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Kim I hit my two week post OP today This surgery has been super easy I almost have to check if I got it done but my port is definitely there so I know I did!!! LOL... Today starts the Mushy/Pureed foods I love refried Beans and mashed Potatoes so I think I should be able to survive for the next two weeks adding yogurt etc.. to the mix! I am extremely excited about all the new changes to come! I get my first fill on the 17th what about you?

I don't snack either, and I eat fruit. It's all about ratio's. Because it is so important to get enough protein, you should always eat that first. I was taught to eat 3 bites of protein, then 1 bite of vegetable then, if I had room, some fruit. It doesn't always work out to eat that way, obviously, that is just a guideline. Remember there are lots of ways to get fiber without fruit, too~ I eat a lot of vegetables and legumes and that helps get the fiber in. One of my favorite breakfasts is fruit (especially berries) with Greek yogurt. It has 20 grams of protein in a cup and no fat! I sprinkle a little splenda on it to sweeten it up a bit and it makes a good high fiber breakfast. That takes care of the fruit, the fiber and the protein.

My doc said to use the 3-1-1 formula. 3 bites protein, 1 bite veggie, 1 bite carb until you're full, or eat your 4 oz. or protein, then veggie, then carb. 1/2 cup protein, 1/4 cup veggie, 1/4 cup carb. A carb can be brown rice, sweet potato, corn, etc. OR since fruit is high in carbs, you can eat the fruit with your meal instead. This seems to work for me except on the mornings when I eat yogurt or oatmeal or cream of wheat. It doesn't quite come out that way. I buy Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal and add half a scoop of unflavored protein powder. If I do that I usually have like 3 strawberries or 3 - 4 peeled sections of grapefruit or a narrow slice of melon. If I don't eat fruit, I don't have a BM. Period. I personally couldn't go without eating it.

I went home on full liquids which included yogurt and YES protein shakes!

I definitely know what you mean! I’m 5 days out from my sleeve and it’s so weird not being hungry. Of course I would love to chow down on a ribeye and loaded potato but obviously that’s mental hunger. It is kind of weirding me out. Today was my first day back to work and all I’ve had is a protein shake, a half a portion of broccoli cream soup, a popsicle, and a half a single container of yogurt. And I’ve still got to get 10 more grams of protein and almost 15 ounces of fluid before I go to sleep. It’s a weird feeling to physically not be able to eat anymore when we are so used to eating way too much with ease. Good luck and let me know if you come up with any tricks! Haha

I think that's what I'm worried about. I have nightmares about eating too much and want to make sure my signal is telling me to stop when it should but need to be able to gauge that. It's just frustrating to think about how the heck you measure out a homemade quesadilla (Greek yogurt, chicken, veggies--so good!) in a measuring cup rather than by weight :/ same With things like green beans-- they don't fit nicely in a volume measuring cup. Oye.

Hi all, I am 5 months out and have lost 88lbs which is AWESOME. The whole time though I have been constipated, trying EVERYTHING just to be able to "go" every other day or so but nothing has worked. So I have been using laxatives every weekend to "clean myself out" as I work Monday thru Friday and can''t take them during the week.So unfortunately I can go like 6 days without a BM which is not good. An issue I'm having is the past few weeks, I am not losing like I was the first 5 months and I'm going out of my mind! Example: I weigh myself in the morning when I get up and say my weight is 177.4lb.s. OKay, fine. So I eat a 6oz. yogurt and a few mini rice cakes.And weigh myself say a half hour later (just for this purpose) and my weight goes up to 178.2lb.s!!! This is NOT normal for me! Usually after eating that, my weight wouldn't move at all, or go up maybe an ounce. But now it goes way up, even if I drink a Protein shake or water! What's the deal??? Is it because of the constipation and being "FOS" literally?? (I also walk 2 miles a day on top of a very active 8 hour job.) Another example is yesterday, I weighed 177.6lbs in the morning. I had 2 Protein shakes,Water and 8oz. oatmeal throughout the whole day. I weighed myself that night around 10pm and my weight was 179.2lbs! Now I know weight fluctuates during the day and that's fine, but this is NOT NORMAL for me. Can someone PLEASE help me figure this out?? I'm losing faith in myself and having any more weight loss and I have 47lbs still to lose! PLEASE HELP! DESPERATE! thank you

I was banded on june 11th, I lost 30 lbs from May 18th till my surgery on June 11th and as of today I am down a total of 40 lbs (I know it dosent show on my ticker, I cant figure out how to update it LOL). It is very weird I barely eat at all, sometimes I dont even get in three meals a day. I have a optifast shake for breakfeast everyday along with my vitamin and nexium. For lunch I have either soup (can only have about 1/4 of a can) or tunafish with a few crackers, or chilli, or yogurt. For Dinner its pretty much the same as lunch. Some days I dont even have lunch. After dinner I sometimes have a sugar free pudding or ice pop and decaf coffee every night. I am going to start to work out next week (light) just giving my incision one more week to heal a little bit more before I start to excersise a little bit. My first fill is not until August 8th.

I'm 7/8ish months out, doing well, but in the past month or so I am noticing a trend, as you can figure out from my name I'm a nurse and every single day I'm at work (and only when I'm at work) I get extremely dizzy/light headed around 8/9 AM while I am standing, doing my med pass. I took my BP, it was normal, and I always eat breakfast a few hours before. Today I might do a finger stick to see if something strange is going on with my blood sugar but that would be shocking considering I'm not diabetic and I eat very well in the morning. Usually some greek yogurt, coffee and some cheese or something like that.

Ah bless me to Paul it's not nice but I can say this I'm sure as we're all here for the same reason I've been overweight for a longtime it's changed my life already so much like I said I'm in my 13th week now so been were you are and know how your feeling put me off soups and yogurts forever lol also on a good note these early weeks the weight just falls off downside puréed and mashed food but you will get there soon I can't believe I'm 13 weeks out now but still early days I'm only just starting to keep food down but keep strong x

So I was sleeved June 23rd. My starting weight was 346, I lost 18 pounds on my two week pre op, so surgery weight was 328. Exactly a week and 1 day out of surgery I lost down to 314, and my scale has not moved since, and I am now two weeks and two days post op. I can't really get my protein in since whey and dairy makes me so sick, but I've been trying to get in liquids and the occasional Greek yogurt (like 1 per day). I'm not really sure what to do and it feels like I am failing already, and with my high start weight this slow loss does not seem promising. Has anyone else experienced this? How did you break your stall when you can't have anything but protein shakes and yogurt? Thanks!

Definitely! I am LOVING me some cocoa wheats and sugar free oatmeal....I found the little pouches in apple cinnamon and maple flavor. I thin them with Premier protein, too....more bang for my buck spacewise. I also put caramel permeir protien in my decaf coffee....not bad!! Have to try cream soup yet...having a little greek yogurt after I finish this shake:) Feeling blissed out and high energy. Got 10,000 steps today and feel great:)

I haven't posted in awhile because I have been so disappointed in myself & my journey so far. I have seen other people post about struggling & have seen a lot of people criticize them. I don't need that right now as I am already hating myself. I thought that I was prepared for this journey, but the reality has hit me hard. I had a large part of my stomach removed & I am never getting it back. I will never be able to eat the way I used to again. This should be a good thing, right? The first couple of weeks were the easy part. I went down 31 lbs. in the first 2 weeks & that is exactly where I have stayed. I am still 381 today. This is not a stall. I did have a stall during week 3 where I was completely on plan, but not losing anything. I actually gained. Then the small amount I gained came off & I haven't moved at all now for 2 weeks. This is completely my fault. I haven't been exercising. I haven't started my vitamins. I don't get in all my water every day. I don't follow my nutritionists guidelines. So, I am obviously not expecting that I would have gone down anymore. I have read so much on this board about people not being able to tolerate foods, sliming or vomiting. I know that is difficult for those people & I am not wishing that I would be sick. It's just that I have been able to tolerate anything & everything that I have tried. My offices food guidelines are very strict & I have not kept to them. According to my nutritionist my diet should be Breakfast: 1 protein shake, Lunch: 1 protein shake, Dinner 3 oz. of protein, 3 oz. of vegetable & 3 oz. of salad, Snack (if needed) 1/2 a piece of fruit or 1% cottage cheese. Period. No drinking milk (not even in tea, coffee or protein shakes) though I am allowed cheese & yogurt & no carbs except what naturally occurs in the aforementioned dietary outline. I need to total 60-70 grams of protein a day, less than 20 grams of carbs per day & at least 64 oz. of water per day along with my vitamins & exercise. I do not know what is holding me back from following the program except my own mind maybe. I want to be able to treat myself. I want to enjoy my food. So, that is what I have been doing. I have been having flavored lattes multiple times per week over the past two weeks. Today I spent over 4 hours getting 10 chicken nuggets & a large mocha frappe into my stomach. I had nothing before & I know that I won't have anything until tomorrow. I have also been allowing myself 2 cigarettes a day. I am sharing all this for different reasons. One reason is there might be others going through the same thing & I want them to know that they are not alone. Another reason is that I need massive encouragement. Before anyone suggests professional help, I have already set that up. I am seeing my nutritionist again in 2 weeks instead of 4 because she knows that I am struggling. My surgeon's office also has a psychiatrist on staff that deals specifically with bariatric patients pre and post-op & I have set up an appointment with her. For years I have lost & regained the same 30 lbs. over & over again. I have not been below 380 in about 3 years now. I knew that getting sleeved wasn't going to "cure" my obesity. I just thought that I would have a longer period of time before I would be able to tolerate different foods & that I could resolve any other issues before then. I am feeling so sad & just beating up on myself. Yet, I keep giving myself a reason to beat up on myself every day. Every day this goes on the worse that I feel about myself. This should be incentive enough to stop, but I haven't. I have so many reasons to treat my body well and I am not. Has anyone else experienced anything similar to this or know anyone else who has? Do you see something that I don't? Any words of encouragement? Any hope for me?+31

String cheese. Kashi cereal mixed with the Greek yogurt. The kashi I eat has 9g protein per serving.

I'm not nearly as concerned about calorie level as I am about disordered thinking about food. 1200 calories may not be the right level for you. It's not for me. But that's not what is important. What is important is that you are giving yourself really rigid rules that are completely unnecessary---and possibly harmful. Why only protein shakes, yogurt, and fruits and veggies? Why not solid protein? Or legumes and cheese? When you start assigning "good" and "bad' values to food and eating, I think you can head into trouble pretty quickly. Thinking of meal-skipping as a positive is a red flag for me, too. This is something I'd talk with your doctor about---getting into therapy sooner rather than later can save you all kinds of trouble down the road.

I do incorporate a snack into my meal plan. Especially when I'm working since i work overnight shifts and go an extended period of time awake. For breakfast I like low fat granola with yogurt and fruit. Either a piece of fruit or a serving of berries mixed in. I usually incorporate fruit with breakfast. A common snack for me is an apple or banana with creamy, natural Peanut Butter. A well planned out snack is ok. It's when you a mindlessly eating that you can get into trouble.

Well, this morning was my one week (well day 8) checkup with my surgeon. I am. Down 21 pounds in exactly 22 days. 10 pounds pre-op and 11 pounds since surgery (4/29/13). I was also cleared for purée, and that was the very first thing I did when I walked in the door. I tried a recipe I've been stewing around in my head dreaming of purée day! So here it is! What you'll need: Trader Joe's Italian flavored meatballs (2) 1/4 cup marinara sauce 1 chopped chive stock 1/2 tsp garlic A little bit (maybe 1 or 2 tablespoons Water or beef broth) food processor, I have the magic bullet. Mix these altogether, makes about 2-3 meal sized servings. Then, for a side: Trader joes frozen mashed potatoes (they are frozen in tiny pieces, makes it easy to make small dollop sized portions. 1/4 tsp butter The total nutritional info for 2-3 servings is below in my screenshot from myfitnesspal app. Serve one serving and save the rest!!! It was satisfying and tasty and so nice to have something other than yogurt or pudding. I'm a happy camper!!!

Sorry you are having a hard time. First about the pre op diet. Not everyone is the same. I had a liquid diet for 2 weeks, no food whatsoever! Then 2 weeks clear/full liquids after surgery. I am 3 days shy of a month out. I am on real food, but only fish and eggs. I dont like cottage cheese or yogurt. Is it hard? YES! But this is where we need to retrain ourselves. I have cooked for my family since the pre op diet. At first it bothered me, not now. Yes there is hunger, but i choose to drink my water especially if I ate recently.I haven't had any problems as of yet, which is an amazing blessing, and shows no 2 people are alike. You kind of scare people who come here wanting helpful information. You have to take the good with the bad, as this is not an easy thing for anyone. I am looking long term, not dwelling in right now. If i'm having a hard day I just see what I did this for, to be healthy!!

I do have the same problem as well! I do not mind though. I feel like it kinda makes up for those days when i am feeling like i am eating a bit too much! some days i can eat some bread and then some days i can barely get some yogurt down!

I had my surgery on 11/26. I have lost 30 lbs from my pre-op diet til now. Finally, I seem to have lost the weight gain from the hospital. I am having alot of trouble getting my Protein and fluids in. Today, I've had 2 yogurts, 1 Protein shake, and about a cup of tomato Soup and about a half cup of thai ginger sweet potato soup. That's about 60 gm protein, but almost NO Water. It's really hard to eat as slowly as I need to. I tried the thai sweet potato soup because I was craving food, not something sweet, but I had a terrible time getting any down. It's soft but guess I am not ready for it. If I try again tomorrow, I will dilute it a lot. It's hard to go as slow as I need to eat, and consequently I often feel a lot of gas pain. I hope to get the hang of this soon. Feeling good, lots of energy, and have stopped pain pills today. That said, after an errand, I come home and collapse for a nap. Next week, back to work. Not looking forward to having a group lunch on Thursday when I don't know what I will be able to eat. Or what to say.....

Hey Y'all, I'm doing ok, but I have hit that stall! My surgery was 11.12.13 and I have lost 35 pounds which includes 15 on the 2 week pre-op diet. I have been struggling with 5 to 6 pounds over the last week - I keep gaining then loosing the same 5 or 6 pounds. It's getting frustrated, but, there is nothing I can do but wait it out. I am on the mushy stage and refried beans are my staple. I thin them out with salsa and sour cream. I went back to work this week and that's what I have for lunch. I am also eating cottage cheese, applesauce, tuna salad, chicken salad and yogurt. I tried cream of mushroom soup but making it with 1% milk didn't settle well. I can have crackers and certain veggies (canned carrots, asparagus, green beans, califlower, etc.). Right now I am at work and am drinking some hot chocolate from the coffee shop across the street. Things that are different: 1) Water - I now like very cold water with ice. I used to be fine with room temprature water, but not any more - I want it cold. I have a protein drink for breakfast (Core Power Light - 20 grams) and put it in the freezer for a bit so it will get slushy. I do miss not being able to chug water down - especially after a good workout! 2) Feeling full - My stomach actually hurts when I over eat. Seriously hurts sometimes to the point that it is hard to stand up straight. Funny thing is that it's my HEAD that's telling me I want more. So, I'm having to work through portion size and making myself realize when enough really is enough. 3) Tummy sounds - I have themfrequently. Not sure why, but they are loud on occassion! :-) 4) Not hungry - I seriously have not felt hunger since the surgery. At least not the way I used to feel it. I'm not to the point I have to remind myself to eat, but I really don't feel hungy. I'm having the hot chocolate now because I wanted something 'desserty" after lunch. 5) Changing tastes - This is just weird. I used to love asparagus. I tried it last night and - yuck. Also, I loved peanut butter enough to eat it by the spoonfuls, but not now. I tried it this week and it tasted different plus it sat very heavy in my tummy and make me have a stomach ache. Lastly, I wanted some chocolate, so I tried a reesses peanut butter cup. It tasted good and went down ok, but it wasn't as good as I remembered it to be - probably a good thing! 6) I can tell when my tummy is over full - it's like pouring water in a bottle and filling it all the way to the top - I can feel the liquid that close to the back of my throat if I over eat. As for my surgery - the gas pain was the worst in my left shoulder. That took quite a while to disappear. I had a hard time consuming all my protein and water. I still do to some degree but it is much better now. I'm looking forward to December 26th when I have my six week check up and can graduate to salads and other yummy things. All in all, I'm doing good and no regrets since week 1 (I think all of us should get a 'regret pass' the first week when we say to ourselves - "what the hell have I done to myself!"). Keep up the good work, y'all and best of luck! Remember - Life IS good. Enjoy and give thanks. Susan.

I think your protein intake is really low. Most doctors I know recommend getting in ~60-80 grams a day. My doc wants me taking in 60-80 grams of protein, 400-600 calories, and 15 grams of carbs a day until I've lost 70% of my excess weight. What guidelines did your doc give you? I was sleeved in mexico and my surgeon didnt give me a specific amount of protein to take in daily so I kind of put together my own plan based on other doctors guidelines. Somedays I get more, some days I get less. I am trying to find a good protein shake that doesnt have that overly sweet aftertaste, It gags me everytime!! I've been getting a majority of protein from greek yogurt, tuna & chicken salad and cottage cheese. There is just not much to choose from in this pureed/mushy phase.I started to walk on the treadmill daily for 30-45 minutes hoping that would kick in some loss but it hasnt budged. I really just dont know, I am willing to try anything to get the weight loss jump started. Only down 10 lbs in 2 1/2 weeks must be a new record of SLOW weight loss.

I purchased sample sizes of a bunch of different brands so I could get some variety and figure out what I liked before I bought a big tub. My favorite was IdealLean and that's my go-to brand now (I love the birthday cake flavor mixed into yogurt -- that makes for a great high-protein meal after surgery -- and the chocolate brownie is my favorite chocolate protein shake). Once you start shopping for protein powder online, you'll start seeing ads for other protein powders. I've seen some appealing ones recently, but I'm all stocked up on protein powders so I'm not buying any more right now. You should look at the ingredients and nutrition info to make sure they meet your requirements. Here are the ones I purchased (I think I found all of these through ads on Facebook): IdealFit (IdealLean) (You can also buy individual sample size packets if you don't want this many) 1up Nutrition Northbound Nutrition Waves of Whey Strength (Unfortunately, the samples are 5 packs of the same flavor, so you'd have to buy 10 packs just to get both flavors) KetoShop (There are two different sample packs; I got the zero carb just because the flavors were more appealing to me) P.S. None of these are referral links and I do not benefit in any way from them.

I have posted on the general forum about my experience. I was banded on 9/16/2008. On 1/31/09 I had emergency surgery to remove the band and repair my stomach - I had a hole along the bandline and I was leaking air into my body cavity. Luckily I had gone to just yogurt with probios because I though I had gaz so somehow there was no food to infect me even worse. This was followed by a second surgery on 2/2/09 to help stop a massive infection. I spent three weeks in the hospital - left on 2/20/09. My symptoms appeared about a week/11 days earlier. I woke up bloated on my left side. No pain. I disregarded for another 6 days where I went to my generalist. She felt a mass. Called the bariatric surgeon and they thought perhaps a hernia. A cat scan was arranged another 3 days later. Two days later, Sat 1/31/09 I got an urgent message to get to ER because the Cat scan revealed air in my abdmoninal cavity. A lot of it. I called the bariatric surgeon and got her partner. I was told by this surgeon: " You dont sound like you have air in your abdomen (this is a critical situation), the Cat scan must have been wrong. You should have them redo it. It cant be the band, they dont erode at 5 months" Luckily, I still went to ER and from there was taken in an ambulance to another branch of the hospital which did bariatric surgery. I was wheeled into the operating room and soon after operated. I would have likely died had I not gotten to ER and been operated. Out of the whole 3 weeks, I only remember about 12 days. I was delirious the first half of my hospital stay. I was confined to a bed with a nasal gastric tube, and 24/7 Ivs pupping me full of antibiotics and hydration. It appears more like a leaking staple or a staple that pulled? then erosion from what I have understood. I am unclear how that would happen. Anyone Its taken me 3 more weeks to be able to take a shower without feeling faint. Two weeks before I could even drive/walk to my mailbox. I was exausted. My voice has been altered by the nasal tube and its gotten squeaky. I HATE it. I am almost back to normal except I must eat very little to protect my stomach. In 2 days I will graduate to 5-6 oz 3x a day. I was on 2oz of food 3x a day the last 2 weeks. Basically I must pretend I have a band though the scaring is so bad, I will never be a candidate for bariatric surgery again. The original surgeon has not called to ask how I am doing. However they have been asking and trying to get my hospital records. That's been very dissapointing. Finally, I think my insurance is picking the tab after I have paid my deductible but I am not 100% sure. If not, I am really concerned what 3 weeks, 2 surgeries, several cat scans and other tests with cost. From what I understand I am now at a higher risk of intestinal occlusions. My stomach was attached to my abdomen and I feel it. I am no longer a candidate for bariatric surgery, and therefore at a very high risk of regaining the 62 lb I have lost. I forgot, a very important thing. My surgeon told me that sometimes in obese people there is not always a fever to reflect an increase of white cell and an infection. That was my case. Zero fever until after the operation. So, if your stomach gets very bloated, call your doctor. Oh, and I missed a 2 weeks 1/2 trip to New Zealand. Grrrr.

Is greek yogurt allowed yet? Also, have you tried bone broth?