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I was on a the Clear liquids for a week so I was surviving on sugar free Jello, ice pops, chicken broth and water/crystal light. really I didnt have the appetite to even want some other then that. the one thing I can say is that for the chicken broth I originally bought swansons broth and when I tried it I wanted to gag. the flavoring was just horrible so I moved on to the lipton packages of Soup that you add to Water and would just drink the broth. Im sure it was not as healthy as the basic chicken broth but it worked for me and the flavor made it easier to eat for lunch and dinner. I honeslty cant remember eating/drinking anything else. A lot of people call the liquid stage "bandster hell" but I have to say that it was not that bad. You will survive and the pay off will be so worth it. for the full liquid stage I added a little bit of sugar free pudding and yogurt to the mix but still pretty much stuck with the broth as my "meal" I also suggest having a heating pad handy for any gas pains that you may experience. I had no gas pains until a week out when I was helping a friend bake Cookies and from mixing the dough by hand I guess I bought the gas up to my shoulder...not fun. the heating pad did help with some of the pain. also make sure you have some comfy pajama pants. you may be a little swollen so you dont want anything that is going to be tight on your belly. if I think of anything else I will let you know and if you have any other questions feel free to ask. hope this helps

Congrats! You look great! TE (telegen effluvium) is part of severe calorie restriction and quick weight loss. Mine is finally growing back. I'm 2+ years out. I eat all low fat proteins on the planet except soy for the most part. And most of my protein is animal based rather than plant based, although I do eat 1+ lbs of veg per day and there is some amount of protein in those plants. The ones I love: eggs/egg whites 2% cottage cheese non fat Greek yogurt Premier Protein in coffee = proffee lattes Fairlife Core Power Chocolate blended with ice and nonfat Greek yogurt to make a milkshake tuna in pouch (water packed) salmon in pouch (water packed) sardines in water Boar's Head Turkeys + Lacey Swiss roll-ups/wraps Oscar Meyer Naturals Ham tuna salad made with pouch tuna + cottage cheese + hb egg + green onion + dijon + vlasic dill relish salmon shrimp basa fillets chicken breasts turkey cutlets ground turkey ground chicken pork loin/tenders lean beef 90/10 ground beef ribeye steak trimmed of visible fat turkey pepperoni turkey sausage venison all cuts lamb lean cuts reduced fat cheeses fresh mozzarella nuts/seeds/nut butters nonfat Fairlife milk nonfat buttermilk low fat sour cream

I checked, I can't have tuna or eggs until at least 2 weeks, but I can start on yogurt and ricotta tomorrow. YAY. Somehow I managed to pull a muscle near my sorest incision. Ouch. And I'm having a reaction to the iodine stuff they clean you with. Oh well, minor issues, hopefully I won't have any major ones!

I have to stay on liquids until two weeks. After that I can add on thicker liquids like pudding, yogurt ect. I did order the unjury powder online and its helping me get my protein in. The chicken flavor and the plain. Chicken blends in great with soups and its 20 grams. The plain gets mixed in with water and crystal light. So confusing how all the doctors have different diet plans.

I wish this was talked about more. These refined carbs are in everything, especially corn. If I eat something with refined corn, even something as small as a bite of yogurt, I will be hungry for days. And when I try to make sure that I don't accidentally eat it, people treat me like I'm a wacky health nut. Which is funny considering I'm 224 lbs.

Actually, your routine sounds like a pretty good one at your stage. You are hungry because your body is screaming for raw materials to start building. 1200 calories is too low for that much activity. I would add that you shouldn't fear fat, juust avoid the crappy kind. Milk, cheese, yogurt, etc... are good ideas if you are weightlifting. Not only does it have natures perfect blend of fat/carbs/protein, milk has naturally occuring growth hormone for, you know, growing muscles! Personally, I think you should be in the 1500-1800 calorie range. And eventually when/if your lifting gets to the 100+ lbs major lifts, you will be in the 2000-2500 range. My surgeon reviewed my diet logs and lifting diary and said he thinks I should go to 3500 and I told him it just wasn't possible. He's a lifter, so I think he was thinking with that part of his brain instead of the former fat guy just wants to be healthy!

I have really been liking yogurt and cottage cheese, also a chocolate carnation instant breakfast with a 1/2 banana in it. Also a great protien powder mixed with your favorite berry and some milk...I also find that those keep me full longer. I also really like the creamy soups too. So when did you have your surgery? I had mine last monday.

Refried beans with cheese and hot sauce. Ricotta cheese can be savory with spaghetti sauce or sweet with sugar free pudding mix. Greek yogurt with no added sugar. Icelandic yogurt.

@Monikareigh - You are about where I was 13 months ago. At the end of March/beginning of April 2016, I was 271.5 and 5'3". Today, I'm 190 and headed to 150. I feel like a new person. I'm going to offer some tips from my journey: Protein - is what is going to keep you from getting hungry. Try to eat 90-100 grams of protein a day. Carbs - limit your carbs, but don't cut them completely. While you are "waiting" for your appointment, do something like Atkins. I start each day with a protein shake - 1 cup coconut milk, 1 scoop protein powder and about 1 cup of frozen fruit. Throw it in the blender. Its under 200 calories about 25 grams of protein and keeps me full til lunch. Oikos Triple Zero yogurt is a life saver -- about 120 calories in a cup and 15 grams of protein. If you do have pasta - use the Barilla high protein pasta - it's in the yellow box and tastes really good. And start moving -- walk for 1/2 hour a day (around the block, at the mall, at a gym) - and track all your food. I like My Fitness Pal, but there are plenty of other trackers out there. You've got this girl. Best of Luck!

My NUT has me doing 1 week of a 'quick picks' diet then the next week a 'liquid diet'. This is to lose my required 30lbs before they will schedule surgery. Quick picks went fine it's a certain list of foods you chose from for 3 meals and I have protein shakes for my 2 snacks. Then the liquid diet. oh me oh my. I thought I was going to die. I had to have 4 protein shakes a day and 1 yogurt, 1 apple sauce, 1 sugar free pudding, 1 light soup, and 1 cream of wheat. Then I can have all the broth, crystal light, sugar free jello and pop cicles I wanted. I could also have certain vegetables all that would satisfy me. About the fourth day I was a wreck. I just couldn't get happy with what I had and I went for a burger and fries and it hasn't stopped. I have now binged 5 days and gained 8 lbs back. Does anyone have any advice on how to stay on track with the liquid diet. Appreciate it.

You need to fuel your body. Make sure you are getting good carbs before a workout and protein after a workout. If you increase the intensity of your exercise, you need to increase your food intake as well. When I really upped my exercise intensity a couple months post-op, I added a morning snack (between breakfast and lunch) because I found I was STARVING by lunch time. So, I added a reduced fat cheese stick as a morning snack and that really helped. I also added some granola or kashi cereal to my afternoon yogurt for some carbs before my workout (I work out as soon as I get home from work, before dinner).

Just wondering if it will go back to normal in a few weeks or so. Was looking forward to having yogurts and cottage cheese in my soft stage.

Boudala- I am self pay too so I understand what you are talking about. We missed out on nutritionist , counseling, and the many classes and information. My insurance wouldn't cover any bariatric surgery. I think they are actually doing their clients a disservice by not covering it. I can't tolerate the Vitamins either. I am only able to get 1 in a day. They make me feel like I am going to puke! Try drinking more fluids and see if your energy level improves. I went back to work after 10 days and some days I just want to come home and nap. My Dr said you can put the Vitamin in a blender with yogurt or Protein powder, strawberries, blueberries bananas and spinach. Maybe try that? Sometimes I have to eat a sf Popsicle right after the vitamin to kill the taste etc.. Hope you get your energy back. Maybe you are trying to do too much or your Vitamin D or B12 is low? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

It seems to be different depending on your surgeon and nutritionist. I only had 10 days of liquids/cream soups/yogurt and then was able to transition to solids. I didn't have a puree and soft foods phase. I have limited foods to eat - lean Proteins and veggies and the only veggies are summer squash, zucchini and green Beans. And my surgeon's pre-op was not liquids. It was lean proteins and veggies 3 meals a day and 2 Protein shakes. Or you could have a WW or Lean Cuisine meal as long as it had less than 300 calories and at least 20 grams of protein.

Hi there, the links below in my signature helped me understand how the band works and how to work my band; maybe they will help you, too.....and how about calling your doctor to go in for a consultation. Maybe it's time for a fill! I am a person that needed four fills to get to the green zone and then as I lost more weight I needed to go back for a few more with a couple of small unfills in-between. In other words, getting my band "right" for me required some nuancing. I only have this rule for myself: eat when I'm hungry and don't eat when I'm not hungry. I wait until I get a hunger signal to begin my day, which means I never eat Breakfast now. Sometimes I don't eat until much later in the day but usually I am hungry around 11:30 or so. Paying attention to the hunger signal helped me get in touch with the full signal. I find I get bored with my food and sometimes have a sigh -- I just sort of know that I'm done. If I tried to overeat that would be impossible and I would be blapping it back up again. So for being really full, that is a very clear signal to stop immediately. Of course I overrode this quite a bit as I was getting the hang of this new lifestyle but these days I do pretty well so long as I listen. My body will tell me immediately if it's not going to tolerate something (chicken that has been reheated, anything I try to "bolt" down, etc.). I do a Protein shake here and there -- 30 grams a pop -- and my body often wants an egg in the evening. I eat yogurt and I like almonds a lot. I eat cheese (my weakness but what the hell, why not have what I want if I'm not having much?). I'm of the opinion that Americans are obsessed with protein intake. I think I get plenty. My body still has plenty of stored reserves that it is burning; I believe that is the idea. Good luck to you!

I did pretty good with my food yesterday. I turned down some homemade peanut butter cookies, I felt so empowered when I did. It felt good just to say "no thank you". I walked away from the cookies with a huge smile on my face! Todays focus - drink water, lots of it. I am not getting enough water in and I think that is causing some bloating problems. So, today, I will focus on WATER. Menu today Breakfast coffee w/cream mid morning water at least 8 oz 15 minutes after my water yogurt w/granola (SF yogurt) lunch salad w/cheese & chicken Dinner grilled fish veggies suppliments - quickslim 30, flinstones Exercise -

I did pretty good with my food yesterday. I turned down some homemade peanut butter cookies, I felt so empowered when I did. It felt good just to say "no thank you". I walked away from the cookies with a huge smile on my face! Todays focus - drink water, lots of it. I am not getting enough water in and I think that is causing some bloating problems. So, today, I will focus on WATER. Menu today Breakfast coffee w/cream mid morning water at least 8 oz 15 minutes after my water yogurt w/granola (SF yogurt) lunch salad w/cheese & chicken Dinner grilled fish veggies suppliments - quickslim 30, flinstones Exercise -

I am starting my journey on Thursday 1/15/09 and live about 15 miles from the closest store or Walmart. I am hoping that all of you that have gone through the banding can help me make a shopping list so that I can be prepared. I am an 8th grade teacher and need to return to work Tuesday or Wednesday the following week. I would appreciate everything from food items to tricks for making the transporting of food work (liquid diet). So, name 5 to 10 (or more if you like) item that you could not have done with out. I TOOK EVERYONES LIST FROM BELOW AND COMPILED IT HERE FOR OTHERS TO USE. THIS INCLUDES POSTS #2-15 This is a list of things to take to with you the day of the procedure: 1. Sports bra 2. Any meds you take everyday incase you need to stay longer 3. Ear plugs and eye covers 4. Book and/or DVD and player 5. Tampon or pads 6. Easy shoes to put on when its time to go home 7. sweats for the hospital 8. slippers for the hospital 9. pillow for the hospital 10. Cotton underwear 11. Fleets Phospho-Soda (to take pre op if your doctor says) Okay here is the compiled list of must haves that you should buy and have waiting for you at home: 1. Liquid tylenol 2. gas-x 3. Thermacare shoulder neck hot pads or heating pad (helped with the shoulder pain) 4. ice pack (it feels good on the incisions) 5. Get your Pain Meds ahead of time (if you can) 6. crystal light 7. sugar free popsicles 8. fat free low sodium broth (buy more than you think you will need) 9. decaf herbal tea or decaf coffee (can add artificial sweetner 10. stopwatch "A stopwatch because keeping track of drinking an ounce of Fluid every 15-mins was hard to keep track of the first few days. Even to this day I use it to make sure I eat every three hours" (Quoted from bearbandit) 11. Dixie Cups - perfect size for post-op amounts of liquids 12. sippy cup (to learn to take small sips) 13. stool softner 14. bandages regular size and some big ones 15. antibiotic cream 16. Isopure Protein drinks (clear liquid so I could have them the first days after surgery) 17. Vitamin E oil/Arnica Montana (To use after incisions heal) 2nd week fluids with calories 1. diet carnation instant Breakfast drink 2. ensure or boost 3. atkins ready to drink 4. Eas advantage carb control 5. slim fast 6. sugar free Jello 7. sugar free pudding 8. Centrum chewable viatmins 9. Caltrate Plus chewable Vitamins 10. nonfat milk 11. Cream of Wheat 12. oatmeal 13. Strained pureed Soups 14. light fat-free yogurt 15. applesauce - no added sugar 16. V8 juice 17. 1/2 cup and 1 cup plastic bowls with lids PANTS THAT WONT HURT FOR WHEN YOU GO BACK TO WORK.

Hi All- I am on my first international business trip and I feel pretty crappy. I am a little over 3 months out and in my normal life, my stomach feels pretty good. The jetlag on this trip has been absolutely brutal. Also, when I eat in the morning and in the evening, I feel pretty bad. I re-timed my PPI so I am taking it in the morning, but Breakfast is AWFUL. I am eating yogurt with no chunks and it take about 30 minutes to get it down. I am relegated to yogurt because the thought of solid food in the morning makes my stomach turn. It feels like I am back at week #4. In the middle fo the day, it gets better. At night I am also uncomfortable. Anyone else have this problem when they travel? This, combined with the fact that I am not able to catch up on my sleep is making me pretty miserable. I am trying to see the silver lining - I am sure I'll drop a couple of extra pounds because I'm not eating as much :-) Also, I am drinking a little more Water than usual. --Queasy in the UK

Yes.... I did a full day of fluids. I have to do that every time because I have a very sensitive stomache and every time I get a fill I get diahrrea and nausea but it subsides after the initial 24 hours. I have tried everything and still can't get anything down. I can't even eat a fudge pop as I start vomiting this thick phlegm and feel like it wont go up or down. I tried yogurt in the hotel and it went down but felt "stuck" and very thick so I only ate 2 bites. I won't be doing any more vomiting because I will stick to my sugar free popsicles, tea, water, coffee, and premixed protein shakes. Unfortunately Dallas is the closest bariatric facility to me and it's six hours away (normally not a problem because I schedule my fills with my work travel and just lay over long enough in Dallas to go to doctor and I am not out any money). It's a hard spot because I want to lose weight and not feel like I'm just finding a way out of eating healthy but I don't want to hurt my band (Lord knows I couldn't come up with the money to do it again)........Thanks for your response

That is soooo awesome....and what a great opportunity for you:clap2: So here is an example of foods included in my diet during each stage: Liquids: Tomato juice, 100% fruit juice (no sugar added), creamy Soups w/out chunks (campbells Soup at hand was great for this), 1/2 C of slim fast at each meal, yogurt, smoothies, and Jello. Puree: I bought a food processor and made all of my meals like baby food. Some things I enjoyed (although they looked disgusting) were tuna salad, tofu (sometimes w/ brown rice), cooked carrots, cooked peas, baked Beans, chili, chicken, avacados, mashed potato, bake potato, canteloup,bananas, cottage cheese, grits, and anything from my liquid diet...I was also able to take certain lean cuisine meals (the ones w/ brown rice) an puree those...I could only eat 1/2 at a sitting. Soft Foods - I am now chewing foods. So basically it is everything mentioned above only I am allowed to chew it up. I am also able to add whole wheat Pasta, whole wheat toast, eggs, oatmeal, and crackers. Still no raw veggies or tough fruits (i.e. apples), no nuts, or white bread. So today...I had my first few crackers w/ salmon salad from whole foods...so far so good! I will get my fills in Mexico for now. I work from Houston a lot, so the travel is cheap, and I am a part of a fill prgm w/ OCA hospital so those are free. I will go sometime in April after my 6 week mark. So tell me more about you...your experience...where you are w/ the band...etc.

Has anyone experimented with this yet? You basically take plan greek yogurt a packet of steevia and a half scoop of a protein powder. Mix and freeze...It sounds delish..

I made mine really soft, almost custard consistency. I added a tsp of greek yogurt and a tiny bit of shredded cheese then cooked over a low heat stirring frequently. The softness of the eggs made them perfect for the soft foods stage. I then added chopped spinach and other veg as I got further along. Never had an issue with them. 3 mths out I went to iHop and was able to order a vegetable omelet no problem. I still could only eat 4 bites, but it didn't bother me.

Im post op 7 days too...I just went today. what did the job was greek yogurt mixed with isopure whey protein. ..the full scoop... 1 hr later...voila!

Jbsmooth I like Greek yogurt but I am afraid to try dairy again... Last night I mixed a tad bit is milk in my cream is wheat it had me on my knees praying to Jesus alll night !!