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When I was in the soft stage, my nutritionist recommended things like Greek yogurt, refried Beans with salsa, sugar free fat free pudding made with skim milk and 1/3 cup dry fat free milk for added Protein. Take it slow and you'll find a routine that you can build on it. I know you haven't had real food in awhile but don't try to jump farther ahead than you are ready for.

I'm afraid to go in there. Its like being tortured. My Dr is allowing me to eat small, low fat, low sugar items. Following the protean drink, low fat puddings and such brought my sugar down to a 65 the other day, so they gave me the ok to eat just a little. The mousse doesnt bother me, its the frozen yogurt and muffins that drive me up the wall!!

I had to crush everything. I mixed it in applesauce or yogurt (of course, at that time I could barely eat a tsp.)

Hey Jeni! You can do it! i found a non-fat greek yogurt at Central Market (i live in texas, but i know whole foods or other specialty stores carry it... you can probably google too) called Fage. I mix a tiny bit of honey or even sugar free jelly in it. It has 20 grams of protein per 1 cup serving... so 10 if you only eat 1/2 cup. I have found that it helps me make it to lunch. also, from my adkins days, i have returned to the fat free ricotta for a bit of sweet, and good source of calcium and protein. Just some ideas. i ate 4 hersey's kisses today, so i too am feeling guilty. it's amazing, i know better, i just couldn't say no. tomorrow will be a better day!

I agree with the other poster that they are way too high in sugar. Check with your dietician on what your doctor recommends. A large portion of that 180 calories is the sugar. Your 10 g protein are only 40 calories. I try to minimize fat, salt, and sugar. For Protein shakes, ready to drink type, I use Worldwide Protein Shakes. They come in 21 and 35g protein. Cheapest place to get them is Trader Joe's. Target has started carrying the 21g recently in 4 packs, around $6, in vanilla, chocolate, and Cookies n' Cream. Trader Joe sells both 21 and 35 in just Chocolate and Vanilla. The 21's are about $1.69 each and the 35's about $2.29. Vitamin Shoppe only carries the 35's but in all the flavors (Vanilla, Chocolate, strawberry, banana Cream an Cookies n' Cream). Individually they are $2.79 each but if you buy a 12 pack for $27.99 that works out to about $2.33 each, pretty close to Trader Joe's. I order them online at vitaminshoppe.com and they often have specials with free shipping or if you sign up for their rewards program you get coupons for money off orders. GNC carries 35's in Vanilla and Chocolate in the stores, all flavors online, but they are the most expensive, $2.99 a can. WW shakes only have 1g sugar in the 35's (I get them from Vitamin Shoppe), 1g fat, 0.5 sat fat, 10mg cholesterol, 2g carbs in the 160 cal flavors and 140 of those calories are protein. Some of the flavors are 170 cals and maybe have anothe g of sugar but I don't think any are more than 3. I am reading from the can of Vanilla that I drank today. If you are looking for a way to get in more protein, I would suggest the WW shakes, plus you are getting very little sugar and fat. Oh and the sodium on the can of Vanilla is 150mg and Potassium 240mg. I have trouble with low potassium so I am always looking for stuff that has more of that than sodium. I hope this helps, and good luck on your journey. Please feel free to share the above info with your dietician. I used them before and after surgery I still drink them at least 5 days a week. I bring them to work and have them first thing. You may find you are tighter in the morning after a few fills, and this works for me. I wait about an hour then have Breakfast, usually protein Cereal from kaysnaturals.com and/or yogurt (I mix my own--fat free Greek yogurt from Trader Joe--comes in 2 cup container--22 g protein per cup 0 fat, 6g sugar--I divide into four half cup servings--11 g protein 0 fat 3 sugar--for fruit I mix in Smuckers sugar free preserves 10 cal tbsp, plus some cinnamon) So with the shake (35), cereal (10) and yogurt (11) I manage 56g protein before lunch.

According to my nutritionist after you enter the Maintenance phase, your meals should consist of equal parts of protein, fats and carbs but always put protein first. Fats are important because they help to control hunger. It is common to have some limited weight gain after weight loss surgery. They call it a 20 pound bounce. The important thing is not let go beyond this 20 pounds. Most times this weight gain is due to a poor choice of snacks. Snacks should be limited to primarily to whole food options: nuts, natural nut butters, fruits, veggies, boiled eggs, string cheese, yogurt with berries and almonds, tuna pouches. Avoid processed packaged foods as much as possible. Also do not expect to lose weight at a rate similar to right after surgery. Generally if you gained the additional weight over a couple years, then it may take a couple years of watching what you eat to get back down.

Hello. I've been banded for almost 4 years and have lost 95 pounds, give or take a few. I had a fill in January and was very restricted for about 2 weeks. Since then, the band has worked like I had hoped. I would eat a little and be full. I had to be careful, small bites, chew, chew, chew. However, for about a month, I drink my usual 12 oz protein shake in the morning and coffee, yogurt for lunch, 48 oz. of water throughout the day and then eat and drink whatever I'm hungry for, for dinner. The problem is that the evening eating is getting more and more. It seems like I can eat a lot some times and then other times things just get stuck. I think getting enough water has a lot to do with it but I'm scheduled to see my doctor in a couple of weeks and I'm not sure if I need a fill or not. I don't weigh myself a lot but I think I've lost about 5 pounds since January. I'd like to lose another 15. Any suggestions???? Thanks

Just be very careful with the bars, they tend to be very high calorie. Other options for Protein are Hemp Protein powder. I mix this with 4oz of mango purée & 2-4oz of water- tastes great. Greek yogurt, it has tons of protein. unjury chicken Soup flavor. It teases like the broth from ramen soup. String cheese And of course tuna, and the like. Hope this helps.

The first few weeks (months) post-op are not at all indicative of what life with WLS is like. At this point, 16 mo post-op, I can eat and tolerate pretty much anything I want. The thing is, my tastes have changed so dramatically. I don't crave garbage food anymore. For breakfast, I used to eat chicken biscuits, fries, muffins, and other junk. This morning, I had a bowl of greek yogurt with banana, berries, and granola, and it was the most delicious thing ever. I could force feed myself the garbage breakfast, but I wouldn't enjoy it. Over time, you figure out your new anatomy and reshape your eating to accommodate it. Even now, almost a year and a half post-op, I'm still testing things out, seeing what works and what doesn't. That's the whole point of the surgery... to force you to make better choices.

I wasn't allowed to have tomato soup until I was on the regular diet, at least 4 weeks out. I'm guessing this was due to the acidity. How about cream of chicken soup (made with milk)? Also fat free, sugar free pudding or yogurt.

I feel ya sister. I have gone back to eating foods that are pre-labeled with calorie counts on them. Yogurt, healthy choice, sugar free pudding and jellos, yogurt, I make a vegetable Soup that I eat for lunch. All fresh veggies with Taco mix seasoning. It is so hard I have stalled with my weight loss but don't really know if I need another fill. I go tomorrow for an appointment lets see what the Doc has to say. Good luck to you.

congrats on your banding!!!! i also skipped a step or two, i thought i was gonna chew my arm off on liquids!! i stayed on them for 1 wk, then my doc said i can introduce purred foods.i was big on mashing up bananas with non fat vanilla yogurt, this took the place of eating ice-cream everynight, i am 3 mths post op and still have that snack for breakfast or night snack and have lst 40 pounds so far. i never had the pains your describing but i would put a call to your surgeon and see what advise he can give you..best of luck....irish

Yes, if you mix Crystal Light (or even some fresh fruit juice - like lemon or lime or even a bit of orange) into your Water, it is still counted towards your water consumption. As far as good meals on the go, I like the light cheese sticks, yogurt, perhaps a few ham cubes or turkey cubes. I'm not much into smoothies or Protein drinks, so I try to eat my protein. Even some banana slices or other fresh fruit. But I think anything that you can cut up into small pieces, and pop in your mouth. Just make sure you chew well so you don't accidentally swallow too large of a piece of food and get stuck. It's easy to do if you get distracted, which may happen if a customer pops in unexpectedly. Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestions-- it gives me some ideas. @Menelly--I may try some of those, though I can't do nuts yet. I'm still full on 1/4 cup of food, so I'm sure the cheese and meat would be plenty. I don't think I'm supposed to do Protein bars yet, either. @missheidi47-- Thanks for mentioning the cafeteria. I kinda forgot about that! @BLERDgirl--I'll check out the yogurt things. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to have nut butters yet. I'm going to call my surgeon's office when I land tomorrow, so I'll ask (have to anyway, since I am probably not going to be back for my follow-up appointment on Tuesday.) @VSGAnn2014--Things are just so up in the air with my dad at this point, I don't know when or how much I'll be able to get away from the hospital. And it's about 45 minutes from my parents' house, so I won't be able to just run home and scramble some eggs. As for the Protein shakes, I'm not allowed to do Premier or other ready-to-drink ones. I have baggies with my Protein Powder, and I'm planning to just buy a little bottle of milk when I get thru security to mix one. It wouldn't be a long flight, but at such late notice, I couldn't get a direct flight and have to change planes in Atlanta.

Then when you go on solid foods you will likely have the opposite problem, because of the lack of fiber. Plan now to add extra powdered fiber to your food (like yogurt, s/f pudding and the like). Also stock up on stool softeners and get Metamucil and Miralax.

I too fell into the trap of eating poorly due to two kids with mental health issues. Know you are not alone. There are more of you out there then you know. Don’t feel guilty about anything. As moms we try our best. I agree that having simple healthy no thinking foods around might help you. My go to as a busy mom is greek yogurt. Grab and go and eat on the run. Hugs!!!!

i used to keep up more...now that living with the band is becoming more "usual"--i have not put in too much. there's not too much to say other than i think my band is REALLY tight and if i get stressed out or am in a situation that feels tense--then NOTHING goes down--not even ICE CREAM! i didn't lose ANY WEIGHT AT ALL for 1 month--but all of a sudden, without doing anything special--i started losing again. the combination of the really tight band, not being able to eat under stressful circumstances (such as business travel--thank god for packing optifast shakes) and basically sticking to easy food like yogurt, juice, some hamburger and a few raw vegetables (radishes work, don't know why)...and voila--weight loss has been happening. and hunger has been minimal--which is why i wanted the band in the first place--to cut down on that endless "i'm HUNGRY" feeling. am also wearing a suit that i haven't worn in 4.5 yrs---ta daaah. that feels good. i even went shopping for a smaller pair of pants for work--as i was embarrassed that my "regular" pants were just about falling off--and i had to keep pulling them up--boy that is UNCOMFORTABLE to do while you're walking down the hall... i keep looking at the scale--not moving very fast in the downward trend--but i can still feel changes in clothing--and some people finally commented...so...SOMETHING must be happening--right?? right!

I know exactly what you mean about the child who just seems to have eating down pat. My granddaughter--who is three--is exactly like that. Can I tell you how hard it is to not try to stuff her or say "just one more bite"....But I am not. I am really trying to help her grow up without the eating disorders that my children have and it is tough. Love the blog. Love naming that evil voice that sounds so rational and reasonable when I hear it in my head. I am presurgery--next Thursday. But, I am on the preop diet--in my case fish, soup and yogurt in addition to water and protein drinks if I want them. Oddly, I am not really fighting it. That's not to say that I am not thinking of how to change my plain greek yogurt into chocolate greek yogurt...... You are doing great. Just tell Ed to go shut up and leave the room Susan

I am trying to change some habits and do some prep work for after surgery - my problem is I really dislike yogurt and have been trying to get used to protein shakes - is there any recipes that don't include yogurt or ways to disguise the yogurt taste -any ideas would be appreciated

Sounds like we all have a touch of it eh? I have put on 3 pounds in the last 4-5 days and have a cruise I go on beginning this Friday. Not good. I do have the body bugg but I've even lost the interest to wear that secondary to the weight gain. We were told we would likely not lose and may gain weight during this time but I DO NOT like it. Last night I was eating some Golden spoon yogurt (20c/oz) and it was a sizable bowl (bout 8 oz). My husband goes by and says, "That's why you put on a pound". He was smiling but when I looked up at him, the smile melted away lol. He paid for this surgery so this gives me more feelings of pressure. I know that when I DO go back to work they will all expect me to be on my way to weight loss heaven. *sigh*. All these pity-pot feelings when I should be thanking God for all these blessings He's heaped on me. Just goes to show you, that no matter how much you have, you always want more. Thanks for your ear (eyes, I should say lol).

At the hospital theysaid its a two week pre-op visit and they even gave me a 6 week calendar of foods. So by my second week when i see him i will be able to move up to liquid puree foods like yogurt and scrambled eggs ( mixed with almond milk so its a more liquidy consistency ) and cottage cheese. They didnt give you like a meal planner for the next 6 weeks ?

Hi! I'm tight in the mornings, too - sometimes even oatmeal won't go down... I've resorted to cream of wheat and grits (luckily I LOVE those) and occasionally a Protein shake. Sometimes mid-morning I'll have something more solid with some protein in it, but not too often. Yogurt (I love Greek yogurt) goes down pretty easily, but I'm wary of having too many potential "sliders"... Other ideas? I'm hoping to hear more, too...

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives. Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and Krispy Creme Donuts. And Satan said, "You want chocolate with that?" And Man said, "Yes!" and Woman said, "and as long as you're at it, add some sprinkles." And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled. :phanvan And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size 14. So God said, "Try my fresh green salad." And Satan presented Thousand-Island Dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast. God then said, "I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them." And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. :hungry: And Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof. God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it "Angel food Cake," and said, "It is good." Satan then created chocolate cake and named it "Devil's Food." God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose those extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds. Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds. :faint: God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald's and its 99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said, "You want fries with that?" And Man replied, "Yes! And super size them!" And Satan said, "It is good." And Man went into cardiac arrest. God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery. Then Satan created HMOs.

I am 4 months out and struggle with food portions quite a bit. Some days 1/2-1 cup is plenty but other days I am still hungry or 1/2 cup is way to much. I've found that it also depends on the food that I am eating. I am able to tolerate Soups, yogurts and fluids/shakes a lot better than other foods. They key is also eating slowly and allowing your brain to realize that you've eaten, feel full and satisfied. It's hard and I find that I have to pace myself still. It's easy to get back into the habit of eating quickly again. Definately a difficult habit to break. Oh and keep up the good work!!

It will get better...I promise...In the beginning it is so hard..I could only do a few bites of anything..I ate bites of egg salad made with real mayo..mashed potatoes, tuna salad all made soupy, yogurt...I did drink warm broth..It was the worse trying to get protein drinks in..I couldn't handle the smell or the taste,I had to hold my nose.. I loved them before surgery & now I love them again but the 1st month, no way! My energy level was so low & I got depressed and questioned why did I do this..but after a month everything started to make me feel better & better..Now I can eat anything...Good Luck but you'll be just fine..