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Hello, I am pre-op heading towards the finish line with the requirements from the insurance. A few more appointments to go. Looking to maybe early to mid-August for surgery. I have been trying protein shakes like crazy, mostly RTDs and a few powders. I have tried these so far.... Muscle Milk - Vanilla, I liked and it wasn't to thick and no strange after taste. Sorry not really a chocolate person. Core Power-Vanilla. Like it as well. Herbal Life Vanilla Protein Powder - purchased from. A friend at work. Good protein and low sugar content. Mainly only mixed with water which isn't too bad. Today, my co- worker brought in the meal replacement powder flavor Cookie and Creme and I mixed it with Vanilla protein powder and water along with ice cubes and it was good. I purchased some from GNC this weekend -strawberry and Vanilla and will give update on how those tasted. Also purchased some Lean 25 RTDs from GNC in all four favors - Chocolate, Strawberry, Banana Creme and Vanilla of course. I have been making the kids try them with me...they seem to be OK with some of them. They like it when I add Almond Milk or Plain Greek Yogurt and frozen/fresh fruit for a more smoothie type drink. Depends on time in the mornings what they get. LOL! Mama has to get to work.

Happy to stay in touch, I will send a friend request. I will have a 5 day pre-op diet. It will consist of the Bariatric Advantage Protein powder with skim, soy or almond milk 3x a day yogurt twice a day and sugar free Jello and no sugar added popsicles for Snacks. beverages can be decaf coffee, crystal light, diet snapple, herbal tea and Water. I think like you - I won't need to loose a whole lot to look good. And by the way - you are not alone in your fears - I have been having all kinds of crazy thoughts of not waking up after surgery or what if something goes wrong, but I have to stay positive and remind myself to stay sane. Any "food funerals" before you start? I have been eating shrimp gumbo for three days. I keep thinking if I eat it enough I will get sick of it and never miss it after surgery. Lol. (I'm obviously a pure Louisiana Cajun huh! Lol) So glad I'm not alone in my fears but I'm probably alone in my freaky dreams. Lol. I woke up in a cold sweat a couple nights ago. Dreamt I was pigging out on a huge platter of what appeared to be thanksgiving day foods (which is weird cuz that's not really my favorite foods and I never dream... much less dream of food) and mid-way through my husband said "OMG?! What about your sleeve" and I looked down and I was in a hospital gown and my stomach was bleeding. I can break that one down psychologically and know I'm afraid I'll fail or overeat and destroy my sleeve. But wow! That was a scary one! My sanity may not remain intact until June 30th. Haha

One day ahead of me! Yay! I see you are like me and setting smaller goals first which feel a bit more attainable. I personally feel afraid to set myself up to believe I can lose it all and then feel like a failure if I don't. I haven't weighed 215 since junior year in high school and I haven't weighed 199 since maybe my freshman year. (I'm 35 now so it's been a really long time) I can't imagine being that size again. I have a massive bone structure for a woman, so I am fearful of how I may look if I get too thin. Even my PCP suggested I aim for no lower than 175 to maintain optimal health. It puts me above my BMI goal on the chart but I suppose we will see how it goes if I get there and decide losing a bit more won't hurt. I'd be so happy to keep up with you and hear how your journey goes! It feels good to know I won't be alone in my fears, nervousness or recovery that week. Please feel free to private message me or keep up with me here in this post. What does your pre-op diet entail? I suppose I'm lucky that I only have one day of liquids before surgery. Especially since I'll be on vacation in New York from the 25th until the 29th. Happy to stay in touch, I will send a friend request. I will have a 5 day pre-op diet. It will consist of the Bariatric Advantage Protein powder with skim, soy or almond milk 3x a day yogurt twice a day and sugar free Jello and no sugar added popsicles for Snacks. beverages can be decaf coffee, crystal light, diet snapple, herbal tea and Water. I think like you - I won't need to loose a whole lot to look good. And by the way - you are not alone in your fears - I have been having all kinds of crazy thoughts of not waking up after surgery or what if something goes wrong, but I have to stay positive and remind myself to stay sane.

Same here on week 3 puréed and eating protein shakes, refried beans, Greek yogurt, want to try that ricotTa bake from world according to egg face

So I've gotten at least 70g of protein daily every day since I started on clear liquids (surgery 4/6.) Today I'm not feeling well, probably stomach bug since I'm not usually nauseated and crampy. Not vomiting, and I've eaten a little: chicken soup at lunchtime and a soft boiled egg for dinner. There is no way I'm getting more than about 40g of protein today. I thought about a protein shake or some yogurt, but it doesn't sound at all appealing. How big a deal is it if I don't get my protein in today? I'm on track with liquids and I know that's the most important thing.

I am on puréed foods. I eat Greek yogurt and refried beans.

I agree with the previous posting that yogurt is pretty good and Yoplait Greek 100 has a lot of protein and good flavors. Also ensure active high protein has 19 grams of protein and vanilla and chocolate flavors so you can add to your diet. The ensure is 8oz so you don't have to worry about drinking a whole lot. If you could tolerate a egg drop soup that's loaded with protein. You can try making your own. Feel better soon.

Thanks for these excellent suggestions. Perhaps "full" is not the correct term... I'm not expecting to constantly be "full." Satisfied for a good while after each meal is probably more descriptive. What I want to try to avoid is grazing, so protein foods that stick with me for a while rather than sliding right through are ideal. JamieLogical, what brand of turkey sticks do you like? Love the idea of jerky, tuna packets, pistachios. I do use the low-fat cheese sticks and greek yogurt, as well.

Hi May sleeves. I had my surgery on May 26th. I have not been on the scale in a week but at my two weeks post op I was down 14.7 lbs. I will weigh again tomorrow. Hopefully it is down a few more. I am getting back to working out today, just cardio. Food is a challenge for me because I don't know what I like puréed. I just tried turkey meatballs from Trader Joes which are pretty good. I like having the whipped Greek yogurt with protein powder still! Good protein source. I have my one month appointment next Friday so I hope to be down at least 20lbs by then! Keep it up everyone, it will happen before you know it!

I don't think there is a way to make your stomach physically smaller, but you can make more of your restriction than you might be. If you focus on three meals a day with mostly lean protein and a small amount of green vegetables, that's a great start. Restrict your snacks to just a few and plan them in advance: jerky, hard-boiled eggs, a piece of fruit, a small carton of all-natural Greek yogurt, or a small handful of nuts. No liquid calories other than protein shakes. Say no to grains and starchy veggies completely. You'll have to white-knuckle it for the first three days or so, but it gets easier. Lean meats and green veggies engage your restriction in a way that soft, carby foods do not. And keeping your diet high in protein and low in carbs will dial back the cravings for sweets or high-carb snacks that may be sabotaging you now. Good luck!

Walk walk walk! I completely agree! I was up and walking in about 3 hours in the hospital. And at least every 3 hours after that. I was surprised that I actually felt better after that. Today is day 5, and I'm walking for about 15 minutes every few hours. I feel pretty good today. Had a few bites of yogurt for breakfast and herbal tea. I am restless at night too. I hadn't thought about it from being from the anesthetic. Thanks for sharing that. Good luck greenbaymichk! You won't regret it

First of all, dietary cholesterol in food has no effect on the real cholesterol levels in your body. That was disproven a while back and the FDA is considering removing cholesterol from nutrition labels, as it is misleading. So don't stress about eating eggs or shrimp or other foods that are high in dietary cholesterol. It's saturated and trans fats that effect your body's cholesterol levels. Moving on to your actual question, my go-to Protein convineince foods are: Protein Bars Protein shakes reduced fat string cheese Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt (only brand I can tolerate... doesn't taste so "Greek" to me) "beef" sticks ("beef" is in quotations there because I actual eat mostly ones made with turkey or other meat) lightly salted peanuts Edit: Here's a WebMD article explaining what I was talkign about with dietary cholesterol: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/cholesterol-food

That's not too bad for two weeks. I am a carb addict. I laughed when my doc asked me if a contributing factor to my weight gain was sweets. (This fat chick doesn't like cake! Haha) I am a bread and rice girl all the way. I'm thankful he's letting me enjoy them until the morning of the 29th. But oddly have no problem giving it up for good after. He said it's best that I try my best never to allow any carbs back into my diet after surgery other than occasional potatoes or cauliflower. He said he won't restrict me but highly advises against it even in my maintenance phase down the road. I am really ok with Protein and veggies for the rest of my life. Don't like fruit much so no loss there. But I do have a "texture" problem with yogurt, smoothies and pudding so I am a little worried about the pureed stage of post-op. That texture make me want to vomit. I'm praying I can get past the mental problem I have with it so I can make it through that phase ok. I am so jealous that you aren't nervous. I am holding it together ok right now but know I am gonna really lose it the day before surgery. Part of me is ready to get it over with so the anxiety can go away and the other wishes I would have given myself more time to prepare mentally. I'm not afraid of pain or giving up food. I'm afraid of surgery and anesthesia. If I could just make it through that day...I'll be ok.

I'm so ready to be there too! Please feel free to private message me or just post here if you want to talk or share how it goes. Your surgery is on my pre-op test day so I know my nervousness will really kick in that day. I'll be sure to say some prayers for you to have a super speedy recovery while I'm sitting around waiting for all my tests to be done that day. It will be certainly help my nerves to have your surgery to think about and pray for instead of my own during pre-op. Have you had any pre-op diet to follow? How much do you have to lose if you don't mind me asking? Prayers and positive thoughts are always welcomed! Thank you. Oddly enough, I'm not nervous. I'm excited and ready to get this next step moving. Once I made the decision to move forward, I have been really at peace with all of this. My surgeon has a very strict POST surgery program. Until I've lost 75% of my excess weight, I'm not allowed more than 5 grams of carbs at any of my three meals per day. He doesn't want me to have the refried Beans, the oatmeal, cream of wheat, etc. I see so much of from other people's posts. None at all. Only meat, eggs, yogurt, etc. and healthy carb veggies (if I have room). However, he's more lenient on the PRE surgery diet. He just told me that for the two weeks prior to surgery, he wants me to eat low carb, high Protein, and ditch the sods (which I've already done). He said if I could drop about 10 pounds, he'd be happy. His words...."I don't force my patients into a pre-surgery liquid diet."

This happened to me tonight at my mother's birthday party! I actually haven't had any real cravings until tonight, I just really wanted a slice of that ice cream cake and knew it wasn't a good choice. I'm about 3.5 weeks out from surgery. I reminded myself that I had frozen yogurt earlier this week and felt a little better. Eyes on the prize....the cake won't give me health and long life the way eating well will.

I like them (all flavors) but not everyone does. The biggest thing different from other Protein powders is the texture. Since the protein comes from sprouted seeds, it will not dissolve. It is more like a suspension and its best to mix them in a Blender Bottle so you can shake it up before taking a drink. I add insoluble Fiber (ground flax seed and apple fiber) to all of my protein smoothies, so I get this texture no matter what Protein powder I use and I don't mind it. I also use the Raw Protein and Raw Fit to flavor my plain Greek yogurt. The texture isn't such a factor when mixed this way. From a nutritional standpoint they are an excellent choice. I'm a big fan of whole food based supplements, so I also take their Vitamin Code for Women as my Multivitamin as well as their Raw D3.

Hi, So I've had my surgery last Tuesday, when I was around 128 (194cm height, 33 year old male). I was discharged on Friday and spent the weekend at home, resting (binging on Netflix's OITNB ) All I've "eaten" was of course the nutridrink, cup-a-Soups (without the bits) and low fat clear yogurts, following my post-op diet to the letter (as well as taking meds and vitamins), as it was given by the doc. I've been losing a kilo a day since (today I weighed in at 123). But today I've felt light-headed, dizzy and generally beat. Yesterday I tried walking but was bushed after 10 minutes, has to stop over at a coffee shop and rest for an hour. Also, there's been some pain in my stomach and I was wondering: could I be starving? I know it sounds crazy but... I've been eating at least 4-5 mini-meals as suggested, but when I went to bad my stomach had these cramps or whatever? I'm not sure, as all these sensations are new and I don't yet know what to make of them and whether any are red flags. Have my GP appointment tomorrow morning and my new nutritionist appointment on Tuesday, but was just hoping you good people could tell me I was crazy and that it's completely fine to feel bushed not even a week after surgery. Are you seeing anything abnormal in my story? I know it might seem idiotic, but I'm all alone here and kinda freaking out. Thanks, everybody.

I will definitely call my surgeon and pharmacist and see what the deal is. My largest pill is generic Neurontin, gabapentin. It has a half score on it. But wouldn't the sharp edges from the cut pill(s) be a potential harm to the stapled pouch? If not, then why are we straining things like plain yogurt? I'm on full liquids upon arriving home. I still hate to crush. I also take bupropion, which seems like it's coated. But I'm not understanding how we/some can take pills when the pouch is so "sensitive" that we go on special diet protocols to avoid hurting it. I like your ideas on how to take crushed pills, and like even better that some people swallow whole pills. Again, I do what my surgeon says!

I'm at 3 months, I can't eat chicken soup, tuna, yogurt, refried beans, tomatoes, cucumber, all of those things hurt a lot. I try a tamale took the meat off, because was spicy, did fine, try a baked fish stick, the frozen ones I think they are fry before getting frozen, I try an homemade meatloaf with turkey bacon, did fine??? What's up with that? I thought I wasn't going g to be able to eat stuff like that. I'm graving for a salad, and steamed veggies or grilled chicken or fish, I try steamed fish I tough I eat a knife. What should I do? Off course is a very small quantities. Like 3 small fish stick and that's eat for all day pretty much.

My surgeon's guidelines say that any pill smaller than the diameter of a dime can be taken whole, and most that are larger than that can be halved or quartered to equal that size. As a pharmacist it makes me nervous that you're crushing your coated tablets....make sure with your pharmacist that all of your pills can be crushed (if you need to take them that way). If not, you may need to change the form of a med (like from an extended release to an immediate release given throughout the day). As for taking them, probably the easiest is with a bite of "food". When I was released from the hospital I was allowed full liquids right away, and that included strained yogurt, so as an example you could sprinkle the meds into a bite of yogurt or Jello or something. That tends to make it easier. I do take powdered Calcium citrate and just sprinkle the powder directly on my tongue and then swallow Water, but it has no taste to it. Check with your surgeon about rules for meds. We were told immediately that we could swallow less than dime-sized, and I haven't had any trouble with swallowing meds.

Is everyone as pumped about getting started like I am????????? I have to wait until October 1 before I can have surgery when my insurance year resets. I already checked and I know my insurance doesn't require a monitored diet or a bunch of test but I'm not giving them ANY reason to turn me down or for me to NOT have this surgery!!!! Okay so here's my plan... attend my last seminar on June 15th. I'm pretty sure i'm going with the dr that does the seminar tomorrow, I didn't really care for the pushiness of the other one!!! stop smoking date is July 1 so I start my Chantix June 15 (tomorrow). I've been smoking for 25 years so this is a biggie for me. I'm a Pepsi drinker, like that's ALL I drink!!!! so i'm also starting my transition from Pepsi to Water June 15th. The plan is to start with 4 8oz of water a day and work my way up to 10 8oz a day by September 30th start replacing Breakfast which I rarely eat with a Protein shake August 1. I hope to also add a high protein yogurt to a sensible lunch and dinner August1 UGHHHHHHHHHH.... l plan to start walking and getting in some exercise and or strength training beginning September 1. I'm fat so I hate to sweat!!!! This is really gonna be hard but my mind is made up and i'm doing this!!!!!!!! Yuck yuck yuck... beginning September 1, I will start taking a multi Vitamin. I hate taking pills/medicine almost as much as sweating!!!! But... A girl gotta do what a girl gotta do!!!! I know me!!! And I know that I can't just change everything at once so I plan to make my lifestyle changes in stages so when I go in for WLS in October or November, I'll be ahead of the game!!!! Wheww!!! I kinda like the way it feels to write it all down, I'm really pumped now!!!! Soooo......... all comments and any suggestion are welcome!!! So tell me what you think???

I am 18 days post-op, today I was allowed to start eggs, tuna, crackers. I had 1/2 of a scrambled egg around 11:30am. Around 2:30 I became very dizzy and nauseous, had to lay down. Then started to feel like I was going to be sick (both directions!). Diarrhea and gagging continued for awhile and I still feel a bit nauseous-laying down now. What could cause this? I know it is not dumping, because there was no sugar involved. Could it be low/high blood sugar? I had yogurt and cottage cheese all week (this past week) and have been ok. I used about a teaspoon of lactose free fat free milk to make the scrambled egg. Now I am afraid to eat eggs again! And this is day one of new-soft chew foods! I am not supposed to drink protein shakes anymore-as nut says they want us to stop on week 3. Ugh, sad about this incident.

I can't believe how timely this thread is. I'm just two minutes done with a conversation about my HUGE umbilical hernia and trying to figure out how to live with it for the next six months. I don't see my surgeon for the first time until early next month. I have already had two operations on the same. Holding a pillow against the post op site really helped me for the first weeks when I'd be moving around or sitting up. I'm wondering now if a compression wrap of some type around my abdomen would help me get through until surgery. I believe that tonight I am going to be emailing the bariatric program nurse and ask to see if my surgeon will call in a prescription for such a wrap. I just hope to hang on until the end of the year and have it repaired during the bypass. The first time I had it done was above my current weight and the recovery was painful as heck. Outpatient and rushed. Open surgery. The second time was done after a year long exercise & Adkins push where I was 120 lbs lighter and much stronger from weight lifting and long daily cardio sessions. Outpatient and open wound. Two hernias repaired but the recovery was much easier due to greater health. Never made it back to lifting. Stayed away from gym and let cardio sessions fall off. Dropped Adkins. Three years later I'm now carrying 100 lbs of what I'd lost. Huge hernia is back. Dealing with spine issues.....taking yet another round of steroids right now for retuned back spasms........but......MOTIVATED LIKE A BEAST and supper happy now that I'm on the path to bypass. It'll be the tool I need to help me continue losing weight even when I struggle with developing physical injury from time to time that halt gym-cardiovascular efforts. Weight loss will keep going and I'm sure help my spine issues......prolong knee replacements.....hip replacements.....and hernia reoccurrence. I'm thinking that yoga will be a good thing down the road for me.....hopefully this time next year I'll be looking into the classes offered through my gym. I'm seriously hoping they build a pool by then, too. Going to email the nurse tonight and ask for that compression wrap prescription. Surgeon may not since he's not seen me for the first visit. I'll poke around online tonight and see if I see anything that may work anyway. There has to be a product out there....... Good luck with yours. I know how aggravating they can be. Mine has improved since I've lost some weight on my own. The big meals I used to be be eating weren't helping the hernia. I'm virtually off fried stuff and things like pizza and Pasta. Tuna, chicken, salads, oatmeal, Soups, yogurt and such have been easier on the hernia.....and the Fluid loss is noticeable in my knees and legs. Good luck.

Stay away from noodles and rice, the carbs will make you more hungry, not less hungry. Try refried beans, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, Eggface's ricotta bake, protein shakes -- things like that.