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I haven't been here in a couple weeks. I just had my second fill this past week on Tuesday, I missed Friday for weighing in, but today Im at 198! I finally got below 200, Wow. Havent seen that in like 14 yrs. Only bad thing is, I think my second fill is too much. I dont understand, she only put 1cc in, and I felt like I needed one. The weight loss picked up wonderfully, but I cant keep anything down. All I can do is liquid or protein shakes. Everyday I try a little soft food, but it feels stuck every time. I actually got some yogurt in ok yesterday, found out I can only hold 2 ounces. Weird. I guess Ill be calling them on Monday if this doesnt get a little better. Im still not complaining tho. I'm just happy to see Onederland! :thumbup:)

-- I'm about 24 days out and lightheaded/warm headed feelings have been my greatest complaint since day 6 ... Was hospitalized for dehydration on day 11 but still struggling with those symptoms and constant fatigue and overall weakness --- I think my challenge with getting in fluids is due to my hernia repair pain which carafate Rx has helped with a bit but still find challenging I've tried thinned oatmeal and cream of wheat but my hernia hated it -- felt like rocks in my chest -- I'm scared to try anything like that again ... Baby food blended and FAGE Greek yogurt blended with the RTD shakes are ok but still challenging so I don't drink those all the time -- I do feel like I need more nutrients and protein along with Water of course --- it's a full time commitment I've been battling constipation recently and found that colace capsules plus magnesium citrate have helped Sip sip sip all day so you don't end up in ER My blood pressure, oxygen and temperature were normal in ER but blood sugar was low - I have no co morbidities Hope you feel better soon!

Mine was swollen shut post op. I coildnt keep a single thing down until they did my leak test and saw it was swollen closed in 2 places. I got a couole shots in the tummy, extra meds and then just started sipping. Now, at 11 weeks post I have somw difficulties eating. Soft things like cottage cheese or yogurts go down ok. meats do not. I can only eat 1 oz of any given meat. But im happy with it. Its not a big deal. Im told this will change.

I agree with what you have stated. it has nothing to do with what GummyTummy is or isnt doing or craving. it isnt about craving. It is about making a LIFE SYLE change and keeping it after the honemoon phase. If you choose to ignore the changes during this and not learn how to change the idea of food in your head, like anything else, one=ce the honeymoon phase is over, the pounds ill come back on. IT WILL HAPPEN. I have seen it in many folks that i have mentored in the last 2 years. Pizza, yeah, I dont deny myself, but I either eat the topings or make my own with caulifour crust. Still only a peice or two depending on size. Chipotle...I never liked it bfore, so i dont eat it now. But for other thins like dorito's.. I do have about 11 chips a week...all in one sitting. then done till next week. I allow myself some of my favorites and I account for them in what else I eat that day. I have almost all cut out out the rice, the potatoes, the bread...cookies, cakes, all the good stuff and exchanged them with other healthy options - or - i have found ways to incorporate my old favs by making them more suited to my new lifestyle. Sugar free cake with added protein powder, Rice noodles to make noodle salads and the dressing mied half greek yogurt, half mayo and a scoop of protein powder... my family cannot taste the difference AND i get what i need. As far as WHEN we can eat these nummyliscous food again, it is 1) based on individual doctors plan and 2) when the individual body is going to handle different foods. For me, burger was a nogo until almost a year out. but chocolate...oh baby, I could do it at 3 months. Chips--with in a month. per my body of course. The docs plan said never. lol I agree with your statements. She (GummyTummy) isnt being helpful.

Ditto to all these suggestions. Bean soups have tons of protein and you can purée them to fit your "mushy food" phase if you want to. Drink skim milk (1g protein per oz) Have you tried plain Greek Yogurt with SF syrup or water flavor drops? I'm on soft foods and still can't even come close to getting enough protein without my shakes. Maybe get unflavored protein powder and add it to EVERYTHING. I even add mine to my mashed potatoes (but I still eat no more than 1/4 cup/day) But it definitely seems you need to decrease carbs and really up the protein.

I am 2 weeks today. First couple days hurt but each day afterward gets easier. I couldn't really drink either..felt like I woukd explode..but I didn't...just dont get dehydrated. Try your best to walk because this truly is what is going to make you feel better...I have 2 dogs so had no choice but to walk and in hindsight I am thankful I did. But even up til about day 8-9, every time I drank, whether it was Water, Protein drink, warm boullion, or crystal light my belly would spasm for a few seconds..but my dr assured me this was normal and just from the swelling still. It has passed, my incisions are healed, I've lost 19 pounds, I'm walking close to 3 miles a day, my clothes are getting looser, and best of all I can start yogurt and strained Soup today. It will get better for you...if you don't have nausea meds, call your dr. And hang in there, you just had major surgery..don't have regrets!

Your ability to tolerate liquids will increase. If Protein shakes are giving you trouble, check with your doctor for other options (For a couple days I refused to eat anything because I HATED the shakes). He switched me to greek yogurts and a special low carb/high protein milk to replace the shakes, and I felt better. Don't be afraid to collaborate with your doctor to find a successful plan for you (just make sure it's with your doc, not solely with random internet posters). Also, breathe. It gets better, I promise.

My diet is pretty similar to Fluffy's, and I simply don't understand @CreekImp13's continuing insistence that a healthy diet can't be lowish carbs. Heck, with our tiny stomachs, our diets are lowish everything! I aim for <50g carbs a day in veges, fruit, cottage cheese, greek yogurt. There's room there for occasional beans, rice, lentils and hearty bread, but I do keep those portions small of necessity in order to meet protein and vege/fruit goals (only so much room in the new tummy!). I find that I don't have the volume to rely on beans and legumes as a major source of protein, unless I supplement with protein shakes, which I feel isn't a good long-term solution for me. My plates are full of delicious, healthy stuff and my food plan feels very sustainable. ETA: I also think we should all as a rule at least aim to be in the "normal" weight range as there is amply evidence that "overweight" carries significant health risks.

I’ve found a breakfast that I stick with every day. 1/4 cup part skim ricotta mixed with a packet of Splenda and a few drops of vanilla. I eat that with 1/4 cup of berries or sliced peach. I make a lot of cold cucumber yogurt soup and have that for lunch with a couple slices of turkey breast. When the weather changes, I’ll have to find a hot option. I love Asian style dumplings, so I’ll eat a few of those for dinner, along with spinach or zucchini cooked in some chicken broth. I’m looking for good ideas too. I’m 8 weeks out.

Ebonie, Try going to the store and purchasing you a couple of the 100 calorie snacks and limit yourself to one a day or just when you have a craving, I wouldn't exceed two packs in a day though. You can also try yogurt as that is a snack or make a homemade low cal smoothie. No sugar added popsicles are good to. Try the slim-a-bear and the weight watchers. My Doctor said I can have snacks that a sugar free and don't contain more than 100 calories, but not to exceed 2 in a day.

Hello everyone! I have been lurking on on this forum for about a year or so, and it's been invaluable for learning about the procedure so thanks to all you that have been contributing your experiences and ideas. I was sleeved outpatient on Thursday and went back Friday for a quick check-up, and it seems my progress is so far so good. I'm excited to have my sleeve, but at the same I don't think I have fully processed it yet - it's not like getting a boob job or lipo, you can't process it immediately but I'm sure when the lbs fall off I will "get it" I was on clears Thursday, mainly ice chips on Thurs since even swallowing Water was very uncomfortable. Due to the anti-nausea patch I also had the world's driest mouth, it was disgusting! The hotel i stayed at overnight had a free continental Breakfast so I decided to have some heavily diluted apple cider, it was nice to have something that tasted nice after only tasting the disgusting liquid oxycodone the day before. I also grabbed a few skim milks, caffeine-free tea bags and light yogurts to bring home for the next week Today I just had my first Protein drink, a scoop of Optimum Nutrition Double Rich chocolate in 8 oz of skim milk, it's relatively tasty so I'm happy with it! The worst part of my experience are kind of random: it took about four people to get an IV in me - I've known from having to do labs that I have the world's worst veins, but apparently securing a vein for IV is a lot more challenging. They brought in the anesthesiologist and fifth time was a charm, he managed to find a teeny tiny vein in my right wrist that worked for most of the time. I went back the next day to get more fluids and unfortunately the IV popped out a couple of times. The first time they put it back in but then when it started leaking again they spoke with the Dr, who said that I was healthy enough to just get my fluids the old-fashioned way (thank goodness, I hate being a pincushion). Also, I have gotten a few bouts of hiccups, which are very aggravating and painful when they come right after surgery...the Dr I spoke with suggested that I take my valium and alternate between sipping hot and cold liquids. Don't really know the science behind it but I've been hiccup-free today so I'm happy. So anyway, I'm very excited for the future! I had some second thoughts when I was thinking about the sleeve...food has been such an important part of my life (which goes for many others here I'm sure) so I went though almost a mourning period thinking about all the things I couldn't do, like each a McD's happy meal, Indian buffets or an entire Chipotle burrito. Then I guess it clicked with me that I did have a choice - I could eat all that stuff if I wanted to, the tradeoff would be that I would die early from health complications or maybe develop diabetes which would restrict what I could eat anyway. So why not get out ahead of all these things and take the initiative to lose the weight before life forces that upon me? I'll try to participate here more, there's so much insight about post-op care, sustaining weight loss and activity, can't wait to be a "loser" with the rest of you!

I LOVE tofu egg salad!! It is better than real egg salad! The website hungry-girl.com has some great ideas!!! I like the fage greek yogurt- very creamy not runny. 60cal, 6carb no fat for 5oz I also like the tofu noodles shirataki they come in spaghetti and fettucini noodle shapes- 80cal no carbs. <TABLE borderColor=#ff0000 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=100></TD></TR><TR><TD></TD><TD align=left>House Tofu Shirataki Noodle Shaped Tofu </TD></TR><TR><TD width=10></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Hi, I had my surgery on March 20th and feel great...I was surprised that I'm doing so good. I did have some pretty nasty gas pains in the middle of my chest but the pain meds really helped and now they're finally gone. I'm glad I'm past the 1st week - I don't want to look at Jello, broth or crystalite for a while. I'm now on blended soups, cottage cheese, oatmeal, puddings, baby Cereal & vegies and yogurt, can't wait for next week - mushies stage. I went for my follow-up on Monday and after a week I lost 5lbs. I go for my 1st fill the end of April, looking forward to that. I would say my only problem I'm facing now is getting enough Water in and I still have loose stools and that's driving me crazy!!!!! Reesh .....WE CAN DO IT!!!:welldoneclap:

I just called Royal Caribbean and got GREAT news!!! They have a "Special Needs" department that has noted all my foods need to be pureed, and I can work through the daily menu with the "special needs chef" once I get on the ship to sort out which foods to puree for me. Also, travelers are not permitted to bring on any foods including Protein powder, SF yogurt, etc. However, due to my situation they are allowing me to bring on those few select foods and Snacks for the week. I just have to make sure that the SF yogurt is cold enough when I board or else it will be discarded. I am thrilled! Bummer I can't enjoy the rock wall and the wave pool!!! (Doc says not strenuous activities for the first 6 weeks).

I replace all mayo based recipes with plain yogurt or sour cream. Sometimes if its really hot and I have a craving for chicken salad I will use fresh lemon and lime.

That's a relief to hear you kept yogurt down and it's less than one week after surgery! My nutritionist (and all the surgical group's literature too) talked about greek yogurt alot - she recommend chobani plain or vanilla because it's lower in surgar, but she definitely keeps mentioning greek yogurt as one of the first soft foods since it's high in Protein, so it sounds like a good choice to me Yes, it does seem very much like politics, which ever surgery you choose people are very adament about it being the right one! I definitely see the good and bad side of things here with working at the hospital, I think that's what made me finally take the plunge. One person I know at work got the flu/high fever a couple months after, twice, and ended up in the ER both times because her stomach swelled and she couldn't keep anything down, was dehydrated/vomiting... and yet she still is the biggest advocate and said she wouldn't change a thing and would do it all over again. They took all of her "fill" out, so she could recover from the flu, then got re-filled. So that's reassuring if she went through that and is still happy with it!

You are so lucky you get to have full liquids on day 2 out of surgery. I have to wait a week. The first thing I'm gonna try I think will be a cream Soup then maybe yogurt if i can handle the soup good. That's if I can have yogurt on full liquids I have to check my list. Unlike revdrkatie I don't have to get out and do anything big till Monday. I had my surgery the same as you and her. I'm wondering if you can stretch your pouch on liquids because I feel so full and bloated when I drink anything. How about you? Good luck with your recovery. ~~~Stephanie

Mac where do you find fage yogurt? Is that something you find in a health food store or a regular ol grocery store? I love laughing cow cheese too. It's great for only 35 calories. I sometimes put it on those carckers I like.

I eat a lot of: meat (leftovers, deli meat, etc.) eggs (hard-boiled, egg salad, egg bites) string cheese (the 2% milkfat kind, not the full fat kind) cottage cheese (non-fat as I honestly can't taste any difference between full and no-fat cc) yogurt (FAGE has 20 g of Protein per 6 oz. serving) beef Jerky protein hot chocolate (I like the Nashua Nutrition/Healthwise brand the best) Protein shakes (I like Chike the best.) nuts (have to watch the quanities due to the fat, but they make a nice change) I did the bullets for a while, but after a while they made me gag. Milk is okay *in* things, but I can't drink more than 4-8 oz (used to be less) without getting gastric distress. I also sometimes use Protein Bars -- but only ones that have no more carbs than protein) and trail mix that I mix up myself. I also make a protein muffin that has a 3:1 carb to protein that is supposed to be good for recovery from exercise. I make them in a mini-muffin pan and have two after I work out. I think the key is to make every meal and snack protein-based. If you can only eat one egg, have a hard-boiled egg and something else (i.e., instead of crackers which are all carbs). Crackers are easy, but so is beef jerky. If you want crackers, have much less than you normally do, but put some Peanut Butter on them. Yeah, PB can be high in fat, but PB crackers will stay with you longer and have more protein than crackers alone. The other thing I do is cook a lot on the weekends so I have plenty of leftovers. I notice that, when I don't do this, I tend to eat worse because I grab the first handy thing that comes along. That always leads to bad choices IME.

In addition to premier and unjury protein shakes, Yogurt, beans, egg. I did try mashed up pork roast one day did ok. Any of the above only 1-2 teaspoons tops except yogurt, can do 1/2. Each teaspoon takes about 3 or 4 nibbles to finish. My appt is monday too good luck! Sent from my SM-N920V using BariatricPal mobile app

I like the fitbit flex, gosh it keeps me in line! Yeah the chapstick is a must, And get a pedicure before your surgery. You will not be able to do your tootsies for a while. No do not stock up on everything ...you will get cabin fever. I made my husband crazy with "take me to winn dixie for some yogurt" and I would buy two containers of yogurt. That is cause I wanted to go somewhere. Make sure you get over the hospital stuff, like the drugs the sleepy guy gives you, they will mess you up for a while. I know I had cream of mushroom Soup and cream of chicken, that I would put in a blender and sip for something different. But your taste will change, I would love a salt lick I bought gummy Vitamins from walmart

I usually have half a packet of weight watchers oatmeal for breakfast, cheese stick for 10:30 snack, yogurt for lunch, I sip on clear protein drink all day (200 calories, but it gives me 48 grams of protein), and dinner is harder... I've had a few pieces of rotisserie chicken, sometimes fish, but it's rarely more than a few bites of anything.

I am on soft solid stage 1. Greek yogurt, fat free re fried Beans or beans chewed really well, pudding, Protein shakes, scrambled eggs, cheese. I was told to try 1 new item per meal to make sure that my body can handle it. In 3-4 days I progress to soft solids stage 2, ground beef, lunch meat, chicken, cooked veggies. That is my life for the first month!! They said to take a small bite, chew really well and wait 1-4 minutes to make sure that your body is accepting the texture. It should take 15 mins to eat the few oz of food at each meal! Good luck on everything!! SW:327 CW:239 GW:155 Heather in Texas

I would toss a little shredded cheese in with my scrambled eggs. Also, finely mashed (with a fork) egg salad or tuna salad. I'm not a refried Beans person, so I didn't try that. (It's a texture thing for me.) The Ricotta Bake is amazing. I think I lived on that for the first week I was on purees. Also, Oikos Triple Zero Greek Yogurt (15 grams protein) - personally, I love the coconut creme and salted caramel flavors. Just had a strawberry one for breakfast today. You'll find your way. You may find that stuff you liked pre-surgery, you don't like now.

Before my surgery I would only have protein shake for breakfast or protein bar, early snack yogurt fat free with fruit,lunch protein shake or protein bar,mid day snack which yogurt fat free with fruit ( fruit had to be size of tennis ball). Dinner 3oz of meat any unlimited vegetables but no starchy vegetables. And if I got hungry at nite I could have any vegetables that were not starchy or fruit. And of course I could not put any butter or any fat to season food.