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Welcome, I am on full liquid, I can't have mashed potatoes yet, and that's the one thing I am seriously looking forward to. Protein drinks make me sick, so I normally stick with the clear ones like Isopure (which taste terrible) but are definitely better than Protein shakes (I used to LOVE protein shakes pre-surgery). I tried Cream of asparagus today and of course it's very gassy, but I seriously wanted something that tasted good, so I had a few teaspoons of it and tried to eat around the asparagus. I did not buy the cream of wheat because I was worried about how high the carbs were, but I wish I would have. I bought some baby Cereal that has low carbs and will try a few teaspoons tomorrow. I basically try to get an ounce or two of something in every 4 hours at least instead of worrying about trying to sit and get 4 - 8 in at once. 4 ounces is my limit on anything including Water. After the few teaspoons of Soup two hours ago, now I'm trying 1-1/2 ounces of sf pudding. I'm hoping to start hitting 250 calories soon, because 200 calories and under 20 protein is a little too low at this point I think.

I've been on a full liquid diet since my surgery on the 13th. I've been able to have 98% fat free cream soups (strained), SF pudding, instant mashed potatoes. I was told I could also have cream of wheat, but found it just sat in my little gogo gadget tummy so I'm going to put that on the shelf for a couple more weeks. I found that a little bit of mashed potato with a few teaspoons of 98% FF cream of chicken soup over it is very yummy - just like potatoes and gravy. I'm onto the mushy stage on Thursday and cannot wait - I can't handle any more protein drinks !!!!

Post op day 5. Feeling so much better. Not using the pain meds anymore. Stil some discomfort but nothing crazy. Biggest issue has bee making sure I get in my 60 grams of Protein. Still have gas pain and have not really had a bm (tmi I know ) since the day prior to surgery. Taking colace and going to start Fiber supplements. Any suggestions thanks everyone.

I am so sorry you are going through all of this. In addition to talking in detail with your surgeon I would suggest your mental health professional too. When starting out I was told that the band is a tool that can really help you lose weight but it is not a magic bullet. In order to feel well and be successful you must follow the rules. One is no drinking with meals. This was very hard for me too but it is a must. If really necessary just take a sip. You could be feeling sick because you are eating and drinking too much. I have dry heaved twice since being banded. One time was after the gym when I downed a bottle of water in minutes. Finally after an hour I dry heaved. It took a couple of hours to feel better. The second time was when I went out for dinner. I know I ate too much and did not chew well ( and yes that is a very important rule, chew chew chew and than chew some more !) I felt terrible for hours. Please try weaning yourself off the sweet tea. Calories do count. Perhaps you could cut back and dilute it little by little. I was very addicted to diet soda and had to give it up cold turkey because of the carbonation. Now I don't miss it. In fact the other day I took a few sips and didn't like it. I drink water with lemon and Ice tea with sweetnlow. Also remember your protein. Eat your protein first. It helps you feel fuller longer. I wish you good luck and hope you feel better soon.

Haven't had the surgery yet myself but there are many Keto recipes floating around that you can try that MAY work for us after surgery (as they are usually sugar free). Here are some of the ones I use periodically. As you can see they are sorta similar. Various Versions of Whips/Mousse Desserts 1 tub sugar free cool whip 1 block softened cream cheese 1/4 cup Swerve Mix with mixer until fluffy and store in fridge (scoop what you want, when you want). Can add in Lily's Sugar Free Chocolate Chips (in various flavors), berries, sugar free syrups, etc. 1 block softened cream cheese 1 box any flavor sugar free jello 1 cup heavy whipping cream Mix with mixer until fluffy. Scoop into small balls with scooper or use hands. Lay balls on parchment paper and put in fridge or freezer for a few hours. I store leftovers in and airtight container in the freezer. 1 package of sugar free pudding mix any flavor 2 cups heavy whipping cream Mix with hand mixer until fluffy. Top with sugar free chocolate chips, sugar free syrups, or berries. Since these call for Sugar Free Pudding mixes there are soooooo many flavor variations you can come up with. Peanut Butter Balls 8 oz softened cream cheese 4 oz creamy NATURAL Peanut Butter (ingredients should list nuts and salt only) 4 Tbsp Swerve 1/2 cups crushed dark chocolate chips, optional Mix together room temperature PB, cream cheese and sweetener. Stir until well mixed and smooth. Scoop into small balls or use your hands. Roll into crushed chocolate chips, optional. Arrange on parchment paper lined pan and put into freezer for 2 hours. Enjoy. Store remaining balls in airtight container and store in freezer. Sugar free whipped cream and some berries would be a good treat too. There are lots of recipe websites out there too dedicated to those who have had the surgery.

hey Ben, Banded on the 25th as well. everything seems to be going well with me. I have little pain now. mostly at port incision. Little bit of roamiing gas left(move as much as possible). Been on thinned out blended Soups and Protein shakes, Feel like i could eat something i could chew but gonna wait til week 3 or 4 post-op. Honestly I havent felt real hungary just my mind telling me ---boy that sure looks-smells good, lol ---. Suppose thats why im here myself. Ive, always been a volume eater. Dont drinks sodas,dont particular care for sweets, my drug of choice is the bacon cheesebuger and plenty of them:lol:. I eat plenty of healthy food as well, just it seems when i would sit down to eat it was like i just entered a contest or something. My surgeon told me to think of the band as a dog shock collar-- he said if you overate before that i will again but its gonna hurt and after a awhile (hopefully sooner than later) that the pain will modify my behavoiur kinda like pavlovs dogs:thumbup:. Anyhow I hope your feeling well and best wishes to you. Karl Go LOUAVULL Cardinals:biggrin:

PCOS doesn't slow down weight loss. And 39 pounds in 10 weeks it a lot! You weight goes up and down all the time. If you are following your prescribed food plan you are losing FAT no matter what the scale says. Maybe you can stop weighing yourself every day? Some weeks you might not lose any weight. That is NORMAL. I eat 25 grams of carbs, 90-110 grams of Protein, and as little sugar as possible (just what's in the 8oz of 1% milk I drink a few times a week). I add Fiber ( ground flax seeds) to my Protein shakes, you can also add Benifiber (it's clear and has no flavor) but drink the shake right away of it gets weird. I feel fuller for longer if I add some fiber to the shakes. I don't pay any attention to sodium, but I also don't eat packaged or canned food. Watch out for alcohol sugar (it's often in candy and protein bars) it will stall your weight loss no matter what the labels claim. In my opinion there is such a thing as too much zero calorie (100% chemical) sweeteners.Lots of studies fine that ithey increases hunger. I limit it to one or two packets a day. According to my PT I will get better results working out every second day. I alternate days walking (2miles) and toning/strength training . As for calories, what does your NUT/plan say? If you eat 90 grams of protein and 25grams of low calorie carbs you're eating about 600 calories a day. I eat about 800-900 because, strange as it seems, I wasn't losing much weight and was told by the NUT To increase my calories. Yes, it's normal to get a bit obsessed about your weight. I use a journal to keep track of everything I eat, how much Water I drink, my Vitamins, my blood sugars and exercise. How I explained it to a friend recently is that I have never spent so much time and effort on eating so little food. I want to add that I don't know how old you are, how much you weigh or how active you are. So...keep in mind that the things I do might not be the best for you. Please don't feel like people her are judgmental.

Hello fellow sleevers! These forums have really been helpful for me to find answers in addition to a lot of reading on WLS (pre-op and post-op) from Amazon and the local library. Now I would like to start posting a few questions. Perhaps others will gain something out of my post of others that respond. In the past couple of weeks, I have been getting a sharp jabbing pain on my right side below the rib cage. It feels pretty deep and kind of pulses. It is usually temporarily and goes away within 20 minutes. However, the intensity as well as the frequency has been frequency so it is starting to concern me. My wife keeps saying that it is incision pain (and it is close to an incision), but it feels different from other incision pain, deeper. Incision pain is usually on the surface and feels like, well, a incision pain. Sorry, I don't know how else to explain it. I haven't been taking any prescriptions for the gallbladder as some have suggested, but I take just about every other type of post-op Vitamin under the sun as well as prilosec for the acid. I haven't had acid yet so am glad about that. I do throw up perhaps once a day, but it mostly my own fault because I have a bad habit of eating too fast and sometimes too much. Even a bite or two over my 3 oz of Protein will give me a stuffed up feeling in the throat where it definately feels like it will come up in the form of slimes or just food. I know this is my fault and am working on it. Diet is very conservative and has served me well since the surgery. I have lost 80 lbs in 2 months. I eat most protein at around 100 grams and also over 100 oz of some kind of liquid which is usually flavored. I used to drown myself in tap Water every day before the surgery because it tasted fine. Now I can't stand it because of heavy mineral taste. Also water like Desani does this to me also- what gives? Some bottled water is fine. I can't do milk due to lactose intolerance introduced after surgery so am on soy now. I don't eat carbs unless it is part of the protein I am eating and am hardly eating any vegatables because full after protein (sometimes each with dinner meal). Instead I eat a scoop of a veggy shake product that is low carlory and low carb. I tell me wife it tastes like hay! I don't really care as long as it is going to keep me healthy over the long run. If anyone has advice on the jabbing pain, that would be great. It is not really a huge issue yet, but don't want to end up on the surgery bed due to an emergency gall bladder surgery. I am thinking about visiting my Primary Care Physician as I have not done this since my surgery two months ago from yesterday (July 2nd). Thanks for advice everyone! I appreciate it.

just discover something to make with the protein shakes mix and the wonderslim protein chocolate cake mix (low carb 6 grams and 15 grams of protein in one package don't eat it very much but when i need it it comes in handy) so take your fava protein mix and 5 or 6 table spoon of fat free cool whip and mix it. it should become creamy. cook the cake in the microwave. let it cool of course and then slice it in half "vertical" (no pun intended) put the mix in between then put in the freezer. enjoy!:crying: (i'm thinking of buying the carbzero mix to use as the bread for when i make stuff .it has no carbs in it)

Add low fat powdered milk to broth for a creamer protein source

I'm on liquids but my NUT said I could have yogurt to since I have had a hard time with liquids and protein. So how does everyone know when they are full say 7-21 days out? Possible even a month out? I'm 11 days post op and I have no idea when I'm full and I don't want to mess up my sleeve by eating/ drinking too much.

Monday was my second fill. My first fill provided for some restriction, but more maintenance restriction. I could tell immediately that the 2nd fill was different. I drank my water after the fill and I had to do it very slowly and almost concentrate on it. After my first fill, by my evening meal, I would be able to eat salads. And after 2 1/2 weeks, I could eat anything. I was doing a pretty good job of not gaining anything, but I wasn't losing. With this fill, I spent Monday and Tuesday on liquids. Yesterday, I had a smoothie in the morning which after a cup of warm coffee. For lunch I had about 1/4-1/2 cup of baked potato. For dinner, I had fish. I went to Razzoo's and ordered something that I thought was grilled but it turned out to be fried. The breading didn't go down smoothe, but I was able to scrape most of it off and eat the fish inside. That was it for the day. Today, I had my coffee and smoothie. For lunch I again had about 1/2 cup of baked potato. Potatoes aren't my favorite lunch since they aren't high in protein, but it just happened that way. I just had a snack of 1 Wheat Thin flatbread cracker with Laughing Cow cheese. Around 5:00, if I need it, I will have another cracker with peanut butter. Tonight I have a crab cake to try. Hopefully I will be able to eat it! I feel like I'm taking small bites and going slowly, but I still feel like there is a knot in my chest (stuck) most of the time. I don't think I could handle it any worse, but I'm okay as is. Last time, I lost enough in a couple of weeks that it loosened up, so maybe that will happen again. One way or the other, I will learn to live and be successful with this band! The exercise plan is still going strong. I have decided that as my reward for sticking to my 8 week Jumpstart plan, I will buy myself a Tiffany key. I have really wanted one for a while and quite honestly would have bought one for myself eventually. This way, I will feel like I earned it. :wub: Have a great day!!

Wheetsin, I think I had the same name on LBT. It's been a while. My update: I saw my surgeon again this morning. There was some confusion, as I thought they had rescheduled my surgery for 8/24 (instead of 8/31). But it was really scheduled for SEVEN/24. Um, that's next Tuesday, and for a variety of reasons, I just cannot make it work. The big one is I am out of town for work. The next available option he had was 8/17. which was 3.5 weeks later. Fortunately, my surgeon is awesome. He worked me in on 8/3, so I don't have to move heaven and earth, AND I can get it done sooner. The bad news is my band is EFFFED UP! For real. If you've seen your band on film, you know it should look like a slash, '/'. Mine is a perfectly round, big, open, 'O', Yep, it has not only turned, but it has flipped and twisted. Which means my poor tummy is being drug up and through the O and then back down. Not good. He said he's seen worse though. I am thankful for once that my overachieving ways didn't have me in first place. He can't believe I don't have any restriction based on the band's position, but I really don't. Oh, also, my band has ZERO Fluid in it, even though it should have 9cc. Yep, it is a mess. I wonder if he'll give it to me as a souvenir! Sooooo, it's bad enough that I have to wait at least FOUR MONTHS between surgeries for my poor tummy to heal. BUT because he is seriously the most awesome doctor ever, he reassured me that I am NOT to worry about weight gain. He wants me to focus solely on letting my tummy heal. He said he doesn't care if I lose 10 lbs or gain 50 lbs between now and my sleeve, he just wants to see me healed. He said I will get it all off and then some with the sleeve. In fact, he insisted I will be sitting in his office a year from now asking for plastic surgeon referrals because I'll have lost so much weight. It seems impossible, but I know it is true. Whether I have the surgery now or in a few months, a year from now, it won't really make a difference. A lower risk of complication is worth it in the end. There you have it - the latest and greatest from this battling bandster. I have finally stopped crying. I'm still not happy at the prospect of being restriction-free for an additional five months or so, but it is what it is. I didn't have restriction for about six months with the band, so I just need to get in that same head space and do what I need to do. Thanks for reading if you've made it this far!

I'm doing ok on my preop. Admittedly I'm bored with it - but I am keeping pretty satisfied with protein shakes in terms of hunger. I have a feeling if you ask me a week from now I might be singing a different tune lol.

Anyone have these? I don't often, maybe have had 2 or 3 in a month and a half but today I'm constantly hungry! Only eating protein still, should be allowed veggies starting tomorrow at my appointment 🤞🏻🤞🏻. I don't know what's going on! I eat and wait the half hour to drink and then wait another half hour to eat again! Suggestions?

Honestly? My suggestion would be to contact your weight loss team and ask them to delay submitting for approval with your insurance for another month. That will give you the chance to adjust to a diet that will get your weight down below where you started off and start some exercise. While I was still waiting to meet my reqs, my diet was one 30g protein shake at 9am, a 20g protein bar at noon, a cottage cheese cup/low-sugar greek yogurt/another protein shake or bar at 4pm, and then 5oz of lean protein and 5oz of veggies at 7pm. I'd generally end up between 1000-1200 calories. For exercise, I would just walk outside for about 30-45 minutes since the gym was not an option. Couple that kind of a diet and routine with delaying submitting to insurance for 4 weeks and you should get back below where you started.

Nice job! I'm having a breakthrough with the diet, too. I think focusing on protein instead of worrying about calories has really made the difference (and the calories always end up lower anyway!). Eating out is our huge struggle as well. My solution lately is when I do eat out I prioritize finding a meal item with a good balance of protein to fat. So, like, not a double cheeseburger because although it has a lot of protein it has way more fat. But a grilled chicken sandwich with cheese and honey mustard at Wendy's is 40 grams of protein and very tasty! Then I get chili instead of fries. Total calories 540, 49 protein, 12 fat. I don't feel like it's depriving or "dieting" but the macros are great. Also at McDonald's since they have breakfast all day I get the egg mcmuffin with apple slices and go-gurt. Keep up the great work! How much longer do you have of the supervised diet?

I went to the surgeon who originally placed my lap band today to talk about the surgery I need to have to remove it due to erosion and subsequent revision surgery. I had my head completely reconciled with having vertical sleeve revision and then he threw in a new option. For the past year, he has been doing banded plication surgery. In my particular situation, due to the erosion, we would do the surgery to remove my band first, give my stomach time to heal, and then I would have a second surgery to revise to the banded plication. For those of you who are not familiar with this procedure, it involves folding the stomach in on itself and stitching it to achieve a sleeve like effect. This is a similar procedure to the old stomach stapling procedure but much more effective due to technique and the usage of sutures as opposed to staples. Then, he will place another band at the top of the sleeve thereby essential having two weight loss surgeries at one time. My understanding is that the plication is better for achieving immediate weight loss, the band is better for long term weight loss. Combining them is essentially the best of both worlds with a few added benefits. First, because you have restriction from the plication, you don't have to fill the band as fast or as much in order to achieve satisfactory restriction. Second, because of the more slender shape of the stomach, incidences of slippage are greatly reduced. Third, there is no need to dissect 90% of your stomach. Fourth, if you do have a problem with the band, it can be removed and you will still have restriction from the plication. As always, there can be complications. Sutures can come undone. There can be necrosis of the upper part of the stomach right below the band. My understanding is that so far, the complication rate is extremely minimal and weight loss results have been comparable to the sleeve. I have to admit that the thought of not having to cut my stomach is appealing to me. At the same time, the thought of putting in another band after my first one eroded is a little unnerving. My surgeon is not pressuring me to do either one. He wants me to do what I'm comfortable with but he is very excited about the results he has seen with this surgery. I am 52 and this is more than likely my last chance at getting to be where I want to be. This is still considered to be investigational and is not covered by insurance but I believe the majority of the costs will be covered by research study funds. I have complete confidence in my surgeon. He secondary specialties are liver transplants and pediatric surgery and he is always at the cutting edge (pardon the pun) of the latest and greatest bariatric surgeries. I just want to do the right thing for me. My instinct is to let him get in there and take out my band, take a look around and see what kind of damage my band did to my insides. Then, make a more educated decision about which surgery would be right for me. As an aside, he completely refuses to do gastric bypass. What would you do??

I too cannot eat breakfast, so although it's not ideal, breakfast does not work for me. My doctor says this is normal. I would try to stick to more Protein and back away from the vegetables and definitely the carbs. You should be getting about 60g of protein a day. Where are you with that? Do you track it somehow? I use the My FItness Pal app on my iphone and that helped me a lot. Perfect to see what your day consists of and to see where you need to improve. Happy to help and congrats to you both.

Hi! New to the forum! I was sleeved 10/6 and Everything has been great. But... I have a question for you. I started soft foods today and, for dinner, heated up a Lean Cuisine Meat Loaf and Mashed Potatoes (250 cals/20 grams of protein). I expected to only eat half if it, but I comfortably are the whole thing in 40 mins. NO pain and no ill effects. Is this normal? Too much food? I am concerned. Thanks!!

I actually love the My Fitness Pal app but I start off great using it and then slowly let bad habits take over. I need to force myself to make these lifestyle changes so I can see better results. I purchased protein shots to drink before my workouts and they have 70 grams of protein---they taste awful though. I will try to taper down on the carbs also and see if this helps. I'm still confused as to why I start vomiting again out of the blue but then have days like yesterday where I could eat a fairly moderate amount? Can't wait to see my doc again.

HAHA I thought this was going to be a post about before and after PS It will be 4-6 weeks before I'm sure they release you to lift heavy stuff. A lot of us are drinking fluids like "normal" at about 3weeks post. We target 60-90 gr Protein per day to protect our muscle, but you would probably need more. Good news is Protein shakes = Fluid = hydration. Check with your team of professionals...that's their forte. Good luck.

Hi everyone, I'm sure this topic has been covered and re-covered but I was thinking today about carb intake. I probably get in about 15-30 g a day and I don't have any clue what my intake should or shouldn't be. I don't eat bread, potatoes, starches, etc. My carbs usually come from dairy/protein drinks and more recently the lovely little wonton wrapper used to cook from emilybites.com. How's everyone else doing in the carb dept?

mixed some solids in with the protein and so i was in a lot of discomfort taking that first step this 5th day after surgery. Not a good afternoon, but one last dose of meds saved for just this day :thumbs_up:. I can do this can't wait for the scale reading on Wednesday. Will post the change!

mixed some solids in with the protein and so i was in a lot of discomfort taking that first step this 5th day after surgery. Not a good afternoon, but one last dose of meds saved for just this day :thumbdown:. I can do this can't wait for the scale reading on Wednesday. Will post the change!