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Ok .. so I have had time to relax and gather myself since my breakdown early this morning.. (see previous posts lol) . I am on full liquids today and had my 2nd "meal" which was pudding again.. because im a little nervous about trying another new thing just yet.. maybe tomorrow lol. It went down SUPER easy and tasted delicious. I also heard that its ok to incorporate Protein with the 3 meals and not JUST between the meals. . So.. I added a scoop of Protein powder (Cookies n cream flavor) to my vanilla pudding and it was SO GOOD. is this ok to do?? I dont see how it wouldnt be.. but you never know I guess. Still have some some soreness where the drain tube was but whatever.. the hole looks like its smaller than yesterday so I guess thats good. I am learning to sip more.. sometimes i just forget.. still a learning process. I am getting less bubbles with the Water.. and no bubbles with juice/crystal light at all. I just cant believe i have to eat like this for 5 wks! OMG how much pudding, yogurt, cream of wheat, applesauce and Soup can a person take LOL Any tips on other things to eat that are ok at the full liquid stage?? I am going to try to mix in some protein powder with my water and see how that goes now... that still counts as water intake right??

I've never been a huge fan of the Torani or DaVinci syrups but I found these drops that are awesome! They are called Capella flavor drops. You use 1 drop per oz of liquid. They taste awesome and the bottles are tiny so they don't take up much space. I've tried them in my coffee and protein shakes. I plan to try them in my plain greek yogurt. http://capellaflavordrops.com/flavordrops.aspx

I am VERY VERY PALE!! I am wondering if anyone else is white as a ghost??? Is this normal?? When I went to Walmart today, I took my bp and it was like 110/54 which is very low for me. I felt very light headed and had to go sit in the car. I have been pale since Wednesday (sleeved Monday). I am taking my vitamins and drinking my fluids. Moved to full liquids yesterday and mainly having decaf tea, isopure, grits, yogurt, sugar free pudding and unjury chicken broth. I don't have a problem keeping anything down and am doing well with walking. I did start my period as well on Wednesday and wonder if this is why I am so pale?? As I had just finished having one a week before my surgery and am doing it again! Also, isn't our stomach located on the left?? My main incision is on the right! Just above my belly button to the right! That is the biggest one and the one that hurts the most. I think that is where my stomach was taken from. Does that seem weird??? Just wondering if anyone else's was that way. It burns really bad inside when i walk and when I roll over in bed. Thanks for listening! Kelly

I agree with Kelly. I was able to eat greek yogurt, protein supplements, etc prior to surgery. Now, I can't stomach any of it. It's pretty frustrating because I NEED to get the protein in.

Thanks MeggieP for keeping us updated! I'll have to keep the carb deal in mind...It makes a whole lot of sense. When you blend your protein drink in the blender to you have issues with foam? I like the idea of adding greek yogurt to it, I'll have to try that. Holly

Long story: I have 2 seniors in my family I am legal guardian too. (I'm not a saint. It was rather thrust on me and it's been difficult.) Well, I knew a day would come when I got am emergency call that come with looking after people in their 80's. I went back to work yesterday and today I got the 7:00 a.m. call to get to the emergency room. First, I felt horrible having to take a day of vacation after being off for surgery but I went. I threw a Protein drink, yogurt and put 2 ounces of cottage cheese in my lunch bag and off I ran. I was actually very proud that I had given this thought in advance and knew what to do to pull me through the day. Well, my relative had been decked by another resident in the home so not only did I have to deal with the poor guy being upset and injured, the police had to be involved as it was a significant attack. Stitches were involved. People with dementia often hit with canes and this guy really belted my Uncle. So in the process of the anxiety and all, I LEFT my lunch bag in the car! It was feeding time when I realized what I'd done. Uggg. The cafeteria is on the other side of the building (why don't they build small hospitals anymore?) so today was a challenge. I basically nibbled on what I could find. What a day. I'm starting to really get frustrated by my low capacity sleeve. It's a month now and I'm still on 2 ounces and feeling stuffed. I'm getting healthy to the point that I think it's normal that I want and crave more. Not asking for a lot but 4 or 5 ounces would be wonderful. On the other hand, It is nice to be able to eat less than one Peanut Butter cracker from the machine and be held for 2 hours. And I know what I had planned will work if I had done a bit better and actually taken the bag in before it got baked in the car. I will be so happy when I am a bit further out and can eat a little more variety. I just don't know how people do it when I read that not far out at all they are eating "real" food. Anything much solid at all feels like a knot in my stomach after just one small bite. Maybe in the long run it's good I'm this way. I just don't know. But I know that I'm longing for either some weight loss (still not really happening) or the stomach to loosen up a bit. Mainly, I know to keep a few "emergency" foods on the shelf in the fridge. Even if it's not perfect eating, I can really seen where as long as I am still needing very soft and very small amounts, I need to stay on top of the planning part of this and not get lazy. What a day. I'm beat.

Echoing what others said, I have hot tea first thing in the morning. I don't think I could eat real food within hours of waking up if I didn't. The hot tea feels like it opens me up, and allows me to swallow my meds that I can't get in chewable form (and hate the taste of crushed). I like to do greek yogurt for breakfast because it goes down easily. Good luck to you!

I cheated today too. Haven't cheated once since I started my preop diet and I was banded on April 19th. My kids made me a ice cream sundae (w/fat free frozen yogurt) although the choc. syrup canceled that out. I figure once cheat won't hurt me. Back on track tomorrow.

Hi Everyone!~ I've had two fills (my doc left but he comes back once a month).. Each fill leaves me barely able to swallow water for the first 10 days and I quickly lose weight those days... but then Im loose enough to eat again which sucks. The first fill was 3cc and .5 cc had to be removed because I couldn't swallow water at all.. it just sat there. Second fill was just 1cc. My next doc visit is middle of Oct and I'll prob get another 1cc. I can only handle that much at a time I suppose. As for weight loss, it's been AMAZING! I only have 30 pounds to go until I reach my goal, although I plan to go another 10 pounds past that. When I set my goal I really never thought I would reach it. I'm sitting at 180 now and I remember telling myself that I would be totally happy to make it to 175.. Well, I'm nearly there. Seeing the inches fall off has been the biggest motivation of all. I was able to bag up every single item hanging in my closet and give it all away. My smallest winter top could fit two of me in it. I probably should have kept a pair of pants or something now that I think of it for picture purposes but I didn't ever want to look at it again. I can wear medium sized tops for the first time in my life and it just feels amazing. I lost a LOT of weight in my legs and it's all skin and bone there. NO fat at all (which I now feel that it's gotten colder). I'm quite happy! As for foods: I still do a protein shake or a protein bar in the morning.. a protein bar or tuna salad for lunch and some type of protein and veggie for dinner. If I snack at all it will be string cheese or other type of cheese or cheese/meat product or yogurt and fruit. I can not do bread at all. It gets stuck in a second and I HATE that feeling. I have yet to PB and I don't ever want to. I still haven't vomited and again don't want to go there either. But getting stuck is a painful nightmare for me.

Muscle Milk Light for my shakes (HELPS KILL THE HUNGER BEAST.) Breakfast 1 slice Turkey Bacon 1 egg Or Oatmeal lunch shake, or Lean Cuisine, or Light Tuna drained, and fried/ topped with Swiss cheese Cal. 170 dinner Turkey Burger with some steak sauce on it. Cover so it stays moist, add cheese put on plate and top with Low Cal Thousand Island Dressing. Very Good ! Shake n Bake chicken it's moist, 1/4 cup mashed potatoes/ Gravy. Catfish Broiled or Baked, salad. Patty Melt No Bread !, Cottage Cheese. Snack Light yogurt., a variety, S.F pudding., and Cheese stick.

I have to focus very hard on me and my new life to get through it sometimes. I either come here to read or post, or I'm walking at my fav stores or a local festival in these small towns around me, which is hard in a way because the delicious food smells, but I figure the walking can only help my weight loss. I will admit I am spending more money, not necessarily expensive things but I am indulging on litlle things. The things I buy usually are something to contribute to my appearance like shoes, handbags, sunglasses, clothes, etc. When I am in a situation where I can't escape the sight and smell of food, i get a Protein shake that I really like and remind myself, this is what is necessary for me to become healthy and slimmer, and even tho the just liquids are temporary, my life is now forever changed on amount of food, so I just have to get used to it. It helps knowing I will eventually get a small taste of the things I love. The liquid stage is the hardest. Right now the food I am looking forward to most is a tablespoon of refried Beans with some melted cheese and verde salsa and greek yogurt lol. This is wild to me cuz at one time this wouldn't have been all that appetizing compared to other things lol Just knowing that I am not alone helps me so much! I am so grateful to the people on this board!! We can do it! We'll get through it together! :hippie:

Yesterday: Breakfast: Oatmeal with dried cranberries Iced skim latte Snack: cheese plate from Starbucks Lunch: Turkey chili Another iced skim latte Snack: Protein bar Dinner: Giant salad with grilled chicken, tomatoes and feta, balsamic vinaigrette Two bowls of vanilla frozen yogurt with raspberries I know I eat a lot! I exercise a lot too. But not yesterday actually...

For me, I have been stuck at 150 for at least 3 months. I have about 15 to go to get to my goal! I know I have been adding in carbs a lot more than i should be, having a sandwich here an there, but by that I mean a tuna on one of those thin things that they call bread these days?!? Then, I have been adding at least 4 servings of fruit to my day, I don't know been craving all sorts of fruit, could that be BAD?, better than candy, those are GOOD carbs right? I pretty much eat Yogurt with fresh blueberries for BFast everyday or a Protein Shake if I have time to make it. For lunch it is what ever left over meat or deli meat roll ups or chili. for dinner, what ever meat my mom cooks and a tablespoon of each of the sides that i never finish. I always measure out the meat to be between 2.5 and 3 ounces. I usually snack on fruit or nuts or beef Jerky, except when it is TOM then i have pretzel crisps with cheese or apples or PB on them! and I drink hot tea all day and LOADS of Crystal Light. I even pretty much gave up on my nightly cocktails since being sleeved! BUT I'M WEARING A SIZE 6!!!!!

I am at 7 months and I now fight for every ounce gone! I have been so restrictive that I think it hurt me as I found that when I splurged I lost???? Now by splurging I warn you that is NOT anywhere close to a pre op splurge. My spurge last week was a taco bell chicken fresco taco, WAIT ARE YOU READY FOR THIS??? WITH the soft shell! Yes I ate carbs! Then I followed that 2 hours later with some tuna fish, no bread! I have been adding a 4th meal to my day that consists of lean Protein and veggie as I have upped my exercise routine exponentially as of late, not out of calorie burning,, but out of a strong desire to tone and it just plain feels good and my day is off with out it! Who would have thought such craziness in my head a few years ago!!!! Now for me a typical day goes like this: Protein shake Greek yogurt (snack) 4 oz of chicken ( I order out with the girls or bring some from the night before. Things like chicken fajita meat and veggies, boaster chicken, chicken salad, bbq chicken, ect........... all meat no carbs) I will also eat 3 turkey meat balls (trader Joes frozen) with some spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese, it soothes my desire for a plate of spaghetti. Also from the dollar store I get tuna and chicken salad snack packs and eat them as lunch, some days I will splurge and order some Soup to go with the snack pack. Some days I have a a bit of the salad my co workers order ( they are huge!) they have either chicken or turkey and cheese with hard boiled egg on it. afternoon snack is usually a string cheese stick or hand full of cashews. I have noticed I suddenly can fit a LOT more in my sleeve this last month than before, and it scared me~ I just make sure everything is protien based and I exercise more! dinner is usually out with the hubby and I will have some veggie or onion soup and a tad bit of what meat he orders and maybe a veggie or salad.

I know you are following your doctors orders but with what they order your weight loss will definately drag on slowly. My doctor keeps us on the same diet until we have lost all of our weight. We are allowed 3 meals consisting of 3 to 5 oz Protein and 2 oz fruit or veggie, 1 8oz cup skim or 1% milk, 6 oz yogurt as snack, That's it...no additional carbs other than what comes from the fruits, milk and yogurt. If I did not start losing with what your doctor prescribed then I would cut those carbs back considerably and keep the protein up. Good luck and hang in there...just remember this is a life long process so you have time to correct it. Great job so far on the rest of your loss.

Thanks so much for the book titles! One thing I want to ask is what you are allowed right now? My first week I was on Clear liquids plus Protein drinks and though I got my 80 grams of protein faithfully I was only getting about 3 carbs a day and I was so wiped out I could barely speak! My nutritionist said I should be on THIN liquids- and as soon as I added Soup thinned with milk, yogurt thinned with milk, etc. and raised my carbs up to 40 or so my energy level got much better! This week, three weeks for me, I have added pureed food and feel human for the first time- have been able to start working out, etc. Also make sure yo are getting your fluids- it is easy to get dehydrated and that will also wipe you out. Good luck!!!

Im still new to the band but there is a few things I notice and would like to share. . My stats and story. I started this journey Feb 16 2011 .I was on a 1 month preop diet nothing but Optifast, at the time I was like he has loss his damn mind,lol.. I stuck to that as close as possible and loss 30 lbs in 1 month , Now I wish I wouldve followed it to a tee because I could ve loss more, but YES I cheated on my pre op. I had my surgery 3-17 all went well no pain besides getting up and down out the bed . No gas issues. Had my first fill 4-17 weight loss was slow to me a 7 lb loss . NOW my first fill I did not feel ANY difference in fact I felt hungrier . I gained 10 lbs in 3 weeks and was devastated, then a week before I was scheduled for a 2nd fill I begun to get full quicker . I lost 9 lbs in the week before my fill. My dr did nt want to give me a fill but told him my story and how before last week I could eat more then I could before the band. So I got a small fill. And I am proud to say I have loss about a pound a day since then sometimes a lil more. I cant say im one of the people who actually feel restriction, but I can say I know when I am no longer hungry , at that point I usually stop eating , its also best to fix a smaller plate if ur like me and want to eat until ur plate is clean. I usually fix meat the size of my palm 4tbl spoons of veggies and fruit. I tried many plans with the band .. Atkins.... That did not work for me at all I stayed the same weight for 2 weeks. What I do now and it is working well for me is low carb which I dont count carb onl calories. No Pasta rice potatoes or white bread, I try to eat whole wheat , but I limit that also because I noticed a smaller drop in weight loss when I eat any type of bread. Ex of a menu dinner go lean Kashi Cereal or i egg chopped ham and chopped turkey and cheese all scramble and a piece of fruit some morning I can eat all of that some times I cant ...lunch 2 chicken selects or 5 piece nugget and a yogurt parfait or fruit and walnut salad from Mickey Ds... Dinner tuna or seafood salad with a few special K chips or salad or some type of meat a veggies and fruit. Now this is what I do. I am not saying yeah keep eating fried foods and go to mcdonalds this is just me and whats working at the moment. I can tell you not eating enough is a NO NO after surgery for a week or 2 I was barely eating and I just knew I would loose weight, lol not a pound did I drop. As for exercise I love weight lifting and I walk some times but I definitely move and I have started dancing, and just a lil extra moving while sitting in a chair will help, Im far from a exercise guru but seeing the weight drop quickly has me more motivated to move more. The reason for this topic is to let anyone that is feeling bad and has slow weight loss know its okay , try different think no carb is not for everyone weight watchhers , low carb etc... test the waters but tr ur best to limit calories but dont go to low on calories.. With what ever u try do YOUR best and dont worry about the next person u may lose no weight for 3 weeks straight like myself and the next week u could lose 9 lbs. Good luck everyone Starting weight 366 2-16-2011 Surgery day 330 3-16-2011 1st fill 321 i think 4-16-2011 2nd fill 314 5-16-2011 Today 5-21-2011 307.2 Forgive me for all GRAMMAR AND SPELLING errors.lol

Add some SF preserves to the greek yogurt......it's really good SO....frst of all lets just get it out of the way- I gained two pounds today. However, I am not drinking the freak out koolaid so there. I know I am on the journey of my life and I WILL get to my destination. I woke up feelig better, which is awesome since I have been low energy enough to worry my doctor. My pain is MUCH better, and I have been getting all my fluids and all my Protein for four days at least. In fact my GP summoned me in today as my surgeon told her he thought she should see me before he is able to....so I toddled in half asleep as my appointment was morning and I don't DO morning ;-P The most interesting part of the appointment, since we arrived at the conclusion I already had - (I just had major surgery, I am losing weight fast, I have fibro, and my body is probably freaking out) was that when she looked at the huge bruises on my left stomah from the heparin my doctor actually audibly GASPED and said "what did they do to you!". She had never seen bruising so bad and told me I need to use a heating pad on it so that no hematoma forms. It was pretty funny seeing her face. It kinda justified my own concern. I think when I get to go back to the pool for Water aerobics I will have to warn everyone in the locker room since this looks like it will be around for a LOOOOOOng time. The best part of Day 11 for me is that I have discovered Greek Yogurt in a big way. I only liked it before with sweet fruit in it and was trying to figure out how I could incorporate it now that I am allowed thinned yogurt. Well- last night I stirred a 1/4 cup in to my tomato soup thinned with milk and it was rapturous! Very sour creamy, and not too acidic at all. SO my soup, though it had 22 grams f carbs with everything mixed in, also had 14 grams of protein. Today I got the lightbulb moment to ut it in my afternoon protein shake- so I used two scoops of strawberry chike (28 grams) 1/4 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of Fage 0% greek yogurt- the milk and yogurt added SEVEN grams of carbs to bring my dink up to 35- and since I had three scoops of roscore at 45 grams for breakfast I am already at 80 for today. Even better, the yogurt took away that sickie sweet spenda taste I hat and made the drink delish- something I can drink every day until I get to real food. Hooray! Kelly are you reading? Cause girl we have to get this going for you so you are nourishing yourself! There have to be some great recipes we can come up with that work for you- I remember you said you have a chike sampler- try one of them, 1/4 cup water, 1.4 cup milk, and 1.4 cup greek yogurt and you have yourself a 35 gram drink! The Fage )% is lower in carbs than any other I have seen. So day 11? All about the greek yougurt.

I had a type of pain during the 2 week post op period that was only soothed by food. I didn't know if it was hunger or not, but yogurt cured it. Mine happened at night. My stomach would be so empty and would only let me sleep if I ate a spoonful or two of yogurt. I ended up taking a carton of yogrut to bed with me and would eat a spoonful whenever the pain would wake me up. The yogurt would soothe the pain enough to let me sleep a couple of hours and then I'd wake up again. I went through this all night long. I told my nurses about what I was doing, and although it's not really the way bandsters are supposed to eat, it was during the healing phase and they were OK with it. If you haven't talked to your doctor or nurses about this pain and what you're doing for it, may I suggest you do so.. just to be sure that it's ok with them. Hope you feel better soon. And yes, this pain/hunger did go away for me. I don't recall how long it took, but not all that long in the overall scheme of things. Best wishes

"Hydration is hydration is hydration." I enjoy Crystal Light, it's on the list of acceptable drinks, so I get hydrated with Crystal Light. BTW, my nutritionist shared a yummy concoction (for my next phase-pureed.) Mix orange Crystal Light, vanilla Protein Powder and yogurt to make an old fashioned Orange Push Pop. I haven't had one in years! 4 days post!!

all solid meals. nothing spicy just eggs and yogurt

Hi, I was sleeved on Dec 29, so I am on the same time line as you. I found that the Protein drinks were really hard to stomach until about 4 days ago. I think they were just too heavy. I use the EAS Myoplex in chocolate with 23g protein. I got a 5lb bag for $30.00 at Sam's Club, which at three shakes a day, lasts a little over 3 weeks. Mixed with skim milk, I get 31g protein per drink. I tried the Gator-aid that has the protein in it, and I still can not drink it. So maybe it is the type of protein your are choosing. I hope your able to start with some more substantial foods soon. I was allowed to move to pureed foods today, although, I have had one pureed meal a day for the last 3 days. I would try to stay away from the jelly, very high in sugar. Have you tried some yogurt or cottage cheese? I found those to be very easy on my stomach. I haven't been able to do oatmeal at all yet, also too heavy. Interesting side note, I have a bad dream last night about losing my hair and so I have started to be very vigilant about getting everything I that I am supposed to. I am praying that I don't lose my hair. Good luck to you, This journey has a huge learning curve.

You'll be on mushies soon so don't worry until then - a lot of people struggle in the early days. You'll then be able to have scrambled egg and yogurt (Greek yogurt has double the protein of standard yogurt), so that should help. You'll probably be OK with some fish too.

Me too! Not only am I in sales, I am in the food business! I was banded almost three years ago and yes, I did have a learning curve. I carry premixed Protein Shakes, use a small cooler that I refill daily with yogurt, string cheese, healthy crackers and fruit and make sure that I have workout clothes in my suitcase. If you want excuses, they are always there. If you want to make it work, you will find a way. Remember, failing to plan is planning to fail! Best of luck to you!!!

THanks! I feel like i tough it out cuz I dont feel so much pain. Sometimes cramping. BUt thanks for the advice> i didnt realize it could push back my heeling time. What stage are you on for you post op diet? I have me post op tommorow and will be able to start on my full liquids for 3 days then my pureed! ( Protein shakes, cream of wheat, yogurt!)