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Its pretty much anything you can shove in a blender/ use a hand blender on Think homemade baby food. I made soups and thickly blended them by using less of the stock. I did fruit purees my fave was peach pear and apple. you do have to cook them down with some water then blend them not just "raw" fruit You can do like chicken stew/casserole and blitz it so yeah pretty much anything you like as long as its healthy of course and if you do fruit like I did its not your all day food choice I did that and still do for a fruit options add it to yogurt or breakfast stuff it all depends. To make the food wetter you just add fluid like gravy, stock, milk, protein shake even. I mainly stuck to thicker home made soups because I had a hard time with all meats so it was easier to just blend a chicken or turkey and veg soup and that be my food.

yes... I was swollen for almost 3-4 months. I am 20 months post op and eat quite normal portions. But I was just like you in the beginning! Normal this is what I ate yesterday: 1 large slice of whole grain toast and a half a banana and peanut butter for breakfast. 1 cheese stick and 8 carrot sticks with dip for a snack. 3 oz of tuna salad and 8 crackers for lunch, a 8oz yogurt for a snack. a 6 inch sub from subway with half the bread removed for dinner, and a few chips. and for a late snack I had a 100 cal bag of popcorn. yes the entire bag! Don't worry! It gets better!

This might help: http://www.befoodsmart.com/blog/the-best-and-worst-greek-style-yogurts-for-your-health/ I'd avoid seeds while healing (Passion Fruit) or added granola (nut), but the "fruit" is so soft that I consider most varieties pureed anyway...

I'm sticking with the greek yogurt (per my NUT's instructions)

Ok, so here is my experiance in a nut shell... I arrived in San Diego Monday April 8th, as the plane landed I turned my phone on for the driver to contact me and before we were even off the plane he was calling, he was there waiting and was promptly picked up by Abraham ALM driver right outside of baggage claim and driven across the boarder to the Marriott, durin the ride we were given the option of going in for surgery early or late and we (myself and another pt also in the van) chose to go early, so we were told to be in the lobby at 6:45 am the next morning for pick-up and ride to the hospital. Once at the Marriott we checked in and chilled for the night. On Tuesday we met Abraham in the lobby of the Marriott and drove to MiDoctor Hospital where we waited to check in, this took about 30min because the person wasn't there yet, but during this time we all talked and got to know each other well. They took us back one at a time to check weight and height and showed us each to our private rooms, my room had two beds one for me and one for my sister. Once in the room we changed into hospital gowns, got our IV's put in, blood drawn and EKG's done. We then met the Anesthesiologist, the Internal doctor (who went over our histories again and meds) and waited on the surgeon. We were told they would choose who would be first depending on lab results. I was then told the other person would go first because he was really nervous, but then in came Dr. Lopez and low and behold I was first, very quick. by 9:25 I was in the OR, with Dr. Lopez, Dr. Ortiz, the anesthesiologist and all the surgical team. The anesthesiologist asked me if I wanted to sleep for a while after surgery or wake up right away I told him I didn't know I just wanted to wake up, he laughed and said "of course, you will my dear", I looked at the clock and it was 9:35, next thing I know I am awake in another room (recovery) looking around watching everyone doing different things but could speak (I was totally out of it), I remember seeing my sister and Janese (coordinator) for a second and trying to wave but then I think I went back to sleep. The rest of that day is kinda a blur because I apparentely don't tolerate anesthesia very well, lol... slept all day and night so didn't do much walking. Believe me I paid for that on Wednesday... Wednesday I woke up feeling great! but by that afternoon I was misrable, gas/indigestion, pain ect... I felt horrible and was EXTREMELY irritable. The nurses were all so kind and were pretty quick with pain and nausea meds which were on a schedule. When I saw the Dr. it was Dr. Ortiz I believe and he adjusted my meds and that seemed to help some. I think it was today that I had my leak test (they do 2 one in surgery and one the day after), drank some blue contrast and then another contrast liquid in the flouroscopy room, no leaks so I was cleared to start sipping liquids. I was given apple juice, and gatorade in different flavors to sip on later that day once my results were confirmed. I did not do too well with the liquids, I still didn't feel good. That night another doc came in and her name was Dr. V something she made more adjustments to my meds and by Thursday morning I felt much much better. Thursday we got up and I walked, walked walked, felt soooo much better (not 100% of course but MUCH better), we were released from the hospital with our drains at about 10:30 and at the Marriott by 11 and checked into our rooms. We were told our drains would come out the next day at the hotel by the surgeon-- the longer it stays in the less chance of infection was the logic. I was still having a hard time with liquids but continuing to try... at about 2:30 our driver called us all to come down to the lobby and he took those of us who felt up to it shopping on Revolucion Street. I went and am glad I did because I had a fantastic time, got some great souveineers for my kiddos husband and self and got to know some great people and make some wonderful friends. Once we were finished there Abraham took us to the pharmacy where we bought some stuff we needed or wanted from toothpaste to shampoo to meds.... Once we finished there he drove us back to the Marriott and a few of us decided to go out to a restaurant for dinner. We ate at an authentic Mexican restaurant and I had the consumma' (excuse my spelling) which was incredible, I was able to eat about 3-4 spoonfuls. After that I was able to start drinking more, like it flipped a switch and by Friday morning I had consumed an entire gatorade which was like a miracle. Friday morning we took a cab to the walmart shopping mall were we did a little shopping and ate at applebee's, Edgar was our server and he made my breakfast exactly how I needed it- plain organic yogurt and a fruit mixture that he had liquidized for me, and it was SOOO good (I posted pic's a few days ago). Once we got back we met some people at the pool then went sight seeing with Abraham again, we saw the hillside where all the people live and rode out to the beach, this was a wonderful experiance because I got some walking in and really got to see a lot of very interesting and eye opening things. I never once felt unsafe, Abraham never let us out of his sight and everyone we ran into was sooo kind. On the way back to the hotel Abraham told me that Dr. Ortiz and Lopez had had a VERY busy day and would like for all of us to come to the hospital at 6 to have our drains removed, rather then them doing it in the hotel. I was absolutely fine with that because we were originally told they would come to the hotel between 8-10pm to remove them, so 6 was WAY better, I was ready for the drain to come out. They took us to rooms one at a time and the surgeon and Eduardo (coordinator) walked us through the removal of the drain, which was SOOO weird feeling, can't even explain really. He then spent time with us answering any individual questions we may have and telling us how to care for our wounds and the importance of following the diet and other important information. Once we were all done with that we headed back out to Revolucion street to get something someone had left behind the prior day and I bought a few more things... lol, having the drain out felt sooooo good! Saturday we woke up and got ready to leave out to the airport (we had an earlier flight), we ate at 8:45 in the hotel restaurant (I had a yogurt smoothie) and promptly checked out and headed to the San Diego airport. We did not have any delay at the border, Abraham has a medical pass to go through the medical lane, therefore no line, which was fabulous. Overall my experiance was really great, I met some amazing people and really enjoyed getting to know them all. Abraham was our go to guy for pretty much everything non-medical related and Eduardo was our coordinator for the medical part. Abraham would bend over backwards to help out in any way he could and made the whole experiance fantastic. Yes the two days in the hospital were rough for me, but I really think it was the anesthesia (I've never had surgery, so didn't know how I would react). So overall I had a great time and an amazing experiance and highly recommend ALM and Dr. Lopez/Ortiz.

Happy Holidays Everyone! Today is Thanksgiving but I was hoping to get some ideas for recipes for the whole season. I have struggled so much to find a Protein source that I can actually tolerate taste-wise. I love pumpkin and pumpkin spice so I tried to create my own pumpkin spice Protein shake that complies with my full liquid diet restriction. It turned out pretty good. Here it is: 6 oz of NF vanilla yogurt (8g of protein) 3 crushed ice cubes 1/2 c FF milk (4.5g of protein) 1 serving of vanilla unjury Protein powder (21g of protein) 1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice, OR to taste TOTAL PROTEIN = 33.5g Blend all ingredients in bullet or blender. I actually found a vanilla chai yogurt that I used. You can add more or less milk depending on the consistency that you want. You can also add more or less pumpkin pie spice depending on your desired taste. I need a lot of spice to mask the protein supplement flavor. Next step I want to try a chocolate protein powder maybe with some peppermint flavoring. Enjoy!

Hi Gomez. I had surgery on 1/27 and I am in the middle of my 2 week "full liquid" phase. I also get to eat cream soups, yogurt, sugar free pudding etc. I was also told to eat 3 liquid "meals" a day plus 3 protein shakes. It seems like a lot to me, but my dr gave me a very detailed list. As long as you are following the DRs oders, I am sure you will be fine. Good luck.

You are so lucky your doc lets you eat soup, pudding and yogurt at 10 days! I could only have liquids until 21 days. I am now on soft foods, but soup and pudding were definitely not recommended. It is just grand being able to at least eat some things, though! Good luck and try to follow your doc's instructions.....

Hey everyone! I was sleeved last Wednesday, December 7th, and while reading these boards I have gotten a bit worried. Everyone seems to have been on full liquids right after surgery, and while I was until Saturday, my doctor told me to move on to the mushies. Right now puréed Soup, Protein shakes, and Greek yogurt work for me best, but I was able to have some puréed lentils and black Beans and some very very mushy mashed potatoes. Is this normal so soon? I mean my surgeon gave the ok, but I was never told liquids for 2 weeks after, and it seems the norm on these boards. I also seem to be easily eating 1/2 cup of those things... I live in NYC and walk everywhere and so I am already walking 2 miles a day so perhaps I am just burning everything? Also, my multi Vitamin has always made me a bit queasy, even when I was trying different brands before surgery, but tonight I actually spent 15 minutes throwing it up... Any advice for those? Thank you all for reading...I want to make sure this works, so I just want to make sure I am making the most of it!!

I'm on solids and not quite tolerating the food all that well either. I feel sick and just want to vomit. My cousin joked around and called me bulimic but it kind of struck me that what if that is the road I'm going down? Hopefully not. I think I should go back to yogurt / Jello as well, but my surgeon said he wants me to eat "regular" foods now. I hope you heal quickly <3

I got sleeved 5/12 and still feel slight pain but definitely depends on how much I'm doing. Last two days have definitely gotten better. I had to go back to work this past Monday , I felt exhausted. I eat every 2 hours ex ½ egg, light and fit yogurt, sip on my Protein shake and the last 2 days were good , my wounds are finally closed and the bruising went away. It takes time and every day I notice I'm dropping inches. Follow your gut listen to your body and walk walk walk. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Every doctor has his/her own postop recommendations, and every individual has his/her own food intolerances. I moved to pureed Protein on Day 3 postop. Now I'm eating solid protein, and have added nonstarchy veggies and legumes back. Fruit comes next. My doctor does not recommend adding whole grains back until 75 percent of excess weight is lost; your doctor may be quite different! Yesterday, I had: B: Inspire Dutch chocolate Protein shake (I'm a little tighter in the morning and had a pill get stuck on Saturday night, so I was playing it safe) L: stirfry with 1 oz. each of shrimp, chicken breast, and lean beef D: red Beans (New Orleans style--as in red beans and rice, without the rice) Add in LOTS of Fluid, a Multivitamin, Co Q-10, and Vitamin D, and that's pretty typical for me. Most days I'd be eager to add a nonstarchy veggie at lunch or dinnertime, but I was not at home, and didn't want to experiment--I save that for home! Today's plan is: B: same as yesterday L: leftover red beans with a sprinkle of cheddar D: tilapia or mahi mahi and chile lime cole slaw I have yet to encounter foods I can't tolerate---but there are many I have not yet reintroduced, and do not plan to for quite some time. These include the breads, rices, and pastas that many people find get stuck. ETA: I forgot Snacks. My surgeon discourages snacking--not something we see eye to eye on, but I really am trying to reframe my thinking about food, so I do my best to avoid snacking. When I am genuinely starving--or have not met my protein quotient for the day---I do grab a protein-y snack. Something like another protein shake, a string cheese, a Babybel, parmesan crisps, a little bit of Greek yogurt with PURE unflavored whey Protein powder (www.bariatriceating.com), a little vanilla, and some Splenda stirred in---that sort of thing. Not a lot of calorie damage, and a little bump in protein.

I get the cherries in the frozen fruit section. I think most stores should have them. I use about a teaspoon (if that) of cocoa powder and usually close to a tablespoon of splenda. That's probably too sweet for most people, but I'm a sugar person so it works out good for me. Just experiment. Oh, and the sugar free coffee syrups are really yummy with the vanilla protein. It doesn't take much, and you won't need splenda with those shakes. If I don't have frozen fruit in my smoothie I put ice in so it's like a ice cream/milkshake treat. Another idea is to add about 1/2 the protein powder you'd usually use to a yogurt. It's like pudding!

Great post! My advise is to start working on being healthier now. After surgery it's highly recommended that we stay away from carbonated drinks like soda or beer, fizzy Water, etc. So if you're a soda drinker, start to ween yourself off. I made the mistake of going out and buying a bunch of 100 calorie Snacks and whatnot once I started seeing my nutritionist in March of 2015 and didn't lose any weight that month. So then I stopped drinking soda and lost like 5 pounds in 2 weeks - crazy! I started going on walks. I was 355 pounds and only 5'5" tall and could barely walk a block at first, but by this time last year I was walking 2 miles at a time a few times a week and by July I was walking 3 miles at a time. I was reading health magazines and came across a great article about how to cut back on calories and lose weight. I did this by eating a yogurt cup and a small side salad about 15-30 mins before eating lunch and/or dinner. It curbs your hunger so you eat less during the meal. So I ended up eating a lot less carbs, because I started following the rule of eating my Protein first, then a veggie, and last a carb. It gave me a ton of energy! I actually lost 41 pounds by making those healthier choices before the surgery. That was extremely important to me, because our body loses weight MUCH faster in the first 12 months and after that it slows down quite a bit. For me it's slowed down from losing 10+ lbs a month to losing maybe 4 if I'm lucky. But if we follow the guidelines and use our sleeve (such a amazing tool), then we'll continue to lose the weight! I hope this was helpful! Sent from my A846L using the BariatricPal App

Strained cream of chicken soup is still a life saver for me. 6 days post op. Also I'm aloud to put a little non chuck yogurt in my protein shake a blend. That's amazing also! Good luck!

I have steak regularly. I find that marinating it giood I'd key. Also I cut it up into very small pieces (like earasser size) but it could just be one of those foods that don't work for you. As funny as this sounds i cannot eat yogurt...i get that stuck feeling every time!

Water is definitely your friend, make sure you are drinking alot. What are you eating? I am sticking to carbs only, little veggies and sometimes yogurt. This is working for me. Try to keep your carbs low. I plan on increasing my carbs during maintenance. I eat about 600-700 calories a day. You are doing fantastic!! Keep it up, you can do this!!

I hear what you are saying, but know the blood tests are not going to cover all of it. They are not going to be testing for magnesium, zinc or any of the other minerals. Shortages of these may still cause you body to feel nutritionally deficient. You can still follow your guidelines while eating a varied, balanced plan. Many people find what works for their new tummies and stick with it eating the same thing over and over. Greek yogurt, tuna, cottage cheese ... over and over and over and ... Yes, they are meeting their guidelines, getting their Protein in and they can tell their Dr they are compliant. All the while they say they are STARVING! All I am saying is try to find other foods that work for you which may offer more balance in the other nutritional categories. You may find you are not always hungry, as you state in your original post. I can only speak for myself. Per my Dr's suggestion, I have always eaten a varied, balanced meal plan and can honestly say, two and a half years post surgery, that I have never been "hungry" like I was pre-op. No where near.

For the first week post-op it says that I can have full fluids. This apparently, according to the list from the clinic, says low-fat yogurt. Does anyone know of a yogurt that is fruit flavored but does not have the fruit pieces in it?

I've been doing three shakes throughout the day and then soup or lentils at night...if i get bored and want something in between, i have jello or sometimes a light yogurt...

I'm a little shy of 2 weeks post op, which is Wednesday, and I've now moved on to my full liquid diet. I've added yogurt, cottage cheese, soups, etc. Ever since adding these foods I've stopped loosing weight and at times gained a few pounds. During the clear liquid diet (pre-op and one week after surgery) I would loose almost a pound a day. This stall is heartbreaking because I feel like I'm already failing. Could it just be my body getting use to food or am I already eating too much?

What phase are you on at 4 weeks? At 4 weeks I was still eating a lot if Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tuna, turkey, fish, refried Beans, etc. I was cleared to get in the pool once my incisions had healed over at about 4 weeks post-op. Swimming is my favorite exercise and I have been in the pool ever since!

I feel like I'm snacking too much like on reduced fat cheez-it's and Greek yogurt and babybel cheese with turkey pepperoni idk what to eat Idk if I am ok with this or if it's bad I only consume about 450-700 calories a day I don't eat veggies because idk if I can or what kind to eat and I been eating gluten free pasta literally a bite and I'm full and I eat turkey meatballs...ugh

My surgery was 6/9/11. I am doing ok for the most part I guess. I am ready to start mushies that much I know for sure lol .. I am sick of pudding, cream of wheat, and applesauce.. and greek yogurt I LOVED before .. now I cant even stand to smell it :/ I bought regular vegetable soup yesterday, and some italian wedding vegetable, and minestrone .. all the Light version. I tried the Vegetable one today and did it in the blender. SO GOOD. Dr said its more than fine as long asthere are no chunks. I dont know about you all but creamed soups made me gag after surgery.. the creaminess in anything is not appealing to me anymore. Im having some pain in the area where my draining tube was.. feels like muscle pain.. so im not worried about it for now. Other than that... its going ok for the most part. I cant wait to start mashed potatoes!!!!!

My Dr. Has me on a strict clear liquid diet for 2 weeks post op. In the first week I've been losing 1 to2 lbs a day. Yesterday I lost 5.2 lbs in one day. I was starving all day. I even thought about having some yogurt last night but didn't. I know I didn't burn 15000 calories yesterday. Does 5 lbs in a day seem like too much. I left a message for my Dr but today is surgery day for him.