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I had a question for you all. I know the guidelines for what types of food I should be eating week by week, but when did you try more solid foods? When I went in for my post op appoinment last week they told me that I was not eating enough (I have been very tired). I just can't stomach more pudding, yogurt, shakes, or etc. right now.

Hi Guys - Just wanted to check in. I was banded on Monday and I gotta tell you, this surgery kicked my ass! I've had several laproscopic surgeries before, always came through just fine, no gas, no pain. Not this time! Tuesday and Wednesday were the worst, with the pain and nausea. Feeling better now, just have a very low energy level. Got out of the house for a few hours today and almost passed out in Eddie Bauer! Hunger is minimal. I've been living on yogurt, soup, thinned mashed potatoes and water. It's so weird to me to not be hungry, or to be full before I'm even done eating! I'll start back on some protien shakes next week. My best to everyone!

some choices other than protein drinks: egg drop soup ff refried beans cottage cheese hummus scrambled eggs ricotta bake lf jello/pudding greek yogurt

I start my pre-op (liver shrinking) diet on monday. 1/2 cup cream of wheat for breakfast, a 1/2 cup yogurt for lunch, and 1/2 cup of creamy Soup for dinner. I also get to have 8 oz of Protein shake and milk over the course of the day. My husband just got banded on Monday and did this 2 weeks of pre-op dieting as well. He lost 10 pounds or so. That is what our surgeon expects. I wish you luck with your liver shrinkage.

Are you doing any Protein shakes? Some say not to replace food with liquids, however, by doing a Protein shake and adding things to it, like fruits (mixed berried, banana, peaches, etc.), you can be getting lots of protein (unjury Protein powder has 21g protein per scoop) as well as some bulk and calories from the fruit. You can add yogurt too if you are having a hard time meeting the calorie requirement. When you do chicken and veges, try stir fry with a little bit of olive oil. You can get some healthy calories in that way too. As ANewDawn mentioned (above), I was also told to eat up to one cup per meal and that it was okay to have a snack in between if necessary. Sometimes diabetics can't go 5 hours without a snack, so they eat every 3 hours or so, and even non diabetics that have difficulty going such long stretches can have a snack in between but usually it is advised to keep it to 100 calories or so. I think you can get creative with your food choices to meet the caloric intake. Eating too few calories will slow down your metabolism and inhibit weight loss. Some people will post a sample of what they ate for one whole day, and ask for advice. Perhaps you want to do that? I think the Lap band community is very helpful with suggestions and ideas to tweak your daily diet. And don't worry, you'll get this right. It just takes time and sometimes bouncing things off of other people if you don't have a structured support system yet.

I was also informed that I have to do the diet all over again. The only problem I have is now I am lactose intolerant so it's going to be a little harder for me because I can't do the regular protein shakes and yogurt and things like that. Is there a place on this website that has the diet so I can plan before I go to the dr?

Hi all, I'm newly banded, banded in august! I was so disappointed with my one pound weightloss over the past 10 days! So silly of me to think this way, but I was hoping for more, I was blinded by how quickly the initial weight came off, but at least I kept losing and didn't gain!!! Since my weight slowed down with that one pound loss, I got my first fill yesterday :smile: I have this lump in my throat feeling, not too sure if that's how it's supposed to feel. I was having some greek yogurt this morning and I can't even make a dent in it. I enjoyed the fill because I feel rejuvenated with my process. I'm feeling motivated to shed more pounds and even did a 2.5 mile walk yesterday! Before, I was only averaging about a mile. Hopefully with this spike in exercise, the fill, and motivation.............I can jump start my weight loss again to reach that new year goal !!! Wish me luck and good luck to everyone feeling like they are in a slump! You can do it!!!

Ok... which Grocers do you find this Fage? I've never seen it before, and I'd like to try it. I'm out of Greek Yogurt and I'd really like the 2% plain so that I can add my flavors myself next time.

They gave it to me in the hosp day after surgery and I couldnt handle it... a few days later I actually like it. I eat the Fage 0% plain, and it doesn't bother me that much. Then again, I am 13 days post op and just rotate cottage cheese, greek yogurt, and baby food meats. If it works, I just dont mess with it.

The yogurt that tastes so wonderful right out of the container has already been flavored and sweetened...ya know? ANY plain yogurt tastes disgusting, whether it's Greek or not. On the other hand, it makes a fantastic substitute for sour cream! Try adding some sweetener and flavoring (I like to just use vanilla and Splenda or Truvia).

Are you getting the sleeve or gastric? You might have said already. My pouches name is sassy gassy! [emoji12] we all name it at least the sleevers do. You are going to go through a lot of stages afterwards. Especially with constipation, emotional withdrawal from food, but when you have that moment in a clothing store because you need a few new cloths you will be having a moment that no one can take from you. I was very emotional, disconnected. I will never forget it. Now you have the frustration of I can't spend a lot because it won't fit four months down the road. Get to know your sale times at the goodwill, thrift shop. The night of your hospital stay. Go in PJ's bring an extra pair. Slippers because it sucks walking in socks. Bathroom stuff (toothpaste) bathrobe. I also brought my two favorite pillows and blanket. And walk constantly. I walked every hour and did laps. It helps with the gas and pain. I didn't bring a bra or anything I didn't give a shit. I lived in pj's for a week went to store and everything. I also was aloud to have full liquids 3 days after surgery. I made a shit load of Chobani frozen yogurt. All I did was add skim milk to it water it down and little tiny red cups and pop sticks and froze them. I would walk in the morning with a frozen yogurt. I made my own beef, pork, chicken broth (bone broth).. I froze it in little containers so I can just take it out add it to mash potato's or drink it. Post and pre-op. I made frozen jello and refrigerator jello. Also a pillow small one you can carry around because when you cough it hurts your tummy pressure with a pillow helps. Pillows to prop you up in bed. I have an adjustable I lucked out.

You can use plain greek yogurt instead of mayo. I also hate mayo.

My preop diet starts on the 3rd of November for 3 weeks. I have given it lots of thought while I waited. I am allowed veg, milk and yogurt. My go to, will be Thai soups and salads. I have bought in lots of water noodles as they are only 4 cals a packet. I like them better than courgetti. They do fill you up. When I get fed up of those I will have soups - carrot and coriander, mushroom and onion are favourite's . Then there is vegetable curries with cauliflower rice. I have had a lot of time on these pages and will use all the knowledge I have picked up. Onwards and downwards

No, nothing makes me dump. If I eat a lot of sweets (like a whole piece of cheesecake or several cookies) I might get a bit of a tummy ache. I never had any suggested drinks....just daily Fluid and protein goals. It was up to me how I met them. Had no calorie or carb goals, either As for popscicles, Syntrax Naturals (sweetened with stevia and erythritol) comes in Orange, peach, vanilla and chocolate and made good pops. Mixing orange juice with the vanilla makes a good dreamsicle. Diluted fruit juice (100% juice, no sugar added) makes good pops, too. I couldn't tolerate artificial sweeteners or lactose for 4 months so I had to get creative on what I drank. I was flavoring my protein smoothies and plain Greek yogurt with pureed fruit from the beginning. The carbs actually helped with my energy level. And considering I passed goal at 7 months and have maintained over two years out I'd say real sweeteners have not hindered my progress. Moderation is key.

MORE, MORE, MORE Americans love MORE: more of anything and everything. More food, more fun, and (for some of us) more fill in our bands. But striving for maximum fill in the effort to achieve maximum weight loss can be a terrible mistake. Fat folks become obese enough to qualify for bariatric surgery because we’ve been eating more, more, more, so it’s not surprising that bandsters long for more, more, more fill. The tighter the band, the better, right? Wrong. Here’s why: tighter doesn’t automatically yield more weight loss. It can cause eating problems, side effects and complications that none of us want. It can compromise our quality of life. It can make us miserable when all we hope for from bariatric surgery is a better life. You’re not impressed by all that? You’re willing to risk everything in the pursuit of skinny? Then try this on for size. A tight band doesn’t guarantee weight loss. Just the opposite: it can stall your weight loss or even make you gain weight. Do I have your full attention now? Good. Listen up and I’ll explain why tighter isn’t always better. THE RESTRICTION FALLACY Traditionally, the adjustable gastric band has been considered a “restrictive” weight loss surgery. Bandsters were taught to look for signs of restriction: the proofs that their bands were working. Instead of paying attention to her own eating behavior and lifestyle, the bandster waited impatiently for the flashing signs, ringing bells and slamming doors that would stop her from overeating. The idea was that the small upper stomach pouch would “restrict” food intake and result in weight loss. Sound familiar? That was well-intentioned thinking, but it was wrong. In the past 5 or so years, band manufacturers and bariatric surgeons have come to believe that it’s a mistake to eat and eat until you set off your band’s emergency warning system, for the reasons mentioned above. Unfortunately, the re-education process is slow going, and in the meantime, the restriction fallacy lives on. Even now, approximately every third word out of a bandster’s mouth is “restriction”. It’s a catch-all term for the feelings that limit how much a bandster eats. Post-op band life tends to become a quest for enough fills to reach the Holy Land of Restriction. Next stop: Skinnyland. Or not. HAZARD AHEAD! THE DANGERS OF SOFT CALORIE SYNDROME Soft Calorie Syndrome is one of the least publicized dangers of a band that’s too tight. Psychologists would call it a maladaptive behavior, that is: a nonproductive behavior that prevents you from adapting to situations, or changes in yourself or your environment, in a healthy way. It can begin as an attempt to deal with or avoid an unpleasant experience but it does not solve the original problem and eventually becomes dysfunctional. You can read more about maladaptive eating behaviors by clicking here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/page/articles.html/_/healthy-living/is-your-eating-maladaptive-r50 A bandster experiencing Soft Calorie Syndrome is responding to the unpleasant experience of eating with a band that’s too tight by eating the soft and liquid calories that slide most easily past their gatekeeper band. Instead of eating the healthy and solid foods (like dense animal protein, veggies, fruits) that provide the most satiety (both early and prolonged), that person favors easy-to-eat food that’s often junky and high in calories (for example: potato chips, ice cream, milkshakes). Even healthy foods( like yogurt, cottage cheese and, fat-free/sugar-free pudding) can fall into the soft calorie category, and they don’t provide any better satiety than the junky stuff. The net result is that you end up consuming more calories than you need because the soft stuff doesn’t provide enough early and prolonged satiety. And the result of that is a weight loss plateau, or even weight gain. I discovered the perils of Soft Calorie Syndrome for myself when I traveled to New York City to attend a trade show when I was about 8 months post-op. I had gotten a fill the day before I left, and by the time I got to New York I had realized that my band was too tight for me to tolerate. I couldn’t eat any solid food, so I spent the next 3 days eating soft, high-calorie, low-satiety foods like creamy soups, milkshakes, and ice cream. I was just trying to survive long enough to go home and get an unfill. My maladaptive eating behavior achieved a temporary goal (comfortable survival) while sabotaging my long term goal of losing weight. In fact, I gained weight during that trip and ended up feeling disappointed in myself. I promised myself no more fills on Fridays and no more fills the day before a business trip. I called my surgeon’s every time I suspected my band was too tight and found that even tiny unfills could make all the difference in my quality of life as well as my weight loss. I know I’m not the only person who’s discovered the perils of Soft Calorie Syndrome. I also know that you’re not alone in believing that more fill is better and that unfills will slow or stall your weight loss. A few months ago I talked about this with a smart and successful bandster named Denise. When her surgeon reacted to her too-tight band by suggesting an unfill of .5 cc, her dazed and frightened face made him reassure her that she could start being re-filled in a month. The month ahead scared her, but she agreed to the unfill, and discovered that rather than returning her to Bandster Hell, it had restored sanity to her eating life. She said, “I was able to eat again. Solids went down easily. Bread was on my menu. Meals lasted me several hours. I didn’t snack because I was able to eat enough to keep me satisfied.” When Denise went back to her surgeon a month later, he was delighted her hear her say that she didn’t even need a re-fill. She told him, “I can eat anything, but I’m not eating everything.” And that, my friends, is what healthy eating is all about.

How do you like your band? Tight? Tighter? Tightest? MORE, MORE, MORE Americans love MORE: more of anything and everything. More food, more fun, and (for some of us) more fill in our bands. But striving for maximum fill in the effort to achieve maximum weight loss can be a terrible mistake. Fat folks become obese enough to qualify for bariatric surgery because we’ve been eating more, more, more, so it’s not surprising that bandsters long for more, more, more fill. The tighter the band, the better, right? Wrong. Here’s why: tighter doesn’t automatically yield more weight loss. It can cause eating problems, side effects and complications that none of us want. It can compromise our quality of life. It can make us miserable when all we hope for from bariatric surgery is a better life. You’re not impressed by all that? You’re willing to risk everything in the pursuit of skinny? Then try this on for size. A tight band doesn’t guarantee weight loss. Just the opposite: it can stall your weight loss or even make you gain weight. Do I have your full attention now? Good. Listen up and I’ll explain why tighter isn’t always better. THE RESTRICTION FALLACY Traditionally, the adjustable gastric band has been considered a “restrictive” weight loss surgery. Bandsters were taught to look for signs of restriction: the proofs that their bands were working. Instead of paying attention to her own eating behavior and lifestyle, the bandster waited impatiently for the flashing signs, ringing bells and slamming doors that would stop her from overeating. The idea was that the small upper stomach pouch would “restrict” food intake and result in weight loss. Sound familiar? That was well-intentioned thinking, but it was wrong. In the past 5 or so years, band manufacturers and bariatric surgeons have come to believe that it’s a mistake to eat and eat until you set off your band’s emergency warning system, for the reasons mentioned above. Unfortunately, the re-education process is slow going, and in the meantime, the restriction fallacy lives on. Even now, approximately every third word out of a bandster’s mouth is “restriction”. It’s a catch-all term for the feelings that limit how much a bandster eats. Post-op band life tends to become a quest for enough fills to reach the Holy Land of Restriction. Next stop: Skinnyland. Or not. HAZARD AHEAD! THE DANGERS OF SOFT CALORIE SYNDROME Soft Calorie Syndrome is one of the least publicized dangers of a band that’s too tight. Psychologists would call it a maladaptive behavior, that is: a nonproductive behavior that prevents you from adapting to situations, or changes in yourself or your environment, in a healthy way. It can begin as an attempt to deal with or avoid an unpleasant experience but it does not solve the original problem and eventually becomes dysfunctional. You can read more about maladaptive eating behaviors by clicking here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/page/articles.html/_/healthy-living/is-your-eating-maladaptive-r50 A bandster experiencing Soft Calorie Syndrome is responding to the unpleasant experience of eating with a band that’s too tight by eating the soft and liquid calories that slide most easily past their gatekeeper band. Instead of eating the healthy and solid foods (like dense animal protein, veggies, fruits) that provide the most satiety (both early and prolonged), that person favors easy-to-eat food that’s often junky and high in calories (for example: potato chips, ice cream, milkshakes). Even healthy foods( like yogurt, cottage cheese and, fat-free/sugar-free pudding) can fall into the soft calorie category, and they don’t provide any better satiety than the junky stuff. The net result is that you end up consuming more calories than you need because the soft stuff doesn’t provide enough early and prolonged satiety. And the result of that is a weight loss plateau, or even weight gain. I discovered the perils of Soft Calorie Syndrome for myself when I traveled to New York City to attend a trade show when I was about 8 months post-op. I had gotten a fill the day before I left, and by the time I got to New York I had realized that my band was too tight for me to tolerate. I couldn’t eat any solid food, so I spent the next 3 days eating soft, high-calorie, low-satiety foods like creamy soups, milkshakes, and ice cream. I was just trying to survive long enough to go home and get an unfill. My maladaptive eating behavior achieved a temporary goal (comfortable survival) while sabotaging my long term goal of losing weight. In fact, I gained weight during that trip and ended up feeling disappointed in myself. I promised myself no more fills on Fridays and no more fills the day before a business trip. I called my surgeon’s every time I suspected my band was too tight and found that even tiny unfills could make all the difference in my quality of life as well as my weight loss. I know I’m not the only person who’s discovered the perils of Soft Calorie Syndrome. I also know that you’re not alone in believing that more fill is better and that unfills will slow or stall your weight loss. A few months ago I talked about this with a smart and successful bandster named Denise. When her surgeon reacted to her too-tight band by suggesting an unfill of .5 cc, her dazed and frightened face made him reassure her that she could start being re-filled in a month. The month ahead scared her, but she agreed to the unfill, and discovered that rather than returning her to Bandster Hell, it had restored sanity to her eating life. She said, “I was able to eat again. Solids went down easily. Bread was on my menu. Meals lasted me several hours. I didn’t snack because I was able to eat enough to keep me satisfied.” When Denise went back to her surgeon a month later, he was delighted her hear her say that she didn’t even need a re-fill. She told him, “I can eat anything, but I’m not eating everything.” And that, my friends, is what healthy eating is all about.

Cheese sauce on cauliflower is way over the fat grams for me.. We must stay under 3 grams for any food and under 5 grams of sugar! But there really are many products that meet that need! I went to cott cheese and eggs, yogurt after day 7 due to the "runs ". Bummer but the new foods have corrected that with every change up! I have lost 45. # and am now having my second stall ( first lasted 11 days! ???? )

Ok updates: This has absolutely continued to happen. It happened this Sunday evening and monday afternoon. Both times I was minding my business eating protein rich foods (greek yogurt w/ granola & chicken with roasted vegetables) I felt like i might pass out during the incidents but i didn't. Just wanted to cry a little. But i think it has now happened the very most with yogurt, so I may cut back or give it up completely. (It's not the granola... It was happening with every variation of a parfait i made. Only the yogurt is the common factor)

Plain Greek yogurt protein infused is good. Dannon Oikos......but water and shake still more difficult

You need protein. Milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, beans, peanut butter, meat, fish, tofu, etc. Any vitamins is better than none. Flintstones chewable complete (you need the iron) or the like. If money is an issue and you are in the US, go to social services and apply for assistance.

Oh so lucky Stephany! I was not on liquids pre-op, just low carb, high Protein. I'm also hungry. I can't wait to get to the mushies stage. Thanks for posting that sleevesearch. I need to go grocery shopping for my next stage and wasn't exactly sure how to define "cream soups" because some people have to actually strain their soups when they are on this stage and I was wondering how that would work for us.... I will say though, I asked Dr. Campos before we left if full liquids would include yogurt and SF pudding and he told me not until day 21 unless it was "drinkable" yogurt. I wonder if he misunderstood me or vice versa....strange. He also told me that I could do soy milk as soon as I got home...but adding protein powder to it would make it to "foggy" and that would be the 2nd 10 day plan for that. Soy milk isn't clear to me with or without protein powder, so I thought that was weird, but hey....what do I know?!?! LOL I'm just glad that Tuesday I can have SF pudding, yogurt, my protein shakes, creamed soups.....something that has a TAD more substance then these clears! I'm counting down the days!! YEAH!!!

The V8 is listed here: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/pre-op-post-op-diets/1822-dr-aceves-information.html post #4 It's under Dr. A's info so I assumed it was right since we could have Jello at day 6. Maybe it's wrong:confused: The V8 is working for me so I'll continue. I'm totally ready to move to mushies...yummmm cottage cheese. I love cottage cheese and yogurt too! I seriously am so hungry and would just love to eat some yogurt, cottage cheese, and Soup. The cottage cheese isn't until day 21 so I'm SO sad about that. I think maybe the cream Soups may be harder for our stomachs to break down...hence the waiting until day 11? I'm just confused and don't understand...I think I'm going to look into it a bit.

Aw, I love my tomato soup. This makes me so sad. I love eating it with unflavored protein powder and topped with a little cheese and greek yogurt.

What works for me at lunchtime is a little tuna salad with some pita chips. This way I get my Protein and it's not too terrible. I also pack a yogurt in case the tuna isn't enough but it typically is. I also bring a bottle of Isopure to work every day to sip on. That's the only way I'd hit my 60 grams of protein/day goal. There really isn't much variety in my diet yet. I like hummus too, and canned chicken isn't bad either. Take care!

I have to share that once I limited my sugar grams to less than 25g a day weight just comes off. Slowly but off. I allow myself 50 total sugar grams to account for sugar in Greek yogurt and any milk sugars. I use dannon Greek 80 calorie yogurt and mix it with fage to get tons of Protein. I strive for at least 80g protein a day. I also added strength training so built muscle. this has gotten me too the finish. I lost 110 lbs in 9 months and this change got me the next 25 in 6 more months. I don't worry about fat or other carbs too much. my diet is usually 45-50% fat a day. my losing calories were 1300 a day. I am 5-10 but I think it is best for most people to eat at least 1200 to avoid deficiencies. just my opinion though. good luck.