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so tell me if your meals are 4oz only how are you supposed to get your 70grams Protein in daily without protein shakes or supplements? because thats the goal isnt it to get your nutrition naturally? So if your meal is only meat where is the veggies? So if lets say your meal consists of 3oz meat 1 oz veggies. Breakfast is either dry cereal or 2 eggs or even a greek yogurt if you add up the protein your still not getting adequate protein intake.

Protein, protein and more protein is the best thing to fill you up - but I don't think you will have issues about not feeling full with a sleeve I found that denser protein like tuna and red meat took me longer to get back in to my diet but moist chicken, eggs, cheese, yogurt etc are easier to start with. Stick with your eating schedule (2weeks liquid etc) as that really gives your stomach a chance to heal and recover. In the first couple of weeks, the priority is Water - sip, sip, sip. protein is less important at that stage. But it won't be easy for the first few weeks, it's different from any previous experience. I was shocked at how little I ate but felt fine energywise. You will learn quickly that there is such a thing as eating one mouthful too much and paying for it!!!! But it is so worth it. My life has transformed and my health issues are all resolved.... Good luck, I wish you well :-))))

Thank you so much for the tip. I really do think I'm really hungry. I don't think it's head hunger because I can really eat!! I'm 4 weeks out so I can eat soft solids. I haven't eaten meat yet, maybe I should have chicken salad or tuna salad. I do eat a lot of cottage cheese & yogurt. Right now I'm so hungry I could go for a pizza. Only I know it won't go down my sleeve.

No problems whatsoever. My timing would have been quicker but I had to wait for college to break. I am not unhappy at all. this has been the best thing I could have done. what a great tool for weight loss. My first postop was yesterday and I was down 15 from surgery date and 22 in all. yes. i was on OptiSource until yesterday. Can have cottage cheese, yogurt, peanut butter and eggs/egg substitute now. very happy :biggrin:

@@joatsaint thanks for the recipes! I'll try them this week! I love yogurt! And cheese and lunch meat. Those go down easy. Believe it or not, before surgery I was a huge egg-lover...now I can't eat them! My doc told me to 'listen' to my body. Eat as much Protein as I can, but don't push it. It's funny, I'll sit down to eat and be HUNGRY! But after a few bites, I'll feel done.

thanks for the replys. I really like this site for all the support you get. I have been a Water drinker for years.. It's all I drink. I can't stand the taste of all the artificial sweeterers and even splenda is awful to me, so I try to stay away from them. I have had to break down and start getting used to stuff like the lite yogurt..(yoplait key lime pie... yummy), and sugar free popsicles (if you eat them fast). I'm just kinda over it all right now. I went back to LA yesterday and got a new book and a pep talk, I'm trying! Molly

I'm going to start this by saying.. *Please* don't bother to read this. It's a bitching/grumpy whiny pity party pants session and I needed to sit down and type out my grumblings so I can grab my britches and trek on... I KNOW I am SO lucky.. for real, to have been given this opportunity, this gift, if you will, of the band and I have been wanting this for FOUR years.. and here I am one week to the day post op, and I'm going to bitch. So, please.. especially for those of you who are not banded yet.. IGNORE MY PITY PARTY. I am freakin miserable. I flippin mouth feels like a firely dragon took a piss in it because of this hateful thrush crap (which is a yeast overload by the way generaly caused by antibiotics and a low imune system) AND.... IT HAS MOVED DOWN FREAKING SOUTH ARGH. WHY WHY WHY?!?!?!? ARGH I STILL can't sleep on my side which means I'm stuck sleeping on my back, which causes me to snore, which irritates my already on fire, dry mouth and I don't sleep as well, and I can't take my pain meds because it sets my mouth on fire even worse so when I wake up in the a.m. I feel like a heard of elephants has been tap dancing on my freaking large ass stomach, which by the way, is so freaking large, that I can't really reach my now on fire itchy nether regions for fear of ripping a port stich or opening up an incision. I am also, starting today.... H U N G R Y. so.. what's going through my mind today? I'm HUNGRY.. #$%* one fricking week post op and I want to EAT EAT EAT EAT. I've had 3 oz chicken breast 120c 20prtn 6:30 1 can atkins 160c 15 prtn 9:36 SF Jello 10c 10:30 1 cup Probiotic Kifir smoothie yogurt thingy 174 c 14Prtn 12:30 Fruit fusion Peach smoothie drink 250 c prtn7 3:30 Sfree pudding 60c 2prtn 4:00 Chicken of the Sea Roasted Garlic Salmon Steak 150c prtn 25 with one slice provolone cheese melted on top 70c 5prtn 5:00 another slice 'o provolone.. well.. I had to read the package so.. I ate a slice 70c 5prtn Let's add this up shall we.. Well.. uh. according to my calculations.. that's only 1064cs with 93 prtn. Ok... I feel as though I pigged out today and now I'm seeing that I've only had 1064 c's. Ok.. so it's not that bad. I felt like I really screwed up when I bought and drank the 250 c smoothie. and I'm really full right now so I reckon I haven't blown it food wise. hmmm ANYwho, I was feeling like, oh my god.. maybe I can't do this, I'm never going to even get below 300 little long lose around 170 lbs... and part of me still feels this way. I've been reading post on here (lap band forum) since jan and I have seen some discouragement.. I just wasn't expecting to be one of the discouraged.. especially one week out. This can work. I just have to make good food choices. I need to bring more stuff to work with me tomorrow. Part of my issues I think are as far as feeling physically like crap, is that I have Fibromyalgia ( can't spell) and that's really dealing me a hand right now. I can't take my liquid kids ibuprophen because my mouth is so $%(*ed up and that really keeps my fibro in check whine whine whine. sorry guys. I really think I would feel a little better if I could just freaking sleep on my side again. It will get better I know. Thanks for not reading my bull$%^( SYNICALchick aka Tracy

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!

Hi, For me I make sugar free puddings with skin milk and mix in protein powder vanilla for vanilla or butterscotch flavors chocolate with chocolate. I also use urjury's chicken soup flavor powder in strained chicken noodle soup (just be sure you do not heat it over 130 degrees). I also use torani sugar free syrups strawberry or vanilla in non fat plain Greek yogurt to help sweeten it up.

I have a hard time with most meats. I can tolerate meatballs in sauce, but that's about it - even deli meats sometimes hurt going down. I eat it anyway, though, because if I didn't I would only get protein from cottage cheese, tuna, or shakes (i can tolerate things like greek yogurt, but I don't like the taste anymore). I don't throw it up or anything, but it makes me feel crummy and tired and my stomach hurts until it passes through. I also mostly get by on soups. Sometimes shrimp is ok, and when my husband takes me to a steakhouse for dinner, he gets a steak with a lobster tail on the side and I eat that. Bread and grains in all forms make me feel crummy, too. Overall, not much variety! I'm getting used to it, though.

I was a premier Protein girl myself. High protein, low calorie and taste was pretty good. I wasn't a fan of any of the muscle milks and if your going to use them use the light there is a big calorie and sugar difference. Love all the Greek yogurts, when looking at them all I chose by higher protein value and lower calorie and sugar content since the hubs is diabetic and we are both banded. As for Starbucks and coffee... I have a cup of regular coffee a day, sometimes 2 then I switch fully to decaf to get all the "water" values in for the day. I enjoy the warmth and flavor of coffee, it can be a bit acidic and if you have gerd or anything like that it can aggravate those symptoms. If you don't then as long as you get the Water in, and stick to decaf you should be great. Starbucks coffee...and flavors...there is a decaf skinny non fat, no sugar macchiato you can get and it's not bad at all. I limit it to a "treat" for myself since I have seen barrister's make mistakes and you end up with the 700 calorie drink and your supposed be eating only 800-1200 per day, makes you think! For my morning coffee, and my night time decaf I like to use the international or coffee mate flavored creamers. I get them in sugar free they are half the calories, I don't like the non fat ones. Those who are sleeved or had a Gastric by-pass, sugar in any of those mocha drinks or even the fat content of the cream and cause dumping syndrome and upset stomach so probably best to avoid it all together. Lapband does not react the same way.

The soft food stage felt like it went very quickly for me. I depended on eggs quite a bit, starting with just plain scrambled eggs. Then I started introducing in spices and other things like cheese. I was very concerned that I wouldn’t tolerate spices, but that never seemed to bother me. I also ate a lot of refried beans. I couldn’t stand the thought of tuna, although I liked it just fine pre-op. I purreed some baked chicken thighs with yogurt (or possibly sour cream?). Sounds disgusting, but tasted and looked fine. I’m sure there are some recipes out there, but it was kind of a pain in the butt to prepare and very bland. I think chopping it up very finely and carefully chewing would have achieved the same effect. Towards the end of the soft foods stage I started eating boiled shrimp - just making sure that I chewed it carefully. I am 5 months from surgery now, and I still prefer dark meat chicken and shrimp. I can eat white meat, hamburger, turkey, pork, ham and steak, but dark meat chicken always feels much easier on my tummy. Good luck! I’m sure you’ll do well.

The soft food stage does by really quickly, so don't sweat it too much. Didn't your doctor's office give you a list? Mine gave me a whole binder of what to eat when through each stage, etc. Basically it's cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, protein shakes, yogurt, soup, jello, sugar-free pudding, and things like that.

I dont like a lot of milk on my cereal anyway, usually I do the 1/2 cup cereal 1/4 cup milk ratio. I like the crunch too. And most of the time when I eat cereal, its muesli, so I might have yogurt instead of milk.

I'm with you, Shantra -- I cannot figure out why people eat that crap when pure food is so delicious. Why not eat really well, especially when we're having so much less than before? All those addictive chemicals, blech. One of my pet peeves recently is that Stevia is being widely sold in a blend with maltodexterine. For people who have no nutritional background or who are not real label readers, this is so misleading. When I was waiting to be banded I was nervous about having to give up certain foods. One of my fears was that I'd become lactose-intolerant -- no idea where I got that idea except that I love dairy and was nervous about forfeiting favorite foods, etc. So happy that now I can have a little cheese or a small yogurt and it doesn't set me off on a "more, more, more" feast. Love the band and having my appetite dimmed. I feel like I can have what I want and need, just in small amounts.

Before surgery is pre op diet. Some diet for weeks. For me it was stop eating 24 hours before and no Water morning of - even if brushing teeth they said don't swallow. I even delayed my medication until after recovery. Post surgery - you will be on a liquid diet - water, Jello, broth for two weeks. Then mushie diet - yogurt, cottage cheese, blended food, apple sauce. Pain was minor, no medications needed for me though others had taken some. After surgery while in hospital I took the pain meds through the IV portal. But once released I was fine. Had to sleep in recliner for a week because stretching out with the staples pulled the skin and hurt. Main incision where they removed the stomach was a little annoyingly painful and felt like a large knot for several weeks. I went in on Thursday and was planned to be released Saturday but was not drinking water so they took me off IV for a day and felt better. Left on Sunday and was driving on Monday. Once you get past the first four weeks of post op diets and back to real foods you are skating downhill.

Congratulations Faithful. . .the sleeve is definately the way to go, weird but definately the way to go. . I'm out 13 weeks (3 months) and still go back to soft stuff every now and then, especially the soups, yogurts, jello, popsicles, and protein shakes. . . not cause i have to, but cause i like them . . . you'll learn what your tummy likes and doesn't like as you progress. . . it's funny, but my tummy is like a kid. . doesn't like peas, carrots, or onions, (I slime those up) . . . loves popsicles, grape crystal lite???? go figure???? . . . jello, yogurts. . . tolerates turkey jerky, chicken (cooked very soft) hamburger meat, loves refried beans and cheese. . . weird huh? good luck you'll soon get the hang of it, i'm still learning too. . .

Congratulations!! You're doing great! My favorite soups during the full liquid stage were Trader Joe's Organic Creamy Tomato soup and Trader Joe's Latin Black Bean soup. I would put a dollop of greek yogurt or sour cream in the black bean soup and it was heavenly and oh so satisfying.

About three weeks out I got very inexplicably moody. It really didn't bother me that people around me could eat normally - it just bothered me that I couldn't and I was afraid I would never be able to enjoy even the basics ever ever again I'd sometimes just sit at the table & start crying halfway through my tiny 1/4 cup of yogurt. At that point, I had a lot of nausea and trouble with a bunch of foods - but it was temporary and now at 5 months, I can really eat anything with no issues. But it was more than that. When you go through a major surgery like we have, your body's hormones get all out of whack for a bit. Understanding that helped me keep things in perspective. You also are eating a LOT less calories so fatigue might also be a factor in the emotions. I am sure your doc will check all your blood work & Vitamin levels at your appointment to see if anything needs to be adjusted. Hang in there - this is just a little blip in the road and things will get better very soon!

Hi Snuffy, I am not disagreeing with the symptoms you talk about - I certainly did feel them, but at what cost? I couldn't drink dairy, eat more than one small piece of certain fruits a day, couldn't eat carrots or many other vegetables and had to limit my vegetables to stay under 20 grams a day. There was no bread, Pasta, rice or potatoes in my diet. I also had very bad breath :biggrin: I would argue that Atkins is not a successful long term weight loss tool, although it certainly does great short term. How many people do you know who have kept the weight off? If the low carb lifestyle was so sustainable, why does anyone eat carbs and why do we have morbid obesity and the need for WLS? I don't mean to sound anti low carb, I am just saying beware of what the pros and cons are and what you are prepared to do to take the weight off and keep it off. I know lots of people on this forum are going low carb and I realize that it is incredibly important to get enough Protein in your diet, but I also think we took the drastic step of WLS to change our lives permanently and to build healthy lifestyles that are forever sustainable, particularly when we reach goal. I did a quick search on the internet and came up with the carb counts of foods that are all considered healthy in any world: 1 c. skim milk = 12 carbs 1/2 c 1% cottage cheese = 4 carbs 1/2 cup non fat yogurt = 9 carbs 1 c cauliflower (raw) - 5.3 carbs 1 c. broccoli = 5.84 carbs 1 cup carrots = 12.26 carbs 1 cup squash = 5.25 carbs 1 tomato = 5.84 carbs 1 medium apple = 19.06 carbs 1 banana (med) = 27 carbs 1 wedge of melon = 8.32 carbs 1 cup raspberries = 14.69 carbs 1 cup strawberries = 11.67 carbs To me, it is unacceptable (and not promoting healthy eating) that I can have a cup of skim milk and 1 cup of vegetables a day (but no fruit) to stay under 20 grams of carbs. Or I can have 1 piece of fruit and maybe a cup of vegetables (if I stick to melon), but no dairy to stay under 20 carbs.

I use La-La, Yakult or whatever is on sale. La-La is always .99 for a 6 pack, but I don't know if that's a national brand or not. You can find them either in the dairy case, near the yogurt or cheese.

My current favorite is 3 oz greek yogurt sweetened with 2 packets splenda on top of 1.3 oz (half of a prepackaged single serving) of kashi go lean crunch cereal with 1/3 cup of some kind of berries - currently blueberries. I swear the Kashi GO Lean Crunch cereal tastes kind of like a cross between honey smacks and apple cinnamon cherrios.

I haven't had a problem at all with those soups they seem to go down really well.I haven't been a guts and have only had about 4 table spoons at any one time.They are tasty and any little bits that are a little thick I have just really quash in my mouth.Ski yogurts are good too.low fat .I tried Asain Soup sweet corn and chicken but that I thought isn't quiet right as the corn is still whole and a little tough.So give it a wide birth in your first week.Campbells is the brand I think fro the Asain soups very tasty most likely good for a couple of weeks time. I h

Hi mss Thanks for replying. I follow the 20 minute rule and wait 20 to 30 mins after eating before I drink. I walk and swim as exercise as I ruptured a disc in my back and have damaged nerves in my leg and foot. I take pain killers for this but some days I am quite immobile (not lazy). With the walking I walk daily and swim twice a week its water aerobic exercise. I still eat a fair bit and feel like a porker by telling everyone but here goes! I have trouble eating up until twelve then I can eat a whole sandwich if im hungry in the afternoon about 3pm i have a banana skim milk half a cup and a diet yogurt blended. Then I can still eat dinner 2 egg omelette and before bed if im still hungry which yes i usually am a yogurt or 2 dry biscuits. I know everyones mouth has dropped but im being honest as we are all here for the same reason. I go back to the surgeon Monday and I will be having a fill for sure im up to 7mils at the moment. Any thoughts (nice,diplomatic) would be appreciated. Thanks

It sounds to me as though the kind of foods you are eating could be the problem.Things such as milk, yogurt even eggs are quickly digested, do not stay in the pouch and will not sive you saiety. Try eating heavier proteins such as red meat, chicken, fish etc add some vegetables and see if that makes a difference.