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I am also finding my balance on carbs as well. Almost 7 months post op here. At 2-3 months I never ever had room for more than a touch of fruit or a little qinoa. But I've found that eating a bit more carbs seems to boost my weight loss. My carbs come from: a slice of 100% whole wheat bread, wasa crisps, pea crisps, Greek yogurt, sweet potato, fruits and vegetables. So it's never higher carb and lower Protein at a given meal. It's more that I have room to add in more of these healthy carbs without reducing my protein. Oatmeal is a tricky one. I'd also say only whole oats or steel cut. No instant oats. And if you can add protein to it-cook in milk or add GENEPRO, better. But oatmeal is very filling and will impact your ability to get in any additional protein at that meal. (I think it's more appropriate in the first 6 weeks as you are adjusting to food then it is during the bulk of the weight loss stage.) All of that said, track. If you are tracking, and your weight loss doesn't slow down with oatmeal twice a week, great. But don't go to daily oatmeal right away. And if it makes you start craving other carbs, think about it it's really a good choice.

Sleeved Aug 30th....1st 3 days were tough! Worst part was shoulder pain due to my drainage tube. Once the tube was pulled out the pain immediately was gone. I already went through some regret in the hospital but now that I am seeing that the scale is moving I feel more positive that this was the right decision for me. My biggest concern is that I can't stop burping. Anytime I drink or eat I have to burp, it's embarrassing! I hope this will go away. My dr only allows broth and Jello the 1st week. I bought some yogurt today and am tempted to try it but I'm just not sure. What is everyone else allowed? Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Greek yogurt and well chewed low fat mozzarella cheese sticks. Set a timer for 25-30 minutes. Eat very slowly. Don't forget no sipping with eating. Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

My nut doesn't like any oatmeal or yogurts that have more than 10g sugar. For yogurt it can be hard to find Protein and low sugar unless you go Greek and I do triple zeros. I found oatmeal the same and that the think thin and some other more high end brands had similar stats. I have not had blood work yet, I can only share that carb goal and say that I have enjoyed the think thin but it does feel like a lot of calories when most of my Breakfast "meals" are less than 100 calories. But maybe that is good since I worry I am slowing with loss due to low calories.

@@bellabeans A meatball is kind of heavy. Try things like cottage cheese, greek yogurt, ricotta bake, creamed/strained soups, etc. Your fluids and protein (shakes) are what's most important right now.

Hummus, creamed/strained soups, ricotta bake, refried beans with cheese, greek yogurt... There's some good ideas on Pinterest. Good luck!

The liver shrinking thing is something of a debatable point within the bariatric community these days, with the current concensus being that no diet of a couple weeks makes a notable difference in the size of a diseased liver. What can be improved is the reduction of a slime coat that forms on the surface of a fatty liver, making it easier to handle for some. The normal protocol for this is a low carbohydrate diet, typically consisting of leaner meats and non-starchy vegetables. Some programs will substitute a meal or two per day with a protein shake to get patients used to them for their post-op world, but an all liquid diet provides no real benefit toward this goal. The surgeons who impose these all liquid diets seem to have something else in mind, but I have never found any good reference to it. It might be a belief in it helping get patients ready for weeks of post-op liquids that some use or may simply be a legacy of past practices ("that's the way we've always done it.") My experience has been that the surgeons who routinely do some of the most complex bariatric procedures and revisions generally don't need their patients to do these diets, even the very heaviest, implying that they're bringing tools and experiences to the table that negate the need for such pre-op treatment. These docs also tend to have more rapid post-op progressions as well, often starting with soft foods in the hospital or after only a few days of liquids rather than weeks; our info binder states that their experience has been that patients tend to do better the sooner they move from the supplements/shakes into real food. This is why I tend to look a program's pre- and post-op dietary practices as a window (one of several) on their skills and experiences. Congrats on your routine surgery and recovery, and keep up the sip,sip,sipping and the walkies! thanks, i can see your point....guess my research has not been that extensive, my dr. did tell me that they can tell by looking at the liver whether a person follows the diet or not and that many do not....but obviously the surgery still happened..for me doing the shakes before surgery, allowed me time for learning and experimenting what i liked and didnt....got so good at it, i can make a Protein Drink taste just as good as Mcdonalds shake and healthier...between a combo of unsweetened almond milk, ice, no sugar, no fat choco pudding (homemade w/ skim milk), nonfat, plain greek yogurt, vanilla protein powder...course right now, 6 days after surgery, i have omitted a few of these ingredients temporarily. Sent from my SM-S820L using the BariatricPal App

It is physically impossible to stretch your stomach from eating. They removed the stretchy part. Any surgeon telling you that if you do "X" you'll stretch your stomach is using scare tactics to keep you from eating poorly (basically thinks their clients are not smart enough to handle proper diet and portion control instructions - it is unfortunately very common). As your stomach heals it will relax and allow you to hold more than right now by a few ounces, but it will never, ever EVER go back to the size it was. At three weeks, I could barely handle an ounce or so of mushy food like yogurt and chicken salad (made with light mayo and sugar free pickle relish). Eating real meat that early seems very fast, and your sleeve is telling you that it isn't ready. I would suggest going back to eating high Protein mushy/soft foods like canned chicken or tuna salad, yogurt, eggs, refried Beans with sour cream or greek yogurt and cheese, baked fish. Meat like chicken, turkey or beef will be very dense and hard on a sleeve for some time. I'd wait another couple of weeks and try something like moist chicken drumsticks (I do drumsticks in the crockpot with a few spices like sage and thyme and garlic powder and they come out fall off the bone moist). But you absolutely should be tracking what you eat (and calories, fat, carbs and protein), measuring/weighing your portions so you don't overeat and cause discomfort or pain, and shoot for a minimum of 80 grams of protein (while keeping the carbs low and the fat moderate). Oh and do not drink with food at all, and wait a minimum of 30 minutes after you eat before having anything to drink. I would suggest trying 2 ounces at a time for meals for now and see how you feel. DO NOT FORCE YOURSELF TO EAT if you feel weird.

Atkins blueberry Greek yogurt bars are my favorite, the chocolate chip ones are good too[emoji6]

My doc requires me to be on liquid for 4 weeks. Included in this diet was Greek yogurt with Protein powder added and SF pudding with Protein Powder added. I had my sleeve surgery on 8/30 Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

I'm right with you on not getting your protein in. I'm 4 weeks post op and I'm stuggling big time. I'm lucky if I get 40 gms of protein a day and as for water, I'm only getting about 32 oz a day. I usually start my day with a premier protein drink which I only can drink 2/3 of one. I then start sipping my water about 40 minutes later but I'm still full from the shake so I dont' get much water in. I usually have lunch about 4 hours later and then I'm full for the rest of the day. I have to force some yogurt or cottage cheese down but that still doesn't bring my protein intake up much. I'm getting frustrated and hoping I'll be able to eat more at some point. Oh, also strugging with the b-vitamins. They sour my stomach. ARGH!!!

I am so glad that you are feeling so much better and that your body is adjusting. I'm doing a lot better these days myself. I actually am beginning to experience some constipation. I began taking a liquid supplement by Bluebonnet called Calcium Magnesium Citrate Plus Vitamin D3. It helps me tremendously by keeping me regular and soft. I take it every evening along with my evening Vitamins and medications. I have progressed to solid foods and have found that some things don't agree with me as the once did. I used to love Peanut Butter. I have found that now it's too sweet and too oily. I can't stomach red meats either. Carbmaster has a new low carb smoothie that I tried today and it didn't sit well. I think the smoothie was too thick. I can still eat Carbmaster low carb yogurt with a scoop of added Protein. As of this past Monday 29AUG16 I started going back to the YMCA so I could swim in the early mornings. Well.. I started off doing Water aerobics for thirty minutes and swimming for ten minutes before I got tired. I have been going every day this week and have been increasing my endurance. I now do water aerobics for twenty minutes and swim for twenty minutes. When I get cleared by the surgeon I will begin to add some light weight lifting on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so I wont loose all on my fat free muscle mass. I will see him in two more weeks. I must say that my weight loss has been considerably slower. My surgeon had prepared me by informing me that the weight loss would be slower than before. I just need to relax and let the process work no matter how long it takes. I'm not competing with anyone just my preconceived ideas of how this should work for me. I'm glad that you did read my response and know that I am here if you need me. Truthfully I need as much support as I can get especially since this is a revision and I am deathly afraid of failing!!. So please keep me posted of your progress as well. I really appreciate knowing that there is someone else on this board who has a similar background as I do. I don't feel so alone anymore. Thanks

You need to stop eating the crisps and cup o soups first. Lots and lots of protein!! NO CARBS for two weeks, get your body back into fat burning mode!! Eat things like greek yogurt, cottage cheese, chicken, fish, eggs. If you like the cup of Soup make some boullion and drink that. Have a high Protein shake in place of a meal. You just fell aside the road for a bit - now jump back on the road and take off running. :-)

I don't know how long the effect will last, but here's my experience shopping last night at just over 2 weeks post-op: Walked in the produce section and was drawn to the smell of the nectarines. Mind you, I have SERIOUS food issues (Dad physically force fed me veggies when I was very young) and in the past would have serious anxiety about eating anything outside my comfort zone. I can't tell you if I've ever even tried a nectarine. But damn they smelled awesome. So hubby said he likes nectarines, and we grabbed a couple. (Tried them at home, they're good but not really by themselves, needs to be in a cobbler or Cereal or something.) Walked by the Little Debbie display - one of my old binge foods. Part of my brain went "oooohhhhh, Little Debbies, that would count as soft food". (Don't worry, I didn't get them.) But then the part of my brain that was imagining eating them, went "eh." Walked through the Breakfast section - PopTarts are another one of my old binge foods. Used to be I only loved the chocolate fudge ones. Those had no appeal. The cherry ones had more appeal, but there's better ways to get cherry tastes like fruit in yogurt. Walked on by, no cravings no nothing. Even if this effect doesn't last forever, if it lasts long enough for me to establish some healthier eating patterns, it'll be good enough. And, I'm 30 lbs down from my highest weight. Jeans I haven't been able to wear since last fall are comfortable on the verge of being loose, and my wedding band which I haven't been able to wear for months is finally back on my hand. Just getting the boost of that 30 lbs gone is exhilarating and making me very excited about the future.

I love cottage cheese but for you add salt and pepper, yummy. Now for greek yogurt add jam and splenda this is tasty. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Good to know Andrea. I am almost 3 weeks out. Supposed to be able to eat regular Protein etc. but the only non yogurt soft food i can tolerate so far is. Tuna on crackers. I even had frothing yesterday yuck. I ate half a crab cake while out to lunch. Just the middle not the fried part. I am hoping because I drank like 20 oz of Water an hour before? It felt like something was stuck halfway down. Then I spit up foam. As long as it will get better I will go back to yogurt and cottage cheese. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Sounds like you're doing all the right things! Still throwing up or has that passed? Hope you're feeling better every minute! FWIW I stocked up on bone broth in addition to regular broth because it has more Protein. Problem is that I couldn't stomach either - lol! The smell or something was making me nauseous. But if you can manage it, it's a good option. I was on my left side all of the time too, but after a month or so I could do either. I can even lay in my back without a problem now. So you're body really does adjust over time - some people more so than others. Also I was eating regular Popsicles at first rather than sugar free. They are only like 40 calories and they were the only calories I was getting for the first couple of days, so I figured it was just as well. When I was ready to move off clear liquids, I started eating Greek yogurt. It's low in calories but high in protein. I still eat it just about every day - sometimes twice a day. And the fancy ones with the toppings and what not are my go-to when I fancy a dessert (ex: key lime pie Greek yogurt with a graham crumble and white chocolate topping). Sure it's higher in calories and sugar than other yogurts, but it's still only ~ 200 calories and high in protein, so it's a great satisfying alternative to cake, pie or other indulgences (which are usually higher in fat, calories and sugar, but lower in protein). Keep up the great work and best wishes to you!! :-) Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

So today I got up to 1400 calories. Eating all Protein. Hard boiled eggs. Yogurt low fat. Zucchini lasagna with extra lean meat. 2 Protein Bars. Pork and cottage cheese no fat. By time I got to the gym I was miserable and mind wise I felt terrible that I ate all that food but I have been gradually increasing my calories and this week I lost 4 pounds. My mind is having a hard time comprehending this. I will keep it up cuz I see it works but on my rest days should I decrease my calories? Do you think it's healthy to work out 6 days? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Yes....Drink AT LEAST 64 ounces of Fluid a day (sugar free, calorie free, non carbonated beverage), Replace 2 meals a day with a Meal Replacement shake, and a sensible meal for 3rd meal. 1/2 cup=3 to 4 ounces of lean meat and vegetable (fresh, frozen or canned). You can add flavor with only herbs and spices, salt/peooer, lemon /lime juice, or vinegar. *Snack in between Meal Replacements can be fat free yogurt, light Greek yogurt, fat free/low fat cottage cheese, or 1 small piece fresh of fruit. Hope this helps

Since I'm new, I pretty much only dole out 2 ounces thinking that is still below what is in my "handbook". But I rarely finish it. There isn't too much I'm enjoying to eat these days. So most everything I force myself to eat. I've decided I just can't force myself to eat greek yogurt or cottage cheese. It has always been disgusting to me. Oh wait, I do enjoy the Ricotta bake and I do enjoy my egg. I'm going to go have my second shake now.

style="margin:0;padding:0;background-color:#d8dde8;color:#5a5a5a;font:normal 13px helvetica, arial, sans-serif;position:relative;"> Hey BariatricPal Members! Time sure flies, and it’s hard to believe it’s “Back to School” season already! I hope you have been meeting your summer goals – but not to worry if you haven’t. We have plenty of ideas for closing out the summer on a strong note. Here’s the run-down of this newsletter. Back to School Time: Packing a WLS Lunch Member Spotlight in the Newsletter: Meet catwoman7! Back to the Grind after Summer Vacation Enjoy the newsletter, then do something good for yourself – whether it’s stocking up on local produce, scheduling that first surgeon consult, or taking an after dinner walk. Then login to the BariatricPal forums and join the conversations! Can’t wait to see you there. Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder, BariatricPal Back to School Time: Packing a WLS Lunch Sending your kids back to school probably means getting back in the habit of packing a lunch. Their lunches are probably pretty regular: maybe you send them off with a sandwich, a piece of fruit, and a few snacks to get them through the day. Whether you have children or not, there’s a parallel to a children’s sack lunch after getting weight loss surgery. You probably take a more active role in your own meals, and that can include packing your lunch way more often than depending on a restaurant or vending machine to supply it for you. If you don’t know the first thing about putting together a healthy lunch or you’re having trouble coming up with easy, portable lunch ideas, here’s a little bit of help. Protein Is the Centerpiece Gourmet meal or sack lunch, protein is the essential component of any meal after weight loss surgery. Pair it with veggies, fruit, or a little starch for a nutrient-packed meal. You have all kinds of options for a brown bag lunch. Here are few ideas. Fat-free tuna salad on whole-grain crackers or cucumber slices. All-natural turkey breast and low-fat cheese slices rolled in lettuce leaves. Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with berries or sliced melon or peaches. Greek salad with low-fat feta, grilled chicken breast, romaine lettuce, olives, and tomatoes. Don’t Forget the Snacks You may not be eating much food right at lunchtime, but you may need some additional snacks to keep you going through the morning and afternoon. Think protein, fiber, and portion-controlled as you pack your lunch. What about…? String cheese/cheese sticks. Almonds or other nuts. Cherry tomatoes and carrot sticks. Grapes and tangerines (clementines). All-natural jerky: beef, turkey, fish, or soy. Protein bars or shakes (and if you’re looking for some great-tasting ones, check out the selection at The BariatricPal Store. Use coupon code BPNLAUG2016 to get 10% off of your first purchase!). Invest in Some Containers A brown bag works okay, but you might want to bump it up a notch. A reusable lunch bag isn’t just better for the environment. It can also keep your food insulated. Add a few small containers with tight-fitting lids to your collection, and you’ll be ready to take leftovers, salads with a separate container of salad dressing, and dips such as peanut butter or hummus. Insure Nutrition We are always thrilled to welcome a new newsletter sponsor into the BariatricPal family, and this month, Insure Nutrition is giving us the pleasure of doing just that. Our latest sponsor, Insure Nutrition, is an online company that specializes in getting health insurance coverage for nutritional supplements. Its Post-Bariatric Surgery Nutrition products includes Premier Protein shakes in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavors and OptiSource High Protein drinks in caramel and strawberry flavors. Checking if you are eligible is easy. Insure Nutrition encourages you to use its online form to find out if you qualify. Our sponsors help make BariatricPal newsletters and other services possible. We encourage you show your thanks by considering them first for your bariatric needs. Unjury and Opurity BariatricPal is proud and excited to announce two new sponsors for our newsletters. The new sponsors are Unjury, a supplier of wonderful tasting, highest quality protein supplements, and Opurity (from the makers of UNJURY), highest purity vitamin supplements for bariatric surgery patients. Their support lets us keep BariatricPal newsletters coming to you each month. Unjury was founded by a master’s degree dietitian who has been helping patients since 1974. It is committed your health. You know the importance of getting enough protein after weight loss surgery, but you also know that meeting your protein goals can be challenging. Unjury makes your task not just easier but actually enjoyable. Product flavors include Chocolate Splendor, Chocolate Classic, Vanilla, Strawberry Sorbet, Chicken Soup Flavor, and Unflavored. These ready-to-use protein powders come in single-serve and multi-serve containers, and contain high-quality whey protein to keep you full and nourished. Launched in 2007, Opurity is dedicated to using the purest ingredients in its supplements. Opurity Bariatric Multivitamins have two unique big advantages: First, each multivitamin requires only one tablet per day*. Second, Opurity is so dedicated to quality that it is unique in using no ingredients from China. Choose from chewable orange-berry multivitamins for gastric bypass and gastric sleeve patients or for lap-band patients.Opurity also sells chewable calcium, vitamin D and folic acid/vitamin B-12 chewables. All supplements come with a 100% satisfaction guaranteed. They return policy is: “Yes you can return it.” Support from Unjury and Opurity helps us continue to bring you the services you enjoy on BariatricPal, so please support these two brands! When looking for your bariatric surgery supplements, first visit Unjury.com and Opurity.com. Purchasing from these companies helps support BariatricPal. Thanks to Unjury and Opurity for your generous sponsorship, and thanks to BariatricPal members who support our partnership! *You still need calcium and sublingual B-12. Member Spotlight in the Newsletter – Meet Catwoman7! We’re delighted to put this month’s spotlight on catwoman7. She’s a RNY gastric bypass patient who has lost well over half of her body weight. She started at 373 lbs. and is down over 200 lbs.! Catwoman7 had been thinking about surgery for 10 years. She had planned to wait until she turned 65 so Medicare would cover it, but realized she may not make it to 65 if she didn’t lose some weight! So, she changed her health insurance policy to a more expensive one which covered the surgery and got surgery done at age 55. Her surgeon recommended RNY or VSG. Since she already had gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), she opted for RNY gastric bypass. It turned out to be a good choice – besides the remarkable weight loss, she hasn’t had an episode of reflux since surgery! Catwoman7 says life has changed a lot since surgery. She no longer sticks out in a crowd. People don’t stare at her anymore, and men who are looking at her aren’t just looking at her weight! She doesn’t have to worry about fitting into things anymore: she won’t get kicked off planes, she doesn’t need an extension belt, booths aren’t an issue anymore, she can wear regular-sized clothes, and she can use a standard scale. Life is a lot more comfortable all around. Exercise is easier, she sweats less, and she can do every pose in yoga class. She can cross her legs, paint her toenails, and tie her shoes. Her arthritic joints ache less. She doesn’t have to fear meeting new people or getting her photo taken anymore. There were some challenges along the way. The food restrictions were tough. Also, catwoman7 didn’t feel completely “normal” in the initial post-op stages, although that passed and now she feels great! Now, her biggest challenge is hunger, which returned around 6 months post-op. She is aware of it, and is careful not to snack more than she should or to let bad habits creep in and cause regain! Catwoman7 started out using BariatricPal for information and advice. She continues to visit it every day to keep her focus. She says it’s like a support group. Her advice to others is to stick to the plan. Remember, “you have given yourself an incredible gift – don’t blow it!” The weight will come off with patience. Thanks, catwoman7, for being in our member spotlight and sharing your story and advice. If YOU can think of someone you’d like to see in the spotlight, let Alex Brecher know. Send a PM with the subject line “Member Spotlight.” You can select yourself, too! We want to hear your story! Back to the Grind after Summer Vacation The summer can feel a little different than the rest of the year. Even if you don’t have a long vacation or get the chance to leave town for a while, the summer months can feel a little slower and more relaxed than other times of the year. When you also consider the heat that can zap energy and weaken willpower, it may not be much of a surprise if the scale isn’t showing quite what you’d like. It’s not yet panic time, though! Getting back on track can be as simple as taking small steps. Here are just a few ways to get back to the basics – the same tried and true basics that successful weight loss surgery patients everywhere depend on. Hit your numbers. Get your 65 or more grams of protein per day to fight hunger and stay nourished, and stick to your recommended calorie limit – often 1,200 per day in the post-op period and 1,400 or more per day while losing weight or maintaining. Hydrate. Boost metabolism, fight hunger, and increase energy by drinking plenty of water all day (except at meals, of course!). Keep a full water bottle at your side to remind you to sip, sip, sip. Get moving. If the heat is still too much for you to safely and comfortably exercise outdoors, consider your indoor options. Larger gyms and smaller workout studios can be cool, comfortable places to get in some cardio and weights, and explore options for fun group fitness classes. Watch your portions. Portions can creep up if you let your guard down, and just a little bit of awareness about portion sizes can get the pounds to start coming off again. That’s about it for this newsletter – I hope it was useful to you. Thanks for all of your support for BariatricPal, and see you on the boards! · Unsubscribe from all BariatricPal E-Mail.

4 months out Breakfast - 100g of greek yogurt mixed with vanilla Protein powder and 1/2 a banana or some berries or i have the fruit with Protein Powder and Water in a shake lunch - all sorts of things today i had a beef and vegie Soup, tomorrow is chicken laksa, i often have the little tin tunas with salad or chicken meatballs with salad dinner - again all sorts of things. Tonight was laksa, last night malay chicken curry. I also have three snack a day. These are usually things like roasted chickpeas, protein balls, sliced deli turkey, 1/4 of a Quest bar - approx 50 calories a serve. I average 650 to 700 calories most days. I cook on weekends and freeze individual portions so i have tons of variety in my freezer like chilli, beef stew, roasted beef and gravy, chicken catattorie, chicken curry, lamb madras etcetc Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

At least initially after surgery, instead of trying to fill a bottomless hole, the struggle is trying to stay on top of the fluids and Protein that we need while not being hungry. It really is a different world. Instead of the pre-op goal of minimizing calories, while maximizing volume, we have to focus on maximizing nutrition and minimizing volume. Next time, instead of the Cookies, try some protein (turkey, cheese, or even some Greek yogurt if you want something sweet) and see how that goes. Since you are pre-op, you could even have something filling like Peanut Butter on celery.

From your most recent post it sounds like you now have the information needed, but I'll copy and paste below what Tijuana Bariatrics sent me last year (it could have since been updated) in case anyone else is seeking it: Pre-Op Instructions Gastric Sleeve, Plication and Lap Band Use any prepared canned or powdered Protein drink. You may purchase these in any health food store or many grocery stores. Please be sure it contains at least 15 grams of protein per serving. 1 Protein Drink at Breakfast 1 protein drink at lunch Dinner: salad with Protein (chicken, fish, egg, etc), small amount of low fat dressing, or fat free dressing or olive oil and vinegar. 1 protein drink in the evening if needed You may also take 1 Metamucil capsule per day if needed for hunger. Start this phase the day before surgery: Do a light breakfast the day prior to surgery and take only Clear liquids after that. This consists of broth, Jell-o, sugar-free juice, any clear liquid You may have nothing to eat or drink after the midnight preceding surgery or 8 hours prior to it. If you are a Same Day Surgery arrive with an empty stomach and wear compression stockings during your trip. You may take needed medications (such as heart or blood pressure medications) with sips of Water the morning of surgery as directed by our Doctors. Do not take any aspirin, Advil, Nuprin, Aleve or any other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication for 7 days prior to surgery. These medications cause unnecessary bleeding after surgery. This includes baby aspirin and most arthritis medications. If you are not sure, please check with our Doctors.. For headache or minor pains you may use Tylenol. You may restart these medications the next day after surgery. Do not take any herbal medications for 7 days prior to surgery. Bring comfortable shoes and slippers to Mexico, you will be asked to walk several times per day. Please bring your medications in properly labeled pharmaceutical bottles for documentation of dosages. You will be on a liquid and soft food diet for two weeks after surgery. Stock up on sugar-free liquids: Crystal Light, sugar free fruit juices, apple sauce, yogurt, sugar-free pudding, sugar-free jell-o, thin Soups and caffeine-free teas. If you do not like the flavor of chicken broth, make chicken noodle Soup and strain out the solids. Avoid all carbonated beverages (fills the stomach with gas). Avoid sugar (extra calories that fight against weight loss). Caffeine makes you urinate more and can lead to dehydration. You will need to drink plenty of liquids to prevent dehydration after surgery. Sport drink bottles with measurements on the side will help ensure you are drinking enough liquid. You will need to drink at least two quarts (2,000cc) per day to prevent dehydration. You will not be able to gulp liquids so you will want to drink small amounts throughout the day. RNY/Bypass, Mini Bypass and DS Start this phase 2 days before surgery: Take a laxative (any laxative that you usually use). Take only clear liquids after that. This consists of broth, Jell-o, sugar-free juice, Gatorade and any clear liquid. You may have nothing to drink after the midnight preceding surgery or 8 hours prior to your surgery. If you are a Same Day Surgery arrive on an empty stomach and wear compression stockings. *Please follow the pre-op diet as instructed below 1. BMI’s 30 to 31 no diet-only clears liquids the day prior to surgery 2.-BMI's 32 to 39 - 7 days 3.-BMI's 40 to 49- 10 days 4.- BMI's 50 to 59- 14 days 5.- BMI's 60 to 69- 21 days 6.-BMI's 70 and over- 1 month

i'm 3.5 weeks out and still on liquids until next week. (my diet seems longer than most others i read about). i cheated by starting purees about a week early, at the 3 week mark instead of the 4 week mark. i had some mashed sweet potato with greek yogurt one night and then last night i had refried Beans with greek yogurt and a few slices of mashed avocado. i also ate a few bites of a Protein bar instead of a shake one morning this week - i chewed it until it was liquified and swallowed it and it wasn't worth it, i won't do that again. i felt fine but it tasted so gross to me to chew it for that long. i'll just wait until i can have regular food again to eat a protein bar! calorically, i haven't done any 'cheating.' i've just fast-forwarded my plan a little bit due to the sheer insanity that comes with only drinking liquids for 5 straight weeks (i had a 2 week pre-op too!). i feel ok about it. puree stage has a lot of flexibility so i don't plan on cheating for my puree weeks!