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The BariatricPal Store carries a huge selection of Bariatric-friendly Protein drinks at https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-powders. Here are some popular options: * Inspire Protein Powders by Bariatric Eating: These are my personal fave and can be found at https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/inspire-protein * BariatricPal Protein ONE: MultiVitamin, Calcium, Iron, Fiber & Meal Replacement from https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-powders/brand_bariatricpal * Syntrax Nectar Protein Powder Sampler Variety Bag - All 17 Flavors! from https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-powders/products/syntrax-nectar-protein-powder-sampler-variety-bag-all-17-flavors * GENEPRO Medical Grade Unflavored Protein Powder - 3rd Generation! from https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/genepro/products/genepro-medical-grade-unflavored-protein-powder-3rd-generation * Bariatric Advantage HPMR High Protein Meal Replacement - Available in 8 Flavors! from https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-powders/products/bariatric-advantage-high-protein-meal-replacement * Protein tubs from https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/protein-powder-tubs * Protein Smoothies from https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/smoothies * Hot Protein Drinks & Soups are great alternatives to protein shakes: * Hot Protein Drinks: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/hot-protein-drinks * Hot Protein Soups: https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/soups-bouillons-broths

The only three I can stomach are Unjury Genepro Animal

Has anyone else tried the genepro clear protein powder? I have some and I added jr to pudding and it wasn’t bad but I’m wondering about adding it to hot stuff. Wondering how it heats and how much I can add before it changes the texture.

I know I really need fiber and I am scared to even do the instant oats because it says strained and I’m not sure if that means I can only have the liquid or what. Decided to make purée cauliflower. I made 1/2 cup and added a scoop of genepro. So my 1/4 cup Has 5.5g protein but more importantly it has some fiber.

Ooh I didn’t even think about adding protein. I have some of the GenePro unflavored one I could add. Once you mix in the milk and wait one night is it still good for a few days after or does it get too mushy over time? Even a single serve recipe would last me a few days right now.

I wanted to remind you of what I posted - somewhere lol - that my Nutritionist suggested I use Magnesium Citrate before beg to help with the protein induced constipation. This is exactly what mine told me, in fact: "Yes, the Genepro will definitely help increase your protein intake. If you are having constipation from the shakes, you may consider taking Magnesium Citrate(better absorption) or Magnesium Oxide, start at 500 mg and increase to 1000 mg, as needed, before bed. Magnesium relaxes the colon and may help you sleep good." I hope that helps!

Hello! Short update from my phone -- @draikaina8503 - 60g of Protein is what they told me to aim for once I'm active, and yes - the more the better, but they said during this stage it's better to not push my stomach and to still focus #1 on hydration. Since I got the Genepro it's been a lot easier to hit between 50-60/day, for sure. Mind that it states on the back that for macros you should treat it as 30 (or 35, not looking ATM - per scoop) even though Nutrition Facts read as 11. Oh, and the 1-2 month timeline - Yeah she said it would lessen between 3 wks and 1 months but the fatigue and occasional tenderness with certain movements does last up to another month for some. @ShoppGirl - That recipe sounds great, thanks for sharing! I may try that in the morning. I've also had luck with egg drop soup (added a half scoop of Genepro to bulk the protein), I did add a little bit of crumbled ground beef to my ricotta bake for more protein (made my own marinara out of garden tomatoes from a recipe I found) and today made Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls, which was basically shredded cabbage, diced tomatoes, diced onion, and ground beef simmered together, seasoned with salt and pepper. Oh, and I had success as well with pureed roast beef lunch meat, cream cheese, and sauteed bell peppers and onions as a sort of pureed Philly cheese steak filling. Wish I'd had mushrooms to add! So sorry about your A/C!! I hope it gets fixed swiftly!

Oh yeah -- good thing I only made the one serving of the 'soup' that way lol - I'll stick to just carrots for the next batch! Thanks for the tip! I took a look and my nutritionist didn't exclude the Collagen from my protein count - and the one I got is very detailed on the packaging that the protein comes from like, egg shell, egg white, and a couple types of fish. I'm just winging it on my protein until my Genepro gets here tomorrow, mainly. I'm sure that will help a LOT toward my goals. Also @RRenaeL23 - A mile and a half?? You are rocking it! Also, seeing as how you mentioned the VA - thank you for your service!

Hello everyone! I'm checking in - @ShoppGirl- It sounds like you've really been through the wringer! You are a superstar for managing both chemo, a virus, and surgery recovery all at the same time and I hope you're being gentle with yourself and giving yourself lots of pats on the back! @Chatterbox - YES - portion sizes have gotten more flexible; for me taking an ADEK supplement has helped with the hair shedding; I've gone through that to a point as well and typically have VERY thick hair and I've noticed some extra shedding but even with that it hasn't thinned my hair dramatically. @Justarwaxx - You're doing great!! Please be kind to yourself! With increased activity level the calorie consumption does have to go up so you can keep up your energy! Now that I'm using my Fitbit I am able to better see my activity levels - I haven't hit 10k in a day but I got close a couple of days and my average went below 5k per day while I was sick as well (Gosh it's going around!) but I think the important thing is to LISTEN to your body, give it fuel, and just try to have more calories spent than you take in. I'm burning over 3k calories more days than not so if I eat a few carbs, a piece of bread once in a while, a half a sandwich, some veggies - that's ok. I think a lot of it is knowing and understanding the difference like so many have said on 'head hunger' vs 'physical hunger'. Usually at a given meal I eat maybe a total of a cup of food; I try to aim for at least half of each meal to be protein, then veggies, then maybe a little rice or other starch. I'm hit and miss on my food logging; I slipped for a few weeks and am trying to reset. I wanted to repost these recipes I used during the puree period because I don't know about ya'll but I tend to find things that work well and then totally forget they exist! Lately I've been doing lots of soups for myself and my family. I made an easy chicken noodle soup yesterday with half a rotisserie chicken breast, I steamed carrots and celery in the microwave until they were soft, sautéed some diced onion in garlic and onion with a little chicken broth, then added it all together with the cooked chicken breast cut up and more chicken brother. I threw in a small handful of egg noodles and let it all simmer. When I do something like a soup with meat I try to serve myself up a bowl that is heavy on the chicken and light on the veggies. You can do basically the same thing with broccoli, cabbage, and canned or fresh diced tomatoes. Fluids and healthy veggies with a protein is my go to; and I'm doing pretty well with my personal progress. You all got this! Don't get discouraged when you go through stalls; some weeks I will lose about 2 lbs and then the next week I might lose 6 lbs; it's all a process and the weight loss will slow and become more steady as long as you watch your calories, eat healthy at least 80-90% of the time - it's about getting your nutrients and staying at a calorie deficit. ❤️ Reposted recipes from earlier: "I'd say the hardest part for me continues to be the 'No drinking 30 mins before/after meals' but I use the Baritastic app to set a time. I also use the timer to make sure my 'meals' take at least 30 minutes. Want to make sure I don't rush and end up feeling poorly afterward. Things that have worked well for me during my puree stage include egg drop soup, chicken/tuna salad made with puree chicken or tuna, light mayo, and sometimes a bit of relish, and for added protein a boiled egg or two, with or without the yolks per preference. (Dill relish is healthier than sweet relish). I did allow myself 2-3 saltines with those, usually about 3.5 oz of the tuna or chicken salad makes me feel sated. Other recipes that have worked include the ricotta bake and unstuffed cabbage rolls, pureed low fat/0 sugar yogurt or cottage cheese with Genepro powder and cooked, strained strawberries or blueberries (I added a bit of 0% Milk to make it more of a smoothie), Riccotta pureed with either a bit of fruit or avocado, small serving of oatmeal pureed with fruit (test yourself with an ounce or two less than you normally eat for oatmeal because it sits heavy and often swells - add some zero or skim milk to make it thinner if needed. Other recipes include homemade no-noodle chicken soup of sorts with rotisserie chicken, chicken broth, and pureed carrots w/a little bit of onion powder or diced onion. I also made a homemade 'philly cheese steak' filling of sorts with some sautéed bell peppers and a bit of diced onion, some roast beef lunch meat, and cream cheese. Others speak highly of pureed refried beans with a bit of seasoning to taste more like taco meat, adding either a bit of mild salsa or a combination of onion powder and perhaps a bit of cumin. That's a personal choice, and definitely suggest going slow with your seasoning due to possible heartburn. You could add a bit of shredded low-fat/skim mozzarella or even low fat sour cream to round it out. Today I made 'chicken pot pie w/no crust' which was basically just cooked carrots and finely diced celery and onions with finely diced rotisserie chicken with a can each of 98% fat free cream of celery and 98% fat free cream of chicken. I haven't had any yet because I'm a little unsure about the celery, even cooked, but pureed and in a small serving I'm sure it would treat me fine. The Ricotta Bake I made was super simple and I know there are a lot of variations to the recipe online. I made my own marinara sauce by peeling about 5 smallish tomatoes, dicing them, and simmering them with a little less than equal parts water, Italian seasoning, and a bit of diced onion. The ricotta mixture was easy; just used 8oz ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan (I used the shaker but fresh is better) and 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. I put a layer of half the mix on the bottom of a buttered baking dish, topped it with 1/2 lb cooked and seasoned ground beef, then put the rest of the mixture on top. Poured about 3/4 of the homemade marinara over it then covered the dish with aluminum foil and baked at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. It's basically a no-noodle lasagna. The Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls I made were equally easy - I used a rotary grinder (Works SO well, bought on Amazon for around twenty bucks) to grate half a head of lettuce. Instead of canned diced tomatoes I once I again peeled about 5 small/medium tomatoes and diced them, adding to the skillet along with maybe 1/8 cup diced onion and another 1/2 lb of the ground beef. For seasoning the recipe I used just had me add a packet of Italian Dressing Seasoning mix. The family enjoyed it and after pureeing the ground beef a bit I found it fine to eat, although slowly and very well chewed. Both it and the Ricotta bake probably make about eight 1/3 cup servings with about 22g of Protein each.

Did you see the idea for the ricotta bake? I have posted it a couple of times but it’s really good. I will add though that with the purée stage I was eating a lot of cheese and barely any fiber and between that and the shakes the constipation was pretty bad. I ended up adding some purée oats with the NP permission and some purée veggies with Genepro unflavored protein powder mixed in and I added a teaspoon of soluble fiber to my daily proffee and all that seems to have helped. The other thing that is pretty good is puree egg salad. I just made it like normal then put it in the food processor. Well I did use less of the yolks and subbed some Greek yogurt for half the low fat Mayo to cut some fat. I thought it was gonna be really gross honestly but it pretty much tastes the same. The other thing I did was to purée a whole container of salsa and I add that to my scrambled egg beaters and my purée refried beans for some flavor.

@Hiddenroses that GENEPRO is the one I was asking about. I have it and mixed it in pudding and I couldn’t taste it but I wasn’t sure how to mix into hot things. You say to mix with water first, huh? It’s a tiny scoop compared to most powdered protein so one scoop is not really as much as your thinking I bet. When we get to more normal portions we may be able to add more than one scoop even but I’m not sure about how much it would change the texture. Has everyone else discovered protein waters yet. They were obviously handy in the liquid stage and full liquids when you get sick of shakes but even now in purée they are good since we are not consuming enough food to get all of our protein. I try to have a drink after each meal and they are 20g protein so that combined witb the 5-10g I get in my 1/4 cup serving is pretty much 30 average per meal (my breakfast shake in my profeee is 30 by itself. My goal is 72-108g so around 90 is good I figured.

Hello there!! I had my SADI on August 5th, I chose to start with the SADI for multiple reasons. You will need to take a couple of vitamins - the Bariatric multi I chose is actually called Barimelts, it dissolves easily and doesn't taste bad at all, just turns to powder in your mouth. I also get my ADEK from Barimelts - both are on Amazon and quite affordable. For Calcium I use the Bariatric Fusion Calcium, it is soft and chews easily, the texture is like a soft caramel (they come in fruity flavors, chocolate, and caramel I believe). Have to take the Calcium at least 3 hrs from the multi with iron though or it can cause stomach upset. My main issues at a month out are fatigue and an icky feeling when a bowel movement is coming on. Not dumping syndrome, just kind of a gassy, mild cramping feeling. I'm on what they call mechanical soft at this point, and have noticed that chicken and fish are definitely the best for getting protein - plus an unflavored protein powder called Genepro my nutritionist suggested. Read the package on it closely, it tells you to consider a scoop like 30g of protein instead of the nutrient fact 11g (or 9g, can't remember). I haven't had any nausea or negative effects from basing my macros off of that, but I also only use it once per day and try to get as much protein from my actual food as I can. I use Baritastic to track all of my food - keeping on top of hydration has been tricky but is working so far for me. I'm eager to get my energy level back up. I do time 30 mins of no drinking before a meal, at least 20-30 minutes for the meal itself, and 30 minutes after before drinking anything! I max out at 1/2-3/4 of a cup per meal, sometimes less. There is the SADI is lonely thread and also a lot of information shared on the August Surgery Buddy thread. I'm overdue to post there, been busy prepping for a friend's wedding I am in on the 8th. @ShoppGirl - I see you!! Will try to update elsewhere soon 👋🏻

Hello everyone!! I know I did a bit of a vanishing act, but I have things to report in. First of all - I hit a really frustrating plateau that lasted about 3.5 weeks from around weeks 7-10. That had me feeling pretty bummed, as it was post-two month check in and I had been feeling great about my progress before switching from purees to solids. I had last posted about hearing somewhat contradicting information from the nurse and Nutritionist. I had been told that I didn't need to really worry about staying on keto because I wasn't eating much as long as I hit my protein goal and by the nurse to try to stay Keto because eventually I'd get this great burst of energy from going into ketosis. WELL -- After doing some research I found out that the thing your brain tells you would be the worst thing to do - EAT MORE - was actually the solution. I started bringing in more vegetables and an occasional grains while sticking to mostly lean meats, plus using a protein shake for breakfast to keep me on track with my protein goals. I was already using Genepro; and I since picked up one of the Whey protein powders in a chocolate plus some of the PB2. That did the trick! I have started allowing myself an occasional 'cheat' type meal on days that I'm locked in on my protein, and find myself often meeting my protein goal and then some - more like 70g of protein per day rather than the minimum of 60g/day. The result of spreading my meals out - breakfast, three hours later lunch, three hours later 'dinner' and three hours later 'protein snack' if I'm still hungry - DID IT. My energy is up now that I've been walking more and giving my body more fuel. I am seeing the weight loss finally, and even when the scale doesn't show it right away I'm seeing my measurements shift and the way my clothing fits feeling different. I had purchased a cute pair of jeans about a week before my surgery and a button down short sleeve gingham shirt. At the time I couldn't get the jeans all the way up over my thigh; and now they fit loosely. My bras don't fit properly and I already had to buy one in a smaller size. I'm turning down plus sizes clothes I like that I find at the thrift store for pretty much the first time because - they're too big. I'm borrowing shirts from my Mom that I handed down to her previously and other friends handed down to her rather than me because she was a 2x/3x for a long time (mostly due to her chest) and I was a 4x+. I can feel where my arms have gotten smaller in the way shirts don't feel snug in the arms, shoulder, and chest area. I've gone down 2.5 ring sizes! All in all, I've found that portion control is still a big deal, but so is listening to your body and remembering that if it sends you a message about hunger, there is a reason. I DO have to focus on making sure I drink enough water, but the Baritastic app has helped me keep my sugar low. Even if I do hit over 30g of carbs in a day it's rare and because of something like beans, rice, or vegetables. I'm feeling more comfortable loosening the reins a bit on how strictly I adhere to my diet - although I still don't do anything carbonated, do minimal caffeine, and keep sugar very low. The idea to bring your own tupperware to restaurants along with a cooler is really smart. I'm not in an organized group exercise of any kind yet but I do have personal goals like trying to get in over 10k steps three times per week. I'm working my way up and have gotten to an average of around 5k steps each day, which I'm very proud of. My calorie deficit is usually 800+ calories less taken in than what I'm burning via exercise per day, and this week I have lost almost 6 lbs due to exercise and losing the bloat from my first period post surgery. I wanted to mention that - I did miss my first month's period and my second month's was late. As to exercise - I feel the activity in my back and as a low ache across my lower abdomen mainly, which I think is a result of using those core muscles and the way my figure is redistributing the weight on my joints. I'm shopping Marketplace to add weights to my exercise and still use my exercise bike when the weather isn't nice enough to walk. OH! And Old Navy has an amazing 50% off sale on their website right now and I just finally ordered myself some pants in two sizes below my pre-surgery size! I'm so excited for them to get here. Best wishes all, keep up the amazing work and be kind to yourselves!

I sent a message to my bariatric office along with some pics. They said it looks fine to them and it is possibly my immune system just being in overdrive slightly. I did also send the pic of the blisters around my CGM sensor to my diabetic office to see if there's anything in particular I can do for that one. The response was to spray Flonase on my skin and allow it to try before attaching a sensor. So I guess that means I need to take my sensor off. I'll deal with it in a bit. Too much energy to walk up the stairs at the moment. Next stress on the list - I return to school for my masters degree on the 26th. Timing, y'all. LOL But in good news for me, World of Warcraft's new expansion hits early release for those of us crazy enough to preorder tonight. So I'll have something to keep me entertained hopefully while I'm taking times of rest. (Also time to mute all the people so that no one spoils anything for me.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @ShoppGirl Thank you for the idea about the proffee. I've decided I'm going to test the limits of my lactose intolerance and get some Premier Protein to see if I can handle it, and that sounds like a good way to have it. I need to go buy decaf coffee as I don't currently have any. I've been drinking Protein 2O since before surgery. They're not bad but they leave my mouth feeling super dry. I'm guessing that's the protein in it. But the Protein 2O are only 15g of protein. Which ones are you drinking that are 20g? I'm very curious. I haven't noticed any white chunks on my tongue after drinking any protein drink at this point. Just the dryness from the Protein 2O. If it happens with others and not the Premier, but you're also drinking the Premier with coffee... it may be the coffee that's helping? I'm not sure on this one. I hope your trip to your crochet group went well. If you need to get up and walk around for five minutes during the group, definitely do so. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Hiddenroses I'm going to talk to my husband about ordering that GENEPRO that you mentioned and ShoppGirl mentioned. I need something to help those numbers along lol. Though two of his coworkers had the same procedure done, and they said you never eat for flavor again. You just eat because you have to eat. Which is slightly depressing but if it gets my health back... I'm still going to try to have flavor and such as I go along, but the GENEPRO is probably going to help me out in the puree stage a lot. Right now I'm surviving on protein shakes and protein water. And yay for the pillow working! It's been a lifesaver for me, honestly. I couldn't get up and down in certain chairs without it. Okay, I'm legit jealous that you got a foaming pump style bottle of the stuff. I was literally given 2 packets of the gel and had to use both the last two showers before surgery. So they gave me nothing else for after that. I think I might feel better about showering if I had more of the stuff. Oh, well. Beggars can't be choosers, I guess. lol ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @RRenaeL23 Look at you, go getter! A mile and a half one week post-op? Holy cow! I'm definitely not up to that yet, so congrats on your achievement! I've got a cart started of things that I'm looking at on BariLife.com. Not sure about Clean Simple Eats, but that's another resource you might want to look into for getting smoothies and such. It's where I got my vitamins. This cart is currently things I want to run past the hubby to see if we can get for my puree stage, which should be after Wednesday if I can ever meet my fluid and protein goals beforehand. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Pepper_No_Salt I'm looking into that variety pack on Amazon myself. I'm beyond tired of the mixed berry at this point, since it's the only flavor in town that I can drink currently. lol Definitely take it easy if you are hurting a lot. I know I tend not to take my pain pills unless I'm pushing an 8 on the pain scale, but you also definitely don't want to do more damage to yourself. I have no idea how you have managed to hit your water and protein goals already, my surgery twin, but congrats to you. I'm definitely on the struggle bus with that one. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Justarwaxx Did they not give you any contact information? That's so bizarre. My team gave me the contact information like five times to make sure I had it. Are the calories you are consuming from things on the plan? If so, then I don't think it would be a problem. But definitely make sure you reach out and try to find someone to contact to help alleviate your anxiety. I will also say that calories were not mentioned to me by my bariatric team. They are not concerned with calories as much as protein and carbs overall. Fruit and oats were also not on any of my liquid stages, like ShoppGirl said. But if they are okay with it for you, then it sounds like you are doing everything right by your team. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lots of love to anyone I missed! We got this! Everyone who just had surgery, I hope you are healing well. And everyone waiting, it will be worth it.

I don't know where my other post went - I swore I typed one up earlier. Oh well - Here we go again! So, I'm at 3 weeks out exactly today from my SADI (Sleeve + Intestinal shortening) surgery and I'm definitely starting to feel less pulling and pinching with movements. I'm beginning week two of my puree diet, and I feel like it's going pretty well. During the Protein shake / liquid post diet for two weeks I did deal with constipation. It's still leveling out, but as I eat more 'regular' food (Even as a puree) that seems to be lifting a bit. I did still take some milk of magnesia yesterday out of caution because I hadn't 'gone' in two days, and didn't want to worry about it worsening. I'd say the hardest part for me continues to be the 'No drinking 30 mins before/after meals' but I use the Baritastic app to set a timer. I also use the timer to make sure my 'meals' take at least 30 minutes. Want to make sure I don't rush and end up feeling poorly afterward. Things that have worked well for me during my puree stage include egg drop soup, chicken/tuna salad made with puree chicken or tuna, light mayo, and sometimes a bit of relish, and for added protein a boiled egg or two, with or without the yolks per preference. (Dill relish is healthier than sweet relish). I did allow myself 2-3 saltines with those, usually about 3.5 oz of the tuna or chicken salad makes me feel sated. Other recipes that have worked include the ricotta bake and unstuffed cabbage rolls, pureed low fat/0 sugar yogurt or cottage cheese with Genepro powder and cooked, strained strawberries or blueberries (I added a bit of 0% Milk to make it more of a smoothie), Riccotta pureed with either a bit of fruit or avocado, small serving of oatmeal pureed with fruit (test yourself with an ounce or two less than you normally eat for oatmeal because it sits heavy and often swells - add some zero or skim milk to make it thinner if needed. Other recipes include homemade no-noodle chicken soup of sorts with rotisserie chicken, chicken broth, and pureed carrots w/a little bit of onion powder or diced onion. I also made a homemade 'philly cheese steak' filling of sorts with some sautéed bell peppers and a bit of diced onion, some roast beef lunch meat, and cream cheese. Others speak highly of pureed refried beans with a bit of seasoning to taste more like taco meat, adding either a bit of mild salsa or a combination of onion powder and perhaps a bit of cumin. That's a personal choice, and definitely suggest going slow with your seasoning due to possible heartburn. You could add a bit of shredded low-fat/skim mozzarella or even low fat sour cream to round it out. Today I made 'chicken pot pie w/no crust' which was basically just cooked carrots and finely diced celery and onions with finely diced rotisserie chicken with a can each of 98% fat free cream of celery and 98% fat free cream of chicken. I haven't had any yet because I'm a little unsure about the celery, even cooked, but pureed and in a small serving I'm sure it would treat me fine. The Ricotta Bake I made was super simple and I know there are a lot of variations to the recipe online. I made my own marinara sauce by peeling about 5 smallish tomatoes, dicing them, and simmering them with a little less than equal parts water, Italian seasoning, and a bit of diced onion. The ricotta mixture was easy; just used 8oz ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan (I used the shaker but fresh is better) and 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. I put a layer of half the mix on the bottom of a buttered baking dish, topped it with 1/2 lb cooked and seasoned ground beef, then put the rest of the mixture on top. Poured about 3/4 of the homemade marinara over it then covered the dish with aluminum foil and baked at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. It's basically a no-noodle lasagna. The Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls I made were equally easy - I used a rotary grinder (Works SO well, bought on Amazon for around twenty bucks) to grate half a head of lettuce. Instead of canned diced tomatoes I once I again peeled about 5 small/medium tomatoes and diced them, adding to the skillet along with maybe 1/8 cup diced onion and another 1/2 lb of the ground beef. For seasoning the recipe I used just had me add a packet of Italian Dressing Seasoning mix. The family enjoyed it and after pureeing the ground beef a bit I found it fine to eat, although slowly and very well chewed (same with the ground beef in my ricotta bake). Both it and the Ricotta bake probably make about eight 1/3 cup servings with about 22g of Protein each. I want to respond more to folks - @Pepper_No_Salt I hate that you're dealing with so much nausea! I absolutely second talking to your care team about that. There are some nausea pills that dissolve under the tongue and work more quickly for me than the Zofran, they'd probably be willing to call you in some. Things that made me feel queasy were taking meds or vitamins before my meal had hit bottom, drinking too quickly, not walking around after I ate, and taking calcium and my multivitamin with iron too close to my Calcium. Not sure if any of that helps - I am also taking Prilosec for heartburn in the mornings and they had me add Magnesium Citrate at bedtime to help with constipation. Sometimes when I'm due to pass gas or have a bowel movement working its way through my system I'd start to feel a little icky and not really nauseous but more anxiety / feelings of fullness. I found that for whatever reason putting an ice pack on my chest or low back helped. I hope you find some relief! Oh, I also found that as soon as my thirty minutes post-meal is up it helps me to sip on REALLY cold water or Gatorade zero, especially if I do it while standing and moving around a little bit. I equate it to the need to get the burps out after eating, just like I had to do post-surgery. @ShoppGirl - Thanks for all of your support and input. I continue to read your posts and while I'm low energy on responding right now I hope the details of my recipe for the unstuffed cabbage bake is helpful! @draikaina8503 - Congratulations on your walk! I still wear out quickly even at three weeks out, but I knew the first month or two would be a slog and do feel my energy is rebounding. @Onemealplan - Sounds like you're doing great and I hope you enjoy the heck out of your vacation! I second what you said to @ShoppGirl about trying the crab, and hope the meals you do get to taste on vacation treat you well. I think her advice to just explain you're recovery from stomach surgery should more than reassure any staff concerned about your small portions. @AndreaJD I'm so glad your sister has been supportive! My 'chosen' brother and best friend has likewise done the same. He's been on a Keto journey for about two years with great results and I worried at first that he would think I was taking the 'easy way out' and now that he's heard more he's been great in reassuring me that he does NOT think that is the case at all, and in fact believes I chose a great option for myself that moves things along quicker but certainly with a lot of sacrifice and hard work. I also completely agree with you on the 'mind hunger' vs 'body hunger'. I'm lucky that I do feel a bit of pressure in my chest that I now identify as a feeling of 'fullness' as opposed to anxiety and I'm less worried about my protein goals now that I have the Genepro protein powder. I love that it isn't gritty when I mix it in with things as long as I mix it with something room temperature FIRST. That's on the instructions, actually, as is the fact that for your macros to count it as like 30-ish grams of protein per scoop rather than the 'weight' listed in Nutrition facts of 11g/scoop. Just wanted to make sur eI mentioned that! Oh - in regards to weighing - I get on the scale every day or so to kind of 'reinforce' what I'm doing, but remember that sometimes you see more from your measuring tape at the waist, hips, etc than the scale will show. Also head's up, a lot of folks plateau for a handful of days around week three and it will happen on and off moving forward, so don't be discouraged by that! @RRenaeL23 - I hope these recipes and suggestions for your puree diet work well! I'm still finding myself comfortable eating no more than about 3-4 oz at a meal, and certainly am following the no drinking 30 mins before/after meals. It's absolutely easier for me to do if I make sure my meal is on the moist side, even if it means adding a little extra water. It's better to add protein powder (Can't speak highly enough of the unflavored Genepro) to hit your protein goal than to overeat to make it, that's for sure! I'm always eager for my 30 minutes to be up so I can sip on icy cold water or Gatorade Zero. @Meme Campbell - Best of luck to you on your surgery tomorrow! Don't hesitate to ask for ice packs and pain relief and take advantage of the pain relief to get some walking in, especially the first couple of days. The pain lessons as you walk because it works the gas out. I also strongly suggest sipping your shakes / water / propel sitting as upright as is possible and not laying back until about ten minutes has passed or you've burped a few times! Keep us updated! Most of us in this thread have already had our surgeries but if you read through the first 3-7 pages you'll get a pretty good idea of what to expect if you don't already feel prepared. It's a bit of a process but the pain WILL start to lessen in the coming weeks! Don't be surprised when you get tired super quickly and be gentle on your body. Across the board surgeons seem to agree that your #1 priority fresh out of surgery will be walking as tolerated, focusing on your hydration, and getting as much protein as you comfortably can. Don't let yourself go more than three days without a bowel movement - Milk of Magnesia works wonders for that. I let myself go 5 days post surgery and that was a somewhat painful and unpleasant process to reverse. Colace makes your bowel movements 'smoother' but is NOT a laxative. If you deal with heartburn talk to your team - they put me on Prilosec for now. We're rooting for you! Sorry for anyone I missed; not sure what happened to my other post. Wishing you all the best in surgeries and recoveries!

Hello everyone - checking in and feeling kind of lousy post morning routine - as I seem to sometimes feel for about an hour after every 'meal'. I'm sure this will get easier with time; I hate this puree stage though and I hate not being able to drink 30 mins before and after meals! Everything wants to stick on its way down. Ugh. So - #1 - Protein powder! My nutritionist suggested an unflavored protein powder called Genepro. It's even lactose, GMO, and gluten free. I ordered it on Amazon this morning. The description states it can even be used in place of flour and that it should be mixed with room temperature fluids before being added to other items. So - I'm going to give it a try. It's only 11g of protein per serving but if coupled with protein rich foods like ricotta, low fat cottage cheese, or zero sugar yogurt I think it just might do the trick to help me meet my protein goals. Here's hoping! @draikaina8503 - Oh my gosh, my heart goes out to you and your sweet, confused furbaby! That sounds absolutely AWFUL. I'm so terribly sorry you ended up in that pain as a result of an overly eager, loving pup. I hope you managed to bring it back down to a tolerable level and that no long term damage was done! I know that I slept terribly last night between two doses of Milk of Magnesia working their way through my system, having heartburn, and the tugging/sharp pain that would shoot up from my left side in a brief flare when I moved wrong. I did some research and I'm pretty sure what I'm experiencing is from the stitch they used to keep my stomach 'in place' and that it will loosen some over time. I'm trying to work on posture and wanted to let you know I got to thinking of what other people have mentioned on here and thought of that pillow you talked about being given! I hugged my own round support pillow against my abdomen at one point finally and *poof* relief. So, thank you, again!! So today is surgery day, I believe, for @Averdra and @caseyash30 - Bidding you both the best of experiences and hopefully minimally painful recoveries! Remember, walk walk walk, ask for ice, and sip SO slowly. Be cautious about laying at any kind of incline until after you've had a good burp or two, or at least 'feel' the fluid trickle down! The posture you're in when you sip can make a HUGE difference - try to put your shoulders back and keep your spine as straight as you can manage - it helps! I strongly suggest staying ahead of your pain, and also staying ahead of constipation! If you get to day TWO with no bowel movement, take a dose of Milk of Magnesia - especially if you're also taking narcotics! (Obviously with doctor's ok! ) Also, your date must be coming up, @Ladygrey, I'm guessing? Sorry if I missed you posting the date! How are you doing, @Justarwaxx ? You're about a week out now, I believe? @Farhad - Also sending you the best and wonder if you're at purees yet? (I may have missed a post!) I also wanted to toss a message out there to @Mandalynne ! Maybe I've missed your posts, but you had your surgery on the 14th, right?? How you doing over there? I hope the Finch is still helping you out! I have my water goals on there and also assigned myself the task 3x day to do my Baritastic app entries, as well as take my vitamins (separate from also taking my Calcium since I can't take the Iron & Calcium together) I would absolutely be at a loss without that app and am SO grateful it's free. Let me know if you want to add me on there - it doesn't share personal information but lets your added 'Friends' send and receive cute little good vibes from your Birb. Only mentioning in case you didn't know, a friend had to tell me and once I started interacting with friends my dopamine boosts went up tremendously because I wanted to be able to dress up my Birb to go visit others. I'm so sorry if I missed responding to you in the chaos - I'm curious how your pain management is going and if you found an alternative to narcotics for your recovery? I'm in a limbo state myself with pain management right now - I have chronic pain conditions that were previously treated with an opioid by my primary care doctor but even though I stretched what was given to me by my surgeon I'm having trouble managing my chronic pain plus recovery. I thought of you and your question as I'm trying to mainly handle things with Tylenol myself right now, and lots of ice packs. It's rough and I agree - this is probably one of the hardest things I've EVER done. Welcome, @RRenaeL23, and congratulations on your surgery! How are you doing now? Are you still on liquids? How goes the pain / protein / fluid goals? Good job on denying yourself the fruit - you might pick up some sugar free popsicles to help when those cravings hit in case you don't always feel up for a walk! Also - I haven't taken the time to update my tag in quite a while, either, and I really need to. Oh well, limited chair time still for me! I'll get to it! That's all from me for now - thinking of you all, whether I tagged you here or not! I tried to do another recap of the thread from top to bottom and apologize for not having taken the time in this post to respond to everyone I've missed along the way. I'm working on it!

I highly recommend everyone do their own research and judge for themselves about the claim of 30 grams of protein in one serving of Genepro. The claim is that you get the *equivalent* of 30 grams of protein because of their production process and how much of their protein is absorbed versus whey protein. But definitely read up on it and judge for yourself. Don't just take the claim at face value without doing your research.

I am 5 days post op and 1 thing before i forget, is I want to highly recommend the GENEPRO Protein flavorless. It gives you 30gms protein in one tablespoon, and I add it to clear broth, chicken, and does not change the flavor at all, and really helps to add to your protein intake for the day. I know people also like the Isopure, I think, but that is too much protein at once for me. Just a suggestion

And go! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using BariatricPal mobile app

Isopure and GENEPRO Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

There are mixed opinions about the science behind GENEPRO so do your own research there. You've gotten great advice here I don't need o add more! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I prefer unflavored, so I can control the type and degree of flavoring. Currently my favorite is GENEPRO, but it does seem too good to be true. Otherwise, it's Syntrax. unjury is a close second, but Syntrax dissolves better. I have been flavoring my shakes with combinations of sugar-free/fat-free Jello pudding mix, cocoa, PB2, and spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon. I tried Torani syrups, but they gave me a headache. I've since ordered Monin syrups, but haven't tried them yet. You can also put the unflavored Protein powders in Soups and broth.

Maybe try to put some extra liquid in them. Be it Water, milk, Almond milk. You could order some GENEPRO online. It is unflavored and is really great to add to other things. coffee if you drink it. If you add it to something warm temper it with some warm water get it mixed well then add it. Or you can make SF pudding or Jello and use some of your Protein Drink in it. It is very important to follow your Dr.'s guidelines. Good Luck

I have GENEPRO and so far I can tolerate it. We shall see how the rest of my digestive tract takes to it. I'm so relieved at the moment. oh here is a great photo that shows my progress Sent from my SM-G935V using the BariatricPal App

I really think it is a learning curve for sure. My taste and smell changed so much. The drinks I liked (kind of LOL) Preop I hated afterwards. I only wish I had found the un-favored GENEPRO. I love it but I wouldn't tel anyone else to use it. Always check with you tam. here are some people on here that don't like it. But for myself it is the one that doesn't have a after taste BTW Welcome you wil get a ton of informatin on here. Just take what you need and leave the rest. Congratulations on starting your amazing journey.