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I never hit my goal weight either, and I've regained since then. Not sure how much: I'm afraid to look at the scale. I hope it's only 15, but I think it might be closer to 25 or 30. I've gotten addicted to processed carbs again, so I need to go off them, but it's tough. I was near perfect on my diet for a year, but never did any exercise. I think that really prevented me from reaching my goal. I'm feeting very motivated to exercise now; in fact, I'm going tomorrow to get a gym membership. (I do much better at exercise with a gym membership than working out at home.) I'd like to do keto because it's so effective, but since the surgery, my body really does not like it when I eat much fat. Also, there aren't a lot of protein sources I like, so I'm thinking about looking into a more plant based diet. I like the idea of fruits, vegetables, beans, string cheese, Greek yogurt, eggs, and some meat here and there. I should go back to protein shakes, but I drank so many for so long that I'm really tired of them. I think I'll start the Pound of Cure diet and see where it takes me. Anyway, good luck to you! It's tough when it seems that everyone else has been so successful, but tomorrow is another chance at success.

NLawlor, you're in bandster hell. It's a rotten time. You have pretty much no restriction from just the band, you're healed, you're feeling pretty normal .... and you can eat a lot of food. And you're scared. Let me assure you, as others have, that it gets better. Your first fill isn't going to put you in the green zone, but it's going to start you in that direction. How much fill it takes varies from person to person. As an example, 5.8ccs is perfect for me; 6.8ccs is "close" for my best friend. What worked best for me until I hit the green zone was to not count calories but to make sure I got at least 60 grams of Protein per day and eat three meals a day. Breakfast, I often had a Protein shake but now have a soft boiled egg and a littel greek yogurt. My other meals were (and usually still are) 3 oz of lean protein. a vegetable serving, and a serving of whole grain carb (about 15 grams or so of carbs). I was told that the goal was to be able to go at least 4 hours between meals before I got hungry and that until I reached that point I should have a protein snack to hold me over. Something like a boiled egg, an ounce of low fat cheese or some low fat cottage cheese. That got me to where I am now. I still have that snack before I leave work at 5:30 because that's already 5 hours since my lunch and another hour and a half before I even get home to be able to cook dinner. It's a comfortable habit now. I can eyeball protein servings, don't worry too much about getting the vegetable serving to an exact size, and I know what carbs I can have and how much. And with 80 pounds down, I am now losing about a pound a week. Bear in mind that how much you have to lose has a lot of control over when the weight loss slows down. AND, I'll tell you I had a spell a while back where if it were not for my band, I would have gone back to my old habits and gained it all back. But that little bit of plastic and silicone stopped me short. You eat too much, your stomach hurts. Don't want to do that again, LOL. So if you work your band, it will work for you faithfully.

HI! Congrats on your upcoming surgical date! I would stick with the milk but maybe start going to the lactose free kind. many of us find we are lactose intolerant after the bypass for some weird reason! I can still do my Greek yogurt and some cheese in small amounts but a shake full of milk...no way! lol I say stay with the milk because Protein is going to be so important in your life so soon. your adding about ten more grams to your shakes with your 8oz of milk, not to mention some key nutrients because milk is a REAL food and you will have to ease back into those slowly at first. Your body will always absorb and heal and just thrive better on real foods so, keep the milk going while you have to lean on the shakes! Also, don't be bummed about the slow loss before surgery, a lot of people don't see a huge loss pre bypass. Remember though, when they DO the bypass, you get a RE DO on your who metabolic system! We get a restart on our metabolism a real do over! So, don't worry about the scale, just know your liver is gettin ready to be read like tea leaves, so its gotta look its most firm and fit! lol That is really what the pre op is all about, the real new you will be here soon enough! It's not an easy thing, but the pay offs can be aw some, you'll see! Keep on talking on here, it helps! Any other questions let all of us know! GOOD LUCK!

The brand I picked up was Core Fitness, which I have not tried before. It came yesterday afternoon, so I made one up. Very good...it won't go to waste. I also made up a blend of ricotta and Greek Vanilla yogurt, canned pumpkin (not the pie filling) and some pumpkin spice and sweetener. I scooped it out into a muffin pan and froze it, then froze the single serving pumpkin cups for individual use as I need them. There was a bit left clinging to the blender so I added a cup of milk, and a scoop of the pumpkin spice Protein for a 40 gram Protein shake that will take me two sessions to drink.

I was just going to post that pumpkin puree mixed with greek yogurt and allowed to set in the freezer makes a good snack, but I like the idea of using ricotta . May have to try that.

@@SportCub Sleeved.. @@BKLYNgal87 YES!! Frozen yogurt is the WORST! I had it a few times before I realized that is what was setting me off! Now I've noticed any sugar causes it and man it is bad because I will feel really sick but as soon as I go to the bathroom I am fine.

@@TexasMom5 So on a typical day I eat at least some cold cuts and cheeses, usually some cheddar and at least one mini babybel. For the meats I get good quality seasoned turkey cold cuts from the deli ( I like the boar's head cajun turkey breast). I eat a boiled egg several times per week. Greek yogurt 1-2 times per week. I eat one of the Oscar Meyer P2 Protein Snacks almost every day, it's very easy for me to pack for work. That contains turkey, cheddar and almonds. 16 grams protein, about 170 cals. For dinner I normally have something hot like chili (I concentrate on eating the chunks of meat as much as possible rather than the liquid), a hamburger patty with cheese or some kind of gravy or red sauce (can only eat about half), taco meat (shredded beef or briskit), meatballs in red sauce, grilled shrimp, etc. Today for lunch we went out and I got blackened shrimp with vegetables. If I have a half of a Protein shake I can make my goal of at least 60g per day with the rest being the real foods mentioned above. I drink either premier chocolate thinned with 1% milk, a cup of plain 1% milk, or a GNC Lean 25 pre-made shake in the Strawberries and Cream flavor. This is my favorite because it is very very thin and tastes really good. 170 cals, 25 g protein, low sugars/carbs, lactose free. These are available at GNC stores. Hope this helps somewhat. I track with MFP once or twice per week to see how I an doing on goals (cals, protein, carbs, etc). I also try to have 2 or 3 Fiber gummies daily as I am still trying to figure out how to integrate some veggies into my diet. Really still mainly focused on my Proteins for now.

Jaime “Pandora” Williams has not had anything handed to her. She has worked hard for everything she has, including every pound of her 250-lb weight loss. From weight loss surgery and overcoming food addiction to figuring out how to deal with her father’s death to paying for training for a new career, Pandora has kept moving forward and earned her spot as one of our weight loss surgery heroes. Throughout it all, she has kept her determination to help others. She has shared every step of her journey on her Desperately Seeking Slender blog, and has made a career as a weight loss and wellness coach. Find out how Pandora Williams, who was “Desperately Seeking Slender,” turned her life around and is helping others do the same! Struggling with Weight from Childhood to Early Adulthood Pandora comes from a family that did not eat healthy. They ate fast food often, and home cooked meals were likely to be tacos, pot roast and potatoes, and other high-calorie foods. She remembers father loving his sweets, and her mother struggled with weight gain and obesity after quitting smoking. With a diet of cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets, not surprisingly, Pandora had been overweight since childhood. She hit the 400-lb. mark 4 years after graduating high school, and also had chronic depression, diabetes, and sleep apnea. Atkins and intense exercise helped her get down to 225 lbs. before getting married, but the weight came back after marriage. Weight Loss Surgery and a New Lifestyle Pandora wanted weight loss surgery, but put it off for a few years because she couldn’t afford it. She got serious when her health insurance began to cover it, and got the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in 2010. She chronicled her entire weight loss journey on her blog. She lost 100 pounds by December of 2010, 200 pounds six months later in June of 2011, and entered “Onederland” (under 200 pounds) in October of 2011. Now, she maintains a weight of 165 lb. – quite a difference from her highest BMI of 69.9! Needless to say, she threw away the old habits of eating a half-gallon of ice cream or a dozen tacos. She worked hard to overcome her food addiction. Portion control and measuring were new behaviors she had to follow. Now, five years post-op, she is able to get away without writing down every bite when things are going right. Still, she keeps herself on track by food journaling and calorie counting the second she is unsure of herself, whether because of a jump on the scale or a high-sodium day. Pandora follows a carb cycling plan where she eats higher and lower amounts of carbs on alternating days. She’s an exercise addict, and that also helps her keep her weight in check. Body Image and Reconstructive Surgery Despite maintaining a healthy weight and feeling more confident in overcoming her food addiction, Pandora says her body image is a bit of a struggle. She has had 6 rounds of reconstructive surgery, and still has trouble accepting the mistakes she made in the past with her body and health. A Life-Changing Letter to Chris Powell! By August of 2012, Pandora’s weight was well under control, but she was not satisfied with that. She wanted to help others do the same. She knew she had the “the passion, desire to help, and love” for people who were struggling with their weight, because she knew exactly what they were struggling with. What she needed was help figuring out how to help them, and she just couldn’t get in touch with someone who could guide her. Then, in August of 2012, Pandora wrote a letter to Chris Powell, the celebrity trainer on “Extreme Makeover.” After some persistence, she managed to get her letter to him, and she received a reply! He posted an encouraging message on Facebook, and that was enough to keep her motivated. Since then, she has had a couple more interactions with him on social media – including an encouraging message when she was feeling down – and was able to meet him in Hollywood at the Extreme Makeover Finale. She considers him and his wife Heidi an inspiration. A Day in the Life Between taking care of herself and helping others be the best they can be, Pandora is very busy! Here is a typical day in her life. 8:00 a.m. Wake up, food prep, get ready for work. Coffee, coffee, coffee! 9:30 a.m. Arrive at the gym. May do a 4 to 5-mile run or take a group exercise class like yoga before work. 10:30 a.m. Breakfast: Quest protein bar. 11:00 a.m. Start work - working the front desk and doing either one-on-one training or weight loss/wellness coaching sessions. 12:30 p.m. Lunch: Veggies (cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots): about five of each and either some low-sodium turkey breast with low-fat Swiss cheese or some hard-boiled egg whites filled with chicken salad made with a Greek yogurt base and green onions. 2:30 p.m. Snack: Usually a container of Greek yogurt or some homemade steel cut oats from home. 3:00 p.m. Leads a weight loss boot camp group training session with light weights and cardio – usually works out with the group. 5:00 p.m. Snack: Usually a piece of fruit like an apple or an orange, or a banana on higher-mileage days. 7:00 p.m. Leads a weight loss boot camp group training session with light weights and cardio – usually works out with the group. 8:30 p.m. Finishes running for the day if she didn’t get in an early morning run or get more than 5 miles already that day. 10:00 p.m. Home/Shower/Dinner: usually a lean protein like baked chicken or turkey and steamed veggies. Uses spices and changes the vegetables a lot for variety. Includes a serving of brown rice, couscous, quinoa or whole wheat pasta on days she eats carbs. 11:00 p.m. Snack: Usually Greek yogurt, no sugar added ice cream sandwich, a frozen protein bar, or an extra-thick protein shake. 12:00 a.m. Bedtime Pandora tries to run longer distances after work if she doesn’t get to work out during her weight loss boot camp classes. Her days off on Sundays and some Thursdays may include an extra kickboxing class, a spin class, or a run over 10 miles. New Lifestyle, New Career, and Paying It Forward. As a morbidly obese high school graduate, Pandora had been limited in her career options. She made a living working from home at jobs such as customer support and data entry. Since losing weight and getting healthy, she has thrown herself into something she is passionate about – helping others get and stay healthy through lifestyle. Now, Pandora works as a weight loss and wellness coach at a ladies-only fitness facility gym, and has earned multiple certifications in the fitness and coaching industry. She also pays it forward as a weight loss surgery advocate. She has spoken at the Obesity Action Coalition and Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America (WLSFA), as well as at other bariatric support clinics and groups. She publishes articles regularly, including here on BariatricPal! You can follow Pandora on Desperately Seeking Slender and on Facebook and Twitter @SeekingSlender.

Whoever came up with these Greek Yogurt 100 Calorie containers is an outstanding person because this is the ONLY thing getting me through my pre-op diet. I can have one of these a day and it's becoming the highlight of my entire day. So thanks, Yoplait!

Happy Holidays everyone. Just wanted you all to know I did end up losing 7 pounds after 14 days of hellish torture LOL. My doctor said my liver shrank a little but not a lot. He said it will continue to shrink as I lose weight. I was on 19 medications and he said that can sometimes have an effect on the shrinking... so now we know. Surgery went well and other than feeling like I did 100 situps I wouldn't really know I had surgery. No real after effects. I threw up once in the hospital when I took too many of my 19 meds at once but other than that no other issues. I'm back to drinking normally with no problem. Still no food yet, I have 8 more days to go to get to puree but I get milk and yogurt on Wed and I'm really looking forward to it. I think it will settle okay but will do small amounts at first. Thanks, everyone for being so nice and supportive! Love this group!

What are your carbs in relation to the calories? I'm starting to believe that some of us are very carb sensitive and even with LapBand will have to stay on a healthy LowCal/LowCarb diet for the rest of our lives. You may want to try different food choices and keep the carb intake to 30 grams a day. What you eat needs to stay in the single digits for carbs. George Stella - Stella Style Community "1 cup of food per meal and that does fill me up, but then I'm hungry (drooling) 1 hour later." The low-carbers would say that your carb intake is waaaay too high and that's why you are hungry an hour later. There are lots of low-carb fruits and veggies but banana's are high, milk is somewhat high. The yogurt is high unless it's a low-carb yogurt. I've been addicted to carbs for many years and I think I've just worn out my body with them. I've got to shock my system into not having carbs - like detox. :biggrin: I was just banded on 1/16/08 and I'm reading low-carb books while I'm laying around recovering. Doing fairly well but right now I feel like I have a cement block in the upper part of my stomach, sure hope that "big knot" feeling goes away? it goes away right?

I was on full liquids from day 1(Soup, greek yogurt, Protein shakes). I Start Purees tomorrow after 2 weeks on liquids. Every surgeon is different, but Clear Liquids for over a month doesn't sound very healthy to me. You have to get your protein in.

The non fat Greek yogurt is THE best! Better than any supermarket brand. I love the honey yogurt, especially. Great protein!

Optifast Our doctors differ slightly in the pre-op diet. The GOAL is to shrink the fatty liver so that the surgeons have less to 'work around' remember that the stomach lies under the liver... and that the liver is a very large organ. So now you know why it is important. If the optifast is nasty try MY doctors pre-op diet. Non-fat or 1% Cottage cheese, non fat sugar free yogurt, now of these things you don't have to weight or measure, if your hungry eat it... I especially liked Cottagecheese mixed with sweetner of choice and cinnamon... pretty good. another bandster said he got through it by mixing MUSTARD with his cottage cheese (I havn't tried it) and Yogurt, well I've always liked it... I went to Toronto Lap Band Centre and Dr. Yau has done 1000's of these proceedures in Canada and this is the diet we all followed. If we really rebelled then the Nutritionist would let us have broiled chicken breast(no fat in prep.) and green salads in addition to the yogurt and cot. cheese I hope this helps and that the time you wait for your surg goes quickly... Hang in there, you'll be so happy on day of surg when you are down those BONUS lbs. Trust me

This is my first post, and I am hoping my first attempt to get some help. I have been banded since OCT 2006 starting weight 126kg getting to my lowest weight December 2008 which was 75kg. I am 5ft10inch I have never been able to eat properly with my band only being able to keep down fluids with most solid food coming back up. I for over 3 years vomit any solid food I eat. Over the past 12 months I have gained back over 10kg of my lowest weight even though my calorie intake would be lucky to exceed 600 calories a day (unless I binge on chocolate!) My daily intake of food is lucky to be a V drink and 2 freddo frogs with the occassional handful of nuts or sometimes I can keep down some Cereal with yogurt. I can't go back to my surgean to have fill taken out for 2 reasons. firstly I had some further surgeries with him that didn't go well and I don't trust him and 2 I am scared if I get fill taken out my weight will go up even further! I recently went and had some tests done and have been diagnosed with something called Adrenal Fatigue, my thyroid is no longer working my Iron along with most other nutrients is dangerously low and they class me as having malnutrition...In short I am killing myself... I know this in my head, I am a smart person, a mum, a successful business owner... but I am petriefied of being fat again (even thought I look at myself at the moment and class myself as extremely overweight since gaining the 10kg) I am booked into a specialist to work on the adrenal fatigue and thyroid but just don't know what to do with regards to my lapband... Please don't come on here and be agressive with me that is not what I need, I need to speak to people that understand me and can help me... My husband is worried (no one else knows I have even had the band done) I cover my fatigue and general unwellness very well but am suffering daily with these chronic symptoms. Sorry for such a long post, I have woken today feeling exceptionally unwell and realise I need to do something before its too late..

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that is fantasizing about when I am finally able to puree some food! I had surgery on Oct 2, so I'm still only on full liquids, including cream based soups made with milk, cream of wheat and plain yogurt. Yesterday was my husband & my 10th wedding anniversary, and normally we would have went out for a nice dinner together. I was having a really hard time figuring out what to do, so we went to Target, and walked around for a while, came home and that was it. How sad is that?? lol I know eventually we'll be able to go out to dinner again, and this stage is only temporary. But you're right, I too am finding out just what a mental battle this really is. I knew it would be tough ,but didn't quite envision it being quite this difficult. I'm just trying to take it day by day, sometimes hour by hour, constantly reminding myself why I chose this way to go, and what life will be like once I really start noticing the weight loss, and how much better off I'll be. For anyone who likes to judge WLS and think it's taking the "Easy way out", I would beg to differ! This is such a battle, but I know it will get better. Good luck to you!!

Also think about where your incisions will be and the kind of clothes you can wear. I found wearing my bra pretty irritating. lol Mel that is soooo true forget the underwire's for a while I lived in sports bras and sweats My port incision sits right where you buckle your pants so jeans killed me the first couple of weeks. Debbie as far as food I was on mushies after 5 days and mashed potatos, yogurt, applesauce and scrambled eggs is what I lived on till I was on solids. and let me tell you those mashed potatoes with brown gravy tasted like filet mignon after a week of broth, popsicles and Protein shakes lol but from what I have read on here everyones doctor is different with the diet so what foods will you be allowed to eat when you go back to work do you know??

i usually bring cold cut rollups, meatballs in sauce, grilled chicken breast, hard boiled egg with salt and pepper, mini babybel cheese or a cheese stick/string cheese, a greek yogurt with a teaspoon of sf chocolate chips to add some "dessert like quality" - could add almonds or nuts too, i'm just not cleared for those yet). so long as you have a fridge available, of course!

Wow, 3 meals/day with no snacks would be difficult for me. I have 1/2 an apple or orange midmorning and other half mid afternoon or string cheese, yogurt, a vegetable, etc.-something sensible but it prevents stomach acid and nausea for me. It also helps maintain a good blood sugar level in my case. We’ve each got different issues to deal with so makes sense plans can be different. I told doc I want my plan to be something I can live with long term and this works. Continued success and best wishes to you!

I just had my sleeve done on Feb 25th. I'm 8 days out and starving as well. For my preop diet my doctor had me on a high protein low carb diet. After surgery for the first 7 days nothing but liquids. Tomorrow is my post op and I am supposed to start protein shakes on top of the liquids and supplements for 2 weeks. I'm not supposed to start soft foods until March 21st but it feels like I wont make it. I just want some unsweetened applesauce with an egg or one of my fat free yogurts. For days I felt I was the only one feeling like this and thinking maybe the sleeve didn't work. But I'm hungry. I'm going to try putting my protein powder in the broth later to see if that helps. Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

You just gotta ride the wave now. Pre-op Mag Citrate liquid was my go-to. But post surg, even 1 or 2 oz goes through like Sherman through Georgia. So fast. So painful. Fetal position rocking and moaning terrible. Once it's in you, nothing is gonna stop it until you get all the crap out of you--literally. Sorry. Hope it eases quickly. Make sure to get your fluids in. Keep trying to take sips of water. Now the key is to keep everything open and not allow yourself to go 14 days. That's just wrong. At 3 days no BM, I'm formulating a plan for day 4. But my recipe so far is: 17g Miralax 3 Colace 11g whole psyllium dissolved in 2 glasses of iced tea 1/2c yogurt 1 GG brancrisp cracker with 1tbsp almond butter before bedtime lots of leafy greens and broccoli and cruciferous veg 100oz water DAILY. Every. Damn. Day. I'm finally having lovely fluffy movements every day that I follow those rules. It was Rosemary's Baby bad before that.

I did a lot of: poached egg over refried beans pureed tuna salad pureed chicken salad pureed chicken with barbecue sauce hummus Greek yogurt nonfat cottage cheese with hot sauce or chipotle salad dressing stirred in for flavor pureed shrimp salad I didn't have any trouble tolerating any of that. Just kept the amounts very very small - no more than 3 tablespoons of food per meal.

I couldn't do any of the protein drinks or shakes or enhanced puddings. I called my surgeons office and I went back to my pre op optifast, as well, they suggested that I add cottage cheese to my soups and blenderize them, to get added protein. Greek yogurt is good. They weren't too concerned as I was still healing and as soon as I hit mushy stage, I was good on the protein intake. Good luck to you.

It depends on your doctor's orders. I was still on Clear liquids on day six, so it was pretty much broth for me, I'm afraid. Day seven was full liquids, and tomato Soup never tasted so good! Day fourteen was mushies. That opens up quite a few options. Scrambled eggs are a good source of Protein, as is cottage cheese and yogurt. Just make sure you're following your doctor's orders for your post op diet. You don't want to push yourself too fast. Good luck!

Sometimes I will have a yogurt or a cheese stick.