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I actually ate soft food yesterday! I had 5.5 oz of vanilla Greek yogurt and it was great it was a whole container and it took about an hour to eat the whole thing using a baby 👶 spoon 🥄. It was so good. Five or six spoons in I would stop for a while, like 10 or 15 minutes and then have 5 or 6 more spoons that is why it took an hour to eat what used to take 2 minutes. I coked two pieces of salmon for my husband for his dinner and lunch and I had to sample what I cooked I had just a 1/16th of an inch of a piece just a small fork pick off the end of one piece. I chewed it till it was water in my mouth and it was so good. I may actually try some cream of wheat this morning.

Also, try something like this: Easy Turkey Skillet Non-stick cooking spray 1 lb lean ground turkey 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped 3 tablespoons tomato paste 1 teaspoon each basil, oregano, red pepper and garlic powder ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper 3 tomatoes, chopped 2 medium zucchini, sliced & halved (I actually do green peppers instead) 1. Brown turkey and onion in non-stick skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Cook until turkey is cooked through and onion is soft (about 10 minutes) 2. Add tomato paste and seasoning. Simmer another 10 minutes. 3. Add tomatoes and simmer another 5 minutes. 4. Add zucchini and cook 5 minutes more. Serve hot. Serves 4 (about 1 cup per serving) Calories 181; Carbs 13g; Fiber 4g ; Protein 21g ; Fat 6g

I gained this week! Trying not to be too bummed/worried about it because otherwise despite what seemed like plateaus at the time I’ve actually been losing steadily if I look at it weekly. I still weigh myself most mornings but I only “count” the weigh ins on Monday mornings, which helps me not obsess as much... I’m about 10 weeks out if I’m counting correctly, breakfasts and lunches are going well but my dinners have been all over the place and not great, so that and getting to the gym will be my focuses this week!

Mine was pretty much the same as @j San The first 10 days full liquids including protein shakes, 1 week of soft, 1 week of purée then full foods but was told to wait about 4-6 months before starting beef/steak and pork chops but everything has been working out fine so far, I’m tolerating everything that I’ve tried. I am 5 1/2 weeks post-op. I wish you all the best

My surgeon (not my insurance) wanted me to lose 10% of my starting weight before surgery. (I negotiated him down to "what if I do my best, but we schedule at the beginning of flu season, so I don't lose my surgery spot to the case of bronchitis I catch every winter?" And then, by a single pound, I actually beat his goal, anyway, on the day of surgery.) He makes all of his higher-BMI patients do that. I'm not sure how scientifically valid that extra requirement is, but he's one of the pioneers of the sleeve procedure and has done thousands of surgeries, so I guess he gets to cherry-pick for the most compliant patients. I felt like it was kind of cruel and unnecessary, for most of the four months it took, but honestly? In the last week before the surgery and the week since? I'm grateful that I had a chance to follow the "long-term bariatric patient" diet, with its focus on lean proteins and vegetables and fruits and (if those other things aren't filling enough, which eventually they won't be) complex carbohydrates. I learned that it wasn't especially hard, and I could follow it without tracking every bite (which makes me crazy) and without spending hours in the kitchen. I learned that there was room for "cheats"--for breaks from that protocol--and as long as I kept them to a minimum, with maybe a little stricter eating before and after to help mitigate it, I could be successful at following it and not feel miserably deprived. Now, like ... part of my problem is that I am always hungry (which is wild, when you're just a couple of days post-op; the belly gurgles, but it is lying, and oh how I hope this goes away soon). And to deal with that while still following the rules of the pre-op diet, I would do the normal things--drink and see if the hunger goes away, mostly--and if those things didn't work and it wasn't time for a meal, I'd have the smallest snack I could get away with, to stave off the hunger. Maybe it'd be a cheese stick. Or an ounce of peanuts. Or a Greek yogurt. Sometimes I could get by with just a sugar-free popsicle or a half cup of sugar-free Jello. It wouldn't make me full, but it'd take care of the hunger enough that I could focus on whatever it was I was doing. If that isn't the problem you're running into -- if it is emotional, say, rather than hunger-related -- my advice won't help much. (I won't claim not to have emotional eating problems. I definitely had some cheat days that were based around the news, for instance. But other than "don't do it often; be strong," I've got nothing for you, there.) I hope it helps someone, though?

Thank you so much! I actually feel much better. It was a pressure every time I drank water. I am able to get water down now with no issues. Thank God! I had very bad reflux before surgery, and I think that is going to be a huge problem now, unfortunately. HW 230 SW 218 (10/4/2018) GW 130

My program only refers to three phases--"puree" and "soft" are so close, anyway, that they just lump them together. Yogurt is considered phase II, not a liquid, so that's also a difference. They apparently let us start on phase II after the post-op appointment, 10 days after surgery. I'm planning to ask a lot of questions about what are the easiest foods to start with, then. In our booklet, phase II (puree and soft) is listed as "3-6 weeks," so I guess it varies a lot by individual. I'm not inclined to push things unnecessarily, so I am just going ahead and planning for 6 whole weeks; if at my 1-month post-op they say "you need to try phase III foods now," then I will, but I bet they don't push it, either. (But then, I can live on cottage cheese, ricotta, yogurt, refried beans, lean meats, and mashed cauliflower for a pretty long while, because I genuinely like those things, which I get that not everyone does.)

What treatment ws used to remedy the pain? I have been banded for 10+ years. It was not a sucessful in weight loss. I just stopped going for fills and sort of forgot about band. I started have severe mid back pain. I ended up at Kaiser they performed 2 cat scans one with contrast, 1 MRI and now they are going to do an upper GI. I found this site over the week end and now believe it is the lapband. If I get in a car OMG the pain is so intense. This pain has been going on for 3 weeks I am exhasted from it. I belong to Kaiser so must get refferal before going to a specialist. I also started the KETO diet 4 months ago and have lost 25 pounds. At first I thought it was attributed to that. I hated the thought of being told I had to stop diet it is the first sucess I have had in years. Is anyone here a kaiser member?

Hw 257 SW 229 Post surgery day 236 CW 215. So I’m at 5 weeks and down 42 pounds sip sip sip walk walk walk. Also remember for those of us so fresh post op 1 oz liquid should take 5-10 min. Go slowly.......

My date was 10/2/18. I’d love to join in.

Oh wow! Ok, so yeah, the shakes lessening are good! But sadly the granola is probably one of the culprits of that. Are you making the granola homemade? Or are you using pre-made stuff? Cuz I can link you to some homemade low carb ones that are easy to make! And taste fabulous. Yay on watching the vid and getting the book. I just started reading it yesterday. So far I've just been trying to devour his YouTubes and building on my IF stuff from my books from Dr. Johnson, Dr. Moseley, and Dr. Varady on ADF IF. These 3 espouse the ADF calorie restricted methodology rather than meal timing IF. But as usual...I complicate and do both. I think Dr. Fung may be in favor of the longer IF OMAD version and look forward to reading his recs for dietary protocol. If by sweetener you mean anything with sugar or fructose or sucrose, then most definitely. Anything with highly available carbs will spike insulin -- even grains and legumes (although certain grains spike it slightly slower). Do you have Stevia or Swerve or Truvia or Sukrin products there? Those that have stevia and fructooligosaccharides stimulate it less. There is some info that Splenda (sucralose) spikes insulin, and the vote is split on whether or not erythritol spikes insulin--on the sucralose and erythritol, these insulin spikes occurred in the absence of blood sugar spikes--so they are silent offenders. But bottom line is if insulin is elevated, fats stores get locked up tight in the cells and won't be released. I think 14/10 and 16/8 are def. great places to start. I can't wait to read more about the protein requirements during IF, cuz I am concerned with getting my protein in on days that I do 22-24hour fasts like I'm doing today. The most I can get in right now is about 50g of protein. Congratulations to her!!! BTW, even though you are normal weight you can also IF 1-2 days per week. You just have to make sure to balance your cals on non-fasting days with healthy cals and you might be able to take advantage of the autophagy that it offers for eating loose skin and damaged cells!!

Thanks fluff She has been low carb for most of this year, as I moved to a low(ish) carb life following the surgery. That said I mean under 50 a day - her was a little higher (largely because she is physiologically attached to her morning granola, although she has given up the pre-bed granola helping!), but gone are chips, crackers, pasta, rice and most bread. That is how she has dropped down to 60.5kg - the lowest in the 18 years we have been together. And exploring it with her yesterday after we watched the video (and have bought the book) she is pretty sure the shakes have become a much less frequent thing, which all fits. So today she is moving from 14:10 to 16:8 fasting. In fact, last food by 7pm and then missing breakfast all together, and starting her day with an 11am lunch is the idea. Q - does 1/2 sweetener in evening tea stimulate insulin production? You say avoid sweetener, and I just wondered why...

I was so worried about transfer addictions after surgery.. but thankfully- I’m now 10 months smoke free. I know if I make it a year, statistically the odds of me starting again go down drastically. I hope it worked out for the OP!

I'm schedule for 10/19 to!! 🤗

Yes I agree, starting healthier choices for all family members is ideal, in my case when I make healthier meals like salad, brussel sprouts, broccoli, it all ends up on the floor, not in their mouth. I don't understand how kids could be such picky eaters and as their mom, I can't let them starve so I choose to let in and give them what they like. I do believe after WLS I will change my food choices, which really I've been doing for a couple of months lost 6 pounds. I need to get creative with foods replace carbs with healthier foods trick my kids. But for now I've been practicing not drinking 20-30 minutes after a meal @10 mins prior, chewing my food until its soft getting in my protein in shakes and taking vitamins. Still very nervous about surgery but from it seems like most people are very pleased and most say wish they had done it sooner.

I know how you feel.. my first few days post op I was crying a lot and thinking why did I do this, I should have tried harder without surgery. But now I’m feeling so much better (my surgery was Monday 10/1) and the scale makes me smile!! Just keep hanging in there I promise it gets better!!

My biggest piece of advice is not to over order supplies for post surgery. I'm 7 weeks post and still have 2 boxes of Premiere protein, 2 canisters full (used about 10 ttl servings) of protein powder, 1 unflavored protein powder, miscellaneous high protein shake samples, 2 boxes of protein jello, 2 boxes of protein pudding... Your appetite, flavor profiles change so much. From a non food prep standpoint, increase in activity helped. I also did what @GreenTeaLael and organized cabinets, etc.

At this point I can take 7-10 pills at a time with no issues. They range in size from my fish oil capsule (huge) to my Cozaar pill (tiny).

I found mindful eating helps - the meditation-while-eating kind. Then I did an assessment of all my behaviors and realized I was allowing a 10% of variance across the board - an extra bite of lunch when out with coworkers, an extra piece of cheese, a bigger mug for my coffee, more frequent errands to the CVS where I just happen to pick up something slightly sugary, a shorter walk with the dog... Realigning all of that helps, and the mindful eating part made me really focus on “why am I eating this, is it fulfilling my expectations, is this really the taste I wanted”. Backsliding blows.

I'm 51 years old and work and pay the ridiculous insurance costs myself. It's not going to get better anytime soon. Insurance companies are estimating huge premium increases again in 2019.

Hello, I am 3 weeks post OP on Monday 10/08/18. I was just like you, scared and excited! Since surgery, I haven't been able to meet my protein and water goal. I can only drink one bottle of protein and 2 bottles of water. I hope your doing well and not, having any issues. One advice I can give you is, to walk, walk, walk. It helps a lot with the gas. Since being 3 weeks post OP, I've lost 48pds. If your anything like me and others, we basically hated we did went through with the surgery. But, that phase will pass super fast, once you see the numbers on the scale decreasing. Stay hydrated and walk. You got this!

I'm also scheduled for 10/22/18

So sorry that several of you are so sick. Don’t let stress become overwhelming. Remember 1 oz per 10 min when your pouch is being mean. Please feel better