Search the Community

6 months out: breakfast 2 morningstar sausage patties; snack: polly-o string cheese; lunch dannon light & fit 2x protein Greek yogurt with hemp hearts; snack nuts or cottage cheese; dinner 1/2 avocado with salt, pepper and cumin, 2 wedges artisanal cheese and 5 olives; dessert: dark chocolate covered roasted edamame. That's the ideal day. I'd love to get more veggies on the regular but they usually come via a vegan protein shake.

The answer to this question really depends on where you are in the post op cycle. I'll give you my typical day from the 2 years post op view, but you may be looking for something more immediate. Not sure.... Breakfast - Protein oatmeal most mornings from bariwise, and of course coffee. OR iced caramel latte (small) with skim milk and sugar free syrup (but not both the oatmeal and the latte....that would be way too many carbs) Nothing between breakfast and lunch Lunch - Usually a version of a salad with grilled chicken, maybe a hard boiled egg chopped up with it for extra protein,, and a fat free dressing. I always eat the chicken off first and then have just a little room for salad after that. Something else that I like, depending on whether our cafe at work is open or not, is a scoop of chicken salad, a tiny salad, and 2 saltine crackers to scoop the chicken salad up with. Afternoon - I usually have a snack of some sort - either a snack sized protein shake, a greek yogurt, a fat free cheese stick, peanuts, etc. dinner - Usually whatever I make for my family, just in smaller portion and I eat the protein part of the meal first. If they are having Pasta, I avoid that altogether (or pizza) and saute up some shrimp with lite soy sauce. That's a quick and easy go-to single serving meal for me. I throw in a few pieces of frozen broccoli and it's delicious. Evening Snack - I try to avoid this altogether, but sometimes my family is snacking and I just can't resist. I keep sugar free popsicles, protein pudding from bariwise, peanuts, fat-free cheese stick, or sugar free Jello on hand for these kinds of cravings.

I used to make homemade pudding pops and yogurt pops for my kids when they were little (tight budget). I used small Dixie cups for the mold. Kids loved them and budget loved them. :-)

I LOVE Peanut Butter and my NUT says it's okay but to use it as a fat instead of a Protein. She pretty much says that if a particular food has more grams of one than the other two, then that is the type of food it should be "counted" as. So since PB has more fat than protein and carbs, it is a "fat" or since light greek yogurt has more protein than fat or carbs, it is considered a protein food. I'm wondering what stage it fits into or do I have to wait until I'm through all the stages before I can have it again.......... -Shannon

For me I can eat 1oz at a time if its soft maybe as much as 1 and half or 2 like yogurt but if its more solid no way plus it takes about a hour to eat that! The one time I put 4oz of chilli in a bowl I still had some over 6 hours later it’s a little pathetic at times lol Your not meant to starve yourself, so if you think your eating too much just call the nurse or nut and ask them they will tell you if its ok. I think you have the choice too of 6 small meals or 3 larger meals and a couple of little Snacks or you can cut snacks out its how you want to eat the little and often or bigger and not so often. Honestly I would rather be able to eat more than this little its very time consuming and I am sick a lot because i can’t hold very much, can’t even drink a full cup of tea in one sitting lol

Monday 16th? What op did you have? My Nutritionist won't let me have yogurt until Friday.

My favorite is plain Greek yogurt with a dash of vanilla extract, one Equal and some blueberries . YUMMY!!

I did reeeaaally runny scrambled eggs and cottage cheese. I dont think I even started with vegetables (cooked or otherwise) until about month 3…but only because of the lack of stomach real estate. According to my food logs, i also dabbled in smoked oysters (from the can), yogurt and creamed soups.

I had my first post-op appt today - I am 10 days post-op - I am having same pain as you and he said it is gas pain and I need to take Gas X or Milk of Magnesia - I did not know it was from gas but now I do - It is not killing me but is very uncomfortable - maybe what I am eating is wrong but I am basically living on soups, cream of wheat, oatmeal, yogurt and protein drinks. Should go away eventually he said. I also have a lower back pain which is also related to gas.

I'm just shy of two weeks out now. My surgery was a little different than the traditional ones, so I'm not sure if this works with the normal diets, but I've found that pureeing silken tofu and adding it to dishes works great. I was really sick of the sweet shakes and I can't have artificial sweeteners, so I needed an alternative. Silken tofu puree has a similar texture to yogurt, but it takes on the flavor of whatever you add it to, and it's a great source of Protein. I like it mixed with creamy soups (I make potato soup without the chunks of potato and stir in the tofu). You can also put it in smoothies. I suppose you could even double up and add protein powder and tofu to get even more protein in your diet at once. If you're allowed cottage cheese, try that mixed with just a tiny bit of fruit puree. I actually bought some babyfood peaches and i put about a teaspoon for every two tablespoons of cottage cheese. I'm lactose intolerant, but the Lactaid brand cottage cheese is great. i was craving mexican food, so i came up with an alternative to a layer dip that included foods i'm allowed to eat: refried Beans, plain greek yogurt, and a thin layer of pureed guacamole. I like it cold and just eat it by the spoonful, while I used to eat with with chips (and topped with cheese). It satisfied my craving and had protein! Again, not sure when this is ok with the "normal" surgeries, since these are higher carb, but when you're able, i also suggest thinning oatmeal and grits with extra milk. I'm using about 1.5 times the amount of milk required (lactaid brand), which gives me extra protein and helps it go down more easily.

Just a thought ... (I have not had triscuits so this may not work)... Is there some sort of low cal dip (flavored Greek yogurt) that you could put on it to help it go down? Take at least 4 separate bites of the cracker, chew well, swallow and count to 10 or 15 or whatever and then take the second bite of the cracker? Essentially eat it slower with some liquid/dip.

I do too!! I buy alot of there name stuff since i have been sleeved I read every label and really just stick to less is more. They have an awesome nonfat greek yogurt 12 grams of protein and their own grilled chicken ingredients are chicken breast salt and olive oil thats it no preservatives. 100 calories for 3oz 21 protein cant beat it. Try them out next time its healthy and easy . Im always on the run so its convenient . Im gonna look up Maries Gone Crackers right now. lol

In full liquid stage, my plan allowed cream soups, yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, and all Clear Liquids. I was lactose intolerant but did well with unjury chicken, Greek yogurt with Splenda, French vanilla Gold Standard whey Protein mixed with soy milk and Anderson Split Pea soup. For variety, I added Starbucks instant decaf to my vanilla Protein Drink. Lynda

Two Weeks Post-Op Weight: 286.3 Weight Lost: -3.1 Total Weight Lost: -18.6 BMI: 44.2 All in all, I think I had a pretty good week. My pain has pretty much subsided. The only pain that I am experiencing is the spot where they actually pulled out my stomach. It is still tender and hurts if I bend, or cough, or sneeze. Sneezing is the worst! Thank goodness I don’t have allergies! But in general, the pain that is there is minimal. I have only been taking the pain medicine before I go to bed because the muscle is sore by the end of the day. I have to admit that my walking has decreased. However, it is because I am up and about doing other things, and wear myself out. But my goal this week is to get back out walking. Good things that happened at the completion of this week: Liquid diet is finished and no more self-injections! Saturday ended the injections. I do not like needles to begin with, let alone having to do them myself. It was a struggle for sure. I will get to the new diet further down. Sunday was a family party. It was the first time that I had to eat away from home and have a ton of food sitting in front of me that I could not have. I thought that it would be pure torture. But it really was not as bad as I thought it would be. I tried to stay away from the food table, and ate my yogurt while everyone else was eating the main meal. Was I a little sad that I couldn’t have what everyone else was having? Of course! What girl who is in love with food wouldn’t be. But my overall future happiness definitely over shadows any food sadness that will come. I also tell myself that the super restrictive diet is only temporary. Yesterday I was able to start my pureed diet that will continue for four weeks. I don’t think that I have ever been so happy to eat semi-solid food. I started with a half cup of cottage cheese. I ate it slowly while I was on the phone, and when I was finished with it I was still hungry. So I got another half a cup. Halfway through it I started feeling that super full feeling. Kind of like my stomach was overflowing into my esophagus. So I stopped eating. Later for dinner I plated myself 1.5 ounces of salmon and a quarter cup of smashed cauliflower. I was only able to eat half of that. Again, I had that still hungry feeling, but I decided to ignore it this time. Today I saw the doctor. Main question I wanted to ask was about the hunger feelings that I am having while I am eating. He said that this is normal. The part of the stomach that pumps out food is smaller and right now working more slowly than normal. It will eventually get back to a normal pace. I was also worried that I was not getting enough liquid, I am only averaging 45 ounces a day instead of the 64 ounces that I should be having. That is normal as well. The dietician said that it takes some time to work up to the 64 ounces. The doctor was pleased with how I am progressing. I forgot to ask about the amount of weight that I have lost. But I am assuming that if the weight loss was not on track he would have said something. I see him again in two more weeks for my one month follow up. So goals this week are to increase my average liquid intake and get back to the regular walks. Check back next week for more updates! Thanks again for reading!

Kmwwmk... unfortunately I think you're just gonna have to suffer it out. I doubt there's a way to get it to digest any faster. Maybe sip water or hot tea? I think this happened because you're eating too fast. I've had yogurt and felt like I was going to explode after 6 oz and it was because I didn't eat it slow enough to give my body time to tell me STOP! I hope you feel better soon.

I felt 5 months pregnant for about 1 1/2 weeks. I gained about 4 pounds post surgery but it was gone in about 3 days. I definitely think you have reasonable October 1 goal. Be sure to drink very slowly - that may be causing the feeling you are having. I take a chewable Vitamin but I chew it to a pulp. quote=Happy2BMe]Hi guys, I'm post surgery day 3 and have a couple of questions. 1)Whenever I eat (yogurt today) or drink the Isopure I get this wierd thing in my esophagus, kinda like spasms trying to get the food to go down. Does anyone else get that? 2) Is everyone doing chewable Vitamins? I was told I could do the flintstones chewables or crush my regular vitamins, but either way I get nauseous. 3) How long does it take for the swelling to go down? My stomach is pretty swollen, like a 6 or 7 month pregnant belly.... Also, I'd like to add that when I came home from surgery I had gained from 275 to 279, but now I am at 271! I'd like to be 259 or 260 by October 1st, is that possible? Connie

Protein shakes are critical, especially in the early weeks. I use Premier Protein shakes that you can get at Sam's Club. I like the chocolate. I did use a powder at the beginning, but never really liked it. My clinic gave me some samples, I would try those, because the powders are expensive and if she doesn't like them, it's a waste. Low fat Greek Yogurt and low fat mozzarella string cheese were staples in the first weeks. Also canned tuna and canned chicken. A small blender is nice, but you only really use it the first two weeks, or at least I did. Hope that helps. Carol. RNY on 6/25/13.

These are some of the recommendations I got from my nutritionist this week. Hope this helps to break the monotony: 1) High Protein Milk = 1c milk + 1T non-fat powdered milk = 12.5g protein (add sugar-free hot chocolate mix, sugar-free pudding mix, sugar-free coffee syrups, or sugar-free chocolate or strawberry syrup for variety; also, mix in advance and leave in the fridge overnight for better flavor and mixing of the powdered milk) 2) High Protein Egg = 1 egg + 1T milk + 1T powdered eggs = 11g protein 3) Ricotta cheese mixed with vanilla extract, cinnamon, and/or nutmeg 4) Plain Greek yogurt mixed with sugar-free cheesecake pudding mix; 1/4c = 7g protein (cannot WAIT to try this one!) 5) chicken with Ranch = 1 can chicken mixed with 1T powdered ranch + 2T plain yogurt; 1/4c = 10g Bon appetit!

I just looked up the nutrition stats on a couple of the flip flavors and in my opinion, the carb count is too high. My preference for yogurt are the dannon light and fit greek yogurt followed by the oikos triple zero. Other breakfast options I use are low fat cottage cheese or a scrambled/hard boiled egg.

I like it with Greek yogurt and Splenda.

Hi. I just had the surgery Tues 12/13, came home Thurs. My doc told me no pills- I am on liquid multivitamin (after the surgery- about 1 1/2 wks before surgery Dr told me to stop multivitamin), Prevacid two a day (either crushed or he told me to break the capsule and sprinkle it in yogurt), and gas-x strips, as needed, and chewable calcium. I am on a liquid diet, at least 48 oz of liquid and he said try to shoot for at least 65 g protein. I use the lean protein shakes from GNC which have 25 g protein with vitamins.(Love the vanilla, hated the strawberry and chocolate). Good luck!

wow I can't believe you are home 3 hours post op!! amazing! I couldn't even walk or sit up 3 hours post op. I was in the hospital for 2 nights. For the first 2 days I was on clear fluids, and then liquids - Protein drinks, strained Soup, yogurt, popsicles, Jello, cream of wheat....I was on liquids for 2 weeks post op. Just work on getting as much Water & protein as you can the first little while.

I don't do protein drinks, but get all of my protein from food. One high protein food I eat is Fage Greek yogurt. It tastes like sour cream and has 23 grams of protein per cup. It also counts as a fluid.

My NUTs Protein goals are 90-100g/day and 500-500calories At first i struggled with getting enough liquids, waiting the 30 min before/after and then fitting as much dense protein as i could into 30 minutes..... I found myself staying up later just to eat and drink!! It was CRAZY! Now.... I have had a few weeks to "smarten up" and this is my basic plan: Breakfast 6oz greek yogurt (non fat plain flavored w/ splenda and torani syrups) (20g protein) 2 bottles of water/diet green tea (24ox liquid) SNACK 1 RTD protein shake (30g protein & 12oz liquid) OR tofu snackers (15g pro) lunch 2oz dense protein (usually lunchmeat or tuna or chix breast) (15g pro) 2 bottles of water/crystal lite (24oz liquid) dinner 2oz dense protein & small babybell cheese (20g pro) SNACK 1 homeade protein shake with skim milk & 1 funsize dark chocolate (35g pro & 12oz liquid) OR 1 homemade protein pudding (15g pro) RIGHT BEFORE BED 8oz Water (prevents AM nausea & dizzyness)

Hey LuLu! Great question . I actually opted to follow Dr. Cirangle's post op guidelines rather than Dr. Garcia. Dr. Cirangle is with LapSF in San Francisco and his patients are wildly successful at meeting or getting below goal. I frequent Obesity Help and have learned so much from his post op patients. His plan is more structured...and I don't know about you...but I really need structure. His guide is 35 pages long and has amazingly detailed informations down to the best quality yogurt brand to have. I'm glad that I stayed with clears a little longer too, because I wanted to make sure I could meet my Fluid goal of 60 oz per day before moving up. And. Am finally getting there. Yesterday I started regular Protein shakes and they filled me up quick! So far I am 9 days out and down 16 pounds and I feel incredible!