I have a question about size and volume of the stomach pouch. I am now 10 days post-op and began eating mushy food a couple of days ago. My typical meal consists of about 1 cup worth of pureed consistencey food. Sometimes this might mean 1/2 cup of FF Yogurt and a 1/2 cup of pureed Banana as an example. Sometimes 1/3-1/2 cup mashed potato 1/4 cup Turkey and 1/4 cup apple sauce. I have had no problem at all keeping these meals down and no Nausea. One problem I do have is determining if I am "full" or not while eating. Hunger seems to come and go and has not been a big deal either. It seems like I went from being able to hold not even half of the amounts listed above for the first week and then all of the sudden it seems pretty normal. Does this sound like I am eating the right way?

The swelling was keeping you from eating very much after the surgery. It lasts longer for some than others. It wasn't until about week three or four that I could eat more than 1/2 cup of food. At my four week check up, I talked to the NP about that, and she wanted me to be sure and keep my meals under one cup, and to change my snack from something low cal/low fat to high protein. So, I had three meals/day under one cup each, and a 1/2 half cup snack (tuna, Greek yogurt, etc). Your pouch should hold about 4 oz (volume), but when you don't have good restriction the food can pass through the band quickly.

You should talk to your doctor about what s/he wants you to eat and the amount though. Some doctors prefer several smaller meals, for instance.

Hi ya'll...how did you get 70-90 grams of protein right after surgery? I'm two days out and am completely baffled. Did you fix a time schedule? Help me, please. Pat

To be perfectly honest, I don't count cals or Protein. I do measure my intake though. I was supposed to drink three protein shakes/day with an added 1/4 cup no-fat powdered milk to boost the protein amount.

Now, I add a half scoop of Protein powder to something I'm eating almost every day (ie sf pudding, LF yogurt, oatmeal, Greek yogurt, etc). I drink 1/2 bottle of Isopure occasionally, to boost my protein intake. Khashi has a Cereal that's high in protein and Fiber, and if I'm running errands and don't have time for Breakfast, I eat a Khashi protein/fiber bar. There's lots of ways to add in extra protein to you regular diet, once you pass the liquid stage. The one thing I hate to do is count, but if I will at some point, if I have too.

I am not at my best level of restriction yet, so I am measuring my calorie and protein intake in a diet journal that I bought at Barnes and Noble. Plus I like keeping track of things, writing them down etc. It keeps me motivated. Once your on regular foods, you'll find ways to get your required protein levels. During my post op phase I went to GNC and bought bottles of Isopure. Each bottle has 54 grams of protein. Each day I took one bottle and sipped on it in glass with ice all throughout the day. That way no matter what I ate or drank at least I got those 54 grams in.