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I use natural flavor Protein powder, half a frozen banana (and u can use other frozen fruits or, i suppose, small amounts of frozen pumpkin - if Starbucks can sell a pumpkin lattee, why not a pumpkin shake?! Altho the idea of adding pumpking does not appeal to me." I add stevia, a natural no calorie no carb natural sweetner, I buy it organic at Trader Joe's. I add unsweetened cocoa powder sometimes, or fresh berries -- if I do berries, I might skip the stevia. I add cinnamon most of the time, sometimes ginger. sometimes I use chilled cofffee for a mocha shake -- with cocoa powder. I used to buy Optimum Nutrition whey isolate in five pound jugs that was much more affordable than the 100% organic raw whey I use now. I don't just want to lose weight. I don't want any more chemicals ingested in my body. My temple, right?! But I loved every shake I made with Optimum Nutrition mocha chocolate that I bought on amazon, which had lower prices than anywhere else I found. There is an expensive but really delicious organic protein called Tara's Whey. Her dark chocolate flavor is really really good. But at something like $32 for 12 ounces, and the artificial sweetner used in it and the chemicals -- I finally have realized just cause something says organic doesnt mean the food manufacturer doesn't add chemicals. "Organic" might only mean the main ingredient is organic. but if taste is your barometer, try Tara's Whey. It comes in all kinds of great flavors. I still have fond memories of that dark chocolate protein powder, low in carbs. Ohmy gosh it is tasty. I have been to many support groups and various meetings required by my bariatric surgery program. I hear lots of complaints about the taste of Protein drinks. I think most folks hate the taste of commercially premade drinks simply cause such drinks are loaded with chemicals. make your own with unflavored whey or whey isolate, use stevia to sweeten and you can make them taste like anything you want. And if you use half a frozen banana, which is about ten carbs, true, but if all you are doing is two Protein shakes a day, four ounces protein like turkey or fish and some vegies which is my pre surgery diet -- those ten carbs are worth the frothy almost-ice-creaminess you get. Same with adding some frozen berries -- which are low glycemic (lower in carbs) fruit. Try chocolate powder, stevia, plain protein . . .and some nut butter. A Peanut Butter chocolate shake! Yum. I try to savor them slowly. And with the natural powder, post op when you have to work to get in all the protein, you can add scoops of the natural unflavored protein to things like yogurt, majorly boosting your protein intake, or into chicken broth, etc.

OMG, I finally went out of my element (only Yoplait yogurt) and tried Chobani Pineapple Yogurt. It was good without Splenda, but GREAT with 2 packs of Splenda. I am glad I tried it!! Now I will try some other flavors by Chobani.

I meant to post this on the 15th but I had trouble logging into the site that day (and several days after that) and I didn't think about it again until today. I blame my Kyrgyz dial up internet! In any case, I was one year on 15 July. In that year I've lost 92 pounds. I've gone from a very snug 18 or 20 pant into a very comfortable size 8 or M. Women's sizing is insane, so sometimes I'm a 6 and sometimes I'm a 10, but regardless of the number on my pants I'm very happy with the way I look in my clothes now, and I have a large wardrobe of things I love to wear. Almost as exciting as losing the pounds is losing the diabetes. I had only been diagnosed 2 years before my surgery (I started as gestational diabetes) so I went into this fully expecting my blood sugars to be normal afterward and I wasn't disappointed. I'm still high-normal on my A1C, but that was six months ago...I haven't been tested since then. I hope to have a full lab panel done once we're settled here in our new home. I haven't taken a pill since the day before surgery (though I did require insulin several times 48 hours post op) and I've gotten so used to being normal that I don't even test my sugars any more. I'm no role model, so newbies looking for advice should look to some of the more active posters here that stick to a program and actually exercise. I lived out suitcases in my in-law's house for the last nine months due to a PCS from hell, so my eating and exercise habits have been erratic. I've pretty much been living as if I'm in maintenance for the last six months. Don't get me wrong - I don't live on a junk food, carb crazy diet. But I eat more like a "normal" person. I'll have several days where I stick to Protein first and drink lots of Water, but then I'll also have days where I eat pretty much whatever I want (but in small portions). I have maintained a slow but steady loss the entire time I've been sleeved and I weigh every day. I'm always watching for my weight to bounce up, but it never does more than that one or two pounds of fluctuation I see daily. I'm between 149-151 and I expect to stay there for several weeks. My pattern has always been a sudden drop (lately around three to five pounds) followed by three weeks or so at the same weight. I can't tie my losses to my diet - and I don't consider myself "done" yet. I'm sure that over the next six months or so I'll continue to see a slow but steady loss. Plastic surgery is in my future. I probably have more loose skin than most people that have lost less than 100 pounds since surgery. I had twins in 2007 and weighed 280ish after they were born. My skin has pretty much melted and I look a mess underneath my clothes. Thank heavens for the various brands of shapewear I've purchased. I wear them under everything. I plan to have plastics when we're back in the states in 2013, so my hope is that I'll get some exercise into my routine and see a little bounce back from my skin. I don't expect much, though. It's really bad. Underneath all that excess skin (with the occasional stubborn fat deposit) is a genuinely thin woman. I'll be honest - I think my goal weight might be a little low. I went based on the BMI chart and chose the most I could weigh at my height and be "normal" on the chart. But underneath all this skin I am bones and I don't really know where the additional 15 pounds will come from - unless it's my upper arms and thighs. They don't seem to be as small as the rest of me yet! I'm worried that if I lose 15 more pounds and then have plastics, I'll look like a bony scarecrow. My husband is happier that I'm happier but he's not so happy with my thinner body. He likes heavier women and was far happier with my body about 20 pounds ago. I'm sure he'll adjust in time, but it is a real obstacle for some couples. His opinion is that I should scrap the goal weight and focus on getting in shape for plastics and take whatever number I wind up with after plastics as my final weight. However, this is the man that thought I was sexy and attractive 37 weeks pregnant with twins, so I understand that he's trying to make sure I don't wind up with a figure he finds totally unattractive. I'm glad we had a solid marriage before surgery, or this might have caused some real issues for us. My only "I wish I'd known that" issue with surgery is the lactose intolerance. I had no idea I would be so crippled by this - and now that I'm overseas I don't exactly have a local store with almond, coconut and soy milk around the corner. I can eat small portions of hard cheese but yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, ice cream, sour cream, cream cheese, most protein powders, etc. are all completely out for me. It's very limiting but I'm surviving. Luckily I'm living in the land of grilled meat, grilled vegetables and flatbread so it's less of an issue here. And as a note for those military spouses - consider that your VSG might make you EFMP for an overseas tour. I did not disclose mine to the doctor that cleared us to live overseas, and due to the typical shoddy Tricare record-keeping nobody realized I'd had it done. But I was specifically asked if I had a band or bypass, and I was able to honestly answer no to that. Tricare finds the oddest reasons to consider families EFMP - speech therapy, diabetes, allergies, etc., so I'd be sure to ask the necessary questions about this if it could affect you. My husband's job has kept us overseas 5 years out of the last 7, so for us it could turn out to be a real issue, especially with the remote assignments we take. I'm just putting that out there, though it's not likely to affect but a small percentage of the military posters here. Best of luck to everyone. I don't post much anymore because like so many I'm just out here living my life now. But I wanted to give an update because I loved reading the one year stories when I was researching. They gave me something to hope for and I feel that if I can lose more than 90 pounds in a year of not really taking this sleeve as seriously as I should have, than barring medical complications, you should be able to meet or exceed that goal with no problem. Pictures attached. The first two are from one month prior to surgery and the last one is from a week ago. Please excuse my messy hair and worn out expression - I'm jet lagged and our transformer blew so I'm without the luxury of a blow dryer or straightening iron! ~Cheri

I take a slice of corned beef from the Deli, a slice of Lorraine Swiss cheese, 1/4 cup of coleslaw and one "line" of 1000 Island dressing and roll it up. Voila, a rueben without the bread! My NUT saw this on my food journal and it made her hungry, so she went home and made the same thing! NUT approved, yay! Also...Turkey Breast from the deli with cheese of your choice, rolled up. Maybe put a "line" of Lt. Mayo in it. Strawberrys are great cut up with sweetener on it, or do what I do...Cut them up and mix with a little strawberry Banana Yoplait yogurt. Dip carrots, cucumbers or whole wheat pita chips into hummus. I buy Imitation Seafood/Lobster and mix it with a little mayo, celery salt, garlic powder and onion powder. It's awesome and you can make several portions out of it. Crap, now I'm hungry... LOL

Stay away from acidic foods.Get a good probiotic...the ones that are refrigerated....with billions of active live cultures.Greek yogurt(plain) .Eat soothing soft alkaline foods and return to shakes..I have lived with this from my lapband days...stay away from fruits and tomatoes.

Have you tried putting the bariatric chewables in yogurt ( crush them) or blend them with a protein drink?

How do you get your Protein in for Breakfast? I'm having a really hard time finding things to eat for breakfast that contain a lot of protein. I don't eat yogurt and it seems that almost everything else is full of carbs Also what about lunch? What are you eating to get protein at lunch? dinner I got covered! LOL I'm just "sick" of the Protein drinks already

My nutritionist told me to add a little bit of honey into the yogurt or get a honey flavored yogurt.

Omelette !! Coffee, protein shakes, cup if fruit, yogurt!

I had Gastric Sleeve surgery in January of 2016. Since the pre-surgery diet, I have lost around 115 lbs. Long story short, a few months ago- I got sick every time I ate. Didn't matter if it was yogurt, chicken, beef, etc. Within 30-60 mins of eating, I was in the bathroom with severe diarrhea, vomited once, had a pain in my upper stomach when eating ,etc. My surgeon did a CT with contrast and found that I had a blood clot in my stomach as well as pancreatitis. I went on a pretty low key "diet" of just Soups, yogurt, liquids just to calm things down. He also gave me some Carafate to take before eating. After a few days, the problem resolved. Long story short- the same symptoms have come up again, only this time I have blood in my stool and quite a bit of it. I called and they had me go to the local ER last week for a CT with contrast again to make sure I didn't have a leak. CT looked good, blood work, and urine tests came back fine. Once again I was given Carafate and sent home. Here I am on about day 10 of the symptoms and nothing has changed. Still getting sick when I eat, always on the verge of vomiting, blood in my stool, diarrhea, pain in my stomach when I eat, etc. Any one else have these same symptoms before? If so- what has helped? I don't want to be a pain to my doctor, but I'm really worried about the blood. I have lost 4 lbs this past week. Mostly due to the fact that I can't eat anything. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Oatmeal, applesauce, Greek yogurt, refried beans, eggs, chicken salad

Unfortunately, you are basically in bandster hell. You really need to stick to the prescribed diet given to you by your doctor. You are in a healing phase to allow the sutures holding your band in place to heal properly. Eating solid food too soon can cause those sutures to break. Though you may not feel anything now, it could cause major problems later (band slippage, band removal). If you continue to be hungry, talk to your doctor to find out what you can add to help (protein drinks, yogurt). Please, don't eat solids before he allows. Good luck to you.

I just tried activa yogurt today and it is making a difference with those growls. It was too thick for me to eat out of the carton so I added some skim milk. It was the perfect consistency, tasted good and did what I wanted. Later I added 1/2 of one to my shake. I was looking for juice called GOOD BELLY ( I heard on another thread about this.) I couldn't find it here in my little country store. I'll look again in Walmart. But I think the activa has the same properties as it has settled my growling stomache. I went on my first outing today, to church. I thought I was going to die after putting on my panty hose! Please don't anyone try that- it hurts!:thumbdown: I got tired at church from standing too long. I sat down and was fine the rest of the service. It feels good to get out of the house even for an hour. Tomorrow I wall try to walk around the block. Thanks for recovering with me ladies! I appreciate all your insights and support.

Split Pea is a Fav - but not for most people. Progresso Tomato Basil is very good. Old fashioned Campbell's Tomato is a standard. Gazpacho - I make a very chunky version, but blended it for a better tasting and thicker V-8 type deal. Cold Cucumber - Yummy. Made the old Cabbage soup - blended - looks gross but tastes good. Lentil is very good. Sweet potato - It was good - the whole 3 spoonfuls i got before it was consumed by others. Butternut Squash w a swirl of greek yogurt. I am going to make taco soup - blended - can't imagine that it is going to look pretty, but flavor wise I think it will rock. Italian tortellini - it is basically an Italian Minestrone with tortellini in it, that should be good too. I love to cook, and I have been cooking since day 3 and the only thing I have made for the family that I have even wanted to have is a slice of cucumber and onion that I pickled in vinegar/sugar. I am handling all the food prep and eating with other much better than I had expected to. Good Luck!

For dinners most nights I have a big bowl of home made veggie soup with some kind of fake meat in it for protein... or a big bowl of some kind of veggie stir fry , fruit and veggie salad or veggie baked casserole. I almost always have home made fat free pudding with peanut butter or dark chocolate chips on top for desert. I might have a fat free greek yogurt with fruit or nuts mixed in for breakfast, and some kind of left overs for lunch. What ever I eat, I write it down in MFP. 5 days a week I eat tp stay in the guidelines of saturated fats, carbs and protein... not always perfectly... between 1200-1500 cals depending on exercise... one/two days a week I try to stay under 600 cals (the 5:2). I eat what I like, and I find if I cook it myself, I can eat much better then prefixed. I do like wheat crackers with low fat cottage cheese as a snack. I have to watch the crackers, or I will eat too many at a sitting. This is a go too for protein. I can eat quite a bit... so as my ability to eat more developed, I added more low cal veggies to my meals... cooked or raw.

I am being open, that's why I'm asking for help. I'm too tired to go for a walk. Not making excuses because last week I was walking a half mile. I just talked to the nutritionist and apparently I need 3 shakes a day! I was drinking 1 in addition to my meals. I eat Greek yogurt, quinoa, meats, eggs, cottage cheese, Beans, sugar free oatmeal, etc. I have been trying! She did say a few sugar free hard candies would be okay and to put away the baked chips. I need to get out the XBOX games! ???? I am a stress eater, a boredom eater, and this is very difficult! I find I don't miss sweets as much as I thought I would, just can't wait till the Protein bars to take their place. I want to sew more, but SO TIRED. I have things I need to do as well.... Hopefully I will get there. Sent from my SM-N900T using the BariatricPal App

im 2 weeks out and have seen this.. i gained 2 lbs and freaked out. im told this is normal... as mentioned before.. im very careful now.. because since the swelling has gone down i get hungrier faster and again told this is normal.. i was afraid to eat between meals but did talkt o my nutritionist about it and she recomended i have a yogurt.. or pull my meals slightly closer together.. weight gain is normal because your body is just getting used to having food in it again after going thru the liquids.. your body thinks its not going to get anything so its storing everything you put into it. watch your carb intake and try to stay away from sugar. keep up with ur workout plana nd you will be successful.

4 and half weeks ago. I’m in the soft food phase and feel like I can drink water same as always ( the only day I felt I had to sip was the first two days after surgery). I need to constantly remind myself to not gulp water, but a bit concerned that I can gulp water. Today, I think I ate too much , but find it weird that I only stop eating because I know I should versus feeling full: am: pure protein 6 am protein shake and at 6:30 about half of a Greek yogurt /lunch out with dad :half of a tuna melt without the bread, heavy cheese ... I felt like I could’ve ate more/dinner at 6:O0=4 ounce creamy soup/ 7: 00=sugar free popsicle (30 calories )/8:00=cappuccino popsicle (40 calories

I do a lot of Beans, eggs, greek yogurt ( I use FAGE plain 0% ), nuts, cheese, dark green leafy vegetables and I supplement with unflavored Protein powder. I'm in a Soup mood so I'm making a orca bean/forbidden rice soup with collard greens shreds. Black rice is protein packed and full of Fiber & nutrients. I'll soak the beans overnight and then cook everything in the crock pot tomorrow. I refuse to sacrifice good healthy fiber for protein so I try to get a balance of both. It keeps me constipation free and gives me energy.

Ok - put all that behind you. I had a pre-op diet, but it wasn't too bad at all. I could have 2 servings of egg, whole wheat bread, low-fat yogurt, fruit one time/day. Then 2 Protein Shakes. Then 4 oz of baked chicken and 1 serving of a green veggie. I know that was a very generous pre-op diet. Others I know were on straight liquid for 2 weeks prior (5 Protein shakes per day). You could supplement SF popcicles, SF Jello and that helps! Hang in there and do the diet so your surgery will be safe.

I HATE protein! It makes me sick to my stomach, also! I found one shake that I can take, but it takes all day to try and get it down. It is premier protein, I got it at Sam's and it has 30 g. I am able to eat yogurt now. The best one so far is Dannon Light and fit GREEK. They have strawberry, blueberry, and vanilla. They have 80 cals. and 12g of protein. I eat 3 a day right now to get my amount of protein. Much better then the shakes and powder.

Did he explain why? I rarely use milk these days but used to drink almond milk. I stopped because it's too much carbs and fat for the protein payoff. I still use plain greek yogurt regularly though and my NUT has never had an issue with it. I'd love tot hear his reasoning why he doesn't recommend it.

@kranky813 - hmmm change your brand of yogurt (sweeteners?) or creamer? if I eat/drink too much artificial sweetener that happens to me, sometimes. Not all the time.

Try the clear drinks instead. Isopure make premixed ones, Syntrax nectar can be made with Water. I used ProSource NoCarb the first 2 weeks post op. It was great thinned with water or added to herbal teas. Also look for protein rich beverages. Kefir ( a yogurt drink), cream of chicken, beef, etc... thinned with broth, etc... Milk of choice: cow, hemp, almond have the most protein.

Hi Dk370,I am big time struggling with the same thing. But I am about to have yogurt even though I can not have milk, lactaid, fairlife, soy or almond milk. My dietitian for the program tells me to keep try different Protein shakes. She mentioned isopure or take the shakes with Water. Atkins now has a protein water. It has 21 grams per bottle. I wasn't a huge fan of it but my mom loves it. It all depends on the person. Hope this helps some Sent from my SM-G935P using the BariatricPal App