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I tried the following recently: Truely Cereal - Fruit flavor. It wasn't bad, but it has a weird texture. It's made to look like fake fruit loops. Catalina Crunch - Keto friendly- Honey Graham. It's a very hard cereal so it required a long soak in my (oat) milk. Tasted fine, a little too sweet but not excessively so. Quaker High Protein instant oatmeals. I've tried a few flavors. Luckily my father likes them so he took sll the leftovers. Consistency and texture were fine, but they taste salty? Also they have actual (if reduced) sugars so I was hesitant to begin with. Didn't find it worth it. I've got an unopened box of Premier Protein - Mixed Berry cereal that looks promising. Fingers crossed. But that multigrain Special K looks right up my alley -- will be seeking that out.

Everything @NickelChip just said. This, this, this!!! Also, just be careful with the fruit cups and bananas. Other than that, looks good. I personally would incorporate a little more meat in there. I eat red meat once or twice a week. There's also keto bread, keto slim bagels, and keto blueberry muffin mix at WalMart (I use all of them and love them). Blueberries and strawberries are also fantastic, as are apples in moderation. Avocado is another go-to (personally, I love avocado toast in the morning). Smoothies made with almond milk, collagen powder, greens, and fruits of my choosing go a lot farther for me than a protein shake. Mostly because you want to get your protein from foods you're eating instead of drinks and snacks. I love Propel water, and I also love Gatorade Zero. I eat almonds (plain, smokehouse, hickory smoked, mesquite, all the things). Put a handful of almonds, some meat sticks or cubes, and cheese cubes in a container or baggie and you have a delicious, compliant, protein packed snack. I usually do that and also take mixed fruit (I'll slice a small apple and add a few strawberries and a handful or so of blueberries and that's my 2nd snack of the day) with me to work and it gets me through (I'm a clinical medical assistant so I'm on my feet a lot).

Also, grapes are sugar bombs and bananas are higher in sugar and carbs. I would limit those. I love strawberries, blueberries, and apples. You only need 60-70g of protein on non work out days and up to 90g on workouts. No need to go as high as you are. I like meat and cheese cubes for a snack, almonds, sugar free jello, and if I really want to splurge then keto brownies. The packaged snacks should be a RARE treat since they have a lot of other unhealthy things in them. Better to have fruit and other compliant snacks. Meal prepping is your friend.

Sorry, I realized that probably didn't come across as well meaning as I intended. Now I don't have a big craving for sugar. If I do I just add monk fruit sweetener to Greek yogurt. I had a keto sugar free cheesecake recipe that used monk fruit sweetener. Also used almond flour for the crust. I'm not the best baker, but It was pretty good. I thought about making one and putting PBfit chocolate in it to make a PB chocolate cheesecake. 😃

Yeah, I honestly think that for a lot of us, keto or modified keto (at least in the beginning months or maybe even the first year) is the way to go. I know my program wants us to have a sustainable approach and incorporate all foods, but my body seems to love to hold on to carbs, and I want to get as far as I can in this first year before things REALLY slow down. Thanks for your input!!

When I finally convinced my Dietitian to give me some sort of macros to follow, they actually said "150g per day" for carbs! I thought that sounded WAY too high, and even 100g seems like a lot to me. I've done keto before (and that was the only way I lost any weight at all, prior to VSG), so it's not too difficult for me to cut back there. Thank you for weighing in - I really appreciate it! :)

I think most of us were told to shoot for 60-80 grams of protein a day, but as far as sugar/carbs, plans vary quite a bit. Some are low carb, some are ultra low carb (almost keto-level), some don't count carbs at all and insist their patients follow a balanced plan (mine was one of the latter). I've never counted carbs, but I'm not particularly sensitive to them, either (I know some people are). That said, during my first few months post-surgery, I rarely ate more than 80 carbs a day, and never over 100 - although that was just because I ate very little in those days, and there was such a push for that 60-80 grams of protein that I didn't have room for a ton of carbs. I don't pay attention to carbs at all any more - I just watch my overall calorie level and still make sure I'm meeting my protein goal.

It’s Dunkin Hines keto friendly. Made with almond and coconut flour. I don’t have the package for the muffins but I have the brownies here to try. They are two grams of net carbs, 0 added sugars and 3 grams protein. It’s kinda high in fat like most keto at 10 grams but has suggestions for ingredient swaps which would reduce that some (I made it the normal way).

What keto muffin mix did you end that's "super good"?

I cut my carbs to ~20g a day until I hit 7 months, now I am around 40g a day. I pretty much took a modified keto approach to it. 75g of protein a day (minimum), and ~50g fat. I am down 191 pounds in 8 months, but we all lose differently. My daughter took a similar approach but she eats ~50-60g of carbs a day and she has lost 80. My cousin just had it done in Jan, and she has an approach like yours and she is down 30, she is a slower loser.

Don't be in awe of me lol I've had my fair share of ups and downs in this, but I found what works for me personally. Take what you want from my suggestions and toss the rest. But for ME, I noticed that I'm sensitive to carbs. I tend to respond better when I am at lower carbs. I don't eat bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, sugar, little to no salt (and when I do, it's pink Himalayan salt), or fruits high in sugar and carbs (grapes, bananas, and I limit apples). I'm not a fan of chocolate (if I eat it at all, it's in the form of keto brownies and I eat 1 small brownie every 2 days or so). I avoid Starbucks now (didn't used to and noticed my weight would stall a lot more). I avoid cow's milk (almond milk has more calcium and nutrients in it) and if I want ice cream, I get Rebel ice-cream from Walmart (2g or less of carbs for the whole pint of ice-cream, lactose free, 5g of less of sugar for the whole pint of ice-cream depending on the flavor). There's keto bread and keto bagels that I eat when I REALLY want something that requires those (my avocado toast is something I have 1-2x per week, or I have a keto bagel with sausage, egg, and cheese on it maybe once a week). If I want pizza, I get the ones that have cauliflower crust (omg so good), I have cauliflower rice, and mashed cauliflower if I'm wanting mashed potatoes (cauliflower has almost no flavor so it takes on whatever flavors it's mixed with). If I want sweetener, I use monk fruit sweetener (doesn't raise the blood sugar at all and actually tastes sweeter than sugar). If I want a nice flavored coffee, I buy the coffee shop coffee and make it at home, add almond milk, and put in Jordan's Skinny Syrup (no sugar, no calories, no carbs) in any flavor I'm wanting (they basically have every flavor you can think of). If I want fruit juice, I go to Walmart and buy the sugar free mango splash or sugar free fruit punch. Absolutely DELICIOUS. I drink a lot of flavored water with the sugar free powders, Gatorade zero, and Propel waters. For me, the trick has always been to eat within the boundaries of my diet while not feeling like I'm depriving myself. Everything tastes delicious and feels like I'm eating like everyone else, but I'm keeping to what I can eat without having to cheat to feel satisfied. I like sugar free tropical popsicles for a treat while my husband and daughter eat the regular stuff. We can all have popsicles together and I don't feel deprived or left out, yet I'm not breaking any of my personal dietary rules. I also make sure to change up what I do in my work outs. If you do the same things in the same order every time, your body gets used to it and the exercises stop being effective. If you do different exercises in a different order periodically, it will "confuse" your body and everything you do will have a greater impact. For me, not only does exercising help me lose weight, it also makes me feel good physically and mentally. I was 421 pounds and needed a cane to help me get around. Being able to hike 10 miles with my son means more to me than I can even express. So if you're working out, try to confuse your body as much as you can. I hope some of this helps you out. I never want anyone to think that my way is the only way to do things, but maybe something in here will give you some help with getting out of your slump and back to losing weight at the rate you're most comfortable with

I found some keto muffin mix at the store and they are super good so I’m scared to leave them lying around. lol. Has anyone ever put muffins in the freezer. If so, do you just thaw them on counter or in microwave?

I put heavy cream in - old keto diet habit and I don't eat enough fats as it is, then I add my protein powder and my digestive resistant maltodextrin. That's it! If I want more flavor, I use my "chocolate flavored" nespresso blend coffee..not any chocolate added its just the flavor of these particular beans and I froth my heavy cream. Also, make sure your coffee is truly decaf, most have some. Look for those that are water processed they contain the least amount of caffeine grams!

No there is no norm or standard plan for before or after surgery. Much like there is no standard for how you will recover, how much weight you’ll lose, what ‘fun’ side effects you’ll experience, etc. There’s just generalisations & averages. There will be similarities across plans & differences. Like in the pre surgery eating plan. Some don’t have any. Some do three shakes a day while others do two shakes & one meal. Me I had to do keto. Same with the post surgery stages. Differences can be around how long each stage is or even what foods you can or can’t have at each stage. For example potatoes are allowed on many plans but were a big no in my plan. I do know my surgeon adjusts his plan depending on the individual patient & their specific needs & situation. My friend who saw him was on the 2 shakes one meal plan. Her friend, also same surgeon was all shakes. Our ages, starting weight & general health were different. It’s why we say it’s always best to follow the plan you were given and if you are having difficulties to contact your team to see if & how you can tweak it to better suit you & your needs & experiences.

My understanding was that the "Net Carb" count was more for Keto / Atkins carb counting to be a guide for staying in Ketosis. Then it became a way for marketing to say its lower carb to sell more stuff. Both my primary care doctor and my surgeon told me to measure total carbs and disregard net carbs if I'm not doing either of those diets.

My partner does keto (very successfully) and has for years. He stays a mile away from processed foods that purport to be keto friendly. Ditching those allows for much more leeway with your carb goal. Cook everything from scratch and you will honestly never go wrong. In the immediate post WLS period it's hard to do full keto, or full any eating plan. Once you progress through the stages you can have whatever protein you like or can tolerate (and bear in mind that might change after your second procedure so don't be afraid to experiment!) plus green leafy veg/salad/mushrooms/cauli/broccoli/celeriac/whatever and smaller quantities of other veg (should not be a problem for you as all quantities are small quantities post WLS)! Cauli rice is fab with loads of meals. Sauce wise my partner eats bolognese/ragu - just no pasta. Curry - just no rice. Casseroles with no carbs and limited veg. I add the juices of meat or fish to the final protein part of the dinner and sometimes dress that up with a little cream or spice paste.

Yes! Happy to share! It's this one: https://www.wholesomeyum.com/keto-banana-muffins-recipe/ I doubled the banana flavoring emulsion (I got mine from Amazon) and I added vanilla. None of the box mixes were low carb enough for me and I used to be a chef so I have a bias towards homemade things. 😂 I can empathize with the carb cravings. When I eat carbs I crave them intensely for days afterwards. There are a lot of people who make judgments about those of us who use artificial sweeteners, and though I prefer the real thing, I simply cannot have it. My body HATES carbs, it just doesn't know what to do with them and whether it's a piece of cake or a bagel, it will bloat me and I'll want 3 times as much the next meal. It is just not worth it. And now with the surgery and my designer insides, it isn't worth the gas and such either... The only exception I seem to be able to make is a small amount of very dark chocolate. I think the reason it doesn't cause the carb cravings is because my craving for the minerals in it is stronger. LOL And even with that I can't have it two days in a row without cravings kicking in stronger... I think it is perfectly reasonable to ask those close to you to support you with limitations around what they offer you. I asked the same thing of those close to me and they were happy to do so because it gave them a tangible way to help me with my goal. We don't gain weight in isolation. Food is a social thing. We ask our social circle for support around other goals like going to school or raising our children, we should be able to ask for support with this too. It increases our chances of success!! The head game will do you in every time. Having people close to you wise to that helps tremendously in my experience... As long as they don't turn into food police. 😂

Would I be right in thinking your nutritionalist is recommending a keto like diet? They are big on no root vegetables & no corn, peas because of their naturally high sugar content. (Potatoes are often a no because they are considered a starch.) I regularly ate carrot & sugar snap peas. I threw frozen corn & peas into soups, mince dishes, some slow cooked dishes, omelettes, etc, I usually just microwave my vegetables with a splash of water & a dab of butter but also will stir fry & occasionally roast (especially cauliflower with a little hummus & zataar to serve). I love vegetables & enjoy them best simply with salt & pepper but don’t be afraid to try herbs & spices. The only vegetables I don’t eat is potato, sweet potato & pumpkin (they tend to sit heavily) except a very small piece (bite or two) with a roast dinner. My thoughts were & are vegetables are vegetables (except potato). They are highly nutritious (all those vitamins, minerals & fibre) so a valuable addition to our food choices. And the little we eat, especially in the first months will have minimal impact on your calorie intake & weight loss. I mean 1/4 cup peas is 30 calories if you can eat that much. Plus the ‘sweet’ vegetables are naturally sweet so they don’t count towards your sugar intake. Certainly didn’t affect my weight loss or maintenance. I say eat your vegetables, just watch portion size & what you serve or add to them. Like no honey glazed carrots, sour cream or cheese sauces at least for a while.

ChunkCat. I seen on another post where to listed out your daily food log and it was super helpful. I can’t find it now but i took a screenshot and I was just looking at it. I’m hoping my log will be somewhat similar. I am wondering about the keto muffins. You said homemade. Do you mean from a box or scratch. If scratch do you have a link to the recipe by chance?! Since my appt I have been eating lower carb and I am quickly recalling that if I don’t have carbs for a few days I don’t crave them nearly as strongly. I have since told two close friends, my husband and my aunt that apparently no i can’t have just one brownie or one slice of pizza or one piece of cake even if I have this surgery and I’m doing great and please try to remember not to tempt me because it’s hard enough on my own not to have it. I honestly think I’m addicted to carbs and I have to go cold Turkey to be able to do it. I mean I had a wrap the other day and that was okay because it was still low amount I think but if I have a lot. My body screams out for them again for several days afterwards. Maybe most of you know this or maybe I’m weird but I’m hoping that if people who love me understand this about me then maybe I will have better success this time around. Ooh and my point to telling you all that is that I would love to try your muffin recipe because I am basically doing low carb now. Lol

Its just like doing a keto diet for life, you each week up your carbs until you fall out of ketosis than back off by 5-10 grams then maintain that carb load for life. You do the same for calories, increase by 100 for two weeks, still losing..tack on another 100 each few weeks until weight loss stops, now you've found your maintenance calorie load.

I posted this elsewhere on the forum but I thought I'd put it here in case you didn't see it. This is what one of my typical days looks like at 4 months post-op. My personal macro goal is 120-150 grams of Protein a day, under 50 total carbs, and 100 grams of fat. Also, I can't tolerate any raw fruit at the moment. And calories are not relevant for DS patients because we malabsorb most fat and a good chunk of our protein... 8 am: Premier Protein Cafe Latte shake 9 am: Ratio Keto vanilla Yogurt with 2 tablespoons of toasted coconut chips, 1 tablespoon of keto nut granola, and 1 tablespoon freeze dried strawberries 12 noon: 1/4 cup roasted Spaghetti Squash, 1/4 cup of ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup of a beef bolognese sauce 2 pm: Cafe Macchiato with espresso and 4 oz Fairlife Protein Milk 3 pm: 2 mozzarella cheese sticks, 2 mini baby cucumbers and 4 cherry tomatoes 6 pm: Roasted chicken leg and thigh quarter, 1/3 cup of vegetable Soup 9 pm: Homemade Keto banana Walnut Dark chocolate Muffin Total Macros: 150 grams of protein (yay!!), 43 grams total carbs, 97 grams of fat, 1634 calories.

You might consider a version of these: https://www.wholesomeyum.com/keto-banana-muffins-recipe/ They are keto, so they are low in carbs, but you could always add some blueberries and skip the banana bakery emulsion, swapping in vanilla. They keep well in the fridge. I used real dark chocolate in mine and a combo of Splenda and allulose, they still came out to only about 10 total carbs and 8 grams of protein. That would change a bit if you add blueberries though.

Sorry it took me so long to reply! This month has been full on... These are the ones I made, they kept really well in the fridge and tasted just as good as freshly baked after a 20 second zap in the microwave. https://www.wholesomeyum.com/keto-banana-muffins-recipe/ They don't have banana in them, they have a banana baking emulsion instead since bananas aren't keto. I doubled the amount of the baking emulsion and added some vanilla extract. Honestly they were pretty convincing and soothed the craving and I usually hate banana flavoring. This was NOT artificial tasting. I think it really depends on the quality of. the emulsion. If your macros have space for bananas, I'd make this version instead: https://www.wholesomeyum.com/healthy-banana-muffins/

Has anyone looked into the lower calorie options in the factor75 meals. They are not cheap but they are prepared but they are fresh and they have vegan and keto options as well. I assume this would be an option to consider for those in maintenance for busy nights but I’m not the greatest at reading labels. I am currently looking into converting to SADi and just want to get started with something while I do my research and the insurance process (I was sleeved 3/9/21 and gained the weight back). I never did learn to understand all the macros and stuff the first time around which I’m sure contributed to my regain. I’m am just curious if anyone who understands all that has researched them and has any feedback about them.

Ah - sorry - forgot what I actually started out to say. Arabesque is right (as she usually is). If you can go back to your original programme do. Protein first, veg second, carbs third or not at all. No sugar, it's ridiculously addictive and produces insulin spikes that make you crave it more. Perhaps consider a keto week to get you started and minimise cravings - so protein and green leafy veg only?