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Difficult choice. It depends on the type of carb or fat as well. All fats have the same cal but certain types of fat are supposedly bad - saturated fats,trans fats whilst others are good. Also low fat products are often as high or higher in calories as the fat that has been removed has been replaced with sugar. One example of this is yogurt.Often the low fat has as many cal as the standard variety. I would far rather eat full fat greek yogurt than the low fat varieties. The greek stuff is thick and satisfying whereas the low fat stuff is watery and leaves you still hungry. Then there is the debate about how foods that have been artificially sweetened can actually make you fatter. I can't remember the science behind this but it has something to do with the insulin response. The best way to go is probably to eat a balanced diet consisting of foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. Choosing lean cuts of meat, removing excess fat and satisfying your sweet tooth with fruit rather than manufactured products. And if it comes down to a choice between butter or marg then eat whichever you prefer the taste of!

Most post-op diets follow the below schedule: Week one-two: Full liquids (some surgeon's require Clear Liquids for one week or part of one week). Full liquids for me included low-fat yogurt without any chunks of fruit or seeds, broths, Lipton cup of Soup cream of chicken, Protein drinks, milk, 100% fruit juice diluted 50%. Week Three: pureed foods- anything you can blend to the consistency of baby food. Still no foods with chunks and no solids. Week Four: Mushies- soft foods. eggs, oatmeal, grits, tuna salad. Week Five +: Slowly start adding normal foods to diet, paying attention to feeling satisfied. Keep in mind that the diet is to make sure your band settles properly. The band is sutured in at the top of the stomach and so the diet is used to prevent the stomach from churning (something it does when you eat solid foods). For the safety of your band and future health, you want to follow your post-op guidelines to a T so you don't cause any issues out of the gate.

Hi all. First post, and i usually don't read or follow any kind of forums at all, so excuse any lapses in protocol please. I'm at 7 days post op, Andrew Hargroder in Gonzales, LA. Great surgical experience, I guess, it's the only surgery I've ever had. I've been reading a lot of the topics on here, and hearing about people having lots of trouble eating/drinking enough. Since about day 4 post op, I've not had any problems getting down my protein drink throughout the course of the day. It consists of about 20 oz water mixed with 3 scoops of max protein from gnc. I've also not had too many problems getting 60-70 oz's of water. i'm also eating 3 6oz yogurts per day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So my question is, how do you tell if you're putting too much in? It takes me 15-20 minutes to eat a carton of yogurt. I'm experiencing no pain in my stomach that I'm aware of. I still have a little muscle/incision pain on the "big one" on the left, no pain at all from all the other incisions. A typical day (now) is cup of yogurt for breakfast, wait 45 minutes and start sipping water. About 10:00 I'll start to get hungry and I'll drink about 6oz of my protien drink. Wait about 45 more minutes and start sipping water again until lunch. I repeat the process throughout the day for lunch and dinner. I start to get hungry about an hour or two after eating my yogurt, so I'll have a third of my protein shake mid afternoon and finish it off around 8 in the evening. I'm really paranoid about MY STOMACH BUSTING OPEN, or even stretching or in any way damaging THE HUGE WOUND IN MY STOMACH THAT I PICTURE IN MY HEAD. That being said, I'm not in any pain and I'm ok with the diet for now. I actually kind of enjoy the simplicity of it, but is it too much? Thanks in advance for any input.

Sounds like you have pretty good restriction already! That's great! Or your stomach can be a bit swollen from the fill. Maybe try liquids, yogurt or pudding for a day and then try again. Eggs should be a food that go down fairly well. Try to wait a minute or two between bites and see if that helps. Sometimes it's not just small bites and chewing well but giving your stomach a little time for it to register. I doubt if 1 egg was too much, you should be fine with that.

I just ordered a sample pack of hot chocolate Proteins at mybariatricpantry.com Haven't gotten them yet so I can't say how they are, but if you have trouble with cold drinks, that's an option. There's also Unjury's chicken Soup Protein. Greek yogurt has a ton of protein, so you could try adding that in as a supplement. good luck to you!

TG this isn't another "I feel like a failure 10 days post op". I think there is a presumption that if you don't lose all this weight quickly you wasted money and you are a loser. You are not!! If you are a failure than I need to just to jump off a bridge for only losing 30 pounds a in a year. Yes, sometimes I feel disappointed but I know I would never ever have lost it without the band. I am slightly annoyed at doctors who vary so much on lap band advice - by reading the boards some doctors yell at their patients for only losing a pound a week while my doctor is over the moon when I lose a pound a week. You will have to keep getting fills until you hit the sweet spot. It took me 6 fills in 7 months to get really get there. I wonder why doctors don't seem to explain what this is as so many people on this board seem to think 1 or 2 fills will magically work which usually wont make a difference on most people. For instance, I am satisfied with yogurt and string cheese. Fills 1 thru 5 - I would have rolled my eyes at that - it would have taken 6 oz steak and mash potatoes to fill me up. Hang in there and don't compare yourself to others.

All the problems you list COULD be related to the acid, which isnt that abnormal. It would be a good precautionary step to get some imaging done just in case. But if your surgeon is confident, then it's your call whether you want a second opinion. Acid can swell up the esophogus and slow down the movement of food. Does it get better when you take the acid blockers? Does it feel like food is stacking up before the stomach (intense, focused discomfort)? Are you chewing things up really well and eating slowly? If you get imaging that shows youre structurally fine, then I'd work with the choice of foods. Work with your nutritionist to find foods that don't trigger the acid. For me, I couldnt touch yogurt for 3 months. But now I'm off the pills and love yogurt.

Definitely increasing your protein and fluids will help with energy. You can also probably up you calorie intake a bit. I found that in order to really sustain my workouts, I needed to be right at or a bit above 1000 a day. I also started adding a little Kashi cereal (1/4 of a serving) to my greek yogurt in the afternoons, because I found that having a little bit of carbs pre-workout really helped me get through. Then I would have a high protein dinner shortly after my workouts. I always work out in between when I get home from work and dinner. I find that's the best time for me to work out, because instead of changing out of my work clothes and into my house clothes (pajamas basically) I would change straight into my workout clothes. Once my pajamas are on, I know working out is NOT gonna happen, so by changing into my workout clothes right after work, it forces me to go ahead and do my workout!

I had a lot of those cartons of creamed soup post-op, which I often added milk and unflavored protein powder to. I also used a lot of protein powder (both unflavored and sugar-free flavored varieties) and smooth greek yogurt. I bought oatmeal but discovered I could only stand the unsweetened stuff immediately post op, the normal stuff was WAYYYYY too sweet for me to tolerate. High protein milk (Fairlife in the USA, Natrel in Canada) was a great way to get in some more protein and a hundred or so more calories a day, as well as upping my fluids when water was weirdly awful to drink. I think I had some unsweetened applesauce, but not often. Basically my rule for myself was if it wasn't a source of protein, I didn't eat it those first couple weeks. There was just so little room in my tummy or will to eat, I needed to make every single bite "count". I think the biggest surprise was how much sweetened stuff in general disgusted me and tasted bad though. Pudding cups, popsicles, protein shakes, oatmeal... I had absolutely zero interest in sweet things. I lived off of savoury for at least a week before introducing limited amounts of sweeter foods. (AKA going from plain oatmeal to plain oatmeal with half a teaspoon of raspberry jam VS the high protein maple brown sugar oatmeal I'd been suggested to buy). I know some surgeons include baby food in their post-op diet plans, but I can't imagine myself eating that post-op. If it's not specifically recommended for you, I would like to say it really isn't required. I was kind of emotional and crotchety after surgery and was even resentful of the pureed soups, so I can only imagine how crabby I'd have been to be eating food meant for a baby LOL. Your mileage may vary on that one. I think my biggest piece of advice from one planner to another though... is DON'T OVERBUY. I was totally like "oh yeah I'm gonna stock up on all this stuff and it'll be perfect!" and then things I stocked up on... I ended up not wanting to eat and not liking. Stuff like said high protein oatmeal which I had always enjoyed before suddenly tasted terrible and now I was stuck with four stupid boxes of the stuff. Buy enough for a few days so you're not stuck with stuff your new belly/tastebuds aren't digging. Yes it means you're a little less prepared for the post-surgery apocalypse, but there's always online shopping and grocery delivery if you don't have enough of something. Post bariatric surgery is the one time I'd actually advocate "better to need it and not have it than have it and not need it". Also, I really looked forward to grocery shopping post op because it was a great way to get out of the house and do some limited walking

I've been struggling too. .. It's when my children have their snacks that I tend to cheat. .. At work I'm fine at night for dinner I'm fine. For snacks my nut told me I could have sugar free jello and Popsicle. Also boiled eggs and yogurt. Maybe you could all of you could ask about those... That's what I did! Good luck!!

I definitely meal-plan, shop and cook more than I did pre-op. (I've lost all my excess weight and maintained my weight loss for over 15 months.) Breakfast is high Protein / high Fiber. lunch is something easy, e.g., dinner leftovers, a high-protein/high-veggie salad or sandwich, etc. Planned Snacks (not grazing!) are fruit, cheese. We do a sit-down dinner every night -- either home-cooked or healthy takeout. We eat in restaurants 4-5 times a month. I'm such a fan of My Fitness Pal. Using it for the last 2+ years, I've learned so much about the basic nutrients of specific foods. I now eat more fibrous veggies and fruits; yesterday I had carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, spaghetti squash, and blueberries. Yesterday's protein came from a Protein Drink, Greek yogurt, skim milk, cheese, roast beef, chicken. Whole grains were high-protein/high-fiber bread (2 slices), all-bran Cereal. I have treats daily. Yesterday's were 1 salted caramel biscotti, 1.5 ounces of scotch, and 1.4 ounces of dark chocolate. It's all so delicious and satisfying. I couldn't be happier about how I'm eating.

In the end, I was talking into the sleeve over the bypass by my previous surgical team because it was "less invasive" and had less of a chance to cause Vitamin deficiencies. But at this point I regret not going with my instincts and the bypass. I used to love slow cooker recipes with meats, Beans and chili's but as for recently I haven't been able to digest them. I do love vegetable soups, eggs, yogurt and fruit smoothies and try to put Protein powder in everything. Sent from my Nexus 5X using the BariatricPal App

THAT SOUNDS TERRIBLE. I AM SORRY THIS IS HAPPENING TO YOU. I HAD MY SURGERY ON JUNE8TH. I WAS ON CLEAR LIQUID FOR 10 DAYS AND THEN I ADDED YOGURT AND SOME CREAM SOUPS FOR ANOTHER TEN DAYS. I CAN NOT BELEIVE YOUR DOC SAID YOU COULD HAVE CEREAL. THAT SOUNDS CRAZY TO ME. YOUR STOMACH NEEDS TIME TO HEAL.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend and a wonderful relaxing Sunday. The day is beautiful here in SC, sun is shinning but it is still a little cool for the south. I don't know about everyone else but I can't wait until spring. I have so much more energy and motivation when it is warm outside. I find the winter months to be a little depressing and I do not feel as motivated to be outside and exercise. I am proud that I have went back to curves a week ago and have met my goal of going on Saturday mornings, and Tuesday and Thursday evenings after work. I need to set a new goal this week of at least doing 30 minutes of exercise daily of at least walking or something. I need my tread mill moved so I can use it, my son moved in late last year and it is in his room and a little hard to use. My husband says he has to take it apart to get it out of the room and has not done that yet. First thing that ticks me off lately. I go back to see my surgeon next week one , I had my last fill on Jan 30th and I am still struggling with solid foods most days, I do eat but it is usually late in the afternoons and evenings, I am getting all my protein in but with supplements. I keep thinking the band will loosen up a little and some days it seems to and others like yesterday, I just gave up and ate Greek yogurt and drank protein. I am still holding at 160 lbs, so at least I have slowed down on losing for a while. On the 30th I was at 175 which was up 5 lbs from before Christmas. I did find something good to eat this weekend, we ordered take out from the local Chinese restaurant and I ate a tofu stir fry, it was yummy and the tofu was silky soft and slide right down. I was only able to eat about 1/2 cup but it was yummy. I went out today and purchased a fit bit and tied it to my fitness pal account so I could track my activity and calories burned. I will let everyone know how that works out. I have been a little lazy lately and feeling a little frustrated with food and eating in general. I haven't felt this way in a long time but it is just so frustrating when one day things go down with out problems and they same things don't the next day. Welcome to bandster hell, I guess. The last thing that ticks me off today is people who use this site to promote sales of products. I was reviewing the forums and blogs this morning and found a blog that someone had started yesterday, she said she was 2 years out from lap band and had lost 150 lbs but was promoting a protein drink diet to get back on track. I thought to my self, every lap band patient knows that gimmicks don't work, diets don't work and getting the lap band has to be about changing your life and behaviors. Not sure why it pissed me off but it did, I feel we all work so hard on trying to live with lap band and trying to change out lives and live like others and the last thing I needed was someone telling me I could lose weight with lap band drinking yummy protein shakes. SERIOUSLY! I drink the damn shakes because nothing else goes down some days and this is not how I intend to lose my last pounds. I want to eat, enjoy my food portion. So shame on you if you are a lap band patient for encouraging us to drink protein to lose weight instead of change our behaviors and learn to live with lap band. I know we all have the freedom to post and believe what ever we want but SERIOUSLY give me a break. Ok, I feel better now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello, Jori! 990ml isn't too bad to start out with, but really try to get in more so you don't become (if you're not already) dehydrated. Try room temperature, a little colder, and ice cold... see which you tolerate best. In the VERY beginning, I could only tolerate absolutely ice cold water, otherwise I would get terrible hiccups. That has changed and I can have all temperatures now with no problems. You definitely need more protein than what you're getting from one container of FF Greek yogurt, though. Have you tried protein shakes (that would help get in more liquid as well!) or adding some unflavored protein powder to your yogurt? If walking is really bothering you, I would maybe suggest holding off on that for now, until you are getting in more calories per day. I don't think your weight loss in the first month is *too* extreme for having had the surgery. It will slow down All the best to you, and keep us posted!

On the weight loss slowing, everyone here has already said that's totally normal. But since I'm a total nerd and tracked my weight loss, I can tell you exactly how mine slowed down. I've lost a total of 70 lbs over 23 months. Month 1: 3.5 lbs a week, reached -22 lbs Months 2-4: ~1.5-2 lbs a week, reached -41 lbs Months 5-12: 0.5-1 lbs a week, reached -63 lbs and passed my original goal weight at 11 months out Months 13-20: 0.2 lbs a week, currently at -70 lbs, 12 under my original goal Does this mean that you pretty much never dieted before you got surgery? Or are you comparing now to the first 6 months after surgery, where you didn't care about food much simply because you weren't hungry? After reading these boards for a few years, it seems that the people who have long term success do have to pay some attention to their diet to maintain their weight loss. But that takes a lot of different forms according to the specific issues and goals of different people. You won't necessarily have to pay as much attention to it in the long term as you do right now. Right now you're learning what works for you; later it will become habit. Especially if what you said above means that you never dieted much before - in this case you would be learning about what works for you for the first time. But for everyone, after bariatric surgery, you have to learn what your "new normal" is. Personally, my long term goal has been to maintain without having to calorie count. Before surgery, I was pre-diabetic and low carb was the only thing that ever helped me lose weight. After surgery, carbs are still an issue for me, though much, much less of an issue than before. Rather than limiting/counting carbs every day, I've found that having a 4-5 day period of low-carb every 3-4 weeks keeps my carb cravings in check. I still start my day with a protein powder latte and make sure that I have protein with every meal. Veggies help keep me full. If I feel hungry, I eat a snack, but I usually start with a piece of cheese or a few frozen meatballs (I love these things) before I have anything more junky. I eat sweets some days, but not all. I use things like sugar free ice cream or low sugar yogurt for a bit of a treat on other days.

This is not to slam anyone, but I really would like some input. I read here so many that say the band doesn't work, or that 20,30,or 40lbs have come off and now nothing. I realize that many of you have had problems with slippage or some other medial issue, so I'm not thinking of you, I have been reflecting and I'm finding some greal gray areas for myself. I started to make my food changes the day of my seminar, I cut out sweet tea, sodas, starting taking smaller portions , no drink with food and soon started to feel bertter. And I was working hard to drink my Water. I choose the band because the bypass scared me, and I didn't like the look of those who had it. I followed my own changes from Nov. until my 2 week pre op diet.in Feb. I was down 18lbs on that day. I was good about following the instructions and the weight keep coming off. I didn't exercise much, just watched what I ate. When I finally lost 63 lbs. and was in a size 12....I lost my mind. I got lazy and stopped following the rules. I lost my commitment to the program. I stopped loosing . Even knowing this I can't get on track. I say these things because I don't think we are all as commited as we once were, we are not as honest with ourselves as we need to be. For me candy keeps wandering into my home, coffee creams are the devils inventtion and sugar has rentered through a back door. Still knowing this, I can't seem to shake things back in the right places. I started this journey because I didn't want to be on a diet for life, and I don't feel I am. One of my problems is that even though I don't have ture restriction, I don't have a problem with hunger, I thought if I wasn't hungry I shouldn't eat...very wrong. I am stumped about how to fix where I am, I need to loose anthore 30-35lbs to be in the guidelines. I would like to loose about 15 to feel like I had a true result for my effor. I don't think doc will do a fill since I'm not hungry. I try to eat meat & veggies but it is usually only once a day. Yogurt and Protein drinks to try to get the protein in. My life schedule is strange and gym time never seems to come. So, is it not working or am I doning something wrong.

Be glad, my pre-op diet is a complete liquid diet starting on Nov 24-surgery is scheduled Dec 1st. I can only have protein drinks, low-fat cream soups (strained), sugar free jello or pudding, yogurt-no chunks. I am on a clear liquid diet the day before surgery. After surgery-I have to follow the same liquid diet for 2 weeks before adding soft foods. But it will be worth it.

I am pre-op and I have a Ninja blender - got it at Target for about $100 - and a Breville juice Fountain Plus - got it at Bed, Bath & Beyond for $150 (before a 20% off coupon). I love both and, as you can see, not horribly expensive. Especially if you are talking about ordering from Pressed Juicery. You can experiment with small batches of veggie combinations to see what you like. Also, everything I have read says that the nutrients start to break down quickly after juicing and to dring within 30-60 minutes after juicing. So I don't know if you would be getting the full benefits from the juice by ordering it. As mentioned before, there are benefits to both juicing and blending. Juicing - I like vegetables but not so much veggie juice, but it works for me because I usually mix veggies and fruits together. I don't even taste the greens when they are with carrots and an apple. Yes it has carbs and surgar, but it also has healthy enzymes, Vitamins and minerals. And can curb a sweet craving without resorting to something that has empty calories. After the sleeve, I won't be able to eat as many veggies/fruits, but can get the same vitamins etc, packed into a drinkable form. As for cleaning, it's a breeze as long as you clean it right afterward. I reuse my plastic grocery bags to line the pulp container so I don't even have to wash that - just pitch the bag. The rest you can easily rinse out or put in the dishwasher. The only "hard" thing is the filter and it comes with a brush to clean it. Really not too bad. Blending - I love my Ninja! Not as good as a Vitamix but I wasn't willing to pay $400 or more for a blender. It does the job. It can crush ice into snow, so it's powerful. I make homemade sorbet for my kids and they LOVE it. I just use frozen fruit (we love raspberries and cherries), a little milk or Water (you don't need much liquid), a little vanilla and a bit of sugar or sweetener to taste. It comes out the consistancy of soft serve or soft sorbet. Eat it as is or put in the freezer if you want a firmer consistancy. I usually make smoothies with greek yogurt and frozen fruit.

I am 10 weeks Post -Op and still can't eat eggs, cottage cheese bread of any type and barley can eat any meat and if I do get to eat meat I only can eat a couple of bites of a grilled chicken strip only no red meat or pork and then I'm full . I can eat yogurt and a half of a protein shake .I was wondering if anyone else has or had this problem of having a hard time eating at 12 weeks out ? I'm already down 60 lbs which I'm happy about but I would like to get more of a food intake. TYI

update: sleeved 2/9 Pain is gone except for a backache in the mornings. dinner was chicken gravey and a lite yogurt for dessert. muscle milk for Breakfast and lunch

I'm on soft food until my first fill, November 16th, so I know exactly what you mean--I began with a general plan of what each day's diet would consist of and now in the second week after liquid, I too am running out of options. My biggest issue is with breakfast: have never cared for eggs but have been eating eggbeaters every day. Today I tried baby oatmeal and it was just bland, even with sweet n low! May have to go back to yogurt (1/2 6 oz. container) Went to the grocery store the other day and just cruised the aisles looking for something that would be good and simple and mushy: best thing I found was a small can of cranberry jelly! Have done mashed potatoes for dinner and have some canned veggies I plan on whipping up. I have been dreaming of mashed cauliflower and so may buy cheap frozen and cook it down and mash it up! But like you, my main dinner in two weeks has been refried Beans with shredded cheese on top. Soon we'll be able to have a small amount of regular--yum-m-m!

I have been doing the same. Broth, water, some protein shakes, popsicle and even some yogurt.

Good Morning @@yasminesyz You should not have the apple juice as its loaded with sugar. They told me to stay away from dairy for at least two weeks after surgery and then slowly add it back to see how I tolerate it. The main thing you want to consume right now is your Protein drinks and your Water. You can also have sugar free Popsicle's, broth, and sugar free Jello. I was told to be on liquid for 7 days after surgery. Then added in low sugar greek yogurt... I am 5 weeks now and am still on soft foods. Hope this helps

Menu - Bfast 1 cup fiber one cereal - 3 pts 1 cup of skim milk - 2 pts 1 bannana - 2 pts 1 pc WW candy - 1 pt Lunch WW Quesadia (sp?) - 4 pts 100 cal strawberry cake - 1 pt Snack sliced strawberries - 1 pt Dinner 3 oz of chicken breast - 3 pts green beans WW yogurt 1 pt Low on points today, but will probably add more, just need 2 more. Exercise 10:00 am - 15 min on elliptical 3:00 pm - 20 min on elliptical 8:00 - gym - 1 hour, missed my gym last night, so will be doing circuit training and doing upperbody work along with cardio. Wt - didn't weigh today.....