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Since about a week or so out I have used Dannon Light and Fit Greek Yogurt. I still eat it almost everyday. It is a bit thinner and I get the Vanilla. 80 Calories and 12 grams of protein in the whole container. I never had an issue with the sugar and my Dr was OK with me eating it. I started out really slow and was fine.

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.

As for the shakes, I like the Syntrax Nectar ones. They are in powder form but taste very good. There are a bunch of flavors from strawberry kiwi, cherry, roadside lemonade, ice tea, chocolate truffle to name a few. They make great smoothies, just add some fruit and/or yogurt and you're good to go. I have not tried any of the ready prepared brands, but have heard that muscle milk light is pretty good. Good luck.

I eat the Walmart brand, great value, light Greek yogurt. The banana cream is really good and has 90 calories, 0 fat, 9 carbs, 7 sugar, and 12 protein. I eat one just about every day.

I will be a month out on the 23rd and I still can't finish one full triple zero yogurt. I start feeling full towards the end of it. Same when I eat 3-4oz of cottage cheese or some Jello. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

2 yogurts in about 45 min to an hour. Sent from my LG-H901 using the BariatricPal App

I'd keep taking the prilosec, Don't be like me, lol. There is no harm in taking it for 6 to 9 months and a lot to not taking it. Just because you don't feel GERD issues doesn't mean you aren't producing excess acid. If you can eat food at other meals, eat food at all meals. Give up the protein shakes, and yogurt is just a slider. Eat ral potein as much as possible.

I tried the Unjury protein powder and it makes me gag. I tried egg salad with greek yogurt and dill, fast free refried beans and cheese and ricotta bake. Beans and cheese went out as soon as it went in. The ricotta the second day made my stomach hurt and then I ate a an herb and garlic marinated salmon and have me the worst cramps ever. So I'm going back to fluids today.

Hiya everyone! I am also 4-5 days out and I have to agree that the pain isn't as bad as I expected it to be. Just a bit a soreness and tightness when I try to use those stomach muscles. I have learned a few things though - Don't try to take a sip of something and then lay down.... No sleeping on my side for a bit.... Only take very small sips (even if you are feeling soooo thirsty).... I can't wear a bra right now (I have an incision right between my boobs).... I think the nurses like to play scavenger hunt with the tape left over (I'm still finding places)... Catheters SUCK!! I am drinking my day away with sips of Crystal Light, decaf coffee w/drop of Almond Milk, Protein Shakes, broth, yogurt (SF) and SF hard candy. I am craving eggs, chicken and every other freaking food commercial on TV....Is this our punishment?

Well I was sleeved on the 14th and am Just starting to feel normal. I am really struggling with the protein shakes post OP. As well, I find that water going down is much more painful than the thicker yogurt. Not sure why. Failing right now at getting in the needed protein, water, and vitamins, but trying to increase it a bit each day.

Each plan is different. Not all plans require soups to be strained. Mine plan for instance was full liquids once discharged from the hospital. The rule was anything that would go through a straw. So I made soup, pureed, but did not strain. I was also allowed yogurt, pudding, and other very soft foods during the liquid stage. So just because your surgeon requires this program does not mean that others will stress their stomachs or threaten the "seal". As long as everyone follows their surgeons plan, it's all good.

Thanks guys! I'm trying to keep logical brain strong. I know how this works, and I know that I truly do lose in "spurts" -- but this is a really long lag so soon into it -- I think that's the crux for me. I had an 18 month stall with my lapband, AFTER losing about 175 lbs. That I get. This just pisses me off. I added in the carbs she suggested last week (she said specifically "strawberries and crackers"... she wasn't having a creative day!) - as well as almonds, cashews, BelVita crackers, ssshhh - 6 or 7 salt & vinegar Pringles - my favorite and I don't even like chips, really -- but I only had them once, and Greek yogurt with honey (hard for me to eat, thick foods don't agree with my sleeve)... the occasional half piece of toast with Breakfast, half biscuit with dinner, whatever. I did manage to get my carbs up. It had a moderate impact on my calories. I had previously been very focused on low carb since that's typically what it takes for me to lose with any consistency. I know I need more calories (this was my primary question to her today - how? I'm seriously at capacity almost all day long) but unless I switch to crappier foods, which I don't want - nor does she - it's going to be a struggle. I'm already eating 5 - 6+ small meals/snacks spread over about an hour each. My restriction is crazy at night so I pretty much stop eating around 6pm, or I have a tendency to reflux. I'm going to also try to add in another Protein drink of at least 20gm once I'm done with solid food for the day. Last time we spoke she also wanted my protein up to 70 - 80gm. I probably manage between 60 - 70 (I'd have to look at logs to know for sure). She told me that since I'm tall (5'10 female) I need more protein than their standard 65 - 70. Never heard of it being height-related, but I'm in no position to second guess, and it makes sense. I've tried a higher carb Protein Drink (the one I'm using now is zero carb) but higher carb usually = thicker which = sleeve discomfort OR a lot more volume to offset the viscosity. I told her on the phone, "I know this has to give eventually. Someome with my BMR cannot continue indefinitely on 600 calories a day or I, personally, could become the cure for world hunger... but it has been long enough and I've tried enough alternatives/variations/etc that the emotional part of my brain is starting to wander into pitfall ways of thinking like Maybe I should've had the RNY or Maybe this is just how it's going to be or -- BAH! -- logical brain needs a major break!" As for sleep I get about 7 hours. I don't have sleep apnea or anything, but I have a husband who snores loudly (and tends to punch me in the head when he turns) and a DD who has taken to waking up at 4am and laying next to my bed (door opening wakes me up, she wants me to put a blanket on her, etc.) I can try to adjust this, but 7 is a lot for me. I historically go on about 6. Good thoughts on the sleep, that hadn't occured to me but it should have. Mike - do you keep a fitday or myfitnesspal log? I'd like to see how you're spacing out/divvying up your calories. Thanks all, for your responses. I get this. I really do. But it's really starting to wear me down.

here is something I like that my mom makes... * Marinate chicken cubes in some yogurt, curry powder (I actually use garam masala.. but curry powder is a good substitute), salt (and some lime juice if you like) for about 20 minutes.. (my mom marinates a batch and freezes it..) * the marinade will have to cover the chicken fully.. * saute some chopped onions (1 part onions for 2 parts chicken) with a little oil (or a pam greased pan).. (you can also add some green peppers if you like them) * once the onions are translucent.. add the chicken, and cover the pan over a medium/low flame.. with an ocational stir.. and chicken should be ccooked in about 15 minutes.. * I add some green peas once the chicken is almost cooked.. let me know if you like it.. i can note down more from my mom.. edit... the marinade also needs some ginger and garlic paste..

What about some Greek yogurt mixed with some sugar free jam??

Hey Kjojojr. Thanks for the input. Can you tell me what cream soups you ate during this liquid phase. I would love to know? So, you can pretty much eat anything now? You don't feel deprived? I think I am feeling deprived right now and getting depressed over it. I never realized my relationship with food until now. It was like a slap in the face. When I came home from the hospital, my husband had made chicken for the kids. I wasn't hungry, but I wanted the chicken very badly. It was in that moment, I knew my relationship with food was way more than what I thought it was. I thought it was bad choices and too much food. I realized at that moment that I seek food for comfort. It was so strange as it evoked all these crazy emotions which I am still feeling right now. I couldn't sleep so I got up and I on here. Needing your guy's support. Which you never fail to give me. LOVE YOU FOR THAT...don't know what I would do without it. I go back and forth. I feel like I want to tell the doctor on my post op check..TAKE IT OUT!! Then I think..what the hell am I thinking. I started getting freaked out at the idea of something being inside me. Anyway, not sure if anyone else has actually had thoughts of 'taking it out'... But if you could tell me what cream soups you had, that would be great! Did you have to puree them? I just am not finding the puree'd soups very good. Kinda grosses me out. So, I have be doing the protien shakes, V8, the dannons yogurt smoothies, Jello, and I sucked on a candy kiss and get this..I sucked on a piece of chicken and spit it out so I wouldn't swallow it. I was horrified at myself for doing it too. But it satisfied some need. I wasn't really hungry, just wanted to taste some regular food. Ya, the emotional side is surprising to me because I am not normally that emotional and pretty practical about things. It is a reality check. THANKS GUYS!

My two cents....for what it is worth. Remember that you are worth this and you are not a failure because your weight loss journey is different from those around you. In my three years I have come to realize that everyone is different even with the band. For example, I have great restriction, but I can eat bread. I always have been able to and waiting around for bread to get stuck to let me know that I have restriction or can't eat anymore is not going to help me at all. I lost 10 -15 lbs in the first month and basically hit a plateau that lasted nearly a year. Then I gave up, was depressed avoided my doctor and gained a lot of that weight back. My doctor wanted me to have a gastric bypass, even encouraged me to run the new testing and thankfully my insurance company denied it. He basically wrote me off as a patient. New doctor gave me very different support and aftercare. Some things I have now learned: (1) I need a low-carb diet. I eat 45-55 gms of carbs a day. Thats it, and a lot of that comes from fruits and veggies. The funny thing is that with carbs, they are either slider foods (potatoes) foods that get stuck, (doughy foods, rice) or sweets/nuts (high calorie, high sugar, high fat) and they often trigger cravings for more carbs! (2) I eat at regular intervals, every 3 hrs. Some people say they don't get hungry for 4-5 hrs. Not me. I'm hungry. If I rely on just hunger, I eat too much, if I to wait for 4-5 hrs I am starving and again I eat too much, too fast or make bad choices. Seriously figure out how long it takes you to get hungry and set your meals around that. I had an alarm on my cell the first week to remind me to eat because I am not starving at that point and sometimes miss the hunger signals, but I know if I go past the 3 hrs pt bad things happen. I also know if I am hungry between then it is probably dehydration and I'm not getting my fluids in. 3. Eat slowly. If I eat my 3/4 cup to 1 cup of food in less than 15 or 20 minutes I am eating way too fast and likely to eat way too much. You'll find if you are only eating softer foods you eat them faster because they don't get stuck. I have to force myself to eat Proteins like chicken or steak and fresh veggies because I am afraid they will get stuck and they require me to be very careful with the chewing. The other day I ate carrots too fast and they were stuck! Ugh. The old me would have stopped eating raw carrots. The new me knows I ate them too fast, and didn't chew well enough. Also know that I will get full on a smaller amount of carrots than I will lunch meat, or yogurt. If I can eat it that fast it is probably not that good for me!! Time yourself. I've done it and having that external cue to keep you on pace helps. Note: If you follow this guideline with portion size, small chews and length it takes to finish a meal and are still getting food stuck you are too tight!!! I know it sounds counterproductive, but being too tight means your body thinks it is starving and you WILL NOT LOSE ANY WEIGHT!! Get the unfill, let your pouch heal and go back to the basics. My dr. does not like people relying solely upon Protein supplements for regular maintenance...so in his opinion you need to be able to eat lean meats without getting stuck.You can also be too tight and go over your calories because you tend to rely on soft mushy foods that are not going to keep you full and that are higher calorie for the volume. 4. Track your calories very very carefully. The've said it before and it is true. One of my biggest issues for me with this surgery was my slow metabolism. My body adjusts very quickly to a reduced caloric intake. You are not losing any weight because your body is adjusted to the amount of calories you are taking in. If i ate the amount of calories the calculators say I should to maintain weight (even without exercise I would be gaining 2-3 lbs a week! Trust me! I have tried.) I have to stay on a strict 1000-1200 calorie diet. If I am around 1400 or 1600 I gain. And when you break it down that is not a ton of calories and one pudding cup, cookie, or yogurt can quickly throw me over my daily goal. I may be eating what I would call a healthy diet but now post lap band for me healthy means getting lots of protein, paying strict attention to carbs, and focusing on non-starchy veggies. Very different from my BFF. If the scale is not moving I have to take a very serious look at what I am eating, own what I ate and make adjustments. My guess, if you haven't lost weight you are probably taking in the same amount of calories you were before the surgery just in a decreased volume. Again, doesn't mean you're eating ice cream all the time, but you would be amazed at how many calories you can take in even with the band. Someone said he does 3000 calories on a calorie cycling regimine for his high cal day. I know its hard and I know you may feel like people assume you aren't following the rules or are doing something to sabotage your success. Please don't give up!! I have run into plenty of guys and gals who struggle and this journey is a mental and physical one! Don't judge yourself or your success based on what others have done on the boards it will only make you feel more depressed. Set your own goals and Celebrate them, no matter how small. I celebrate tracking all my calories (especially if I have missed a day or two!) Adjusting behavior patterns and breaking internal cues and triggers can be hard. Your body does not want to lose weight, it thinks of that as starvation. You've got to outsmart your body and for some of us it takes more work than others! Good luck!

They don't keep me satisfied at all. I would rather eat real food. I'll have an apple and a string cheese or nonfat greek yogurt and strawberries and they help me stay fuller longer. Sometimes there are days where you just have to grab something and go, so at least a protein bar is getting you what you need, but you will probably get hungry quickly.

I had a very little fill yesterday .2 ccs. I thought I was already at 6 ccs, but the doctor said I was actually at 5.8. so now I am at 6. I am doing soft foods for today just to be safe. I lost 3.5 lbs in the past 2 weeks. I am now down 30 lbs!!!!! I have noticed that I am pretty tight in the morning and can not really eat anything solid. I started eating a few bites of yogurt when I wake up just to have food in the pouch and jump start my metabolism. Night eating is still the hardest part of my day. I get bored or something and want to munch. Any helpful ideas????? I do sugar free popsicles already. All in all I am really happy and pleased with the weight loss and the progress. My clothes fit better and my joints feel much better. I know I still have a long way to go, but I am on the right track at least and making head way. :thumbup: Oh and I have never had blood preasure issues, but when they took it yesterday it was 117/78. She said that was ideal!!!!! How cool. :smile2:

I can't do the protein powder stuff its too much a d causes dumping I have a sensitivity to protein higher than 10g at a time. However, I make my own protein but its in a smoothy form. I use almond soy milk it is my favorite and I use low-fat yogurt and I put pecans in mine and it literally tastes like butternut icecream. I get 10g protein per 6oz and I drink these 4 times a day. . .as a snack moreless. I became lactose I tolerant after gb so I had to learn what I could and clouldnt tolerate lactose wise and that is a major pita. Oh and I wanted to add sometimes I will throw some tofu in with my shake and it upps the protein just make sure u blend that puppy up good its gross getting a sip of lumpy smoothie lol.

Tomorrow is 5 weeks and I can only eat 1 scrambled egg or table spoon of cottage cheese, or a table spoon of greek yogurt. I have no appetite or hunger pains so I just figure as long as I continue to drink my water and keep up my meal replacements and protein requirements rather not eat. as of May 9 had lost 40 pounds. haven't weighed myself again yet but I can tell how my shoes are starting to slide around that I have lost some more. everytime I try to eat something I regurgitate it. The way I am able to get my meal replacements in now is because I have a g-tube and will have one for 3 more weeks per my doctor. At first I was sad about having the g-tube but since i am also tired of the smell of the meal replacements. the only advantage i have is I can put meal replacements mixed with water only and crushed meds through my g-tube. Since I am meeting my protein and vitamin goals no need to eat. Think I am going to hate when my doctor says time to take tube out. hope by then I can deal with mixing the meal replacements with fruit to take the smell away.

I am the same with the yogurt i can slowly eats a 4 oz cup yogurt with no issues. Thought it was strange but I guess it is probably normal. Thanks for sharing

Hello June 2014 BPs! I start my pre-op, liquid diet tomorrow and I know that I am not alone. So, let's get a June 2014, pre-op diet support thread going! After going through five different brands (thank goodness for sample packets!), I finally settled on Syntrax Nectars Fuzzy Naval for the first few days of shakes. In addition to that I've got sugar free pudding, popsicles, Jello and Greek yogurt 100 calorie. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. Surgery is getting close! What's everyone stocked up on? How are you feeling?

Just had my surgery yesterday, May 7th and so far so good. Had clear liquids the first day. Today I had cream of tomato/roasted pepper soup, Spirutein shakes, and greek yogurt. I am sore, but have tried to walk a lot today. Gas pain from the air injected and some local soreness is what I have experienced so far. Tylenol has been my main pain med so far and hopefully tomorrow I will not need it.

I cant allay your fears about the problems continuing now that you've had an issue, I guess you can only be positive about the fact that the band is in position, and that's one major problem that hasnt occurred. As to success with not gaining whilst unfilled - well that is doable. I was unfilled for over 6 months and then took 3 months to get back to my normal level and I didnt gain weight. Well.... that's not strictly true, but I only regained weight that I lost - about 8 lb - I got way way too skinny from being absolutely ultra careful and exercising like a maniac whilst having chemo. I regained that weight, but I'm still 10lb lighter than when I got unfilled last year. I just continued with what I knew worked and whilst I definitely at more with no fill, I made sure that "more" was made up things like salads, fruit and wholegrain bread - all light, low calorie, no fat kinda foods, and kept my portions of Protein and fat foods at banded size. I lost significant weight doing that as whilst I'd had fill, I'd slipped into a slider food routine and was eating a lot of calorie dense foods like cookied, too much full fat yogurt, Soups which I didnt hesitate to add cream to, all that sort of thing. Once I cut that out and replaced with salads, fruit and bread, I said bye bye to about 20lb remarkably quickly - and I was at a BMI of 22 to begin with! My routine is generally an hour of hard cardio about five days a week and about three strenght sessions (sand bag circuit training or Body Pump classes using pretty heavy weights). Chemo/radiation and a big surgery in which I was given an ileostomy helped to keep that weight down, but a lot of it was my hard work. It can be done! And at the very least, its much better to only gain a little than a lot. Dont just give up whatever you do.

I do plan my meals but I can only eat so much at a time, she wants three meals and a protein shake would be meal replacement. I was having my shake at 6 and yogurt at 9...