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I got over it by not having the extra food readily available and keeping my mind occupied so I don't have time to watch the clock. Don't have a lot of ready to eat foods in the house except may fat free yogurt or the like. Only cook enough for 1 serving at a time. That way you aren't picking at leftovers. When the hunger hits, take a walk or brush your teeth. The walk will give you time to get over the hunger and nobody wants to eat right after brushing.

I was told not to eat foods with carbs at first. The first two weeks I was on liquids, sugar free Jello, broth, liquid protien, and sf popsicles. The third week I started eating pureed meat and vegetables, greek yogurt, cottage cheese. Remember the amount was 2-3 tablespoons at a time. It was important to keep liquids going in 45-64 ozs. a day. Now that I am out of surgery just about 7 weeks I can eat most things. I have to chew everything to a pureed state but can eat. My capacity has gotten to 1/2+ cups of food. When I am full I have to stop or the next bite makes me very uncomfortable for 20 mins. Hope this helps. Mary:rolleyes: [quote name=narredondo' timestamp='1290987 670' post='95400] Hello, I am new to the group, it is nice to see a group going through some of the same things I am. I was sleeved on Nov 22, 2010 and gosh have I felt horrible. I couldn't keep pains meds down crushed or liquid so I have been so uncomfortable. Anyway I have been better the past three days I started on some mash potatoes and peaches things like that. Are there any other food ideas you guys have? Also I have this stretching pain that is right next to my belly button I am assuming it is my stomach but is it normal? It's not a sharp pain but it is very uncomfortable just thought I someone would know something on it. Thank you guys so much!!

You'll find a lot of recipes that will say to use yogurt instead of the yolks but it isn't thick enough for me. I used fat free cream cheese, dijon mustard and smoked paprika to fill them. Only done it once that way but they were delicious.

I'll definitely look into Isopure and Unjyry, thanks guys! - that's a great idea to add it into soup and yogurt too. I did try adding some off brand "grass-fed protein" (not sure, it was the only flavorless protein I could find when I first had surgery so we grabbed it so I could add it to clear liquids) but it clumped terribly in the soup. I did try some premier mixed with coffee, but I'm not a big fan of coffee so it didn't help too much. Though I was able to get more down than I could normal ones! Thank you! I need to go update my ticker, I was super excited! I started swimming for more exercise too!

I switched to Unjury brand. The unflavored can be added to whatever you like. *I routinely put a little extra in my greek yogurt to make it "super yogurt". When I was still on liquid diet, I'd make "protein jello" or pudding with extra protein with it (SF, of course). Unjury also has a chicken soup flavored one. It's a little high in sodium, but when you've just had enough of the sweet protein drinks, it's very satisfying. Caution: putting Unjury in liquids >140 degrees makes it sort of curdle. So, I wouldn't cook with it or put it in extra hot water/milk. The hot water dispenser out of the company coffee maker seemed just perfect. If I was at home, I would temp check before adding the Unjury.

I stopped all foods that had any sweet taste post surgery. I wanted to reset my gut bugs because sweet cravings come from the bad gut bugs who insist you continue eating sweet things. So my protein was NorCal organic grass fed whey powder, PLAIN. I missed it with raw milk (something I am used to, not for starting anew right after surgery, but it was so good for me and has some probiotics in it naturally). You can mix it with water. It wasn’t about tasting good, it was about eating to live. after a while though I found it was best to mix protein powder with plain full fat organic Greek yogurt. A very small volume gives you SO MUCH PROTEIN. And now almost a year later, it is my go to way of getting in all my protein. Sometimes I will with in some prebiotics like a tbsp of flax seed or inulin. Perfect food that tastes plain and not sweet. You eat it for what it does for you. Gives you strength, gets rid of your hunger. You know how good it is for you.

Hi Everyone, I have been asked so many times on this board about what Protein drinks are good and some sample meals that I used during the first month and things I did after the 1st month. These are very valid questions and I know when I first started out I had all the same questions. Again this is long so please print this out if you would like. Protein Drinks. My all-time favorite is: Premier Protein Drink. It comes in 11 oz. drink boxes already mixed. There are 30 grams of protein in each box, 160 calories per box, 1 gram of sugar and 5 grams of carbs. The flavor I buy is Chocolate—that is all I can find at costco. I get mine at Costco and I understand that you can get them at Sam’s Club too. You can order these on line at Costco and Sam’s club. They are also available at this Web Site. http://www.premiernutrition.com/product.html I pay about $25.00 for a carton of 18 drink boxes at Costco in the city where I live. I drink one of these every morning for my Breakfast and nothing else and it has been almost 3 years since my “sleeve surgery.” The next Protein Drink that I have tried is called: Matrix 2.0 Mint Cookies made by Syntrax. You can check this out on this Web Site. http://www26.netrition.com/syntrax_matrix_page.html The cost for 2.16 lbs. is $22.99 plus postage. Item # 39-0963 My next Protein Drink that I have tried and like is: nectar, variety pack, you get 13 single servings in a variety pack. The cost is $22.95. This is the Web Site and they are made by Syntrax also. http://www6.netrition.com/syntrax_nectar_page.html There is one other Protein Drink that I found on Obesity Help.com that was rated really high by 188 people. I have never had it, but you might want to check it out. The name of the protein drink is: Carb Solution High Protein Power—it comes in more than one flavor. They also have cans of it already mixed. The Protein Powers cost $12.99. It has 110 calories, 1 gram of sugar, 4 carbs, and 20 grams of protein. This is the Web Site for Carb Solution at Wal-Mart. http://www.buycheapr.com/us/result.jsp?q=Carb+Solution&qs=ti&ga=us7&ts=go On www.ObesityHelp.com they have a lot of different information about Protein Drinks and they list so many different brands and people have rated the ones they really like check this site out. It has a lot of information about almost all the protein drinks that we find out there. http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/nutrition/a,prodsearch/searchtype,1/criteria,11/ I hate Isopure. It does NOT taste good to me—I know that some people like it. I call it Isopuke, and it reminds me of pond scum. I have been told if you buy it at a GNC and don’t like it and still have your receipt they will refund your money if it hasn’t been more than 30 days since you purchased it from them. I guess they will do that with protein powers too—ask before you buy what their policy is about returning something if you don’t like it. So if you want to try it remember this. There always seems to be a GNC in most Malls. This 1st month after weight loss surgery is going to be the hardest one to do. You just get tired of what they want you to do. It is for a reason—the doctors know what they are doing. You need to let your new stomach heal from a major surgery, so that is why you have to do these things the 1st month. You should try to keep your calories at 800 per day and no more than 20 carbs a day if you want to lose weight. The 1st month you really don’t eat a lot. So in the following months keep track of everything you are putting in your mouth. You can track what you eat on this site. I found it to be very helpful to write down EVERYTHING I was putting into my body. If I didn’t write it down I was going over 800 calories per day and would not know I was. It does take time to keep track of it—you are worth the effort, but once you get the hang of it you will know what 800 calories really are. When you exercise this site helps you figure out the number of calories you have burned and that allows you to eat more than 800 calories. It is an easy site to use and it if FREE. http://www.livestrong.com/ The 1st 10 days for me had to be clear liquids—you had to be able to see through them. 1. broth. I used and love “Better Than Bouillon.” It comes in a jar and it is like a paste. I like it because it tastes great and you can make single servings. It is located with bouillon cubes and Soups in the grocery store. I had chicken and beef. I also made some home chicken Soup and strained everything out of it and just had the chicken broth. I would try to have ¼ of a cup of it for part of my meal, but sometimes it was just too much for me. Remember you have a new smaller stomach and it is swollen and can only hold about as much as the size of your thumb. 2. Jello-- sugar free. I might have 2 tablespoons of Jello. That was something I had fixed and ready when I got home from the hospital. 3. I tried to drink 64 oz. of Water and sometimes I could get it in and sometimes I couldn’t. Do the best you can, and just sip it all day long. I would add Crystal Light to the water—it made water taste a whole lot better. 4. Apple juice, white grape juice, sugar free sports drinks, decaf hot tea, also decaf ice tea. 5. Veggie broth or the broth from French Onion soup. 6. Sugar Free Popsicles if my stomach was upset this really seemed to help. The 2nd 10 days. This was much easier to do. If I didn’t mention it, it was difficult for me to swallow my medication so I would crush the medication up and mix it with about 1 tablespoon of applesauce and some Equal and mix my meds in the applesauce and take my medication that way. You will have creamy foods the next 10 days 1. I loved so many of the creamy soups. I used regular Campbell’s creamy soups that they had. I was only having about ¼ cup or maybe a few tablespoons of soup. 2. Jello was still good for me. 3. Sugar Free pudding, maybe 2 tablespoons full. 4. Yogurt a few tablespoons of it. 5. Frozen yogurt. 6. Applesauce a couple tablespoons. 7. A little cream cheese. 8. Sugar Free Fudge Cycles. 9. Premier Protein chocolate Drink mixed in blender with about 4 ice cubes and 1 cap full of Miralax. When you have a lot of protein you get constipated and Miralax works for that. It is tasteless and blends really great in the blender with the protein drink. I use the Miralx daily and it is NOT habit forming. 10. Soft boiled eggs or soft scrambled eggs—eggs didn’t work that well for me. 11. Low fat Chocolate milk. 12. Cottage Cheese. 13. Sugar Free Popsicles 14. Creamy Peanut Butter. The 3rd 10 days and final part of the first month. Yeah the 1st month is almost over. I could eat mushy food. This was more of a challenge than I thought it would be. 1. Mashed sweet potato or mashed yams with a small amount of butter on it. 2. Mashed up chicken noodle soup. 3. Mashed up homemade veggie soup. 4. Eggs that were soft boiled or soft scrambled. 5. Applesauce. 6. Cottage cheese. 7. Premier Protein Drink with miralax blended in the blender with 4 ice cubes. 8. Mashed up steamed carrots 9. Mashed up and blended a little tuna with a small amount of mayo. 10. Blended chicken breast with no skin on it. 11. Ham blended with a small amount of mayo. 12. Water with Crystal Light 13. Jello with fat free cool whip. 14. Yogurt and frozen yogurt. 15. Sugar free pudding. 16. Protein Bars chewed up really well—I could never eat a whole one—just a few bites. 17. Mashed potatoes and cream cheese mixed in with them. 18. Mashed black Beans they have a lot of protein in them. I would have about 1/4 the a cup and that is about 9 grams of protein 19. Sugar Free Popsicles 20. Hard Boiled eggs made into egg salad. If I went out to eat I found that a cup of soup was about the best thing I found that I could eat. I also felt like I was on display sometimes because family and friends would watch me eat. It used to bother me, but not anymore. I watched them eat and I thought to myself. “Oh my gosh they inhale their food and they hardly chew it.” I was always the last one to finish eating. That is OK too. At first I actually mourned the loss of food. Later on I was thrilled that I had the restriction of a sleeve because I was losing weight. I found that chicken and fish were easier to chew and I liked them a lot more than red meat. I said that chicken was one of the main sources of protein for me. I found Kirkland (Costco brand) grilled Chicken breast strips. It is already cooked and I would put one bag (1 pound) in the freezer and use the other (1 pound bag later.) It is really handy to have around and a quick meal to fix if the chicken is already cooked. We also ate more fish. I would buy Halibut or Sole—a mild fish. I would marinate it in OJ or crushed strawberries or blueberries all day. I would also marinate it in law calories Italian Salad Dressing all day. I would cook it in a pan with Pam spray and put garlic or rosemary in the pan when I was cooking it. I don’t eat a lot of red meat and I used to be a real red meat lover. For me it took too much chewing and it just didn’t taste as good as it used to. I will now have a small hamburger and only eat 1/3 to ½ because it just is too much food for me. Ham was something that worked well for me too. I found I could get a large think slice of from the grocery story deli and I would have it for a protein—I would slice off about 2 oz. of the ham. I also enjoy a Taco Salad and I make mine with chicken instead of beef. I love Shrimp and lobster too, so those are my treats that I reward myself with. A typical meal I ate starting the 2nd month after WLS. Breakfast: Premier Protein Drink with Miralax and 4 ice cubes in the blender. Lunch: 2 oz. of chicken or ham with a small amount of cheese melted over it. I would have a bean salad—it has 4 different beans in it. Snack: I would have about 10 dry roasted almonds and maybe 10 dried cherries Dinner: 2 oz. of Chicken or Fish, steamed veggies of some kind. Sometimes my husband and I would split a small baked potato I put a teaspoon of butter and sour cream on it. Snack: Some type of fresh fruit or a Protein Bar. Carbs and what to eat and what NOT to eat About the 3rd month after WLS I would add a little bread in my diet—I could only eat about ½ a slice of bread or ½ of a hamburger bun and they are the “thin” buns that they have out now. They also make a thin bagel. You just have to look when you are shopping in your local grocery store for these things. Try to find Whole Grain carb products and if you can’t the do the whole wheat. Try to stay away from WHITE carbs. They are white refined carbs and that is how we got fat eating a lot of them. Rice should be brown rice and only a small amount—NO white rice. Pasta comes is Spinach or Whole Wheat and you can have only small amounts of it. banana – Medium size has 27 Grams of carbs—I stay away from the banana, and I love them, but I just don’t want to spend all my carbs for the day on a banana. I use a Mexican soft flour shell made of spinach or sun dried tomatoes for making a small sandwich too—you know they call them wraps. Beverage: They do not want you to drink something when you eat—you need the room for the food so that you can get your protein in firsts. During the day I would have water or decaf tea for my liquid after I ate or all during the day. As I said the Crystal Light Individual packs and different flavors worked well in a bottle of water. It seems like it took me forever to eat and drink all the things I was supposed to be eating and drinking. I was always sipping on the protein drink and water. supplements you should take. It is important that you take a multi-Vitamin. I had a difficult time trying to swallowing large pills. Look for an Adult Chewable multi-vitamin. I also have the Chocolate Chewable Calcium that I buy at Costco. As time goes on it will get easier to swallow larger pills. Do NOT take the multi-vitamin on an empty stomach, it may make you sick. My Primary Care doctor was very helpful and after I had been home 2 weeks from WLS, she had me come into for an office visit. She ran a full blood panel and made sure all my levels were ok. I knew my potassium was low when I left Dr. Aceves in Mexicali—they ran my blood test before I left and gave me a very detailed report about my surgery to give to my doctor here in the US. Dr. Aceves told me to have it watched when I got home. I now take a potassium tablet prescribed by my doctor and work on eating food high in potassium. Starting the 3rd month I started to eat more salads about here. I had a favorite and still eat it. It is Fresh Spinach, with slices of almonds, feta cheese, dried cherries, or fresh strawberries, a tablespoon of bacon and Paul Newman’s Light Raspberry & Walnut dressing on it. I sometimes add some of my Kirkland (Costco) Grilled Chicken breast strips to it and then it is an entire meal in one bowl. Chef’s Salad is a great one meal in a bowl thing to have and I just use any kind of dressing I want on it. This salad has lettuce, tomatoes, olives, sliced hard boiled eggs, turkey or chicken, and some ham sliced on it with some cheese. REMEMBER make this in a much smaller bowl than the normal Chef’s salad comes in. Sometimes I will add a small amount of Whole Grain dinner roll or some bread with it. Stir Fry is a great way to get meat and veggies all in one meal too. I have a pan that works great on the BBQ grill and I do a stir fry on the BBQ in the summer time. Have a sense of adventure and take some of your old recipes and see if you can convert them into a healthier recipe. Use veggies that you have never tried. Try some “rubs” on you meat located in the spice section or the grocery store and try to marinate some of your meats all day before cooking them—it really changes the taste of them. Desert I don’t want you to feel deprived. I learned that sometime just a bite or two of a desert really satisfied my need for it. Instead of the WHOLE piece of cake or pie, just a sliver of it worked for me to satisfy my need for it. When you want a cookie have just one small cookie and not the entire bag OK. Sugar free pudding with a small amount of Fat Free Cool Whip is good too. Use Splendia to make a desert that you like. So everything in moderation works. Exercise I was never a fan of exercise until I started to walk and I found out how much I benefited from it. Now I try to exercise 5 days a week. Find some form of exercise that works for you and do it. Start slow and then add more until you are comfortable with it. I am sure I have missed a few things, and I will write those down as I think of them and make a Vol. 2 if I needed too. These are just my suggestions, spice them up and make your food interesting and don’t get in a rut. This is not a diet, you will learn to adapt it and find things that work for you and that you like eating. This is a LIFESTYLE change. Make it work for you. You have the tool of restriction now use your new tool to your advantage. The fat doesn’t just melt off of you. It does require work and effort on your part. Stalls—No weight loss for a period of days. Be prepared you may have periods where you lose NO weight. We call those “Stalls.” You will panic and think for sure that you are the “one person this is NOT going to work on.” I know I was sure that was me. NOT true at all. Our bodies just do this. Mine lasted for 9 days—no weight loss at all. Just keep doing what you are doing and the weight will start coming off again I promise you. I can tell you not to panic but most of you will anyway—that is pretty normal too. Hugs, Suzanne Sleeved 10/21/2008 Lost 105 pounds.

I had to argue and fight for the third, I wasn't losing an ounce almost three months out from surgery and getting discouraged. The APRN said I was doing about .25 lbs a week, and he was happy with that loss... I wasn't! I know I can lose the weight with diet and exercise, done it before. It's those long winter months when you don't want to go and be active that do me in. Right now I don't feel any restriction, regardless of what I eat, except for a few very dry foods that go down slow. But, I am curious for those who measure a cup of food per meal--how many meals do you eat, how calories per day, and how much Protein? I'm on the low side for protein--about 60 to grams, and that's eating yogurt for Breakfast and fish fillets for lunch and supper. I try to keep the calorie count at 1000 for the day. Despite not having noticeable restriction, I still feel satiated after my meals, which I guess is the start of the Green Zone? I do feel some restriction for a few days after a fill--is that caused by the stomach swelling and reacting to the increased band pressure? But, that feeling subsides in a few weeks. LW (walking buddy above in the inset)

I am a week into the band and ive been doing the protein shakes with skim milk or apple juice but i was thinking of putting it into a fruit smoothie with yogurt and fresh fruit.... Is it ok??? I mean as think as the protein is i dont think it will hurt. Has anyone tried that so early in the process.

I am a week into the band and ive been doing the protein shakes with skim milk or apple juice but i was thinking of putting it into a fruit smoothie with yogurt and fresh fruit.... Is it ok??? I mean as think as the protein is i dont think it will hurt. Has anyone tried that so early in the process.

My doctor is pretty strict about eating and it is on the list to have fish. Just flake it up to the consistency of tuna fish. I am only 4 weeks out and I had it a few times. Remember to make it wet. I take yogurt and mix spices in it with a little water. I put it in a squirt bottle and leave it in the fridge overnight. You can put it on the fish for wetness and it gives it a nice taste along with the extra protein.

Thanks for the suggestions. I do the cottage cheese. I tried the Greek yogurt and didnt like it very much.

I am sorry you are going through all this. Could you just eat out one time per day? Does your hotel room have a mini fridge? If so, you could get some yogurt or single serving cottage cheeses, or single servings of cheese. Even without a mini fridge you could get some fruit and some Protein bars. I've lived in places where ice storms knock out the power. That is certainly no fun at all!

WOW! Do you know round about what the calorie count is on this? Are you using fresh fruit or Greek Yogurt with fruit? Does the splenda cut down the sour taste?

I'll be interested in what others have to say too. I had surgery right after you. I've been having different kinds of Soups. I really like the V8 SW corn and butternut squash. I've also had some Campbell's broccolli cheese, Progresso has a really good chicken enchilada (strain out all the chunks). It's very cheesy. I've also made homemade egg drop Soup. Yum! Other than that, I eat several sf popsicles. I also have yogurt in the a.m. Eggdrop soup: 2 cans of Chicken broth bring to a boil- reserve 1/3 of chicken broth. Whisk 2 eggs and 1 yolk, add to the boiling chicken broth, mix 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch into the reserved broth then add to the rest of the soup.

I stay low carb so I eat a lot of hard-boiled eggs, soups, meats, cheeses, and veggies. Breakfast is usually a hard boiled egg or greek yogurt. Lunch is a salad or soup. Dinner is soup or something easy like chicken or turkey with cucumbers. Throughout the day I may snack on beef jerky or dry almonds and then I drink AT LEAST half a bottle of IsoPure. I try to drink the whole thing but I usually can't get through it.

My food plan allows me to be on some "modified solids" such as soft cheeses and refried beans. I have been militantly measuring out my 2 oz portions of everything so for a meal I might have 1 oz yogurt and 1 oz string cheese, 1 babybel light or 1 wedge of laughing cow. I have not felt any restriction or "fullness" until tonight. We had to go to Costco and my daughter wanted dinner . . . I let her get a piece of cheese pizza. Since she never finishes the pizza I figured I'd just skin some of the cheese off hers (avoiding the tomato sauce) and that could be my dinner. I think I had the equivalent of about 2 oz, but I didn't have the ability to measure/weight it out, and I think I might have eaten a bit too fast - but I THINK I felt my first feeling of fullness. I did NOT like it, I had a little discomfort in my chest and it sort of felt like the chunks of food could come back up. They didn't, and I was counting the minutes to my 30-minute mark so I could wash it down . . . but I think I learned my lesson of measuring EVERYTHING very early on!!

when I get snacky at night, I eat yogurt and that helps a lot with the cravings. I get the dessert type yogurts, feels like I am cheating but I am not.

cottage cheese - great source of protien scrambled eggs yogurt Good Luck to you

I had my third fill last Tuesday. Since then I haven't been able to eat much other than liquids and creamed soups, and most of the time I can only eat a few bites of yogurt or creamed soup. Today I got real thirsty and drank a bunch of liquids not all at once, but I sipped on it over about 30 minutes. Since then I've had a small supper that went down without any problems, and even had a couple of bites of a breadstick (which I haven't had any bread until now it wouldn't have ever went down) anyways I'm worried why all of a sudden can I eat regular food without anything getting stuck? I know it's not good to get things stuck, but I'm worried becouse nearly everything since last Tuesday has gotten stuck causing me to only do liquids and yogurt, and craeam soup why now can I eat regular food. Is something wrong with my band?

K, I was banded on 6/20 and have horrible gas pains too. That is from the surgery. They have to blow up your cavity in order to operate. It will go away, you need to walk and if Gasex helps take that. I have not felt depressed but am very hungry and grouchy! I am still on Clear Liquids and will be able to add yogurt tomorrow! Can't wait. I've lost 13 lbs so far. Good luck

At three weeks out, I was only on thick liquids. I had things like cream of chicken Soup, mushy tuna salad, cottage cheese, greek yogurt. I would not even think of anything with breading until a ways in. I have just started (at 4 months) trying to experiment with one nugget and I scrape most of the breading off. If you eat too little, your body will think it is in starvation mode and will not work with you. What I would try to do is have three meals a day. For example, breakfast have a soft scrambled egg - a bit later have a Protein drink (Atkins or Muscle Milk light) - lunch have some cream soup (chicken, tomato, mushroom). Be sure to drink Water in between. For dinner have some cottage cheese, yogurt, tuna - something like that and if you are still hungry, have another Protein Drink. I would eat canned fruit only in its own juice (not with light syrup). Watch the smoothies as the skins from the fruit can bother you early on. You have to start being really careful now and get into the habit of thinking about every thing before you eat it. You will do fine, just watch carefully what you eat.

Good luck on your surgery. I ate pizza the nigh before as I think I ate so many my stomach was the size of a pizzzzza:( It was my first love. Sick to say but I followed the pre op diet exactly; for three weeks no food only the shakes and bars. I only lost 18+ pounds and was to lose 30! But so many people that knew me from where I came from and here who had surgeries like this kept saying: Just follow the instructions the doc gives you and the book. You will be fine. So, in the beginning getting down the shakes and water were so funny because the amounts were so small but it allowed the stomach to heal and for me to forget about the old ways of eating.. I ate all of it. Tv as a problem when they show people drinking and eating food on every show. So, I felt like I wanted to join in like a subminimal sp? message. So: my eating was from over eating and living with animals. One dog and two cats. Not many humans to talk to. So: I learned alot about myself and remember the days when I was 8-10 and used to run and do the sit ups 200 a day. After the six weeks were up; I went to PT as the wt was too much for me the past two yrs I didn't lose wt. So, I got stronger/ hurt my back/ and flew off the side of the mower putting me back a month on real exercise at the Y. I may go today as my first day but do isometrics on the bed and they work. I'd try to get pt afterwards if your not an exerciser and are weak in your strength and it's good to strengthen our backs. I am doing great and went from 272 at fasting/ to 265 operation date April 11th, after that each month went to the doc office to get weighed on the 11th or around there and I am now 185 lbs or less. I go to him tomorrow and can't wait. I have 50more pounds to remoe but I feel better already; walk faster, and can do more or even feel like doing more. There are times I feel like eating pasta but only a little works/ and chew it thoroughly. I don't feel great aferwards if it's in soup so it's a waste of room something else could be in the stomach that's a protien not a carb. So, I am very careful to not eat sugar, I do have to get my water intake up as I am low still 24 to 48 oz sporatically and need to be at 64 fl oz. but I am still using the shake am's to give me 32protiens and try to eat protien lunch and dinner to make up for the rest. I got the vitimans ordered prior to surgery so I'd have all I needed at home to prepare the shakes ahead of time in a baggie and just add the amt of almond or coconut milk, frozen fruit as ice cubes and use walnuts with no salt for snacks which is more protien. At first it's good to just have the jellows, puddings, which I hate anyways, but it takes our mind set and puts it else where so we can know: it's what we need to heal our new stomach. And as we move on to the broths and peanut butter in the shakes etc. we drink a little slower. I use a yogurt senstations? from Food lion which has plain/5grams of fat. Half in one shake also helps us to get in what we need. It takes a while to get used to it but I loved not having all those dishes in the sink... I found making food to give away once in a while is satisfying to me as I can make what I want and it looks too heavy or reminds me of the past and I dont' have a desire for it. I can try a little and there is this feeling you get and you know; best to not try it at this time, down the road; more is accepted and tollerated but until a yr. I am doing the best I can to do what I am supposed to do staying away from salts and sugars. Fake sweetners etc. except for crystal lite... water used to go down so easy now I have to sweeten it up. I went into this as I'm brought to it; remove the part that has not worked well for me... and Healing will take place. Hope this gives you Hope and know: IF you eat when your supposed to and follow directions, things will fall into place as each phase of the program moves forward quickly and you can try new things. Carole

I just ordered a sample pack of hot chocolate Proteins at mybariatricpantry.com Haven't gotten them yet so I can't say how they are, but if you have trouble with cold drinks, that's an option. There's also Unjury's chicken Soup Protein. Greek yogurt has a ton of protein, so you could try adding that in as a supplement. good luck to you!

I'm on soft food until my first fill, November 16th, so I know exactly what you mean--I began with a general plan of what each day's diet would consist of and now in the second week after liquid, I too am running out of options. My biggest issue is with breakfast: have never cared for eggs but have been eating eggbeaters every day. Today I tried baby oatmeal and it was just bland, even with sweet n low! May have to go back to yogurt (1/2 6 oz. container) Went to the grocery store the other day and just cruised the aisles looking for something that would be good and simple and mushy: best thing I found was a small can of cranberry jelly! Have done mashed potatoes for dinner and have some canned veggies I plan on whipping up. I have been dreaming of mashed cauliflower and so may buy cheap frozen and cook it down and mash it up! But like you, my main dinner in two weeks has been refried Beans with shredded cheese on top. Soon we'll be able to have a small amount of regular--yum-m-m!