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Tips from a successful sleever on what made me more successful than most (in my observation and talking with others who were sleeved at the same time as me) 1. Protein and Produce before Carbs and Crap. If it is a starchy veggie or fruit, put it in the carbs and crap category (any root veg like potatoes, carrots, parsnips unless consuming less than a teaspoon per meal). Green leafies and very low carb veg (spinach, mushrooms, sometimes onions and peppers in very small amounts) are the only things that should go in the produce category so far. 2. Track, track, and track some more! Find a website you like. I like sparkpeople.com because it has a function to let you enter in your own recipes by ingredients, calculate servings, etc so you know exactly what you are putting in your body. 3. Watch your calories! At this point, you should still be around 650-800 calories per day total. And your carbs! You should be around 50 total for the day, if not less. 4. Keep your protein HIGH with lean meats such as tuna, shrimp, chicken (dark meat is OK if you have trouble with white meat), and extra lean ground beef. Fill up on your meat portion FIRST before you take a single bite of any veg or side dish!! This will keep you fuller longer and stop blood sugar spikes that cause false hunger later. If you find you are hungry between meals, plain non-fat greek yogurt (single serve cup) sweetened with splenda or similar will cut cravings and give you an extra protein boost. 5. You have no more hunger hormone; you are not physically hungry you are either thirsty, emotional, or bored! Take a drink of Water (or a few!) and find an activity to do instead of eat unless it is a designated meal time. AVOID SNACKING LIKE THE PLAGUE! That "eat every few hours" concept is bunk and can lead to you eating hundreds of extra calories during the day you do not need. 6. Plan your meals out in your tracker first thing in the morning so you know exactly what you are going to eat and when. This helps curb snacking because future meals are no longer an unknown. 7. Get moving! It doesn't have to be much. Park your car further from the door and jog at a comfortable pace to and from your car. Take stairs. Get up and dance to the theme songs of tv shows you watch. Dance with your cat, dance with your gram, just move a bit! 8. No refined sugar. PERIOD. You'll get it back later, but for now, Splenda is your best friend! 9. Watch your portion sizes! At this point, one third measured cup total per meal (unless it is something like plain non-fat yogurt or similar) should be more than enough. One extra bite today leads to two next week which leads to very little restriction a year out. 10. Lastly, if you are having trouble emotionally adjusting or the thought of letting go of food is troubling you, find a therapist to talk to. They are invaluable throughout this experience! I am almost two years out. I lost almost all my weight in 10 months after surgery using these parameters and I have been able to keep it off for 13 months. Good luck!

oh i got a great tip from a lady (and a not so great tip lol). The great tip was make your own delicious Soup - she made bean soup, chicken tortilla soup etc and then strain it to drink a tastier broth. It's not quite as low sodium but at least you won't wanna kill yourself by day 10 of the liquid diet. her 'not so great' tip was "hey...ice cream is the same consistency as yogurt!" LOL. bad bad girl! i won't do that just cuz i want the weight to keep dropping off but it was kinda funny.

Divagirl...are you eating LF no sugar yogurt? No sugar applesauce, diluting oatmeal, SF pudding, soft eggs...FF cream Soup, stuff like that? As far as the tickler...I can't remember how I did it, but I do know you click on your profile and it is somewhere in there. Maybe an BP expert can assist you there....

Are you on MyFitnessPal? You can see what I eat there. I am not pushing it. I am staying on the prescribed menu by my NUT. The stuff ain't the best tasting, but its tolerable and I try to mix it up a bit, adding PB2 powder to the Premier vanilla, adding some cinnamon to the butternut squash soup, etc. Trying stuff warm, trying it cold, etc. With the two Premier drinks, I can get 60g of Protein right there. (22oz liquid) Then adding the yogurt, it's an additional 12g. protein (5 oz liquid) The half a bottle of clear Isopure is 20oz protein. (10 oz liquid) I add Water to try and get my total liquid intake to 64oz (10 oz liquid) Creamy Soups are negligible protein unless I add powdered Isopure. (4 oz liquid) Tea (4 oz liquid) Prune (diluted) (4 oz liquid) Various sips of water throughout day (8 oz liquid) This is pretty much my goal daily.

Welcome home. Breathing exercises and walking help with the burping and gas. Gas X strips too! I did not hit those liquid and Protein levels the first days home. I tried and noticed my urine was brownish showing some dehydration, but as the days went on, I could drink more and chose only clear protein Isopure with some broth with added powdered, unflavored Isopure. Just do what you can those first days home, don't push it. After day 4 home, moving to Protein drinks and other non-Clear liquids like low sodium Soups, yogurts, cream of wheat, will help. Good luck!

I know the feeling! Honestly I didn't feel like eating anything just water it was weird!! But ultimately I had to get it through my head that it would only last a week. For me I was allowed, water, calorie free sports waters, propel, isopure and the broths. It was very important to keep hydrated. I literally counted down the days till I could go to phase 2 which was creamy soups, protein drinks with less than 5gm of sugar and 150 cals. It was harder to maintain the 60oz of water and 40-60oz of protein needed but they said not to strain myself. After 2 weeks of that I'm finally on phase 3 of blended/pureed foods (which is gross!) But it helps trick your mind into thinking you're eating in a way they gave me recipes to help sort it out and stuff. Only in phase 3 (22 days after surgery) was I allowed to have yogurt so deff check with your doctor before trying that out! After 2 weeks of this comes phase 4 where you can eat solids, (FINALLY) just gotta keep your eye on the prize! Maybe make a little mark down sheet or something I have a countdown on my white board for the 26th when I'll finally be abls to eat solids! Trust me when you start incorporating solids like soup, take it easy, I did a booboo and kind of rushed a bit bc I really wanted to have it BAD and it hurt it was like a major cramp lol just take small sips! Use a baby spoon if you must

I travel all over the world with my job, and always pack lots of food from home just to be safe. You never know what will be available where, and can have problems where you'd least expect it. The places you'd think would be safe and reliable aren't, and vice versa. I don't dump and I'm 9 months out from surgery, so I can probably tolerate things that not everyone can. But this is what I've brought with me for a trip to Sydney Australia this week. Portions are 1/day unless otherwise noted. * Protein bars (2/day) * nuts * crystal light single serving mixes (5/day) * dole fruit squish'ems * bear naked honey almond high protein granola * natures all organic fair trade dark chocolate strawberry pieces * natures all organic fair trade dark chocolate banana pieces * fruit and nut blend antioxidant fusion dried and unsulfured trail mix I will also find a grocery store right away and buy bananas, raspberries, blueberries, and greek yogurt if I can find them and if my hotel has a fridge. I eat these things for Breakfast and lunch, focusing my energy on finding a nice 4oz plain chicken breast for dinner. I find that if I tell the waitstaff that I am on an extremely restrictive diet and just want plain grilled chicken (or whatever) they have no problem accommodating me. Hope this helps!

Today's food (I've been on maintenance for nearly 6 months and am maintaining at 140 pounds) Breakfast - Protein shake (GNC Lean 25) coffee latte (skim milk and coffee) Midmorning snack - Doctor Kracker 3-seed kracker, 1 ounce cheddar cheese 2T Smuckers sugar-free strawberry jam lunch - Homemade chicken / onion / peppers angelhair Pasta 4 T grated Parmesan cheese dinner - (Ruby Tuesday leftovers) 1/2 hickory bourbon salmon entree 1/2 green Beans serving 1/2 brown rice pilaf serving Evening Snacks / Treats - Dannon Greek oikos vanilla yogurt 1 cup raw strawberries 2 ounces single malt scotch (Glenlivet) Total calories = 1,583 Carbs = 151 grams Fat = 47 grams Protein = 118 grams Fiber = 17 (should be at least 21 ... oops!) P.S. I'll eat / drink more than that this weekend. I average 1700 calories/day.

I bought one of those blender in a bottle things on Amazon and I find the Isopure dissolves better in that. When I mix it with yogurt and baby food, I have to put extra elbow grease into it, but it reminds of making pancakes out of the box. KWIM? have to use flat side of the spoon to get larger pieces down and then it's fine. I would never put in Soup. I tried once in Water, and ugh revolting. Im going thru the exact same thing and im 4 weeks out, i have developed anxiety about eating Does the ispoure mix really well?

Hi ya'll I'm with you on everything said sleeved 10/9. I have my doctors appt today and I'm running everything by him. Being foreign I have a total different diet like I can't do canned food. So today I pulled out my vitamix and I'm making real veggies Soups just making sure it's blended to Water consistency. Also I did real broth from meat and I tried Miso soups. I do kefir instead of yogurts due to sugar. Please continue share your food items to help us through. I wanted to ask tho anyone else having a feeling in their sleeve after sipping premier shake. Like I have no feeling now but as i take a sip I feel a gas pain coming up littery a pain. I hope it normal since it's so early.

I'm pre-op but my freezer has ground turkey frozen talapia and some morningstar grillers veggie burgers. My fridge has yogurt string cheese lactaid milk pickles and lots of fresh veggies. I make soup Every couple of days with something I grab from the store. I visit the farmers market for fresh vegetables once a week I can get a but load for cheap and I use loads of spices

@RuxieGirl Here are a few of my fave recipes: Magic Crust Quiche - Ham Ingredients 2 cups 1% Lowfat Milk 1/2 cup All-purpose flour 5 large eggs 1/2 cup 2% Reduced Fat Pepper Jack cheese shredded 1/2 cup 2% Reduced Fat Swiss Cheese shredded 1/2 cup 2% Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar Cheese shredded 7 oz Ham diced small 1/4 cup Cooked red bell pepper diced small 1/4 cup Cooked Vidalia or sweet onion diced small Preheat oven to 350˚. In a blender or NutriBullet, mix eggs, milk and flour until blended, season with salt, pepper, garlic powder or whatever you’d like. In a bowl combine all cheeses, cooked meat and cooked veggies. Now add blended mixture and stir to combine. Pour into an 8”x8” or 9”x9” square glass dish. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Let stand 5-10 before serving. You can add whatever cheeses, veggies or meats suit your taste. I steer clear of chicken as it seems to dry to me. The small amount of flour firms up the sides and bottom making the “magic crust” while saving tons of calories. The Nutrition Facts are based on recipe above. FYI - the heavier meats, like ground beef, tend to fall to the bottom. Serving size is approximately 2”x2 1/2” Nutrition Facts Servings 12 Per serving: Calories 120 Protein 12g Fat 5g Cholesterol 94 mg Sodium 253 mg Potassium 59 mg Total Carbohydrate 7 g Sugars 2 g pizza CRUST – (Chicken) Ingredients One pound ground (raw) chicken breast ¼ cup grated Parmesan ¼ cup Reduced fat 4 cheese Italian shredded cheese – ¼ cup shredded cheese is 1 oz. by weight ½ teaspoon garlic powder ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp black or cayenne pepper (I used cayenne) Tools Mixing bowl (stand mixer - easiest combing method) Baking sheet, pizza pan or pizza stone (crispiest crust) Parchment paper Wax paper Rolling pin Pam or any vegetable non-stick cooking spray Instructions Preheat oven to 450°F. In a medium bowl combine all of the above ingredients.Place a wet paper towel on a flat surface then place your parchment paper on it. Spray it with Pam and then put your chicken mixture on top. Mixture makes 6 – 3 oz. portions, so 6 individual crusts. Lightly spray a sheet of wax paper with non-stick cooking spray (makes for easy removal). Place wax paper, sprayed side down and evenly press using a rolling pin to get it as thin as you’d like. Remove the wax paper and place parchment paper on pan bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes (depending on thickness). Put the crust between two paper towels and pat to absorb any grease. It is chicken after all. Then place it on a new sheet of parchment before topping it. Top baked crust with sauce, cheese and you favorite healthy toppings. Place back in oven on baking sheet or preheated pizza stone and cook until melted and bubbly 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from oven and enjoy! If you bake it on a pizza stone it will get crispier. Crust Only: Nutrition Facts Amount Per Serving: Servings 6.0 Calories 114 Total Fat 3g Carbohydrate 1g Dietary Fiber 0g Sugars 0g Protein 19g As Prepared : 1 Tbsp Prego pizza sauce 2 Tbsp Sargento reduced fat 4 cheese Italian shreds 1 tsp sautéed Vidalia onion 1 tsp sautéed red bell pepper ½ oz. cooked 90/10 lean ground beef Nutrition Facts Servings 1.0 Calories 238 Total Fat 10g Carbohydrate 5g Dietary Fiber 1g Sugars 2g Protein 31g Premier Protein pudding Cups or Pops Prepare pudding according to package directions replacing milk with chocolate Premier Protein shake. I prefer to use my NutriBullet. If using shaker, shake for 3 minutes or until thickened slightly. Pour into ½ cup containers for pudding cups. For frozen pops, pour into Jello pudding pop or any popsicle molds. Jello molds hold 1/3 cup each. Pudding cups set in 5 minutes and freezer pops in approx. 2-3 hours. Any flavor sugar-free fat-free pudding works, so get creative and enjoy! Nutrition Facts – Pudding Nutrition Facts – Pudding Pop Serving size: ½ cup Serving Size: 1 Pop Calories 93 Calories 62 Fat 1g Fat 1g Carbs 10g Carbs 7g Fiber 2g Fiber 1g Sugars 0g Sugars 0g Protein 12g Protein 8g Crustless Protein pumpkin Pie 15 oz. can 100% pumpkin (not pie filling) ½ cup Egg whites 1 ½ cup Premier Protein vanilla shake ¾ cup Splenda ½ tsp. Salt 2 Tbsp. Pumpkin pie spice Preheat oven 400°. Spray pie pan with non-stick cooking spray. Beat all ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Pour into prepared pie pan. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes, then turn down to 375° and bake for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. It is best served cold and can even be frozen. Serving size is 1/6 slice of pie. I used a Tbsp. of fat-free vanilla Greek yogurt as a topping (pic) but you could use Reddi-Wip fat-free whipped cream for an additional 5 calories & only 1 carb per 2 Tbsp. serving. Nutrition Facts – Pie Only Servings: 6 Calories 77 Fat 1g Carbs 10g Fiber 4g Sugars 6g Protein 9g

I just had my surgery last Wednesday it's been a week , I never needed any pain meds but in the hospital. I have lost 26 lbs and that seems too much. I have followed the diet to the letter, I have no hunger, no gas, no heartburn and am wondering why. I know to never look a gifthorse in the mouth but this seems too much and too fast. I dropped 2 lbs since yesterday and it is starting to worry me. I am 50 yrs old and was in good health at time of surgery. I hear a lot about weight lost after a month or more but no one told me I would lose this fast. What was odd was when I came home the next day after surgery my scale which I used the day of surgery said I weighed two lbs more. My Surgeon said that was from IV fluids. I can say I did have one problem if you can call it that...I was constipated for 5 days after surgery but they said that was normal. My sister is an RN and has taken all my vital signs and they are as they were before surgery with slight drop in BP, nothing big. I was a bodybuilder before I got fat if that means anything...even when I was fat I was still lifting and working out every day, you just could not see the muscles. I am afraid if I lose weight at this rate I will lose muscle. I'm drinking about 100 grams protein a day, 3 shakes of 30 grams and some Kefir yogurt with another 10 grams. I am drinking about 70 ounces of water..Propel. That's it. Should I be worried?

My fav is Dannon lite greek toasted coconut yogurt mixed with unflavored ispoure that I sprinkle cinnamon and some truvia on top of. So good! I also like a Carnation Instant Breakfast shake made with skim, unflavored ispoure, and PB2 which thickens the shake and tastes more like PB than choc than a runny CIB shake. I try to mix up sweet with salty and will drink some broth after the wait period after a meal. Helps me feel satisfied. I'm right along with you - sleeved on 10/6. :-)

Sounds like you have some samples coming from Unjury. Why not go to GNC or Vitamin Shoppe and buy 1 of a few brands of liquid proteins and try them to see what your taste buds like? Fat Free soups - I like Progresso and Amy's brand, again it depends on your taste buds. I like FAGE0% greek yogurt, however it's thick and not sweet at all. I like that slightly sour taste, but not everyone does. You can buy a single serving container and try it. One thing I found useful was to mix a big of the FAGE with the milk based proteins (powdered or RTD). The sourness of the yogurt balanced out the overly sweet taste of the protein shake and I got that extra protein boost.

I've been cleared for the following items which were under the heading in my handout, "with surgeon's approval" -- - proetein liquid supplements (1000 calores per day) - skim, 1% or soy milk mixed with whey or soy Protein powders (limited to 20 gm protein/serving) - fat free cream Soups - fat free, plain yogurts or plain, non-fat Greek yogurt I have a good relationship with my dietician and she seems to advocate common sense over strict rules. Like, 3 days before surgery nothing but Clear liquids. But before, no need to torture oneself. She also said non-starchy greens were okay up to a week before surgery as long as they were chewed well. She doesn't like the idea of Jello unless you let it practically melt before swallowing. With this in mind, can someone recommend specific products? Grocery stores and shopping are alien to me and all I have is me. ;( Like, any particular brands of Soup? Yogurt? Not a big fan of plain yogurt, but I guess when you're starving, it serves its purpose. She also recommended throwing some scrambled egg whites in broth and mixing well. And Vitamins. The woman at unjury was very nice. She threw in samples of chewable multi-vitamins, Calcium citrate plus and B-12. How long does one have to take chewables? What is recommended other than a multi-Vitamin? What is recommended when chewables are no longer needed, or does that day ever come? Sorry if a lot of this info is readily available and I know I've seen most of this discussed somewhere or other, but frankly I don't remember where or all the info - I was on brain overload. Many thanks for thoughts and recommendations. Time is short, diet starts 10/22.

When I was still on liquids I got tired of sweet shakes, so I really liked the ProtiDiet tomato basil and creamy chicken Soups. You might also want to try the unjury chicken Soup. By the third week I was also able to have Greek yogurt and cottage cheese. I am glad you realized that you are having a third week stall. Stalls are a normal, natural, and necessary part of the process. Just stay off the scale if it's going to cause you anxiety. Best of luck.

I have almost identical story, first lapband then bypass. I am 4 weeks post surgery and I have no idea what to eat. I don't want what they want me to eat, I just don't feel like eating. I like to eat apples, greek yogurt is also OK, but I don't care for cottage cheese. Can you tell me what you ate? You are doing so well.

I ate creamed soups during puree stage. Creamy tomato bisque w parmesan was my go to. Otherwise i filled up on protein shakes and yogurt. I pureed a can of potato soup. No energy for homemade anything.

How many day post-op are you? It sounds like you are in the liquids phase now? My NUT gave me a list for soft foods that includes: mashed potatoes thinned with light milk alternative well-cooked yams without skin steamed or poached fish, moist tuna, ground chicken/turkey soft veggie burgers low fat Beans chicken - shredded and moistened with broth scrambled egg whites or egg substitute, soft cooked or poached (not fried) greek yogurt, cottage or ricotta cheese low-fat or nonfat cheese string cheese non-fat feta cheese applesauce (unsweetened) ripe bananas soft, canned fruit in juice (pour out juice) all soft, well-cooked veggies except fibrous ones like celery and asparagus, corn seasonings - herbs ok

Be Do Have that sounds great! I am at 14 days today and will start my transition to puree. Yay!! Love the baby bell idea and I plan to try laughing cow as well. I am concerned because if I eat yogurt or cottage cheese I can eat 4 oz without an issue. I hope that is not a problem for me. Keep up the good work!

@@bakawaka - I have never tracked my total grams of sugar per day, but I do eat a couple varieties of Greek (because it contains more protein) yogurt; Dannon Light & Fit and Oikos Triple Zero, both of which contain 7 grams of sugar. As @@toasty mentioned there are some sugars that are okay and I have also been told by my nutritionist that the sugar in yogurt is one of them. So, sorry I do not have an answer, but you should be able to find yogurt with less than 20 grams of sugar if you are concerned about that amount. Good luck!

My nut wants us not to have anything wtih more than 8g of sugar per serving. I break this 'rule' with my yogurt because there is only one brand/flavor i like. I try to avoid eating it daily. Otherwise I stick to it.

At that stage I ate puréed soups, yogurt, cottage cheese, sf jello and pudding. My surgeon does not push a lot of protein right away, just try and eat. And heal. I would also drink chicken broth, Unjury has a protein one that I liked.

Sorry you have to get back to regular life so quickly. Hopefully when you are not in school, you can rest and heal. I would drink your Protein drinks and add a variety of items as suggested above like high protein, low fat, low sugar greek yogurt, creamy Soups like low sodium butternut squash, clear Isopure and SF popsicles, etc. I know that I have prescription pain meds or I can take Tylenol for pain every 6 hours or so. You can do this.