Search the Community

I have to use Bariatric Advantage shakes for 12 days...3 times a day. I can also have 2 light high Protein yogurts and Clear liquids. Then the 2 days before surgery I will need to be on clear liquids only. I can't believe how different every surgeon is! Even within the practice I am going to! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Meg, I was sleeved on the same day. I am a middle aged woman with a 40 BMI before surgery. My BMI is now 36. I have no trouble swallowing as long as I sip. You have to sip constantly and resolve to do so even if it's a bother. Locate Protein powder that you like--I use Jay Robb. High quality in every way, tastes great, mixes so easily with anything. Sweetened naturally with Stevia, though does not taste of Stevia. They sell it on line, Vitamin Shoppe, and I think GNC. I haven't tried to eat anything yet, and it sounds like you have. I am on full liquids for another week or so. I have sipped baby food pureed fruits, greek yogurt (no chunks of fruit), very pureed Soups (strain if in doubt), sugar free puddings and Jello, soupy cream of wheat, and one very soft scrambled egg. Maybe you are moving too quickly towards more normal food. It is best to let your stomach have a solid month of healing with nothing but liquid, then slowly move into mushy food. If you try something and it doesn't agree, step back and try again in a bit. When you first start food chew, chew, chew until it is liquified before you swallow. You have a major organ healing from being divided and stitched together--don't stress it! Though I have lost weight, it has jumped up and down by as much as a few lbs in a day. I think it's fluid--getting a little more sodium on soup heavy days, less on smoothie days. And, you need to flood your system with Water to wash away the fat burning up. I have continued to enjoy my coffee each morning, though a smaller cup. I know some doctors say no caffeine, but mine didn't. Go to a coffee shop or Whole Foods or something and buy some low acid coffee. Sumatra often is. See if that helps. I also drink tea which has the caffeine--green tea is really healthy and has some natural, gentle caffeine. Are you taking your chewable Vitamins? sublingual vitamin B-12 (the methylcobaimin version is best), Vitamin D and hopefully liquid fish oil (Barlean's is amazing and can be squeezed into a protein smoothie--awesome flavors and does not taste at all of fish). All of these can have a big impact on your energy level, particularly vitamin B-12. ( You may even need shots--easy to get from a natural medicine or complementary medicine doctor. I get little tiny prefilled ones with the tiniest little needle to shoot in my butt once a week--easy.) I open a whole food enzyme capsule and a probiotic capsule into a morning smoothie and it is stabilizing my digestive system. All of this adds up to some $$$, but I am not buying much food. I think overall I spend less, though different. Hope this helps. Let me know how you are doing, ok? I am pretty happy with it, but think I went in expecting at least a month or two to be like being on Optifast or something--the real food would come later. I truly believe that my relationship with food will be more subdued in the future--I think I will continue to enjoy food, but not be so fixated. Hope that happens for you as well.

The only artifical sweetner I can't tolerate is aspartame - gives me bad headaches. Bought Nectreese a few days ago. It's made from monk fruit so it's "natural." Same consistency as sugar. I like it well enough. That said, I'm not going to completely avoid sugar, or artificial sweetners. I like the flavored Greek yogurts and will eat a cup of yogurt for Breakfast almost every morning. But I wouldn't do so if it were plain - nasty! With all the changes I have made (no fast food, no fried food, only "quality/healthy Protein, more fresh veggies and some fresh fruit) there has to be room for real life - a healthy way I can live the rest of my life. Most people of normal weight don't completely avoid sugar or sweet foods - they just have the ability to eat them in moderation (something I couldn't do very well before). My sleeve gives me the ability to be moderate, which I love!!!

About to start Stage 2 of my diet which is FULL Liquids . Can anyone suggest some good soups or protein shakes I can try ? I've been drinking ISOPURE but I'm glad I'm able to advance to protein shakes soon. Also where in the world can I find No Sugar Yogurt ?!?!

Hi LJP -- I'm glad you've found something that works, to help get the fluids in. That's VERY important right after surgery! However, at the risk of getting blasted as a negative person, I wanted to ask if your doctor gave you any guidelines about carbs/sugars in your post-op diet? The reason I ask is because flavored yogurts (even light) and pineapple juice are a little high in carbs/sugars, at least in ratio to the less than 5g of Protein that comes from the yogurt. I'm only concerned for you because the body will heal faster with high protein and not as much carb, and cutting out sugars will speed up healing, too. That being said, it is far more important to stay hydrated -- so if this is helping you, then by all means do it. My doc, and most docs I've seen patients talk about -- want less than 30-40g of carbs daily, and not from artificial sugars. Are you getting protein in, hopefully more than 40g aiming for as much as 60-70g? Do you have access to lower calorie protein powders and shakes? Other great options at the fluids stage are skim milk, herbal teas, broths (there are protein Soups you can add), sugar-free Jello, and sugar-free popsicles. You can use unflavored protein like unjury in the jello for an added protein boost to your fluids as well. I would encourage looking into non- or low-fat option, PLAIN yogurt - Greek yogurt is a staple for a lot of us that have had VSG. Pineapple juice is great to have on hand, I've heard some people use it when they start eating solid foods and (in the beginning) if the food feels like it's getting stuck, taking a swig of the juice can help it move. Pineapple and papaya have bromelain, a great enzyme that helps to tenderize meat and after surgery can help the body rid of scar tissue. Unfortunately, it's also one of the highest in sugar fruits (granted it's fructose and not highly refined sugar) which can detour weight loss efforts. It looks like you're keeping to fairly small amounts, which in moderation could be OK.

I was banded on May 13th and am down 40lbs. I am having my protien shakes. But am very constipated. Been eating yogurt and different cheeses.

Thank you all for the support. I contacted my nurse program director about my hunger and was told to drink Water. I also tried to bring up my frustration with the nutritionist and was told to talk to my doctor, which I attempted to. I told him of my mental dullness as well (I'm a therapist and I was finding myself searching for words at times during session... I don't know if that has anything to do with my diet). My Dr. was more concerned with my blood pressure, which is at an all time high! I was shocked and worried about how high it is and I take my meds. I was so worried about it, and my doctor told me just to keep taking the meds and ignored my other concerns. I was really frustrated and scared. When I bumped into my nurse program director he told me that it is very difficult to get an accurate blood pressure because of your size". He told me I was probably suffering from "white coat syndrome' which elevated my blood pressure. I have never experienced that in the past. Basically, no one I contacted took much heed to how I was feeling. Don't get me wrong, I think my team is fantastic and awesome, but the one size fits all dietary regimen wasn't working for me and now I was cared and worried about my blood pressure. Well, I did the worst thing I could possibly do. I snuck 4 or 5 Hershey kisses. I felt horrible mentally and physically. Mentally, I felt like a failure and physically I felt a sugar rush that made my head hurt, but tummy was fine. I was shocked that I didn't get physically ill just didn't like all that sugar. So instead of beating myself up, binging, or crying about it (like I always did before surgery) I decided to get proactive. I researched 10 different programs dietary guidelines for the gastric sleeve and decided to follow the most common dietary guidelines, which was full liquids for the next two weeks. (I'm supposed to still be on clear liquids...not even Protein shakes until next week). I had a fat free yogurt and now I feel, dare I say it, normal? I know my choice may not be one that people agree with, and that's ok. I know I cheated on the diet and that may be a sign that I will not reach my goal or be noncompliant in a way that will undermine my efforts, I will deal with that and work to better myself and attain my goal. But I'm just trying to break my old patterns and own up to my struggles. This has been so hard, but I'm hoping I can make it.

I just spent 6 days in the hospital for low potassium. When I was released I was able to drink all of my required water. Protein shakes have been difficult for me. When I was released I was able to get 4oz in over an hour 3 times a day. Today I feel horrible. My legs are cramping again (sign of low potassium) and I'm dizzy and weak when I stand up. TMI I also started today, so I'm sure that isn't helping. I'm still able to meet my water goals, but over the past 3 days I doubt I've gotten in more than 3 oz of protein shakes in a day. I tried greek yogurt last night and was barely able to get a teaspoon in. I really feel like this is NOT good for my body. BTW My surgery was June 16th. I'm supposed to see my doc in the morning. I was sent home with a PICC Line in case I had problems ( I have no more IV sites left) and I'm so afraid I'm going to have to go back into the hospital. I must say, this is not my idea of how I thought my recovery would go. Any suggestions are welcome.

hello i am eating regular food now i think i need to up my Protein intake...never was able to get a Protein shake down after surgery...so i rely on cheese, chicken, and yogurt...some Protein Bars for my protein intake. i can eat something and get the really realy full feeling, and then stop, and then like 30 minutes later, i feel starving again. for example i had about 5 ounces of chicken tonight, and then i felt starving like 30 minutes later. and when i'm starving, i go for the unhealthy stuff...pita chips, saltines. help - i've lost 125, but still have 100 to go don't want to fail at this now!

I'm just over 6 weeks out, and I'm kind of worried about how much I can eat. I see people on here who are 3+ months out who can only eat 500-600 calories. I am eating around 700-900 calories a day, but I could easily eat 1200 - 1300 calories if I wanted! I'm talking 1200 of high quality, protein-rich foods, not junk or sliders. I'm not overly hungry, but I also never feel that super restricted feeling people talk about. I read about people who can't eat more than 2 oz or never want to eat anything, and I wish that was me! I can take full gulps of liquid -- not HUGE gulps, but a lot more than sips. I can eat 5.3 oz container of yogurt, or a veggie hot dog, or 3-4 oz of tuna in 10-15 minutes without feeling at all sick or restricted. I eat as slowly as I can, but the few times I've forgotten and have eaten too fast I've had no ill effects. I have not found a single food that disagrees with my sleeve so far, and I've never thrown up. (Not eating any bread, Pasta, rice, though, so I can't say how those would feel.) The only food that causes a super restricted feeling is salmon. I never drink with meals, never eat bread, starches, etc. I'm following the guidelines. I'm losing slowly but surely. But I am so worried that if I don't have much restriction now, I will go back to my old, bad eating habits in a few months, after the restriction gets even less! Does anyone else have this situation? Does anyone have any advice?

Hi all, I'm one of those people who struggles with head hunger from the time my kids go to sleep till I'm sleeping. I have been struggling with this for years and obviously since being banded its harder because before I would just give in and eat. Two nights ago I was really tired and after putting the kids to bed I went to bed myself, watched some TV and went to sleep, no snacking or thinking of food. Last night I did my usual, cleaned up a bit, watched survivor, american idol and some Pope stuff. When I got in bed I realized I didn't have a snack or even think about one. First I almost felt like I wanted to go back down and have something. (I found these really good frozen Greek yogurts from healthy choice that I love.). I digress! Then I realized, hey this could be the start of something new for me. Maybe I don't have to think about food all night and count calories in my head to see if I can afford just one more 100 calorie snack. Hears hoping! Lisa

Dang, but that makes sense. I just recall seeing a post about it in an old thread here so I hadn't really considered it but I did go ahead and emailed my dietician while making this post too. Just sent it after hours so she won't be able to get back to me until tomorrow at the earliest. And I'm totally fine with them not being ok, I'm fine with soup, yogurt, cottage cheese, and mashed potatoes just anything other than the protein shakes & gatorade I've been stuck with for these two weeks in post-op for my liquid phase lol. I've been slowly going mad with just that. lol

I'm nearly 4 months out and my amounts are still fairly limited, however I've recently noticed a change. I can eat more and am not as uncomfy after I do eat. This was a huge problem for me since surgery. I look at it as an experiment each day... "what can I eat today?" I still experience hunger, still have to make the right choice on what to put into my mouth, and just came off my first stall. Specific amounts: steak 2 oz, pudding/yogurt 4 oz, 1/2 sandwich crusts trimmed with miracle whip and cheese, 3 oz fish

I didn't technical have a pureed phase either. At 10 day follow up, my surgeon (actually my surgeons partner as my surgeon was out) said I could move to soft foods which she described as anything I could mash with my tongue. I struggled with things like fish because it was a little to dry. So start slow - soft cheeses, yogurt (w/ Protein powder added in), refried Beans, chicken or tuna salad (with Mayo or Greek yogurt), Ricotta Bake, etc. Try that for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. If you tolerate it well, then move on to some more dense foods (like tender deli meat, baked fish) but always chewing well and with something to dip it in to keep it moist. I would also suggest finding a nutritionist that specializes in bariatrics if you can. The one I use does everything over the phone. Happy to give you that name if you need someone. Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

Greek Yogurt seems to be a staple for everyone. String cheese and laughing cow cheese are really popular too.

At 3 weeks out you might want to stick with string cheese, yogurt, lunch meat, hummus

I fly every 1-2 months sometimes 10-12 hours one way and never had any big issues with my band. I find it is best to request low calorie meals to eat ( they usually serve fish, eggs or softer kind of foods) and if I eat slow the food never gets stuck. I always prepare a just in case plan and bring yogurt or a soft kind of food to eat in case my band disagrees with the food served during the long flights.

I think Oz did an Ok job and seemed to have changed his mind since a few years ago. I agree.....six months out and she is eating 4 spoons of yogurt for lunch? I am 3 weeks out and eat more than that. Did anyone notice neither banded woman had a Breakfast? I also agree that doing this sooner rather than later is a wise choice.

I'm 2 days post up. Got home yesterday. Today I feel so hungry. I've drank a 40oz Isopure throughout the day and ate a nonfat yogurt. Is this normal?

I guess there are many people who are looking to get this surgery, and reading other peoples blogs helped me make my decision to get the surgery. So I hope my information helps somebody in the same way. So I'm putting all the details I can remember, sorry if its too long. I woke up 6am to get a shower in, pack my bag, get my baby's stuff packed up, as hubby and 2yr old were coming to the hospital with me. (I felt later how crazy I was for taking him, but we didnt really have anyone else to take care of him, and I felt like I needed my husband. And we had a private room) We arrived before 8, and I got changed. Next, they did the laproscopy? The camera down your throat. I was fully awake, I could feel that, I was gagging, and they held me down. I was so shocked, I didnt expect that at all. The whole process was over in 45 seconds, BUT it scared the %$ out of me!! I said goodbye to baby and hubby, and went to the surgery room. I laid down, and I remember hearing them talk in Korean, but soon I was asleep. I have no idea about time, I was totally out of it after surgery. I had barely slept the night before, I have 2 year old who likes to wake up in the night. All I wanted to do was sleep. I remember waking up in the recovery room and them asking me to walk to my room. Somehow I did. I was in and out of sleep after that. I told them I was so hungry it hurt, not sure if it was true, but it felt like it. My baby was knocking things over, crying to be with me, and didnt understand why I wasnt paying attention to him. I asked my husband to take baby and do something else for the day, since I wanted to sleep. They asked me if I wanted pain medication, and I said yes please!! I fell asleep and woke up many times, it felt like I had slept ages, but I checked my phone and it had been only an hour. So I slept more. I woke up suddenly with uncontrollable gagging. Nothing ever came up, nothing in my stomach, but it hurt like hell, and I wanted it to stop so badly. This happened until I fell asleep sitting up. The girl who had her surgery after me, left at 3pm. I felt stupid and weak, but with more dry gagging, I couldnt give a shit. I got more pain relief, and went to bed for the night. I havent gagged since the first day. In the morning, I was ready to go home. My doc put me under the xray to show me my band and port. it looked normal, but strange to see inside myself. All my body was hurting from gas. The car ride home was torture, every bump hurt. It wasnt my wounds, but my body, from the gas. Shoulder?? I still dont understand why my shoulder would hurt, but it did, all my insides hurt. The doctors told me to walk, so I walked around the shopping center buying some band friendly foods for the next few days. But after that I could barely move, I hurt so bad in every position. Until... I farted. TMI, but the truth is, the next few hours my life got better with every fart. I couldnt burp even though I knew I wanted to. I feel more myself today, day 3. I woke up with another few good farts. I think I have one or two more to go, and then I'll be gass free. I'm scared to eat. I mean, that dry gagging was horrible. I dont want to do it again. EVER. I've had corn soup, apple juice, water, drinking yogurt, and my mashed up medicine in water. I dont feel hungry, but I've tried to drink something every few hours. I can sleep on both sides and my back. my port is directly above my belly button. It feels itchy, so I'm doing my best not to scratch. im still wearing my belly brace because it feels good. When I took it off to show my hubby the incisions (4) I felt like my guts were falling out. So the brace was back on pretty quickly. I'm scared for my fill next week. I hate needles. Do I need to have a fill so fast? I havent felt any restriction yet, but thats because I havent eaten any foods. And when I'm drinking liquids, I always stop myself from drinking too much because I'm scared I'll hurt myself. I hope I can find out my limits soon. I asked my doc about the fill, he said i have a 10 cc band, and its standard for him to put 3ccs for the first fill, because I dont have any restriction yet. Could I be healed enough to get a fill?? worried. The first 2 days, I kept asking myself, am I crazy?? What was I thinking?? Today, I'm feeling better and I know I can make it work once I'm 100%. I was so down at the start because of the pain and gas, even last night I was too negative, but now it's going away, I feel like it will be okay soon.

Ok so I've been cleared for full liquids which means adding creamy soups and drinkable yogurt! Had a yogurt today and my stomach did not like it at all!!! Most creamy soups have milk, and I've tried soy milk and its not a lot better!! Any suggestions??

I start today. I was told yogurt, protein shakes, jello, broth, apple, grape, & cranberry juice. I think some of the things I was told are dumb. So im just gonna do slim fast strawberry shakes for breakfast, and homemade beef or chicken broth. I can just buy some bouillon cubes and dissolve it it boiling water with oregano and call it a day. It tastes awesome.

Im also about two weeks out. As far as feeling full i have read on other threads a lot that you dont really have the fullness feeling till your on solid foods. My full liquid diet sample meal plan has me eatting something every 1-1 1/2 hours and water inbetween. But that changes when you are back on solids. I just work on my liquid intake and vitamins and have soups, pudding or yogurts as meals. Also i left the hospital on stage three full liquids. Aldo have a nutribullet that works wonders on soups so my stomach has work.

I eat an Oikos lemon meringue yougurt for my morning snack. Yummy! There are tons of different yogurt flavors out there.

Ok first off congratulations on your surgery! I had the runs for a bit too. It got a bit better once solids came into the picture. I was lactose intolerant before surgery and its not any better but what i found that helped was leaving it out. I can still consume small amounts but I'll still get sick if i consume small amounts over several days. It builds up into this huge horrible bathroom nightmare. Or LITERALLY one Greek yogurt will send me spiraling into horrible cramps and diarrea. Any time that happened i knew id have to lay off the dairy. I substituted with soy or almond milk. I'd get unsweetened soy milk. It has 7g of protein per 8oz i believe. Almond milk tastes a bit better but only has 1g for the same amount. I'd heard of nut milks with 10g of protein but i haven't looked for them. Also try a vegan protein powder. I think Unjury is vegan? Correct me if I'm wrong. I had the chocolate one given to me and it was like drinking a chocolate yoohoo. Definitely leave the dairy alone. Ive been doing fine on almost none. Give your body a few days to come around. If your THAT lactose intolerant it'll take a few days maybe for your system to get back to normal (i only say that cause any time things like you explained happened to me, it was from dairy and took about a good week or 2 for me to feel normal again).But it'll only happen if you eliminate the dairy. I am only speaking from experience. But also check in with your surgeon. It sounds like your having a rough time. I feel for you hon. I hope things get better soon. Sent from my SM-G925T using BariatricPal mobile app