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You shouldn't be letting other people decide what your tastes are - Protein shakes vary all over the map in taste and texture; what's yummy to you may be ghastly to someone else. The important thing is to get in the protein that you need. To me, variety is a key, and I was lucky to be able to tolerate a variety of protein rich foods early on so that I wasn't overly dependent upon any one tiring source. Greek yogurts are a good protein source at around 10g per 4oz serving while standard yogurts are about half that - I would get awful tired of yogurt if it were my primary protein source, not to mention that I don't get along well with plain yogurt. I have used protein shakes for years and have evolved blends that work for me in providing a good level of protein and a pleasing taste; likewise with yogurts I have evolved blends that work for me - I find that the commercially available no fat yogurts are also sugar free and have a lot of artificial sweetener taste to them, and I don't care for the level of sweetness added to most products. So, I have developed my own blend of plain and sweetened vanilla greek yogurts (about a 3 to 1 ratio now) that works for me, particularly with some added fruit and nuts. Likewise with the protein shakes, they can be blended with fruit or other flavors to enhance them - I often add a little unsweetened cocoa powder to enhance the chocolate flavor and cut the sweetness of the protein powders. I also blend the Protein Powder and greek yogurt into sugar free pudding mix to make a protein rich snack. I haven't needed protein shakes to meet my protein goals since fairly early on but still use them at times for specific uses (usually strength training recovery, as they are a good source of rapidly absorbed protein) and because I like them (or at least my blends) and are part of the variety that I maintain. Do some experimenting and see what works for you!

Both my kids are high functioning ASD - I know what you mean! We mostly avoid artificial/processed food, but the pre-op diet was tough. I'd already picked up a few Sucralose products during the insurance mandated diet, but went full chemical sugar free for the last few weeks of super low carb. Man, it was *nasty*. But I've seen the pictures from my surgery and my liver looked FABULOUS, so I'm pretending it helped my liver shrink and am moving on. Like elisa5150, I did use sugar free stuff the first month or so - especially the sugar free popsicles - but also Gelatin, Protein powder, and some protein hot chocolate. Now, I use flavored stevia drops for kefir or yogurt (yay live cultures!) and a little xylitol (a sugar alcohol) in my tea. Some of Protein shakes (Orgain) have stevia and erythritol (another sugar alcohol) or monkfruit and inulin (Jamie Eason Lean Body for Her). Personally, I do really well with xylitol and okay with erythritol (though their "naturalness" is highly debatable). And while current research increasingly makes it look like sucralose and other traditional artificial sweeteners are really messing with gut health, there doesn't seem to be any evidence that stevia, monkfruit, xylitol, or erythritol have much effect one way or the other. There are natural(-ish) protein powders out there - as long as you can keep the carbs and protein where they're supposed to be. (My NUT recommended youbars - they make custom Protein Bars with options for natural sweeteners.) We love grass fed butter and cheese, though I'm sticking with olive oil and coconut oil for now. I do have a tub of natural coconut oil based vegan butter spread I use every once in a while, but I wouldn't give up grass fed dairy for margarine if I had a choice. Mostly, though, my new stomach prefers savory moderate to low fat food, so I try to work with that as much as I can. When I was still eating dairy, I discovered I could mix herbs (Penzey's Fox Point seasoning) into low fat Greek yogurt and use it as a dip. Still got my protein, but didn't have to sweeten it. Which is probably for the best. I don't think living on artificially sweet or fatty things is necessarily better than living on real sweet or fatty things. So, good fats when we eat them - grass fed beef; pastured eggs; olive & coconut oil - and all in reasonable amount. If a dish is too fatty, I can't eat enough to meet my protein goal. Sort of a self limiting problem, so I don't see the need to drag margarine into it. As for sweets... research just keeps making it look like artificial sweeteners wreck your gut and make you crave more sweets. Which kind of makes sense since some "bad" gut bacteria has been tied to increased sugar consumption/desire for sugar. And sweets have gotten me into a lot of trouble in general, so I feel like this is the time to develop better habits. Thank heavens I did full on high fat/low carb Keto before surgery - I rarely had sweet things anyway and it still kicked my butt! But it really did kick the sugar cravings and I am so glad I didn't have to deal with that post surgery! It's made it way easier to explore healthy options that don't involve so many chemicals. Now to try and get back on my gut health protocol and try and get my kids onboard. Wow - sorry this is so meandering - it's the middle of the night and we have a small herd of cousins over for the first Christmas break sleepover. Brain. Fried. Let me know if you need product ideas - I feel like I've researched them all . Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Okay…..so I am officially 3 weeks post op today, May 20, 2008 and am seriously ready to eat a cow :thumbdown:. I have been this way since last week and the doc, oh I love him but hell, told me that as long as I am losing weight he is not too concerned about anything. My issues, I am not eating the 4oz that is suggested, but more like 10-12oz, and he said that is fine because I am losing weight so long as I am not eating crap. :sleep: I must confess, I did have 3 cookies last week although totally drowned in milk, I did eat them and I told him this:thumbdown:. He asked if that was it and I honestly told him yes. I had not even eaten the recommended oatmeal, mushy cereal, in fact no breads, rice, pasta, etc. Right now, I want to dive my big ol but into a plate of nothing by carbohydrates or a greasy cheeseburger with some chips and queso, but I have refrained. :thumbup: Quitting sugar and, well hell the “good foods” (aka: fattening foods) the way I did was like telling a drug addict, alcoholic or smoker to stop cold turkey. I was told my insurance approved me on April 18 and I needed to start my liquid diets because they were scheduling my surgery for April 25, which ended up getting pushed back to April 29, 2008. Now, I am not ungrateful because I appreciate the opportunity to have this surgery, I am sure as much as any of you, but someone please tell me what I can have because right now I want to cave in and eat something that I know I do not need, should not eat and is totally against what this procedure is for. BTW……I have eaten the sugar free jellos and puddings, the sugar free popsicles and the yogurts, but I think it is the bread my body is craving as I have had ZERO of that (except those three cookies). I feel tired, worn out, not really wanting to do anything, which I am thinking is the lack of carbs as my intake is very minimal right now. Any suggestions would be most appreciated!!!! :thumbup:

Well......try this: I take canned chicken, and make it like tuna salad............except instead of mayo, I use plain greek yogurt. Double the punch for the protein! Then add onions, if you can tolerate them, garlic and tons of spices like basil, oregeno, whatever you like. That is very good, and easy to pack in a little tiny tupperware dish! Let me know how you make out!

Hi all! I am new to this group. I'm sure this question has been answered before but I just need some reassurance. I am 51 years old and had the gastric bypass on 3/5/18. As of today I have lost over 50 pounds in 6 weeks. A few weeks ago I tried eating the soft food stage. I tried cottage cheese, yogurt, canned tuna, soups, etc. I would eat and it would feel like it was stuck and then I would have a severe pain in my stomach. It felt like the food wasn't going down. I would then throw it back up. I saw my doctor and I had an upper GI done and minor surgery to widen my esophagus. That was 2 weeks ago. I am still having the same issue. I feel week, have headaches and have no energy. I want to starting exercising but am afraid that I will pass out. Is this normal? Has anyone else had this happen? Thanks! Cindy S.

Plain Water - have no idea why, but it's like swallowing liquid sandpaper. Greek yogurt - I wasn't a huge fan prior to surgery, but I can't stand the texture. I can have a dollop, like on top of my Mexican bake instead of sour cream, but to eat a sweet Greek Yogurt out of the container, I can't do it. Other than that, I have been able to tolerate anything I've thrown at my sleeve.

I too am a food-aholic. I've always enjoyed eating. Large portions were my down fall for sure. Since being banded a week ago, I still have my food cravings, my mouth waters like crazy when the family is eating and I'm either drinking a protien shake or eating extremely tiny amounts of yogurt. Right now, I'd say it would be a 10 for me to break my food addiction.

I didn't puree anything. I couldn't think of anything grosser. I've stuck with foods close to puree: protein drinks, yogurt, fortified pudding, ect. Once I got to other foods, I just took very small bites and chewed really well. That included scrambled eggs. Personally, I'd rather chew to pureed consistency, rather than drinking a "food shake." My gag reflex would take over otherwise. That's just my opinion though, so that and $5 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Hi Ladie - I'm not an August 12 but I am hear to tell you the liquids are kind of rough. The problems I am having are it takes all day to get my fluids in and I am very worn out from lack of calories. I can have yogurt without fruit and my protein also but they sit very heavy.

I know everyone is different, but I think the first couple of days were the hardest. I had a headache and I felt dizzy and I was starving! haha I am now 8 days complete and it doesn't seem near as bad. I dont know what your pre op diet consists of. Mine is basically 2 high protein meal replacement shakes, a piece of fruit and a yogurt during the day and then for dinner I get to splurge with 4 oz of lean meat and 2 slices of low cal bread plus 1 cup of veggies. I think my pre op diet is a little more liberal then some but I find it very doable! I find sipping on hot tea helps curb my hunger too. Keep strong! It will be worth it!

My surgery is on 12/28/17 as well! Started the pre-op diet today! I didn't bother with a food scale because i feel like it would stress me out more then it would help me. My dietitian and surgeon said they wanted me to consume a maximum of 1000 calories a day. So far today I've had Breakfast: Protein Shake No morning snack ( but if i needed one I have a low fat yogurt plain) Lunch: Sugar free jello pudding, and a yogurt / cottage cheese depending on what i want. Afternoon snack: Protein Shake to get me to dinner Dinner: 1 half cup of chicken broth with sugar free jello and a sugar free Popsicle I love the app my fitness pal and it tracks the calories you've consumed for the day! I've been using it for years!

Have you tried anything but liquids? How are the liquids going down? Are you coughing on your saliva or anything? I just had 0.5cc of saline taken out of my band today. I got a fill on 8/14 and it was perfect but for the last week I have been getting tighter and tighter. Today I couldn't even eat a whole container of yogurt then I PB'd turkey and cheese at lunch and I felt like I was coughing on my saliva. When I went in they said I definately was getting too tight. Let me know.

Are you taking an antibiotic post op?I got thrush in my mouth post op but I was taking antibiotics for 10 days post op.Do get some meds for the thrush but start taking some sort of live culture (pills you can open and take directly on your tongue if you are not eating yet.)There is also drinking yogurt with live cultures in them that should help.

Daisy, I wonder if you're sneezing from the dairy in the greek yogurt? I ate a lot of that after GB surgery as well. The only thing my surgeon told me was to eat low fat. I'm sorry you're sneezing!

Ugh that is tough. I work in the hospital and there is always cake, doughnuts, and candy around. This week someone brought in packages of full size Cinnabon for heavens sakes! I always keep Greek yogurt, cottage cheese...if you can find Muuna it’s yummy...cheese sticks, and such for snacks. Granted I am post op and it is much easier to not stray now. The more you stay away from the sugar though, the less you will crave it!

I love to snack on raw veggies with Greek Yogurt made ranch veggie dip. My new favorite veggie is raw sugar snap peas. Gives me a solid crunch. And its low in calories, high in Vitamin C. But veggies usually hits the spot!

Today is Sunday and I am starving I mean starving to the point where I have to force myself not to go into the fridgerator. And let me tell you the protein shake is just not cutting it. I had to go grocery shopping today and going down all the aisles were killing me. I swear my tongue was drooling. I can't wait to be able to eat even if its 1/4 cup of pureed food. I went and bought turkey, chicken tuna, light mayo, fruit cocktail light, cottage cheese, yogurt. hurray for yogurt it will be a feat just to get me to eat the yogurt and cottage cheese. Oh i bought reduced fat cheese and eggs. Definitly made me hungry

Quick question about this Marriott in Tijuana: if I can start to eat yogurt while I'm at the hotel, is that included like the broth is? Are you limited to the amount of broth you can have? Does anyone have recommendations for a 12 year old that is traveling with us to Florence and the Marriott? What can she eat there?

Good job! I will be 3 weeks post op on Tuesday! Yay I get to start purée phase! Not had a bite of food in 20 days! What's strange is when I'm around food that smells good, ya I think yum! But my stomach says no way! I am not hungry so it's been easy as far as that goes. I'm just tired of shakes, broth & yogurt! It will be so nice to put something new in my mouth! I hope I will be able to tell when I'm full because I kind of feel full all the time! I want to make sure I'm eating enough, but at the same time I don't want to over eat! Any suggestions???

I’m not sure what you mean by this question but I will offer my experience. If I eat a meal with dense protein, chicken, salmon, pork, etc, I stay full for hours and have a hard time drinking water even after waiting the 60 minutes. Other foods like yogurt and vegetables seem to leave a bit quicker and I’m not hungry but don’t have that full feeling quite the same either.

Besides my Protein smoothies, I use Torani and Davinci syrups to flavor plain Greek yogurt and to make flavored coffee/lattes and hot chocolate (homemade, protein rich recipe) . I also mix it with Protein Powder, greek yogurt, milk and sometimes add nuts and freeze to make protein "ice cream". I've got hazelnut, almond, english toffee, salted caramel, irish cream, tiramisu, pumpkin pie and gingerbread in stock right now. I've never bought the fruit flavors because I just use real fruit when I want those flavors.

You need to find out your surgeon's specific plan. Some call for a week of clear liquids, which would be broth, SF Jello, SF popsicles. Others (mine) let you do full liquids, which consist of pureed soups that can go through a sieve, tomato soups, yogurt without chunks or seeds, Protein shakes, SF pudding. I've included the list from my blog of things I would get if I were to do it again. Also, like you said, don't buy too much stuff. I ended up buying a lot of broths but never drank them because I was allowed full liquids and I ended up freezing a majority of the yogurt I bought because I way overestimated the amount I would eat. If I were to do it again, this is what I would buy: General Meds: - sublingual B-12 - Biotin - O-purity Band Multivitamin or Centrum Chewables - Calcium + Vit D & K chews - Chewable or dissolveable Iron supplement - Liquid adult Tylenol - Probiotic Pearls - Milk of Magnesia - Scarzone to put on incision sites after they have fully closed and the steri strips have come off. Stage One: - Peewee Pillowpet to hold against stomach. - Lipton cup-a-soup Cream of chicken - Soups that can be pureed and put through a sieve. - Peppermint tea - Protein powder- Body Fortress chocolate, Vanilla - 3 Protein mix shakers - Yogurt without seeds or chunks. Only two or three cases = 8 to 12 yogurts. - SF syrups - Pillow "chair" Stage Two: - Mashed Potatoes - food processor. I bought a Ninja Kitchen Pulse so I can get rid of some of my other appliances. - Applesauce - Cottage cheese - Oatmeal - Refried Beans - Soups that can be pureed to consistency of cottage cheese.

I could have written this myself! Start in morning you will never stop! I am a sugar addict too. I actually mix fruited Greek yogurt with plain Greek yogurt to make it less sweet and then it does not trigger the cravings. All the protein in it helps keep the sugar at bay too. I never used sugar or sweetener in my coffee thank goodness. I love sweets and can still eat them but they are much more limited. If I have more than 2 spoons of ice cream I feel really sick. I can still eat cookies but I choose peanut butter ones so they have protein and don't make me sick. And only 2! So yes can still have them but I am so pleased that Sleevie helps prevent me from indulging too much. And if I don't start in the morning I don't crave all day because the cravings can still come but they can be managed if I am careful.

No, I haven't, but I'm very very tempted - getting really sick of yogurt, protein drinks and milk!

Im a little worried. I know im not supposed to compare myself to others but ive been reading the boards here and im worried i am able to eat too much. Some posts Ive read here say you have to eat fluids only for 2 weeks, then mushies for 3 months!! Wheras my Dr said to "build up to eating normally in the next month" . Ive also read that some peoples dr's have said no strenuous exercise for 4 to 6 weeks, wheras my Dr said i could go back to Rollerderby within 2 weeks... I know VSG is a new thing here in Scotland but still!! Im exactly 14 days post op and i can already eat fairly normally. Yesterday I had my Protein shakes/water, a chicken/sweetcorn tortilla wrap, a mini choc bar, some diet coke, some cornflakes and a yogurt. today, ive had my protein shakes/water, a yogurt, 4 chicken McNuggets, a couple of spoons of mashed potatoes, and probably some chicken/rice Soup for dinner.. Im a bit perturbed that i can physically eat these things quite happily (as long as i chew and eat slowly,a new thing for me!)..... i get hungry every couple of hours, eat a little bit, feel full, then a couple of hours later im hungry again (which is again new to me, i used to eat hardly anything during the day, not be hungry, have a huuuge dinner, then feel sick ) Should i just count my blessings and shut up? thanks