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Have you tried the pouch test? The first one I read about involvles eating cottage cheese as a way to determine stomach capacity. (might give you some insight until you get an EGD or upper GI) The second one I read about is more of a reset, if you search for lil Miss Diva's 5 day bootcamp it is supposed to help you get off the carbs and other refined foods. Since you are tall, your sleeve is longer and should hold more than mine (I'm 5'4"). As far as cheap heathy eats, I feel you there. I lots of cheap healthy stuff: I buy the produce that is on special for the week. Last week it was brussels sprouts. I eat canned beans, plus I can make my own hummus In 5 minutes for half the costs. I buy the big containers of Greek yogurt and cottage cheese, then portion it out. Way cheaper than the single serve. I buy plain and then flavor it myself. I coupon. I clip all meat coupons (usually the priciest item in my cart) and signed up for my store's online coupon service. I do one splurge item in the cart as well. Last week was low carb flour tortillas- $3.99 for a small pack! This week, my splurge is to seek out some fancy flavored waters, I need to get more water in. Hunger is a beast and I had acid issues before my sleeve so for me getting the PPI thing right was critical. They take time to work so you may have to up your dose and give it awhile. I know you've recieved a ton of advice. Let us know how things progress. We are rooting for you.

I started mushies this morning. Threw up twice. Wouldnt go down. Burned my esophagus got stuck got nauseous right shoulder blade hurt so bad. Walked around n it finally came up with no effort or heaving at all. Scary. I think I will stay on liquids a while longer. I get full too fast. Popsicles are my favorite right now n I'll stick to fat free yogurt. Maybe this is best so I continue to practice abd learn to get all my protein and h2o in, etc. Moving onto mushies scares me anyway because I'm afraid if taking in too many carbs. Everything has so many carbs in the mushy stage choices. However, cottage cheese was ok. The things I purchased for mushy stage were egg white beaters, fat free cottage cheese, lactade far free milk, matzo ball soup, and two cans of fat free refried beans. Instead for now, I will stick to yogurt, pudding, Popsicles, jello, protein drinks, broth, and a little cottage cheese. The pain from the mushies really freaked me out bad. I started at 255 and 15 days later I am 233. I think I should walk more. And drink more h2o, but that's not an easy task and neither is getting down the protein drinks. My pain on right side is still persisting. Gas is not bad. I'm having a horrible time trying to get down the three massive sized bariatric advantage calcium pills. Ugh. The rest of the vitamins r ok cuz they r small and not so potent/powdery. My hair is ok at this point. I get really cold sometimes, but not bad. I have bad siatic pain still. So since I cannot stretch that much from the sleeve pain, I need to walk more like I said. Restroom issues r better. I get really tired a lot and lately more naseous. But I'm pretty sure that's nutrition related. I'm ok driving very very short distances slowly. My head definately says I'm hungry but the fact is I'm akways full for a long time on a tiny amount so even If I wanted to eat I could not. I'd throw up. Happy Sunday to u all. :0)

Rlocke, Hang in there. It is a long race and remember we are just at the beginning! I was sleeved at the end of Dec., so I am bit further out than you. I probably eat a bit more carbs that is ideal, but I make sure all of my food is as healthy as possible. Most days I have 1/2 yogurt & 1/2 cottage cheese, then for lunch usually tuna, but today I had 5 think ham slices with one wedge of laughing cow cheese, then I roll them up. They are yum. Tonight I plan to have swai (fish) and roasted veggies. I always save myself a late night treat of either a sf fudge pop or sf popsicle. I have lost about 30 so far, but only lose about 1-2 pounds a week at this point.

Plain Greek Yogurt flavored with dry Jello crystals .... or .... 1 Poached egg and Johnsonville maple flavored sausage links (2-3) ....or.... 1 egg scrambled with grated cheese. These are things i eat post-op .... I ate the same pre-op, just more of it...lol

Try Ben& Jerrys Frozen Greek Yogurt it is a delicious treat just watch your portion sizes. Its just like ice cream.

I don't like yogurt. I used to like it some when I was a kid but the older I get the less I like to the point I am at now. I have so few calories to work with each day, I am not going to waste time trying to force myself to like something that I don't like and isn't essentials. There are lots of sources of Protein. You don't have to force yourself to like something you don't like.

Definitely getting at least 64oz water daily. At least 60g protein too. I got sick of protein shakes, So I add a scoop of genepro to my morning yogurt, I buy the Chobani Flips, they're soo good!! Lunch is usually some type protein, sometimes as simple as cottage cheese with fruit, or chili. I sometimes buy a grilled chicken wrap from Wendy's and just scrape out the insides and eat it without the tortilla. I also use Pure Protein, protein bars. Higher protein and low sugar. I usually eat 3-4 times daily, sometimes a snack of cashews.

When I was on liquid and soft food I mostly ate: Protein shakes, protein pudding, liquid beverage concentrate with protein, protein Soup, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, refried Beans, tuna, soft fish (like salmon and tilapia), melted cheese on everything!, etc. I tried to make sure almost everything had protein but also had no sugar added diced peaches, pears, and applesauce, as well as V8, and soft vegetables like green beans and squash. For protein shakes I like: Premier Protein, GNC Lean 25, ProtiDiet liquid beverage concentrates, and Syntrax nectar. My surgeon said that there is no physical reason someone couldn't drink 3 premier protein shakes (90 grams protein) the day after surgery, so I just committed to getting it all in even if that meant not going to sleep until I had reached my goal. If your protein goal is 60-80 grams, I would recommend working very hard to get in at least 80 grams every day. I think you will feel better and it will help with healing and weight loss. Plan out meals and Snacks of no more than 20-25 grams of protein each time for the day. Keep in mind that early out those meals and snacks may sort of run together because you are going to be sipping and eating something all day. Plus, the more you can include protein in your fluids, the easier it will be to reach both your protein and 64 oz Fluid goals. Good luck and just keep working at it. And make sure you record everything because if you are like me, I can't remember what I ate or drank 10 minutes ago!

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 was vague because im not certain im tracking accurately enough. Im almost 6 months out and 1000-1200 easily according to MFP (but im beginning to wonder about the accuracy of it) And yes mostly protein or supplements then veggies and fats. Everything homemade except protein bars shakes and yogurt. Just seems too high to me.

@@malvarez1210 If you are only three weeks out, you are likely not on solid foods yet, but maybe pureed and soft foods? Drink your Protein shakes and get your Water. As for other protein options in those stages, here are some good ones: scrambled egg soft cheeses cottage cheese greek yogurt refried Beans tuna salad chicken salad This site has some good recipes for this stage: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html

You can do it. You will find what works best for you and your schedule, and if you mess up, don't beat yourself up about it, take it as a learning experience and figure out what to do differently next time. Try to find small containers to pack snacks in to take with you. I do yogurt, cottage cheese, almonds, protein bars, shakes, and Quest brand chips.

Hmm, I always heard to take antibiotics with yogurt, so that the yogurt can combat the bacterial imbalance in your gut, and reduce the side effects from abx. Never realized that it could compromise the efficacy of the antibiotics. I will have to study that further.

The flavours are nice from bulk nutrients but they arent very strong. I puchased their flavour sachet for the strawberry flavour to enhance the flavour but the rest were good without adding anything. The new choc honeycomb us my fav. I add it to 1/3 cup of greek yogurt and omg its like a mousse dessert Bulk nutrients also allows you to order a sample to try Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

Its only 8 December, 10lb since even early November is fabulous! People seem to expect such fast weight loss! And bear in mind what restriction really is. It is not a hard stop on certain foods and an automatic guarantee of weight loss. I can eat bread, Pasta and rice four years down the track and I have restriction. I've also eaten these foods regularly all the way through, as our dietary guidelines are a lot different in Australia, not eating them is absolutely no guarantee of loss either. The band (and restriction) simply helps you to be satisfied on less food. It is not meant to restrict specific foods or make you eat so little that you lose 5lb a week. Many people never lose weight that fast. And if you dont want to eat things like bread and rice, it may be down to your willpower and not the band to avoid them. You have to decide what you consider a healthy diet and consciously follow that. Going too tight often leads simply overeating slider foods like Protein shakes, yogurt, and stuff like chips and ice cream, and often weight loss stops! But you do need restriction for the band to work too, and for many people, that takes several fills to achieve.

At that stage I was very swollen still and I was eating 2 tablespoons at a time for something like refried beans. I could do a little more of a thinner yogurt.

Fage is my favorite Greek yogurt!!! The non-fat is great and they have flavored fat-free with honey, blueberry, strawberry, pomegranate and some new tropical type flavors.

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

Yes, that is what my plan says, but I am taking it very slow and careful. As soon I came home from hospital on the 10th I was supposed to try to do 3 protein shakes a day and 2 snacks such as 2 oz. yogurt, cream of wheat or cream soups. This week I get to add moist turkey or chicken, cottage cheese and mashed canned fruit, eggs, canned vegetables (no corn, carrots or asparagus) and it even says Triscuit or Wheat Thin crackers, but I am afraid to try that. I can only try about 2 oz. at a time, very slowly, chewing well. I am excited to be trying new things.

So yesterday was a real bad food day for me. I am a total sneak eater. The day started off right. I had Greek Yogurt for Breakfast and a protien bar for a mid AM snack. Then came the chips. They were left overs from a work meeting and somehow they ended up in my office. The left over chips (only about a 1/4 of the bag) became my lunch...and I am not even a salt craver...chips aren't my thing but there they were so I ate them. Then no afternoon snack. So then I had to go to CVS for my meds and somehow I walked out with a box of peeps and two Reeses eggs. The eggs didn't even make it home. I ate them on my walk home and felt totally ashamed since I don't really like to eat in public since I feel like a fat person eating candy and people are watching me..even though I know that's not true its the tape that plays in my head. So for dinner I made chix w/stir fried veggies and ramen noodles...I would have been sort of ok but I ate too much...and naturally I ate all the peeps before my hubby came home. I have a total marshmellow problem and that totally hit the spot for my sweet craving...uuuggghhh! At least after that all was good and today I am totally on track again. My other issue is that I am having a hard time pooping so I have been taking laxatives to empty my tummy. I had a lax problem many years ago and all those good feelings are coming back. I'm a bit nervous about that starting up again. I hope to stop the lax by increasing Fiber and using mirilax and drinking more Water but in the meantime I'm crampy and gassy...oy...not fun while I'm at work. Anyway, I just needed to share and get that off my chest...which has gone down a full cup size btw... Thanks for listening! Peace and best wishes to all! Ally

Take some of your favorite yogurt, 2-3 raw eggs washed well before cracking, mix with iced skim milk or frozen to get you a total of 6-8 ounces eat over 30 min-1hour. say the yogurt amt has 3-4 gr, the eggs have 6 gr each, milk amt 3-4 grs total ~18-25 grs each setting. add some artifical flavors ie banana, strawberry etc? Blend in magic bullet mixer. This is what we did in school while playing football, in larger quanties of course. I know people talk of not eating raw eggs. I have eaten raw eggs and sunnyside up= semi to mostly raw centers my whole life without issue?? but one never knows.

There are vsg folks in my support group who have lost 150+ lbs, look like they have never weighed an ounce more than they should, and could not choke down their recommended Vitamins and Protein until 4-6 months out. When I feel like a failure for not getting in enough protein, vitamins, exercise, H2O, what have you - I remember their journies and spectacular success. My nutritionist says 80 g for us - I dont think I have ever hit that - so I try to get anywhere from 40-60. which I can do with eating real food like chicken, turkey, eggs, and greek yogurt etc.. I cannot hit 80 unless I have protein shakes, and like you I can't stand the sweet taste - I gave away 6 tubs of nectar recently because I just can't stomach it post-surgery. I have also become super sensitive to that manufactured protein smell - unjury chicken Soup and the unflavored whey Protein powder smells sickening to me these days so I am trying to get my nutrients from whole foods rather than through chemically altered, manufactured methods that come in a carton, jug, or bar I think not eating whole foods is one of the reasons I got so heavy in the first place (fast foods etc.) I am just trying to take things one day at a time and be cognizant of my success thus far. Personally I would like to see the folks who recommend 100+ grams, have surgery and try it themselves lol - it certainly is a challenge. Maybe some day I will hit 80 grams - perhaps when I can eat more than 3-4 oz. at a time, but until then I will try for my 40-60. My advice is to just do the best you can - you will be able to get more in as the months go by.

how far out are you? I don't think I tried salad for about 12 weeks?.. raw veggies can be harder on the tummy. tomato peelings and seeds are a no no early on. I started with shredded lettuce, Seedless English cucumber and cheese with bolthouse yogurt ranch dressing.

My doc. had me start "trying" to swallow a Tbl. spoon or 2 the first 2 weeks, and then pureed foods after that. (Obviously my main source of nutrition was shakes. I felt like I was a baby on formula!) Week 3 I could eat soft and mushy foods and work my way up. I know by week 3 I ate my first scrambled egg and was regularly eating 1/4 c. of yogurt or cottage cheese. A few weeks after that, I worked my way up to a half cup, but I have the slimy puke reaction if I take a bite or 2 too many. chicken and I have gone our separate ways, but crab is a great food for me too. (I had crab cakes last week. YUM.) I think if this is normal for you, this is normal for you, and your surgeon knows what s/he is doing. Do you count your calories/protein on MyFitness Pal or some other website? That helps me know when too much is too much if I am feeling particularly hungry.

Good luck on your surgery. I ate pizza the nigh before as I think I ate so many my stomach was the size of a pizzzzza:( It was my first love. Sick to say but I followed the pre op diet exactly; for three weeks no food only the shakes and bars. I only lost 18+ pounds and was to lose 30! But so many people that knew me from where I came from and here who had surgeries like this kept saying: Just follow the instructions the doc gives you and the book. You will be fine. So, in the beginning getting down the shakes and water were so funny because the amounts were so small but it allowed the stomach to heal and for me to forget about the old ways of eating.. I ate all of it. Tv as a problem when they show people drinking and eating food on every show. So, I felt like I wanted to join in like a subminimal sp? message. So: my eating was from over eating and living with animals. One dog and two cats. Not many humans to talk to. So: I learned alot about myself and remember the days when I was 8-10 and used to run and do the sit ups 200 a day. After the six weeks were up; I went to PT as the wt was too much for me the past two yrs I didn't lose wt. So, I got stronger/ hurt my back/ and flew off the side of the mower putting me back a month on real exercise at the Y. I may go today as my first day but do isometrics on the bed and they work. I'd try to get pt afterwards if your not an exerciser and are weak in your strength and it's good to strengthen our backs. I am doing great and went from 272 at fasting/ to 265 operation date April 11th, after that each month went to the doc office to get weighed on the 11th or around there and I am now 185 lbs or less. I go to him tomorrow and can't wait. I have 50more pounds to remoe but I feel better already; walk faster, and can do more or even feel like doing more. There are times I feel like eating pasta but only a little works/ and chew it thoroughly. I don't feel great aferwards if it's in soup so it's a waste of room something else could be in the stomach that's a protien not a carb. So, I am very careful to not eat sugar, I do have to get my water intake up as I am low still 24 to 48 oz sporatically and need to be at 64 fl oz. but I am still using the shake am's to give me 32protiens and try to eat protien lunch and dinner to make up for the rest. I got the vitimans ordered prior to surgery so I'd have all I needed at home to prepare the shakes ahead of time in a baggie and just add the amt of almond or coconut milk, frozen fruit as ice cubes and use walnuts with no salt for snacks which is more protien. At first it's good to just have the jellows, puddings, which I hate anyways, but it takes our mind set and puts it else where so we can know: it's what we need to heal our new stomach. And as we move on to the broths and peanut butter in the shakes etc. we drink a little slower. I use a yogurt senstations? from Food lion which has plain/5grams of fat. Half in one shake also helps us to get in what we need. It takes a while to get used to it but I loved not having all those dishes in the sink... I found making food to give away once in a while is satisfying to me as I can make what I want and it looks too heavy or reminds me of the past and I dont' have a desire for it. I can try a little and there is this feeling you get and you know; best to not try it at this time, down the road; more is accepted and tollerated but until a yr. I am doing the best I can to do what I am supposed to do staying away from salts and sugars. Fake sweetners etc. except for crystal lite... water used to go down so easy now I have to sweeten it up. I went into this as I'm brought to it; remove the part that has not worked well for me... and Healing will take place. Hope this gives you Hope and know: IF you eat when your supposed to and follow directions, things will fall into place as each phase of the program moves forward quickly and you can try new things. Carole