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Yes I can. I bought some but haven't had it. I did have split pea yesterday. I pureed it with Greek yogurt to add protein and it was so good I added the unflavored to cream of wheat and I could taste it. Ill have to try it in soup tomorrow. I found that the Chike brand of protein isn't too sweet for me and you mix it with only alittle Water or milk, so its a lot of protein without a big drink!

You're not going to like what I write at all, but the very first thing that leaps out from your menu---after skipping dinner (and there has to be a way to get something nutritious in your body for dinner, if only a good-quality protein shake)--- is refined carbohydrate and "fake food" that's high in sodium, but not so high in nutrition. You don't have to give up Pringles and Wheat Thins forever. Or Smart Ones. They probably shouldn't ever be the mainstay of your diet, but there's room in your life for them. But during the time when you're aiming for maximum weight loss, you need to eat as though that's your aim. And your body will respond far more cooperatively if you give it lean protein (including legumes), nonstarchy veggies, heart-healthy fats, and whole grains and fruit in moderation. It will also lose more efficiently if you don't skip meals, but rather, provide fuel consistently throughout your day. What would happen if you replaced your Special K cereal bar with a protein-based snack? Something like fat-free cottage cheese or yogurt and fruit, maybe with a sprinkle of ground flax seed? What would happen if, instead of eating a Smart One for lunch, you had a couple of wraps of sliced turkey breast and cheese on romaine lettuce (or even a low-carb wrap)? They don't take longer to prepare, but are healthier and more satisfying. How about having a real dinner every night? Maybe a 3-4 ounce serving of lean protein and some nonstarchy veggies? It doesn't take long to prepare or eat---even for someone babying a band----and would give your body nutrients it needs. I bet you'd see the scale behaving differently. I see lots of advice here telling you to keep doing what you're doing. Mine would be to make some changes to see if they help you move toward your goal. I do NOT mean to minimize your great progress so far. But it sounds as though you're frustrated and hitting the wall, so I thought I'd toss my $0.02 in, for what little it's worth. (:biggrin: it's worth exactly $0.02.) Good luck!

Hi All, I am scheduled to be banded on the 29th of Dec. with Dr. Kurian in NYC. I just read all of the messages here, and they were so helpful. I had particularly been wondering about the Vitamins I take, drinking, and what kinds of foods to get post op. I have an additional problem: I am allergic to corn products, and that sure does rule out many yogurts, puddings, Jello, etc. I sure am open to any suggestions. Tangerine, congrats on your remarkable weight loss--not being banded I always check out losses; it encourages me! I also noted you live near me and that Dr. Kurian is your Dr. too. Again, thanks to all. It is so wonderful being able to share experiences. Whatever did we do before the Internet existed? Of course, some of you may not vividly recall such a time, eh? How about this. I really want to be banded and lose weight, and I am an overachiever and I know I will work hard, but right now I feel sort of in mourning and depressed about the food I won't be able to eat??? Am I psycho? Anyone remember a similar phase? Best of luck to all, Sultana

Protein shake twice a day, crystal light, broths, sugar free jello and popsicles, 1 cup raw veggies (lettuce, cucumber, tomato.) with Greek yogurt with no fruit....with which I add crystal light to or I'd go insane. My liquid diet starts tomorrow but I started it on Monday. I'm surprisingly not hungry or craving food anymore, surgery on the 16th.

Hi! I had the sleeve tumor removal and hiatal hernia repair on 4/8 today was my first day back at work. Week one was rough! I am a healthcare worker who works 12 hr shifts so I had the same fears you are talking about. I am lucky enough that my program has its own app I am sure anyone can use it Baritastic. You can log everything you need. I set reminders every 30 mins to remind me to drink (at 14 days post op I can comfortably drink 2oz in about 5 mins) it took a lot of trial and error finding the right cup to drink out of. The easiest for me was the Yeti slider lid you can sip comfortably. I also set a reminder every 4 hours to eat/drink protein. It also has vitamin reminders. I bought toddler 4oz snack cups to put my yogurt, egg salad, and refried beans (I started purée yesterday). I drink in between Patients and take 15 min break to eat then my lunch break and 15 right now where I eat my 1/3 cup of which ever. Today worked out great I am getting my food and fluids in as hoped. I also started my day with a pre made protein shake. I was so afraid I wouldn’t have energy. I have been walking about 3 miles a day for the past 5 days but I took yesterday off, and today I just walked 15 mins at lunch. Hopefully this is helpful. Good luck!

I am at 2 months out here are some examples of what entire meal is for me A typical meal for me is: 3/4 of a small fuit and yogurt parfait from mcdonalds 1 slice of toast (crusts cut off) with 1-2 tablespoons of Peanut Butter 1/2 cup of cottage cheese 1 baby bell cheese and about 2 inches of a banana 12-20 hormel turkey pepperoni 1/3- 1/2 a regular hard shell taco- light on toppings 2-3oz of tuna with miracle whip with 4 small crackers. 1 egg (scrambled, poached, hard boiled) and lots of other things I can't think of right now!!!

Hi friends! I thought we could start a thread of great low-calorie, high Protein, or just plain delicious food products as we re-learn our diets. I recently found this DELICIOUS blue cheese salad dressing that is yogurt based and has just 35 calories for 2 tablespoons. There are different kinds also (Ranch, Honey Mustard, etc.). I have used it on salads (yes, I can tolerate lettuce!) but also to moisten my Proteins (steak, chicken, etc.). I will post more as I remember other products. I hope this is helpful to someone! What is your favorite food item these days? xoxo http://www.bolthouse.com/products/dressings/creamyyogurts

I currently use sugar-free pudding and want to try unsweetened cocoa powder and stevia drops, but can't think of anything else! I see some use Torani, too. Anybody have other ideas?

I thought I would start a thread to see how everyone is doing, whether you have had surgery yet or not. What are your feelings since you have been banded? Are you happy? Adjusting well? How are you healing? How is eating/drinking going at your current stage? Social events? I'll start... I am on the pre-op diet of mostly liquid Protein, but I can have some yogurt and cottage cheese, strawberries/blueberries in my shakes. Egg Drop Soup has helped too. I find if I keep myself satiated I do fine. When I get hungry I get REAL hungry and I have to have something or else I feel like falling off the wagon. Today is day 7.. 4 more days to go on the diet, surgery is on Wednesday. I am ready to go!! I have been reading everyone's experiences who have had surgery before me and appreciate all the information gained. I have lost 10 lbs in this past week a good jump start but I am sure it is a lot of Water. :sneaky: Who is next? :biggrin:

Also, don't be afraid to ask what is in the food and how it is prepared. We have some items in our work cafeteria that I was unsure about (ie. their cottage cheese, was it lowfat, etc). They brought out the container for me to see. On their Breakfast yogurt parfaits they emailed their main office (our caf is run by Sodexho) and emailed me back the nutritional values. Lastly, when going out make the obvious choices of grilled over fried, order foods w/ the sauce on the side, minus mayo, things like that so you know there are no heavy added calories.

Hi ~ This is my first time to post. I was banded on Nov 29, 07. My only complaint is my mouth has been broken out for about 2 1/2 weeks. My lips are swollen and red also inside my mouth are a few small blisters. I thought maybe an allergic reaction to the fruit juices, so I stopped that. Maybe the vitamins.... stopped them. No change... maybe yeast? I'm trying the over the counter capsules for that now. I crush a zoloft and celebrex and mix with yogurt. These aren't fever blisters either. Any more ideas what could be happening??? Of course, "It's the holidays", is my only excuse for not going to the Dr yet.. Any suggestions or advice? I don't want to be seen :think ~~ Thank you !

I don't do protein drinks, but get all of my protein from food. One high protein food I eat is Fage Greek yogurt. It tastes like sour cream and has 23 grams of protein per cup. It also counts as a fluid.

My NUTs Protein goals are 90-100g/day and 500-500calories At first i struggled with getting enough liquids, waiting the 30 min before/after and then fitting as much dense protein as i could into 30 minutes..... I found myself staying up later just to eat and drink!! It was CRAZY! Now.... I have had a few weeks to "smarten up" and this is my basic plan: Breakfast 6oz greek yogurt (non fat plain flavored w/ splenda and torani syrups) (20g protein) 2 bottles of water/diet green tea (24ox liquid) SNACK 1 RTD protein shake (30g protein & 12oz liquid) OR tofu snackers (15g pro) lunch 2oz dense protein (usually lunchmeat or tuna or chix breast) (15g pro) 2 bottles of water/crystal lite (24oz liquid) dinner 2oz dense protein & small babybell cheese (20g pro) SNACK 1 homeade protein shake with skim milk & 1 funsize dark chocolate (35g pro & 12oz liquid) OR 1 homemade protein pudding (15g pro) RIGHT BEFORE BED 8oz Water (prevents AM nausea & dizzyness)

Thanks for sharing....I feel good about him...I just really dont see his name to much on here....did they give u post op meal ingo before u left. I only have pre op of 3 days water, yogurt. ..if u dont mind sharing.

Hello my fellow May sleevers! I don't think I have introduced myself yet. I'm in Detroit, Michigan and I am a band to sleeve revision. I was initially scheduled for a gastric bypass in March but I chickened out the week of surgery. My sleeve date is May 16th! I feel so much better about this decision. My docs office was a bit irritated with me but I have to do what is right for me! I have had my crap band for five years with little weight loss and I have been taking off and putting back on the same twenty pounds for the last six months. I'm just sick of it and I need to do something different. I've been trying to get myself ready so months ago I quit soda, carbonation, and caffeine. I also gave up alcohol almost completely (never thought I'd be able to do that). I've also learned to love yogurt which, until two weeks ago I could not stand! I made a list of what I will need and posted in a thread. I purchased my Vitamins, belly band, ear plugs, and eye mask for the hospital today. My goal is to get to the gym everyday until surgery so that I go in in the best shape possible. My doc does not require a liquid diet but I would really like to try to do one for a couple of weeks prior. I figure there can't be any harm in trying to keep my liver out of the docs way! My surgery will include gallbladder removal, band removal, hernia repair (caused by the crap band), and my revision to a sleeve so I am anticipating being in a world of hurt or as the coordinator at the surgeons office put it a "hot mess"! She has assured me they will get me through it. I look forward to sharing this experience with all of you and wish you the best of luck!

I was very happy w/the experience. My mom who is also a nurse was also pleasantly surprised at how well-organized everything was. every person involved was informative & willing to listen, the nutritionist took her time explaining everything clearly. PLEASE Take the nasty-tasing pain medecine they give you. I put it off and regretted it later. For the flight back carry your liquid antibiotic in your ziploc baggie and the script you get in the surgeon's office so as airport personel are rummaging through your carry-on luggage they don't force you to leave it behind because of these liquid restrictions we have now. The guy who checked my bag even let me carry in my yogurt drink that was 6 ounces and not in a baggie when I told him I had surgery w/strict dietary restrictions and could not consume any of the Snacks given to me in the flight. I've been told I was very lucky with that one. Enjoy, sight see but not too much, like I did, you'll pay for it later.

Anyone who might know this answer. I am scheduled for the band on 17 Jan. I started on all liquids Monday, and have done pretty well until last night. Hunger has not been as much of an issue as my lactose intollerance. I had no idea it was this bad because I don't use milk or yogurt much. I have been following the 60-80mg of protien shakes, no/low-cal liquids and broths, with about 45 carbs or less per day. Last night I woke up at 1 AM with my stomach in major pain. my reg stomach meds did not work, so ran to get acidophilis and lactaid when the store opened, So far I am a littel better. I am wondering if I cooked eggwhites with 1 egg for the full protien and had broth for the evening if that woudl hurt. It wouid simply give my system a break from the milk based stuff. Does anyone know???

Hi ladies . I was banded in April 2013 and have lost 110 pounds so far. I'm 36 years old, female, starting weight of 326, 5'11 tall. I am far from an expert, but here are a few things that have worked for me: - Warm liquids first thing EVERY morning (I drink plain hot tea. Anything with milk is too thick right away in the morning) - Protein shake mid morning. I can't have a shake any earlier than about 10am or it won't go down well. My band is snug every morning, but loosens throughout the day. - lunch around 1-2pm. I try to have a Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese stick, deli meat. ... something along those lines. I only have about 3/4 c. TOTAL of anything for lunch. The only carby thing I may have is crackers with my cheese (maybe 5 crackers total) or a small fruit cup. - dinner around 6pm. I eat anything I'm in the mood for, with the concentration on protein of some sort. I only eat 1 c. MAX at dinner. If I'm taking small bites and eating slowly I will feel completely satisfied from 1 c. or less. - I try really hard not to snack. Sometimes I fail, but I have definitely learned not to eat anything after about 8pm. I will be uncomfortable and have indigestion if I eat shortly before I lay down. None of this has been easy. I have fallen off the wagon several times, but I think I'm in a great place right now. I do think I've reached the green zone. I've been filled maybe 8 times or so in the last 14 months (I'm guessing but I think that's about right). I was too tight once so they took out a smidgen and I was much better. I've since had that fill put back in and a little bit more and I'm doing great. I know how frustrating it can be to not have your band telling you when you've had enough. Just try your best to follow your Dr's food guidelines in the mean time. I use My Fitness Pal on my phone EVERY DAY to record my food intake. I don't want to underestimate the calories I eat and I want to track my protein to be sure I'm getting enough. Also, I want to have a legit record of my eating in case my Dr wants to look it over. Good luck and don't give up! I hope you both see the weight come off steadily!

I lived on cottage cheese, Protein shakes, mashed carrots, Greek yogurt and creamed Soup during the puréed stage. I just gagged on puréed meats and eggs. I will say that once I hit the soft food stage, chicken breast and fish were my two best friends. Here are some things that went very well for me: Chicken breast with fat free gravy Chicken breast with marinara, mushrooms and green pepper Chicken breast with healthy request cream of mushroom soup Chicken breast shredded with taco seasoning Salmon Orange roughy with lemon butter sauce I always made double vegetables and stopped making all starches. This is what I cooked a and my family ate it too. I maybe made mashed potatoes once a week for my family and a sweet potatoe for me. Cauliflower was the vegetable that I used to replace potatoes or rice. I used the 2/1 method for ensuring a balanced meal. 2 bites of protein for every 1 bite of vegetables (healthy carbs). I did not really eat any bad carbs until I was probably 8 months post op and then only very occasionally. When I say bad carbs I am talking about crackers, a bite of dessert, that sort of thing. I cannot eat much so what I do eat I make sure that I get my protein in. For a snack I will usually have beef jerkey, nuts, Apple with Peanut Butter. If I want something sweet and icy, I will have some dole, dark chocolate covered bananas or strawberries. They come 4 slices in each pack, the strawberries are 60 calories with 6 grams of carb, the bananas are 100 calories with 12 grams of carbs. They take care of my need for something icy and sweet. I have also found that simply having a cup of skim milk also curbs my appetite when I am between meals.

Scrambled eggs with cheese was my go to mushy. Greek yogurt as well. I never did mashed potatoes due to high carb content.

Mac where do you find fage yogurt? Is that something you find in a health food store or a regular ol grocery store? I love laughing cow cheese too. It's great for only 35 calories. I sometimes put it on those carckers I like.

I realize that; however if trying to stick under 30 gms of carbs, and there's 10 in the yogurt, that to me seems like a lot for the size of the container.

I'm also scheduled for August 22 & am on day 5 of clear liquids & 4-5 protein shakes a day. Day 3 was the worst so far for me, including a headache, but today I am a bit hungrier than yesterday. I find that sugar-free Jello or broth is more "filling" for those super-hungry times. Also, some sugar-free drink mix, like Crystal Light, seems more filling than plain water. Some surgeons do allow full liquids but mine doesn't. If your surgeon does allow it try thicker soups or yogurt.

I eat a lot of: meat (leftovers, deli meat, etc.) eggs (hard-boiled, egg salad, egg bites) string cheese (the 2% milkfat kind, not the full fat kind) cottage cheese (non-fat as I honestly can't taste any difference between full and no-fat cc) yogurt (FAGE has 20 g of Protein per 6 oz. serving) beef Jerky protein hot chocolate (I like the Nashua Nutrition/Healthwise brand the best) Protein shakes (I like Chike the best.) nuts (have to watch the quanities due to the fat, but they make a nice change) I did the bullets for a while, but after a while they made me gag. Milk is okay *in* things, but I can't drink more than 4-8 oz (used to be less) without getting gastric distress. I also sometimes use Protein Bars -- but only ones that have no more carbs than protein) and trail mix that I mix up myself. I also make a protein muffin that has a 3:1 carb to protein that is supposed to be good for recovery from exercise. I make them in a mini-muffin pan and have two after I work out. I think the key is to make every meal and snack protein-based. If you can only eat one egg, have a hard-boiled egg and something else (i.e., instead of crackers which are all carbs). Crackers are easy, but so is beef jerky. If you want crackers, have much less than you normally do, but put some Peanut Butter on them. Yeah, PB can be high in fat, but PB crackers will stay with you longer and have more protein than crackers alone. The other thing I do is cook a lot on the weekends so I have plenty of leftovers. I notice that, when I don't do this, I tend to eat worse because I grab the first handy thing that comes along. That always leads to bad choices IME.

I had read some advice on here and I wish I had taken it. Someone had said to make a list of why you were having VSG. And then after the surgery when you were struggling you would be able to give yourself a pep talk. I honestly didn’t think I would struggle. I have always considered myself to have a pretty high tolerance for pain. I thought I would come out of this thing famously. I went in on Monday for my surgery. They were not ready. I think maybe they had so many surgeries going on that day it was hard to find an OR for everyone. They took me back around noon I guess. There were 9 nurses getting patients ready for surgery. 8 of them were female. Naturally, I ended up with the one male. He was hot. And I had the great privilege of getting to admit to him that I had just started my period. Fortunately he was very cool about it. I did want to crawl into a hole though. They had two gown sizes. Twiggy- which naturally wouldn’t work for me…and apparently the second one was Godzilla sized. They had several students sitting in on my surgery. The recovery room was brutal. I was in so much pain. They brought me up to my room and promised that “Todd” would come and get me to walk in about 4 hours. I never saw Todd the whole time I was there. Finally around 10 or 11 that night I asked to walk. I didn’t have a problem walking. They took me down for my sleeve test on Tuesday morning. That doctor may very well be the biggest a*****e in the world. I have promised myself when I get back to normal I am going back to the hospital to specifically chew him a new one. Though, I would imagine when I finally feel better I will be over it. Apparently, I passed. Dr. Nease was up on the floor to see me as they were taking me down to take the test. I came around the corner and heard one of the nurses talking about me. They told him I was doing excellent and I was very alert. I came around the corner and he said “there she is!” I waved and went on to pass my test. Dr. N ordered a tray for me and told me to start on clear liquids. He said my surgery was text book and could not have gone any better. He said he could almost guarantee me that I would not have a leak. He also said I was doing so good I could go home Tuesday night if I wanted to. They finally took the cursed catheter out of me. I took a shower. Dealing with the JP drain in the shower was challenging. I barely drank anything. I ate just a bit of Jell-O. Then I asked if I could go home. I will admit- I may have jumped the gun. I just wanted the IV out of my arm so bad. I wanted to wear my normal clothes. I wanted to go home. In the handbook they gave us they suggested if we lived more than 10 min away from the hospital that we should stay in a hotel in town. I live over 2 hours away. Down some of the roughest curviest roads in southern WV. I let the hotel idea slip my mind. And at about 6pm they rushed me out the door hoping my pharmacy would not close before I got there. I made it just in time. My mom and I were both frazzled. I was in a lot of pain. All of the bumping and jarring and curves really hurt. We cleared the pharmacy got pain meds and made it home by 9. I crashed in the recliner. No sleep for me though. The pain meds which I was sure I wouldn’t need would keep me asleep for about an hour and a half at a time. Oddly enough my stomach started growling in the recovery room- and never stopped. At first that was a bit of a novelty. I haven’t heard my stomach growl since I was 16 years old. After several continual hours of it- the novelty wore off. It would growl so loud I couldn’t sleep. I walked like a mad woman. I was pacing the floors in the house like some sort of deranged elderly person. One tiny shuffled footstep after another. My bowels would rumble. It was terrible. I thought maybe I needed an antacid- they had given me one on day one of my surgery. So, at 3 am Thursday morning I popped half of a Prilosec. And then threw up. I threw up water- but it is sufficient to say that one spell was enough to make me feel that this was something I would never want to do again. I called my nurses office and left a message. Told her about my stomach and bowels and the whole Prilosec incident. When she called back I was in the shower. She told my mom I was experiencing gas from the surgery and it would pass. She said I needed to walk (which I had already been doing non stop). And she recommended that I try some gas-x. Thursday my step dad came over and worked in my yard. I am not sure why- but it looks 100 percent better. Thursday was also mom’s last day with me. She did a load of towels for me and cleaned up the kitchen. I don’t know what I would have done without her. I tried the gas-x and slept for the first time since getting out of surgery. This morning I am a little better. I still need pain meds on occasion. I can sit up in a straight backed chair for over an hour now. I have been walking a lot more. I do not get the 64 oz of water per day they want or the 60-70gm of protein. I am getting 8-12 oz of water per day and I manage a couple of tablespoons about 4 times a day of protein. I find that I am hungry. I was hungry coming out of the recovery room. When I attempt to eat (protein sugar free pudding- greek yogurt etc.) I can only manage a couple of spoon fulls then I am done. I have had moments of regret. They told us not to expect that everyone’s surgery would go the same. Not to expect that we would all have the same reaction. I am disappointed that I am not feeling that much better. I thought I would be able to go back to work on Monday. I thought I would feel much better than this. I am very glad I asked for that second week off I can’t wait to get this JP drain out of me on Tuesday. But that means a 4 hour drive. 2 hrs down and 2 back up. I am looking forward to that infamous honeymoon stage where everyone feels great and is losing a ton of weight. Right now, I feel bad. I hurt. And I miss food.