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It has been 5 weeks post op and so far I am feeling OK. I see lots of folks who say they now have tons of energy and feel great. I feel OK but my energy level is still low with a few periods of a little more energy during the day. I just need to know am I being too hard on myself? I am not sure. I get between 60 to 70 grams of protein a day and on most days I do get 64oz of water. Yet, I still feel that I do not have enough energy. I am still on protein shakes and have started on yogurt, swiss cheese, scrambled eggs (once in a while not everyday). I have been avoiding vegtables and fruits and I have been told not to heat any bread or ceral. I am taking all my vitamins that have been given to me by my nutritionist. Is there anyone else having the same issues? I am trying to wene myself off of protein shakes but maybe it is still too soon. Does anyone have any thoughts that could help me? Thank you

I would check with the doctors office to understand exactly what they want you to be eating at this point. My doctor called for first week of mushies to the yogurt, cottage cheese or ricotta. Second week I could have canned chicken or tuna. Remembered just because something can be put in a blender doesn't mean that it's not going to be heavy sitting in your pouch.

Ok, I'm freaking out! I'm about 1 week post op and i'm experiencing these weird stomach pains that come and go! Feels like small contractions! I've been doing pretty well on the liquid diet, but tonight I had a small amount of yogurt mixed with my medications (yuck) right before bedtime and then a little while after that the pains started! Has this happened to anyone else? Help! Was the yogurt maybe too thick?

protein shakes help and I found the progresso soups -especially in full liquid stage are great - they actually have quite a bit of protein - I just pureed them and was good to go I was honestly surprised that I was meeting my protein for the day. I get about 80 grams a day. Kinda shocked me. Yogurt Higher Protein Soups add a little shredded cheese too and let it melt then puree Protein Drinks It starts to add up

I always have a water bottle with me. There are 1/2 full ones all over my house & car....Not sure what you mean about eating every 1/2 hour though. I am eating like this: cream of wheat or protein shake around 7. Water water water. 1c soup at lunch water water water. Cottage cheese or yogurt around 5 water water water. 1c soup at 7 water water water, and then another protein shake or yogurt before bed.....

I go for grilled chicken and toss the bun. I'll even do jr cheeseburgers and just toss the bun. I eat Chick-fil-a grilled nuggets and Wendy's chili. Nothing from Taco Bell. I do have my mister get extra mild sauce. I put it on beans and meat at home and it makes authentic Taco Bell tasting food I can actually eat. The fruit and yogurt parfait at McDonald's. I've eaten a few fried chicken strips. Popeyes has naked chicken too.

I am the same with the yogurt i can slowly eats a 4 oz cup yogurt with no issues. Thought it was strange but I guess it is probably normal. Thanks for sharing

I was also banded June 1st and have the same bloated and feeling very sore, but you need to take it easy because we are still full of liquids from all the IV and our body is swollen from surgery so we will not see any difference as of yet. I have been having Myoplex protein shakes which are really good and also been having flavored Greek Yogurt, oh and lots of water; and I have been ok. So just take it slow and good luck. :thumbup:

The only thing I'd be concerned about is that 50 lbs is not much to lose. I'd ask the surgeon to give you at least a 40f so you will have a better shot at being able to stop the weightloss after you hit50-60 lbs lost. If he gives you a 32, it might be a lot harder to stop the weightloss when you want to. That's just my opinion, and some people say bougie size has very little to do with it, but mine's a 40 and I've lost a lot of weight, never thrown up, never had problems with any food, etc. I love that I'm able to eat anything, just a lot less of it. I'm almost 5 months out and losing steadily. A good example of what I can eat is what I ate yesterday. 1/2 cup of oatmeal with 7 cashews and 10 frozen blueberries 2 string cheese 1/3 of a mango 2 ozs of rice/vermicelli/scrambled eggs/chicken breast 1/4 cup of greek yogurt 1/2 cup of endive/mashedpotatoes/bacon/nutmeg/vinegar mush with 1 cheese souffle (Admittedly this meal took me about an hour to eat but I knew I needed to try to get dinner in because I have a kidney infection so I had been sipping white beer and cranberry juice all day. Man it's hard to drink beer after VSG.) Then before bed I had 5 saltines with light gouda cheese. I thought after all that I'd show a gain on the scale (the beer and cranberry juice alone was 700 calories) but I actually lost another 2 lbs. I dunno, maybe bougie size doesn't matter that much, but I know I can eat enough healthy food with a 40f whereas some people I've read that have a 32 can't get in much more than 1/4-1/2 cup of food at a time. If I only had 50 lbs to lose, I'd be scared it wouldn't stop. I have a few friends that are 20-30 lbs below goal and try very hard to gain weight. We're all different, so it's hard to say, but I do know that a 40 allows me to get in proper nutrition (my 4/5 month bloodwork was excellent!) and still lose weight. Additionally, if for some reason a 40 is too big and you have trouble maintaining, you can have additional surgery to convert to a bypass or switch, but if you get a 32 and can't stop losing, what can you do? Nothing except get used to weighing 110 lbs. Just my opinion. I do think the sleeve is an AMAZING tool, but for someone who has only 50 lbs to lose, it's a risk that your body might get down way below goal before it matures/heals enough to allow you to stop.

Bambi thank God you said something, I feel like I can eat too much also! When I read about where people are at this stage, some still just doing liquids and I can have an egg and toast, 1/2 c chili, yogurt, some chicken breast I feel like it's too much. You're right though Loser, I keep saying I can eat too much and my family is looking at me like I'm nuts because proportionally it's still a miniscule amount. I suppose we're the lucky ones, I get a little nervous reading others posts about how much they can't eat.

Congrats on the amount of meds you take now! That is great!As far as the foods, it was alot of figuring out on my part. But, just try different things...Like...Beans and sour cream, with cheese and maybe some salsa or sugar free and fat free frozen yogurt with some fat free whipped topping. yum! Or you can try any of the sugar free and fat free puddings, jell-o and add the whipped topping, great snack! Grits, eggs, oatmeal, cream of wheat and applesauce are good too. Mashed potatos, soup-at-hand soups are great! Just play with it a little, you are doing great so far!

Okay, I decided to start the BFL challenge AGAIN...I've only done it once completely. Usually I don't make it to the end of the 12 weeks, but this time, I'm going to do it! I did it about 18 months ago and had good results, so I need to focus on the results I had and not the "working out 6 days a week". I know I can do it, I just need to do it! I took my before pics last night, so I can compare my pics every 4 weeks and compare my changes. I brought my workout clothes with me to work, so I can workout during lunch, there is NO EXCUSES. Menu today Bfast yogurt mixed with cottage cheese Snack hummus/carrot sticks Lunch 3 0z chicken spinach salad Snack cantelope 1 string cheese Dinner soup Exercise - Upper Body work out Wt - 159.1 - Yay, in the 150's!!!!!

Hopefully my surgery will be mid to late January. I have started trying the protein powders to get an idea what they taste like and if they mix up well. Yogurt is one of my favorite snacks so I have switched to Greek yogurt. Just gradually making some changes now so it won't be so strange right after surgery.

i get it - totally - but i eat all the time - ok well at least it feels like it. I graze, like a cow but i really try to graze on almonds, or protein bar but sometimes i want something sweet - i go for a yogurt or a no sugar added pudding or even a no sugar added fudge cycle. Should I be having these things - oh i don't know but it curves whatever is going on. At least its not a candy bar right??? I am doing what i can. I too am almost 6 moths out July 12th is 6 months. What will the dr. say??? Oh who knows. I have lost about 70 lbs since my surgery so i am thinking i might be doing something right.

Hello all, I'm 10 weeks out from RNY and overall doing pretty good. My problem is I can't plan my food menu because one day I'll like a food, like eggs, and the next day it repulses me. Can't stand the smell of it. I'm like this with almost everything I'm eating. I can NOT do shakes ever again. I tried again about a month ago and gagged and threw it out along with the damn shaker bottle. Same with soups and broths. Can't even look at them. ONe day I'll do good with chicken and the next it sickens me. I'm often hungry, but eating makes me feel like crap. I enjoy nothing. I eat slow and don't eat until I am too full, so it's not like I'm overeating and getting sick from a food and then not wanting to eat it again. It makes me sad. Frustrating as hell. I'm hungry now, but nothing sounds good, looks good or tastes good. I often feel crappy after eating. Nauseated. Again, not eating until I'm too full, so it doesn't make sense to me. My dietician wants me to get in more protein but I can't figure out how. There is a part of me that wishes I never would've had the surgery because I'm so sick of feeling like crap. I have low/no energy. I'm taking all my vitamins and supplements. Anyone else have this problem? Will it get better over time? I have no idea what I'll take to work for lunch tomorrow. The chicken I made yesterday is grossing me out now. UGH!! Advice? I'm 34 pounds down now. I'm stalled but feel like it's because I'm not eating enough. I cannot do yogurt or much cheese as I have a hard time with milk products as well. Ack! One more thing I'll add is that I found I can't tolerate sugar free things either. I don't know if it's the xylitol, artificial sweeteners or what. Not eating sugary things either.

what was everyone eating at 1 month out. I'm so bored with cottage cheese and yogurt and Protein shakes but I need them. I just recently switched to muscle milk choc flavored, the 4 pack cause the 11 oz have 22 grams of protein. Any suggestions would be great!! Kim

Totally not a troll... In fact, why would someone lie about what something like that?? The day I left the hospital I was on Full Liquids (clear only in hosp.) Day 8 I went to soft foods. I just started off with the softest things like yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. Then worked my way up to ground meats. I have not once had a bad reaction to anything. I totally agree with @sillykitty, everyone's healing process is different. What works for me may not work for you. Doesn't mean our surgeons don't know what they're doing. My surgeon has a very high success rate so I doubt he'd tell me to do anything that would negatively effect me.

Not unusual for fills to have a delayed effect. Back down to liquids for tonight, and consider drinking warm liquids too (herbal tea is good, or even warm Water with lemon). Tomorrow, you can do a Protein shake again for breakfast if you like.. or you can try something soft, like yogurt or cottage cheese. Or you can wait for lunch to try soft foods. Whichever you choose, try drinking something warm (coffee, tea, etc.) a little bit before you eat. Warmth can loosen the band just enough to let you eat. If this doesn't work and you continue to have issues with food coming back, call your doctor. In fact, you may want to call them when they open anyway and see what they advise. I've been slightly too tight before and the warm liquids usually does the trick for me. But if your fill is uber tight, you'll need to go in for a tiny unfill. They usually just pull a fraction of a cc back out and it fixes the problem. Sorry you're having issues. Hope you feel better soon.

So far bafflement... still undergoing tests but nothing conclusive so far... has anyone else experienced post-op complications several years out? Surgery July 2016. Only lost 100lbs (I know, I know, "only"), but I'm still about 100lbs overweight. I'm not unhappy w/the amount lost at all and feel much better overall so I do not regret the surgery. First, not sure any or all of these symptoms are related at all but since they're all (potentially) GI-related, I can't help but think (especially now) that they are. So here goes: I can't remember exactly when the first one occurred, but it was after "healing" for sure but the first time it happened, it was definitely after surgery: a charlie-horse in my abdomen. These occur very suddenly and occur when I'm bending, reaching or twisting my abdomen--but always forward, not backward. For example, I might just tuck my belly in to look down at my feet and whammo, charlie horse. I reach forward to pick up a kitten... whammo. They can happen at any time and are excruciatingly painful and I just jerk backwards in reaction and take diaphragmatic breaths and they'll ease up. About 4 months ago, I had a sudden pain "attack" after eating a relatively fatty meal... I'm talking waves of pain in the gut so intense that I actually called 911. Since I still have my gallbladder, I assumed gallbladder problems. Pain lasted about 7 hours or so, even through narcotics given in the ambulance and at the hospital. Worst pain I've ever felt in my life. Multiple tests run... no gallstones, so they basically sent me home after the pain finally subsided with a ridiculous "gastritis" diagnosis. Sorry, was crapola. About 6 weeks after that, I started to have diarrhea... for over two weeks straight, every single day. Didn't respond to OTC anti-diarrheals. Saw walk-in doc (my doc was on vacation) who ran a bunch of tests and nothing positive except blood in the stool. Diarrhea eventually cleared. PCP ordered endoscopy and colonoscopy--both normal. About 6 weeks ago, another pain attack--but not after fatty meal... just yogurt. This time I remembered I had meds at home--took anti-spasmodics (hyoscyamine) and oxycodone... took 3x regular dose to make pain tolerable. Faded again after about 7 hours. PCP suspects gallbladder function is to blame, even though no stones, so HIDA test this Thursday. In the timeline, this pain attack was about a week after the diarrhea cleared up... about a month ago. But here's the deal: I can physically (i.e. with my hands) feel that under that trocar scar is a hardening of tissue... it makes sense that it's scar tissue of course, but I feel like it's getting bigger? (as in, over a wider area, not deeper). It's not painful when pressure is applied, just uncomfortable? I have not yet brought this part up to PCP, but she has palpated my abdomen before and didn't call out anything as unusual. So I'm at a loss as to what's going on but something definitely is. Anyone experience anything at all like this? Especially those who are years out from surgery? So confused and tired of taking tests that aren't leading anywhere... thank goodness I have excellent insurance. Michelle

greek yogurt is amazing and feels so much more substantial to me than regular yogurt. I hadn't thought about adding some of my whey protein powder to it at all - sounds great! i have to avoid the ones with fruit in it b/c of my diabetes. i had been adding a packet of splenda to the plain greek yogurt for the time being until i can have some fruit. the whey protein powder sounds like a much better idea though! thanks!

My doc said to advance to stage 2 diet upon discharge from the hospital. This includes a pre determined amount of the following... yogurt, unsweetened applesauce, cream of wheat, jello, soup, SF pudding for one meal and 60 - 80 oz protein via shake broken into meals or however we can get it in us...sipping all day, whatever.....it trips me out that some people are still on clear liquids for weeks.

I thought I would have to do a liquid pre op diet, too. I planned for it. I was sort of disappointed (weird, huh?). I decided to do something like it anyway, to jump start my weight loss and help me start implementing a real change in my eating. Since last Monday I've been following this: 6am - Protein shake 9am - Greek yogurt 11-1 (actual time varies by work schedule) - Protein Shake 3pm - snack, humus or Greek yogurt 5pm - protein shake 7pm - tilapia and steamed green veggie (broc, Beans, or asparagus) I try to drink three 23.7 oz bottles of Water every day, and have my Vitamin routine down., I've lost four pounds since last Monday. :-)

I was able to have the Lap Banding done on 4/19 and am doing well...sore and stiff, but not as painful as yesterday. I am able to get all the fluids down and protein (drink 2 protein shakes from Costco with 30gm EACH and 11 oz each)...I feel comfortable eating a whole package of cream of wheat, a 6 oz yogurt, etc so don't feel any restriction or swelling restriction yet....I'm trying to limit the quantity so I don't stretch out the pouch....my surgeon keeps on the "slip and slide" yogurt, puddings, all liquids, cream soups, etc only for the first week and then advances to "regular" foods and I'm afraid I'll stretch the pouch out before my first fill on May 18. No nausea at all, and am not really hungry. Let me know how you're doing. Carol:thumbup:

Ok, weird you say that because the exact same thing happened to me yesterday when I progressed to yogurts and cream soups. I felt a pinch/pull where I think my port is after eating for a while. I'm having a hard time telling when I am full or not. The first few days post op id drink juice or water and my chest would get pressure or id feel stuffed just from a few sips. Now i just get gas and the pinch feeling.

Thanks for all of the replies.... I can tell that I'm actually "tummy hungry" rather than "head hungry" mostly by the terrible gurgling and growling and that light headed "if I don't eat soon I may pass out" feeling. Great timing for all of this - I have my finals today and tomorrow for college. YIKES! I'd like to try a Protein smoothie when HTB gets home, but I'm sort of scared after the feeling I had with the 3 oz of yogurt. Should I go back to Water and juice? I've called my PCP and my surgeon, and haven't gotten a call back from either...