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@ - yes i traveled during the week before surgery and then my trip was post 10 days after surgery ( I was in soft food phase - so shakes, Soup and lots of yogurt). My surgery did not have a liques diet until 2 days before surgery - at my trip I was on a pre-op diet but not liquid only. I will say - my first trip was hard (I was still building strategies). I am now better at planning. Reach out (send my a message) if you want to talk live about how I travel now.

I have 3 weeks of full liquids, cream soups, cream of wheat, yogurt ect...... I am very depressed over the fact that I can not enjoy the thanksgiving day. I kinda know how you feel! Keri

I have really been liking yogurt and cottage cheese, also a chocolate carnation instant breakfast with a 1/2 banana in it. Also a great protien powder mixed with your favorite berry and some milk...I also find that those keep me full longer. I also really like the creamy soups too. So when did you have your surgery? I had mine last monday.

I'm starting the next phase of post-op diet this weekend (last one before solid foods!) with soft and diced foods, and I need some suggestions. Here is the sample meal plan the surgeon provided: Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled/ 1oz cheese Snack: 4oz low fat sugar free yogurt Lunch: 2oz tun (1/4 cup)/ 1/2 small pita/ 1/2 cup pureed carrots Snack: 1/2 cup peaches (packed in juice) Snack: 2 whole wheat crackers with 1oz low fat cheese Dinner: 2oz diced chicken (dark meat)/ 1/2 cup pureed green beans/ 1tsp olive oil/tub spread Snack: 1/2 cup applesauce Any other suggestions would be welcomed! Feeling a bit overwhelmed by needing to get in enough servings of everything and keeping "meals" around 6oz or so and having some variety. Its only 2 weeks, but you know how it goes. This also included some Protein shakes and fluids of course. Just looking for food ideas! Thanks for any help! This is my first post here and I figured it was a good place to start.

How many days out are you allowed to start purees? I think I was at 18 days post-op? If you can just hang in there a little while longer with the liquids. Definitely try to get protein in the form of shakes or drinkable yogurt. That will help you feel more full.

I started yesterday. So I think I've wasted $50 on Un Jury protein:( I ordered a sampler of Syntrax nectar packets and it actually tastes good. That Un Jury tasted off/funny. I have 3 shakes a day, sugar free Jello and some sodium free chicken broth. I've had lots of Water. I can have 3 servings of skim milk, plain yogurt or cottage cheese a day. I don't like yogurt or cottage cheese though and my surgeon wants me down 15 pounds in the next 10 days so I'm thinking I'd better stay away from the milk because the carbs would add up.

I made this last week. It was pretty good. It was like a little bit tangy, so I added some honey. My greek yogurt was plain and tasted like sour cream, but if you used a flavored one, it would be even better! I liked the mix of coconut and mini chocolate chips.

Hey Carmen, Start getting all of your supplies. I purchased all NO SUGAR ADDED foods per my doctor, or fat free. They make no sugar added yogurt (different flavors), fudgesicles -no sugar added, Protein shakes, I drink EAS( semi frozen) and Breakfast essentials. Stock up on crystal lite and reduced sodium Soups. Its is different, and challenging because I'm addicted to carbs. So good luck, on your pre ops fast. Guess what I am big boned too.,,150lbs is my goal approved 223 lbs pre-ops fast 211 (5days out) surgery - 5 days left STAY TUNE FOR MY UPDATE AFTER SURGERY Sheri

Go here: http://www.vitalady.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?search=action&keywords=protsamp&SortKey=sku&SortOrder=ascending It has samples for $2.99 each of most of the major favorites like nectar 100%, BSN Desserts, etc. and just pick some flavors you think you will like, pay $5 for shipping and you can figure out which ones work for you. BUT, don't try them until after surgery, we aren't kidding when we say your taste buds will change! I didn't like anything from unjury..ick! I use IsoPure unflavored when I need to and in tomato Soup it was pretty good. I prefer actual shakes though. You can also try the IsoPure pre-mixed bottles at GNC or The Vitamin Shoppe but those never worked for me. They are fruity and very thin so I can see why some people like them. I usually added greek yogurt, sometimes frozen fruit, PB2, etc. to my shakes to change them up. Good luck!

Soups with little to no lumps, mashed potatoes with protein powder added, refried beans with protein powder added, cottage cheese, yogurt with protein powder added, ricotta bake, curried lentils, and occasionally some very tender shredded chicken mixed with a good bit of mild enchilada sauce so its nearly a soup consistency.

You can also use unflavored protein powder in many different foods like Greek Yogurt, sugar free pudding, even mashed potatoes. Be creative. It mixes better with cold foods. I used Unjury and it worked well for me. I would also encourage you to try several types of shakes, you might hit on one that works.

Greek yogurts go down so good, I was sleeved on 3/31, and my doctor told me I could start regular food a week ago, but it's not been working that well for me either, so I do a shake in the morning (hate Protein shakes) and then I do yogurt throughout the day. If that's all I can do, I've done good.I have tried pieces of chicken, and sometimes it's ok, other times it's not. In between I drink lots of ice Water. I couldn't take my lupus medication broken, it too was awful, so I just took it normal, all the Vitamins I take are chewable. Hope you get some answers. Good luck!

Hi Nykee! I can sympathize, it's really frustrating sometimes. Your band may indeed have slipped, or it may not. Either way you have to address this issue for reasons other than weight. You don't want to damage your esophagus because that can lead to future problems that are way worse. Since you have esophagitis give Prevacid a shot. It will ease the inflammation and can help settle things down so you heal. And you have to figure out how to get the nutrition you need without upchucking--repeated PBing (which is what you're doing) just makes the problem worse. Stick to Protein drinks and yogurt/other mushies until you are sure this problem is kicked. From what you say it sounds like you'll need further medical attention. An endoscopy will diagnose erosion or a bad slip. Also, I don't believe a hiatal hernia with a band is something that can be ignored. Good luck and I hope it gets straightened out soon!

Have you tried having some ginger tea or chamomile to try to settle your stomach too? I agree with others though of taking it with some food. Call your doctors office and see what they suggest. I would think a protein shake or some yogurt (which is good to have anyway w/ antibiotics) may help.

I also had that problem, so I went to the grocery and made sure I had plenty of low cal low carb food and I have a special drawer in my fridge that my family knows is just for me. So when I get those munchies I go to that drawer only and start pulling out sf jello, yogurt, pepperoni stix, string cheese, celery, etc. and I'm usually okay. Good Luck

I'm told as a post-menopausal woman to get a minimum of 1200mg of calcium a day. It's important to get calcium citrate as it is better absorbed in the absence of food. most calcium citrate comes in huge pills. You can try those, but even breaking them and putting in yogurt or applesauce caused me pain, even back when I had very little fill. I prefer the chewables that I get from Bariatric Advantage. Celebrate also makes a chewable calcium citrate. And there's a brand out there, OTC that makes a Calcium Citrate "mini" for easier swallowing.. can't remember the brandname right now. I've used them when I ran out of my BAdvantage.. they're tolerable. Some people use the Viactiv chewables. I suppose they're ok, but I don't like the fact that there's hydrogenated oil in them. YMMV. I don't know about Iron poisoning.. sounds a bit far fetched to me. When I was needing Iron, I took Slow-Fe. It releases slowly and causes much less problems with constipation than other formulations. If you choose to get more iron via your diet, make sure you're not drinking too much tea. Tea can block the absorption of iron. Good for you for being on top of this!! You don't want to get osteoporosis or osteopenia from lack of calcium/vit. D. I take a D supplement.. low D is associated with many things, including depression. It's about time to get in and get my levels checked.. spring tune up so to speak. ::grin::

I am finally scheduled to be banded on 11/21/07. My insurance required 6 months of nutrition counseling, from which I am proud to say I lost 50 pounds. Now I am going through 20 gruelling days of liquid diet to shrink the liver...yuck!! Today completes day 5 of 20 and I have been 100% compliant. But I am very sick of Atkins shakes, non fat yogurt and sugar free jello....(why dont they make this stuff in bacon or terryaki sirloin flavor?). Anyway, I have lost another 10 pounds in the last 5 days. At this rate I will be down by a total of 70-90 lbs before the surgery!! unfortunatly my glucose around 80 is dipping into the 70s...its taking juice about every 2-3 hours to keep it above 80. Does anybody know how low you should let it go before taking action?

I can't wait to have yogurt...or meat!!!

I know it may sound weird but the yogurt may have been to thick, I had trouble with textures in the beginning and even though I had no fluid in my band I had some trouble swallowing some thicker foods. There is swelling in the beginning and some people it tales a little longer to tolerate foods that are thicker than clear, maybe back down to protein shakes and some cream soups with a little unflavored protein in them. In the beginning I did about 1 -2 oz of liquids every 1-2 hours for a few days. It does get easier, if you keep having the same problem call your surgeon and let them know. Hope you feel better, good luck.

I was banded five days ago, this morning as per my surgeons directions I had some thinned yogurt with protein sprinkled on tops. Since then I've had a thick slimy feeling at the back of my throat, What did I do? How do I fix it? Thoughts are most appreciated/

I guess that, other than dairy, I would say that I don't use much of them, but then I don't use a lot of products that have SF or low fat alternatives. My basic essentials are skim milk and nonfat greek yogurt. I avoid things that are intensely artificially sweetened since they tend to have too much of the fake sugar quality about them. I don't drink much tea anymore since we're not drinking with meals, but when I did, I usually used the Equal or Splenda provided; if only saccarin was available then I used regular sugar, but I was never sweetening to the extent of most of the pre-packaged sweetened teas. The yogurt use is a blend of real and fake sweetener - I'm not fond of plain yogurt, but most of the commercially flavored yogurts are too sweet for my taste, and other than Trader Joes, the only nonfat flavored yogurts I find at the markets are all artificially sweetened, and too intensely fake sweetened at that. I make a blend of plain and (real) sweetened vanilla nonfat greek yogurts (3 to 1 ratio these days, down from 2 to 1) with some vanilla extract and Splenda or stevia added to taste, and that works well for me. I think that the mayo, or miracle whip or whatever we have is the light version, but I haven't used any of it since surgery. I do use the lower fat salad dressings generally, but don't agonize over it at restaurants - I generally get what I prefer rather than forcing myself into their token lowcal offering (unless that one is to my liking to start with) and get it served on the side since I prefer my salads on the drier side, at least relative to the places the glop on lots of dressing. The only other place where I use a marketed SF version is with the SF puddings - that knocks about 2/3 of the calories out of the mix, and leaves lots of room to boost the nutritional value of it by adding some Protein powder and greek yogurt to the mix. This brings the protein count up into the 11-12g per half cup serving with about 100 calories, which is a pretty good trade off, and has enough complexity to its flavor blend that the SF aspect of it isn't noticed, but the missing 70 calories is useful at the end of the day, either by keeping the daily caloric total in check or by adding some other essential nutrition to the daily score. In short, I seek high nutritional density while minimizing energy (caloric) density within the bounds of sane taste. I have been adapting/evolving my tastes and preferences for several years to this end, and the surgery has now helped drop the volume to the point where I can actually lose again. I want to continue to keep the fats (saturated fats in particular) and simple carbs under control for the long term and not get into the "I'm having so little that it doesn't matter" mindset as overall calories and good dietary (and exercise) habits are essential in the long run to keeping the weight off once it has been lost. As with the bands and RNY, weight regain is going to be the major long term challenge for many of us VSGers, even if most are still in the honeymoon phase and don't realize it yet.

i used to keep up more...now that living with the band is becoming more "usual"--i have not put in too much. there's not too much to say other than i think my band is REALLY tight and if i get stressed out or am in a situation that feels tense--then NOTHING goes down--not even ICE CREAM! i didn't lose ANY WEIGHT AT ALL for 1 month--but all of a sudden, without doing anything special--i started losing again. the combination of the really tight band, not being able to eat under stressful circumstances (such as business travel--thank god for packing optifast shakes) and basically sticking to easy food like yogurt, juice, some hamburger and a few raw vegetables (radishes work, don't know why)...and voila--weight loss has been happening. and hunger has been minimal--which is why i wanted the band in the first place--to cut down on that endless "i'm HUNGRY" feeling. am also wearing a suit that i haven't worn in 4.5 yrs---ta daaah. that feels good. i even went shopping for a smaller pair of pants for work--as i was embarrassed that my "regular" pants were just about falling off--and i had to keep pulling them up--boy that is UNCOMFORTABLE to do while you're walking down the hall... i keep looking at the scale--not moving very fast in the downward trend--but i can still feel changes in clothing--and some people finally commented...so...SOMETHING must be happening--right?? right!

Wow...i have eaten less than 900 calories today. in the past 24 hours i only ate 3 big yogurt containers. I have an empty feeling in my gut...i want some carbs or meat...anything. I am happy that i am down like 7 pounds...but really it's not a big deal, i used to be able to lose that much in a day before, but then it would come back right away...the only difference is now i can count it because i am going to keep it up this time!! I am going to go out for exercise when i feel hungry, i will do something to occupy myself. Can't wait to pass the wall, and be in the smooth sailing zone where i'm not craving food anymore. (I hope it comes)

Hi all. I hear a lot about using plain yogurt in making a variety of foods. I'm still learning how to broaden my options and would love some variation. I'm 4 weeks post op and still on pureed. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Well I used tescos own version of slimfast drinks but added yogurt to them in the blender. You can also buy Protein powder and add a scoop aswell. So for instance strawberry flavour shake, a strawberry low fat yogurt and a scoop of Protein Powder. The more protein the longer you feel full. They also have vanilla and chocolate ones. You can also buy complan in most supermarkets which is basically a build up drink but can be used as a sole source diet. I added protein powder to it. The protein powder can be bought cheaply at holland and barret etc Hope this helps :sneaky: