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Hi everyone, I was banded 05/04/12... So I'm fairly new to this. I have been heeling great! Went on a 3days clear liquid diet than couldn't take it anymore so switch to full liquid diet but was hungry way too after so I called in and they said I could switch to purrees eventhough I was 5days post-op! EVERYTHInG was doing great I could keep it down AND even started trying pieces and chucks here and there to experience and even that I can manage to keep down and digest just as if I had no band...:-/ I don't feel that annoying sick full feeling like most ... Though I don't try to fill myself to the top either but sometimes I do eat more than 1cup and nothing....:-/ IS IT NORMAL??!!:-( I'm scheduled for my 1st apoubtemrng Monday and honnestly I don't know what to expect! I am very sad because I lost 10lbs before and 3days after surgery but as soon as I reintroduced food to my body with purees, I STOPPED loosing and already gained 1lbs back!!:-( I DOBT understand why because I try eating healthy!! All my purees are home made with fish, very little ptt and more veggies and hummus and sugar free pudding and Greek yogurt!!! My food intake has DRASTICALY lower from before I could eat 1 to 2 FULL plates per meals and now I try to maintain 1 to 1 1/2 cup down per meal which start to cone up now every 2-3hours of interval!!!:-( I just dont understand how coming from 4000cal and more before to like 1290 or so does Not make me drop much more!!!?:-( Also I just bought today a protein shake! Never took any before bring scarred they were too rich and would make me blow up but the nurse said I HAVE TO for my muscles!!:-( I want to keep loosing and was so happy to watch those 10lbs drop so fast but now it's very discouraging!!!:-( Plus I wanna start working out to maybe jump up the lose again but I'm only 1week post-op today!! When can I start the gym again? Is it possible to get my 1st fill 1week post-op??!!! I can't possibly imagine waiting 3 full weeks post-op for a fill when 1week post-op I'm already gaining back!!!:-( What should I do??!! Any advise would be appreciated!! Thank u :-)

How do you get your Protein in for Breakfast? I'm having a really hard time finding things to eat for breakfast that contain a lot of protein. I don't eat yogurt and it seems that almost everything else is full of carbs Also what about lunch? What are you eating to get protein at lunch? dinner I got covered! LOL I'm just "sick" of the Protein drinks already

for the past month my stomach has been aching. it doesnt bother me when i eat but say an hour or two after. it feels like the band is eating its way through my stomach. its like a toothache on the outside. i know that you cant feel the band but im convinced that you can. what else would this be. alot of times i feel tight. i had my third fill on tues and i am eating very little due to the fact that my doctor said that i am tight. today i had a ww meal and ate the whole thing but thats as much as ive eaten since my fill. ive had slimfast , almonds, yogurt, protein bars. i am happy that im cautious again but im a little worried about the aching. i dont dare eat much in case this is a sign of overeating. what do you think? andrea

I can not consume any protein shake or bar. They simply make me sick. I mix 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup skim milk, and some sort of water mix packet. That equals about 38-40 grams of protein. My nutritionist said my homemade concoction is perfectly fine.

Sounds like you are getting on track. Some of the foods that helped me at this stage included cottage cheese with no sugar added applesauce, light & fit Greek yogurt, ricotta bake (google World according to eggface for recipe), refried beans and guacamole. There are lots of options and like other posters have said advance planning at this stage is very helpful. Track your protein and water to know that you are getting in enough each day and you'll do great. :-)

For me soft foods and mushy were the same thing so I am not sure what you should eat. Mushies I ate tuna, flaked fish, beans, refried beans, scrambled eggs whisked with skim milk, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, ricotta with spaghetti sauce. Best of luck.

I have been trying to find a Protein shake that didn't taste like a Protein Shake and I think my wife has hit the nail on the head! She knows I like Peanut Butter and chocolate is good with so much! So she created this for me. I just had a serving and it is soo good. 5 oz container of Danon Light n Fit Toasted Coconut Greek Yogurt 5 oz of low fat milk 3 tablespoons of Jiff Peanut powder 1 Scoop chocolate Protein Powder 4 ice cubes 4 oz serving has 22 grams of protein It may not be to everyone's liking, but it hits the spot for me. Good luck to everyone and I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Thanks so much guys, I slept in today when I woke I had a melon flavored popsicle for Breakfast and sat down to look over my diet for the next few weeks again. I've made a list of what to get, some I've never had such as Cream of Wheat or Malt-O-Meal, lol we southerners eat grits so it will be fun to try the new things. I've got some Protein powder, but I've also got a friend who buys his from a place online that he really likes so I'll order some of those just to try. So far my grocery list is as follows, please let me know of anything you found that you liked and did well on the tummy. 1% Milk Light Yogurts (smooth type) sugar free low fat pudding fruit juice (Apple and Cranberry) Reduced fat Cream Soups Instant mashed potatoes Grits Cream of Wheat Jello popsicles Broth/Stock It's going to be a stuggle to get in the protein the first few weeks but I'll do my best.

I got banded on 9/24/08, just one day before you slim-n-tn and I was wondering if you were eating that whole wheat pita and not having any trouble? I thought we were stillon the mushy phase and I haven't tried any kind of bread yet. I've been mostly having yogurt, oatmeal, over-cooked vegetables, creamed soups and my favorite - mashed potatoes!!

I stayed on mushy food/soft foods for a long time, and my staples were chili, chicken salad, tuna salad and egg salad. If the meat is tender and with some sort of condiment, it definitely makes it easier. I truly burned myself out on those staples, but it got me through until I get in my solid foods. I did 4 meals a day with 15gr of Protein per meal. I think that's why it was so easy for me to adhere to low carb. What little carbs I did eat came from dairy and the condiments that I added to food. I would throw in a string cheese, or chunk of cheese for extra protein. With chicken salad, and a chunk of cheese I could get in 15-17gr of carbs per meal. Egg whites seem to work better for me, the yolk is bulky, it tastes the best, but it's really fatty. 2 egg whites gives you almost 8gr of protein, toss in a chunk of cheese, and you're at roughly 14grams of protein. I couldn't do protein drinks so I had to get creative, and really eat slow, soft/mushy stuff to hit my protein goal. Another trick is to mix the chicken, tuna, egg salad with greek yogurt instead of mayo/miracle whip. I used the dry ranch dressing mixes to flavor the salads. It added more protein, and gave a smooth texture. Hang in there, it gets better.

I am 11 days out from surgery. I started at 216 and weighed 200.5 this morning. I carry one 20 ounce bottle of water with me all day and I have to finish it before 7 pm. That's MY rule. Otherwise, I won't get enough water. I have grits (4 tbs) for breakfast, a container of yogurt for lunch, and a protein shake (Kellogg's 180 calories, 10 grams of protein) for dinner. I also bought sugar free Jolly Rancher candy that keeps me occupied if I'm bored. I will occasionally eat the broth from a can of chicken noodle soup. I "swim" for exercise - really me just holding on to the steps and kicking. We have a hobby ranch so I'm always outside with the animals and I sweat ALOT here in south Texas. I have to remember to rehydrate. I, too, though I would be nauseated but haven't been. I have only vomited twice - once right after surgery and once the other night when I had spicy chicken broth. I think what I'm thinking is stomach pain might be hunger pangs - I still haven't figured that out yet. I think feeling restricted is what we all need, at least I do. I need a constant reminder to stop shoveling food in my mouth, even if it unpleasant. Actually, a shock with a cattle prod might be more productive for me!

I can also relate to having this habit that I needed to break if I wanted to be successful with losing weight. A few ideas which helped me, as others have suggested, make getting that snack more difficult. Be on a different floor of the house from the food. If you take a spoon of Peanut Butter, put the spoon in the dishwasher so you have additional steps to go through before you have your snack. It gives you an opportunity to rethink if you really want that snack. Find something ELSE to do with your hands while watching tv. I don't watch it much, but when I do I usually am working on a counted cross stitch project. It takes my mind off of wanting a snack. You are correct if you believe that much snacking happens from being bored. Only snack on healthy food, and try to make certain that your snack contains Protein. It will hold your hunger at bay for longer and you add protein grams to your daily intake. Get all of your desired Snacks out of your house. That way, not only would getting the snack involve going downstairs, you would also need to go to the store. Learn how to separate authentic hunger from "head hunger". I usually will drink some Water, get busy with a project to distract me. If in 30 minutes my feelings of hunger are still present then I know I need to eat something. Then I choose wisely, like a teaspoon of peanut butter. Place a limit on yourself as to how many snacks you are allowed per day. When you reach your liit, you are done. Period. I will allow myself 2 snacks a day. One in the afternoon between lunch and dinner(usually plain low fat cottage cheese), and my evening snack,is usually Greek yogurt with PB2 in it or 1-2 teaspoons of peanut butter. Under no circumstances should you ever bring the entire bag or container to where you are sitting, because then you cannot be mindful of the portion you are eating, and likely will eat way more than you should. Know what your trigger foods are, and avoid them. Some people cannot control their portion of peanut butter as an example. Avoid that as a snack if you are uncertain if you can place a limit on yourself and adhere to it. I hope some of this helps. It't really all about changing your relationship with food, and learning to eat to live rather than living to eat. Or finding solace and comfort in food. If you are turning to food as a coping mechanism to manage stress, opt for some exercise instead. Exercise is a great stress reducer, it creates endorphins and you burn extra calories. It's really a win-win. Best wishes...

Costco sells a high potein drink in chocolate. Not bad for 30 grams. Also try some Greek yogurt, high in protein also!!!!!

It does seem to get better around day 3-4. Every dr requires a different plan. Mine called high Protein, no sugar Greek yogurt a liquid. Also, I found this Soup - ProtiDiet chicken. After a few days of shakes, this tasted like heaven. Make it a little light on Water and ... it kind of tastes like a gravy. Ha, ha. https://www.amazon.com/Protidiet-Creamy-Chicken-Soup-Pouches/dp/B001FUEY56/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1470962730&sr=8-3&keywords=protidiet+chicken Most diets will allow sugar free popsicles too. I didn't get them at first, but when I did try them, I was hooked! They also make it a bit easier to get some Fluid in right after surgery too. Hang in there. You can do it! Stay strong. A new you is headed your way!

I am almost 1 1/2 post-op to the day. Over the entire time of having my band, especially the first year, was hell for me. I was one of those "exceptions" who woke up swollen every morning. If I took my meds as soon as I woke up, they would get stuck and cause a constant downward spiral. I went back and forth to the ER, getting the Fluid out, resting and hydrating, and then another fill. However, the fill would never be enough because my doctor was concerned due to all of the issues I kept having. Then some serious issues occurred.....I got into hard drinking and ended up going to AA meetings. Then in Feb., I was laid off from my job of 4 years. One month later I had to under-go major back surgery (rods, screws, etc) due to my degenerative disc disease I've been living with for about 17 years. The stress I was under caused me to go to food for comfort. Since December I was easily up 30 lbs. I'm still out of work and on disability but need to get back on track. I want to buy foods that will work for me, but I am extremely sensitive with what I can eat.....if anything is the slightest bit dry (meats, seafoods) they get stuck and I have to flush them out. Lack of money is a serious problem at this point, especially while raising my 8 yr old daughter.....my husband works, but it's still not enough. I need to keep Snacks in the house for my daughter (she has a very high tendency to eat healthy, but takes things like Cheez Its or Smart Food popcorn for her snack at school). There are always little ice cream treats for her in the fridge. I buy low fat, high Protein frozen yogurt bars for myself for a snack at night. So here I am, needing to get back on track and lose the wait that I put on. I need ideas.....for lunch, dinner.....breakfast I'm okay on. I will take any advice on anything that I posted. Thank you!!

I just want to say thanks to everyone for all of your support and motivation. Everyone on here is so inspiring. I think you all are right and in about 6 months I will look back on this decision and consider it one of the best decisions I ever made (apart from marrying my husband). Thanks for the ideas to watch videos on youtube of other's success. I spent a lot of last night watching some. I am currently having greek yogurt this morning and that certainly calmed me down some! Thanks again for letting me vent and being there for me!! You all are GREAT! <3

Try the clear drinks instead. Isopure make premixed ones, Syntrax nectar can be made with Water. I used ProSource NoCarb the first 2 weeks post op. It was great thinned with water or added to herbal teas. Also look for protein rich beverages. Kefir ( a yogurt drink), cream of chicken, beef, etc... thinned with broth, etc... Milk of choice: cow, hemp, almond have the most protein.

I have been thinking a lot about how I want not only my stomach size to change, but that i want my dietary habits to completely change for the better. I believe in the power of habits and I need to use this tool to break many or most of mine. I have been thinking about how I eat but also about how my kids eat, age 2 and 5. My son is five and is a very picky eater and very slim. His favorite food is an apple! My daughter is 2 and she is already a little plump, and she will eat anything you put in front of her and is a sweets aholic. I don't want then to have a weight problem one day and suffer the way I have. For a long time I have worried about their diet. We eat family well, mostly whole food without any fast food usually, we don't drink soda and barely ever drink juice We eat out occasionally but mostly eat from home. The meals I make are fairly carb heavy but my kids usually prefer to eat the Protein unless it is spaghetti or pizza. We eat things like stew, chicken Soup, pizza, grilled cheese, tacos, spaghetti, lasagna, hamburgers, eggs, etc. We eat a lot of desert sweets. We love to eat ice cream, cake, Cookies, fudge, candy, etc. we eat tons of it. I want to take refined super totally off our menus and out of our house. I also want to eat only lean protein and whole grain, unprocessed carbs, increase our vegetables and cut out pizza and juice altogether. I don't mind the kids eating wheat bread but I won't post surgery. I'd like to replace the Desserts with fruit or yogurt or take them out entirely- which do you think is better? Is it easier to just go cold turkey and stop doing dessert? I was raised eating desert and I find I am programmed to crave sweets after eating. I was to undo this habit and not give it to my kids. I also want to eat my last meal of the day by 6, 6:30 and be done for the day. I've though about writing out some meal plans for us to follow for the first few months and would love suggestions. Also, my kids take food to to school with them and I need ideas for healthy lunches that don't involve processed carbs. Do you all think this is possible? Any advice? I'm worried my sweets cravings are going to make me miserable. I also found a link to a bariatric food pyramid. Pretty awesome!!! http://www.drsharma.ca/obesity-the-bariatric-food-pyramid.html

Hey Birchmoon, Trust me I feel your pain. I just got banded on the 20th and haven't eaten "real" food for 3-4 weeks now. Good news though, I lost 24lbs already!!! Trust me you can do it. Just stay focused and know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I avoided food at all costs. Didn't go to the grocery store, didn't make the kids dinner...didn't put myself in front of food for a while. That really helped me, because as soon as I saw it, or smelled it I REALLY wanted it- heck I still do!!! I just started my all liquids post op diet and that consists of all clear liquids, sugar free popsicles, sugar free jello (which I am SICK of) soup broth, yogurt (light and fit 60 calories) carnation instant breakfast, and of course protein drinks. I was thrilled to get to this stage believe it or not. The yogurt is the closest thing to food that I have had in a while, so it really fills me. I know I felt like it was going to take forever but just know that you will have such SUCCESS with it. I am so thrilled that I have lost 24lbs already, that it has really motivated me! Hang in there, and know that we are all here to talk to when times get rough- we have all been there and know EXACTLY what your going through. I have to say I really liked the french vanilla optifast drink, I actually preferred it over the chocolate. After the 3rd or 4th day anything seems to taste good lol. Also after a few days the hunger went away and I was actually "satisfied" after a drink. It will get better, trust me! Good luck with everything and keep us all updated! :w00t:

I have been following low carb since February. I am not losing at all but actually gaining. I just don't get it. The diet makes sense and I am not cheating, it just doesn't work for me. HELP?! I have a gluten allergy so it's been years since I had cake or pizza or a sandwich, so I really didn't have to change my diet much to go low-carb, just cut out the yogurt and banana that was my breakfast. My BF is diabetic and a follower of Atkins for his blood sugar not so much for his weight (he's only 5 pounds over). I decided to be a good GF and follow his diet because it makes cooking/grocery shopping easier. I log EVERYTHING that I eat/drink on fatsecret.com and it gives me my total carbs, net carbs, calories, Protein, etc. I know I am not overeating. My daily net carb intake is between 18-22, with most of it from veggies and berries, and a calorie intake between 1100-1300. Logically, I should be losing, but I'm not. I gained 1.4 pounds last week. It's driving me crazy. A few girls at work are doing it and they lose like 6 pounds a week. I just don't understand why I can't be doing the same. Does anyone know of any reason why low carb won't work for some people?

I have a 10 day preop diet but starting to think I have a odd one. I can have cottage cheese,cream soups, oatmeal, coffee and tea milk V-8 juice, pudding and yogurt along with the regular sugar free stuff popsicles Jell-O. I don't read a lot about others with a 10 day diet like that :0. No word about protein in it no shakes no bars . For breakfast I can have one cup of oatmeal a cup of coffee. Midmorning snack yogurt . Lunch I can have one cup cream soup cottage cheese and a glass of milk. Afternoon snack pudding. Dinner I would do what I did for lunch. And an evening snack. This seems like a lot to me is this a normal perop diet?

I had surgery Monday and I can really only get down is warm liquids without a problem room temperature liquids like they hit my stomach like a bomb and don't even try for the cold except for Popsicles I had one today it wasn't bad. I think I'm supposed to start soft tomorrow like yogurt I can't even imagine the swallowing yogurt yet. I feel hungry but then I think about swallowing food and it goes away.

Here are some of the items I've had in similar situations: Cottage cheese (you can get small containers), greek yogurt, string cheese, beef jerky, cold meats like ground turkey, deli meat, chicken, etc, soups (put can in sink with hot water before opening it to heat it a little). Not a ton of variety, but maybe eough to get through. For extra storage you could bring a cooler an keep it full of Ice from the ice Machine.

Holla fellow bandsters! Hope you all had a fabulous Independence Day! I sat here and tried not to watch myself and boys have simultaneous combustion from the heat- alas we were all saved that scene. It was a strange holiday in that there was no BBQ to attend, here or otherwise, I didn't even go watch fireworks! I can't decide whether it was just too hot, or I'm just getting freaking too old to "OOOHH and AWWWW" about fire in the sky. Boys weren't interested either so I just listened to the neighbors pop it like it was hot til around midnight. My dogs didn't even seem to care. So the boys had Subway and I had the normal protein shake and cream of chicken soup but as an added bonus, I put strawberries and bananas with some Greek yogurt, 1 pkg Carnation sugar free instant breakfast and skim milk in the blender! Boys had smoothies I froze mine and had strawberry banana "ice cream" around 10 last night. Delish. So as you know, I have been thinking today I was scheduled to have my first fill. Thanks to this forum, I now know that the receptionist misspoke when she said "fill", what she meant to say was "Post-Op" visit. Regardless, I was excited to go pretty much anywhere at this point. I scrubbed up, brushed up and put on a comfy sundress to wear, good choice because I didn't have to worry about buttoning and or zipping anything, I'm still slightly swollen and all I had to do was put it over my head and Voila! I really had no clue what was going to happen at this 1st appointment and lucky me, I got a nurse who was clueless as well. The regular Nurse that takes care of such appointments was on vacation this week (HOW DARE SHE) so I don't know if she was brought up from another unit of the clinic/hospital or if she was an agency person, or if (Lord I hope not) she works there and I just never seen nor heard of her before. So kids this is how it went down. I was ushered into the examination room and sat on one of the chairs. The nurse says "Ok, so what have you been eating, and sorry, but I have to look at your incisions." Umm, Ok, I hope you're going to look at my incisions (DUH) and I told her protein shakes, yogurt, chicken soup, yada, yada, and then I said "Um, am I going to see the Dr today or what's happening here?" she said "Oh no honey, you won't see your Dr until after your 1 month check-up with the regular nurse who's on vacation, then 1 or 2 weeks after that appointment you will have 1 with the nutritionist, then the week after that you will have a fill" My head was spinning off my neck at that point. I decided it was best maybe not to ask not too many questions to this particular person at that particular time, besides, I have this forum if I want to know something right? Well you guessed it, I couldn't resist, I started asking because you know, I brought a small list. (Well I didn't want to forget anything ya know?) I looked at my little list and immediately mentally crossed off things that I assumed only the Dr would know, or I only personally wanted the Dr to answer. So I asked about vitamins I think, something along those lines and she excused herself and brought in a booklet and said "Did you get one of these?" Uh, I don't think so, it doesn't look familiar. So she handed it to me and then said she needed to look at my incisions, I said Ok, and she basically lifted my dress up and said those have to go and RRRIIIPPP off came the first one! HEY, I said. I don't know if I'm- RRRIIIPPP- well screw it guess I'm ready to release my surgi-strips. Look I know it sounds like a nightmare and it pretty much was, I could go on and on, but my point is I went to my post-op appointment and basically expected Ashton K. to jump out of somewhere telling me I've just been "Punked" although that didn't happen, I did get a a wink/half eye roll from the receptionist when the nurse was explaining to her the upcoming appointments I needed, especially when she called her Stephanie and she said "My name's Ashley" (insert half wink & eye roll) giggle. I guess I was pretty calm about the entire thing because when she took my blood pressure it was only 107/62. My temperature a chilly 97.3, and guess what? She never weighed me, and I didn't ask. I guess what I'm trying to say is that none of that really mattered. I already knew I wasn't going to be getting a fill today. I pretty much assumed that they were just going to check on me after surgery. I've survived the ripped off strips and now that I think of it, I'm glad she did it because I babied them so much and would have worn them as a badge as long as I could have and I need to move on. The receptionist, Ashley, and I agreed she would just call me on Monday and we would go from there, sounded great to me! On the way home I thought to myself, I'm not restricted at all. I could eat whatever I want right now and it would be fine with my twisty and my stomach. Maybe I'll just have a salad, that's not such a big deal. I thought like this for about 10 miles until I snapped out of it. Girl you better check yourself, for Christ's sake this is exactly why you had this done, if you don't start using it now, instead of thinking like a food addict, your road shall be even longer. I came home had a yogurt and a Crystal Light, I still wasn't even hungry, not really. I picked up the red booklet she gave me and it was "All you need to know about your upcoming gastric bypass surgery" I just laid it on my chest and laughed hysterically. As always, onward and upward and Lo & Behold....Velvet

Which brand of yogurt did you have if any during the pre op 2 weeks. I'm allowed one a day. This is day 6 for me and I had a yogurt for the first time yesterday. And I started to feel hungry which I haven't all week and later when I came home I got a headache. I can't remember the name because it was odd. You can get it at whole foods. It wa a nonfat 5oz yogurt,100 cal, 0.5g of fat, 5grams of fiber and 14 g of protein and 13g of carbs. How bad was this?