Search the Community

I have tried them all, (and I usually buy according to what is on sale) but my all time fav has to be the Fage. LOVE IT. I've even tried the Kroger brand, blech, totally disgusting and not worthy of me even adding my SF syrup to. I already have one kiddo liking the Fage, just need to work on kiddo #2 (aka the picky sister). It's going to be a crazy yogurt bill around here on grocery day once hubby gets sleeved in March!

I've been making my own greek yogurt..its easy and less expensive!! I just add fresh fruit..no sugar, no additives, nothing but fresh milk and fruity goodness. You can find the method on our blog www.thereddragoncafe.blogspot.com I'm also finding that it is more filling eating whole or cut up fruit rather than the sugary processed fruit they put in yogurt.

I eat lunch at around 1; go swimming in the early evening, and eat dinner around 7. Sometimes I have fruited Greek Yogurt by itself. Occationaly I will add vanilla flavored low fat/carb protein powder (and some splenda). Makes for a good prework out snack.

Hi, What about cheeses and yogurt? I eat a couple of servings of cheese with a hard cracker every day. Also, ham is quite salty - can you eat pork in other forms like a pork roast or pork chop? I also eat a lot of chicken, but I make it in a lot of different ways. I also eat one small serving of oatmeal every day for Fiber. I will have a little whole grain toast with an egg to change it up a little. Good luck, Lara

I eat maybe 4 ounces of food in a sitting. It takes me 30 min - 1 hour usually. I try and eat 3 times a day high protein (protein shakes, greek yogurt) and then two snacks (like half of a sugar free jello, broth, or popsicle), one between breakfast and lunch, and one between lunch and dinner.

I had my surgery 11/25/09 I have had 2 fills and now have 4.5cc's in my 10cc band. I eat very small amounts of good healthy food, I have never thrown up. I have gotten food "stuck" from eating too big of a bite or too fast, but the food does stay down. Sounds like shes got too much in her band AND/OR she is not chewing tiny bites like she should. Cherry Cheesecake as her daily food intake is a disaster....she should eat 3 meals a day. Here is my typical day for an example for you.... Breakfast: A cup of fat free yogurt Snack: A high protein drink Lunch: A piece of protein like grilled salmon, steak or turkey. Snack:Cheese& cracker Dinner: Another peice of protein (about 4oz) fish, chicke, pork, etc. A green veggie like spinnnich or broccoli & maybe a few bites of potato or pasta. Desert: no fat jello pudding or a fat free fudge bar. All good healthy foods. She needs to eat and take a daily vitamin so she does not become mal nurished...best of luck, you came to a great place for help.

I start my pre-op diet on Monday and thought it would be nice for us to have a tread where we can talk about our pre-ops if we have them. I have to do 4 Protein shakes a day. 64oz Fluid and unlimited non starchy veggies. I can also choose 6 of the following - v8, oatmeal/cream of wheat, low fat yogurt with no fruit, no sugar added applesauce and sugar free pudding. My plan is to make a huge pot of veggie Soup tomorrow to eat as lunch/dinner, also planning salads, sauteed veggies and fresh veggies in a plain greek yogurt dip (hidden valley ranch). I figure the oatmeal and cream of wheat will do me for Breakfast along with a Protein shake when I get up. I love sugar free Popsicles and can see myself eating lots of them! I am worried about doing it for 2 weeks, worried about coming up with different ideas and such, but am thankful my pre-op does have some variety available!! How about anyone else?

Right after surgery and the day after in the hospital. I was doing better than expected. I actually could not wait to get home and have my gold standard Cookies and cream whey Protein. About 3 hrs after getting home, I removed the scapolamine patch from behind my ear (didn't know it was 72 hrs thought it was 24. A couple hours after removing it, I got nauseous and have been ever since. Every time I even look at the Protein powder, I want to puke-not b/c they taste bad-but because all of a sudden the didnt appeal to me at all. However, I tolerate Jello, sf ice pops and broth fine. My dr said the most crucial thing immediately post op is Fluid. Prob is I can't even get that in either I'm sposed to get 64 and I can barely get 32 in. I asked her to PLEASE prescribe some of the Patches for me, and she said they don't usually write scripts for those but prescribed me zofran, another anti-nausea med. I've taken it twice (4mg dose) and it's really done nothing except make me indescribably itchy, and give me headache and diarrhea) I can't be having that with so little fluid intake or I will end up back in the hosp. I tend to be very sensitive to EVERYTHING and did have some issues with motion sickness pre-op ( I ride the bus & train a lot to commute) I have tried nauzene chewables and I have those sea-bands that press on the accupressure point for nausea, nothing is working, only that patch helped. Even when I do get hungry, I only want jello pops and broth and cannot tolerate the protein. I ordered the unflavored powder from bariatriceating.com hopefully it will b here soon and I can put it in broth until I graduate to mushies in 4 days then I can start putting it in pudding, yogurt etc. Did anyone have prolonged nausea like this after removing their patch or just since u woke up? What can I do about this, b/c right now I NEED more fluid and I know that. It seems every day I wake up I feel worse than the day before. Tips, please? I don't know why she can't just prescibe me the patch, maybe I will cal her again and tell her the zofran is not working ***side note: I have cankers all over my tounge, is this a reaction to something in my roxicet or more likely from a lack of essential nutrients? Anyone else have this? Thanks in advance. Btw, the gas is finally starting to exit me.

I am on day 4. I am able to get in 1/3 cup of full liquid like cream soup or pudding at a time. I eat for a max of 20 min. and give it up. I can drink a medium sip at a time and drink throughout the day. I am getting 30 ounces of water/crystal lite daily. I actually find it easier to get in full liquids and things that have the consistency of pudding or yogurt than clear liquids. I am trying to increase my intake.

I think the thing is people get frustrated. You're right, if you really could control your eating you wouldnt have needed the surgery. But if surgery and the possiblility of mucking it up isnt enough to keep you on the straight and narrow, I really dont know what anyone can say to you. Everyone goes through it, true, but really, how committed were you? Were you ready for this? That's not judgemental but for heaven's sake, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back on the program. Support is not going to come in the guise of people validating what you're doing. That does you absolutely not good. Support comes from people suggesting what you can do to make this easier. Just becuase you're on liquids is no reason you have to starve. Liquids can be calorific, contain fat and Protein and keep your body going. Make yourself some Soup with real meat and some Pasta in it, for example, blend it up really well, thin it out with broth to a consistency you can handle now, and have as much of it as you can handle at a time, as often as you need not to be hungry. Make a real smoothie with real fruit, yogurt and milk rather than a Protein shake, get some fibre into yourself to feel some satisfaction. You can even blend up family dinners with broth to get the flavour or real food - NO food is off limits, just in solid form! There. There is no reason to go hungry. And as for "wanting to chew something" as so many people say, you just have to suck it up. Its only a couple of weeks.

I like to take 6oz of yogurt and add a scoop of unflavored Isopure powder. You can't even tell it is in there. I'm not sure if you are able to eat that much? It is yogurt, so it should slide right through, and it makes normal eating the rest of the day much easier.

I got a 6 pk of Isopure Protein drink and have bought them at least 3 more times, drink them even now..I didn't use any of my pkgs of SF Jello, but did stock up on homemade chicken broth - ate the chicken from it later as I chopped the meat up fine and added them to the diet as i progressed. Yogurt and fatfree cottage cheese worked well for me, poached eggs after a couple of weeks, and, like Tiffy, loved the babybel lowfat cheeses (could nibble them to mush slowly early on) I bought way too much protein powders, and have most of them still sitting here 3 months later, so go slow on those, wait til afterwards. Canned broths or soups you can strain out the solids for week 2 are great. Crystal lite - banana strawberry orange is my fav, as we all seem not to enjoy plain Water for quite a while, but do dilute well as they will be too sweet at first. Grape juice and unsweetened applesauce are good at first too! Hope this list is a help!

I would have LooooVed this thread if it was about FROZEN greek yogurt. LoL

I've been on mushies for two weeks and I was nervous, too. Here are some of the things I've been eating: sugar free pudding made with a scoop of unflavored unjury Sugar Free pudding (pre-made) Soup at Hand tuna salad and small, soft whole-wheat crackers soy crisps Low-Carb SlimFast refried Beans with melted cheese and cottage cheese or guacamole scrambled eggs broth with chicken-flavored Unjury Laughing Cow spreadable cheese oatmeal I'm not supposed to have fruit or fruit juice for two more weeks or I'd be having applesauce. Yogurt is good at this stage, too. Some of these foods are more of the "soft" variety than "mushie" but I am always sure to chew and chew until they are at least the consistency of pudding by the time I swallow.

First of all, I always come and look at your posts, and you guys are amazing and very supporting! I just decided on on signing up lol... So my surgery is set for April 1st, an April fools band lol.. I started my pre-op diet on Monday, and it's ALREADY starting to get to me. My doctor wants me to do 3 Protein shakes a day, with one main meal of 4-6oz of chicken or very lean meat. 2cups of starches, 2cups veggies, endless salad with fat free dressing, but not drenched in the salad. I thinks its 2tsps not sure :sneaky:..... TodayI went for pre-admission testing and my scedule was totally MESSED UP, I was so mad. So I messed up my diet but let me tell u what i did. 11am-dannon light & fit yogurt lemon ciffon (yummers) 2:30pm I had a handful of carrots, diet green tea snapple which i always drank and love!!! 4:00-5oz chicken,lettuce,light mayo (a tsp,) honey dijon musturd (tsp,) and a half a whole wheat wrap. That's it so far, but i don't know if because i added the mayo and musturd i added to much fat......helllpppp

I was banded on 01/19/09. I just had my first fill on 03/23. The fill has made a big difference and I can only eat 4-6 oz's per meal. Today my meals consisted of: Breakfast - 1c. Fiber one Cereal with 1c of skim milk/260 cal. lunch - Healthy Choice meal. Grilled chicken Marinara/270 cal. dinner - 2 oz sliced turkey and 4 oz cottage cheese/130 cal. I will probably have a snack later that will probably be 4 oz of suger free yogurt/60 cal. From what I understand it is very important to do breakfast on a daily basis. Breakfast will jump start your matabilism for the day and help your body stay out of starvation mode.

I am doing the same. I add milk to cream of wheat and to soups, as well as adding yogurt to make smoothies but i'm only getting about 40-50g of protein. Can't wait to get to real food cuz the protein shakes are making me sick.

I'm 18 days out, and for the past three days I've got my protein in via my food versus drinks. Yahoo! I'm averaging between 60-70 grams of protein and between 700 and 800 calories. I use greek yogurt, eggs, light string cheese, refried beans with cheddar, tuna, and crab to get it all in. It really hasn't been difficult with a little planning. I get to introduce soft foods next week, so I will add fish and some ground meats to my variety.

LAPAROSCOPIC GASTRIC SLEEVE DIET Introduction The following information provides guidelines for you to follow before and after Gastric Sleeve Surgery and for the rest of your life. Gastric Sleeve Surgery is a weight loss tool. After surgery, you will be required to make lifelong changes in your eating habits and to exercise on a regular basis in order to achieve and maintain your weight loss goals. Gastric Sleeve Surgery reduces the size of the stomach which restricts the volume of food that you can consume at one time. This means that you will feel full after eating a small amount. The surgery also induces hormonal changes which help prevent you from feeling excessively hungry. You should avoid drinking liquids with meals. This is to prevent overfilling of the stomach. Frequent snacking or grazing must also be avoided as this contributes to excess calorie intake and can slow weight loss or cause you to gain weight. Exercise is an important component of weight loss success. Exercise is recommended before and after surgery in order to maximize the amount of weight that you lose and keep off. If you have not been an active exerciser, always consult with your physician for clearance and recommendations before beginning any exercise program. It is important to follow the lifetime Gastric Sleeve diet rules, supplement guidelines, and exercise recommendations in order to achieve and maintain optimum weight loss success. In order to begin preparing for surgery, start implementing the pre-surgery diet goals listed on the next page. 4 Pre-Surgery Diet Practice Tips 1. Choose low-fat foods, and avoid fried foods. 2. Stop using sugar. Use sugar substitutes such as Sweet & low, Equal, or Splenda. 3. Decrease intake of Desserts and candy. 4. Stop drinking sugar-sweetened beverages such as regular soda and sweetened Kool-Aid. 5. Start weaning off of caffeine and carbonated beverages. 6. Start cutting back on fast food and eating out. Begin making healthy meal choices when eating out and at home. 7. Eat 3 meals a day. Do not skip Breakfast. 8. Start decreasing portion sizes. 9. Eat more fruits and vegetables. 10. Practice drinking Water and other fluids between meals, not with meals. 11. Drink 64 ounces water a day. 12. Practice sipping liquids. 13. Avoid alcohol. 14. Begin some form of exercise. 15. Review the following information on the gastric sleeve diet. 16. Practice chewing foods thoroughly, 20 - 40 times or to paste consistency. 17. Purchase your Protein drinks or supplements. 18. Purchase your Vitamin and mineral supplements. 19. Begin planning a schedule for mealtime, fluids and vitamin and mineral supplements. 5 Post Gastric Sleeve Surgery Diet Important Diet Guidelines: 1. Eat 3 meals per day. Avoid snacking and grazing. 2. Eat small amounts. Initial portion size should be no more than 1 - 2 ounces - approximately 2 - 4 Tablespoons - of food per meal for the first month. At first you may not be able to tolerate this amount. Over time, you will slowly tolerate more volume at each meal. Long term, the stomach will eventually hold about 4 - 8 ounces (1/2 - 1 cup) of food per meal. 3. Eat protein foods first. 4. Do not try to eat food and drink liquid together. • Consume liquid 30 to 60 minutes before and/or 30 to 60 minutes after eating meals but not during meals. 5. You are required to take a multi-vitamin with minerals for the rest of your life. 6. Eat slowly! • Each meal should last 30minutes or longer. • Avoid gulping foods and drinks. • All foods must be well-chewed to a paste consistency. • Using a small fork or spoon (i.e. baby utensils) can help control portion sizes. • Have one place to eat (such as at the table) and avoid reading or watching TV while you eat. This helps you to enjoy your food, concentrate on eating slower and to realize when your stomach is full. 7. Drink plenty of calorie-free, non-carbonated, caffeine- free fluids between meals . • Drink slowly-sip fluids, never gulp. • Calorie-containing beverages should be limited to skim milk and Protein Drinks. • Limit juice to no more than 4oz. per day. • Consume zero-calorie beverages throughout the day. 6 Diet Progression After Surgery The diet after gastric sleeve surgery progresses through several stages. Your surgeon will let you know when it is okay to progress to the next stage. Day 1 - 2 after surgery: Clear liquid diet The clear liquid diet means fluids or foods that are liquid at body temperature and can almost be seen through. You will be on a clear liquid diet while you’re in the hospital. Examples of Clear Liquid Diet (No Added Sugar/ Sugar Free): • Clear (diluted) fruit juices without added sugar: apple, grape or white grape or diet cranberry • sugar-free Crystal Light drink mix or popsicles, Sugar-free Kool-Aid • Herbal tea, caffeine-free tea • flat soda • Sugar-free Popsicles • Sugar-free Gelatin • Clear broth • Water ???? It is best to dilute juices by 50% with water. ???? Avoid citrus juices (orange/grapefruit) and tomato juice for the first three weeks. ???? coffee and de-caffeinated coffee contain acids which are irritating to the stomach lining and should be avoided for the first few weeks for healing. Day 3 through Week 2: Full Liquid Diet The next stage is the full liquid diet which consists of sugar-free, low-fat milk products and the Clear Liquids listed above. You will need to supplement with protein (drinks or powder) after surgery. Remember to sip liquids, do not gulp. Examples of Full Liquid Diet (No Added Sugar/Sugar-Free, Low Fat): • Skim Milk or Lactaid milk • Soy Milk (non-fat) • Low fat, thin, strained cream Soup (smooth, no pieces of food) • Sugar-free instant breakfast • Protein drinks – Start daily when you get home from the hospital. (See section on protein and protein drinks) • Plain or “light” (no sugar added) yogurt with no fruit pieces • Sugar-free pudding or custard • Thinned cream of wheat or rice Cereal 7 Week 3 through Week 8: pureed Diet You may now begin a pureed diet. This includes all items listed for clear and full liquids, and the items listed for the pureed (blenderized) diet. • Eat PROTEIN foods first • Make sure foods are well blended. • Start slowly. If you do not tolerate pureed foods go back to the liquid diet and try again in a few days. • Remember to drink liquids between meals, not with meals. • Continue protein drinks or protein supplements every day. Examples for the Pureed Diet (Sugar-Free/No Sugar Added, Low Fat): eggs cheese Pureed or blenderized scrambled eggs or egg substitute or cheese omelet; melted low-fat cheese, low-fat or non-fat cream cheese, ricotta cheese, very smooth/mashed soft cheese such as mozzarella, string cheese, low-fat or non-fat smooth or small curd cottage cheese meat, Fish, Poultry, Baby food meat or pureed meat or poultry moistened with broth or low-fat gravy Blenderized shrimp, scallops or fish Pureed tuna or salmon (canned in water) or pureed egg salad with low-fat or non-fat mayonnaise Potted meats thinned with broth; smooth deviled ham Starches Unsweetened instant oatmeal (strained), cream of wheat or rice cereal, mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes, smooth polenta, hummus, refried beans; low-fat or baked crackers or chips Vegetables Baby food vegetables or pureed cooked vegetables (no corn or peas) Mashed winter squash, tomato juice or sauce, pureed salsa, marinara Soup Strained, low-fat cream soup made with skim milk; fat-free broth Blenderized lentil or split pea soup or chili Fruit Baby food fruits (bananas, pears, applesauce, peaches, mango, etc) Unsweetened applesauce (smooth) Unsweetened canned fruit – blenderized Unsweetened fruit juice (diluted, no sugar added) Remember: IF YOU CAN CHEW IT, DON’T DO IT! 8 Tips to Get Started Everything that you eat on the pureed diet should be sugar-free or no sugar added, low fat and blended to the consistency of baby food or smooth applesauce. • You will need a blender or food processor or you can purchase baby food. • Start with 1 ounce (2 Tablespoon) portions - no more than 4 Tablespoons at the most. Listen to your body and stop eating as soon as you feel full. • Eat protein foods first. Then if you are not too full, try vegetables or fruits. • Continue protein supplements (80 g protein per day from supplement). Helpful Hints for Blenderizing • Cut foods into small pieces before putting into the blender or food processor. • Remove seeds, skins and fat. • Add liquid for ease of blending. Add enough liquid to cover the blades. Options include skim milk, broth, strained low-fat cream soup, low-fat gravy, low-fat or non-fat sour cream or fat-free half & half. • Blend the item to a smooth, applesauce consistency. • Make sure there are no particles, seeds or lumps remaining. If so put through a sieve or strainer. • If you have leftover blenderized foods, try freezing in single serving portions in ice cube trays and put the frozen cubes into plastic freezer bags. Meats – Very lean and dry meats puree better by adding a small amount of fat (margarine, oil, light mayonnaise, gravy, etc.) Fish also tends to be dry. Improve the texture by adding small amount of lemon juice, light mayonnaise or strained low-fat tartar sauce. Starches – Try pureed peas, canned Beans, sweet potatoes. Starches puree better when hot. Rice and potatoes tend to puree into a gummy paste and are not recommended. Substitute cream of rice cereal prepared with a flavorful broth and seasoned with margarine. Pasta or noodles are not recommended as they are not well-tolerated. Vegetables – Cook vegetables until soft. If using canned vegetables, drain first. Add melted margarine and puree. Add a small amount of liquid until it reaches the smooth applesauce consistency. Fruit – If using canned fruit, drain first. Add a few drops of lemon juice to help prevent them from discoloring. Begin to take advantage of your favorite leftovers before surgery. Process these foods, and freeze them in an ice cube tray. (Each cube is approximately 1/2 to 1 ounce). When frozen, pop out into Zip-lock bag; label and date, and freeze cubes until needed. 9 Meal Guidelines for the Pureed Diet (See Sample Pureed Meals listed in the Appendix) Once you begin to eat pureed foods (which are considered solids) you will want to start differentiating between liquids and solids – meals should include pureed foods, and so liquids (including protein drinks) should be taken separately from your meals. • You should eat 3 meals a day with protein drinks between meals. • Protein drinks containing at least 20 grams of protein per serving should be consumed as needed to meet 80 g/day goal. • Start with a portion size of 1 to 2 tablespoons of pureed food for the first month. At first you may not be able to tolerate this amount. Eat your protein source first, and then if you have room a small amount of fruit, vegetables or other foods may be consumed. Hints for Measuring Foods: Liquids or soft/pureed foods are best measured in measuring cups or spoons; they can be measured in ounces, Tablespoons or mls. 1 cup 8 Fluid ounces 240 ml 16 tablespoons 3/4 cup 6 fluid ounces 180 ml 12 tablespoons 1/2 cup 4 fluid ounces 120 ml 8 tablespoons 1/4 cup 2 fluid ounces 60 ml 4 tablespoons 1/8 cup 1 fluid ounce 30 ml 2 tablespoons 1 Tablespoon = 3 teaspoons 1/2 Tablespoon = 1-1/2 teaspoons Week 9-12 After Surgery: Soft solid food Diet If you have been tolerating pureed foods, you may now begin a soft diet. This includes all items listed for clear and full liquids and pureed diets plus items listed for the soft diet. Try 1 to 2 new foods a day. This will help you to learn what foods you tolerate. • Remember your stomach pouch empties more slowly with more solid or dense foods than with liquids, so you will be able to tolerate a smaller quantity of food than you could with liquids . • Go slowly. If you do not tolerate the trial of soft foods, resume pureed foods and try again in a week. • Eat protein foods first • Avoid foods high in sugar and fat. • Space meals 4-5 hours apart • Continue your protein drinks between meals • Drink other fluids constantly between meals 10 Examples of Soft Diet (No Added Sugar/Sugar-Free, Low Fat): • Baked fish (no bones) • Imitation crab meat, baby shrimp • Bananas • Canned peaches or pears in water or juice • Well-cooked vegetables without seeds or skin (no corn or peas) • Scrambled, poached or hard boiled eggs • Tuna or egg salad (no onions, celery, pimientos, etc.) • Finely shaved deli meat • Baked, grilled or rotisserie chicken o Moist foods will be better tolerated. Moisten meats with broth, low fat mayonnaise, or low-fat gravy or sauce. o Fish and seafood Proteins are softer and easier to break down than poultry or red meat proteins. o Reheating foods tends to make them dry out and hard to tolerate. Common Problem Foods (Avoid for 3 months after surgery) • Red meat such as steak, roast beef, pork. Red meat is high in muscle Fiber, which is difficult to separate even with a great deal of chewing. Avoid hamburger for one month after surgery. • Un-toasted bread; rolls, biscuits. (Toasted bread may be better-tolerated.) • Pasta • Rice • Membrane of citrus fruits • Dried fruits, nuts, popcorn, coconut • Salads, fresh fruits (except banana) and fresh uncooked vegetables, potato skins. Month 4 After Surgery: Regular Diet • Problem foods as listed above can now be tried. • Rice, pasta and doughy bread may not be tolerated for 6 months or more. • Try fresh fruits without the skin first. If tolerated, the skin can be tried the next time. Salads are generally well-tolerated if chewed well. • Go slowly. Try a small amount to see how you feel. • Avoid high sugar and high fat foods to avoid a high calorie intake. 11 Foods to Avoid : Hard/crunchy foods may always be poorly tolerated. Nuts and seeds are difficult to break down. Fried foods/greasy foods are hard to digest and are very high in calories. • Corn chips, potato chips, tortilla chips, hard taco shells • Nuts and seeds • Fried foods and greasy foods Points to Remember: • Solid foods will fill your stomach pouch more than liquids so you will be eating smaller quantities of foods versus liquids. • If you don’t tolerate a food the first time, wait a week and try again. • You may find that you tolerate a certain food one day and not the next. It is normal for this to happen. • If you don’t tolerate certain foods or notice nausea, vomiting or diarrhea during or after eating, ask yourself the following questions: o Did I chew to a paste consistency? o Did I eat too fast? o Did I eat too much volume? o Did I drink fluid with my real meal or too close to my meal? o Did I eat something high in sugar or fat? o Was the food moist or was it too dry? Steps for adding solid foods: • Try only 1 small bite of the new food and chew well. Wait awhile and if there are no problems, take another bite. • If at any time you feel too full, nauseated or vomit, stop eating and rest. Take only clear liquids at the next meal and add blended foods and liquids at the following meal. Try one solid food again the next day. 12 PROTEIN Protein is the most important nutrient to concentrate on when resuming your diet. Because the volume of your meals will be limited, you should aim for a minimum of 80 grams of protein per day – this needs to come from your protein supplement . Why is protein important? • Wound healing • Sparing loss of muscle • Minimizing hair loss • Preventing protein malnutrition Remember to eat protein foods first at each meal, followed by vegetables and fruit. These are some good sources of protein: Protein Sources Serving size Protein (g) Skim or 1% milk 1 cup 8 Evaporated skim milk (canned) 1 cup 19 Soy milk beverage 1 cup (8 ounces) 7 Non fat dry milk powder 1/3 cup powder 8 Nonfat, sugar free yogurt 1 cup (8 ounces) 8 Nonfat or low fat cottage cheese ½ cup (4 ounces) 14 Nonfat or low fat cheese slices String cheese *1 ounce/ 1 slice 6 LEAN meats – skinless chicken or turkey breast, fish, beef, ham, Deli meats *1 ounce 7 Egg or Egg substitute 1 egg or ¼ cup subst. 7 Peanut Butter (creamy) 1 Tablespoon 5 Tofu ¼ cup 5 Legumes; dried beans peas or lentils Chili, bean soup ½ cup cooked ½ cup 7-9 6-7 Soy/vegetable patty (like Gardenburger) 1 patty 8 - 10 Hummus ½ cup 6 Measuring Hints: *1 ounce of meat is equal to about 3 – 4 Tablespoons of chopped or ground meat. 1 ounce of grated or cottage cheese, tuna or egg salad is ~ 1/4 th cup (4 Tablespoons). A 3-ounce portion size of chicken or meat is about the size of a deck of cards. 13 High Protein Ideas Chicken or Turkey Pureed – Use baby food or make your own. Try mixing it into strained low-fat cream soup. Breast – baked or grilled Thin-sliced/shaved deli slices Ground – meatballs, meatloaf Canned – works great for chicken salad Strained out of canned soup – tends to be very moist Fish (avoid bones) Baked, broiled, poached, or grilled fish Shrimp Imitation or regular crab meat Fresh or canned salmon in water Canned tuna in water Sushi Beef or Veal (Extra Lean) Ground – meatballs, meatloaf Pork Shaved deli ham Eggs or Egg substitute Scrambled eggs or omelet Homemade eggnog made with skim milk, sugar-substitute Diet custard Egg salad Quiche or frittata Deviled eggs Low-fat Dairy Products Milk (skim or 1%) Yogurt (plain or no-sugar added) Low-fat cheeses including cottage cheese, string cheese, ricotta, or any other cheeses which are reduced-fat or non-fat. Legumes Peanut Butter – smooth Dried beans or lentils – or Soups, stews or chili made from these Hummus Vegetarian or fat-free refried beans Tofu 14 Protein Supplements ???? Because of the limited volume capacity of the stomach, it will be nearly impossible to meet your protein needs from food sources for up to a year after surgery. ???? You will need to consume a protein drinks to get a total of 80 g protein per day – This would be 2 protein drinks

Whew! First day back at work! Kinda pooped already LOL its been 11 days since surgery and I am down 20lbs. (24lbs. including pre-op). Its been really hard getting in all my Protein because nothing seems to sit right, and I have tried A LOT of different things. What will really make me happy is when I can finally go to real food. I was started on full liquids in the hospital (yogurt, pudding, oatmeal, cream of wheat, cream based Soups (strained) and stuff like that). Thursday I should be able to start mushies, I am so excited! LOL What I am really curious about is when do mushies end..and solid foods start? I have a transition class in April. I am suppose to go to the March (once a month) but I unfortunately have to work. Im just curious how each of you past the mushie phase has progressed. I have had a really fast and fortunate recovery because I have had absolutely no problems (Thank you baby Jesus). I have no hunger, I just want to be healthy.

Hi fellow August sleevers! 1. Sleeved 8/17 I am eating a huge variety of foods so I can’t give a “typical” day but I can eat 4 ounces at a time of pureed (or almost pureed) foods. Some of the things I have been eating are: Roast beef hash with a little mashed potatoes and gravy, cream of wheat with honey, egg salad, tuna salad, lobster cakes (like crab cakes but with lobster), Greek yogurt, SF pudding, Slim Fast low carb Protein shakes, broccoli cheese soup, oatmeal, canned pureed white meat chicken breast (that I thought would be gross but was pretty good), a frozen refried bean dip (I am not a huge fan of Beans but this was delicious with a little TB mild sauce on it). I have tried the Baked Ricotta recipe (and added a few pieces of pepperoni) off of “The World According to Eggface/pureed food page” and tonight I plan on trying the Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole from her website. I was having trouble getting my liquids in. I was a person who has never drank enough Water to begin with but I wanted to be better after surgery. I felt like there weren’t enough hours in the day to get all the fluids in without being able to drink 30 mins before, during, or after a meal until I did a schedule for my eating and liquids and I haven’t had trouble since! Here’s my schedule: Food: 8:30 bfast 11:30 snack 2:30 lunch 5:30 snack 8:30 dinner (I know that is late but that’s when my hubby gets home so it works for me) Glad disposable 4oz bowls with the little lids are lifesavers but I just reuse them Fluids: 9:30-11:00- 13 oz 11:00-12:30- No drink zone 12:30-2:00- 13 oz 2:00-3:30- No drink zone 3:30- 5:00- 13 oz 5:00- 6:30- No drink zone 6:30-8:00- 13 oz 8:00- 9:30- No drink zone 9:30- 11:00 13 oz I just put 13 or 14 oz of water in my bottle add ½ a pack of lemon iced tea flavored crystal light and a slice of lemon and I know that’s exactly how much I have to drink in an hour and a half.) I haven’t been keeping track of my protein very well and I plan to start doing that this week. I hope I can figure out a system that makes it easy like the Fluid schedule did for me. My problem is that I hate normal Protein Shakes the only one I can drink is the Slim Fast low carb creamy chocolate. I heard on You Tube about a stick of ostrich Jerky that has 14g of protein and tastes like a slim jim, so maybe that would work… I am just not a person who has a sweet tooth and all the protein powders are yucky to me, but I have been making myself add some unflavored powder to things I’m cooking (too bad unflavored doesn’t mean no taste). Any other protein ideas? I am hoping it will be a little easier once I am off of pureed food. Oh man this is really long…oops! I don’t know if I should answer the other 2 questions. I try to keep them short and sweet 2. Energy level = okay (not great not bad) Activity level= low to med (I’m studying for a registry exam right now so other than a little walking and housekeeping its mostly studying.) Pain Level= little to none (If I use my ab muscles to do something I shouldn’t they will let me know they are still healing. Incisions look great no pain just little scabs.) Nausea= None (Haven’t had any since the hospital) 3. 16 lbs- including 4 day pre op diet 12lbs -since surgery (3 weeks out today) Although one day my scale tricked me and said I had lost 14 lbs Stalls are no fun!

I was sleeved Aug 21. I lost 30 pounds pre surgery and since surgery I have lost 20 more. I went back to work after 2weeks and so I plan my daily food intake accordingly. I have a protien drink for breakfast, a 1/2 chobani yogurt at about 10, about 1/2 a cup crab salad or egg white salad at noon, a v8 at 3 and for dinner I experiment. I eat fish, cooked zuchini with ricotta and sauce, etc. I need to ask my nut how many calories a day I should be getting because I am only averaging 500 - 600. I also try to walk 2 miles a day.

The same way you will be eating many things that are not necessarily the tastiest thing from now on. You have to find ways to cope. You are eating for different reasons now. sugar will not aide you in your journey to lose weight. I am not one of these people who are going to tell you that you are going down a terrible path or whatever if you have some flavored yogurt but do consider this - if you cant stick to the rules now as far as sugar goes how are things going to go for you later on?

Hahaha. Going down a terrible path by eating fat free flavored yogurt. Sorry, that made me laugh. "That's rich! " Pun intended.

Kay I'm panicked a bit. I'm 5 days post op and I don't seem to have a full button at all. I moved from liquids to mush today- yogurt, pudding etc. the problem is I don't have get full. It says work up from a tsp to Tbl yet today I sat down to eat some pudding and I had to make myself stop eating when it was almost half gone rather than my body telling me to quit. Is there a problem? Did the dr maybe not cut it small enough? Should I be concerned?