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I'm surprised your doctor's office didn't provide you with a list of full liquids. Mine did and on my list are non-fat yogurt and sugar free/low fat puddings and jello.

First, I am very sorry for your loss. This must be a difficult time for your family. However, part of this is journey is learning how NOT to turn to food when life throws a curve-ball. Since the first 4-6 weeks after surgery are supposed to be for optimal healing (even though it may not seem like it, your liver was lifted and some tissue was punched through to pop that band on there), please discuss advancing your diet with your doctor and/or the staff at your bariatric clinic before doing it yourself. If you are that hungry, I worry that you are not getting enough liquids. (My surgeon wants his patients to have Protein Drinks during the first couple weeks too. If your surgeon does too, are you getting the recommended amount of Protein? It helps keep you from being soooo hungry). This is from the LAP-BAND® website: "Liquid Diet (1–2 weeks post-procedure) The goal during this early post-procedural period is to protect the small stomach pouch. Only thin liquids can be tolerated at this time. It is also important to stay hydrated by drinking lots of Water. Other liquids recommended during this phase include: clear broth or Soup (with no vegetables or meat, and not creamy) skim milk fruit juice no-sugar-added popsicles Pureed Foods (3–4 weeks post-procedure) During this phase you may start having slightly textured foods. Aim for the consistency of baby foods. This will help you transition to more solid foods later. Because protein is so important for maintaining muscle while you lose weight, eat protein-rich foods first, and then move on to fruits and vegetables. Foods in this stage may include: pureed skinless chicken or fish mashed potatoes peas low-fat yogurt or pudding In the first few weeks you may be able to eat foods that might not be allowed in your diet later, as these foods may contain too many calories. It is more important in the first few weeks to let your stomach adjust to the LAP-BAND® System than it is to lose weight. Also, your timing and progression into each dietary phase may vary. In general, when it comes to nutrition, you should follow the advice of your physician and/or dietitian." Maybe I'm being too cautious, but this was one of the biggest and longest thought out decisions of my life, and I suspect yours too. So please talk to your doc and be sure s/he blesses your choice before going any further with the change to your diet! Hugs and warm wishes to you and your family!

Well - I went on vacation and since the week before and since my work schedule and kid schedule has not allowed me to get to the gym - i am sure that is part of it.. My diet was off while on vacation but i maintained and didnt gain, when i came home i was having a hard time eating anything.. lots of pbing, couple vomiting - so unfortunatly i was resorting to soft foods - slider - mashed potatoes and stuff like that - As of yesterday i have turned my eating around and i think im back on track - chewing chewing and slow eating is my enemy and that is what i need to think about every meal. Todays food was - 1/2 cup special k protien plus with 1/2 cup skim milk. mid morning was a protien shake lunch was 2 string cheese and a yogurt ( lunch at work is very hard for me to eat i always get pbing from only having 30minutes to eat and thinking about the next thing i have to do ) dinner was slice a moist meatloaf made with half burger half ground turkey , sliced cucumbers and 1/4cup of corn snack just a little while ago was six crackers with hummus. what do you all think. i know im probably not getting enough protien - shake is 25g yogurt is 6g meatloaf ?? hummus 5-6 i think.

You've probably read this in other posts from me but I still swear by uncle bens whole or multi grain cream of wheat (i packet is 7 gms protein) add to it a scoop of your favorite whey protein powder-I like Solgar vanilla bean (16gm protein) I mix in a little soy, almond or hazelnut milk and sweeten it a bit with raw agave or an agave/pure maple syrup blend, just a swirl around the bowl. I also use a packet of "Stevia in the Raw" or "Sun Crystals" ...later on for lunch or sometimes dinner I mix in a scoop of the same whey protein powder into my favorite greek yogurt...so between the 2 I've got nearly 50 grams protein...the rest is not too difficult because I can easily eat a piece of fish, or shrimp or filet mignon, tuna (not so easy), chicken (not so easy)...

So my girlfriend had the sleeve in November, and I've had it for four days. We've noticed something... she was barely able to get down a quarter cup of Greek yogurt, whereas I was able to down the entire thing. Now I'm probably eating too fast -- from habit, I'm sure -- but honestly, there was NO discomfort. NO full feeling. I ate the entire 1/2 cup serving over the course of an hour. So I was wondering, is this normal? I was happy that I'm able to eat "real food" and keep my body nourished, but after she said that, I started getting paranoid that I don't have "enough" restriction and won't lose weight. I still have a LOT of restriction, mind you. Even too large of a sip of Water can give me that over-full, "stuck" feeling. I was just wondering if this much variation is normal. I'm a fairly large man (not just in gut, but in stature and build), and she's small. Maybe my sleeve just has more capacity? I've decided to slow down and pace myself more -- she suggested that I aim to eat my meals over the course of a half an hour. I don't want to stretch my sleeve (especially not right now, but also in general). But I'm just wondering, is this amount of variation normal?

I was sleeved on the 14; home on the 15. I feel like I'm doing excellent. In fact, I am a teacher and was sleeved on a wed and back to work on Monday. I've had no gas, no irritation, no issues whatsoever except finding some shake I can manage to survive on until two more weeks pass. I can drink water like no other. I haven't weighed yet; waiting until I go to the dr on the 3, but I can tell a huge difference all over my body. My face, my stomach, my thighs, my feet! My shoes are too big now; I literally walked out of them the other day. My little incisions are healing up nicely but starting to itch so I just rub them. Usually helps. Really, no issues except for the protein. I went to gnc yesterday and bought a couple if things that I'll try today. My family doc is going to bring me some kind of shake that she drinks and see if I can handle that. It seems like I can smell the protein powder in everything!!!!! Makes me gag and I can't even get it down. I like the Greek yogurt but can't eat a whole thing at once. I never feel hungry---have to remind myself to eat. It doesn't bother me to watch others eat, no matter what it is. So, overall I'm very pleased. At 12 days out. I feel like if I can just make it two more weeks then I'll be able to eat my protein and life will be good. I guess then it will be filling up on protein first just to make sure I get enough in, but I can live with that. Good luck to all of you!!!! I wish you the very best!!!!!

Welcome semi-neighbor - I'm a part-time peninsula resident (will be fulltime once my wife can finally retire.) I'm a little earlier than August, having been sleeved in May 2011, but overall had a smooth journey. I was also sleeved on a Monday and booted out of the hospital on Wednesday (it should have been Tuesday but the hospital dragged their feet in getting the leak test and results done.) By Friday or so I was outpacing my wife on our neighborhood, park and beach walks. The second week was when constipation hit and clipped my wings a bit, but by Thursday of that second week I was up enough to drive back up to SF for the 10 day follow up. Protein was doing well enough by then that they were adding veg to my diet. If you are living on pudding at the moment, try making a protein loaded version of the SF mixes - either add in a couple scoops of protein powder along with the milk (lactaid milk or soy/almond milk as appropriate for your lactose intolerance,) This mixture had a bit too much of that protein powder taste to it, so I cut back to one scoop of powder, one cup of milk and one cup of plain greek yogurt and that made if much better to my taste (YMMV) with a bit of the yogurt tartness taking the place of the protein powder taste. With your lactose intolerance, be sure to look for 100% whey isolate protein drinks/powders as they have all of the lactose filtered out in the process. I'm currently using (when I do, which isn't often these days,) is Performance Whey 100% Isolate from costco - it's vanilla flavor and works OK for me, though I usually flavor it up with some chocolate flavoring or use it in the puddings. Good luck on your journey and may it continue to go smoothly,

oh the fish sounds yummy! I always start out with liquids, then add yogurt/applesauce and move to chicken with a tad of mashed potatoes - if that all goes well - then I give myself the go ahead to move forward to other foods. Hang in there it takes time but you will figure the band out.

I was sleeved on 8/6/13. I am finally off all liquids and on the pureed/ mushy stuff. I did try to eat a scrambled egg this morning with ketchup. Sigh... not a good Idea for me today, it took 3 hours for the feeling of egg stuck in my chest to go away. I wasn't able to drink water either. Finally about 30 min ago the feeling went away. Guess I'm not ready for that yet. I will stick to yogurt and cottage cheese and protien shakes.

Hi Jillian, Sorry to hear that you are having some problems. The first week was rough for me too. I took Zophran every 8 hours for the first few days, then was able to cut back to taking it only at bedtime. When I tried to discontinue the Zophran at 1 week, I still had nausea, so I reduced it to 1/2 tab at bedtime. I continued taking the 1/2 tab at bedtime for about 3-4 weeks because if I skipped it I woke up feeling lousy during the night. As far as the protein: I could not tolerate any shakes that were thick or sweet tasting. I ordered the unflavored unjury. It is whey Protein, but it is pure whey protein isolate. This is much easier to digest than anything that contains whey protein concentrate, and it contains no lactose. When I needed more calories right after surgery because of limited intake, I mixed it with 1/2 Water, 1/2 fruit juice. (Then I switched to water with crystal light pure fitness--no artificial sweetners). If you do an internet search on protein supplements and diarrhea, you will find that body builders using protein often have diarrhea as well. I had severe (and I mean explosive) diarrhea during the preop phase until I switched to the Unjury). I still had some diarrhea for about the first week after surgery--but I have had that almost anytime I have gone from a regular diet to low carb, because cutting back on carbs causes most people to eliminate water. Diarrhea can be one of the ways that our body gets rid of Fluid. My mouth was unusually "dry" and had a bad taste for about a week after surgery. Sometimes you are given medications during surgery to dry secretions, and those can have a lingering effect, so having a dry mouth would not be the best way to watch for signs of dehydration. If your urine output is greatly reduced or it becomes dark in color, you need to head to the ER for some IV fluids. If you are still seeing the boyfriend that is in the medical profession, he should be able to help you monitor your skin for other signs of dehydrations as well. I was told to stay with Clear Liquids for 4 days after surgery. The next 4 weeks were full liquids only, and I was told that nothing should be thicker than yogurt and should have no small pieces. If your stomach isn't tolerating things that are thicker, then you go back to clears. As far as the fudgecicles--you said you had "a couple" plus yogurt before bed. That sounds like too much food over a short period of time for the first week--or even the first month. I could only tolerate about 2 oz at one time every 4 hours. Also, did the yogurt have any fruit in it? Another thing to consider is that Splenda/sucralose can cause severe GI problems. I did not use it at all after my surgery because I learned several years ago that it caused me to have nausea and stomach cramps. Do an internet search on "sucralose toxicity" and this will give you more information. I don't think you have dumping syndrome, but you need to advance your diet very slowly and concentrate on getting fluids and some form of protein that you can digest. Take care. It does get easier.

Oh, thank god (and this, from an agnostic!) I was hoping that this yo-yo between high energy/low energy and full to overfull/ravenous was going to get better. Glad to hear that it will! I'm so looking forward to Saturday. I want MEAT! I cheated a little last weekend and had a tiny piece (like maybe 1g? itty bitty) of juicy, awesome-prepared tri-tip steak at a barbecue. It didn't cause me any discomfort, and it tasted like freaking ambrosia. I'm so tired of Protein shakes and yogurt and... ick. Gimme a steak! Gimme some chicken! Gimme some vegetables!

Thanks for the idea Sunshine! I am so tired of yogurt! lol It'll be nice to try something else for a treat! :biggrin:

I don't know if any of you have tried the new Jello Pudding Mousses. They're sugar free and I normally don't like very much but today I added a drop of peppermint extract and mixed in and it was very good. I felt like I was eating a decadent dessert but it was only 60 calories. Of course I try to stick to yogurt since that has nutritional value but it's a good light treat if you need one.

It depends on what type of "liquid" diet you are following. I have to follow a clear liquid diet (fat free broth, sugary free jello, sugar free popsicles and water/crystal light) for 7 days after surgery, then move to full liquids, which all listed above and milk, yogurt and low-fat creamy strained soup. I bought low-fat tomato soup and cream of potato soup (to be strained) for the next week of the diet.

If you're too tight in the morning to eat.. and this is a problem for you.. try drinking a cup of coffee or tea, then try to eat. I know of one bariatric nurse who is very successful and banded over 10 years and breakfast is the one time she says she breaks the rules and drinks with her meals. Steelcut Oatmeal is better for us than regular or instant oatmeal. It can be made overnight in the oven or crockpot.. google for recipes. Another easy breakfast is hungrygirls egg in a mug. She uses eggbeaters in her recipes.. I find that 1 whole egg plus 1/4 cup egg white (or separate one egg and discard the yolk) is about the same volume and works well. HungryGirl.com Lots of folks will only use eggbeaters or eggwhites because they don't want the cholesterol. My numbers are excellent as to HDL & LDL and I want the Omega3's in the eggs I use (eggland's best). If I'm in a huge hurry, I drink Muscle Milk LIGHT in the rtd boxes (vanilla or strawberry.. chocolate tastes nasty) or make a Syntrax nectar Fuzzy Navel drink. One other breakfast I like is Dannon plain greek yogurt (5.3oz cup) with 1/4 cup Bob's red Mill Muesli and 1/8 cup blueberries. The Muesli is a little high in carbs, but I only eat this when I have intense workouts planned ( I workout most mornings). Hope this helps a bit.

Thank you for your help! I saw my doc today and shared some of my same concerns, and he said the same.. this is normal, and I just have to take the time to get to know my new stomach. I have slowed down and tried to only measure out 1/4 cup of what I'm eating. Last night I made a packet of oatmeal. Of course I just made the entire thing, following instructions, etc. I sat down to eat and figured oh I'll just eat about 1/4 cup and stop when I feel full. Well of course, I didn't finish it all, but I'm sure i ended up eating more than 1/4 cup. And sure enough I felt sick and eventually barfed. ugh. So.. from now on, I will measure out ONLY that amount and bring it to my place. Today I have done okay, and yes I'm on the custardy, pudding, yogurt, soup type of stuff. I guess just got discouraged and wondered if I'd ever feel normal again. .... Maybe a few months from now, I'll be helping out a newbie!! Thanks again!!

Gurgulina - I love it! Your description fits my experience to a T... Lots of gurgles, very few actual burps, taking all the time, only quiets when I have taken a break from sipping (I am day 5 liquids, Jello, melted yogurt only)...

18 lbs, already! Great job! I found that white meat chicken was too dry and really hurt. I could do dark meat though. I preferred shrimp and fish, like fresh wild caught salmon, smashed up at first.....seems much easier to get down and did not hurt. Lots of Protein and nutrients. Okios plain yogurt with stevia as a sweetener, was a favorite...also loads of protein in it. More protein plus more Water yields more wt loss! Watch out for carbs...no more than 60 gms a day!

Hey everyone, I apologize that it's taken me so long to give you guys a status update. I had surgery on October 11th, and was told I'd be out by October 12th. I didn't get out until October 15th. Soo...here's what happened, I woke up from surgery and know how I was asking about extubation? Unfortunately, I felt it, and I remember it, but it wasn't so bad. Although, I just remember crying because they had me walk from the operating table to the gerny to be wheeled into recovery. That was seriously too much for me. After 4 hours in recovery and a very long surgery, I was taken to my room. So why did my surgery take so long? I was informed that I had a hernia, had the weight loss surgery, and had multiple large adhesions on my gallbladder that had to be taken care of. My surgeon basically told me that due to all of this-my recovery would take a lot longer than he had instructed me before. I didn't eat a thing in the hospital, I was there for 5 days and I just didn't have the strength to eat anything, and probably drank a total of two cups the whole time-and they didn't seem conserned. So I've been home for two days now, and I'm doing a bit better. It seems that I'm instructed that my recovery will probably be 2-3 weeks at the very least. Yesterday I had 14oz of Water, and two pudding cups. I was sooooo full. Today I did better. I had 18g of Protein shake, a yogurt, a pudding cup, 18 oz of water, my multi-Vitamin, and my Calcium liquid..stuff. I'm really trying to get as much liquids as I can in-I just get so full. Here's my problem. Due to my other "surgeries" during my time at the hospital, I'm having VERY limited mobility. I cannot get off or onto the couch by myself, I cannot get into or out of the bed by myself, I cannot use the facilities, in any way shape or form, by myself. I can handle the pain (not without some tears, I admit) but my problem is blood clots. I'm so worried. I tried walking around my house today (outside) and literally just became so crippled and out of breath that I thought I wouldn't make it home.When I was in the hospital, I walked maybe once a day, down the hall, and was crying by the time I got back, they didn't seem to concerned about my limited walking either. I'm trying to get walking as much as I can, but I'm in so much pain. Does anyone have any advice about my pain/walking/diet thus far? My mom bought my some yogurt....strawberry, cherry, and orange, which I used to LOVE. Now? HOLY COW-I feel like I'm eating a spoonful of sugar-literally-they taste awful. Weird. Anyways, I don't regret this surgery-not for one stinkin' second. I'm so blessed and lucky. I can't thank technology enough. I don't like pain, don't get me wrong, but I'd add a "fourth surgery" in there if it meant that I could still get this surgery done. I can't wait to get around and everything soon-I'lll try to respond to some of the pre-op questions asked by others tonight, since now I am officially a sleeved woman!! Hope you all have a great Monday tomorrow! : )

If I go too long without eating I get hungry and stay that way for the rest of the day, the only thing that fixes it is to go to sleep at night and then it resets the next morning. To keep this from happening I eat something every couple of hours, even if its just a yogurt, Protein bar, or shake. I think it has something to do with my blood sugar but that is just my personal opinion. So to keep my calories in line I eat 3 meals at 250 calories each and 2 Snacks at 150 calories or less each.

Add a little Greek yogurt for some extra Protein, and it will thin them some too. I ate them on full liquids, which I'm still on, only about 2 TB, when my husband and I went to Ninfa's in Houston. I ate a little of his. They are very thin there and went down easy. I squished them to make sure, but they were fine. I bought a can and did what you did, added a little cheese and yogurt too. I ate just a little. I did feel guilty, like I cheated, but I think they sat heavy with me, but it may have been all in my head.

Both suggestions are good ones. Start by changing what you munch on, and then work on stopping the munch entirely. I chew gum and had to break out my dusty crafting bag. Now I sit and knit while chewing gum. Don't get bored! Go for a walk, read a book or do something with your hands to keep yourself occupied. It's head hunger - it's an old habit and it's one that probably helped you gain weight. You need to replace the habit with a healthy one. And do yourself a favor and ensure that all of the food in your house is healthy food. It's one thing to snack on greek yogurt or a few almonds but another thing entirely if you're downing handfuls of chips or bowls of ice cream. Good luck! ~Cheri

Pasta, rice and bread high GI foods, but you rarely eat them on their own. The whole low carb thing is basically flawed by this, if you eat a balanced diet and eat Proteins at every meal as well as small amounts of carb foods, you wont have that blood sugar response. If you eat a slice of white bread on its own, you probably will, but that's not good balanced eating, is it? Of course you can eat pasta, bread and rice IF your band will tolerate it. You dont need enormous quantities of energy foods like this, particularly if you're trying to lose weight but you dont need to withhold food groups to manage your weight. Its just a matter of what your band can tolerate, and that's an individual thing. I personally have no trouble with bread, but clear, pulp free apple juice or cold yogurt will have me over the toilet bowl within minutes.

If you're lactose intolerant, the whey protein will probably make you sick. I couldn't tolerate them either for that reason. Plus, let's be honest, they taste/smell horrific or have a disgusting texture. Isopure would work if it wasn't whey protein. You can find soy, or egg base Proteins at GNC and online at various sites. I found soy protein to taste worse than whey. Can you have pureed meats yet? At the mushy stage (which is what you are describing from my guidelines with the Beans and eggs), I could have chicken, egg, tuna salad. You can mix it with some nonfat greek yogurt and a couple teaspoons of the dry ranch dip packets to sub for mayo or miracle whip. I did use miracle whip as well. I ate a lot of the salads because of the protein counts, and they were all easily digested.

It's interesting to read your post. I was 240 when I started preparing for surgery. I was so done overeating. Done thinking about food and letting it be what I used to celebrate the end of the week or whatever it is I thought I had survived. It wasn't my reward if it was making me miserable and unhealthy and most definitely defeated. I was 220 on surgery day and today 17 months later I'm 186. I've gotten down to 174. I've struggled since Easter to get back on my wagon. Sugar is like heroine. Talking my self out of eating it is like battle. It can't be in my house and I have to keep syntax nectar and yogurt close to help curb cravings. I was about 185 most of my life. I wonder if my body likes a set weight of 185? I don't even have to eat that much to gain. I am not accepting the idea of my body liking a set weight. It's hard now but way easier than it was before. I am happy. My surgeon is happy but I told him I know I could get down to 160. I could step it up. So I'm working on it. Thanks for writing your post.