Ok, so I had surgery on jUly 30th had a rough first week and had a hard time even getting water down but went to the dr. and found out they accidentley left 2cc's in the band and with that and on top of being very swollen made me miserable. after getting it removed I felt much better and now am freakin starving. I am on full liquids for another full week (till saturday) and I just have a few questions; Even though I feel like I could eat more and feel "normal" in my stomach do I still just eat the full liquids a half cup at a time and shouldnt have anymore? Can I eat more as long as its what is on my approved list? what about water after eating some broth or cream soup? does the no drinking for 30 minutes after rule apply in this stage? My first fill is scheduled on Sept. 7th and even though I can have mushies in a week I am not sure how I am really suppose to do this for a month with no real food...how did you all handle it and what did you do that helped you get through it?

I would not recommend skipping ahead until you're told you can do so. So if you're on liquid, stick with liquid. This is all about healing now so you don't want to do anything that may cause problems. My full liquid phase included anything I could drink through a straw (without actually using a straw) so thinned out pudding and yogurts were good. And soup is always good but strain it if need be.

To get you through, go with Protein shakes. If you use fruit with a vanilla Protein powder, it will mask a lot of the taste of the powder. My favorite is orange juice, banana, ice, and vanilla Protein powder.

Drinking before and after you eat does not apply until you hit mushies/soft food phase. So get in as much as you can but make sure it's Water or Crystal Light. You don't want to be dehydrated at this point.

If you're still hungry and you have given everything you're "approved" to eat at this phase a shot, call your doctor and see if they say it's OK for you to move on to the mushies phase.

Good luck.

Hi Nicole. I had surgery on 7/21. I agree with the other members comments, do the Protein shakes. They really do help you feel full and will give you energy. I actually bought some powder at GNC, Syntha 6 that is much better. I wold recommend sticking with the diet that they have proposed, especially if you have already had some issues. While it seems like a long time, it really goes by quickly. If you walk, you will lose pretty fast. During the 14 days, I did 3 shakes per day; yogurt, broth and sugar free pudding. The drinking shouldn't apply while you are on this stage. The reason for the drinking rule when you start on soft foods is that when you eat, your food needs to stay in your "pouch" for 2 minutes for a signal to be sent to your brain that you are full and if you are drinking vs sipping, you will wash the food down and the 2 min starts over and you will eat more... Hope this helps. GOOD LUCK.