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Good luck to those who are having surgery in September. On preop liquid diet. Doing ok, but messed up yesterday but everyone was supportive. Today is a new day, having a strawberry protein shake. Mixed vanilla Protein powder, strawberry yogurt and the lactaid milk equals 35 protein. Tastes pretty good. Sent from my SM-T560NU using BariatricPal mobile app

Oh no! I am only on day 5 (had surgery on Tues) and haven't tried coffee yet. Handling protein shake, yogurt, and broth well. Trying a popsicle now. Still learning what "full" feels like but was planning to give coffee a try later today. Now I'm worried I should give it some moee time before trying. I switched to decaf months ago but am scared to be sick now that my post surgery nausea is under control. Best of luck to everyone on their experimentation!

Johnnycakes, I don't eat those but have attempted to eat them once maybe twice just to get any food down due to the achalasia. We have days we can't get water down. I was merely using those as examples that me and someone else on this site suffer with on top of the bariatric surgery. low cal yogurt, water, protein shakes, watermelon, are terribly difficult. I was using it as consistency examples. but thanks for the sarcasm.

Try adding sucralose (Splenda) and cinnamon to taste. Delicious! Are you familiar with EZ-Sweetz? It's liquid sucralose and mixes wonderfully with yogurt and everything else. It may seem kind of pricey for a small amount but a little of that stuff goes a really long way. I love it.

I'm not there yet but I've read that some people put sugar free syrop like the Torino or Da Vinci, I have coconut and dulce de leche and I plan on trying a little bit with my yogurt when I get there. Maybe you want to put some protein powder? I don't know I'm just brainstorming here lol Good luck!!!

Who likes their yogurt sour but needs the protein? Any ideas of how to make this taste good? 3 weeks post op Lapband placed: 8/2011 Lapband removed: 3/2017 VSG: 8/2/2017

Hello everybody! I was sleeved August 16th. I haven't been in pain or anything, I am not hungry but I want to chew!!!! I still have one more week until full liquids (pudding, yogurt cream of chicken etc). I think I am kind of regretting the surgery, it's going to be about 7 weeks before I can start regular foods so I'm not sure if I regret the surgery or I feel like this because I've been on a liquid diet for almost a month now and I miss chewing food? Has this happen to anybody here? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Please no negative comments Thank you very much!

I am 9 days post-op and was feeling great until last night, and had a couple "normal" BMs. Last night I took a turn and also have diarrhea now and feel pretty dehydrated and don't want to drink much. I haven't had anything thicker than thin yogurt, so people have been saying "liquid in - liquid out", so I'm assuming we're still adjusting. Try some Gass X for bloating! It helps me

Slowly increasing your calorie intake by adding in healthy foods like Olives, Greek Yogurt or Peanut Butter (just a few suggestions). The difference between losing and maintaining for me is only about 200 calories. I've been at goal for a year!

Hi! How far out from surgery are you? That sounds like a normal diet for the first month... Did you not tolerate "real food"? Or were you just nervous about trying it? I am only 4 days post-op but I am already nervous about putting in anything that is not liquid. I can start yogurt at 8 days I think. And soft foods at 14. Thanks for any input.

We were told no swimming for 2 weeks. My incisions are totally closed by day 10 (with 1 exception). My plan was always to use 3m waterproof bandaids if I wanted to swim earlier. I have no pain either and feel great. We start vitamins at 2 weeks. I'm using store brand Flintstones complete for now, but they are sort of gross. I wonder if name brand tastes better? I have the calcium, but I drink a lot of milk and yogurt, so I'm not sure if I will actually take it. Sent from my XT1254 using BariatricPal mobile app

8/15 sleeved. Doing ok. Continuing with protein shakes, yogurt and soups. Realized some cream soups are high in sodium and carb so trying to be more aware of them. Been sleeping on loveseat recliner since I came home because I am a side/stomach sleeper and though I wasn't restricted, prefer sleeping on an angle right now. Do you like yogurt? Once I came home my dr let me introduce yogurt and thicker soups. Best of luck to everyone! 👍🏻😁

I am two weeks post op. My plan called for a solid week of clear liquids, and now I have been on full liquids (protein drinks, malt-o-meal, greek yogurt without fruit chunks, soups made with milk, etc.) During the day, I follow a schedule and consume between 3-4 ounces of non-protein heavy options. I also get in my protein options. I am consuming right around the recommended amount of 65 grams. I am drinking clear non-caloric liquids all day (except for 30 minutes before and after the “meal”). During the day, I do get a little hungry, but I am easily satisfied by following the prescribed plan. At night, I feel hungry. I am not sure what to make of this… I want to believe it is head hunger… but I am worried that it is not. I was moved to full liquids last Friday – and the weight loss has been very slow since then. I am generally getting in about 600 calories a day.

Congrats on surgery! I too have mine tomorrow. I check in at 5:20, and surgery around 7:30. I'm nervous, I'm excited. I've been on full liquid diet today, and have been trying to prepare my home and hospital bag. I've found that Trader Joe's Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup with a little non-fat plain yogurt mixed in for protein tastes pretty good. And after nothing but sweet protein shakes all day feels like I'm actually eating. Good luck to both of my fellow patients as we begin this beatiful journey to better health!

Two weeks long. Three protein shakes a day, one protein bar OR Greek yogurt, and one meal of 4 ounces lean meat/chicken, two small pieces of fruit, and as many non-starchy vegetables as I want. I start Monday!

I didn't force my stomach to eat "real " food enough in the beginning. So now I'm still struggling to eat things like chicken, veggies etc. So I hardly ever cook anything at home unless it's something that the boyfriend really likes. The last thing i fixed at home was ground turkey meatloaf, streamed broccoli and red mashed potatoes. That was a month ago. I would LOVE to eat leftovers, but it's beyond expensive when most of it goes in the trash. Protein bars, yogurt and cottage cheese are my daily staples

According to my nutritionist after you enter the Maintenance phase, your meals should consist of equal parts of protein, fats and carbs but always put protein first. Fats are important because they help to control hunger. It is common to have some limited weight gain after weight loss surgery. They call it a 20 pound bounce. The important thing is not let go beyond this 20 pounds. Most times this weight gain is due to a poor choice of snacks. Snacks should be limited to primarily to whole food options: nuts, natural nut butters, fruits, veggies, boiled eggs, string cheese, yogurt with berries and almonds, tuna pouches. Avoid processed packaged foods as much as possible. Also do not expect to lose weight at a rate similar to right after surgery. Generally if you gained the additional weight over a couple years, then it may take a couple years of watching what you eat to get back down.

I had my surgery one day before yours, I do find myself getting hungry but not half as much as I was prior to surgery. I do not know how much protein you are managing to get in but I have determined that as long as I am eating something with high amounts of protein then I usually do not get that hungry. I have resorted to some clear soups as well as sugar free popsicles but have noticed that they do not hold off my hunger for long. If I have some greek yogurt then that will last for several hours vs maybe an hour or so for the soup. Not sure if it helps but good luck!

omg I thought I was alone in this one. I can eat 4oz of pureed no problem and the same with cream soups strained. i was able to have an entire can of Campbells with one can of fairlife skim milk to thin it out. i was quite full and probably wouldnt do it again. yesterday I was able to eat a single serve oikos yogurt. it was the first time i actually felt a normal comfortable full. But today I had 2.6 oz of a tuna packet and 2oz of hummus went down well tasted good but 10 min later it was at my throat. i was very uncomfortable. took longer to get relief than it it took to eat it. Im so confused

But your able to eat an amazing amount one week post, i love hearing what everyone is able to eat. I am 7 weeks post and cant manage both yogurt and cottage cheese at the same etc. 2 weeks post .I was at 1 ounce at a time.maybe 2 . Keep up the good work. I was told not to work out for 6 weeks.

Im not sure if the sleeve is not working for me. I did well on my pre op diet. I lost 34# and then 10# after surgery 8/9/17 when I was weighed 1 week post op. I have since stalled and the scale hasnt budged. I work out at the gym 3-4 times a week and for my meals i eat 4oz at a time. example breakfast is 2oz greek yogurt light n fit, 2oz low fat cottage cheese. then mid day a premier protein shake for a snack. then later 2oz scrambled egg and 2oz ricotta bake. later a protein water till i get home from work and dinner is usually a a soup or a protein shake. any suggestions how to shake it up some?

Hey all. My name is Geri, and this is my story. In 2010 after years of yo yo diets, ups and downs, I decided to do something. My husband was against Gastric By-pass and frankly I was to because I had a GF that had had it and was having all sort of issues. But being new to the bariatric world I didn't know why she was having issues I just thought it was Gastric By-pass in general. (Turns out she was doing all sorts of stuff to sabotage herself) So back then the latest and greatest thing was the Lap-Band. I asked my hubby if he would go to the seminar with me. He replied why would you want to go to a Lap Dance seminar Sweetie? LOL So we went, with Burgerking drinks from our meal that we had just had. We saw Dr Thomas Bass in Fort Myers Florida. He and his wife Tiffany ran the seminar and explained the two main surgeries Lap band and Gastric Bypass. He mentioned that after surgery and Burger King visits would have to stop! I went head first in with the Band. I was 290 at this point and so miserable, My mom has passed away at 63 from Diabetes and liver failure due to the disease. I dont want to have her ending. I literally watched my mom fade away in a hospital bed for a week after they took her IV away and basically starved her to death. Her liver no longer functioned and she quickly went down hill. I was in the room when she passed away. I will never get that image out of my mind. She was a wonderful woman but suffered so much due to this horrible circle of Obesity and poor life choices. If she had gotten the sleeve or the Bypass she'd probally be here still today. I swore to myself I'd NEVER go out like that. So I followed all the requirements, diets, appointments and finally the day came I got approval from my insurance the night before my surgery! I was doing so good. I got down to 212 and had lost 78 pounds. Then.......well, I stoped following the program. My husband told me I was being a pain in the butt because I had to eat small meals several times a day, and I started to eat poorly. I figured out if I drank while I ate, I could eat more. I never really got the hang of the Band. I could never tell if I was "Full". I admit I never measured my food, and I never really stopped drinking while I ate. Then I started eating more, faster, bad foods, and the weight came back on. I got back up to 250+. Then I needed to have a procedure (female related) and the surgeon wouldn't do it unless I was a certain BMI so I started eating the way I was taught with the band, and got down to the 220 I needed to be. Fast forward to last year. I maintained my 220-230 but was having a ton of back issues. I went to a neurologist who discovered I had a birth defect and my lumbar region was almost 3/4 of an inch off, pinching my sciatica on both legs with numbing, I had a spinal fusion in July of 2016. I couldn't work, I had to stay home for a year. Of course I ate all the time, because what was there to do but watch tons of cake boss, cupcake wars and food network! Mother's Day week I started to have chest pains. I was having so many issues with my band. I would drink water and lay down for bed and that water would come right back up. I knew I should go see my Dr. but I was ashamed I had gained that weight back and didnt want to let him down. So I suffered. Then I had such bad chest pains I thought I was having a heart attack. Two emergency visits later and one hospital overnight stay, I realized it was the same chest pain I had experienced right after my La NBand surgery. SO I asked the Drs, could this be band related? And the resident dr said "Oh....yeah I supposed it could be?" This is after tons of testing and a stress test. So I went to Dr. Bass and he said immediately it was the band. So he took out all the fluid and suggested the sleeve. I had been researching it by then anyway secretly wishing I had gotten that done instead. I had to under go another Spinal fusion in June(that went well). So now, I start my new journey for the Sleeve. I had my band taken out 8-16-17. I went this week to the nutrition appointment and tonight I go for my first of three classes required for my insurance in a three month pre trial. I weighed in at 254.4 for a start weight. When I had the band removed I started my own "Pre op" to retrain myself how to eat healthy. I bought some protein, almond milk, coconut milk, tons of yogurt, cottage cheese, and tons of eggs. I weighed in at 247 at the nutrition appt. I already have a surgery date of November 13th. So all thats left to do is wait. And wait. And wait..Can you tell I'm an impatient person? Well I am lol. But I know I can do it! As for my husband. I gave him a piece of my mind concerning the Band. I feel he played a role in my failure with the band. He started making fun of the Band and the whole process, like it was a gimmick and not taking it seriously. I told him about the sleeve and he was not too happy at first. I told him he will not effect me this time and that I will not stray from my goals. He's coming around but only time will tell. This journey is about ME, and MY health. I loved my mom and this world is lonely without her so I will do this in her memory and live a longer life for her and God! Thank you for listening, I will update frequently..........

Thanks Berry78! I can't speak for makemyownluck, but some days, in fact most days, protein shakes are also a challenge to get it. It's a weird deal. I too struggle with yogurt, and mashed potatoes!!! But I will have a break in the clouds and I can eat a grilled cheese sandwich without any issues. I think my weight loss stalls simply because I'm starving myself most days. I don't have any way of knowing that I am having a good day or a bad day without trying, and since most days are bad I can got weeks without hardly getting any thing in. Because eating something that gets "stuck" way down in your esophagus makes for a miserable day! It's next to impossible to bring "it back up", trying to drink something only makes it worse, when that's the most logical method you can think of. It's a super weird deal. Taking medication is really tough too. Makemyownluck, it sure sounds like you've had some super rough stuff with the achalasia initially. I had the heller done initially and I can attest that helped significantly back then. I had a gi doc that didn't think I had a problem other than reflux. It was terrible. Lots of vomiting and feeling terrible. Then they did this barbaric throat pressure test and because of it's rarity they just didn't know what it was. So my tests were sent to some medical conference and my (now) bariatric surgeon saw the tests and called me out of the blue and said he could help me. He treated me (heller and hernia repair), and all the vomiting stopped and I felt tons better. I lost 20 pounds being sick so I just continued to lose with the help of diet and exercise. I was super motivated at that time. Then whammo auto immune #2, which has been horrific but finally getting to a manageable state. It's strange having two rare auto immune diseases. I'm sorry you've had so much go on for you. My bypass surgery wasn't fun at all. My myasthenia makes recovery very difficult. Not to mention he accidentally tore a hole in my stomach and then 4 days after I had to be re admitted with a very painful pulmonary embolism. Those aren't fun. I have to find a way to eat more. I think if I can do this I can break the stall and move on a little more quickly. I haven't done too much research on the achalasia. I to have no idea what a typical or type 2 is. The myasthenia is far more difficult to manage day in and day out. The achalasia is more annoying at this point. I too, thought of the achalasia as a tool to help me lose the weight but the myasthenia really made it impossible to keep it off. Now the myasthenia is manageable and with the help of my twice a week plasmapheresis I have more stamina and can get in at least 25 minutes of walking each day. I have never experienced heartburn or reflux. the achalasia has masked that for what sounds like years and years. How do you know you are having a reflux issue? Do you take medication to reduce or eliminate it? Good luck, makemyownluck! when your body gets to a certain point I know you'll begin to feel better. The bypass and the heller will help.

I bet that would be good in greek yogurt too!

I'm weirdly excited to have someone else to talk to about this too! I had my sleeve with no complications back in 2013. At the time, I was morbidly obese and had a new dx of high blood pressure, but was otherwise healthy and had no health issues to speak of. The sleeve recovery was fine and I lost about 150lbs. Then... I got pregnant. Pregnancy was good, baby and I were healthy, my son was born and life was great. Except that I had allowed about 50lbs to creep back on. So last spring/summer, I decided to kick start my weight loss and went on a keto diet. Shortly after, I started having symptoms of achalasia, which I didn't know what it was at the time, and just attributed my indigestion and vomiting to eating too dense of protein too often with my sleeve. I wasn't seeing my bariatric doc anymore due to insurance changes and just thought I needed to be more careful about what I was eating. In January, I experienced sudden onset of chest pain on my right side, that was so intense I would've thought I was having a heart attack if it were happening on the left side of my chest. I went to the ER, was checked for a pulmonary embolism (which it wasn't) and had a CT of my chest. I had empyema and pneumonia. I was admitted, the next day I had 2 liters aspirated from my lung, and it wasn't enough. I had to have surgery (thoracotomy), and during that surgery I aspirated. I ended up being put on a ventilator, sedated until they could stabilize me and operate again. I had my second surgery which was successful, but left me in so much pain! After that, I ended up with sepsis in my blood, my kidneys failed and I needed dialysis - all while I was too drugged up to know what was happening. I was referred to a university hospital in Chicago by the GI that saw me in the hospital. I had all the testing and confirmed I had achalasia - which now that I know what it is and have read up on it, I realize that my symptoms were all pretty spot on for this condition. My new bariatric surgeon says that the sleeve will cause reflux if he does the myotomy without converting to bypass, so that's what we're doing. I totally understand what you mean that some days are better than others. There are days I can eat just about anything with no problem, if I try to eat the same things the next day, it's a disaster and I'm miserable all day. Unfortunately, the easiest thing to get down most days are CARBS. If I continue to have swallowing problems after the myotomy/bypass, I have no idea what I'll eat! I also have problems with protein shakes, water, yogurt... stuff you would *think* goes down easily, doesn't. I'm quite nervous about what comes after this and why I developed this in the first place. Knowing that it's an auto-immune disease has me worried I may develop others, as you did. I'm sorry for us both suffering from this awful condition! Losing 50lbs in 4 months is fantastic, especially given the disadvantage of eating problems. I hope for similar results - I figure if getting this condition is what prompted me to do something about the remaining weight that I never lost with my sleeve, then it's not all bad. If you have any links of resources for this condition, please share. I've done my own research, but then I see other people referencing having "atypical achalasia" or "type 2 achalasia" and I have no idea what that means!