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When I went to get a fill on Friday the doctor said that I should not bother with yogurt or protien shakes for breakfast. He said it only caused me to be starving by the time lunch comes around. He is right. The only thing is what should I eat for breakfast? I can't eat eggs because they get stuck. Does anyone have a suggestion?

I can still, at a year and a half, only eat a limited amount of dense things such as steak. Potatoes and rice fill me up very fast so I leave them to last or avoid them. Yogurt goes down easy as do most things that have a high moisture content. So, having said this, I pronounce your observation.....normal.

I haven't experimented with any so called slider foods. My greek yogurt is good for me so ill call it my slider food. Thanks everyone I appreciate the sharing. .

1 Month out... My surgery was Dec 1st. I was 263, I am almost 5'2". After surgery the first 3 weeks i was in severe pain. My only issue was pain. I could tolerate the shakes, Vitamins, Water, Soups, all the necessary requirements. I never suffered from nausea nor have i vomited once. Every Now and again i get the stuck feeling but nothing serious. Just pain... I had catscans ave several test which were all normal. I may have pulled an abdominal muscle is the only culprit my doctors had. Today i can't stand Protein Shakes. And honestly my diet is not right. I have progressed to soft foods... Mainly fish which i can eat a few ounces with no problem. I think actually all i eat is fish cheese and greek yogurt. I can stomach Isopure but it takes all day to get through. I miss most... salad. I can't wait for raw veggies. I stalled from week 3-4 with no change in weight... And that was also christmas where i tasted pinches of all wrong things while visiting family. Total lost thus far 23 lbs... i am 240... And its been forever. I notice the weight lost in my face,mainly my cheeks. My guy rubbed my back and said it was easier for him to rub... Not as wide. MEN#. I can tell my upper body has lost some fat but not really noticeable in clothes yet, i have a little room in my thighs in some of my tight pants but not yet at a place of buying smaller clothes. Hormones... 1st i've been a lil aroused. I haven't really been in about 6 or more months. The big change... So far i'm late and i have been on schedule most of my life so this is a new phenomenon. No feeling of blues or regret. Wish everybody health and success!

if you look at my earlier posts, I was really scared of eating. My surgeon - who was technically fabulous - didn't givve me a diet sheet and doesn't believe in prescriptive eating plans. He just told me to have Soups, soft scrambled egg with tiny pieces of ham chopped into it and apple puree or yogurts. Apple puree good to guard against constipation by the way! I read what everyone else, especially in USA was being given, and thought I'd vomit or slime (still not sure what that is!). But actually, I was fine. I knew I had to get lots of Protein in, so made sure I ate as much as I could. eggs weren't brilliant - in fact, I'm still not keen on eggs post-op. But tuna with very light mayo is great - I still end up leaving the bread! I don't know if you have little jars of meat or fish paste in US but they were good. Sip at drinks all day. Someone advised me to get popsicles (is that the right word? Ice pops in English!), and they were fab to keep me hydrated. I made my own with lowcal fruit juice. Now, I pretty much eat anything, though not in great quantities. The 'putting your knife and fork down physically between bites' is great advice, as it makes you eat more slowly - this gives the brain time to receive the 'I'm full' message from your stomach... if I overeat (which isn't often) I get hiccups! Don't be afraid, just keep trying different things x

As far as jello and yogurt 4 spoonfuls seem to b the magic number...as far as soup/broth I can get a cup down

I can't believe I'm 4.5 months out and still struggle with an appropriate dinner. It seems any meal I prepare makes me bubble up with gas and become nauseous. My breakfast is a shake. My lunch a yogurt. I can't seem to break old habit and eliminate "the dinner meal". Should I really have yogurt for dinner and walk away?

Holy Moly, I can't imagine an aggressive Europe schedule that soon after surgery, but it looks like you are making the best of it!! I was dead-exhasted for 8 weeks after surgery - no way I would have been a good travel companion. The best thing in Europe are the breakfasts, no? All the cheese, meat, and yogurt a new sleever could ask for!! I did a work trip to the UK at about 3 months post op and I would raid the Breakfast offerings and stuff them in my purse for later. I took a yogurt for breakfast, a spare yogurt for later, and a packet of hot Cereal that I would make with hot milk in the office. Peel the meat off a sandwich, toppings off of a pizza, or order a tapas plate and I was good to go. String cheese was another purse-staple. BTW - oatmeal, hot meusli, or whatever you can find may help your constipation issues. I religiously ate at least one meal of whole grain hot cereal a day in the first few months. Bon chance!

I recently had a back surgery and had to quit my job. So I am at home and not able to do much but walking. I am obsessed with what I am going to eat throughout the day. I dont bing but I am always on my phone app fat secret typing what I am going to have! I too have the exact same insurance requirements. I had my first Nutrition class Thursday and I originally weighted in at 254.4. At Thursdays appt I was 250.2!! The trick is when you eat track it and set limits! I have been told to eat within 30 minutes from waking otherwise your body goes in starvation mode. So when I get up, I got straight for the bullet and make my own protein shake. This may not be the way we are going to do it post op but its working for now. At lunch I have a rather big protein planned meal and the I have a shake later on around 5 pm. Around 7 I have a snack of either yogurt or an apple with PB. So far so good. I have been trying to watch the clock and make my meals last 20-30 minutes and not to drink before or after at least 30 minutes. I counted my days left today because I'm going stir crazy. I have excatly 79 days to surgery!! I would love to be a buddy as I am pretty much on my own here.

Do not cut the Metformin ER without checking with your surgeon. Actually for any extended release you need to check with a doctor or pharmacist. Those types of pills/capsules are not designed to be cut or crushed due to the extnded release properties. My surgeon said I can swallow pills smaller than an M&M. For the Actigall, which is a capsule, I take it with warm Water to soften it and with dairy such as yogurt, pudding, cottage cheese so it stays in the stomach longer and acts as a buffer.

Check the sugar content. If it's over... what? 15 Grams? Then you don't want to eat it. Try sugar free Popsicles. Healthy Choice has a frozen Greek yogurt that's good, too. It comes in 1/2 servings, but only three in a package.

I don't care for the Greek yogurt either, too tangy for me. Although in casserolesas sour cream, it is fine. I had to play with it to 'sweeten' it up. sugar free jelly'and Stivia or Sweet 'N Low help a lot!! You are so welcome. I just had my cottagecheese for breakfast, at this point I can eat a half cup, so that is 13 grams rightoff the bat!!! Yay! Since the beginning, I start the day and end the day with a cupof milk. I really, really did not want to lose my hair and haven't, so "mission accomplished". LoL I also take Biotin. I don't know if it helps, but the nurse at thedoctors office suggested it and I know it can't hurt! If I think of anything else, I'llsure send it your way. I like fish, I know you said you don't. I do NOT like fishy fish.I love Cod.....grilled. I put it in Olive Oil, with the crushed garlic (find it at Wal Martin a jar) use a TB or a little more. Sea Salt and ground pepper. Marinate it for a littlewhile if you have time, if not, just spoon the mixture over it....then grill. We like charcoalbut gas is fine too........this is oh-so-good. Fish is 'soft' and easy to eat, full of Protein.If you want/need to snack....get the low fat/skim mozzarella cheese sticks, even eat morecottage cheese or get some deli sliced lunch meat. Have a great day!!!Stacy

I was sleeved 3/14 by Dr. Aceves. I am in my puree stage as well. I am finding that most purees are not sitting well in my stomach. I did find that squeezing lime into plain Water to turn it acidic made a HUGE difference. I am now able to drink so much more liquids. It's a revelation. Juices, protien shakes, and non-water liquids I am struggling with big time. I am not sticking to my diet as close as I ought to be, however, I expect that will come in time when I am fully healed, all I can do is do my best. My biggest focus right now is getting in enough liquid so I don't dehydrate. I am still in a position where eating is not enjoyable. Things that work for me: Stage 2 baby food "pouches", good way to get in veggies and Fiber without getting ass explosions Watered down hummus, though the garlic was a bit much liquid drinkable probiotic yogurts (they're the perfect size too) water with a squeeze of lime hawaiian style coconut gel (haupia) broth sugar free pops protien shakes if I can handle them but usually I can't. pureed Soups.

I totally get where you are. I’m 3 days from seeing the doctor and getting the green light to move up in foods. I’m tired of shakes, pudding, yogurts, etc between pre-op and post-op we’re talking 4 weeks of nothing... BUT... my way of doing things got me to where I am!! So every time I get the urge to eat something off my list I remind myself what I want and walk away. I’m not hungry, I don’t need it, and it’s not worth it. If I cheat now, I’m just giving myself permission to cheat later. If you’re truly hungry, call your team tomorrow and get permission to move on. Just my thoughts.

I bet if you bring something health-ish your friends will thank you! What about doing fruit skewers with strawberries, watermelon and grapes. You could make a sugar free (sweeten with Stevia) yogurt dip and add a little food color to make it pink. There are tons of ideas on pinterest. A good old fashion veggie tray always seems to be a hit! Pink or not! If you don't want to drink alcohol but want to feel like you are celebrating, bring some pink crystal light! Stick to your plan and try to focus on the companionship versus the food! Good luck and have a great day!

I use whole wheat flour to make pancakes. I also have a recipe that doesn't use any flour but uses oatmeal. You can take any pancake recipe and swap whole wheat flour for the white flour. Add some greek yogurt to the milk and that ups the Protein. As long as the ratio of 1 cup dry and 1 cup wet ingredients stays the same it usually works. Here's the Oatmeal Pancake recipe Combine in a blender 1/2 C liquid egg whites 1/2 C Quick cooking oatmeal 1/4 C part skim ricotta cheese 1/2 Tsp baking soda 3/4 tsp baking powder 2 packets Splenda 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla Let it sit a bit once you've blended it all together. Cook on a griddle on low heat. Makes 4 small pancakes.

Cottage cheese is a very textured mushie, maybe try thin mashed potatoes or yogurt first. Also make sure your taking small bites and waiting between bites

If there's any kind you like, yogurt is a great vehicle to get a bit of high fiber cereal. There are tons of varieties of All Bran and Fiber One and just a bit crushed up would give you crunch with the added bonus of helpful fiber.

I love Greek yogurt. I've been trying to get in as much as I can but the last few days my sleeve decided it was a no go.

Hi I have a schedule I follow to keep me on track and focus. I stared taking my vitamins about 3 weeks prior to surgery to get into the habit of taking my vitamins. I take Multivitamin with Iron and folic acid. B-12 complex Calcium nitrate 1200mg with Vitamin D 3 My food schedule 7:00 Protein shake 9:00 snack Greek yogurt 12:00 lunch Soup w/ protein 3:00 Protein Shake 6:00 dinner soup w/ protein 8:00 snack SF Jello SF pops In between I have to make sure I am drinking Water I'm not near the 64 ounces yet averaging about 40 not counting SF pops which add to water content.

One thing that's really helpful to me is to make sure and eat a healthy snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Even if I didn't want it, I have a little yogurt -- something. Because if I allow myself to get too hungry, my judgment becomes impaired and all I want is JUNK! Until you have restriction, just try to focus on nutrition and exercise, and don't stress out about the dang scale. Good luck!

I think many of the people on this forum were in the same boat you're in. We had let ourselves go, for one reason or the other, and finally decided to do something about it. For us , the band was the answer. As far as safety, the band is the safest form or WLS. Here is a blog that the writer has given me permission to repost. It gives an excellent reason the band is successful: My name is Amy Workman and I am a bandster (everyone: HI Amy). I haven't posted on here in a long time and thought I might share with you my blog post from today. If any of you watched the recent Dr. Oz show about Lapband, I thought it might be nice for those of you just beginning to see a more realistic idea of the band. I was banded January 27th, 2009. I weighed 327 and today weight 159 pounds. I love my band. My before and after pictures on here are not updated, but you can find all my pictures on my blog. If you have any questions, please email me and ask away. Sometimes we forget when we were first beginning. Do you remember the first time you googled Lapband? Or the first time you logged into the forums...frantically searching for before and afters....looking at successes and getting pumped...stumbling upon a horror story and then getting scared? Do you remember the stupid questions you asked? I remember posting on lapbandtalk.com something like "is one cup of Wendy's chili bad for you?" Well, I am going to try and remember back to when I didn't know much about the band...and what information would have been helpful. Here goes... Did you know: I started at 327 pounds. My doctor, the wonderful and handsome Dr. Jeffrey Friedman, told me that the band is not always the best choice for someone who is a grazer. They find that the band is actually more successful for men, because men tend to eat in volume (sitting down for a huge dinner and getting really full, vs eating and munching on little things all day). Some doctors say that the band will not work as well for those of us who are or were really morbidly obese. I disagree. And there are plenty of us out here who are proving them wrong. Did you know: The band may not work for you? You could have the surgery and not lose much weight at all. It is not a sure thing. BUT, if you work with the band...it can and will work for most of us. What does "work with the band mean"? Every doctor has a different regimen they want you to follow. Every doc is different, as it almost every patient. Some say no pop/soda, some say it's fine. Some have a 2 week liquid preop and scare the sweet baby jebsus out of you about not shrinking your liver enough for surgery and not being able to operate (thank you Dr. Friedman). But, you will have to do your part with the band. You will have to watch what you eat. You will have to eventually get your ass up and exercise. You will have to make healthier choices and just be better. I know you are saying WHAT? That sounds like a diet to me. And I fail at diets!!! The band is a TOOL, not the Alpha and Omega of your weight loss journey. You can "cheat" the band by eating sliders and soft food. I for one could eat cheetos all day long and the band would sleep right through it. But with the right restriction, your band prevents you from eating that large pizza, the extra value meal, the entire bovine. You have to find a doctor that you can have a relationship with. They have to be open with you and you have to be open with them. You HAVE to go see them for fills. You have to follow up. You have to be a good patient. ASK QUESTIONS. What can you eat once you are banded? At this point in my journey, I can't think of one thing I CANT eat. However, there are somethings that I try to stay away from because they are difficult with my band. Example: Bowtie Pasta. It doesnt go down well. And then it just sits in my band and expands...causing me to PB (get to that in a second). I can't eat a sandwich, or a hamburger with a bun, but I could eat a roll if I tear off little pieces at a time. Hot dogs give me problems for some reason. Dry chicken or reheated meat (with the exception of a hamburger) often give me problems as well. I still drink soda, I still drink beer. I love Soups. I can eat veggies. I can eat fruit. Eating after being banded is about going slow. It's about chewing. They say with proper restriction that 4-6 ounces of solid Protein (a piece of meat about the size of your fist) should keep you full for 3-4 hours. Most docs want their patients to avoid "slider meals". Meaning, eating a bowl of Soup for lunch or yogurt for Breakfast isn't going to keep you full or satisfied because it will SLIDE right down. You want your food to stay in your pouch, and slowly drop down. Sometimes though...food may get stuck and then you get "sick". The Dreaded PB: A couple things may happen if a piece of food gets "stuck in your pipe" as Heather refers to it. You aren't going to die. It's not like it gets stuck and you need the Heimlich. But if a piece of food gets stuck, ain't nothing else going down until it moves or comes up. The first thing that may happen is a productive burp (PB). This is not throwing up. When something gets stuck, your slobber starts to build on top of it. For me, when this happens, I get a weird sensation in the back of my jaw. And if I wait long enough, I will have to get somewhere private (hopefully) and let it come up. What comes up is this weird slime/foam combo. It doesn't hurt. And hopefully...it moves whatever is stuck. Sometimes though, it takes a little more work. Sometimes that one piece of food I didnt chew enough will be down there for hours. And then, it's not PBing. It's sort of like dry heaving until that piece comes up. There is a tightness in the chest...a pressure. It's not fun. I will say that not everyone gets stuck or PB's. And most of us would agree that when we do get stuck...it's our fault. We eat without being present, we didn't chew, we ate too fast. Restriction and Tips for Eating: Unless you are extremely lucky, you will not awake from surgery with perfect restriction. Some docs put a little liquid in your band to start with, others wait. I had to wait 6 weeks for my first fill. And again, unless you are the rare case, you probably won't get restriction with your first fill. It took me several fills before I had good restriction. ASK your doctor what his/her fill policy is. Some docs are super restrictive with their fills. They only fill on a schedule. They don't care whether or not you have restriction. All I know is if Dr. Friedman hadn't let me tell him that I was ready for a fill...and if he had made me wait regardless of what I could eat...I wouldn't have been as successful as I was. You will know you have restriction when you have it. It's sort of like having sex. If you have to wonder if you had an orgasm or not...um...you probably didn't. Restriction will keep you full and satisfied for 3-4 hours. You will be able to eat less. Restriction DOES NOT RESTRICT YOUR BRAIN. You may still mentally crave things. You will have to learn the difference between head hunger and physical hunger. This is very hard. When you do have good restriction, you will have to change the way you eat. This is easier said than done. You should be taking small bites. For example, if you are eating steak, you need to cut that sucker up into pea sized bites. You need to chew. Then, set your fork down and wait a few seconds. You should eat sitting down. You should pay attention to what you are doing. You will learn that things like eating in the car is rarely going to end well. (Always have your emergency PB kit in your car. A couple of bags, some papertowels or handywipes. Trust me.) You probably shouldnt drink with your meal or for 30 minutes after. liquids can help push your food down...thus...cheating the band. How much weight will I lose? How quickly will I lose it? Now you know that there is no one answer for this. Statistically, Lapband patients lose around 40% of their excess weight. SO, if you are 100 pounds overweight, statistically you will lose 40 pounds. I hate statistics. And remember, they are an average. 17 more pounds lost and I will have lost 100% of my excess weight...and I am not alone. It can happen. However, there are so many factors that go into how much and how fast. Genetics, age, diet history, personal support, family life, exercise. Some weeks I lost 7 pounds. Some weeks I gained 5. The weeks I gained, I gained because I ate poorly. I cheated the band The weeks I lost, I ate and made healthy choices. There are some weeks, even when I WAS doing the right thing...I didn't lose. It can be frustrating. But you can't give up. You will have to keep upping your game. At some point, even with the band, you will either have to adjust your food or exercise. But, I feel like the band is "cheating". I feel like if I have WLS, I am weak. I'm gonna tell you what. Who gives a flying monkey's ass?! Cheating what? Cheating early death? Cheating sleep apena? Cheating high blood pressure, sore joints, diabetes? I say CHEAT AWAY then. There is no shame in WLS. It's not about will power. It's not about failing. It is about trying to find a tool that works to give you some power, give you your health. I tell whoever wants to know or will listen about the band. And yes, I have heard "Oh...well...I thought you did it the hard way"...or "hmmm...that must be nice". I say listen FOOL. There ain't nothing easy about the band. It makes some things easier but it is still work. And I find that people either give you 'tude about the band bc they are afraid or jealous or because they don't understand. Either way, that is okay. I will educate or I will ignore. I feel like if I were to say "oh, I am just watching my diet and working out"...that I would be lying by omission. AND, my real fear is that someone who is overweight will think "Well, Amy did it "the old fashioned way", and they will feel like a failure when they try and do not succeed. Will my relationship fall apart if I have the surgery? We all hear the stories of what happens when someone has WLS. The divorce rate and seperation rate is a little higher for us. There are several reasons. One, for some of us....when we lose weight, we become a different person...or the person we would have been if our bodies hadn't been our enemies so long. Our expectations may change, we may want more. OR, our partners may not be able to deal with the new us. OR, as in any relationship...sometimes it's just time to move on. I don't think that having WLS should make you fear losing or changing your partner anymore than the normal person. There are tons of bandsters out there still happy and maybe even happier with their significant other. Sometimes though, even though we can't see it or don't want to admit it...we have settled. And once you start to shed your cloak of security or denial...you realize you deserve more (too bad we don't realize that to begin with. Long story short...people change and grow...with or without weightloss surgery. Are you worried about complications: No. But most days I am not a worrier about things that may or may not happen. I heard recently that the stats for band slipping are about 5% and for erosion, about 1-2%. Slipping for example, can be avoided most of the time and according to the docs...is easy to fix. Erosion is of course a little more scary. But I hope that by always paying attention to my body, my band, and how I am feeling...I can avoid it or if it ever happens...catch it early. Do fills hurt? Mine never do. My doc has never done one under fluoro. He gives me a numbing shot and then the fill. How many fills do you have to have? To get restriction, it took me 4. My first year I had around 6 fills. My second year, I had 2. Will you ever have the band taken out? Lord I hope not. Even now that I am at goal weight and weight loss is more of what I do instead of what the band does for me...it's always there. It's my safety net. It will keep me from ever being 327 pounds again. Why did you choose the band over other options? I was 28 when I decided on the surgery. I didn't want my stomach cut apart. I still wanted to be able to absorb my nutrients. I wanted to be able to eat sugar and other things without getting physcially ill. I liked that the removal of the band was a possibility if something went wrong. I liked the idea of being able to control my restriction. And even though I bitched and complained along the way, I liked the idea of a slower weight loss (vs Gastric bypass). It gave my skin and my brain a little more time to adjust. Did you know there are different brands of lapbands? I have the Allegran Lapband. Ask you doctor your choices and the differences. Mine is a 10-11cc band. Some are smaller. Were you worried about the loose skin? Barely. I figured I may look like a saggy deflated sack after I lost my weight, but I would rather be deflated then morbidly obese. And I am lucky. My skin is nowhere as bad as it could have been. Again, so many factors go into skin. Age, genes, working out, sun...etc. Would you do it again? In a heartbeat my friends. In a heartbeat. It was the best decision of my life. It was a tremedous catalyst for change. I can't think of one negative consequence of the band.

I am allowed yogurt so long as it's low sugar and has no lumps in it (no fruit on the bottom). I like Siggi's. It's thick and creamy like a custard and has 14g of Protein. It was recommended by our support group leader. I can only eat 1/2 a contain at a time so I use if for two meals. Best of luck! Carol

Can you add SF fruit preserves with splenda to taste to the yogurt? It's seriously delicious- I have had strawberry and blackberry- Smuckers! -Kendra

Your Dr will tell you what meds you should continue, or discontinue for a few days. Mine said if they are smaller than a pinky nail you could swallow them. But I chose to crush mine just to be safe. I crushed them and put in a spoonful of pudding or yogurt.