I have times where I cannot eat but can almost always drink as long as I sip and I do mean sip about a teaspoon and a half at one time. It goes down well. I tolerate the protein shakes but do have to sip them too. I don't care if it takes me an hour to drink one and I use many different recipes. Also I never realized how important it is to chew your food. If I don't I get that feeling like a rock is stuck in the middle of my sternum and it takes quite a while for that to abate. That happens when I forget to chew. I don't tolerate turkey, pork chops, or bar b q, yet. So it is mainly chicken, fish, eggs, and a small piece of steak. I do most soups well. Sandie, have you tried any soups? Can you mix your shakes 1/2 strength instead of full strength or add some skim milk to them. Chili goes down well for me. My band tends to be tight in the morning and also seems to be affected by the weather. Some days I can only drink but not often and on those days I do use the shakes. Another thing I forget to do is to make my meal last thirty minutes and often finish in about twenty minutes.
Of course the band is different from RNY and I can tolerate some things RNY patients cannot and RNY patients can tolerate things I can't. I really like the fruity protein shakes sold on this site. They are clear and very tasty and only have 2 Grams of carbs per serving.
Sunshine, maybe you are one of those people who can't eat at night or evenings. Try the sip sip sip though.