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I am the same way if I don't track my food every day. I have to log everything I eat every meal, every day. I find I tend to really underestimate my calories and Protein consumption if I don't track it. I was reluctant to have to weigh, measure, and log every bite I eat because I don't want to be on a diet the rest of my life. However, right now, while I have the most potential to lose most of my excess weight, I need to make the most of it. I made myself a deal that once I get to maintenance then I can let some of the tracking slide as long as I maintain my weight. Right now tracking every time, every day is going to be the best way for you to take control. As far as not eating until late in the day and being hungry or needing to eat quickly, plan and set yourself up to succeed. Buy a big bag of nuts, Jerky, or whatever else you like for protein Snacks. Take the time to take the big package And empty the bag by weighing out individual servings and pack them in snack size containers or ziplock bags. Also the "bites" recipes on the world according to eggface blog are GREAT for this type of situation. Each recipe makes 24 mini muffin quiches and they freeze really well. Every week I make 2 varieties. Once they are cooked and cooled, I wrap 2 "bites" together at a time in waxed paper. I take all 12 of the wax paper bundles and store them in a gallon freezer bag labelled with which flavor they are and the date I made them. They taste great, reheat easily, have so many different flavors and combinations so you don't get burnt out, and keep well in the freezer. By cooking 2 batches every week I usually have 6-8 different flavors in the freezer on any given day to choose from. Another option is getting a large container of Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or ricotta cheese and portioning it out into single size servings when you get home with it. Then it is ready to go when you need or want it. One of my favorite quick snacks on the go is the single serving packages of apple slices with my Peanut Butter dip. I have found a bag with 12 single serving packages of apple slices inside. They are ready to grab and go and I find them in the refrigerated produce section of my local grocery store. I make a dip for the apples using plain no fat Greek yogurt, PB2, and sugar free Torani vanilla syrup. You mix equal parts PB2 and the syrup together until smooth and then mix that into the yogurt. Now you have a protein packed peanut butter dip that tastes like it should be bad for you. I use the 16 oz container of yogurt with 3 TBS each of the syrup and PB2. Once it is mixed I put 1/4 cup of dip into individual bowls with kids and store it in the fridge next to the apples. You may want to play with how much PB2 & syrup you put in to make it taste good to you. You can use either myfitnesspal or sparks people recipe nutrition calculator to figure out the calorie, protein, fat, carbs,etc per serving based on the brands and quantities you used. It is a great tool for anything you make so you know exactly what you are getting. Another thing I find helpful is keeping a few individually packaged servings of Protein powder in my purse for when I am caught or delayed unexpectedly or I forgot to bring food with me. This works best with the fruit or juice flavored powders (ie: grape, lemonade, fuzzy navel, cherry, etc). You can easily scoop servings from your large canister at home into snack sized ziplocks and seal them up yourself instead of spending the extra $ to buy the single serving pouches. The individual servings are great for dumping in a bottle of Water. Just cut or rip the corner off the ziplock bag and it becomes the funnel for the bottle. I always have a few bottles of water stashed in my car if I don't happen to already be carrying one. The Syntrax Roadside Lemonade is my go to for this. It mixes and dissolves easily by just shaking the water bottle around. It doesn't require a Blender Bottle to get the lumps out. Use what works for you. That is all I have right off the top of my head. I hope it helps you! It all comes down to taking an hour or 2 to get things prepped and ready to grab when you need it. You can even break the tasks up and do one a day so you only have to squeeze 15 minutes of prep in on any given day. Please ask me if something I said didn't make sense or wasn't explained well.

to walk a mile in the morning and walk a mile in the afternoon on the treadmil? two weeks post op just so you know and i was thinking of walking twice a day every other day and i cant think of anything to have for breakfast, cream of wheat hurt my stomach today so i dont want that, eggs eh, i dont know what else to have for mushie stage, yogurt doesnt really fill me up, and i really dont know what to have for lunch either, i had an omlet today and it made me full but i dont want that everyday, any suggestions for breakfast and lunch? thanks

So I eat a LOT of Greek yogurt, but there's only a handful of flavors that I like and you gotta admit, eating the same 3 flavors day after day for breakfast and sometimes lunch gets a bit redundant. I have heard that mixing a 5.3oz package of Greek Yogurt with 1/4 package of sugar free jello pudding makes a yummy snack, especially if you are having a sweet tooth craving. I think I'll try this, but from what I've read it turns the Greek yogurt into a mousse almost, light and fluffy in texture, but not as bitter, so for everyone who doesn't like Greek Yogurt because of the bitter aftertaste, this may be for you! I also read that some people freeze the mixture to make a type of healthier high protein ice cream. I just found a recipe for mixing blended banana into a cup of greek yogurt, add a bit of lemon juice, and a bit of honey and freeze to make pops. Has anyone tried any of this?? Or have any suggestions for healthy high protein snacks?? For lunch today I took a slice of turkey breast, a slice of provolone cheese, and a pickle and made rolls with them because I can't handle bread on my sandwiches it fills me up too quickly. I think tomorrow I'll try a piece of avocado with the turkey and cheese. Night all!

Im confused as to whether or not Im allowed to have milk, cheese, yogurt, etc. The paperwork I got from my surgeon contradicts itself. On the one hand, they say not to have milk products, but in another section of a different handout they gave me it says to keep snacks like yogurt and string cheese handy. So, which is it? What were the instructions everyone got regarding milk products post surgery?

Greek has more protein that regular yogurt. But check your label as many of them are full of sugar. You will want to choose the one's that are not so heavy in calories.

I couldn't finish muscle milk til 5 days post op & it still took hours. They are very think. I have a fridge full of different varieties but I'm so protein shaked out. I need something else. I'm gonna try making my own with the powder, yogurt& fruit& see what happens.

You just had your surgery... I wasn't released from hospital until four days because I wasn't drink enough of anything. Hopefully in a few days you will start being able to drink more. My favorite Protein drink is a powder protein in a blender with a tablespoon of sugar free pudding mix and either a tablespoon of Peanut Butter or 1/4 of yogurt, and I use skim milk

I am almost 2 weeks out from my surgery I am kind of worry it takes me 40 min but I can eat a 5.3oz Greek yogurt is that normal I feel just right after I finish it but I sometimes wonder if I am eating to much and I don't want to scratch out my pouch

If you can't find soft foods you like you can also still use liquid supplements to get your Protein. You don't have to default to noodles and other carbs. When I was on soft foods I lived on yogurt, cottage cheese, refried Beans, soup, pudding, eggs, and Protein shakes. The second week of soft foods I was allowed soft fish so I added tuna, tilapia, and salmon to the mix. Each phase builds on the previous phases so you can continuously add foods to your options.

I was sleeved the same day. I am not hungry at all but I have found that i love Greek yogurt and refried beans with mozzarella cheese and sour cream, I hated refried beans before and love them now.

I'm too afraid to stray from my doctor's orders. So if he says 2 weeks of Clear Liquids, I'm doing it. I learned that applesauce is a clear liquid. What if you have some of that. I'll tell you, I can only eat half of the little motts container, and I have to save the rest for another time. Last night I ate a little too much, and I felt uncomfortable, just overfull.. didn't like it. I think the object is we don't want to make our stomachs have to work too hard to digest. Right now it's healing. Maybe I'm just overly cautious, but I'm not even going to THINK about a yogurt or mashed potato until Sunday!! I am looking forward to my stage 2 for the variety! Also.. I found Crystal Light popsicles at walmart. sugar free, cold, like a treat, I eat 2 a day usually. If your'e doing popsicles, make sure they are sugar free. and watch the ones in the grocery store that say no sugar added, cause even they have sugar alcohols in them, and you don't want that. Good luck!

Also try Yoplait 100 greek yogurts. They have less sugar and more protein.

I am 7 days post op. I have been enjoying yogurt since day three. I have had no problem with it at all. It is actually very enjoyable.

I am having a similar issue. According to my food plan I can have greek yogurt and pudding, but i tried to eat some hummus (same consistency) and I could only tolerate about a tablespoonful... if that!!! I can finish off the yogurt and pudding with no problem but the hummus fills me up QUICKLY!!!

How scary for you. First of all, I would like to say that at your age, you shouldn't make a dnr decision while you are depressed. I can completely empathize with you and hate this for you. It sounds like a terrible ordeal to endure. But, please consider that aside from how hard this is, making a death decision while depressed is not ideal. I feel confident to tell you that I have faith that you will somehow overcome this. I know that there may seem like not even a flicker of light to look forward to, but that is usually the case when we are facing extremely horrible and depressing things...but, they almost always improve and I'm praying now that this will for you. It is unfortunate that some people have such horrific side effects, but we all go through with this decision anyways in hope of a better quality of life. I know it makes it worse to look forward to only to end up in misery. Please call your doctor's office every day that this is not improving in order to make them fully aware of the seriousness. Don't wait for things to change, call them everytime you have a problem so they can assist you before you become so dehydrated, etc. again. I feel so bad and wish there was more I could do or say. As for food, have you tried nibbling on mashed potatoes? I know they are carbs, which is not ideal after surgery, but this seems to be more about survival at this point and getting over this hump. When I have been sick at my stomach in the past and struggling to eat, these are a few things I have tried: Gatorade, mixed with water in order to dilute. It is full of electrolytes which can help plus you will be mixing with water which can aid in fighting the dehydration, but you don't want to get too much sugar. I'd probably try G2 mixed with water now that it is an option and there are several flavors so maybe you can find one that is tolerable. Mashed potatoes. I was able to nibble on these a little easier than almost anything else when I was severely sick. Another thing you may try is a light yogurt (this may be hard bc it is thicker, but it is full of protein so it's worth a shot.) There are some meal replacement drinks I use bc I can't drink anything thick (as it grosses me out). It is called Advocare meal replacement shake. It mixes with water and doesn't have the after taste or smell of most meal replacements and it's loaded with protein. What I love most is that you can mix it with less water than required so that it isn't so much to drink and it's still relatively thin. It may be worth a shot. It is a little pricey so I had to sign up as a distributor bc I need the discount as I am drinkinig this every day for my protein, but it is well worth it for me. Here's the site: www.AdvoCare.com/120531202 You can just go to shop and type in meal replacement shake in the search bar. I always use the chocolate bc I like that flavor in general, but I have heard the other flavors are good as well. I am so sorry for what you are going through and I am happy to lend an ear to help get you through this. I just have a strong feeling that you can and will get through this. Hang in there sweet girl. Rach

Protein packed fruit smoothie/shake: I have fruits like strawberries, raspberries, peaches, blueberries, cherries, blackberries, pineapple and mango on hand in the freezer so I use whatever sounds good that day. 1/2 cup frozen fruit 1/2 cup of skim milk 2 - 3 tablespoons of plain fat free yogurt 1 scoop of protein powder (I use Pure Nutrition's pure vanilla bean whey protein...1 scoop has 115 cal, 0 fat, 2 carb, 26 g protein) It only takes 10 - 15 seconds in a magic bullet blender to blend. You can also add honey or a sugar substitute/sweetner if you like it extra sweet. You can also use flavored yogurt if you don't like plain yogurt.

I love the Slimfast Ultra, High Protein creamy vanilla blend in: 1/3 c. frozen blueberries 1/3 c. plain nonfat greek yogurt 1 packet splenda I also will blend in 1 scoop benefiber (does a body good)

I did an experiment with making a Protein shake and it was a real winner. 1 scoop strawberry Champion Whey (low carb) 120 cal, 1.5g fat, 3.5 carbs, 23g protein, 3.5 fiber 8 oz skim milk 1 individual container Fiber One Strawberry yogurt (optional) 80 cal, 4g protein, 19 carbs, 5g fiber frozen strawberries (4) 1/2 banana (optional) It was very good and tastes like a Strawberry smoothie without the banana yet filled with protein. With the banana taste like a Strawberry/Banana smoothie. :thumbup:

I admit these r yummy & I have struggled w/ my chip addiction since being sleeved 9.20.12 & can proudly say I've lost 95lbs. I just dipped them in fage yogurt so I'd get my protein in. What works for some may not work for all. My motto is all in moderation:-)

Thanks a lot I was just getting tired of yogurts

I go back to work on Thursday Aug 16. I had a long off time to adjust to the band and eating liquids/shakes/yogurt. I see my surgeon on Aug 21 and thats when I can eat some foods rather than liquids. My healing is almost completed. Ive been walking more and more getting use to exercise again. It doesn't seen like it was a week ago when I was banded,Aug 6. Be positive and keep the faith.

No problems. On mushies until this Friday. Stomach makes weird noises when I eat anything other than shakes & yogurt. I'm hoping with time this will subside. Feeling great and walking 5 days a week. Had surgery on Thursday and went back to work Tuesday. Have not been tired. Nobody at work suspects a thing because I was already dieting a month before surgery. Love my sleeve!

I eat okios triple 000 Greek yogurt very good and filling and they have pretty good flavors

I have been using the car master brand at my local store Krogers I get the car master protein milk for my protein shakes and then I get the carbmaster key lime pie and cinnamon roll flavor yogurts. Yogurts are 9g protein in a 1/2 cup portion.

Not all of us go through "bandster hell". After surgery I was on 2 weeks liquid, 2 weeks mushy, 2 weeks soft but it really wasn't that hard. With the liquid stage I was allowed as much as I wanted so if I was feeling hungry I just ate(drank) some more. I was allowed things like Soups, custard, yogurt, jelly etc. Yes it gets boring and it felt great to be able to go onto mushies but I can't say that I was ever starving. I had my first fill at 3 weeks - yes it was only a tiny 1 but every little bit helps.Again with the mushy stage I was allowed to eat enough to satisfy my hunger. The focus post surgery is about healing more than weight loss. Remember that and you will do fine. It does make a difference having the band. It may be mental, I'm not sure but I know that I have never been able to stick to a liquid diet previously. Knowing that I was getting a band and that each of the food stages including the preop(which is the worst) were finite made it far easier. You know that none of these stages are forever. You can see the end and you know that you have a tool that is going to help enormously.