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I am on full liquids until the 9th......really tough to get in the shakes and Water all day. I went back to work this past Monday as I am a caterer/wedding planner and this is busy season. I am around fabulous delicious catered food everyday - but haven't felt hungry for it. My mind just tells me it wants it, though! I am definitely in bed by 8:30pm very tired from lack of calories I think. My birthday was yesterday, and my family got a birthday cake with the message "Happy Birthday Mommy - sorry you can't eat this!" then they put a candle on top of a premier Protein next to it. It was hilarious! I am so ready for something else besides chicken broth. I even called my NUT and asked if I could go ahead and advance to yogurt or creamed soups and she said not until my check up next Tuesday. Good news is that I am down 12 pounds since May 24th - so that keeps me excited about this journey. I have been sleeping better than I have in months. Friend brought me awesome Protein powder that is truly tasteless so I added that to Carnation French vanilla breakfast packets - that was a nice change. Have to admit, feels like I will never be able to eat real food again!

I have never been good at tracking, calories, etc., but here is my typical day: Breakfast: Quest Bar (filling and the Fiber really really helps me) Lunch: Quiche (minus the crust) or leftover meat from dinner Dinner: some sort of meat I have made my family - Half of a grilled cheeseburger patty, grilled Italian sausage link, small portion of grilled chicken, steak, pot roast, etc. and typically a tiny portion of whatever carb I served (I can't go no carb!). Snack: cheese stick, hummus with a few pretzel chips, a few cups of popcorn, a small portion of nuts, frozen yogurt... I won't lie, I'm not a veggie fan so I really don't eat any.

Hang in there- it will get better. My surgery was a month ago. (May 4) I had a lot of pain at first too. 1) Focus on getting fluids first- stay hydrated- one sip at a time. 2) Once that is under control, then worry about Protein.... I had a good start- one week on full liquids, one week on pureed foods, then I started on soft foods. I pulled a muscle, which caused pain and nausea,and I ended up in the hospital for dehydration. So I had to go back to square one- Clear Liquids for a week, and just starting on Protein shakes and yogurt. It was a set back, but I am starting fresh and feeling really good now. It will get better!

NewNewMe, Congratulations on your surgery and progress! I have to say…it’s looking good! That’s a ton of weight to lose in three (and now four) weeks. Stalls are discouraging, but they happen. They also end if you stick to the plan. Some people find shakes and bars to be helpful for getting in the Protein. Since they can be sweet, some people find them more appetizing than “substantial” foods like chicken, fish, and yogurt. For both food and drink: remember the importance of convenience! Get your food ready the day before or in the morning so it’s ready for you when it’s time to eat. No excuses for skipping meals! Between meals, keep the Water bottle nearby so you don’t have to try to remember to drink enough. Prepare your drink beforehand, whether it’s slicing up lemon for your water or brewing up tea to make iced tea. About being tired: It can definitely be a side effect of the WLS diet. You’re cutting calories – which means you’re cutting energy. What you can do to support yourself during this time is take care of all the other things that could be making you tired. Are you getting enough water? Sounds like you may not be, from what you mentioned. Dehydration can make you tired. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you taking your supplements? If you get Iron deficiency anemia, you’re going to feel tired. Good luck! You’re doing great!

I had some tomato soup, didn't know it was spicy when I bought it. I was able to tolerate it just fine. I'm one week post-op and on full liquids. I find that yogurt sits harder in my tummy than other things. I'm definitely dealing with head hunger, but my sleeve has no problem in letting me know it's too much. I had broth from Chinese soup the other day and it was the first time I felt over full. I had about 6-8oz total but felt like I'd had a 6 course meal.

What does your preop diet consist of? Mine is pretty much Protein drinks, yogurt, turkey/chicken and green veggies.

I start my full liquids tomorrow but I actually started today lol umm did you buy that dannon yogurt shake its great but I honestly feel your pain right now

Try to relax a little about all these intense and scary thoughts and feelings you are having. Really, they ARE normal for some people and nothing to feel odd about. But right now, please consider that your thoughts are lying to you. You have several stages of new eating to go through while your stomach heals and your body and brain adjust. Stuff you have never come close to experiencing in your entire life. But does that mean you are doomed for life???? NO!! You must have patience and follow your program. Remember you DID just have MAJOR SURGERY. You can CHOOSE to feel sorry for yourself for awhile. And that is ok if that is what you absolutely need to do. (Ask yourself though--is it REALLY?) But please remember that you have to be good to yourself to be successful long-term with WLS. YOU made the decision for WLS. Wishing you didn't is very unproductive thinking and takes away from your precious energy that you soooo need to build that POSITIVE ENERGY and POSITIVE ATTITUDE AND SELF-TALK to view your decision as a FUN ADVENTURE, full of possibilities instead of a lifetime of regret. You have a lot of work to do down the road in learning your new lifestyle and eating habits. You knew this was going to be HARD WORK before you signed on the dotted line. I respectfully must disagree with you--if you could have done it "on your own" you would have done it a long time ago. I had my surgery one day earlier than you four years ago on 4/26/11. You are probably not ready to hear, must less believe this right now, but my lifestyle and eating is totally normal. I don't think of myself as a freak compared to other "normal" people who haven't had WLS. I eat 3 meals a day and 2 healthy Snacks. The quantity of my meals is very close to what I ate before surgery. Breakfast is often a 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup fresh fruit, 1/4 cup All-bran, made into a pretty parfait! Most sleevers by one year can eat an average of 1 to 1-1/2 cups of food per meal. For dinner that would equal about 4-6 oz of some kind of meat Protein, and 2 servings of veggies and/or complex carb. I dine out with friends (although I choose to keep restraunt eating to a minimum because I like to eat the most nutritious meals that I can and those are the ones we prepare at home). You will learn to not "hate what you did to yourself" because who wants to live their life feeling that emotion? We want to LOVE life. You are way too young to regret ANY decisions you make. You honor yourself, trust yourself, and live in the present, not yesterday. We cannot change yesterday no matter how hard we try and cry!!! I wish you peace...

March 9th - surgery April 1 - first fill 0.5cc No change May3 - second fill 0.5cc No change June 3 - third fill 1cc this time Ate fine for supper (dr orders was liquids til late that night) chewed well, tiny bites, no problems. This morning can't keep anything down, cereal, ham slices, protein shake..... I had to manually make my self relieve the stuck food by vomiting. Later able to drink shake, yogurt, soup broth. Felt like it was on its way to get stuck so I stopped. I'm still starving but I stopped to keep from sticking. Will it start to loosen up and let me eat and finally be full?? I am going to see how the weekend goes but again, starving. Up till today I was still eating big meals because I was never full. Like I had never had surgery. Now I have this fill and wonder if this is expected? Any guidance is very welcome. I'm in an unknown territory here. Doing the slime, the PBs, all that I had heard about. Please help!

Vitamins are an adjunct and tyou can look at my tickers to see im a little over 5 1/2 months out and down 137 pounds. It took a good month on solid food before i really felt comfortable with my eating. 3 bites is wayyy too little. my day goes like this and has for quite a while, Breakfast 1 egg scrambled with 3 pieces of turkey bacon or two turkey sausages ( i recommend the Johnsonville pre-cooked turkey sausage links, they are awesome and you cant tell they are turkey..really!. ) then about 3 hours later i have a greek yogurt, the dannon low cal sugar free stuff, then 2 hous later i have my lunch either some veggies or a Protein shake with some Peanut Butter ( all natural no sugar type, or use PB2, or fruit or a mix of both) and then 2 hours later a snack usually carrots and so oil and vinegar salad dresssing as a dip kinda thing although there are some great lite salad dessings, just watch the fat and sugar content. but also can have some apple slices maybe, or the like, dinner is chicken fish, beef or pork or turkey, i love indian food type chicken, but ground beef still not having a great amount of luck with steak, or ground beef patties with cheese ( yes a cheeseburger without the bun) you can wrap in lettuce or use a very low fat low cal. no sugar lw carb bread type. I like the josephs lo carb pita and wraps, very low carbs, and i have about 5 ounces of meat and sometimes a little less than that and some veg or a small side salad, i also like having a salad if im in a hurry with some tuna, and hard boiled i egg in it, or some protein meat in it. Are my portions small, yep , smaller than i ate before, oh yeah, too small to enjoy, no. sometimes i wish I could eat more, but i cannot begin to tell you the changes my body has gone through. You ll get there just dont rush, enjoy the losing.

So, I need to vent/complain for a minute. I am so ridiculously sick of liquids. I'm hungry, miserable, and it sucks that I have to cook for my family and I have to watch them eat. I'm a week and a day out. Sunday needs to hurry up so I can at least have yogurt and some mashed potatoes. Sry I just needed to B**&& for a min. Ugh.

Sure! Skim over what you don't want...lol I am 51 and have been overweight my entire life. My highest was around 350 but I don't know exactly cos I avoided the scale like the plague. I tried maybe 5 times over my life to lose and the best success I had was starving myself and walking 2 miles a day. I lost 80 pounds and then I hit a plateau that lasted for over a year so I gave up as I had every other time. My primary care doctors would ask occasionally if I had ever thought about gastric surgery but I would always say no. I honestly don't know why except it always scared me, the thought of surgery. Finally after going through a divorce that was a bad experience and then several years later meeting the best guy ever and getting married, my pcp again asked if I would consider going just for a consult. I scheduled my consult for January 29, 2015 and did tons of research on surgery and pre-op diets and post-op diets. My husband has Crohn's and had gone gluten-free the year before and was also doing a paleo diet which is basically high Protein and low carb. By the time I went for my consult I had changed my eating habits for 2 weeks to the high protein and low carb options. I was drinking Protein shakes and trying different things. I had lost 9 pounds in 2 weeks and wasn't really as hungry as I had been in the past. I was eating about 1000 calories per day and feeling pretty good. I had decided I really wanted the sleeve because I had some Vitamin deficiencies already and I didn't want added issues with bypass. I didn't want a foreign body with the lap band nor did I want to have to pay for adjustments to it. My consult day came and I saw the surgeon who agreed the sleeve would be great for me because he said they were not doing as many lap bands anymore and he said that I had been somewhat successful on diets in the past so he had no reason to think I wouldn't be with the sleeve. I had to meet some requirements for my insurance company which were a letter from my pcp stating that she thought I needed the surgery and the co-morbidities I had, a psych evaluation (to show I was stable and would be able to handle the changes and the issues with surgery), an upper GI, an EKG, bloodwork and notes from my doctor showing a supervised weight loss plan for at least 6 months (3 of them being consecutive). I got it all done and my pcp provided the visit notes showing where I had even tried phentermine but had only lost about 15 pounds because I couldn't take a whole pill without feeling like I was strung out on caffeine...lol It took a bit but I finally got my surgery date of 5-15-15! I had to do a 14 day pre-op diet that was eating every 2 hours- sf yogurt, Protein shake, gatorade, sf applesauce, sf Jello, broth. The diet is to shrink your liver making it safer for surgery since your stmach is behind it. Not fun but after day 3 I really wasn't hungry anymore. I knew it was temporary and my surgery was coming! I was sleeved 5-15-15 llaprascopically as an outpatient. My surgery was at 7:30am. I was told to arrive at 5:30am and they had me change, did my IV, gave me a pill for nausea with 1 ounce of Water. I went to surgery and woke up in recovery. I had no nausea and no gas pains as I had heard many do. They gave me pain meds and ice chips. The ice chips were the best thing ever lol I came back to pre-op a bit later where my husband was waiting for me. I got to have a popsicle and I couldn't even finish it lol. I was told that I needed to walk and pee before I could go home. My husband helped me by pulling my IV pole and walking with me but I walked all the way around the halls. I stopped by the bathroom and peed and the nurse heard me when I came out and said okay lets get that IV out and you can go home. I had already filled my pain meds and my nausea meds. The pain med was liquid so easy to take. I took it for about 3 days and didn't need it anymore. I had also had a hernia repair when they got in there for surgery they discovered it. I was up and walking same day I would just get tired. So here I am 20 days post-op and I have lost 55 pounds including what I lost on the pre-op diet. I am walking on a treadmill now and building back up to walking longer and farther. I also attend support group at the hospital because its free and I get to talk with people pre-op to 6 years+ post op and learn from them as well as share. The ONLY regret I have is that I didn't do it sooner but I know it happened when it was supposed to. My husband and I have been married for 2 years and I may have found him late in life but I want to spend as much time with him as I can. This surgery is making that possible. I still have lots to lose but I know now that I can do it with this tool. If you want to know anything else just let me know!

My surgery was 5/11, so I'm a little over 3 weeks out. SW 324 Day of Surgery 305 CW 277 Haven't dropped a pound in over a week. Lots of trouble with nausea. Supposed to be on purée, but can't tolerate. So I'm just sticking with (and basically picking at) Protein shakes, Greek yogurt, and string cheese. So my question is: When does the stall end? Once it does end how much weight did you lose? Thank you!

So it's been a little over a week since I was sleeved and well over two weeks since I started my full liquids diet. I started getting sick of Greek yogurts, popsicles, chocolate Protein shakes, and tomato Soup. All so sweet! So today I decided to make black bean soup! It's easy to puree, will provide protein, and will satisfy my savory craving. So I made the soup, and like any good home cook, I took a few (liquid) tastes throughout the process to check seasoning. Finally, the soup was finished. I took one last taste and the seasoning was spot on! I stared at the pureed result in my Ninja blender and realized... I was full! I still can't stop laughing at the ridiculousness of being full from making my soup without even pouring myself some! Guess this is my future - lots and lots of leftovers!

One of my favorite things to tell our newbies is this: Stalls are like lovers. Your first will probably not be your last. Trust in the process. It works. It just is a fickle crazy maker. I have found that even though I have been successful these last 17 months, I still investigate every new diet that comes out. I have my 18 month follow-up appointment on 6/11 and will confess to my bariatrician that I have this anxiety and a tendency to have "exercise bulemia". I feel like if I eat anything, I have to go exercise off the calories right away. So, just stay on point with Protein first, then veg, then limited fruit. I had to give up Peanut Butter and cheese to move my most recent stall. maybe I will try those again after my panni at the end of the year. (I have to be two years out.) Remember these basic concepts that many of us follow with the variety of plans our bariatric teams give us: Drink no calories. Drink Water until your eyeballs float - 64 - 80+ ounces per day. Don't eat anything made in a factory. You can do this by shopping the perimeter of the supermarket and avoid the aisle unless you need a spice or paper towels...that kind of stuff. Eat at least 60 ounces of protein per day, and at any meal, eat your protein first - then veg - then fruit. Dessert should be something like an apple, not apple pie with two scoops of ice cream. Avoid sugar, grease, and salt as much as possible. Eating clean will help you discover the real taste of natural food. If it weren't for sugar, grease and salt, McDonald's would have no business. When I gave up candy bars and started eating dark chocolate, I realized that it wasn't the chocolate I missed - it was the sugar. Try to wean yourself off of soda and diet soda. Many bariatric plans discourage soda pop and anything with bubbles post-op. Reduce starchy carbs like bread, flour, sugar, rice, noodle, biscuits, white potatoes, macaroni, spaghetti etc. So what is left to eat? meat, eggs, cheese, Beans, peanut butter, yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts, and fresh fruits and non-starchy veggies. You can adjust your current recipes to reduce carbs. The World According to Eggface is a good place to start. We have a forum here for recipes. Also, Sparkpeople.com and Myfitnesspal.com. Many of us use Myfitnesspal.com for logging our food every day. It is really an eye-opener if you are honest with yourself about what you eat. Weigh and measure your food to accurately acknowledge your actual portion size. There is a scientific principle that says, "You cannot control that which you do not measure." Exercise where you can. Move your body every day. Don't become part of the sofa. Good luck, and get going!

Typically I do not eat breakfast because I'm not hungry in the mornings so I have an early lunch. Often this is a Greek yogurt with some mix-ins (otherwise, for me, the yogurt is a slider food -- it's the chewing and swallowing that gets the brain signal for satiety). I mix in chia seeds, sometimes a few chopped up nuts, a little gluten-free Cereal, sometimes a tablespoon of Protein powder if I'm feeling I need more protein....you get the idea. dinner is all over the place for me depending on whether we are home, entertaining or going out. We love taco night -- I make grass-fed ground beef with stock so it's all broken down and yummy with Mexican spices. I can eat one loaded taco and that is it (old days I'd do three or four plus other stuff!). I like fish a lot, salmon. Steak. I can't seem to do regular hamburger now but that's okay, I cook chicken thighs -- sauces are my friend now, not a no-no. There are a couple of links below in my signature that really helped me understand how the band works. I love my band and have had an excellent experience with it. Still have some weight to lose, but carrying around an extra twenty is so great compared to what I had before. Night and day. I was not prepared to do anything more drastic than the band and so am very grateful that, for me, it was just the right tool to help me lose weight. It has not been difficult. I am not in a diet. I make good choices most of the time and now I can stop eating -- no more going back for more, more, more.

I travel some for business. I normally fly in the night before and I try to stay at a Residence Inn. This way for Breakfast I can have eggs. I have a small fridge for either left overs or for things like lunch meat & yogurt. I will pick up a couple of yogurts or lunch meat once I land. I carry a few Protein bars even though I don't eat them much at home. I buy Water when I land and carry my Mio to flavor it. Most of my clients have a fridge I can throw food into for during the day. I spent a few hours in the Detroit airport on layover and got sashimi and salad for lunch. For eating out I will try to just get an appetizer and side salad, or get a salad with protein. Many menus have a lighter portion part. If I know where I am going ahead of time I will scope out the kids menu. If that has something suitable I will get something off that. I have never had a restaurant say no to me eating off the kid's menu. I will get a watered down iced tea to sip at before the meal. However, I have been very open about my WLS. Everybody has been supportive and ask questions about what I can eat and how often etc.... If you don't want to let people know you had WLS you could just say your are recovering from abdominal surgery and don't have much of an appetite yet. Most people won't push for specifics. I also had hiatal hernia surgery at the same time and that is fairly common with WLS so you could say hernia surgery if pressed for details. My clients also are long term vendors that I audit every year or every other year. I deal with them regularly in between audits. Therefore I have a long term relationship with them.

Yes, absolutely normal. I had to remind myself to eat, which at times was an issue because I would feel weak due to low blood sugar. Please make sure you eat at the scheduled times as per your plan. I have a Greek low calorie yogurt, a Protein Bar or low fat cheese for a mid afternoon snack every day. I focus on Protein and Fluid intake because both are crucial. 7 months past surgery, I am still not hungry but I can eat a lot more and if I am at the table for a while, I noticed I can nibble for a long time, a small bite at a time. If I don't pay attention I could eat more then I need to. I find the manageable hunger one of the best gifts this surgery has provided. I am no longer a slave to hunger.

@@amylynns Congrats on the near goal achievement. Well done. I take Centrum complete twice per day. I have a 4 times per day pill schedule. 6:00 AM: multi-vitamin and B12 sublingual drops first thing in the morning with a cracker 10:00 AM: or so calcium citrate petites (has Vitamin D) and Biotin 4:00 PM: multi-vitamin dinner or Bedtime: Calcium and all the other stuff i take for seasonal allergies, etc I try to be careful to to drink or eat any dairy with the Multivitamin because it affects the absorption of Iron. That's why I don't have it with meals. I am glad to report that my hair loss has stabilized but I also have been eating more Protein. Not sure if the protein did it. I maker sure I include a Protein Bar and low cal greek yogurt for Snacks and get an additional 22 grams just with those two things. But I am glad it's not looking like I am going to go bald after all. Still stuck at 177 lbs but all my clothes are falling off. I am at the point were 99% of my clothes look like I am a clothing hanger when I have them on. Silly! When I try my size 22W clothes it's down right hilarious. I am a size 12 right now and a Medium. All my, much celebrated, size XL and L are toast. Have lots of fun in Hawaii!

Entirely normal I think. Keep trying to get in 4 oz of Protein from something that had a mother three times a day. Drink at least 64 oz of Water a day and try walking 60 minutes a day even if you have to spread the walking into 20 minute segments three times a day. Eventually your body will adjust and you will start losing again. I am 8 weeks out and I still can't have dairy so no yogurt, sugar free pudding, limited cheese, and other dairy products like sour cream, cream, milk, etc. Try not to snack between meals. Take your meals at a regular schedule about 4-5 hours apart. I am eating 1/2 C cooked or raw vegetables at one meal and 1/2 C berries or other fruit (no bananas) at one other meal.

I had surgery on May 26th as well. I'm allowed full liquids, so I've been doing protein drinks, soup (mostly tomato), sugar free popsicles, and Greek yogurt.

I am eating sugar free outshine bars and pudding, Protein shakes, strained cream soup and thin cream of wheat. My dietitian gave me a sample of some Protein powder from a company called unjury that is chicken soup flavor so I bought a can of that. Also barbaric advantage has a lot of sous, protein powders and protein Hot drinks that I have that are delicious! I love vanilla non fat greek yogurt also, I made some egg custard with stevia and sprinkled it with nutmeg.

Refried Beans are GREAT during this phase. I melt a tiny bit of fat free cheese on top and add a tiny dollop of fat free sour cream. Bam, you've just eaten taco bell! (lol) Also, my surgeon's office said that a meatball with a little sauce and ricotta is good. Tuna, yogurt, cottage cheese, soft fish are all great choices. My fiance actually made me puree'd butternut squash with some seasoning, and it was great! Get creative, or you'll get crazy!! Good luck

I am about three months out now and have gone thru different phases of likes and dislikes with foods. Right now I have coffee and a protein shake with a half of bananna in it for breakfast, usually chicken salad, egg salad, ham salad or seafood salad for lunch w/ a tomato and dinner is usually a Greek yogurt with granola and almonds. I find my cut off time for dinner is about 5pm or else I'm no longer hungry, not sure why but whatever. Snacks are usually cheese, nuts or protein bars. Good topic, I like reading about what others are eatting so not to get bored with my choices.

I didn't have a puréed stage, just a soft food stage. I ate a lot of cottage cheese, yogurt, refried beans, pudding. The second week of soft foods I could add soft fish so I had salmon, tilapia, and tuna.