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Even pre-op and most of my life for the last 2 years (thanks to paleo low carb eating) I avoid bananas like the plague but I think in small increments they're nutritionally dense and easy on the tummy. I know people love them so I figured this would be a great recipe to share. This felt awesome on my Day 13 post op tummy. 1/2 banana 1/2 C. VANILLA GREEK YOGURT (I used 2 Good) A dash of nutmeg A dash of cinnamon 1/3 C. Fair Life Fat Free Milk 1/3 C. Filtered Water 1 Scoop Whey Protein (I use MyProgressMD - in Vanilla recommended by my surgery program) 🍌Nutrition Facts 283kcal 21g carb (normally I'd consider this high but while I am recovering I'm good with it) I aim for under 50g per day 4g fat 41g protein 🎉 2g fiber 11g sugar 87mg sodium Blend until everything is smooth! I am ending my full liquids soon but was getting really tired of chocolate. I think PB2 would probably also taste great in this recipe but I didn't feel like peanut butter today. You could also add cocoa, etc or any other flavors you like!

The way the PA in my surgeon's office put it is that you have to experiment and find what works for you. There are some things that your body will struggle with for no apparent reason. The first solid food I ate was tuna fish with some Greek yogurt and a little bit of salt/pepper. You eat slowly, in small bites with great chewing and wait to see what happens. I know this sounds weird, but I know I am generally okay with a food if I can burp. When a food doesn't work for me, it feels like there is a manhole cover over my stomach and the food feels like it backs up on me until I vomit. But if I am burping, then air is moving through the system and things will be okay. You will find there are foods that you tolerate that you don't enjoy (chewing watermelon down to a pulp is a deeply unpleasant experience). You will find some foods go down easy (for me, tuna fish, sauteed spinach and/or ground beef all go down fairly easily). You will find some foods that you can handle, but your stomach lets you know that it doesn't enjoy breaking them down (for me, grilled chicken, white rice). The minute that your stomach indicates that it is full or it is having trouble, put down your fork and stop. It's not worth pushing it. Go into this with the attitude of "I am going to try this, I am going to listen to my stomach, I am going to do the big three [slow, small, & chewed] and we will see what happens." Solid food is not something to be scared of.

If I have time in the morning, I eat real food for breakfast - a 1/4 cup of cottage cheese, a soft scrambled egg with a little melted cheese sometimes some salsa, I really like a soft boiled egg with sweet potato mash. (I've been craving eggs lately!) We buy those 2G greek yogurts with only 2 grams of sugar, they're 9 g of protein and taste great. If I don't have time, I make a protein shake with Ripple plant milk (high in protein and calcium, low in fat, calories and sugar) with Bariatric Advantage vanilla powder, a tbsp of peanut butter and about a cup of spinach, blend it up with a little crushed ice - tastes like a milkshake. Sent from my SM-N976V using BariatricPal mobile app

LIke Tony said, you can substitute plain Greek yogurt for mayo - and I even know of people who use cottage cheese instead of mayo.

For a lower fat version, try replacing 1 tbsp of the mayo with greek yogurt and still use .5 tbsp of the mayo. It is a lot less fatty and less calories with very little sacrifice in taste. I use this for egg salad, tuna salad and chicken salad.

sugar free popsicles, sugar free fudgesicles, Greek yogurt, or sugar free Jello topped with light or sugar free Cool Whip. one of the first desserts I can remember was on Thanksgiving five months after my surgery. I brought a thing of Light & Fit pumpkin-flavored yogurt for my dessert. I think I enjoyed it just as much as I would have enjoyed pumpkin pie - and it was way healthier!

P.S. my standard breakfast is Greek yogurt topped with a few berries

Yeah, my go-to on weekdays is a 30-gram ready make shake (either Ensure or Premier Protein). The increased protein (Carnation is 13g) would help keep you full. I drink mine around 7:30 and don't start to feel any hunger until 11. If you need something else, like a small snack to get you through to lunch, I would get Breakstones cottage cheese (comes in an individual package like yogurt does) or individual servings of plain Greek yogurt (you could add some of the Carnation powder to it to increase protein and make it tastier).

Soups with little to no lumps, mashed potatoes with protein powder added, refried beans with protein powder added, cottage cheese, yogurt with protein powder added, ricotta bake, curried lentils, and occasionally some very tender shredded chicken mixed with a good bit of mild enchilada sauce so its nearly a soup consistency.

Thanks Star618, unfortunately I am still having pretty severe gastrointestinal issues. And visiting the bathroom A LOT. It almost doesn’t matter what I try to eat. Clear liquids, semi clear, yogurt, cottage cheese. This Wednesday I am supposed to be moving into the semi solid stage but am still stuck between phase 1-2. I know there is NO WAY I am getting adequate nutrition because it just goes right through me. I have patch vitamins which have been great. I tried taking a bariatric vitamin yesterday and for the first time I got slightly nauseous and had to run to the bathroom. My appointment with a gastroenterologist isn’t until Nov 6th. That’s a long time to wait in this state. My regular surgeon again won’t see me and just said to modify my diet. I have done so much research on uncommon side effects of the sleeve but nothing jumps out that is similar to what I’m experiencing.

Plain Greek yogurt mixed with pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. Or butternut squash puree with a dash of curry powder. (I really love squash.)

Thanks Starwarsandcupcakes, interesting that I am attempting to eat my first yogurt right now. I tried a bariatric shake with fat free Lactaid free milk and nope not good. Hope this yogurt settles nicely. Please accept this yogurt o sleeve of mine, and pass to your friend the small intestine slowly!

I’m not sure how long you’re on clear liquids for (I left the hospital on full liquids) but if they haven’t really given you nutrition advice and are blowing you off the full liquids might help- milk, yogurt, creamy soup bases, … anything that when left at room temperature becomes liquid. The yogurt might help with the probiotics it offers in making your stomach/intestinal issues calm down. Hopefully you’re feeling better soon.

I make minimal use of shakes, because I also find them cloyingly sweet. One alternative with a good protein count is to take one cup of Chobani Less Sugar Greek yogurt (any flavor, 12g) and mix it with 8oz Fairlife 1% milk (13g). I put it in an insulated shaker cup (with a whisk ball to blend it smooth) and enjoy it while it's still cold/cool. If you let it get warm it is not as pleasant to drink. For me, tepid and thick does not want to go down.

My 5 year old left me holding his vanilla frozen yogurt while he played at the kids play area at the mall. I took one tiny taste, and it disgusted me, it was way too sweet. I'm only 7 weeks out. I haven't had cravings for anything sweet or junky. My cravings are for things like an egg, or filet mignon, lol. Sent from my SM-N976V using BariatricPal mobile app

Fruit juice is a no-no for ever more. It is liquid sugar. Use whole fruit and berries in your protein shakes. Whole fruits and berries contain fiber which helps metabolize carbohydrates. Using them eliminates the need for sugar and sugar substitutes. Once you are weaned off sugar and sugar substitutes, fruit will taste remarkably sweet! There are recipes for home-made protein drinks online and in bariatric cookbooks. Here is one from The Bariatric Diet Guide and Cookbook, called "The Elvis": It makes 12 oz. You will only be able to drink about 1 oz at a time at first. If you don't drink it all in one day, you can save it for the next. I like variety, so I would switch it with other flavors. 12 oz contains 31g protein, but you can add unflavored protein powder. One scoop of Genepro unflavored protein powder would add 30 g protein. 1/2 C plain Greek no-fat yogurt 1 large ripe banana 1/2 C ice 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 C natural creamy peanut butter 1 small handful baby spinach Optional: 1 scoop unflavored protein powder In a high-speed blender, combine all ingredients. Blend for 2 to 5 minutes until smooth) NOTE: Be sure to use an all-natural peanut butter that contains only Peanuts and salt in the ingredients. The High Protein Bariatric Cookbook says: "The basics of a protein shake include about 1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt, or 1 cup milk mixed with 1 tablespoon protein powder and either 1/2 cup frozen fruit or 1 tablespoon nut butter. Then for flavor ad about 1 teaspoon of extract, cocoa powder, and/or flavored sugar-free syrup or low- to no-calorie sweetener. ...If you make your own protein shakes, the flavor profiles are limitless, and you will know the ingredients going into them. Then, when you have symptoms, it will e easier to identify what the possible cause may be. However, there may be times when a prepackaged protein shake will be more convenient, so do what works for you and hooks you stuck ti tier nutrition goals." The Lifebridge Health website contains about 30 protein shake recipes. Google "make bariatric protein shakes" to find many more recipes. Your protein shakes count toward your daily fluid intake. During the first few weeks of recovery fluid intake is your most important priority. Consume protein as you can. "You MUST get your fluids in. You SHOULD meet your protein goals. If you CAN, take your vitamins." Matthew Weiner, MD, The Bariatric Diet Guide and Cookbook.

Hello Lady Godiva, To try and answer your question, I believe blood tests will tell if your liver is small and non fatty. I think this is what they are after. So leaving off fatty carbs and sugar should get you there If my surgery date doesn't move back again, early next month, I will begin 3 weeks of skim Milk, non carby vegetables, 1 yogurt and two pieces of fruit a day[ any fruit] . Thankfully I can have coffee with caffeine too. I am worried about the length of time that I need do this but I want this surgery over and done with so badly I would probably do longer

I'm one month out. I'm not someone who can follow a "meal plan". I don't want to decide at the beginning of the day what I'll be eating at each meal; I need to have a choice or life feels deadly dull. That being said, I will cook something a few times a week (right now it's some sort of ground meat or bean-based dish with a spicy sauce eaten with fat free greek yogurt) and then alternate among the ones I've cooked. I portion them out into 5-6 or more servings in small plastic containers and freeze some so I don't get sick of what I've made or it doesn't go bad too soon. I'll eat them three times a day, breakfast lunch and dinner, except I will occasionally make egg product with cheese for breakfast. I would say at most I spent about 40 minutes a day on all three meals, and many days it's less than 10 minutes. Of course, I live alone and don't have to feed anyone else. I do spend some time looking at recipes, but I'll usually do this when as a form of inspiration, mostly it's things I can't have. Most people's ideas of what a post-surgery patient can have seems very bland to me and I wouldn't eat it, so I don't look at bariatric meal ideas - I go to real cooking sites and figure out how to adapt "normal" recipes. My job involves a lot of traveling so my next task will be to figure out how to eat better on the road.

I agree with everything people here are saying. You are losing very quickly, and stalls of 1-3 or more weeks are common. I would be concerned that you're not getting enough protein/nutrients to be walking 10km a day. Also, try ground chicken or turkey instead of pieces of chicken. Dal would be good, and any other beans/chickpeas work well for me. Also try paneer, and low sugar yogurt. These would increase your protein. I'm only a month out and I'm eating about a half cup (about the size of my fist, don't know grams) at times, sometimes less. I eat a lot of beans, ground turkey and chicken with greek yogurt and spices, and cheese. The only thing I've thrown up so far is chicken breast that was pretty dry. Good luck!

I am a person who always wants to know the "why" behind a rule (unfortunately!). So, as I've slowly been progressing through my surgeon's plan (still on pureeds for two more weeks, and I'm 7 weeks out), I've started wondering if we will always have to drink protein shakes. I hate them, they taste gross, and the ingredients list is like 5 paragraphs long full of things I can't even say - besides that, they're full of carbs and often high calorie. And if we do have to always drink them, why? Why can't we meet our protein goals through eating real food? For example, an egg and a morningstar breakfast sausage patty is 16 grams of protein and 150 calories. The protein shake I drink is almost 300 calories (bariatric advantage with PB2 over a plant based milk). Also, bone broth, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, tuna are all high protein, low calorie options that taste way better than protein shakes. If a person is able to meet protein goals and still stay around 600 calories a day during weight loss phase, why the shakes? (I don't know if that's feasible, I haven't tried it - I am still drinking the nasty protein). So, I posted the question to the online support group my surgeon keeps on Facebook. I asked if a person can meet their daily protein goal through real food, are protein shakes still required. Man! You would have thought I asked if I could eat a full meat lovers pizza from Papa John's! People launched on me, accused me of eating too much food, told me if I wanted to lose weight and maintain it I HAD to drink protein shakes for life. Then the surgeon came on and publicly shamed me, said I was way off track and wasn't following the plan. What bomb did I set off??? And nobody ever explained WHY the shakes are required??? The previous time before this when I asked a question, almost the same thing happened. I asked if I could drink the Unjury ready made shakes instead of the powder because they taste so much better. People berated me, and told me the ready made shakes were not good for me. Then the surgeon chimed in and said the ready made were not as good because they are protein caseinate instead of whey isolate. Um, the packaging clearly says the Unjury brand is whey protein isolate. So now why are they bad for me? The next day, my surgeon posted a long post about people having this surgery and not taking it seriously. I can't help but think it was in response to my question about protein shakes. I didn't even have Facebook, I deleted it in 2016 when things started to get so nasty online. I only started using it again to join my surgeon's group. I cancelled following the page. I was really ticked off at the responses. I'm so angry I don't even want to continue with my surgeon's office. AND, by the way, I am not way off track, I've lost 41 lbs. in these last 7 weeks, and I'm really happy with that. Started at 235, now 194 (and have been losing about 1 lb a day for the last few days). I know I'm being a baby, I think I just needed to vent. I do like my surgeon when we meet one on one for appointments. Facebook is evil. Sent from my SM-N976V using BariatricPal mobile app

I admit: I over prepared and then didn’t really use a lot of what I prepped. lol im five months or so out from surgery now and I tend to go really simple with my “meals”. No prep needed. morning: coffee and egg lunch: P3 pack and greek yogurt (bought from the store it’s like a $2 meal haha) dinner: chicken they told me to push protein first. By the time I’m done with protein I have no desire for any sides. My protein count is a tad different than most people’s…. My kidneys have issues filtering high protein diets so they told me 60 grams MAX post surgery and to keep it between 50-60 a day long term. If I eat two skinless chicken wings? I’m done and full. I really don’t eat very much at all. I also have no desire to eat like I did. I measure nothing right now because my portions are still so tiny. That may change if I end up able to eat more but for now I just stick to the same thing every day. Food is really boring for me these days lol

I’ve always loved soup so I make it a few times a month (even pre surgery I loved soup!). And I keep in the fridge and usually end up eating it for a meal a day while I have it. Meals don’t have to be hard after surgery- yogurt, curries, eggs, roasted meats in light gravies, and smoothies are all staples in my diet. If I make a roast on Sunday I can use it for different things trough the week. One cook and meals for a week with the only though being do I want a burrito bowl or have it with gravy and a veggie mash. It all depends on how much you do or don’t want to do.

I am going to be 5 weeks out when I have my first flight - it's only going to be 6 hours, but still long enough. I plan to buy a protein drink at the airport (I know already where they sell the kind that works). If you can look at the airport restaurants and find where they might sell a tuna fish sandwich or tacos or refried beans or bean soup, those might be your best bets. Obviously, just eat the tuna or deli meat or taco meat, not the carbs they come stuffed in or any veggies. You can also look for hummus or string cheese or hard boiled eggs at the little stores (I almost always find these). You can probably also find yogurt, but it may not be low sugar. You might be able to get a doctor's note to allow you to bring some more liquidy food through security; talk to your surgeon. Also, you can bring powdered protein through, but for best bets, have it in small amounts. You can then buy milk or mix with water. As others have said, get up to walk every hour that you are awake. This would be the time to pay extra for an aisle seat. Is this a direct flight or do you have a connection? Be aware that your core muscles will likely be very weak so you may want to check as much of your luggage as possible or ask someone (not the flight attendant; another passenger) for help putting up your bags. I say don't ask a flight attendant as they generally are not permitted to assist, and it puts them in a bad spot, since if they get injured doing a favor, they don't get worker's comp depending on the situation.

Carp. I'm 4 weeks out and I'm already at 600-700 calories a day and still hungry all the time. I have half a protein shake mixed with 10 oz decaf iced coffee for a start, then 150-250 calorie meal portions of eggs, beans, ground meat, ricotta bake, that are all low carb and medium fat, then a different one of those for lunch, then a snack of a protein shake or light and fit (80 calorie) Greek yogurt for a snack, and the same portion of whatever food for dinner. Last night I added sugar free hot cocoa made with high protein 1% milk because I couldn't take being hungry and I was also cold. I am drinking over 70 oz of liquid and protein is over 60g a day.

I mix greek yogurt with FF cool whip and freeze it- .