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I was banded on May 4. Is it suppose to be difficult/painful to get anything down? Even water? I can't eat anything more than a couple of bites of yogurt or a couple small sips of my shake. Is this normal? When will I be able to get liquides/soft food down with no pain?

Gen, it went well! 2 small shrimp and a bite of the yogurt I was full and happy lol

Weds, June 12 Hello again loyal Bloggins, Johnny fans and fellow Bandsters! It's been about a week since we chatted so I thought I'd let you know how it's going on The World According to Johnny. I gotta say ... pretty damn good! It's been 4 weeks today since the capable Dr. X installed the anti-eating apparatus in my oh so blubbery mid-section. As advertised by the Doc and his staff, I feel completely healed and am suffering no side effects what-so-ever. Other than this strange hankerin' for a trash bag full of Fritos I can't seem to shake, life has settled in to my new normal. Yes, NEW normal. I have totally embraced my band and what it stands for. That is commitment. It is just so crystal clear to me that inserting a medical device inside your body is the last, desperate measure a fat person can take. And why take this drastic step if you are not going to change your life? Well, so far, I have changed my life. Dramatically. I have not yet had my band filled which means it's wide open. I think I could pretty much get anything down the ol' yapper that I wanted and not have a stuck episode. But just knowing "Bandy" is in there, keeps me on the straight and narrow. Yep. I've changed. Hopefully for ever. Although not required, I still start my day with the protein shake blended with a little ice. It's just like a milk shake and I like it! I have recently started adding a tablespoon of low sugar peanut butter to the chocolate flavored shakes and it's delish! So no more big breakfasts or even breakfasts that I thought were healthy for me. I'm sticking with these shakes whenever possible. Lunch has turned into a 240 calorie tuna snack lunch or a low fat soup. No more fast food, deli or 3 martini lunches for this fat ass!Dinner has consisted of ground up beef or turkey with a bit of flavoring, cooked veggies and some watermelon. And I'm good with it! It does help that wife wife L is a fine chef and makes even a mundane dish rival a nice dinner out. Add in my snacks of yogurt, sugar free puddin' and a night cap Fudgie bar, I'm feeling real satisfied. I am actually blown away that this is working. Am I losing weight? You betcha! 30 unsightly pounds of extra mass have evaporated from my roly poly body. That's 2 bowling balls of F-A-T! Let that sink in. Am I on target? You betcha! I was told to expect to lose 1.5 pounds a week after surgery. I'm exactly at that figure. If I can keep that pace up, I'll hit my 8th grade weight by October. Hey, there's another goal! Do I have any pain? Nope. Most importantly, can I play golf? Yep. 3 rounds last week alone. So all in all, I am right where I should be. On the path to success! As rosy as it all appears, there are a few bummers. I'm a party guy. As explained in detail in previous posts, I excel at eating, drinking and merrymaking. My history is legendary. And I if I could remember it, it would make quite a book. This No Fun Johnny is, well, no fun. I am making healthy decisions daily when comes to food and booze. That includes avoiding almost all situations that include the Devils temptresses. So far I have declined offers to at least 2 BBQs, 2 parties and a wedding. Yep. No fun at all. But this is the new normal. Am I embracing the No Fun Johnny? Nope. Check back soon! First band fill on Monday. Then we have to talk about the dreaded "W" word. Floow along on my blog: Thedeconstructionofjohnny.blogspot.com

I struggled with this, too, until about 6 weeks out. It defiinitely gets better. In the meantime, my tips are the ones you hear so often - eat very, very, very slowly. "Full" takes some time to register, so if you're eating with any rapidity, you'll likely become over-full suddenly. I also measured based on the volume I was currently tolerating. Early on, 2 tablespoons was my standard measurement for mushies and about 1oz for solids. That increased little by little. I'm at 7 weeks now and can tolerate about 2-3 oz of meats, 6-8 oz of mushies like yogurt or Soup. But still only with a very careful watch on eating slowly and analyzing how I feel. And even tonight I mixed it up, with 1 oz of cheese, 1/2 cup of soup, and some Protein puffs and suddenly realized I had mindlessly taken two bites too many. It doesn't happen as often these day, but it can still happen if I'm not being mindful. Hope this helps. Here's wishing you much luck and patience and you adjust.

I do a couple of eggs and meat in the morning, but I put pipingrock.com unflavored Protein powder in my coffee. I do a greek yogurt around 10:30 with more powder. If you do that, it will get you around 25 more grams per day. A few ounces of meat 2 hours before or after dinner will get you to that goal.

Hi Melisa, Most bandsters with good restriction have trouble eating breakfast. The band seems to be tighter in the morning for most of us. Not a unique problem. My best suggestions are to have a Protein shake in the morning so you start the day with nutrition. You could also try drinkable yogurt. Instead of oatmeal, you could try farina (Cream of Wheat) really watered down. The problem with boxed cereal is that when you add milk to it, it expands and can cause great pain for bandsters, whereas the cooked cereals already have expanded during the cooking process. Hope this helps!! Babs in TX 334/180 -154

Ok, here's my suggestions: Protien bars (there are a few tasty ones out there), protein shakes - I prefer the Benefit Bars and HMR 500 shakes from Hackley Health Management, scrambled eggs topped with a LITTLE melted cheese, cream of wheat (I add sugar free maple syrup and it's only 35 calories) you could also add cinnamon for flavor, same with oatmeal - I despise it but if I add the cinnamon and SF maple syrup it's not too bad, Yoplait light yogurts, occasional no sugar added applesauce. My Dr said in the am if you're feeling too restricted to have something warm - like tea or coffee to loosen you up a little.

One piece of candy leads to two and three. If you can stop at one, go for it without regret. I'd also suggest increasing your snacking after lunch. I have been eating 1/2 banana w/ Peanut Butter, 1/2 small apple, and a yogurt between lunch and dinner. I'm hungry!!! But I'm still eating 1200 or so calories a day because I eat a big salad for dinner, or something otherwise sensible. Today I had a yogurt and a 1/2 turkey and cheese sandwich on toasted wheat bread with lettuce, onion, mayo and mustard. Hit the spot! It didn't have me craving more sugar, got me through till dinner, and stayed within my calorie range. Up those snaacks...make 'em good ones. Avoid the junk. Good luck!

I guess everyone is different. My sister had her gastric bypass surgery around 15 or 16 years ago. She can eat, but still has trouble with certain foods such as ketchup, ice cream, rice, and yogurt. And she said pasta fills her up extremely fast. My mom on the other hand had her surgery like 13 or 14 years ago and pretty much can anything except for rice regular sodas, and ice cream.

My pre-op diet has been all liquids. Protein shakes, sugar free/fat free pudding, sugar free Popsicles, Kroger Carbmaster yogurt, and clear broths. Water, water, and more water. No foods whatsoever.

I had a hard time with this too. What helped was getting it to a texture I could manage like @summerseeker mentioned. I added taco meat made with turkey (very finely minced while cooking) to refried beans with some cheese. If it was too thick or dry, I added a little sour cream. The other winner was pot roast and veggies. I ran it through the food processor with the carrots, onions, celery and broth. The meat was fine enough to add texture but not so fine as to be paste. I made sure there was more meat per serving than veggies, but the veggies and broth helped keep it soft enough to be easy on my tummy. Since each of these made me a few days of meals, I was out of the purée stage before I knew it. I had yogurts and cottage cheese as snacks. Some people like hummus. I just couldn’t eat hummus by the spoonful. I need pretzels or something lol Hang in there! 😊🤞

I had surgery on 11/1/12. I feel hungry. Is this normal? I feel I need more than a Protein shake, yogurt or broth which is my week 2 diet. Any suggestions?

I have my morning coffee (no breakfast - as I am almost never hungry for it), around noon I would have a salad with fixings and FF Italian dressing, a cup of coffee in the afternoon after work, for dinner some chicken or whatever meat I made that day and veggies (the vegetables in those steamer bags ), and at night maybe some frozen yogurt or pudding with coolwhip. Although lately I can't even eat anything! This morning I tried some egg beaters in the microwave with about 1 Tb of cheese and I can even eat it.... water is hard for me now.... I have bad (and I mean BAD) acid reflux at night and during the day but worse at night. I have to sleep sitting up right... I can hear my esophagus all night long... it gurgles.... all night... no matter what antacids I take its horrible. ....

I pretty much eat the same exact things. I had miso soup today and a 3oz piece of grilled chicken plus protein shakes, yogurt and decaf tea. At 3 weeks post I feel like I can eat. I also have not lost anymore weight this week. Thinking I should try and stick to liquids only for another week.

I don't get it I could not even drink drinkable yogurt with a 2.75cc in my 4cc band so I asked for a slight unfill and got 2.7 now I feel if I eat slowly and chew good I can still very easily finish a McDonalds cheeseburger and maybe just a little bit more. I asked the fill nurse if she could put a little more in but she said if she did it would just get me back to where i was before when I couldn't hold food or drinkable yogurt down. So now I am wondering what should I do? Should I try for something like 2.72cc? The nurse said that she didn't think it would make a difference but the difference was huge with 2.75 and 2.7 so maybe my sweet spot in right somewhere in between? I just got this new fill today and I think I can still eat a good portion more than I think necessary. So what do you guys think? I am starting to feel like I may never find my sweetspot.

Kay I'm panicked a bit. I'm 5 days post op and I don't seem to have a full button at all. I moved from liquids to mush today- yogurt, pudding etc. the problem is I don't have get full. It says work up from a tsp to Tbl yet today I sat down to eat some pudding and I had to make myself stop eating when it was almost half gone rather than my body telling me to quit. Is there a problem? Did the dr maybe not cut it small enough? Should I be concerned?

You don't have to drink Protein shakes at this point. Especially since they are not filling to you. Instead get at least 60 gram of protein through chewing food this will fill you up. Dense protein like chicken, tuna, lean pork chops, lean cuts of beef, turkey, shrimp etc. This is one thing my surgeon recommends is that once you get past soft foods, most of your nutrition should be from foods you chew not drink or even soft foods. This will make you feel fuller longer. I was eating alot of greek yogurt, cottage cheese, Protein drinks and that is what he recommended to me. Also remember the rule about not drinking 45 minutes before or after your food this will help with restriction. Lastly, if you don't already start tracking all you eat in my fitness pal. Best of luck.

Well I have just experienced bandster hell of another kind. I have been sick with a very sore throat and tired then my band tightened so much I was throwing up in my sleep. Horrible. I tried to just ride it out. I tried to eat softer foods and stop eating a couple of hours before bed. Oh, well, I feel better today. I had chills, aches and headache plus a sick, acidy stomach yesterday. The good news is that I have lost a couple more pounds. I am at 162 lbs this morning. I can't believe it. I am sooooo happy. I am aiming for size 12 or 150, not sure which. I'll see when it happens. I never thought I would ever get down to size 14 again and now it's getting loose. I have been buying new clothes and I am thinking about the shame of it when they don't fit and I will have hardly worn them. Oh well, I'll deal with it when it happens. I can actually buy size medium off the rack now and it fits. I am thrilled. Back to my band, I was thinking that my band must have slipped and I was going to call Slimband clinic this morning. My fill nurse, Nancy, told me that the band tightens when you are sick. I believe it. I feel better today and have had a piece of toast and a yogurt so I am fine. Thank goodness. So if I aim for 150 lbs, I have only 12 lbs left to lose. In 2 decades of dieting off and on, I never got to goal on any program before I started gaining again. Life is good!

I was on full liquids the first 10 days cream of wheat, yogurt, creamed soups, smoothies, oatmeal, ect. Then soft foods scrambled eggs, beans, cheese, grits. Drs. guidelines vary so much that first month. Good luck to you

@JanJan19 Lmao I read your cottage cheese post and decided not to ask if advancing a day or two early would kill me. I didn’t want to get scolded either. I mean if we were all great dieters most of us wouldn’t be here in the first place. JS. I made it to foods today without cheating except I added a little shredded cheese to my grits the last couple days, but yea, I hear you. And at some point those cream Soups and yogurt and shakes just make you want to hurl. I crushed my Protein goal today bc I added a Protein Shake snack. Do you know the next step? If you do you could cautiously try it or call your doc and let them know you feel you need to bc you’re so weak. It’s not a hard requirement for all vsgs to go so long on liquid but they may have their reasons.I would never have survived liquids without yogurt. I was eating 3 a day to avoid extra shakes. I can do a shake a day. Any more than that is too much thick sweet drink. 

I am suppose to have 75-80g of Protein a day. Since I am on creamy liquids that's not a problem, Protein shakes w/milk. Protein powder in yogurt, etc. But..... starting Monday I am suppose to add some "real food". With a 1/2c stomach, how am I suppose to eat food and still get all the protein? The following Monday, all restrictions will be off, How do I get it all down, I'm not even hungry as it is??? Never dreamed I would be worried about not eating enough, what a new life, and I'm so excited!! lol PS I am down 14 pounds since I started the pre-op liquid diet to today (3 days post op). I am feeling really good except when my Corgi jumped on one of my incisions. Still having gas pain in my shoulders though, but I know that shouldn't last.

I too was not prepared for the hunger that I am feeling already. I was banded one week ago, and find that the hunger at times is overwhelming! My doctor has me on liquids until the end of this week, but I have had a little cottage cheese and some yogurt to try and squelch the hunger. I have not heard of the 4 ounces every 30 minutes - sounds like a good plan if it is a good food for you Maybe you should give your surgeon a call and tell them of the problems you are having......

Hey there! I had gastric sleeve surgery on 1/31/2020 and here's my story. I attended the free 12 week orientation classes June 2019 thru Sept 2019 at Kaiser. My insurance paid for everything and I had no issues getting approved. My only out of pocket expense was a $100 co-pay for the hospital stay. Wonderful insurance, I know. Luckily, I had no medical issues making me very low risk for the surgery. My surgeon recommended that I get the Bypass and I changed my mind on procedure the day of surgery and switched to the Sleeve. My reasoning is simple...I didn't want to reroute my intestines and I didn't want to chance vitamin deficiencies or dumping syndrome. I fasted on clear liquids the day prior to surgery and it was hell. I had an interview on fasting day and wanted so badly to stuff my face, being an emotional eater (i did get the job!). I went to bed super early the night before surgery because I had a massive headache and mood swings from fasting. My surgery was at 1pm and because of the fasting... I wish I scheduled a morning surgery. The nurse that prepped me for surgery was an idiot. Why on earth would I be able to pee for a pregnancy test after having no fluids since the day before?! I could barely pee and what I did pee didn't make it in the cup lol I got 2 tiny drops of pee in the cup and guess what? It was enough for the pregnancy test. The nurse stuck me 7 times looking for a vein. 7 times. Not just a poke either, like she was really digging. She tried my forearm, the top of my arm, and both hands before calling for help. I woke up in recovery in extreme pain, nausea and was thirsty. I said "I'm thirsty and my stomach hurts really bad" and the nurse said yeah you just had stomach surgery. I wanted to sock her in the face. They made me wait 6 hours for pain medication and water. The night nurses sucked and the day nurses were great. I used the call button every 1-2 hours for more pain meds which they could only give me every two hours. I called after 45 mins and said "did you give me a full or half dose?" lmao but I was serious. The built up gas hurt and my throat was sore. I tried really hard to push the gas out and ended up sharting in my bed. I walked often because I badly wanted to go home. Coming home was nice and I wasn't hungry but still thought about food a lot. I followed the rules and sipped my water and protein shakes and jello. I only took a week off from work because I wanted my routine back. The doctor told me it was too soon because of brain function is usually low this early on. He said "do you want to go back because you're bored or because it's a money thing" and I said "I'm bored as hell" and he said "then no, you can't go back yet." I didn't listen and have no regrets. I started taking the pill form of multivitamin early on because the the ones you eat made me gag. I slowly introduce foods as instructed and my staples are yogurt, protein shakes, salmon, cottage cheese, and veggies. I keep my meals simple. I had my 3 month check up today and I'm on track. I've lost 50 lbs total since surgery. I'm aware that weight loss with the sleeve is slower but I'm okay with it. Each week I can physically feel and see my body changing for the better. I exercise daily by walking 1-2 miles, I feel great, and I have more energy. This is the one and only time that I've had surgery. It was rough at times but overall a good experience. I am happy that I did it and have a long road ahead

This happened to me yesterday... In the mall and I got sweaty, flushed, blurred vision and I realized I has only had a 1/2 cup of smoothie that am and a protein shake. I feel like my blood sugar dropped. I ate 1/2 container of yogurt and felt better but was so sluggish and tired after. My dr says it's important to drink g2 Gatorade and stay hydrated.

Love Genepro! It is medical grade protein. Although it has special instructions so it will dissolve, the serving of 30grams of protein in a tablespoon can't be beat. You can half it to make it last longer. I mix with yogurt, tea, coffee, oatmeal, diet hot chocolate, yams.. I have not tried to mix with cold liquids since with warm you have to make sure to pour over the powder or it just floats to the top and doesn't dissolve. Best price on Amazon $32-$37. I also have Premier shakes from Costco for a quicker option.