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Protein shakes are best when they are COOOOLD. You really want to stay away from adding any extra calories to those shakes, so yogurt isn't a great idea pre-op. For clear liquid proteins, Isopure Zero Carb RTD are amazing. Again, best served ice cold. You can totally blend them into an thick shake using ice cubes, really ups the experience overall. Also, Protein will cook if it gets too hot, so you can "curdle" it if you try to heat it up too hot.

This may be a dumb question but what. temprature should you drink your shakes at? Should theynbe room temperature, chilled in the refrigerator, over ice or even half-frozen? . Should they be mixed with unsweetened yogurt or flavorings added? Please veterans give me your input or are clear fruit tasting Protein liquids better? Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

Suze, You had this surgery for a reason. It is a journey that you are going to have to go through. No easy fix. Dealing with our demons and why we over eat is the challenge. You had this surgery 2 1/2 weeks ago. You should be introducing mashed potatoes, sugar free pudding, low fat yogurt. Remember slow and steady wins the race. It's not glamorous but it gets us where we need to be. If you don't know any one who has had this procedure, try to find a local support group in your town. Sometimes churches will sponsor the groups as well. I had my surgery 6 months ago, my first fill three months ago and my second fill will be on January 7. I lost 52 pounds and then gained back seven over the October - December time frame. I have succeeded in losing those added seven before my fill. BUT...It is the journey. Get support and educate yourself. Good Luck!

Tonight was my first night off post op liquid. I tried refried beans and a little salsa, within 10 mins I was regretting my choice. Tight chested and belching feeling upward pressure for the next 60 minutes. I thought I was going to throw it up, but managed to keep it down. I learned a couple of things, I eat to fast and I need to reduce the portion size a little more to get started. I have been having no issues at all the last 2 weeks with water, protein shakes and plain yogurt.

wow...you eat mush foods only 5 days afterwards...im 5 days post op too...however I am suppose to do full liquid for two then puree aftewards...however i don't have the appetitie for anything, Im forcing myself to take in shakes, yogurts and and cream soups...just not hungry at all...good luck, sorry to hear about the chest pains, I have not had that problem

I am having a hard time finding balance. I've been able to stick with the liquid diet. Limiting myself too water, cream soups, vitamin drinks, and protien shakes. I've also determined that I may now be or maybe I was before and did not pay attention, Lactose Intolerant. I attempted to move onto yogurt and pudding and I became very ill. Severe gas and an upset stomach. Ever since that day and the elimination of dairy I've done much better. I've also realized that I need to make out a food schedule. This way I can have some understanding of what I need to intake. The protein is a must. Most sites and doctors that I've spoken too recommend 50-70 grams of protein. That would equate to 2 shakes a day. Which I have to say I have not been doing. The vitamins that I take are mixed with 16oz of water. This not only allows me to get my vitamin intake but insures that I get enough water. My friend suggested crystal light, I will be going to get some. I wish I could find a diet book that gives more detail. Get eating tidbits on a week by week premise for the first month. I wake up in the mornings starving. If it were not the hunger pangs I would even care about food, but unfortunately they are stronger than I am. Now I am dealing with the emotional part and fact that I relied to much on food to assist in my happiness. Or I'm just so hungry I'm having mood swings. Either was I look forward to a happier me. So My goals for next week are to stick to a food plan, be happier, and to stay motivated.

I have had stomach problems every since I started the liquid pre-op diet. I think it is just fluid overload. I have never had a problem with dairy. I did start off with Activia yogurt the first few days and I thought the stomach issues was related to that but I dropped it and I still have the same stomach issues. Just trying to get thru the surgery and hopefully it will get better.

I was told as part of my "equipment" I would need for getting ready for surgery was a pill crusher. My question is? What should I use to mask the aweful taste of most medications? I have heard yogurt but what about honey? Any answers to this topic would be greatly appreciated. And I hope this is in the correct forum. Mark Thomas, Edmond Oklahoma

So my weight has stalled n well I'm sure I am part to blame. I can eat way more than I'm supposed to. I can eat like 3 peice of pizza with no problems (shame on me) its rare that I splurge.. on a regular basis I get stuck on the 1st bite about twice a day. I'm only aloud 30min for lunch and I usually get stuck the 1st bite no matter how well I chew and I usually throw it up cause I'm so hungry I'm shaking bad. Than some times I don't get stuck . Usually can't eat any breakfast everything gets stuck. Example lunch is 3 oz chicken salad and yogurt or apple. I eat it n feel fine (if I don't get stuck) than 20 min layer I'm super hungry like stomach pain hungry . I dread eating now when the hunger pains come I get so fustrated like..hmm what's gonna get stuck now

Also, for home, I didn't stock up on much. I had crystal light, yogurt, whey protein isolate, Atkins ready-to-drink shakes, broths and cream soups. I bought enough to get me through one/two weeks. I didn't know what I could tolerate afterwards. Today is my first day home. Liquids are really all I want, broth is delicious! The yogurt I tossed after a few bites.

I feel your pain. I got a C. diff infection, also from clindamycin for a tooth infection. It just so happened to be 6 weeks after my VSG. Uncontrollable diarrhea with about a 10 second warning via severe cramping. No stopping it, no preventing it. At first they put me on metronidazole for 10 days, diarrhea cleared up, all was fine but then came back within 2 days of stopping meds. Another two weeks of metronidazole. Same thing, cleared up but came back as soon as I stopped. The worst part was that the metronidazole made me extremely nauseous and I could barely eat or drink anything....I was seriously having to spit out my own saliva cause swallowing it made me gag. I ended up needing IV fluids for dehydration 3 times. Plan B....vancomycin for three weeks. This is normally insanely expensive. $800-$1000 for the course but my gastroenterologist has a pharmacy that makes a vancomycin elixir for like $150. Vanco worked great....cleared up the diarrhea and didn't make me sick. But once again, 5 days after stopping the diarrhea came back. Oh, BTW, I had been drinking/eating yogurt and taking OTC probiotics since day 3 postop. I was also taking a 22 strain 50,000CFU probiotic and Sacromyces supplements once I was diagnosed with C.diff. Obviously didn't matter. So restarted Vanco and made plans for a fecal transplant. My insurance insurance wouldn't pay for it but I wasn't about to go through months and months of an ineffective antibiotIc regimen. Normal poop was worth the $$$ I had to pay. My gastroenterologist had done about 35 of them with a 100% cure rate. So I recruited a friend to be my donor.( my PCP's wife, actually), we went through all the blood and fecal tests to make sure she wasn't going to give me any other transmissible diseases and went ahead with the fecal transplant. It was super easy...just a glorified colonoscopy and it was an INSTANT CURE! Never had an issue since, and that was 20 months ago. BTW, I now list all of the C diff risk antibiotics as allergies so no one ever administers them again. In fact, I don't plan on ever taking any antibiotics ever again unless it's life or death. I just had my gallbladder removed and I let them give me ONE injection of ampicillin periop but refused the postop prophylaxis. Good luck!

Thank you tmf!! I am having a shake now, I could not even get a Greek yogurt down ...I am happy to know this is normal tho

I put a piece of meat in my mouth yesterday and my wife walked in just as I did it. I spit it out felt guilty. I understandcompletely I'm on purees as well. What are you eating?? Sent from my SM-G920V using the BariatricPal App Protein powder in nonfat milk for Breakfast or scrambled egg, tuna pouch with one wasa cracker, turkey meatballs in chicken broth and chard and a few saltines, yogurt, cottage cheese non fat or lie fat by Lucerne with apple sauce, mmmm butter Beans, refried beans or pinto beans with salsa, hummus and Melba toast or wasa, Basically that's what I choose from..I chew tge crackers to pulp and my NUT said it was fine bc I was hungry all if the time before and now I'm not. I eat five mini meals every 2.5-3hours as they told me. Not sure it's working yet... I use fage yogurt with stevia drops and true line or lemon for flavoring it I buy yogurts from trader Joes non fat Greek. Still on popsicles!! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using the BariatricPal App

I'm on purees as well. What are you eating??Sent from my SM-G920V using the BariatricPal App Protein powder in nonfat milk for breakfast or scrambled egg, tuna pouch with one wasa cracker, turkey meatballs in chicken broth and chard and a few saltines, yogurt, cottage cheese non fat or lie fat by Lucerne with apple sauce, mmmm butter Beans, refried beans or pinto beans with salsa, hummus and Melba toast or wasa, Basically that's what I choose from..I chew tge crackers to pulp and my NUT said it was fine bc I was hungry all if the time before and now I'm not. I eat five mini meals every 2.5-3hours as they told me. Not sure it's working yet... I use fage yogurt with stevia drops and true line or lemon for flavoring it I buy yogurts from trader Joes non fat Greek. Still on popsicles!! What are tge crackers? Where do you buy them?

When I did my pre op diet of seven days. It was soo hard especially with my mom eating around me and finding out I'm allergic to sugar free stuff I did cheat with a little yogurt and a bite here and there and felt emotionally weak but it happens...you have a full sized stomach, gherkin hormones and more ... Pick up the pieces and start over! Interestingly, I was so sick from vomiting and diarrhea, my surgeon allowed me Protein powder with forbidden skim milk and celery and carrots finely chopped I in my broth so it's not like all or nothing Not saying cheating is okay but also saying calling yourself a failure isn't useful or helpful and this is not likely a prediction of how things will be post op bc you will physically feel totally different and not likely hungry

Im at the pureed stage starting Monday for 2 weeks. I have refried beans, mashed potatoes, egg whites, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc...baby food seems the easier option( im a grab and go type person)..what flavors are half decent?

Personally, I thought the baby food was gross. There was only one flavor I could stand, I think it was chicken tetrazini. The fruits are okay (I actually buy the bananas as a snack and have done this for my entire life!). During your soft stage I really say greek yogurt is the way to go. You can add sugar free puddings to it to give it a nice flavor. I don't do the flavored greek yogurts because they are lower in protein and way higher in sugar. Good luck!

Hi all. I am being sleeved next Monday August 20th. What do you use to make your foods purée. I have a magic bullet. Is that enough? I hate Greek yogurt and really don't want to eat baby food. Also, what to you eat on full liquids besides protein shakes and yuke, yogurt.

I have been working to optimize nutrition pretty much throughout this whole process, within the limits of our restricted volume/calories and high Protein requirements of our sleeve – to me, the popular ketogenic diets leave too much nutrition behind to be worth whatever benefit they’re supposed to provide. From relatively early on I have regularly had small salads with a couple ounces of meat, mixed in an ounce or so of raspberries with my greek yogurt, frequently along with some almond and oat or wheat bran for added Fiber. I averaged a 2-3 nominal fruit/veg servings per day (against 7-8 pre-op). Potatoes were frequently present as an efficient source of potassium and mid-way thru the process some whole grain bread was added strategically as a complex carb source for fueling extended workouts. Now, in the transition to maintenance mode for the past month or so, I’m getting in 4-5 fruit/veg servings per day and my stretch goal is to minimize supplements long term. A few days have avoided Calcium supplements (2000mg per day is my target) and I sometimes see 80- 85% of the potassium RDA (that’s a tough one to supplement without Rx.) I have added back the morning snack that I dropped early on in the loss phase and sometimes have two small afternoon Snacks as needed to boost the calories and nutrition. Today’s menu as follows – B: 3 turkey breakfast sausage, with wheat toast/butter (good pre-workout profile for morning personal trainer session.) S: non-SF instant breakfast (the moderate sugar dose aids in transport of protein to muscle cells: SF version used where appropriate. I used to use Protein shakes for this but don’t need that much of a protein load anymore.) L: salad with chopped turkey breast, spinach, avo, tomato, snap pea, carrot, broccoli, yellow pepper, green onion, cheese S: can of low sodium V8 (great source of potassium), greek yogurt w raspberries and almond granola D: pot roast, roasted potato, broccoli S: protein loaded pudding on a piece of eggface protein cake. I have been evolving my practices of high density nutrition for several years, since my wife when thru her WLS journey with a DS several years ago and worked toward beating her down the scale (only partially succeeded, but did attain good weight stability prior to going with the sleeve to finish the job.) There’s no particular single source that we’ve used but a combination of various nutrition (as opposed to “diet”) books and the tracking software we have long used (an offline program called Nutribase, which is a slightly lightened version of what is marketed to the professional trade, as we weren’t satisfied with the online resources such as Fitday that were available at the time,) along with continued fiddling with recipes and personal preferences. As I had already worked out healthy dietary practices (other than the volume problem solved by the sleeve,) I was rather averse to the idea of doing any of the fad diets, medically supervised or not, which have such a low probability of success instead of WLS (and certainly wasn’t too keen on doing any of them post-op, either – thankfully my doc hasn’t gotten caught up in any of those fads.) With the lower volume available with the sleeve along with the general protein and caloric restrictions involved (I averaged 1000-1100 cal per day) I was able to adjust my pre-op dietary practices to my post-op needs by emphasizing the protein and dropping some of the less nutrionally dense items off the menu during the weightloss period, but generally still maintaining a reasonable nutritional balance within the remaining calorie allotment. Now, in the maintenance phase, I can add back some of those less nutritionally dense items as I work to optimize things, and don’t have the problem of having to wean off of a special deficiency diet back to normal practices – the downfall of most of the special ultra low cal type diets. I never needed to make major philosophical changes to my diet to make the sleeve work, nor to move into healthy maintenance practices. Good luck in your efforts,

1. when you drink first thing in the am is it more like: b. i cant drink anything cold or even luke warm but i can get down coffe and other hot drinks 2. for breakfast i eat: PLEASE also list the time of breakfast! Time usually around 8a sometimes 9a a. protien shake...keeps pouch full for hours b. mushies- oatmeal, cream of wheat, scram eggs, yogurt keeps pouch full for hours c. solids keeps pouch full for hours 3. do you ever have acid reflux, indigestion? c. never 4. how much can you eat of the following (round-a-bout): protien shake: 20 oz *chicken (prepared any way BUT not real saucy- just meat!): 1/4 breast *salad: Can't do salads well the lettuce that is. *sandwich (made of reg. size sandwich bread) CAN'T DO BREADS only eat the cheese one slice or piece of meat *chicken, soft veggie, carb or another veggie (i know this varies with the order you eat in BUT please go buy how you typically eat?): Has to be really mushie for me to eat it. About a half cup 5. are you happy with your restriction? a. yeah! sweet spot baby b. no but i have good restriction c. no i have some but not much restriction d. hell no!! SOMEBODY fill me!!!! 6. when you pb why is it: choose all that apply a. because i ate to fast b. because i tried to eat solids c. because i wasnt paying attention to eating d. tried to chase food with with liquids e. pb??? whats that i am perfect 7. how often do you pb? a. never!!! well less than 3 times b. daily c. few times a week d. once a week e. 1-2 times a month f. its pretty darn rare but sometimes! 8. how much liquids do you get in in a day? a. i struggle to get in 64 oz. (because of restriction) b. i struggle to get in 64 oz. (because i'm lazy) c. 64 + ounces a day no problem d. 100 oz a day 9. do you eat in the correct order (protien first, veggies, then carb): a. all the time... well 90% b. ummm no i eat however i want c. 50/50 d. most of the time i eat in the correct order (70%) but its a struggle e. less than 50% of the time (you need to pick b.!!!!) 10. do you drink with meals: a. yeah b. nope c. 50/50 d. most of the time no (70%) but its a struggle e. less than 50% of the time (you need to pick A.!!!!)

O.K., so you splurged one time. Now, get back on the band wagon. I allow myself a daily splurge - one Blue Bunny (Walmart) Choco- nut ice cream bar (90 cal.), one Fudge Sicle (35 cal.), one Jello Fat-free pudding (100 cal.), or one Yoplait Light Fat-free yogurt (100 cal.) This seems to satisfy my sweet tooth keeps me from feeling deprived, and I don't feel like I have to eat the whole box. It might be slowing down my weight loss, but I feel like I'm living in the real world.

I am newly banded and about to start "Real Food" I have recently become VERY interested in making recipes lighter. Not really just following a low fat recipe but experimenting with regular recipes to see if they can be made in a overall reduced manner. Okay so I have a long history of the Low fat idea,(ie low fat cottage cheese, yogurt, cheeses) what I am looking for is a guide as to what can be substituted for the higher fat items in a recipe. Such as splenda for sugar. They are not created equal. (tried a Pumpkin Bar that came out like a Pumpkin sponge yesterday!) Long story short has anyone found good books, or online resources for such information? Thanks so much !

[ cutesingle the immediate answer to your question is "NO" - i was lucky and my mind turned off when it was bedtime and i slept well early PO i was so tired that i nodded off pretty quickly don' know what time it was cuz i was asleep i know you are going to lose weight its inevitable that the weight will come off - your stomach is now 85% smaller than it used to be, you can't and won't eat too much i know you are following all the rules with drinking and eating - you will be successful, i promise!!! but....don't hurry the process thinking you will lose one gazillion lbs in a week, don't lose sleep over how much you are or aren't losing in a week don' ever compare your small or large weight losses to anyones elses on the board - or anywhere, ok?? easier said than done, but you gotta calm down and get your necessary rest your typing away on the computer making all sorts of noise - its 3:38 am - i knew i heard something - it was you?? close your pretty eyes, count chicken breasts or yogurt good night!!!

I was banded 9 months ago and have lost 55lbs!! I have went from a size 20 to a size 14!!:glare: However, for the last 3 weeks or so, I have not lost a single pound. I go for a fill in 3 weeks.....which seems SO far away:thumbdown: I only need to lose 6 more pounds and I will be in ONEderland for the first time in FOREVER!! I also leave for a family trip to Disney World in 4 weeks.....my goal was to be under 200lbs by then....im so close....just STUCK!! I have a membership to your local YMCA. I go 5 days a week. I do the treadmill every morning for 45 - 55 minutes.... i jog the first 1/2 mile or so, then fast walk another 2 miles for a total of 2 - 3 miles. Then at night I go back to the Y for either Water Aerobics or Spinning Class. My band is at great restriction. Not sure if its at the perfect restriction yet?!?! I watch what I eat....and am very careful not to end up PB'ing. My diet ususally consists of a liquid Breakfast (band is SO tight in the mornig), a lean cuisine for lunch, then a small meal for dinner...usually whatever my family is eating. I seldom snack...if i do, its usually just a yogurt with granola, or a Jello or pudding cup. I dont know what I am doing wrong. Is anyone else having this same thing happen to them? I would appreciate ANY suggestions you have! Should I exercise more?? Should I add calories?? Eat less calories?? BTW...i usually eat between 800-900 calories a day. Maybe thats just not enough and I should eat more!!! Thanks for letting my vent!! Keep your fingers crossed that my scale starts moving!!

I was on liquids for 1 week. Weeks 2 and 3 are liquids plus 1 ounce every 2 hours of one of the following: egg whites, refried beans, yogurt, sf pudding or lf cottage cheese. I know 1 ounce isn't that much but I swear I don't feel anything. I remember feeling much more restriction with the band early in the process. I am just worried I am going to be able to eat too much if I am not really careful.