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You are very hungry because you are not eating much at all if you are only having 2 Tbsp of jello. Pudding is not a bad choice if you make the sugar free and fat free pudding. You can get them in any store sugar free and make them with non fat milk. They are a good choice but a Greek yogurt is better. The Protein will help to keep you fuller and not have so much hunger. Think about spreading out your shakes and pudding or yogurt so you are having something every few hours to start and in between sipping Water.

OMG! That is horrible care to send someone home two hours after surgery. How would they know if you can even hydrate, or get to the toilet!!! Plus my doctor does the barium swallow leak test just to be safe and see how it flows. Make sure you hydrate, sip all day. Do you at least have guidelines to follow? Do you know the food stages to progress through - when was your surgery? I saw where you drank regular Gatorade? No! Too much sugar, you should be on protein shakes - getting 60-80 grams of protein daily and no less than 64oz of water/broth. Then when you can tolerate it, pureed food - ricotta chesse, Greek yogurt, sugar free pudding, sugar free applesauce. It will take about 9 weeks to get to the texture of steak.

Tell me about it...LOL i have a greek yogurt, Apple sauce no sugar, 4 ounces mash a small scoop of low fat cheese...and generous amount of pro-shakes...quite sad but this to shall pass..

I've been having a diet hot chocolate. 20 cal. 4g of sugar. I add a table spoon of whey protein to get a little protein in. But... I haven't gone back to work yet. I do Monday. A little worried bout the daily avalanche of goodies brought in by my peers. I will remind my self that nothing taste as good as healthy and slim. Also gerber baby food has these little yogurt melt snacks. They are low sugar and fat free. I might grab a bag of those and keep them handy in case I need a substitute.

My lunch bag is almost always a frozen meal, a Greek yogurt and some kind of fruit like an apple and beef Jerky or a Protein bar if I'm going to the gym. Seriously, it's the same thing every day. It's sad. But going out to lunch is an expensive waste. $10 on something from the corner bakery or potbelly that will just be thrown out because the portion is ginormous. Also, have a square of chocolate. Or get chocolate yogurt.

Not crazy at all...it is amazing tho! Enjoy it and keep up the compliance. I had to do a 2 week pre-op diet of Protein shakes, sf pudding, light yogurt and Water. Week one post-op was 3 Protein Shakes a day with all the water I could do. Week 2-4 was soft foods (including eggs, flaky fish and deli chicken/turkey. One Protein shake a day and fluids. Week 5 was reintroducing regular foods slowly. No nuts til 3 months. Mine was relatively easy compared to some but I did tolerate everything well and have had no issues. 4 months post op and down 61 pounds since surgery and 91 total from pre-op to now.

The non fat Greek yogurt is THE best! Better than any supermarket brand. I love the honey yogurt, especially. Great protein!

I went back to work after three weeks to work a conference and was on my feet for for 10 to 12 hours a day. It was manageable and I was not excessivly tired. I did get a room with a kitchen and took some food and Protein drinks but tended to eat scramed eggs, yogurt, or cottage cheese most of the time. I also ran week long conferene between weeks 5 and 6. Did exceptionally well energy wise. Did not have a kitchen at hotel but managed well with a less restrictive diet. Also carried a bottle of Water at all time. Sent from my SM-N930V using the BariatricPal App

Natalie, I use unflavored unjury powder in my oatmeal, soups, yogurt and make shakes with it. You can even add it to your veggies.

Can you have Greek yogurt and sugar-free pudding? How about cream of wheat and creamy Soups? I have to be honest -- I modified the puréed stage. I couldn't handle puréed foods, so I talked to my nutritionist. And since I hadn't had any complications, no nausea, no vomiting, I went right to soft foods. I still kept things really soft -- well cooked veggies, moist meats (lean ground beef, rotisserie chicken, roasted turkey). And in fact, after 3 months I still eat this way. Works for me. Good luck!

i have issues with getting the right consistancy in my protein shakes. When I use Unjury and try and add yogurt or frozen fruit...my shake ends up entirely too thick. I also bought the BSN Lean Desert Protein Powder--Chocolate Coconut and It is so thick i can hardly drink it... i mix it with soy milk in the blender on the liquid option and it gets so thick and bubbly I can't even drink it... people talk about adding yogurt and fruit to their shakes...but it has never worked for me. What am I doing wrong!?

When you get to the mushie stage: Cottage cheese Egg salad Refried Beans 2% Greek yogurt Baby bel cheese (let it get slighty warm) melts in your mouth. Google egg face's ricotta bake. Yum! This is what I lived off of from 2 weeks until 2 months :-)

Too tight is exactly that, TOO TIGHT. It can ultimately mean that most of the foods you should be eating get stuck so you start eating easy (slider) stuff that doesn't necessarily get you the nutrition you need! RestlessMonkey says she can eat just about anything, but in much smaller amounts than pre-band. There's a couple of things I choose not to eat (soft bread, flour tortillas) because they get stuck often enough to not be worth the trouble and I don't need the carbs anyway. I'm sorry your doctor hasn't made sure you understand this! Basically, you have it right for the most part. The band creates a smaller stomach out of the very first part of your stomach. You should be able to eat somewhere from a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of food at a meal (for me, it varies depending on what I eat .... for instance, I can eat more salad than if I ate just Protein and a vegetable). You shouldn't drink during or immediately after a meal so that you don't make the contents of your pouch prematurely empty into the lower part of your stomach. Restriction is what the band is. SATIETY is what it makes you feel. What is satiety? Satisfaction from eating. When you eat the prescribed size meal, you should feel comfortably full (not stuffed to gills) and you shouldn't feel hungry for about 4 hours or so. If you're so tight you can barely eat, then you are too tight. You can be so tight you can't even drink. If you were that tight, you'd call the doctor right away! So just remember that it's really no different if you can't really eat a meal. My doctor sais that a meal should be 3 oz of lean protein, a steamed or raw vegetable and if you are still truly hungry, to eat a single serving of a whole grain carb. At lunch, I am always still hungry, so I eat some whole grain Special K crackers. At dinner, I'm usually good with just the protein and vegetable. For Breakfast, I have been having a Protein shake just because it's convenient but I've gotten completely sick and tired of them, LOL ... and I should be! The last few days, I've been eating a serving of Greek yogurt for breakfast. It's still convenient and that's all I care about in the morning. I don't really want to have to cook a meal for breakfast. And, if you have a long stretch between lunch and dinner, as I do (I get off work at 5:30 and sometimes traffic keeps me from getting home until 7:00 or so), then you should have a small snack of pure protein. LIke a little low fat cottage cheese or a boiled egg. That way, when you are preparing your meal you don't start grazing your way through the kitchen:tt2:.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement. Today has just been a really hard day for me and I can't shake this feeling right now. Since I have only been on soft and puree for the past 4 days I have eaten things like greek yogurt, babyfood meat, protein shakes and medifast oatmeal which has 11 grams of protein in it. So I don't think it is too much carbohydrates. I am not going to get on the scale until next Friday so I think that may help my overall mood. Any suggestions on how to get in more protein? I do a protein shot each day to supplement, but would like to do more. I don't know what I would do without this site to turn too. I just can't fail this time!

Every doctors plan is different. When I come home I will be on full liquids which includes the yogurt and milk but not the ricotta. Are you on full liquids or only the protein shakes?

Genepro is my go to. Mixed in thin cold drinks for me doesn't work. I love it in hot tea with milk and sugar. It mixes well in V8 or tomatoes juice. I put it in eggs, oatmeal and yogurt too.

I really like GENEPRO. It has really helped me get my Protein in and dissolves is most things from flavored waters to yogurt. Good luck! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I never got emotional with my NUT but almost did with the Psych. Whenever I get talking about my weight issues and what got me to where I am, I get emotional so don't feel bad. We all have those days! I'm not a Breakfast person either. Breakfast for me is coffee. On a good day I might eat a yogurt or piece of fruit but I'm just never hungry in the morning. This is why I tend to overeat later in the day. Since I know I have to have breakfast, the Protein shakes are perfect for getting something in my stomach without being that hungry. Coffee really isn't that hard for me to switch to decaf but I always have to have flavored creamer in it. I can't do fat free creamers, yuck! So for me, I will most likely just give up coffee altogether. It will be hard at first but if I can't have regular creamer in it, it's going to suck so I'd rather do without! LOL

What did the liver shrinking portion of the diet consist of? I have been on a 3 week pre-op diet. Surgery next Wednesday. Consisted of protein shakes and 1 lite protein meal a day. Chicken and fish, salad. Greek yogurt, applesauce. Strawberries, and oatmeal. Been difficult but doable.

Hi, My name is Carla and I live in Toronto Canada. I am going to have my banding on Friday July 13th (good thing I'm not supersitious)! I am currently on the pre-op diet of skim or low-fat milk , yogurt and cottage cheese. I am also allowed coffee and tea, sugar free drinks such as Crystal Lite, sugar free Jello and that's about it. I have over 150lbs to loose, and although I have been successful dieting in the past, I have always gained the weight back, I am hoping that this procedure will be a tool which will allow me to reduce my appetite - which is large - and stay on a healthy diet not only till I loose my weight, but to learn to eat properly for life. I have decided to do this, and to get my weight under control once and for all because I have recently been diagnosed with type2 diabetes, I have high blood pressure, sleep apnea and sore knees and back!! I know I sound like a wreck but actually I am quite healthy, I exercise everyday and I do have a lot of energy, I just love to eat. I eat for emotional reasons mostly but I also enjoy food and I am a very good cook!! I enjoy baking and make up alot of recipes. In my personal life I am single and have a Double Yellow Headed Amazon Parrot, two budgies and two cats. I would have more animals but I live in an apartment and do not have the room. I hope when I retire - several years from now, or if I win a lottery, to move to a house where I can have more pets. I work right now supporting Police Computer Systems for several cities and for the Province of Ontario. I enjoy my work and especially like talking with the police officiers - although most are totally computer challenged!!! Anyway - that is my story - I'm a little nervous about the operation, and scared about making such a big change in my life - how will it affect my enjoyment of life - but I believe in the long run I will be happier - and definetly healthier. Carla

I got a fill, so totally 3.5ccs in a 10cc band. That was 6 days ago. I'm still drinking liquids soups and yogurts, because I got stuck a few days ago and I dont want to do it again. I had some iced tea and I guess I drank it too fast, because it wouldnt go down and I had to spit it up. I wonder if its not really vomiting, since I'm not gagging?? it really is like spitting. I hope in a few days the tightness will go down a little. I dont really want to have any removed because it is a good fill for me, ie I know I will feel restriction once its relaxed a little, and I dont want to go for an unfil just to have to go back a week later. Stick with it for a few more days with me and we'll see!!

I havent read all the in between posts but I agree with you entirely Janine. I dont like artificially sweetened products, I'm wary of what artificial sweeteners may do to you Healthwise, and I dont like the taste. But wait, there's more, lol. I dont like low fat products either (apart from skim milk and mayonnaise). I like full fat cheese and yogurt. Way I see it, if you eat appropriately and in moderation from all food groups, in proper amounts, the fat isnt a problem. AND here's the really contraversial thing. I dont believe in low carb. I think its unhealthy and a great way to give yourself bowel cancer and heart disease years down the track. I respect people's choices but I dont think there's any miracle about it, cut out a food group and you lose weight. All that scientific mumbo jumbo about insulin levels etc, I dont believe that. I think wholegrain low GI carbs are just fine. When people say they're addicted to carbs because they crave them, well of course you will crave them if you dont eat them because you're body needs them. They provide ready energy. People that suffer *severe* carb and caffeine cravings often have an underlying disorder like hypothyroidism. But I agree, sugar is no good for anyone. Processed white refined carbs are crap foods that we shouldnt eat. I also think the Protein first thing is garbage, we need food from ALL the food groups. It may be the best way to get full but its not the best way to nourish yourself. Protein is not the only nutrient we need. Lol, wow, I feel brave saying all that. Each to their own though. Why would I want to argue and be disrespectful of the way other's choose to lose weight? My way works for me, and that's all I'm really concerned about. I'm not saying I'm 100% right either, its just my personal feelings. I would never not follow my surgeon's directions, but I only had to do 24 hours of Clear liquids, others have to do 2 weeks. So who's right? There's no consensus on it. But I do agree that if you cant follow the post op instructions, you're going to struggle long term.

So the big day is closing in…and I’m starting to freak the hell out!!! I’m scared as frack for a multitude of reasons and my trepidation is increasing with each passing day. Tomorrow I start my pre-op diet. I did try to be good this past week, at least in the beginning. But then I seemed honestly, legitimately more hungry than usual and my junk food cravings were unbearable. I would be good all day then come home and give in to the ice cream in the refrigerator or feel the intense need to stop at 7-11 on the way home and pick up a candy bar (or two). This definitely didn’t help my nerves. If I can’t even go two days without chocolate, how the heck am I supposed to go two months without solid food? What if I really can’t do this? What if I fail? Sure, I’d considered the possibility of failure going into this. I know the statistics. I know it doesn’t work for everyone. I know a lot of people find ways to eat around the band and manage to eventually gain back any weight they lost in the beginning stages. I knew that I might never reach my goal or that I might, in the long run, not lose any significant amount of weight at all. I knew these things from the beginning, but all those images of skinny me at my sister’s wedding this fall, or my ten year high school reunion next year, or me in a sexy outfit in a bar in the city getting hit on by cute boys sometime in the foreseeable future, were the possibilities my head focused in on. I figured once the changes had been made to my body from this surgery I wouldn’t be allowed to pig out. I wouldn’t be able to binge on junk food. And I’m a good girl; when there’s a rule I follow it. So long as I had a hard and fast reason to eat better, I would stop being able to rationalize the bad things I ate, and I would succeed. Or at least that’s what I believed—or what I wanted to believe. But I know it’s not going to be that easy. I’m going to be fighting those cravings all the time, especially in the beginning and If I couldn’t say ‘no’ this week, how will I do it next week, and the week after that, and for the rest of my life? Will I find a way? Or will this just be another failed attempt of mine to lose weight? And that’s not all that scares me. Because let’s be honest here—I didn’t get to be 315 lbs by not liking food. In fact, I love food. And I don’t just love food. I love sitting down and stuffing my face with mass quantities of disgusting, bad for me food. Right now I’m living at my parents house, since I had no money when I graduated vet school, and decided to stay at home for a year or so and save up money to buy my own place (which I will be moving into in a couple of months, but that’s a blog for another day.) Anyhow, the point is that even though I’m living at home, I’m 27, an adult and a doctor who is responsible for many lives on a daily basis. I should be adult enough to be responsible for my own life. My choices should be my own and I shouldn’t have to hide things from my parents just because I’m living under their roof at the moment. And yet, I do. I don’t hide boys, or pot, or alcohol--I hide food. When they go away and I know I’m going to have the house to myself, I think—“oh yay! I can stay in and watch a movie and order an entire pizza and eat it by myself.” I know this is not a healthy view to have on food, or on life in general, but it’s the way my mind thinks. I actually look forward to the opportunity to binge. And now I won’t be able to do that again—ever. Which is good. I shouldn’t ever do that. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to. And knowing that I can’t use large quantities of food to comfort myself is scary. Now I might actually have to deal with my emotions and to be perfectly honest, I don’t even think I know what my emotions are any more, I’ve been eating them down for so long. And then there are the minor scary things. I’ve never had anesthesia before or even spent a night in the hospital (except the sleep studies I had to do) both of which I will have to do next week for the surgery. How will the recovery go? Will I be in much pain? How will I survive a week at home with my mother without the possibility of escaping to work? (that last one is definitely the scariest.) So well, the freak-out isn’t exactly over, but I guess I’m done ranting about it for now. I’ll probably be back a few more times this week as D-day approaches. Tomorrow I think I’m getting weighed and measured by my PT at the gym so I’ll have some accurate starting stats to share with you. Until then, I’m going to try and convince myself that a week of Medi-Fast and fat-free, no sugar added yogurt sounds delicious.

I eat egg beaters (1/2 cup) with s little bit of cheese for breakfast almost every day. Sometimes I’ll cut up deli turkey very small and put that in too, or peppers and Mexican cheese. Greek yogurt is another good go to. It may not be soft enough, but turkey sausage links are good protein too. Regular eggs are always a good option with toast (if your not low carb) or cheese.

Mine is 3 shakes and 6 servings of specific items like broth, unsweetened applesauce, low carb yogurt, carrots, plain oatmeal. I have been pretty full. What is killing is smelling what my hubby and girls are eating. It's not even that it's unhealthy... But a real meal with meat, veggies, and all put together - like taco soup. I know it's going to be worth it in the long run. Good luck to you too! It's a scary journey and will need others who can understand. I have 2 classmates from HS and a band mom that I talk with a lot on Facebook about this. They are in different stages, year out, 6 months and 3 months.