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Day 14 - 2 weeks out!! I've lost 14 lbs! I am averaging about 500 calories a day and trying to get this Protein in. I'm getting about 44-50 grams in mainly in the form of Protein shakes and Greek yogurt. I went back to work today so that's a bummer lol I'm still getting sleepy during the day. Feel like I need a nap. Noticed my scrubs are a lil big on me today. I bought em when I was 40 lbs heavier though. I'm still having the problem of food going straight through me when everyone else is saying they are constipated. U would know I'd be different! I want Mexican food for some reason lately. Idk why cause nothing really is sounding all that great except Mexican. Maybe it'll be a refried bean, enchilada aside and bit of cheese night! I'm a couple of days late on this post cause day to day stuff seems a bit Boring.

I have been banded for 7 years and in this whole time, breakfast is a no go. Best I can manage is a smoothie mid morning - usually after 10am. I am soooooo bored of smoothies!!!!! I would love to eat an egg, or some bacon, anything really, but any attempt means it comes back up shortly after. Sometimes I can manage a couple crackers with some soft cheese or a couple bites of a granola bar, but not a good protein source. Even yogurt is a no go. Any suggestions??? My band is good. I was formerly way too restricted and now that I am a bit more open, I am able to manage better options for lunch and dinner without things backing up or coming up, but mornings are bad. Even juice is tiny little sips over about an hour or more......

Is anyone else having a problem with dairy? Not the actual eating/getting dairy products down, but the digestion? It almost feels like I am lactose intolerant now!! I had a yogurt, cheese, and some ice cream (not all together!) but in total today and my trips to the bathroom have been more than frequent (to be polite! :kiss ) Anyone else have any input on this?

individual serving size packets of tuna or salmon turkey pepperoni individual serving size packet of peanut butter or almond butter protein powder + a shaker bottle (you should be able to get bottled water or milk at the courthouse - most courthouses will have a snack bar type place - also if they do, they should have things like yogurt & cottage cheese for sale. You may want to check with the courthouse in advance and see if they have a snack bar or other place to buy ready to go food, or perhaps even a cafeteria which would likely have food you can eat).

Pumpkin also delivers a punch of potassium, a comely amount of copper, an interesting bit of iron, a pleasing amount of magnesium and a fair amount of fiber. A caution for bariatric patients is the 10 grams of carbohydrates found in a ½ cup pumpkin puree. And who doesn’t love carving Jack-O-Lanterns with your children (or just for you) for All Hallow’s Eve? Who has not posted adorable pictures of their kiddos in your local Pumpkin Patch? You can prepare your own pumpkin puree or stock up on the canned type. Perhaps our greatest love of pumpkin awaits us at Thanksgiving with our beloved pumpkin pie. One estimate says Americans eat 50 million pumpkin pies at Thanksgiving. Alas, a pie is known as a confection loaded with sugar and fat. What is the bariatric patient to do? Modify the recipe, of course! Lower the sugar and fat and pump up the protein is the goal. Try the Pumpkin Pie pudding recipe on the BariatricPal website. If you need a pumpkin treat before Thanksgiving, there are many pumpkin-flavored protein shakes, protein bars and yogurts in the stores right now. So, pumpkin can be a health partner this season. Enjoy!

My understanding is this: over time your pouch will stretch. However, it won't go back to pre-surgery size. You are going to hopefully get into the habit of eating nutrient-dense foods and worry less about portions, albeit portion size is important. I am 4 months out and I can do about 1/2 cup-3/4 of solid food. If I eat a meat protein of about 3oz, I don't have room for much else. A 5.3 oz container of greek yogurt is verrrry filling. I have found that I can drink more fluids in one sitting but since I drink either water, water with crystal light, coffee, sugar-free cocoa (now that its cold where I am) or a protein shake, I don't worry about ounces in this case. I don't gulp because that hurts but I can sip it down quicker than I could when I was ate your stage. Be sure to stick to the food plan developed by your NUT and move everyday. You'll be ok. As long as you are putting healthy food in and are stopping when you feel satisfied, you'll be ok.

BTW, it was pretty delish mixed with Greek yogurt to make "yogurt soup."

I try to get 50 grams of Protein a day. I have a morning smoothie that has 1 cup of milk, 6 oz. of nonsweetened, non fat yogurt, and 1/2 of all bran with extra fibre. I have two spoons of benefiber in coffee in the morning. Benefiber is soluble fiber, which keeps food in your gut longer and gels, while non soluble fiber is just that: fiber. It doesn't really mutate much and adds bulk to your digestive tract. Berries are in season right now so I'm going to town on them. I have at least a cup a day of berries. Blackberries are wonderful right now.

Thanks! What type of Greek yogurt did you eat? With fruit? I have chobanis here with fruit on the bottom. I've eaten Fage before too with fruit on the side

that's great to know- thanks! Do you find that if you add the protein to thicker stuff - yogurt; sugar free pudding that the taste isn't too obvious ( for the "no taste" protein

Aw thanks everyone! I actually ended up going to a rock concert with my Husband on Sunday night about an hour away from where we live. I had no issues standing for 4 hours in a crowd! My husband was very protective and we were smart about it (stayed away from the rowdies). I was a cheap date, one bottle of water lasted me the entire night. I was not any more sore afterwards nor the next day. I was off yesterday so we did some running around and I had a nap after such a late night. I am up and in at work today...still feeling awesome and following all instructions!! I do notice I feel tighter in the mornings (chest area) so I only sip water for a few hours before I have a protein shake or a fat free yogurt drink. I really appreciate everyone's kind words and being able to ask anything on this forum. I do not take my quick recovery for granted and feel for those that are healing a little slower. My advise is following direction. If you are unsure, be conservative! Happy Tuesday!!

I just ordered Unjury unflavored protein. The thought of taking another drink of a protein shake made me seriously gag. The unflavored powder can be placed in any drink, or food, cottage cheese, yogurt, mashed potatoes, etc. Im thrilled to never drink another shake. Yack!

Well 440 was my highest 413 currently been on my own diet since january. Luckily my preop diet is a few more days away, although I'm already half doing it. Hopefully my tastes stay similar as I don't mind premier Protein shakes (except chocolate I have never really liked chocolate anything.) I like greek yogurt, cottage cheese. Call me crazy but I'm actually tempted to start the diet tommorrow. I just so want to be part of the process. Mar 23rd can't come soon enough. Sent from my SM-G920V using the BariatricPal App

When you have surgery you're told eat your Proteins first, then fruit & veggie then carbs. I have found anytime anyone is on a portein based diet has stinky breath. Happened to me when I was doing the Atkins diet and same with my friends on that diet. Keeping gum and/or mints with you helps. It just hides it a bit anyway because the bad breath is coming from what's sitting in your stomach. Alot of people make the mistake of thinking it's all in your teeth in gums...that's part of it but, it's more of whats in your tummy. Fortunately there are plenty of very strong sugar free mints and gums out there to give us a hand with this. When i'm finally banded I'm going to give the yogurt a shot too. Thanks for that tip!

I'm one month out and my daily eating looks like this: 2-3 light muscle milks @ 20g Protein each 1 Greek yogurt (breakfast) 1 small banana or some turkey and cheese (lunch) 2-4 ounces of family dinner, eating protein first My plan doesn't involve limiting carbs but as I start tolerating more foods, I'll cut out the banana and scale back on the yogurt.

GooD AfternooN!!!!! I'm feeling really good today!!!! You can even call me hyper!!! I can't stay still:dance:... I did about 30 minutes of aerobics/excercises... I did 4 or five loads of:washing: .... i gave my two boys a :scared: .... I organized my closet and I even cleaned the boys NIGHTMARE :eek: of a room!! (if you know what moonsand is...you know what I mean....:faint: ) I know I have the "nesting" syndrome. I tell my usband it's because when he coems home from his trip it will be just to take care of me and the kids and not worry about the house...Plus, I've definately let my house go since doing all the PTO things...:rolleyes (at least that's my excuse).... Any way... My diet is going good... Yesterday: Dinner: 1/4 cup rice and 1/2 of a pork spare rib... snack: Bumble Bee sensations (sun dried tomatoes w/ tuna) and my last 12 oz of crystal lite... I got up to pee......3 times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:cry Oh well...I sucked it up!!!! :clap2: Today: B: atkins vanilla snack: light yogurt with 1/2 scoop eas whey protein I'm on my 1st crystal lite bottle l: atkins chocolate Doesn't this sound yummy!!!:cry Well, gotta go! Gotta bring my daughter to horseback riding lessons!!! she LOVES it and I love to watch her!!!! Anyway, amybe once I loose the weight we could do it together!!! :clap2: See YA!!!!!!! 6 more days and counting!!

:crazy: GooD AfternooN!!!!! I'm feeling really good today!!!! You can even call me hyper!!! I can't stay still:dance:... I did about 30 minutes of aerobics/excercises... I did 4 or five loads of:washing: .... i gave my two boys a .... I organized my closet and I even cleaned the boys NIGHTMARE :crazy: of a room!! (if you know what moonsand is...you know what I mean....:faint: ) I know I have the "nesting" syndrome. I tell my usband it's because when he coems home from his trip it will be just to take care of me and the kids and not worry about the house...Plus, I've definately let my house go since doing all the PTO things...:rolleyes (at least that's my excuse).... Any way... My diet is going good... Yesterday: Dinner: 1/4 cup rice and 1/2 of a pork spare rib... snack: Bumble Bee sensations (sun dried tomatoes w/ tuna) and my last 12 oz of crystal lite... I got up to pee......3 times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:cry Oh well...I sucked it up!!!! :clap2: Today: B: atkins vanilla snack: light yogurt with 1/2 scoop eas whey protein I'm on my 1st crystal lite bottle l: atkins chocolate Doesn't this sound yummy!!!:cry Well, gotta go! Gotta bring my daughter to horseback riding lessons!!! she LOVES it and I love to watch her!!!! Anyway, amybe once I loose the weight we could do it together!!! :clap2: See YA!!!!!!! 6 more days and counting!!

What you can and cannot tolerate post-op is really a "Your Mileage May Vary" kind of situation. For the first 3 months post op, I was totally lactose intolerant. Now, I can ocassionally have hard cheese and cultured things like yogurt, in measured quantities. Protein shakes still make me nauseated, bloaty and gassy. I cannot tolerate bread in any form, any type of rice, or Pasta. I have a difficult time with chicken in any form still. I can do a few bites of baked potato, but any type of fried potatoes make me very ill (so no fries, hash browns, etc). PB makes me very nauseated. On the other hand, I eat steak often, which many post-ops have a difficult time with. There is really no good way to predict how your body will react.

So my questions: 1. How will the LAP-BAND® help me lose weight? There is something magical that once you hit your "sweet spot" you can only eat about a cup of food at a sitting - and your body stays satisfied with that - thinking it is full....I find I don't crave sweets or junk food...bread has NO pull at all as my body craves the Protein that it needs to function well. I would've NEVER believed that pre op - as i was a carbaholic! 2. What kind of diet needs to be kept after the LAP-BAND® is installed? Like she said - you first eat your protein - as I found if you aren't getting enough protein your hair will start to fall out...not cool! You will find that once you have eaten your protein you haven't room for much else! But if you want to eat a scoop of frozen yogurt or something as a treat you can, and it is no big deal...you just have to be careful at the "slider" foods that go through the band and don't leave you feeling satisfied. I shoot for more solid protein that will stay with me longer. 3. If I/We/anyone can’t maintain a diet regiment before the LAP-BAND®, how can we expect that it would be any different after the LAP-BAND®? You still have to work on WHY you overeat -or make the choices that you do...it isn't an easy fix, which folks seem to think it is. (common misconsception) If you are prone to turn to food when upset - you still will even with the band, and you can "eat around" the band by overeating with slider type foods that go right through....and thus circumventing the band. So it isn't a cure all - but it helps you control your portions of foods and you can still eat "real food" - it just takes a LOT less to satisfy your body. 4. Are there medications or supplements that need to be taken after the LAP-BAND® is installed? I just take my gummy Vitamin - some docs recommend a Calcium supplement, too.....your doctor will go over what they recommend. It isn't like the gastric bypass, though, where you have to take a lot of things for the rest of your life. (or so I am told by others...) 5. If insurance covers the procedure (I am investigating that with my insurance right now), and there is a problem with the device such as a leaky port, who covers the expense of fixing it? My mom's friend had to have her lapband replaced as it sprung a leak - her insurance covered it...I think typically if they cover putting it in, they would cover anything else that had to be done...but I would definately check with your insurance company. 6. Are there other manufacturing defect problems that can occur with the LAP-BAND®, and if so who absorbs the cost of repair? Haven't heard of anything on this either....... 7. I am noticing the number one side effect of the LAP-BAND® is nausea and vomiting. Is that a temporary problem or an ongoing problem? Can be ongoing depending on what you are trying to eat! If you are sticking to the right types of foods (protein - not breads and things that get stuck) then you won't have any trouble with PB'ing (which reminds me of a baby spitting up -just a burp) - but once you hit your sweet spot and have good restriction you will find that you have to eat slow and chew well ---- or else you can still struggle a lot with the "vomiting". I struggled the first 4 months or so...but then everything became habit and I haven't had any problems for a long time. 8. Is there any restriction on drinking alcohol when you have a LAP-BAND®? Not that I know of - course you wouldn't want to drink too much since it is empty calories.... Good luck! Kim

Overall, I'm feeling alright. I'm kind of learning the dos and don'ts for my body. I made the mistake of letting my brain be on autopilot just a little bit ago and tried to stand up from my chair without putting my hands on the armrests and pushing up - big mistake! I freaked for a second when I got an inch of the chair and fell back down with abdominal pain, but I think I just strained myself a bit and it's down to a normal level of pain now. Getting used to not being hungry is kind of strange. I was a big portion eater pre-surgery and now it's taking me about an hour to get down like 4oz of yogurt. It's different, but good. I'm having a bit of trouble getting all my Water in, but it's on my list of things to work on tomorrow =) How many appointments have you had so far? Do they have you on a pre-op diet?

I have a dry gallon of them on my counter (they have been there for 6 months no issue -1/3 of the way done now) so I add them to everything, dry.I cook then into bean dishes, falafel, salmon croquettes, smoothies, on yogurts, in salads. I add a dry sprinkling to almost everything (they fluff up quickly depending on the food it's added to) that hempseed, and tumeric goes into almost everything I eat. VSG2017 HW 249 SW 238 CW 167

Carbs are tricky but you need them. Another thing to be careful of is low blood sugar. It is not fun. Kind of feels like anxiety. There are basically 3 types of carbs. 1)Dairy, 2)Whole fruit and vegatables, and 3) grain and potatoes based. Rather than worrying about a daily total, try to keep the carbohydrates from grain products (cereals, crackers, chips, potatoes, etc) between 30-60 grams daily. As far as fruit 2-3 servings/day is recommended (30-45 grams carb) Dairy- 2-3 servings/day (24-36 grams carb) This gives you a grand total of 90-140 carbs per day. 60 grams total is not enough to allow good carbs, so I would definitely say to aim for more than that. Also remember that “fiber” is technically a “carbohydrate” but actually produces no calories so they can always be subtracted. As for calories, I track mine using fitbit. My doc likes to see my calories between 1200 and 1500. I keep it closer to 1200. For the first few months I as closer to 1000 each day. My typical daily menu is 1 greek yogurt with 1/4 cup of oat meal mixed in, 2/3 cup of chili for lunch, 4oz of lean Protein and a small serving of vegatables for dinner. 2 pieces of fruit for day time Snacks. This takes me to around 900 calories which leave me a bit of room for a evening snack. Remember to get 64 onces of Water in. Water is real important in many respects.

I'm sorry you're not having an easy time! From what I've heard from others, you can be overfilled even by .1cc or so! you never know what a big difference a tiny amount of saline can do. Anyway, if you are throwing up all the time, something needs to change. If yogurt is a problem, you could definitely be overfilled. chicken is a problem for lots of people and sometimes adding something like gravy to it helps. Anyway, of course you need to eat slow and really chew, but since it sounds like you are already doing that, I would look into getting an adjustment. PS- I prefer to call it an adjustment rather than a fill or unfill because sometimes people think of an "unfill" is like taking a step backwards-but there is NO benefit to being having an incorrect "adjustment level". Good luck!!

i am on the kamakazi wedding diet- 900 calories a day. i am adding more foods as i find ones that fit in: breakfast: yogurt light 90 calories (i eat this everday anyway mmm key lime pie is fave) lunch choices: veggie burger, no bread, sauteed veggies, lite ranch- roughly 250 calories turkey hot dog-bread-condiments- 200 calories veggie corndog 1 w/mustard- 170 calories homeade tomatoe soup- 200 calories (if that!) 1.5 cup lentils 150 cal. hummus and wasa 250 cal snack- any fruit or what i have been having lately- splenda lite canned peaches WHOLE can is only 100 calories lite syrup included! dinner- any lunches OR: salad with 4 oz chicken- 400 calories 4 oz meat with sauteed mush, onions, red peppers - 400 calories lite tofu 4 oz and stirfry veggies all this plus 2 hours exercise a day. i finally saw TBL and they did super LOW cal and 3 hours exercise a day and lost ASTONISHING amounts of weight. i just want to lose as much as i can by 7-1-06! NO CHEATING!!! since i am allowing myself foods i love and eat normally anyway i think i can 'stick to it'. we'll see! i am down 3 in week 1!!!!!!!!!

There is not just soft fish and yes tuna would be ok...you might want to mix it with something though like mayo,don't worry about fat content just yet. Sole,haddock steamed with lemon,pureed chili,soft boiled eggs,mashed potatoes,yogurt,mashed carrots,mashed turnips. You can blend or mash anthing,just make sure there are no big lumps. C