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I'm eating upwards of 6 times a day. I won't say 6 "meals" because folks tend to think "Plate full of food" when it's really not that way at all. I'll have a protein shake in the morning, most times I add frozen fruit to it I'll have a protein snack a few hours later, this could be one of Kay's Naturals, or some greek yogurt or other protein heavy snack I'll have something else protein heavy a few hours later Later in the day I'll have a sandwich or something, super high grain count breads, low/no fat cheese, lean meats I'll have another snack of some nature, typically fresh fruit or some oatmeal I have another shake later, I'm using Casein protein for muscle recovery overnight And I'm getting upwards of 128oz of water a day as well. Spend at least an hour in the gym each day on top of what I do all day for exercise. Been going fairly smoothly thus far.

I think you need a new doctor. I think the advice you're being given is dangerous and sets you up to overeat and stretch your sleeve. It also sets you up for low blood sugar, hunger, fatigue, and fainting...that can be downright dangerous if you have to drive and difficult to have a productive day. It's not teaching you to eat the right foods. It's not teaching you to consume sensible portions. It's not teaching you much of anything other than starvation. Re-educating yourself how to deal with food is essential to long term success. I just don't see how this is a sustainable "forever diet". And if it's not....how and what will you transition to when you haven't been given any skills? My clinic sets a goal of 1200 calories and 60+ grams of protein per day during weight loss phase. We can either eat three 400 calorie meals, or six 200 calorie meals...or any combination we'd like as long as net calories are 1200 per day. I personally prefer to do three tiny meals during the day, a bigger meal for dinner, and another tiny meal around 8pm (usually it's got a desert vibe, like fruit or cupcake yogurt, or a chocolate protein bar.) This is how my day usually works: 200 breakfast (oatmeal and coffee with protein shake for creamer/an egg and half a slice of whole grain toast/fruit and yogurt/etc) 200 lunch ( 3 ounces of pork chop or chicken breast with green beans/sweet potatoe with pecans and salad/BLT wrap/chef salad with hard boiled egg/homemade veggie soup and slice of homemade bread) 200 midday snack (protein muffin/half a cup of potato salad/veggie and hummus/etc) 400 dinner (Crab boil/steak salad with eggs and swiss/protien pasta with salad and homemade wholegrain bread/chicken stir fry/stuffed pepper/ vegetarian chili and cheese on a baked potato/etc) 200 after dinner snack (strawberries with chocolate sauce/watermellon/frozen grapes/cupcake yogurt/oatmeat with pecans and cherries/chocolate protein bar) I like a little sweet after dinner, and usually do this after I finish my 12,000 steps for the day...sort of my reward. I eat a lot of really satisfying delicious food. I'm getting an education about portions and making healthier choices. I'm eating a ton of fruits and veggies, lean proteins and complex carbs. I LOVE my diet. I feel better on it. Tons of energy. Exercise is a big part of my day, too...and I have the energy to enjoy doing it. Weight loss has been slow and steady:) Getting close to goal:)

I didn't really have a clear liquids phase post-op, but I know I was sick of not having any texture or anything. I went from full liquids to purees. I remember my surgeon telling me that when I went to purees I could have applesauce and it would "be the best applesauce you've ever had." He wasn't kidding---so nice to have something other than liquid! At full liquids, you should be doing protein shakes, greek yogurt, maybe some thinned cream soups. You'll like having more savory options---I was so sick of always tasting sweet, which was weird because I have such a sweet tooth! Good luck!

I’m now 2 weeks out. I came out of surgery completely unable to tolerate dairy in any form. Prior to the sleeve I was very mildly lactose intolerant. Meaning, if I ate ice cream or drank a glass of milk, I’d get gassy, bloated or perhaps have a bowel cleanse (if I ate the whole pint of Ben and Jerry’s). Now, dairy of any sort; yogurt, whey shakes; ricotta, is a NIGHTMARE. Not complaining. It eliminates a whole bunch of bad choices from my old life. But I never would have believed it if it hadn’t happened to me.

Someone said GenePro. I'm taking the risk and trying it. I'll try almond milk too, good idea! I use fairlife milk, it has 80 calories per 8 oz. And 13 grams of protein vs the typical 8? Less carbs and sugar and lactose free too. At this point I'm so incredibly nauseous it's hard to eat or drink anything that's kind of why I asked (and I'm too lazy to read my original post). I'm struggling with my water and protein and all that is stalling my weight loss! This came out of nowhere, I was fine for almost 5 weeks! Ugh. I just can't do my usual Cabot right now and even shakes and yogurt are bothering my stomach.

At first I hid it from everyone for 10 months. Once I had the surgery I didn't give one care. It's my body and now I've inspired 2 coworkers to start looking into it for themselves. Be prepared for people to try to sabotage you. They don't understand how it feels to not have the cravings anymore. My first few weeks one particular coworker brought in donuts and pizza and was trying to get me to eat it seeing if I would cave. I whipped out my greek yogurt, smiled, and politely stated I appreciated the offer but do not crave that stuff anymore and am eating to live not living to eat. I explained that I can get full off of either but only one will provide the proper nutrition my body needs so why bother with the unhealthy stuff. That completely knocked her off guard and ever since she hasn't tried it since. Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself, be prepared for sabotages, understand everyone has their own "opinion" on it, you will hear a lot about failed attempts (scientifically this is a small number), and just do you! At the end of the day it is your body, and they can either jump on the train of support or get off!!! Good luck and best wishes your way!!!!!!!! Note: Again I didn't tell anyone until after the surgery. I didn't need the doubts, afterwards what is done is done!

SF Popsicles and SF Jello are my goto. I buy the jello already made in the little snack packs - no work for me. I also like yogurts. Not sugar free, but low in sugar. (some.)

It's extremely probable that you're lactose intolerant. The protein powder, premier protein, yogurt are all completely filled with lactose. And the tummy issues are a classic symptom. Not sure why the nutritionist didn't figure this out. Either buy lactaid pills and take them with your current shakes (I recommend taking at least 3 to start and work your way down if capable) Or buy lactose free protein shakes. Easy fix for a common issue

That sucks that you can't tolerate meats... Have you asked your surgical team about it? Are you able to consume other protein heavy foods? Cottage cheese, yogurt, etc? How's your water consumption? Your tag block says you've lost 108 lbs since Dec 27 already, that's pretty epic! Things to factor in, when we get older and thinner the basal metabolic rate slows, meaning the baseline calorie requirement for someone to exist without any added exercise (ie if one slept in bed all day long) lowers. So we have to keep adjusting that calorie target or increasing exercise to combat the reduction in the basal. Also, muscle mass increases causes increases in daily caloric requirements, so weight lifting for mass can be helpful in fat reduction. Good Luck!

Can of refrained beans. Add some to any of the precooked chicken options maybe some cheese, Greek yogurt , avocado or salsa to liven it up. Easily heated up in a microwave. I will check out the deli areas of a super market. In addition to sliced sandwich meat you can also usually find single serving (so really like 4) meatloaf/meatballs, precooked chicken breasts, cooked veggies and sometimes appropriate salads/sides. And soup! Sometimes they have soup! Also hummus. So much hummus.

Hey everyone I’m in the purée stage of my gastric sleeve diet and I was wondering how long should it take me to eat 2oz of chicken salad? Since I’ve had my surgery, my stomach only felt swollen for a couple of days and now I’m able to eat yogurt way faster. Apparently it takes some people a couple of hours to finish such small amounts, but not me. Is that normal? I also can gulp liquids just fine and it doesn’t give me much discomfort (maybe a few burps) is it possible my surgeon left too much stomach, or is this normal?

I’m dying for real food but have a few days left. First week post op for me is liquid (not just clear liquid) so I’ve been living on: - Premier protein chocolate &vanilla shakes...i blend half a shake at a Time with some ice. I also added 1.5 T of PB2 to the chocolate to make a peanut butter chocolate shake...pretty good - outshine no sugar added popsicles. I ate 7 of these yesterday so decided i need to cut down lol. They are really delicious though - FF non fat Greek yogurt... light n fit has some pretty good non chunky flavors like vanilla, toasted coconut, and strawberry cheesecake - Quest cookies n cream protein powder w/ Fairlife skim milk (milk has 13g protein /cup). There is a recipe to make cookie& cream ice cream using the powder, so I must try that soon. This powder only has 1 g sugar per serving and 2 grams net carb (taking out the erythritol which doesn’t raise blood sugars) - Unjury chicken soup flavor protein powder- this stuff is a life saver since everything else is sweet! I haven’t had much trouble getting in my protein and water after day 2 but am definitely feeling hunger. I hope that goes away when I can start to eat solids! PS Milk of magnesia is a life saver. I hadn’t had my first BM yet and the nurse told me to try it so I took 30mg and within a few hours I was all cleared out with minimal pain.

I'm a fan of Unjury, but I don't think I'd try to put it in Crystal Light. I tried the jello recipe on the Unjury site and it's tolerable, but I don't think I'd stand in line for it. Unflavored Unjury is best when mixed with milk-based products. I put a tablespoon or so in my greek yogurt to get an extra protein kick. If you're looking for something clear, Premier Protein makes clear protein supplement drinks. I haven't tried them, but others on this site speak highly of them. I bought the Isopure from GNC but they leave a weird dry-feeling in my mouth that I just can't tolerate. For me, if I'm tired of milk based protein supplements, I keep Unjury Chicken flavored on hand. I like it because it's a nice change from the sweetness of most protein shakes and it is warm/soothing. Warning: it is high in sodium.

I can eat yogurt but I'm so sick of all the sweet because of these protein shakes. I drink vegetable broth because I don't eat meat and it fine I guess but I'm tired of everything and I'm struggling to get enough protein. Sent from my SM-G950U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hang in there, it improves by week 4 vastly. Take more naps, then walks. You are nutritionally deficient right now and that will mess with your head. As soon as you can do some real food your mood will improve. Are you allowed yogurt yet, or sip some plain milk in between? Homemade bone broth with carrots and celery pureed then strained made life sooo much better. Good luck.

Agree on the Chinese. I was hurting bad after soup dumplings. All my favorite Asian noddle dishes are now a no no. No more Ramen. No more Pho . I seem ok with rice and quinoa, but I try to only each small portions. Broccoli, yes. Potato chips, yes. Corn chips, yes. Cheetos, yes. Air popped popcorn, yes. French Fries, yes. Yogurt, yes. Beans....not sure. Salmon Nigiri (sushi), yes. Ice cream....too scared to try.

I bought the isopure unflavored and found the same thing. I'm going to try blending it into fruit and yogurt smoothy. Maybe into some mashed potatoes too. For being unflavored it reminds me more of baby formula.

The programs are all so different that it really depends on the preferences of your surgeon/team. I received a whole bound book covering what is and is not allowed. My program requires protein shakes, clear liquids and greek yogurt for the first two weeks, advancing to pureed foods after that for the next 4 weeks.. On purees, I can have chicken, fish, beans, tofu, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, some cooked veggies and fruits well as the clear liquids stuff. They want 4-5 meals per day consisting of no more than 1/4 cup of the above. I also have 1-2 protein shakes to meet protein goals. Unlike many on here eggs, oatmeal and avocados are not allowed. I go back in 2 weeks and then start solid foods. I am a little worried about the proteins because the pureed ones are a bit hard to get down without adding liquid (broth, yogurt, mayo) to the food processer. I did some pureed baked salmon yesterday that was great!! Good luck!!

Good job! I am one week out, can I ask you, are you working out? I tried to last week but felt too dizzy and not good. Yesterday was the first day that I increased to smooth foods including yogurt, and cream of wheat and egg white. I had a pretty good hiatal hernia that he repaired, other than the hernia, I would not know that I had surgery!!! I just am not losing yet, I am not sure what the typical loss is the first week so I am a bit nervous. Any input you can provide would be appreciated! Thanks!

I had the band in 2005. It was good in the first couple of months, but after my gallbladder decided to go bad, my banded life was never the same. I suffered with chronic reflux and could not tolerate a fill. The reflux was directly related to laying flat, so I slept sitting up for almost 5 years. When I had my band out, my bariatric surgeon offered to convert me to the sleeve at that time. But I didn't know enough about it and wasn't comfortable permanently changing my anatomy. 8 years later, after I gained all of my weight back, I started seriously looking into being sleeved. Was finally sleeved on 4/10/18. Here's the differences I've experienced: Because I couldn't tolerate any fills in my band, I had very little food restriction. I had limitations in the AMOUNT of food I could consume, but I had no food intolerance with the band. The only thing that kept me on track was faithfully following the banded rules. I'm now almost 6 weeks out from being sleeved. I have more restriction than I ever did with the band. My stomach gurgled a lot at the beginning, but not so much now. I have very little appetite. In terms of food intolerance, I have noticed that I don't do well with bread. That's bread that's gone through the rising process. I don't vomit or anything, it just doesn't feel good or comfortable whenever I eat bread (even if it's toasted). I'm good with tortillas and crackers, but not bread. I've had pasta and rice with no issue, although I must admit that I can't eat very much of it and I certainly wouldn't make a meal of it. At most I can eat a half cup. If I try even 1 more bite after I've hit my limit, I suffer for at least a half hour. It feels like I have to burp but nothing comes out other than slimy bubbles. (sorry if that's TMI, but it's the truth). Also, with most of my meals I am forced to eat very slowly. If I eat too quickly I get an uncomfortable feeling, not quite pain, but my sleeve reminds me very fast that I am eating too quickly. EX: it takes me about 20 minutes to eat a single serving of Greek yogurt. Hope this helps.

We make a million variations of this! My boys love tossing stuff into the food processor and pushing the bottons! The reusable popsicle molds are easy to use. Vanilla Greek yogurt, peanut butter (can use the powder), and banna is a favorite. Add in oats sometimes too!

Agree with the above. The surgeon told to not weigh myself until my 1st post op appt. I am 5 days post op. No BM yet- taking Miralax and Simethicone (stopped Dulcolax). It’s still REALLY painful drinking liquid. Managed to finish a cup of Greek yogurt today- yay!

Wow, well with this surgery most people have some of the same negatives (the liquid diet), or have similar negative side effects (nausea/constipation), but also have good things to balance it out. I have gone through a lot of the same things as everyone else on here, and am also going through some stuff that may not be as common. Whether or not it makes us regret the surgery is definitely a personal experience based on many factors, but it seems like the majority come out on the side of No Regrets. Like you, I considered backing out a month or so before my surgery date. My daughter helped me realize that with surgery things may or may not get better, and yes, some things could possibly get worse (small percentage). But without it, probably nothing was going to change (at least not for the better). So it ended up being a no brainer and I felt extremely confident going forward even through the sucky pre-op diet (over Xmas) and what I assumed would just be a terrible first few months of puking and misery post-op. Things did not turn out the way I thought, and as I have just been journaling, I will share, if you care to read: I am 5 months post-op as of yesterday. I am down 51.2 lbs, 31 total inches overall since pre-op, body fat percentage back under 30%. My weight loss has been a bit slower than most - they say probably bc my starting weight was lower (205.8) and also I have a lot of chronic pain so my workouts are not exactly intense. But thankfully the more I lose the better I can move. My body did not want to let go of these last couple lbs - I thought I'd never reach the 50 lb milestone! It was like 48, 48.5, 49.2, 49.6...like seriously? Lol, talk about a frustrating month! But I'm finally over that hurdle and goal is between 14-20 lbs from here. I'm short, so honestly I have always looked better lower than that - say in my 120's, but I'm older now and my skin is not bouncing back the way it once did, and gravity is a real son of gun. So I will probably stop around 135/140 in order to keep things looking a little more "well-rounded" - and I also think it will be easier to maintain. That's my thought process right now anyway. My surgery itself went smooth, so no issues there. I have never vomited (which shocks me no end as I'm prone to nausea), I have felt nauseated 2-3x max - but it passed quickly. I do, however, have issues with reflux. Had reflux pre-op that was well controlled by OTC Nexium. Now it can be very painful at times. Like some others, I too think maybe I should have considered the by-pass more seriously, but also bc my ins did not cover and I went to MX as self-pay, the sleeve seemed like the best option overall. One thing for me is I never lost the hunger sensation. My "Ghrelin Game's" strong, I guess. But the biggest "issue" I have had, and it's no small thing, is I still struggle with many solid foods. I have slowly introduced them as instructed and when instructed, chew chew chew, etc. But after maybe 5 small bites of MANY foods (I do ok w/some), I still feel hungry, so I intend to probably eat a few more bites to become satiated, but all of a sudden start getting bad pain in center of diaphragm...feel completely "clogged" or "backed up" with food even though I've eaten so little and I still felt hungry 2 seconds ago...then usually get some reflux...get the hiccups...will need to take Tums...often suck on 1 or 2 wintergreen Lifesavers as they also seem to help w/digestion...then suck on ice chips for a little while which also seems to help. It sounds pretty miserable, and honestly, it is. To avoid, I could probably take 2-3 small bites, wait 20-30 minutes and have another 2-3 bites. Or, just stick to eating softer food. So, most nights I have yogurt for dinner with unflavored protein powder, chia seeds, a few mashed fresh blackberries, and a little organic coconut granola. It's about 5 oz. total, and I take my time eating that also - about 20 mins I'd say. Luckily, I enjoy the yogurt combo, but once or twice a week, I want Real Food for dinner, and that is my struggle. It's especially hard on the weekends bc my husband and I like to go out on Sat to a farmer's market or something and then have lunch (or dinner & a movie...). But it's miserable for me to sit at a restaurant where I can barely eat anything on the menu (comfortably) and then have to sit (w/back pain & probably stomach pain) and wait for my husband to enjoy his meal. Lately we haven't been going out much, which is a real drag. I expected it to be like this for the first several mos, but figured it would slowly be getting better by now. I knew I'd have diet restrictions and certain foods would take longer to agree w/me (some might never work well again), but I didn't expect that So Many real foods (meaning meats/veggies, etc. dinner type foods) would be too painful to eat. For me this is the most difficult thing and I am praying it gets better w/time. If I can eat a couple oz. of chicken/turkey/fish/steak + say 1/2 cup of cooked veggies/salad/potatoes (whatever), w/o any pain or reflux, and enjoy my food & comfortably sit & enjoy the company of my husband (sisters/kids) until they finish eating, even if it's at 9 months or a yr post-op, I will be ok w/that. It's the thought that it might never happen that worries me. On the other hand, when this happens, my husband feels so bad, and sometimes says, "I'm sorry babe, you must really regret having that surgery now." And I'm like, "No I don't! How else was I ever going to lose 50 pounds in 5 mos w/all the health/pain issues I have?" I never thought I would weigh 154 lbs again, much less 135-140 where I hope to land. So, yeah. It sucks that I have to eat yogurt for dinner most nights. (There are a handful of other things I could have instead, but some of those I have for breakfast/lunch/snacks, and also the yogurt is easy to throw together). But hopefully that will get better as more time passes, and if it doesn't...I don't know...I have to think it's got to be better than stuffing my face w/whatever I wanted but then feeling awful every time I got dressed or looked in the mirror...

So it's been 8 days, in case anyone was wondering, I'm finally feeling a little better. I felt so bad that I didn't even go online lol! I tried everything, zofran, then compazine which worked better maybe, but maybe just sleeping through the nausea was it. Then ginger (which I hate), peppermint (all kinds), sea bands, magnetic pressure point bracelets (basically the same as sea bands) other acupressure, all types of water. Broth, (homemade and store bought) I could get regular Gatorade down, kinda. But anything with artificial sweeteners make me nauseous still, no yogurts, many protein shakes, popsiclels, jello. Makes me feel sick thinking of them. So I'm cutting it out, diluting it or I just let myself have it because I was getting barely 200 calories anyway and struggled with fluids and protein. I'm not up to full par yet but at least I'm up to over 50 grams of protein and 36+ oz of water, yes more is better but I am still nauseous but I don't want to take the compazine, zofran does nothing. So im hoping that's it. I've seen many here struggle with months of nausea i pray for them. And i say a big F you to all those who say this is the "easy way out" it's been 6 weeks and it hasn't been easy.

Woohooo....one week from today!! I've lost 6 pounds on my pre-op diet so far. It's getting slightly better - although I've elected to add 1-2 hardboiled eggs every day. My husband is shaking his finger at me and scolds me to follow the diet exactly like my doctor says. I guess I'm a bit of a rebel. The idea is to have low calorie, low to no carbs, no/low sugar, no/low fat while also getting your protein. Somehow for me, having the extra eggs has helped. I'm drinking my protein drinks but I'm not loving them. Not hating them, just not loving them. I have Premier Protein chocolate and banana, plus Unjury chocolate that I mix with Fairlife Milk. I'm also allowed to have yogurt as long as the sugar content is less than 10 grams. The Yoplait Greek 100 is really delicious. I can also have cottage cheese, sugar free jello, sugar free pudding, sugar free popsicles. And I'm even allowed to have one serving of oatmeal, cream of wheat or grits once a day. Kind of a strange menu. Oh and lots of water. I have already switched over to decaf coffee completely. Not too bad. Headaches for a couple days. I've been religious about sugar = have had none. So I don't feel bad about adding in my eggs