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As Catwoman7 said, lactose intolerance can occur after surgery for some people so that could be the cause. it could also be the general ‘richness’ of dairy products & your tummy being sensitive & finicky at this stage. It’s hard as dairy is an easy way of getting in protein - yogurt, milk, cheese - in these first months. I eat a lot of dairy & my tummy gurgles & groans something shockingly when I do but it’s just me now. Try some lactose free dairy products and/or some low fat versions and see how you go. Or just give it a miss for a little while & then try it again. You may be someone who just struggles to begin but then are fine. Good luck & congrats on your surgery.

Just finished 48 hours on clear liquids. Feeling great and back down to 130.5 pounds. Today is day one of full liquids. Started the day with a protein shake. Hadn't had a protein shake in a really long time. Post op they made my stomach nauseous, Tolerating it fine today. Maybe I can re-incorporate into my regular diet for breakfast? That would be good! I had intended to do green smoothies, but I just don't get to it before work. I can keep a stash in my fridge at work and a stash in my fridge at home and always have it on hand for when I am ready for breakfast on the go. You know... there really is nothing wrong with my plan. My nutritionist had me do PRE-OP and then again POST-OP. I have done it two and a half times already. One and a half times before surgery.... once for many days, once for a few days.... both times guided by my nutritionist. And then of course the post-op one lasted a month also following nutritionist instructions. The nutritionist used it pre-operatively to get my weight a little lower AND to train for post-op. By now, I know what I am doing. And both hubby and I are nurses, so we both know how to watch for problems. It is also recommended by many surgeons as a pouch reset. When you start eating more than you should you stop recognizing the signals that you paid attention to the first few months post op. Does it really shrink your stomach back down? I suppose that depends on how badly you treated your stomach post operatively and for how long you abused your "new" stomach. I know I treated my new stomach VERY WELL for the first year. It is they last... up to 6 months that I believe I have pushed it beyond what I should. I believe I have a good change of shrinking it back down if I do this now. But if I chose NOT to do it now and don't get my diet under control then it will be much less likely to work as time goes on. Can I just start weighing and logging again? Sure. But I felt this was the better option for me to reset and retrain. BACK TO THE BASICS. FROM THE BEGINNING. Following my nutritionist instructions through the stages and back to lifestyle eating. Am I starving myself? Heck no! I have the extra fat to burn to sustain me through the last two days which is the only two days I am totally depriving myself of nutrients. Did I feel a little hungry now and then? Sure. But I drank a little broth or ate a little jello to get me through. Today I am going to make sure to pick the most nutritious full liquids I can. Done this before, I know how to do it. Am I lacking energy? Not really. I am pacing myself and keeping hydrated. Must have peed 50 times yesterday (exaggerating... but I was peeing very frequently yesterday). I also timed this with my vacation from work. It's Spring Break. I spent the first couple days catching up on housework. Now I am taking it easy while I get through the clear and full liquids stages. By the time I go back to work I will be on soft regular foods. I know how to do this, so I made sure to time it well. "sometimes these weird desperate extreme fixes sort of reinforce disordered eating habits". I find this statement baffling. This isn't a weird desperate extreme fix thing. This is a well established SHORT TERM diet plan that is prescribed by surgeons and nutritionist for a variety of reasons. Kick starting weight loss is one of them. I did not wait until my weight was out of control to do this. I am doing it when I am seeing a negative trend that I want to stop in it's tracks... to help me get back on track. I know my nutritionist would approve. How do I know that? We discussed this last year... when we were talking about stalls. And "reinforce disordered eating habits?" That is a lot of assuming about me. Yes, I was 100 pounds over weight... but I didn't gain weight for the same reasons everyone else may have gained weight. I didn't eat excessively large amounts of food... but I did eat like an average American. I have never been bulimic. I have never been anorexic. I have never followed unhealthy crash diets. Why did I gain weight? Well... the docs think it was triggered by many years of undiagnosed sleep apnea. And coupled with drinking a lot of calories (pepsi) and not picking the healthiest of foods. So tell me, how exactly is following a short term often medically prescribed diet followed by resuming a medically prescribed lifestyle diet going to reinforce disordered eating habits for me? It's not. This diet is not going to reinforce me drinking sugary drinks. Haven't done that for over 1 1/2 years and am not doing it during this pouch reset diet. And it is certainly not encouraging me to eat American size portions. Just the opposite. It is going to remind me what my portion sizes are going to be. And as for sweet cravings? Well... I might have them. But I am being very mindful during this and reinforcing good choices as I move through the phases. That is a good thing. And the grazing which is my actual problem right now? This is going to help me reset into a normal scheduled eating pattern with small portions which is my biggest goal. SO, will this help me accomplish my goals? YES IT WILL! As long as I stick to the plan and advance to my proper post-bariatric lifestyle diet. Again... don't need criticism. Just because you think you aren't criticizing doesn't mean it is true. Feel free to comment if you want to be supportive. Or not. Again... this was my "holding myself accountable" post. Because I know I need to hold myself accountable. Accountability is one of the keys to success. So... today and tomorrow full liquds! Which for me means mostly protein shakes and greek yogurt. Yes, my nutritionist considers greek yogurt to be a full liquid... and since it has protein and nutrients it goes nicely with my protein shakes to get me through the full liquid days.

My wife and I try to do 15-20 grams of protein per meal. Greek yogurt is 15-18 grams of protein (we would split this up at the beginning and only eat half in one sitting). Cheese wrap with deli meat is about 22 grams and we were able to eat about 2/3rds of it by our 3rd month. If you are using regular milk, take a look at Fairlife or Carbsmart milk. They are a bit more protein than the standard milks and less sugar. A Tuna or Chicken packet is 12-15g in just one packet and we could eat about 1/2 a packet at a time. We also found some high protein meals that we like. Taco skillet with lean beef, taco seasoning, peppers and onions and melted cheese on top. We know we were hitting at least 60 grams eating 3-4 times in a day this way when we ate 15-20 grams in one sitting. I know I have heard of others adding protein powder to their meal/yogurt to increase the protein content as well.

I haven't had the surgery yet but while I'm getting all my pre-testing and whatnot done and waiting on my surgery date, I decided to put myself back on Keto for the time being. Only this time, because my nutritionist wants me to, I'm adding in more of a variety of veggies (that's usually not considered Keto friendly) and also some fruits. So, while back on Keto with these new stipulations, if I feel the need to snack, my go to's are............ Celery w/peanut butter or dipped in Ranch Raw veggies (grape tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, etc) alone or dipped in PB, Ranch or Cream Cheese Cucumber slices mixed with a little olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper Cucumber slices with cream cheese sprinkled with Everything But The Bagel seasoning String cheese Slice of various hard cheeses Pepperoni or hard spicy salami slices Hard boiled eggs Greek Yogurt (with or without a small amount of Lily's chocolate chips/salted caramel chips) Small bowl of berries with sugar free whipped cream Sugar free Jello/Pudding with or w/o sugar free whipped cream Anyway, you get the idea.

Have you tried Yasso frozen Greek Yogurt Bars? They are delicious, and come in many flavors. I eat one almost every night. They have 5-6 grams of protein, only 90-100 calories, low sugar, and carbs. Check them out.

Honestly I didn’t look super close at the nutrition facts since it’s just a seasoning and you don’t use a lot. I just know compared to making it with a container of sour cream that using a container or protein loaded Greek yogurt was much better (amd of course dipping veggies instead of chips) we have to have something good.

Ok so I’m normal times I would probably never be excited about these two options but I came up with a couple savory options for the liquid diet plan. Just two add ins for Greek yogurt, PB Fit and Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning mix. Both would be good fruit and veggie dips for later but for a bite or two of something different they worked for me. Also for later down the road French onion dip mix works great with Greek yogurt too but it has the minced onions so we can’t have it on liquid diet (actually the onion dip with Greek yogurt is better than sour cream to me). You can also add one packet Splenda if Greek yogurt is too sour for you and it helps. I tried two and it’s too sweet but one takes the edge off the sour. The PB Fit will add calories for the pre op diet but afterwards it’s adds protein.

Can’t help you with the crunchy part but I found if you are allowed Greek yogurt now that if you take plain Greek yogurt (I used oikos) and add ranch dressing mix it makes a nice dip For veggies but for now a spoonful or two may satisfy the savory craving.

Long time ago. I remember eating thin mashed potatoes, thinned refried beans, putting split pea soup in the blender. Poached fish is a popular next step (that maybe you fudge a little and start early) because fish is SO protieny and poached is super tender. Whipped Greek yogurt. Yasso frozen yogurt bars. Cream soups. Scrambled eggs. Tons of protien shakes.

Try ice. Is week two still liquids for you? I get to add yogurt, pudding and skim milk in week two day 15 and week three it’s just half a banana, cream of wheat, and oatmeal. I can’t wait to eat my oatmeal and banana. I wonder if they would let me add a little peanut butter. Every week is broken down with tiny you can eat options. I have to wait all the way to week at to eat seafood and week 7 to eat any form of meat 😢. It’s seafood season in Louisiana

One of the major reasons I had VSG was to get off my diabetes meds. I haven't taken any since immediately post-op. Yay! Now I have the opposite problem. My fasting glucose yesterday was 71, which is approaching the danger zone. I'm shaky every morning and I can't exercise or I feel like absolute garbage. Three "meals" per day isn't an option - I have to snack or my levels tank. At only 6 weeks out, I'm not eating any carb-heavy foods or anything not on my plan, and I take in the appropriate number of calories for this stage. All water and protein goals met 99% of the time. It's too early to have "reactive hypoglycemia," so they're sending me to an endocrinologist to figure out why this is happening. They also suggested I eat some yogurt before bed and before exercising (I'm only taking the dogs for walks around the neighborhood at this point) and that actually seemed to help. Their reasoning is that it contains both protein and carbs. Anyone else have this issue? Is it our bodies trying to adjust to the new normal? Is it too few calories for too long a period? I had grand plans of taking up hiking with my Life Scout son, but at this rate I'll never be able to go anywhere I can't get medical attention.

I'm 14 days post-op and I feel this so hard! Every program is different, but mine does not allow cream of wheat during the full liquid stage (which is 4 weeks for me) the options are protein shakes, broths/liquid only soups, and greek yogurt. Things that have given me the feeling of a little variety include: adding PB2 protein powder and sugar-free caramel syrup to greek yogurt. It tastes like peanut butter toffee yogurt and is a favorite. Bariatric soup mixes, especially the cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, and cream of tomato. mixing Pero (fake coffee) in with a packet of protein hot chocolate.

Really? They said not to count them as part of your fluid intake? I was told from day one that any liquid can be be counted so soups (liquid part only), broths, protein shakes, drinking yogurt, tea, milk, etc. (My father had kidney issues & he was told any liquid counted as part of your daily recommended fluid intake regardless of the form they took even high water content fruit like oranges, watermelon, etc. counted.) Another example of different plans, requirements & expectations from different doctors. No wonder we get confused sometimes.

My days usually consist of Breakfast- protein shake with coffee (165 calories) on occasion I’ll have a smoothie that’s around 200 calories with frozen fruit in it. ~20-30g protein 1st morning snack- protein or bone broth (50-70 calories) ~10-15g protein 2nd morning snack- cottage cheese with fruit or vegetables like cucumbers, peppers, or celery (150 calories) ~15g protein Lunch- protein soup packet and salad with light dressing and either seeds or nuts (usually around 250 calories) ~20g protein Afternoon snack- light Greek yogurt or protein bar (80-150 calories) ~15g protein Dinner- varies from seafood or steak with a side of vegetables to vegetable curries or just snack type foods like cheese and crackers with lunch meat. Sometimes I’ll have a snack after dinner but just depends on how I feel.

I think it was the artificial sweeteners, I had greek yogurt with no issues and that's a bit thicker. I've stayed away from it since and haven't felt that way again, thankfully. However, I'm now dealing with serious constipation. It's so painful! I am trying to drink as much water as possible, but feel so bloated it's hard to get anything down. I've had 2 doses of milk of magnesia (the most disgusting stuff ever!!) and it's getting stuff moving, but not fast enough for me. I'm planning to call my doc here in a bit, just to assuage my nerves and also see if she has any advice I hadn't thought of. Soups! So, to be very honest...I don't cook. I hate it with a passion. Most of the stuff I eat is from a can or the deli section at my local grocery store. I blend it and mix different flavors to get some variety. My sister is 2 years post-op and loves to cook, so she brings me fresh stuff once a week and that's been huge. The soups I keep going back to are the sipping soups from Well, Yes! brand. The best and thinnest is the Roasted Corn and Poblano. I don't like spicy stuff and this is perfect! The chicken ones tend to have chunks and/or noodles, so I stay away from those.

I used to eat chocolate every single day. Now to satisfy my craving, I have Bariatric Pals Hot Cocoa. I also used to eat ice cream every day, and now I eat a Yasso Greek Yogurt bar. You will find different, healthier versions of what you are currently used of. That is how it worked for me. Good Luck

Mine is March 9. I had two weeks of mostly meat and veggies (yogurt and jello or popsicles for snacks) and now I am on two days of “liquid” which is protein shakes, jello, popsicles and yogurt. I am dreading dinner cause it’s going to be so hard to convince my mind that a shake is enough (although I was fine for breakfast and lunch so I know it’s in my head)

Glad to hear you are doing better, heating pad worked for gas pain, it will move to different spots and that's when I would get up and walk and it would ease it, I had mine on Wednesday, March 3 and I'm been on full liquids since leaving hospital and haven't had any trouble, just be sure and listen to your body it will tell you if you take in too much or something it doesn't like. I been doing protein shakes, bone broth, yogurt, fruit sauce pouches, jello, pudding. There was one day my burps tasted horrible, I figured it was some of the medicine or anesthesia or maybe the gas exiting.

I'm 4 weeks out so I'm no expert but I'm also not a big/good cook. I've cooked twice since post-op. I started puree/soft foods 2 weeks ago and this is what I do... For breakfast and/or lunch, I eat yogurt or have a protein shake. My nutritionist said I can have turkey bacon so sometimes I throw some in the microwave and have that. For dinner: I've been eating canned salmon (not big on tuna) and canned chicken. They last a pretty long time and there are some really simple recipes for them. I don't consider that cooking because mostly I saute them with frozen onion and peppers, season it and I'm done in 10 mins. If I want more flair, I'll add a small amount of teriyaki sauce or oriental sauce. As far as fast food, I've also had rotisserie chicken from the Peruvian restaurant by my house. It went down better than the canned meat! Right now for the most part I just eat meat so it's pretty easy to track. I have a digital scale and I just measure out 3-4 oz. The 2 meals I cooked were 2 different types of chili. Both of which only had like 5 ingredients. I had leftovers for a few days. I haven't been to a restaurant yet but I like all the advice that BigSue gave on this. I'll def keep them in mind!

At a week out I was having greek yogurt and blended lenti soup for protein. Hummus too. Some of this depends on what you're allowed to have. Bone broth is another option.

The shakes sort of *are* a supplement. Are you on soft or pureed food yet? If so, you might be able to do Yasso bars (frozen greek yogurt), pureed/finely blended soup, potatoes, beans, bunch of protieny stuff.....Call your dietician on Monday and get some suggestions...they're great at problem solving.

Dietary fiber is your friend. I take a bigger dose of iron, too....cause I don't eat a lot of meat and have heavy periods still (cross your fingers that perimenopause turns into total menopause for me soon...cause this whole menstruation thing is getting old) I find that when i'm getting 25g of dietary fiber every day and including fermented foods in my diet (pickles, yogurt, kombucha, tempeh)...my daily poo habit is normal. Also...this is weird, but it works. Eat a few sugar free Haribo gummy bears before you go to bed. Not too many...maybe 3-5 bears. They have maltitol (lycasin)...a sweet tasting sugar-alcohol that has the infamous side effect of giving unsuspecting people looking for a low calorie treat....massive diarrhea....when they eat the whole package. Just a few bears....will get things moving and make you super regular when needed. (least that how it affects me)

I am Day 12 of 14- surgery is in 3 days! Protein shake for breakfast, small fruit for snack mid morning- protein shake for lunch, 4 oz nf cottage cheese or nf, sf greek yogurt for a snack and then 4 oz lean protein and 1 cup veggie for dinner. 64 oz of water per day- I have put sugar free pink lemonade mix ins in some of them to break up the monotany and I can have sf jello and popsicles as part of my fluid intake.

I'm 10-days post-op and very happy to say that things have been going well. I've had no trouble getting liquids in and so far (cross fingers) my new little tummy is doing well with almost everything I've given her. I am on full liquids and will be for three more weeks. For my meals so far I've had Fairlife shakes, a couple of the bariatric pal soup mixes, yogurt with peanut butter protein and SF caramel syrup added (it was so good!), and Pero fake coffee with genepro in it. It would be nice to add a little variety over the next three weeks. Does anyone have a favorite full liquids recipe to share? I'll take favorite pureed recipes too since I'll be on that stage for another 3-4 weeks after graduating from full liquids. Thanks in advance!

Hi Jenna, I also had/been having a pretty easy recovery. I had my surgery on Feb 8. Sometimes, I do feel hungry though. I can tell when it's just head hunger when I'm am hungry for something specific. Like when I am craving something salty or one of my old snacks. But if I feel I should eat something and go for yogurt or something I think that's hunger.. maybe. Lol. Im also just figuring it out. My body hasn't been super consistent with food right now. Some days I feel hungry, some days I can't get down more than a few bites of protein. It's still pretty early for me... I decided not to freak out about anything... until I'm 3 months out.