Hi all- am 2.5 years post op, about 150 lbs lost (175 lbs now- would like to lose another 20 but that's another post....)

I had to stop drinking green smoothies early on in my journey with the band because of terrible, painful gas. Not the farting kind, but the bloating, stabby kind that makes me so sick for an hour or two I run a fever.

I figured out that it must be due to the air that gets whipped into the smoothie and those of us with bands get the air trapped and that is not pleasant.

But the thing is, for a long time now I have been feeling like my eating is unbalanced in that my main goal every day is to get Protein in. I can eat raw veggies and fruits, but not the volume I need to be healthy or reach the recommended servings. In my case I also need to make sure I eat complex carbs (beans, grains) because I now run quite a lot (and weight train) and I need those for energy. At the end of the day, there's only so many times and so much we bandsters can eat, and the thing that gets left off the list more often than not is fruit and veg (can't eat lettuces-- they bring on gas).

So, am wondering, has anyone found a way to have green smoothies in their post-op diet (incorporating kale, raspberries, protein, etc) without gas or am I just dreaming

Any chance you're developing lactose intolerance? For your diet, maybe write down what an ideal diet should be, then

try to follow it. For protein, try protein isolate powder. I only hope I have half the success you've had.

Any chance you're developing lactose intolerance? For your diet, maybe write down what an ideal diet should be, then

try to follow it. For Protein, try protein isolate powder. I only hope I have half the success you've had.

Unfortunately no chance of that- I usually use almond milk and a soy based protein (vega for vegans) and don't each much dairy as a rule. Every now and then I use skim in the shakes and it's the same. I think the problem I think is the air getting whipped into the shake and then trapped. But, you can't get the veggies without using a blender so I was hoping some bandster had figured out a way around it!

Using a straw? That can do it!

Cheri

I can eat bread but struggle with smoothies and juices. I had a bit of a try at green smoothies made with one or two fruits, water and leafy greens in the vitamix but it just wont go down. Its easier to eat hndfuls of raw spinach!