oatmeal. No, not all at once :-) I have coffee first, then breakfast about an hour later, then another coffee around 10 a.m. Lynda

Blue Bunny makes a carb count yogurt that is really good.

Hi everyone, I just found a new yogurt that tastes like your eating cream pie (without the crust, of course!!)....OMG, it is so good. It's new and it's by Yoplait. It's called Light, Thick and Creamy. Only 100 calories and no fat. I just ate the Peaches' N Cream....YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY.

that is true! I use to love yogurt. I find it is so nasty now. could not stand it on my full liquid stage...made me gag! LOL It will be interesting now that I am on soft foods to see what else I am going to not like! Kelly

Agree with Igotheband, do not eat grilled cheese frankly you should not be eating anything solid. In the beginning they want you to eat slider food. Protein shakes, with at least 15 gms of protein and they should be low in sugars. Greek yogurt is good source of protein, mashed potatos, cream soups. You can buy unflavored protein and add it to almost anything. If you are hungry than take some liguids or something every couple of hours. It takes several days, sometimes up to a week for the swelling to go down after the band is placed. You will not fill any restriction in the beginning and you may not start really losing any weight until after your first fill. Some fill restriction from the beginning. If you go to main Lapband web site there is a diet to follow and you need to stick to it as closely as you can, but really your physicians office should have provided you with all of that. Good luck to you and do a little internet searching on what to eat in the early days. This all takes time and yes in the beginning you may be hungry, I am sorry but the band can not change all of that as quickly as we would like sometimes. Banded since OCTOBER 2010 and down 94 lbs.

@@lucy0911 - People are usually surprised to find that Protein is in most things, particularly dark, green leafy veg and whole grains. I was already keeping a food journal prior to WLS. I averaged about 50 gms of protein a day. When I met with the nutritionist we discussed how to increase that to 60+gms a day. The key for me was finding a Protein powder I could live with. I've finally found that I prefer Isopure unflavored. I just add it to my morning Breakfast smoothie. I use a lot of FAGE 0% greek yogurt. I also eat a lot of bean, grains like farro & quinoa, cheese and the occasional egg. Occasionally I use meat substitutes like Beyond Meat, Gardein, tofu, tempeh and seitain. My protein average for the past week is 72gm. Here's a helpful chart on protein sources.

As far a carbs go - there are 19 g of carbs of which 14g are sugar but it is from the natural milk sugar - straight from my nut: "Keep in mind that is no such thing as sugar free dairy or fruit and the sugar content may go up to 15 grams of sugar per serving. " So its natural sugar opposed to refined sugar and according to the yoplait package "The only yogurt clinically shown to help you burn more fat than just cutting calories alone" Sounds good to me and the taste makes it all worth it!

I was just banded 01/15 and just started on solids. Since I haven't had any fills yet, I have very little restriction. but since my stomach seemed to shrink a lot from the 3 week liquid diet I was on, I am able to keep to a low calorie diet through sheer self control! But I still log everything into Free Calorie Counter, Diet & Exercise Journal | MyFitnessPal.com. Here's my diet for the past week: Breakfast: Whole Wheat English muffin with low fat Peanut Butter and sliced banana on top- THIS IS SOOO YUMMY! (300 cal) Lunch: Homemade Turkey Chili- I made a ton in the crockpot and portioned it out and froze it- (300 cal) Dinner: Turkey Burger with avacado and green salad with spray dressing- (485 cal) My Snacks are yogurts, cottage cheese, string cheese, or raw veggies. I try to stay around 1200 calories daily.

I never hear anyone talk about the pain you feel when you eat solid food. I'm wondering I am the only one experiencing this? The pain is excruciating, it'll take me to my knees! I'm unable to function, barely able to handle it at all and it will last for 2-4 hours. When I was able to eat solid food, the first thing I tried was soup with veggies so soft they melted in your mouth. I had two teaspoonfuls and before I took my third I felt this really hard knot forming from my stomach to my throat, my back teeth started ringing and shooting pain. It hurt so bad I could barely get to my bed to lay down! It lasted 3 hrs. I figured I ate to fast. The next day, I tried again, the same thing I figured I ate to much this time. It took me awhile to try again, it really is something I am afraid of now! The next time was on the day of my 1st check up, 10 days later. I had a scrabbled egg, chewed the crap out of, took 20 minutes to eat it and didn't actually eat the whole egg! It didn't hurt but it was alittle uncomfortable. My doc app was fine! So from the time I ate it to the time my doctors appointment was over was 3 hrs. I got into my truck and took a sip of water (first sip since before breakfast) and almost instantly I was doubled over in pain. I sat in the parking lot for about 40 minutes before I could drive, I still wasn't ok but better. When I got home I went right to bed. An hour later I tried water again and same thing, pain. At this point it was 5 hr since breakfast, and by now I'm behind on my water consumption. It was a total of 8 hrs of pain. Thankfully it goes away and I'm able to drink water again! Doctor told me to goto liquids only again for a while. It's about 7 weeks since surgery and I can't do solid food unless it puréed. I've hurt myself a couple more times trying to salmon and spaghetti O's. Now I'm just to afraid to eat. I stick with the protein drinks, yogurt and broth. If it doesn't have protein in it then I don't bother. My family and friend keep telling me that I have to eat at some point but I'm to afraid and plus no appetite. Doctor says that with the supplement and protein drink I can live fine. Does anyone else experience this pain?

This is what I packed for Breakfast and lunch today: Protein shake with 6 oz milk, vanilla protein and SF orange flavoring 2 oz ahi tuna steak 2 oz cottage cheese 5 slices of cucumber 1 oz Greek yogurt with blue cheese stirred in 5 high protein crackers I got at Cost Plus The tuna is great protein. I cooked it fresh, but you can get it out of a can if you can't find ahi. The cottage cheese is 2% fat from the store Peel and slice a cumcumber Mix 3 oz. Fage Greek yogurt with 2 oz of blue or gorganzola cheese. Take only 1 oz as a dip for the cucumber I would skip the crackers if you can't find low carb, high protein ones. Tomorrow I am having a Protein Shake, shrimp with cocktail sauce, cottage cheese, low carb crackers, cucumber and greek yogurt dip. Next day: Protein shake, 2 oz pan seared filet mignon, greek yogurt dip, cucumber and dip Day after: Protein shake, Slice of turkey wrapped around a slice of avocado, 1 oz cheese, roasted chick peas. It's not that you are going too fast. Most of us would not be eating fast food and if so, the bun would not be eaten. I would definetely suggest nutrition classes and cooking classes. To me it's second nature. I forget that some folks just don't cook. Like the ahi. I went to Trader Joes and got sashimi grade ahi. I marinated in in soy, lemon juice, garlic and cayenne pepper. I heated up a cast Iron pan with a tiny bit of oil. I like mine really rare so I seared each side for 1 minute. Barbecuing is a GREAT way to make healthy food. Get a lean piece of skinless chicken, pork or lean beed like fillet, london broil or even sirloin. Marinate the meat in your favorite herbs and spices. Grill. You can grill vegetables as well. It looks like yor weight loss is fine, but I guaratee you will feel better eating good food that you make.

Pureed meats sound really gross to me! Yuck! I just sipped on my protein drink (Premier). Ate low fat light yogurt, sf jello, sf pudding. It will work out! CONGRATS!

Cottage cheese 1% or 2% Yogurts (greek) Applesauce Avacados (blenderized) depending on how soft it is you can mash it up with a fork Tuna fish in the can, white chunk albacore (blenderized) Bumble Bee chicken (Blenderized) Laughing Cow Lite Cheese wedges Babybel Lite cheese Ricotta Cheese (Part Skim) Cream Soups (no chunks) Tomato Soup Mashed sweet potatoes Mashed Potatoes (white) Refried Beans *You would be surprised what you can make with all these items as a meal*

I have been purreeing my son's food for almost seven years now. literaly everything you can eat you can puree. the only real callenges are high bread based items. they turn gummy in the blender just as they do in our stomach. For my son, i make some favorites like cambels bean with bacon Soup. To enhance texture and vegis I do it 50 non diluted soup, about 30 percent pureed carrots and 20 percent ground ham. To ground ham appropriately you can add eiter sugar free syrup or the Water from the carrots. I add water (and for him syrup because i need to enhance calories signiicantly) to whatever texture im shooting for, which for him is aboiut mashed potatoes. Warm each item first. It will gound in a food processer easier (i prefer that a blender) Beef with aujus and potatoes woks well too. He loves that. bananas with vanilla yoghurt. i have blended whole pies...just add suga free yogurt.

You're doing just fine. You can probably get some proteins from yogurt, cottage cheese, ricotta and more shakes. Your shakes are considered part of your water intake. When I was on full liquids I could barely get in 20 grams of protein. As time goes your stomach swelling will go down and you'll be able to get more protein in. Keep up with the shakes. When I want to boost my protein, I ordered Premier Shakes from Amazon.com. They are 30 grams of protein. Good luck and let us know how you're doing.

I agree with 123crod. Stop looking for the full feeling. Full after being banded is different. What you should be aiming for is satisfied. Eat the recommended amounts, stop and see how long before you are PHYSICALLY hungry again.And yes this is far different from head hunger. Most of us eat for reasons other than hunger e.g Habit, boredom, because its there, because it looks good, because everyone else is eating it. Counselling sounds like a good suggestion. You also need to look at what you eat. Some foods will fill you up for a lot longer than others. Solid Protein is the best. Steak will fill you up for longer than mince ,mince will fill you better thah mashed potatoes etc.So if you are not making the right choices that could also be part of your problem. Between meals you may get hungry but then you should have a drink. A full drink in a short period will help to fill you up - sipping over a long period of time won't. Does your Dr allow Snacks? Mine allows a small planned healthy snack midmorning and mid afternoon if i need it. Things like vegie Soup, yogurt, tinned tuna etc. Hope some of these suggestions help.

Yes - it does make sense. Right now I'm on mushies - I'm living on mashed potatoes, yogurt, pudding and soup. I can't start 'soft foods' until Friday - that is when I can eat eggs, tuna, chili etc... I am starving on the mushy phase right now and the high carb content that mashed potatoes, yogurt and pudding are not going to help. But once I can start eating protein - then I can stop eating all the mushy food (until I get a fill , yes?)

I went to my first nut appt today. I was put on a diet very similar to Atkins with the exception of a protein shake for breakfast and a snack of cottage cheese, low fat cheese or Greek yogurt with a little fruit. I only have a three month diet though. Unless I don't stick to it. Otherwise they will extend it out further. Ugh.

I can't seem to eat any meat unless it's ground meat with some sauce. Salads are also hard on me but I am going to try again later on. I miss eating salads. I can eat fish which I loved before my surgery and love it now too. I can't eat bread or rice...I can handle thin sliced pizza which takes a long time to finish and have to chew it like crazy. As sweets go, I can have a few pieces of m&ms and be ok or have a small scoop of ice cream and be ok. Anything beyond that hurts and makes me ill. Now days I just eat cheese, Greek yogurt, nuts, protein shakes, cottage cheese, seafood and peanut butter. That's pretty much it.

I had shredded chicken, marinated in Italian dressing. and I'm about to have some Dannon Light and Fit yogurt to take my meds with. However, I take off for St Louis again tomorrow, which means I'm back in the territory of traveling and well meaning co-workers. Ya'll pray for me.

Why not ask your doctor? It's better to follow their instructions rather than an unknown person on the web. Ask him if you can use a pill splitter to make them smaller and take those with water rather than crushing them. The reasoning for it is likely due to 2 things - (a) not wanting you to take too large of a drink of water and (b) fear of the pill getting stuck depending on its size. I have no idea where you're at post-op, but one thing I tried was to put a pill in something like my greek yogurt.

There are some foods that I just don't eat anymore. Yogurt isn't one of them for me, but maybe it's one that you won't be able to eat - at least for now.

Are you 7 days out of surgery or 15? At 7 days out I was allowed to eat full liquids like tomato soup. I was not allowed really smooth mushies like yogurt until day 15. I could not have even smooth mashed potato until day 21. If your doctor has not released you to mushies than I would say you should hold off on mushies like mashed potato or squash for now.

Is Miralax stronger than a stool softener? I take 2 stool softeners every night and still am not having much luck. I am thinking about picking up some Activia Yogurt, I eat a yogurt every day anyway.

Bariatric Dietitian Elizabeth Anderson didn't exactly love school but she has an odd fondness for it now as September approaches and she's had a great deal of quality time with her teenager! Find out what she learned in all those nutrition science classes as she answers some common WLS questions in Protein 101. Which foods have protein? Protein is found in meat, fish and chicken. For vegetarians and those less keen on meat, there’s protein in cottage cheese, eggs, Greek yogurt, tofu, cheese sticks all the beans you might put in chili—except green beans. There’s also protein in meat alternatives like products from Morningstar Farms and Boca. You can usually find these products in the frozen food section. Protein amounts vary so check the labels. How much protein do I need? I tell my clients aim for 60-80 grams per day. Anyone with kidney issues might need to be much lower so it’s important to work with a dietitian specializing in bariatrics and kidney disease to get the protein prescription right for you. Can you get too much protein? If you’re drinking more than a two protein drinks per day along with multiple servings of protein, it’s easy to get up to 90 grams per day or more. There IS such a thing as too much protein and greater than 95-100 grams per day is starting to push healthy levels. p.s. Did you know the body simply cannot absorb more than 30 grams of protein per meal? If any of your protein drinks or bars are promising more than this per serving, don’t be fooled into thinking you are giving your body that full amount. Is protein really that important, anyway? Oh yes my friends, it is. Here’s why. Your body needs protein for its daily operations—cell building, transportation and repair work-- just to name a few. If you don’t feed it enough protein it will use the protein it has in storage (your muscles!!!) while stopping all fat burning activity. It does this because it senses that this is a crisis situation and perhaps a famine is ahead. Any body fat on hand has become more precious than a winning Powerball ticket and will be protected appropriately. It’s a common myth that after WLS you can eat whatever you want because you can’t ‘overeat.’ My advice? For optimal weight loss, that you can sustain, pull a Goldilocks and strive to get the amount that’s not too low and not too high but just right.

Post Date: 1/22/10 7:26 pm I wrote this to another board earlier, but I think it might be good for me to start posting here, where it is all VSGers, rather than a cross-section of bariatric surgery patients. About me: I had a vertical sleeve gastrectomy on Nov 24, 2009, in Mexico. I weighed myself when I started on the pre-op diet: 310. 300 on the day of the surgery. Am now, on Jan.22 at 270 (more or less... the scale goes up and down a little, and at the gym they had me up SIX POUNDS, but I can't think that is true... oh god, please don't let it be true....). Now, when I think about it, that is about 40 lbs. in 2 months, which is pretty darned good. However, it is like I go in fits and starts -- no loss at all for 2 and a half weeks, and then lose 5 lbs. Another 10 days, nothing, and then lose another five. Right now, I'm stalled.... been at this weight for about a week... and it just scares me. What am I eating, you may ask? Well, I just this week was able to find a way to stomach Protein powder drinks. I was having a heck of a time, and so, I know I wasnt getting enough protein... probably 20 g on a good day. This week I discovered my mocha smoothie: 3.5 oz of Fage yogurt (8 g of protein), 1 scoop of "Click" Espresso Protein Drink (7 g of protein), 3/4 scoop of Max Protein chocolate (11 g of protein), a teaspoon of Torani's sugar free English Toffee syrup, some Water and ice... all in my Magic Bullet. Basically, that's 26 g of protein in about 200 calories. Drinking this in the morning has helped me not feel as hungry at lunch, nor am I famished at night. Speaking of which.... one of the reasons why I had the VSG instead of the band was that I have always had this RAVENOUS hunger, starting about 5 pm. I'd be okay either eating regular food, or even not eating at all during the day (honestly, it didn't seem to make any difference, so I often didn't eat, because why waste those calories when it didn't pay off in the end?). I *thought* that by having the fundus removed I'd totally be over that. I'm not. Like I said, it is better now that I'm getting enough protein, but I still, in the evening, get is gnawing *pain* in my stomach. I'm a little queasy, but eating helps it, rather than making it worse. It has always been this way for me... and I'd hoped the surgery would stop it altogether. It hasn't. I can't eat much in a sitting, of course, but an hour later, the gnawing hunger pang is back. Anyone else experience this? I am finding that one of the downsides of going to Mexico for the surgery (which was necessary.... I couldn't afford it here on a teacher's salary) is that I don't have the aftercare I would have had, and would have been able to ask these questions to the doctor or nutritionist. Anyway, what else do I eat? Usually I take leftovers from dinner the night before, so lunches and dinners are about the same. Samples over the last couple of weeks: 4 or 5 shrimp sauted in canned tomatos, a couple of olives, and a tablespoon of feta. 2 chicken strips, left over from dinner, they were sauted and then put over rice and the Healthy Choice cream of mushroom Soup and a little milk. Had about 1 T. of rice/sauce with the chicken Went to Red Robin and got a cheeseburger in a lettuce wrap, no fries, that came with 2 slices of cantalope (each about 1/2 in thick). I ate 1/2 of the cheeseburger and saved the other for the next day. So, that takes care of Breakfast (smoothie), lunch and dinner. But.... what do I do when my tummy feel like it is going to implode at night? Well, I have a SF Jello pudding snack, or a half of a container of Fage with some granola in it. I have eaten some cashews at times, and one night I had this delicious concocotion with about 1/4 c. Fage yogurt and chocolate Protein Powder, SF Torani's Caramel syrup, 5 pecans smashed, all mixed up, and then put a half of banana (sliced) in it. I couldn't eat all of that... only about 2/3. Am I eating too much? Wrongly? Is this weight loss pattern normal? Honestly, since I started out so heavy, 40 lbs. is JUST allowing me to fit into my next size clothes, and people are just now starting to say something. Maybe I'm expecting too much? I guess... I guess I had just hoped that, by now, I'd be a lot more different than I am.....