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I had a very difficult time finding protein shakes that tasted okay and didn't make me sick. I ended up drinking FairLife Core Power protein shakes. I love the chocolate (tastes like chocolate milk to me). I like to blend it with some ice and PB2 powder (or real PB) to give the smoothie consistency. I also found that if I put Panera's Turkey Vegetable soup through the blender, I could eat it. I survived off those two things. My chest pains were from the gas, which was incredibly bad and took so much longer than I expected to resolve. I'd definitely stay away from bars or anything solid until you've conquered liquids. I'd love to tell you the dry mouth will get better soon, but it didn't for me for a very long time (months). The plus to that was that I drank a ton of water. The good new is I suspect you are close to the light at the end of the tunnel on this first and hardest part of the journey. It gets SO much easier after this part.

I am 2 days post-op and really struggling with everything. My depression isn't helping any. I couldn't even finish one shake today and swallowing meds is just excruciating.

I didn't do it.... but I did put some bbq sauce on my grilled chicken!

You might try the Thrive Lifestyle Mix. Its a protein shake but it does have some carbs. I have a problem with protein shakes. They make my stomach hurt. I recently started the Thrive 3 step which is a vitamin (in capsules) and a skin patch and a shake mix. The shake works for me and I think the reason why is because it has digestive enzymes in it. This makes it a lot easier for your stomach to break it down. It has amylase, bromelain, cellulase, protease, lipase, papain, and protease. Its like taking a whole digestive enzyme capsule with your protein shake, but its all in an individual serving envelop and you mix it with whatever you want. I mix mine with either water or almond milk, but you could mix it with soy milk if you wanted to do that. It is the easiest to digest nutrition shake I've ever done. If you decide you want to try it. I know a gal who will probably send you a sample or two. I actually have enough packets of this that I could send you a couple packets to try if you message me your address.

https://lbwic.com/

My heart rate and blood pressure were extremely high after surgery. They were going to keep me an additional night because of it but ultimately let me go. I think it was just because my body was in pain... I was fine a few days later. Congrats on your surgery!!!

Congratulations on your success! I'm scheduled for a revision in December and I'm so afraid I will not succeed,, since I had very little success with the lap band.

That’s a great problem to have!!! Glad you had a quick remedy.

I had surgery 12th Oct and returned to online work (one of my jobs) after 12 days.

I did a one-hour home-consultation with a referral customer on the fifteenth day. (Fri Oct 27)

I returned to my Tuesday evening office job, a 1:45pm-6:45pm regular slot on the 31st (last Tuesday).

It seems we are on a similar pace with work.

(I'm officially retired ... July 2016 ... but I have a skill set in demand which means I get almost as much part-time and casual work as I want.)

Is your work full-time, part-time, casual?

I work full time, usually 8-4 in a professional setting, so slacks, shirt, tie, or polo daily. Today is my 5th day back and all has been great so far. Just keeping up on my liquids and protein. Thankfully, the owners are understanding and supportive so I can do as I please for the most part.

Sorry to hear that you're having a hard time with the shakes @Sosewsue61 have you tried different shakes? I had bought the chocolate and banana Premier Protein shakes from Costco, and some 4oz plastic cups with lids (like you'd get a side of guacamole in at a restaurant). Then I just pour out a 4oz serving 6x a day. Once I get cleared to blended/pureed, I think I'll be down to 4-5 meals a day. It can get boring, but having the pre-mixed shakes have been a huge time saver. I'm just focusing on getting enough water in between my shake portions now.

So, you're 6+ days into a new life.

Congrats on the calm post-op period.

So so happy for you!

Consider adding a probiotic daily. It’ll help your stabilize your gut and get things moving as well.

Things just cleared out this morning. I feel so much better. It must have been the meds they gave me in the hospital. Thanks all

Ahh...relief! I should have asked you how far post op you were. Using the phone so I don’t see all of that info. I was about 5 days post when I finally had a movement. Had to use some MOM to get it going though and that was the last time too. Added a probiotic early on...really helps!

I think we all go through these down moments after surgery and especially during a stall. Just don't let this lead to self sabotage, find the positive side in everything you have accomplished thus far and believe in yourself. Imagine yourself as you want to be 6 months to a year from now. Keep that image in your mind and push out the negative thoughts. Don't let past habits back in. Yesterday's mistakes are already in the past and today is a new day.

You can do this!!!

I'm Praying for you today.

Thank you--I'm working to get back on track. It's been a tough period with the move and my niece's death. Tonight I made soup, mostly veggies and turkey kielbasa, very good. I'm not quite used to being able to eat just about anything again . . . able to--I know it's not necessarily a good idea just because I can.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Almost 50lbs is amazing! Your body just needs a little breather, then will reward you with a 2 pound drop. I'm sure of it!

Yes it did. I was on pre-op for 2 weeks and managed to lose about 19lbs before I went under. Surgery went fine. The biggest advise I can give is start moving as soon as you feel up for it. Even if it is walking +/- 5 minutes at first. I had my operation on Wednesday morning. I was home Thursday afternoon and just walking around my house for a few minutes. Come Friday afternoon I was taking short walks up and down the sidewalk. It really help especially if you get gas pain in the shoulder area like most do after laparoscopic based surgery.

I hope so and thank you. I want to be out quick so I can be home I don't like being in the hospital for more than 2 days.

Pre-op is by far the hardest as far as exercising willpower. You still have all of your hunger hormones, honeymoon period will not start until post op. Hang in there!

Praying you feel better today!

Ice helps! I had trouble with water at first and crystal light went down easier (Weird I know but it worked) I was so swollen at first I had a similar time but it does get better. I promise! Thinking of you and hope it gets better soon.

Sugarfree popsicles saved me when I couldn't drink

I feel you first I lost a couple of pounds then gained back more! I'm folllowing every thing the doctor said including walking, protein and fluids. I finally hid the scale because the reality is the scale isn't telling the whole story. I've had to replace my entire wardrobe- the clothes I wore in June at the end of our school year didn't fit when's i tried them on last week - two weeks after surgery ( I also lost 40 pounds pre surgery). I put on a size Xl outfit today and in June as wearing 3x! So ignore the scale and check out your clothes, also do you have more energy etc? Good luck!

I'm not sure how long post-op you are, but the first week you actually gain water weight from all the IV fluids. I lost that and more by the end of the second week. Then at 3.5 weeks I hit the famous 3 week stall...lol.. so yeah very normal for some people. If you get stressed by stalls weigh less often for sure. I weigh everyday and so I am used to the bouncing up and down and don't stress about it. As long as you know you are following your plan you will lose, stall, lose, rinse and repeat.

I didn't know about this three week stall but I am there right now. I agree that hiding the scale is a good idea. It's hard because I want to know my progress but my clothes are all loose. I already had to do one huge overhaul of my closet and more than half had to be donated!

I am looking forward to more exercise besides just walking. I heard that will help too!

So I also have a dairy allergy--causes asthma. I found 3 whey isolates that work for me. I can't have soy or other veggie proteins cuz of hormone positive breast cancer so it was super important to try out the proteins and make sure I could find one/some that work!

Isopure RTD drinks-Alpine Punch and grape. I dilute them 50/50 with water and add water drops to hide the after taste! I actually like them once watered down.

Isopure powdered protein isolates-dutch chocolate, creamy vanilla, bananas & cream (my fave), and unflavored to add to soups, etc to up the protein.

Synthrax Nectars protein isolates-Lemon Tea, Fuzzy Navel, Grapefruit are my 3 favorites. I ordered a sample kit from them for about $19 bucks?

Premier Protein RTD drinks-vanilla, chocolate, bananas n' cream-I tolerate on "good" lung days since they do also have protein concentrate in them rather than just isolate.

Hope you find something!!

I bought some clear protein drinks. Premier protein clear and Atkins Lift. The Premier clear tasted awful but the Atkins Lift was pretty good. My nutritionist said to dilute with water might help......also thought about making popsicles with them.

Well, I figure I need to cook us dinner right now anyway...so I make enough that we can have one meal and then the extra I put in vacuum packs and in the freezer they go! She is grateful and appreciative that I care enough to do it in advance...I like to cook anyway, but I'm not stepping foot in the kitchen in the weeks after my surgery.

Oh my goodness, hang in there! I forgot to look to see if you had the sleeve or another surgery. I cant imagine cooking for someone and feeling so ill yet starving also. Luckily, my family is used to me not cooking like I used before I had a full time + job. We only have two kids that live at home now. My older son came home on the deployment last time with home cooked food on his mind and he said, "Man, I am glad I was with the generation that got dinner every night" bless his heart! I still make an effort to cook for him when he is home on leave. I still get some long faces if they realize I am not cooking dinner some nights. The two seventeen year olds and my hubby know the drill now. They had to be re-trained, though. I still cook on the weekends and enjoy cooking for my family but I just dont have the time like I used to. Plus I can't really eat in the evnings ever since I had my gallbladder out because I get so miserable bloated (I know that is odd, you would think I would have lost weight but NOPE - I just eat my heavy meal in the mornings and taper off onto lighter foods during the day. Once in awhile I can watch them eat or go out to dinner and watch everyone else eat and that became easier over time after I forced myself to do it. Sometimes I have to mentally prepare myself and say "Ok, you can't eat this because you will regret it later." However, the difference is that you really are hungry and hardly able to get much down so I just cant imagine feeling nauseated and hungry but not hungry at the same time and cooking for someone else. It is funny how we figure out how so much love and socialization goes into food until we are caught at a point when we can't do it anymore.

I hope you feel better soon and I bet you will get to the point that you can still cook for your love, give yourself some time.

I see we are both short girls.

Before surgery earlier this week Monday 8/28, I made a roast with potatoes amd veggies in the crockpot so that the family would have leftovers for at least two days while I was in the hospital. Then I make chicken breast with cream of chicken soup in the crock pot. I strained the soup and put some away for myself. I left it up to them to decide what veggies they wanted. That lasted the rest of the week. They family is on their own today. Tomorrow i will make something that will last another few days, again probably in the crockpot like lasagna. It's going to be like this until I feel strong enough to cook without picking. Or when I am able to introduce solids.

You look great! Congrats!

Awesome!

You look great!

It's my understanding that we get too much protein (in the western diet). I am eating my complex carbs and still building my muscle. I just flexed to feel it. LOL My husband has also let go of all the animal protein and he's body building and noticeably getting larger. So, the whole notion about having to have so much protein to keep muscle isn't true in my opinion. I do weights three times a week and eat my plant based diet and I'm still building.

There will always be blogs/articles out there to support whatever diet someone chooses. It's our duty to pick it apart and ask questions. Most all of them will be cherry picked for obvious reasons. The book I'm reading, the bariatric doctor emphasizes on really learning to distinguish what's in a report, and too many of them are written by journalists, not real scientists (they don't have time to blog); thus we all believe them to be true. I was given a website by a fellow BP member to look at. This website is fact/science based. It's not an opinion. There are many videos that explain in depth how the body works...how it breaks down animal proteins, plant proteins, etc. There are so many topics discussed on this website that we could all learn from. nutritionfacts.org Sure, the author/doctor of the website (he has a book too-HOW NOT TO DIE) advocates a whole foods plant based diet, but he doesn't just state it, he shows the science behind it all; all the health benefits from it, just like bariatric Dr Garth Davis in his book Proteinaholic. It's fascinating stuff.

All scientific sources are cited as well.

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/plant-based-bodybuilding/

Just one last comment before we agree to disagree.

You just had wls, you are not getting enough food to build at this point. At best, you are preserving muscles, which is great. https://www.muscleforlife.com/build-muscle-lose-fat/

This was just the first link, I can site a ton more. This one is interesting though.

Back in 2011-2012 I lost 67 lbs in a year, I also gained about 15 lbs of muscles. I worked out 6 days a week, but up to 12 times. I eat low carb. I lifted weights 4-5 times, and we are talking like 225 deadlifts, 160 lbs squats etc, with a trainer. I also ran (training for a half marathon), biked and swam, (training for a triathlon).

From what I understand (I could be mistaken), these changes you have made are fairly recent, meaning, there is not enough time to see if you have gained muscles (and as mentioned above, highly doubtful). You are loosing fat, meaning your muscles are becoming more prominent, it doesn't mean that you have built.

Last, a great link in general, nothing to do with this is better than that.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/

He has 14 articles just discussing protein, all based on research. And he talks about all different kinds. I haven't read them all, and I can't say which he favors, but it is so interesting. He is siting a lot of research under each article. I though you might enjoy it.

Agree to disagree! 😊 In my benefit I lifted for the last two years. I haven't lost my muscle, but still retaining despite my diet. 💪🏽