Hi -

I just wanted to stop in and re-introduce myself. I posted an here a couple times when I was going through the approval process. That part was pretty fast! I was banded on March 27. I have been through the "regretting this" "oh my gosh, what have I done" bit, but now I'm just trying to stay focused on the reason I got the band. I have already been struggling with the 3 week liquid diet, have not cheated yet, but been very tempted :confused:. It's hard when I still have my husband and daughters eating regular meals and I'm sitting there with my soup :wink:. But then I take a look around my table and realize that I did this so I could be there for them much longer than I probably would be without the band. I am getting through this one day at a time. Each day gets me closer to when I can eat real food, much less than before, but still real food!

I do have a couple of questions as well.

While on the liquid diet, is there any calorie goal that we should be trying to meet? I feel like I'm hungry all the time. My shakes and/or soup only hold me over for so long before I need to have something again. I feel as if I'm going to pass out if I don't. Does anyone have any good "liquids" that would be different from the norm? I've been adding fruits and things to my shakes, but I guess I'm not that creative, because I'm bored with them already. I've figured out some soups that blend well that are a bit more filling than just broth, but I can't find many that I think would still taste good without the chunks. On the liquids phase am I allowed to have yogurt (regular or frozen)? My doctor said anything that would normally go through a straw. If I add the yogurt in with my shakes is that okay? Or just fruit smoothies?

I still have so much to learn! This site has been a life saver for many things though. Especially when I was having horrible gas pain in my shoudler. It was nice to read over and over again that it's completely normal.

Any other advice or tips for a newie are welcome!

Thanks -

KP

I would suggest more protein. And yogurt is fine but you may want to watch the sugars, just sweeten with the fruits you are already using. You can also try things that are normally lumpy, like cottage cheese, if you put in a blender a bit. And jello is OK too.

maybe a creamy soup would fill you up better? I had a very hard time with the liquid diet afterwards. I couldn't stomach the protein shakes anymore. try carnation instant breakfast (with skim milk) and maybe blend in some strawberries to make it a bit thicker. Good luck!