Well, this is day 7 after my op, and I have lost 5 lbs, but I could have lost more had I not drunk so many shakes over the past 2 days. At first I hardly felt like drinking anything, but over the week I got more and more hungry - I was told to make the shakes with semi-skimmed milk, as I need the vitamins in my first 2 weeks, but I worked out that each Slimfast shake with semi-skimmed milk is only equivalent to 4 Weightwatchers points - so 3 shakes a day, at 12 points, is a very low intake for me; if I were on the Weightwatchers diet, I would be allowed 39 points a day. As I realised I could cope with drinking more, I started to have 5 shakes a day and a tin of soup. I now realise that liquids are going to be the real Achilles Heel with a gastric band - it would be so easy to drink a lot, I will have to make sure not to buy too much liquid stuff/shakes/ice creams etc.

So I am back on 3 shakes a day for now, but I think all in all 5 lbs is not too bad for the first week.

5 lbs is good, since some people don't lose at all during this time. If you are satisfied with the 3 shakes, then don't drink more, but if you are physically hungry, then drink another. You are correct, that the band is not designed for shakes. Once you begin getting fills, you should only use them in the morning, if you are too tight to eat or after fills if your doctor wants you on fluids.

So I am back on 3 shakes a day for now, but I think all in all 5 lbs is not too bad for the first week.

If all you're having is 3 shakes a day, then you'll find your weight loss will be slower than if you had 5 shakes per day...because you've dropped your calories below 1000 per day. Research has proven that women who eat 1200 calories per day lose faster than those eating 1000 or less. Has to do with the starvation factor and our bodies lowering our metabolism to become more energy efficient.

They say our bands aren't designed for shakes (and they're right), but I usually have nothing but shakes for breakfast, mid-morning, lunch and mid-afternoon meals. Then I eat a regular dinner and another protein shake in mid-evening. All told I'm eating about 1200 calories per day.

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OP I wish I could get that much down and 5 pounds is great for aloss. I have only lost one pound since being banded on Friday.

I'm six days post op and it took me from 8:30 to noon to get a whole shake down. It took and hour for me to get a cup of broth down this afternoon. I must be doing something wrong because I get all tight and feel like I am going to retch if I have any more. I am having a hard time getting all my liquids in let alone my calories. Yesterday I got 490calories in and 36 ounces of liquid, but I am having a heck of a time with discomfort after I eat or drink. Maybe I am still swollen?

I have the opposite problem. I don't drink enough. I drink an Atkins shake in the morning, and I don't need anything until lunch. I lost 10 pounds in one week, which I thought was amazing, but I'm not really hungry so I don't drink. I don't think I will be drinking anymore Atkins shakes after I can eat real food (except maybe for the day or two after a fill). This two weeks of full liquids is getting old.

Edited February 18, 201016 yr by Jessica4Bama

I have felt the same way - I am able to drink just about like I did before being banded on Tuesday - however I do feel that full feeling - I am just trying to get the 40 grams of protein my Doctor asks to take in daily for the first 2 weeks post-op. Otherwise, I wouldn't really have an appetite for more than probably one drink per day.