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It is so depressing the liquid diet. I remember those weeks. Looking at the progressive stages from liquid to soft and thinking really 4 weeks? The sleeve is so grumbly until it heals. It will be a few months to heal. I fussed a lot in the beginning but now I eat a lot of yogurt and two shakes a day. The other meals I eat with my students then family I choose the good stuff protein fruit veggies. A carb only if it is insanely worth it. Sugar never is worth it. I'm 10 months out:)

Focus on healing right now, not weight loss -- don't beat yourself up over bad choices, just resolve to make better ones tomorrow. Healing now and setting the right patterns will help you in the coming months with weight loss. Don't try to test your band or push it to see what you CAN eat, try to eat only what you need to. If you are eating because you are HUNGY then eat protein --shakes, cottage cheese, yogurt if allowed. If you eat the softest and highest protein foods you can find, you will be doing your band good AND your body & hopefully mind will be more sated with the higher protein. My Dr allowed such things during liquid phase -- check with yours. I am sure your band is fine for now, but let your body heal and let everything settle in. Now is not a time to be pushing the limits.....you got the surgery because you wanted to change your old habits, right? Let the band help you do just that.

I would never ever ever eat a lot of artificially sweetened products! It never took scientific evidence for me to feel that I should just use sugar in moderation, and curb my sweet tooth. Sweet foods are sweet foods and if they have proper proportion in your diet, the calories are not going to be a problem. A gallon of soft drink a day is not moderation, you cant get away with it just by switching to the artificially sweetened version. I feel that way about fat too. I drink skim milk because I really hate the taste of full cream but other than that, I eat the full fat version of things. I might eat a carton of yogurt two times a week, so to me, I'm not going to sacrifice the taste for a smidgin less fat. I buy full cream natural yogurt and I love it. Ditto Cookies and stuff, I just dont bother with the low fat because I shouldnt be eating many of them anyway.

I get the sugar free creamsicles, fudgesicles, or fruitsicles from Aldis or Krogers....ususally 15-35 calories. When I need something creamier, I go for Greek Yogurt with a little vanilla and sweetener. Also, 1/2 banana frozen on a popsicle stick or put through the processsor with a little yogurt hits the spot.

It sounds like you are right on track. I don't eat refined carbs either. But I do get carbs from fruit and beans. I eat either Greek yogurt or a scrambled egg for breakfast. Lunch either chili, chicken soup or a chicken breast on top of greens. Dinner I eat what I make for the family but not the starch. So if I make them turkey burgers, for example, I just eat the patty and tomato. If I have an evening snack it is usually fruit or string cheese. I often supplement with a protein shake if I'm low. I average about 900-1100 cal per day, 90 G protein and 40 g carb. I've lost 130 pounds and am 6 pounds from my personal goal.

I am a week post op and my pre op diet consisted of low sugar, no fruit chunk yogurt and water. Nothing else! My diet was only 3 days. I am happy that you do have some variety in your pre op, but I know it sucks to have to do it for two weeks! I am now on an all liquid diet and it is definitely tough (and my stomach can only hold 4 - 6 ounces) so I know it has to be hard. Just try your hardest to prep your mind for it because it continues after surgery. I don't get hungry, but my mind and mouth do want flavor. I am not going to tongue lash you for cheating...it happens. You are going to learn from that, stay strong, and move on. Hopefully the stress and regret you feel will help keep you on the good path. I have another week of Clear liquids and then move on to fuller liquids (chowder and cream of... kind of stuff.) It is a tough road, but every time that I get a head craving for a food I start looking up different foods and recipes I can have in a month or two. I even found (if you think you would like to try) several websites that have alternatives to carbs. I am a huge bread, Pasta, pizza, tortilla, etc. lover! I found that the paleo diet (which I am not doing...only the low/no carb foods) has cool and healthier alternatives to those things. They have recipes for lasagna with cabbage in place of the pasta, and even ways to make bread, tortilla, pasta, and even pizza crust using zucchini, squash, cabbage, and cauliflower (not together of course.) The pictures of the foods look absolutely amazing (much better than they sound)! I am hoping that this can be a healthier alternative. Good luck to you! You will do great! God bless!

Hello fellow November sleevers! Surgery date: Nov 19th preop diet weight: 460 Surgery weight: 430 Current weight: 412 I had a great surgery with very little pain and almost no nausea. I keep feeling better and better everyday. I went from not being able to stand for more than 5 minutes at a time to walking 3 miles yesterday which was a huge victory for me. I am not able to eat very much about 2oz at a time and I don't even feel like eating that. I am so sick of Protein shakes the taste is just to much to even think about so I have been getting in my protein from GENEPRO unflavored Protein powder mixed into greek yogurt. It takes me all day to eat 2 yogurts (10oz) but it gets me my 84g of protein and the rest of the day I focus on my liquid intake. It is amazing to not be hungry all the time. It was also amazing to see all that food on Thanksgiving and to be happy with just my yogurt. I have been obese since early childhood and I have no idea what it is like to not be obese. I really hope I get to experience a normal BMI at least once in my lifetime. But for now I will be grateful for the ability to walk again. Being able to go on a walk with my husband and dogs overwhelmed me yesterday to the point I want to cry tears of joy as I write this. I look forward to many more tears of joy on this journey!

Sweets and high fat don't make every person sick after the surgery, and most of the time it is a short term effect for those that do get sick from them. I couldn't touch high sugar for about 6 months, but guess what? That effect wore off and I could eat anything now with no serious repercussions other than gaining weight. I know that, so I don't eat crap foods all the time. I do eat stuff like a cupcake or a cookie for special occasions, but I plan out my day so I know I have room in my calorie count and I eat healthy 90% of the time, so eating something "bad" occasionally doesn't derail my whole life. Relearning how to eat healthy during the honeymoon period is what the surgery is really all about. You have to throw out everything you used to do and establish good eating habits while the restriction takes care of the portion control. That is what everyone is supposed to learn how to do during the honeymoon phase after surgery. It is really sad that the doctors don't explain this part better to every single patient before they have the surgery. If you don't do this, then the weight loss will happen in the beginning just because you're not able to eat as much, but likely will slow down sooner, and also regain is very likely once your metabolism adjusts in a year or two and all you still eat is crummy foods. Anyway. You definitely need to try doing the 5 day reset. It will help remind you how your stomach feels and feel the restriction again, and should help you detox from the sweets/crap food cravings - eating high carb usually makes you crave more carbs - it is a vicious cycle. You made some mistakes, but the sleeve is still there, ready for you once you're ready to recommit to eating correctly. You lost the best time to make fast and easy changes, but if you put in the work, you can still make it happen. But you have to be willing to do the work. Start tracking every bite of food and sip of drink. Get your Protein and Water goals figured out, keep your carbs low (under 100 definitely but if you can push it down to 50 grams/day that would be even better), and get your calories for the day down to around a 500 calorie less than you burn in a day. Throw out all the junk food in your house. Tell friends and family to not tempt you with foods like that and don't go places where you'll feel weak until you get control of yourself. Think of it like being an alcoholic or trying to quit smoking. You don't go places where you'll feel tempted and you ask friends/family to be supportive of your struggle and not offer you things you shouldn't be having, and do your best to remove the temptations from your path. Exercise - find something you enjoy doing and then do it a minimum of 5 days a week. Even if it's just walking a 2 miles around your neighborhood after dinner, it's something if you're currently doing nothing. What seems to work best food wise is whole foods, that you cook yourself. If it comes in a box or frozen package, it probably isn't a very good choice. Learn to read labels REALLY well, and figure out things like net carbs, sodium levels, etc., and check out both here and bariatric recipe sites like http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/ Proteins should be the main part of each meal and every snack: things like fish, chicken, lean cuts of beef, cheese, yogurt, even Beans and lentils. Healthy vegetables - leafy greens, red peppers, squash, zucchini, avocados, broccoli, cauliflower... watch the ones that are high carb like corn and green peas as even healthy veggies can have high carbs sometimes and you need to be aware when you eat them. Should also be including healthy fats like coconut or olive oils and things like nuts or avocados have fat too, but it's a good fat (just watch the amounts and calories). Watch things like lunchmeat that are usually high sodium (again, read labels!) and be aware of times of day that you might be weak and have healthy Snacks on hand to prevent the quick stop at the drive thru or dropping by the office vending machine. MEASURE everything. You can't rely on eyeballing food amounts. Get a digital scale, and weigh your food so you get accurate calorie counts. It is way too easy to guess and over-estimate your food portions. And you might need to see a counselor that deals with eating disorders if you can't get control of your eating and get your head in the right space to succeed at this. Please don't take this as being mean, but worrying over what others did and comparing your lack of success while eating bad foods isn't helpful or realistic. But here's the thing. You aren't a failure unless you give up completely. Don't give up, and you will succeed.

Not that I'm a successful loser or anything, but I usually have a yogurt for my 2nd dinner. I too can eat anything in the evening while in the morning my band is tight tight tight! I'm finding that instead of doing the 2nd dinner a yogurt tends to fill me up and help my sweet tooth.

I think you the regret you are feeling is normal-I know I felt it and still feel it sometimes-I am early on but I do understand what you mean. It is a kind of mourning the loss of freedom in what you eat, the pureed stage of the diet is horrible and i have got to the stage of almost puking when I eat cottage cheese or yogurt. I am sure I may never eat cottage cheese again. I am getting to the stage where food is just what I have to eat to live. I think we can go through the 5 stages of grief with this surgery! Some people may laugh at me but I think it is normal to do this

I had my pre-op diet a couple days ago and I'm allowed 2 protein shakes and 2 meals (60% lean protein, 40% non-starchy veg). What's your pre-op diet? This is my list for post-op weeks 1-2: Eggs FF refried beans Apple sauce (with unflavored protein powder) Chili (I'm going to mash the beans up so that it's more of a pureed consistency) Greek yogurt Ricotta Bake Pudding (with protein powder) Weeks 3-4 Sliced turkey Tilapia Soup Buffalo chicken dip That's what I have so far!

Have you tried granola in yogurt? I have it all the time, Iove it. Also oatmeal and cream of wheat are good suggestions. You can do a boiled egg .I know some people eat rice for breakfast, they eat it with sugar and milk. There are also all kinds of healthy cereals out there to chose from. I also eat cottage cheese with fruit like peaches,strawberries, and pineapple, that is good too. ~~~Stephanie.

I agree that most of those meals are carb heavy and full of sodium and preservatives. For me it is fairly easy to pick a Protein and then add a vegetable it fruit. (For instance, turkey breast and green Beans or roasted Brussels sprouts or similar; cottage cheese with fresh tomato; Greek yogurt with fresh berries; chicken patty and a green vegetable; etc.) It tastes so much better than frozen meals anyway and is really easy..

I try to get more calories..but that is kinda impossible now. I can't seem to hold anymore than that. I did seem to get a little more in yesterday. I am going to try to get close to 1000 today. I feel full after a 1/2 cup of food right now. In the morning is definitely hard to get anything in. I try to drink my shake in the morning. This morning I got in some greek yogurt. To be honest with you I think some of my problem is that I have been constipated for about a week now...I know TMI..but finally got some relief so to speak. I have a hard time getting in 64 oz of h20 too. Anyone else have a hard time with constipation and getting your water in?

Yoplait Greek 100 calorie yogurt with less than 15 grams sugar is a good one. I like lime and cherry best...but the cherries are not to be eaten...I spit them out, or pick them out. I was told that you can have any Protein, really, as long as it is moist, and chewed down to nothing. I started with an egg cooked in a little butter--that's how I like it. Then, tuna fish with olive oil may. Tuna goes into my sleeve with no problems, and tastes good...but I still don't feel like eating. I have had chicken breast, and Healthy Ones smoked turkey breast, and a little bit of ham, too. Tonight, I'm going to try taco meat. As long as you chew it down to bits...as if it came from a blender, you'll be fine. Some people can have cream of wheat, I read, but I am not allowed that because it's a starch....I wouldn't recommend it, either, because it swells and can hurt your stomach. You need the protein.

You're welcome. And I also forgot the other great first week mushie food, Greek Yogurt! Its smooth, easy to swallow, and has a high protien count.

I thought I would have to do a liquid pre op diet, too. I planned for it. I was sort of disappointed (weird, huh?). I decided to do something like it anyway, to jump start my weight loss and help me start implementing a real change in my eating. Since last Monday I've been following this: 6am - Protein shake 9am - Greek yogurt 11-1 (actual time varies by work schedule) - Protein Shake 3pm - snack, humus or Greek yogurt 5pm - protein shake 7pm - tilapia and steamed green veggie (broc, Beans, or asparagus) I try to drink three 23.7 oz bottles of Water every day, and have my Vitamin routine down., I've lost four pounds since last Monday. :-)

3wks after surgery I am suppose to be in a puree diet but it is had to get it down. One tsp of yogurt I am so full for hrs, I can't finish a whole egg. I find comfort still with liquids and I have been sticking to it to get down my Protein in take and Water for hydration. Anybody with this same issues pls. Lost 21Ib. Sent from my SM-G920T using the BariatricPal App

I lost over 80 lbs doing low gi, but then I kinda blew it when my dad's heart went out of sync and then he broke his hip and then he was in rehab and I was going back and forth for months and he almost died twice. I put all the weight back on and a little more. It works if you stick to it, but I dont think you can get the nuances from the south beach book is why I suggested also reading low gi diet books. For instance, potatoes are a no no, but if you really really crave one, boil a new red potato. Baked potatoes have more starch, only boiled and the newer and smaller the less starch, the lower the gi. Rice, pick a whole grain chewy rice and boil and boil and pour off water and keep boiling at least 20 minutes. If its a chewy type brown rice it will still be good. Instant rice is totally out. pasta, again, small small portions if at all, then the opposite is true, dont overcook, its gets more starchy and again whole grains only. Whole grain cereal no sugar, everything you can you need to switch to whole grains, and its a side dish not the main dish, like you dont have a whole plate of spagetti, its a side to your protein. One of the books breaks foods into red light, green light and yellow light foods, red always no, yellow are maybes, watch them and green you can have all you want. unsweetened yogurt or yogurt with artificial sweeterns is the lowest gi food on the charts. good for snacks or breakfast (except I hate it). the books on low gi to me helped me understand what I could eat a whole lot better than telling me to eat so much of which foods and a bunch of receipes.

Of course, you should do what your doc says..... but here's my experience - restriction has so much to do with not getting hungry between meals, and so until you get there, no snacking can be very hard to do. When I got my latest fill, I was getting hungry before dinner, so I called my nurse, and she said to add a small snack, such as yogurt. For me, if I get too hungry, I will eat more than I need to, or eat unhealthy foods. So long as you are sticking to your target calorie goal each day, I don't see how a 100 cal snack could hurt, especially if it keeps you from overeating later.

Last Sunday, not yesterday but a week ago, I got a pill partially stuck. For 4 hours after that I couldn't keep down anything. Not even liquids. It all came back up. Then I guess it finally passed because I was fine again. On Monday I was okay but having a little pain when I swallowed my food-like band pain. Then on Tuesday I decided to just go back to liquids for a few days thinking I was swelled so I did that. On Wednesday I had 4 oz of my Protein Shake and it came back up. So I called my doc. He felt that I was swelled up from my stuck episode and he put me back on liquids. I stayed on liquids Wednesday and Thursday then on Friday I had mashed potatoes, potato salad and some really tender grilled chicken. It all went down with no problems. Saturday I stuck with soft foods again and then I yesterday I ate like normal. I had spiral ham, fresh raw brocolli, carrot sticks and cucumbers, some Beans and some Pork carnita meat. It all went down just fine- no problems, no pain. This morning I had my coffee and took my medications and I was fine. At 11 am I tried to eat some Chobani yogurt. I got 3/4 of it down and I started feeling sick/stuck. I ended up throwing up. I thought maybe I ate it too fast so at 2 pm I tried some small bites of ham. It hurt going down and I threw it up. I called my doc's office and the receptionist put me in for tomorrow at 10 am. She says it sounds like I'm too tight. My last fill was 2 weeks ago. Since then I've gone out to eat and had normal meals and I had normal meals yesterday. So what's up? Do you think I'm eating too fast or am I really too tight/full? In the past 14 days I have been able to eat normally for only 5 of them. How come I was fine on those days and then so stuck on others?

I also felt like I could eat way too much after my 1st fill (2cc) in a 10cc band. I am 10 weeks post op and have lost 33 lbs. I must say I feel like a lot of that has been by me controlling what I am eating. If I allowed myself I could eat a lot more. I try to choose low carb, low calorie, high Protein foods. A typical Breakfast for me is a 2.5 oz Protein Bar, 2 cups of coffee, lunch tuna or chicken salad, 3 or 4 crackers, dinner chicken, or beef, maybe up to 6 oz, sometimes with a vegetable. If I snack it is either low carb yogurt, or cheese, sometimes pretzels if I need crunchy, salty stuff. After my second fill of 2 more cc's, I am more satisfied with less food, and need to chew really well. Chicken and beef can be hard to get down. I still could eat way too much though, so am looking forward to next fill in 2 weeks and hopefully more restriction. Drinking Water definately helps and I don't drink for an hour after a meal. Just try to be smart about your choices until the fills kick in. :clap2:

I'm concerned about my restriction as well. At 1 cc I felt very little restriction but at 1.5 cc I'm having a lot of problems. Maybe I do need to slow down and eat smaller bites, but some days I can't eat yogurt without that shart pain in the chest area. I don't want to tell my doctor it's too tight but I'm starting to feel frustrated with all this pain surrounding eating. Any ideas??

You don't say when you were banded. I am going to assume very recently. That be the case the first 6 weeks is NOT about losing weight, it is about healing. Yes you need to follow the liquid, mushy guidlines so as not to cause band slipage or any other complications. You have plenty of time to worry about how much you are eating after you get healed up. Cottage cheese, applesauce, yogurt, protein shakes, mashed potato, mashed sweet potato, eggs. These are just a few things you could eat. I drink crystal light to help get my liquid intake in. I can't stress enough that you need to drink a lot. If you were just banded more than likely you do not have anything in your band because it is a time for healing. After you get your first fill then you will need to watch closer what you are eating and the amount. You are starting on an incredible journey. It is worth it. Good luck and if you need any more advice this is the place to get it. There are a lot of wonderful people here who are or have been in the stage you are in. Keep posting and asking questions.

SleevePlicationTalk Newsletter Hey, Sleevers! Summer’s over and we’re into the beautiful days of early autumn. No matter where you live, we hope you’re getting a chance to get out and enjoy the weather! Any activity you do counts toward your weight loss, health and pleasure, so make an effort to get outside and get moving. Don’t forget to take your SleevePlicationTalk.com app with you so you can read the newsletter and keep up with the boards! Here’s what you’ll find in October’s newsletter. Member Spotlight: We’re still recruiting! Sleever Challenge: Lend a Hand! Having a Healthy Autumn: A Few Tips for Parents – and Other Busy SleevePlicationTalk.com Members! Weight Loss Surgery: Not the Easy Way Out! Can’t wait to get started? Neither can we! Enjoy the newsletter and please feel free to let us know what you think! Thanks for your support. Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder SleevePlicationTalk.com Member Spotlight: Still Recruiting! If you want to be in the spotlight or you want to nominate someone else, let us know in the Spotlight Forum or send Alex a private message. We’re always looking for outstanding members to highlight! Sleever Challenge: Lend a Hand! We like to challenge you to try something new or unusual in each newsletter. The Sleever Challenge is a non-competitive way to push yourself a little further and experience something new while gaining confidence. Why do we ask you to post what you did? It helps motivate others and give them ideas for their challenges! This week’s challenge is pretty simple. Before the next newsletter, we’re just asking you to help someone. It can be any kind of help, from helping an elderly neighbor take the newspaper in to volunteering to give a motivational talk at your local weight loss surgery support group meeting to making dinner for your spouse even when it’s not your turn. This challenge does more than make someone else’s life easier. It makes you value yourself more when you see how powerful you can be just by being kind to others. Don’t forget to let us know how you helped someone! What did you do? How did it make you feel? Let us know how it goes in the Sleever Challenge forum! You can always check out any of the previous Newsletter Challenges and give us updates on those. You can always see the old challenges in the archived newsletters. You’ll see challenges on food, fitness and more! It’s never too late to try something new and exciting! Make It a Healthy Autumn: A Few Tips for Parents – and Other Busy SleevePlicationTalk.com Members! Okay, we know that the autumn is a busy time of year. If you’re a parent, your children are back in school and their activities are in full swing. You may be juggling work with your chauffeuring, catering and cleaning business – aka, taking care of your family! Most of us are pretty busy even if we’re not parents. It’s easy to use not having enough time as an excuse for getting off track with your weight loss. You might eat foods that you know you shouldn’t because you feel you just can’t squeeze in the time to prepare a healthy snack. We’ve all done it. You rush out the door in the morning and are busy all day. Some of these happen along the way. You are starving by lunchtime and grab a few truffles that make you nauseous. you dumping syndrome. You go by the vending machine for a soft drink that’ll make you feel sick within minutes. You realize at the end of the day that you haven’t stopped to drink for hours, and you have a headache and your stomach hurts. You know you should be eating lean Protein, but the closest thing you can find is pepperoni from the company’s pepperoni pizza – so to be polite, you eat the entire slice and it causes an obstruction. You start to depend on Protein shakes because those are the closest thing to a healthy meal that you can find at the company cafeteria. You don’t have to let a hectic schedule get in the way of your health! What can you do about it? Here are a few tips to make the most out of every day Prepare some of your meals and Snacks at the beginning of the week. Wash your fruits and vegetables so they’re easy to prepare when you need them. Cook some your Proteins - chicken breast, fish, seafood, lean beef and/or veggie burgers – and freeze them in single-serving baggies or containers. Cook up bigger batches, put them in single-serving containers and freeze them so you can defrost them when you’re ready to eat them. This is a great option for healthy side dishes, such as whole wheat Pasta, carrots or Beans. (You don’t have to make too much, since your single portions post-surgery are pretty small). Place snacks in single-serving bags if you buy a multi-serving package Plan your Breakfast the night before so you don’t have to think about it in the morning. Take the time to make a grocery list. It’ll save you time in the end. Using a list will keep you from forgetting foods and needing to go back to the store during the week. You’ll be faster in the store because you won’t get distracted. Sticking to a list will keep you from buying foods you shouldn’t. Buy ingredients for breakfast Buy snack foods Make sure you drink enough. Stash Water bottles in your car and at work and keep them filled. It’ll encourage you to drink throughout the day and you won’t have to take the time to run to the kitchen each time you need to drink. Stick a pitcher of water in the fridge so you see it several times a day. Keep healthy snacks at work so you never find yourself starving with nothing healthy to eat. Beef Jerky and canned tuna, chicken, beans, vegetables keep for months. Frozen foods to consider keeping around include grilled chicken and fish, veggie burgers and vegetables. Yogurt, low-fat cheese, cottage cheese and deli meats are high-protein snacks to keep in the fridge for a week or more. The more you plan, the better off you’ll be. You’ll save time and be more likely to eat well. And remember – you’re worth it! We suggest picking one or two strategies and working on them until you master them, then moving on to a new tip. Let us know how helpful the tips are! That’s a lot to chew on for this newsletter, so we’re going to end it here. There’s no end to the news, tips and conversations over at SleevePlicationTalk.com, so come on over via your computer, smartphone or Kindle! You can always check out the old newsletters, too, in the Newsletter Forum. Thanks for coming along in this newsletter and for being part of our fantastic community! We couldn’t do it without you. Have a great month and take care of yourself and each other, Alex. ==============================================================If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe by going to your Control Panel and clicking on the Newsletters tab, or clicking on the following link: {unsubscribe}