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After weight loss surgery, you may need to eat three to six small meals and snacks per day, plus drink at least 64 ounces of fluids at times separate from your meals. Add your nearly constant eating and drinking to a busy lifestyle, and you probably have quite a few strategies for hitting your nutrition and fluid needs! Which meal and snack helpers do you use? Do you live off of protein bars and shake powders? Do you use pre-packaged salads and pre-cut veggies? Do you take advantage of ready-to-eat products such as rotisserie chicken, yogurt, and string cheese? Also, what are your indispensable helpers for taking your food and drinks everywhere with you? Do you have a favorite water bottle, protein blender, and set of containers? What other tricks do you have for making on-the-go weight loss easier? Share here!

Yep I've heard of people being allowed to have yogurt on their pre-op diet. I wasn't, but others were depending on their calorie and nutrient needs pre surgery. You're still going to be fasting after midnight or whatever the day before surgery, I'm sure. You can always call to clarify with your clinic team, but if your surgeon says yogurt is okay, then trust them

I started my 2 week pre op diet today. Yogurt is on my list but can only have 1 a day.

Hello, All! I hope you are each having a beautiful Sunday where ever you are in the world. I am being sleeved on Thursday, April 27 (Four days from now! Wow!) and my doctor's instructions say on the last three days of my pre-op diet I can have clear liquids and yogurt only. Have any of you been allowed yogurt on your diet? Professionally I am a nurse and I understand that yogurt is good before surgery because of the probiotics which help ward off c-diff. However, with this being a surgery on my stomach I was a little thrown back by the addition of yogurt being on the list. I was hoping some of you have had this experience or may be able to offer some insight that I missed. Thanks!

The first month diet of soft foods has been smooth. Make sure you're following your doctor's plan, not my doctor's plan, because each plan is unique to our situations, including anything your doctor found or did during or before your surgery. It's also important to note that I am not diabetic and I do not have any signs of insulin resistance, before or after surgery, so my body has a healthy relationship with all of the food groups. Here's last night's family dinner, all made from scratch with my meal front and center and my wife's delectable tostada on the far right. I eat vicariously through others and cannot wait to be allowed something crunchy again. I miss crunch, but I know I'll be allowed to crunch again soon. Oh, how I pine for a sturdy lettuce leaf! Homemade refritos, a little bit of spiced ground beef, requeson, crema con sal (a type of sour cream), and two tomato salsas, one very mild and fresh and the other hot and cooked. SW: 275 CW: 244 So, a month out, I'm on "soft foods" which my doctor defines as foods that are soft BEFORE you put them in your mouth and that anything hard to digest like solid meats and veg needs to be taken down to more of an apple sauce/fine mince consistency. I've been on this regimen since my 10 day follow up and will continue until my 6 week follow up in two weeks. There was no intermittent "mushy" stage for me. I try to eat before I take my pills with very small sips of water. Pills taken on an empty stomach may come up. I'm eating 3-4 T at meals that go well for me (that is, no stress, which makes eating any more impossible and leaves me sick for an hour or two). I tend around 30-40g protein a day from a variety of sources: lactaid milk, yogurts, cheeses, finely ground beef, beans, meatballs cooked in soup, soft tofu, and egg. I do not avoid carbohydrates, as I feel better when I eat a balanced diet. I eat 5-6 very small meals a day (some as small as a tablespoon of yogurt or a small skim string cheese). I often add nutritional yeast to savory foods to increase protein and B-12. My carbohydrate intake tends to be slow-burning low glycemic index (oatmeal, berry, beans combined with high protein rice, fresh apple sauce with no additives, a bit of high protein pancake...) The exception is that I do occasionally eat some white rice, always combined with a protein, and I have had no crash and burn. I have also had ice cream and sorbet in very reasonable amounts that fit within my plan with no ill effects or delay in weight loss. With the restriction I've felt from my sleeve, I average 350 calories a day with my highest day just under 500 and my lowest day 0. I registered my greatest weight loss after the 500 calorie day and felt my best, so I'm working up to that as a second month goal. Here's what I won't be eating again for a while due to nausea and/or vomiting: Full fat dairy, lentils, ginger (go figure!), oral B vitamin, whey protein Here's what I won't be consuming again for a while ever due to migraine strong enough to punch through the botox*: Aspartame, sucralose Here's what I won't be eating again for a while due to changes in taste: Ginger, cheddar cheese, V8, melon (with the exception of watermelon) I haven't felt the kind of "hey, I'm kinda hungry" hunger I felt before surgery since then, but If I skip a meal or two, my stomach will gurgle, and if I've missed 3 or more meals, I tend to feel a bit dizzy, headachey, exhausted, and/or fuzzy-headed. Fair enough. If I don't eat a balanced diet (for me: too much protein or fat), I feel generally unwell, but I can power through. No dumping syndrome or anything related. Just lots and lots of water nausea that leaves me out of action for an hour or two when it hits. I've also had a couple of bouts of stress tummy which results in worse nausea, a fever, and, strangely, intolerance to light, so maybe migraine, too. It lasts about an hour. I've always had a stomach sensitive to stress, but the surgery has made that worse. Oh, and the best reason not to cheat? That's down to my doctor. who cheerfully told me all about some of his patients who had advanced too soon or cheated (fits through a straw on full liquid does NOT mean fits through a boba straw) and did rupture the staple line. It's fragile while it's healing the first month or so, especially. Will it happen to everyone? No. But it COULD happen to you. And then you spend a miserable (up to a) year in the hospital being operated on, in pain, possibly dying, and guaranteed not eating those tasty things you thought were ok just a little early and felt fine at the time. Was it tall tale hyperbole to keep me on the straight and narrow. Mmmmmmnnnnnnnpossibly. But I know he wasn't joking, and I'd rather not risk it. Would you? And last, but not least, here's a random picture of my dog discovering Bones Are A Thing That Exists In The World and elevating, on the spot, to a higher level of doggy existence: *I have incapacitating migraines that have been unsuccessfully controlled with medications. Botox was the next step, and it's working great as long as I avoid my worst triggers. (Bright sun, aspartame, sucralose, non-natural cleaning products) 10/10 would recommend.

Wow...i am almost 6 weeks post RNY and i can only get about 70 grams of protein and 500 calories if I am lucky...still having trouble tolerating alot of variety of foods...so pretty much just yogurt, cottage cheese, canned chicken and beans..any other suggestions...only losing about 3.5-4 pounds a week...

You're doing great! I was on my feet (standing still), for 3-hours yesterday morning and I was exhausted for the rest of the day. I think taking a 3 mile hike is amazing -- I'm keeping to a mile on those days I have the energy to take a walk. I'm doing 20-minutes on the recumbent bike on hill mode and I'm going to increase it to 30-minutes this week. I'm concerned about my lack of energy, but everyone's different I guess. I wish I weren't hungry. I'm really sick of the shakes and my plan allows me some mushies now. I've been having refried beans mixed with low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese and I feel guilty for eating it, even though it tastes delicious. On Tuesday I move to more solid foods -- I can eat things like chopped meat and chopped chicken or turkey, tuna fish, mushy veggies, etc. I'm looking forward to getting some veggies into my body. I really need to figure out the difference between hunger and cravings. Bunny

Thank you for responding - that's very helpful! I have some low/zero fat greek yogurts in the fridge and will try eating them earlier in the day.

Yoplait Greek yogurt is 14 grams of protein is has been filling for me, as well.

Looking for suggestions about how to deal with this hollowed out feeling of hunger I am experiencing six days post-op. My surgery was on 4/18 (Tuesday) and have experienced some ups & downs with nausea, which I still need meds to deal with. However, my actual pain experience is getting better every day. I'm back home and my largest issues seems to be hunger, which I totally didn't expect. My doctor wants me to stay on a full liquids diet until day 7 & then easing into pureed food, so I've been following those directions. I hit approximately 60 grams Protein yesterday & have been careful about making sure that I'm getting at least 48 oz in daily liquids, aiming for 64 oz. I was in hospital until Friday mid-day & had a very hard time consuming the protein shakes, yogurt & soup I was given while in hospital, but I was pretty vigilant about the liquids and also on IV through Thursday night. Unlike others here tho actual food does not nauseate me now that I'm bak home - I can eat no-fat yogurt, broth, blended soups etc. and drink my protein shakes. But I am still hungry.I Is this hunger just a reaction to not having really eaten for a few days last week? I really thought my appetite would be checked by the surgery. For what it's worth I seem to have lost 5 lbs but assume that is mostly Water weight. Thanks for any insights you have!

Since my doctor didn't give a pre op diet other than "eat lots of lean meats and liquids" I sort of came up with my own. Breakfast: Oatmeal (made with fairlife and protein) or a protein smoothie. Midmorning snack: hard boiled egg Lunch: Protein smoothie Dinner: Low carb, high protein meal -one low fat, low sugar greek yogurt (Oikos triple zero, etc) -unlimited broth Evening snack- sugar free jello or protein shake if I'm below 1200 calories. (going with the macros for that amount as well, so 75 carbs, 135 protein and 40fat) Best I can really come up with. I can't seem to bring myself to be as restrictive as some of the assigned pre op diets out there. I know it's coming after though. No delusions here. Trying not to let myself get to worked up about it though. "I can do this" is my mantra for the next...4+ weeks.

I wasn't feeling well at all this morning. It wasn't until I told my husband about my symptoms (queasy, dizzy, etc.), that he said "Sounds like dehydration to me." I drank some G2 and I felt much better. However, we had company this morning for 3-hours and I was absolutely exhausted after they left. I was so tired, my eyes were burning. I had to take it easy for the rest of the day -- I had no energy to do a thing. We need to remember to drink, drink, and drink our fluids. I'm on liquids and a few mushy foods (cottage cheese, yogurt, canned fruit, refried beans). On Tuesday, I can add some solids into my diet. Hopefully, I'll feel restriction then, because I don't feel it much now. Bunny

i've had a lot of success with those 2.5 oz tuna and salmon pre-flavored packets, ground chicken with taco seasoning and some cheddar cheese, re-fried beans, egg salad, smoked salmon with capers and cream cheese, scrambled eggs and a fage yogurt for breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. it's a good enough variety and super tasty. glad you're feeling great! keep up the good work.

I do the PB2 powder. I put it in my yogurt. I love it!!

Fear is OK. You are making a major life change which will have wide reaching affects on your daily existence. However, thousands of people have done this before you and will do it after you. What those of us who have been on both sides of the bench can tell you is that you have to have your head in the right place. You have to be committed to doing this and FOLLOWING YOUR TEAM"S INSTRUCTIONS! As for in the hospital, you will have gas. If you walk, the gas will go away. Pretty simple. Make sure you bring a bathrobe so you don't flash the hallways as you do your laps. If you deviate from your post-op diet, you could wind up very ill and having to have another surgery. Your stomach will take 6-8 weeks to heal, which is why the post-op diet is so regimented. You need to give your body time to heal and for the swelling to go down. In terms of what to eat, your team will give you a detailed plan of what to eat. Follow it. For my team, after leaving the hospital I was on full liquids - yogurt, sugar free pudding and jello, strained soups (no solids), creamed soups, protein shakes and water. My goal was 60/64 -- 60 grams of protein and 64 ounces of water daily. It took about a week to get there. I was on that for two weeks and then moved to pureed foods -- think baby food consistency. I had two weeks of that and them moved to soft foods -- scrambled eggs, soft white fish, tuna salad, etc. Then at 6 weeks, regular diet, as tolerated. Your team's plan may be different. Do what your team says. I'm now 8 months out -- almost 90 pounds down -- and pretty much eat whatever I cook for my family. I've lost 72% of my excess body weight - I'd like to lose another 30 before I move into maintenance. Today, for breakfast, I had two eggs and a piece of whole wheat toast. I'm not too hungry, but I know I need to eat some lunch - so I'll have a yogurt. I average about 80-90 grams of protein daily on 1000 calories. I work out 4-5 times a week, including a total of 4 hours of fencing and another 2 days in the gym. It's OK to be afraid. But you need to get your head in the right place. I think all of us had a bout of nerves before surgery.

At your stage, all I concerned myself with was meeting my protein goal and my water goal. IME, if you get the protein where your program wants it, the rest will follow in the first 6-9 months. I'm a big dairy consumer, plain greek yogurt is a must in my diet. Before I was able to consume slightly larger amounts, I always mixed unflavored protein powder into my foods....into the yogurt, into refried beans (another lifesaver in the first 6 months for me), and I still put a scoop in my coffee every morning. I made the ricotta bake from Eggface's website and added protein powder after I cooked it. I try to eat pretty clean, don't use protein shakes or bars any longer...beef jerky is the one over-processed food I still eat. It really satisfies me, and it travels well in my purse/car. If you can eat meats already and tolerate them well, tuna is great...those pouches are so easy to rip open, squirt a bit of mayo or a spoon of plain yogurt in and you've got lunch or dinner. I also eat salmon or steelhead at least once a week and another fish once a week, usually cod or whatever is fresh at the fish market. Pork and beef are hard for me, even at 10 months, but chicken sits pretty well. Grilled chicken thigh with ras el hanout seasoning is my new obsession, with some kale or chard alongside.

Hey there. I'm on day 3 of LRD. My plan sounds similar to yours. We are allowed 2 oz. or protein and 1 cup of green veggies for dinner. With lunch shake we can have a "snack" of 1/2 cup of yogurt or applesauce, then another snack before the dinner. We can also have sugar free jello and ice pops. I'm someone who does well with consistency and few choices. So I actually opted to do all shakes. I'm doing 4 a day. It's hardest for me at night so I have some jello and last night had 2 sugar free ice pops. I also had the Unjury protein chicken soup for dinner instead of a shake. I agree, you need something that isn't cold and sweet sometimes. It tasted good but the water was too hot so I clumped up. Tonight I'll try the Bariatric Advantage brand chicken soup. Weighed myself this morning and down 5.8 lbs in two days on LRD. When it gets hard and I'm hungry, I just remind myself of what this is all for. I want to make sure I remove any barriers to a good outcome by doing my part. I can't believe how close it is to the day.

- Sleeved Thursday around 8am - Loaded on morphine 10mg all Thurs and into Friday afternoon - Friday had barium/fluo done, and some other leak test - Started off with ice water Friday afternooni to see if can tolerate fluids - Did fine on two 10ml cups, so went onto a full glass of ice water.. annihilated it easily w/constant sips - Cleared for full fluids, onto SF jello, non SF popsicles, tomato soup, etc. - Given first dose of liquid tylenol and liquid codeine - Had drainage removed and other stuff + lots of take-home info plus prescriptions for liquid tylenol+codeine, milk of magnesia, pantaloc 40mg, etc. - Left for home Friday around 8pm - Took some codeine/tylenol, went to bed - Wake up around 5am Saturday and have first BM, liquid and dark dark brownish (could be mistaken for black) - Try to go back to sleep, wake up, dizzy, gas pains, go have another toilet destroying BM, drink water, go back to sleep - Wake up, Drink water, have yogurt drink, applesauce w/beneprotein, tylenol/codeine.. - Will be taking daily meds, confirmed I can crush/cut metformin but no need to cut pantaloc. The real work begins.

I use Isopure unflavored protein powder and it's no carb and sugar free. It's great because you can mix it into drinks such as Crystal Light, Powerade Zero and my favorite, decaf iced tea. You can also mix it into foods like cream soups, broth, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.

When you eat the yogurt and other things, are you eating slowly? If it's a small yogurt, it might be normal to be able to eat the whole thing. The thing to keep in mind is that you want to eat very slowly so that you know exactly when enough is enough. I personally could not have eaten a whole small yogurt at 10 days post op. As far as the drinking goes, I never had any problems at all with drinking since day 1. I was getting in my 64 ounces plus almost from day one. A lot of people have trouble with that, so it's great that you are doing so well with it. Congratulations on your surgery!

Me too it just seems weird that I can eat that much yogurt or jello all at once with no problems

Shelbymarie18: i was also just sleeved on the 11th. Im not necessarily hungry but I seem to have no problems drinking, eating a decent amount at one time, meaning yogurt or jello. I too wonder if this is all normal.

I had my sleeve done on the 11th of April. Everything went really well, not much pain at all. However Im not sure if this is normal for 10 days post op. I am having no problem drinking or eating. Example, I can eat entire yogurt in one sitting. I also seem to be able to take decent size of sips at one given time. I would love to hear from others. Is this normal?

I'd also drop the banana. When I was dieting (South Beach, Atkins, etc) I found that fruit was almost impossible for me. Even low glycemic fruits would stop my weight loss immediately. At 6.5 weeks post-op I couldn't handle grains or veg, or "big" servings, so I was also doing the 2 ounce, frequent meal thing. I still struggle with quantity so often have to choose between protein or veg- and I am 31 weeks (more than 6 months) post-op. If you want to increase your protein consumption, stick to protein foods. Any meat, cheese, fish, eggs, tofu, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, etc. I understand why you choose to avoid deli meats; I only use them because they are convenient, and I look for the lowest sodium, least processed options. Usually I cook a small chicken, ham, etc. over the weekend and keep portions of the meat bagged up, ready to grab when I am in a hurry. Regarding peanut butter, I find it helpful to have in the cabinet. I grab a spoonful if I am in a hurry or feeling low. Lots of options, but buying natural pb means I can pour off part of the oil to lower the calories. My daughter has PB with chia and flax in it; I need to find out what the brand is, as it was tasty and filling (1T). I also have the powdered PB2 that I mix with water. It tastes pretty good and has only 1.5g of fat (enough for flavor/satiety but with a minimal calorie hit). I am not sure why people want to "get off" protein shakes- is there too much "crap" in them? I am still drinking my Syntrax Nectar once a day to help with my protein intake. I mix it with unsweetened vanilla almond milk (can't stand skim milk). This stuff is pretty clean- just whey protein isolate, flavor, some lecithin, and sweetener. List of ingredients is FAR shorter than the list on the ready-to-drink products. My Nut is 100% behind me drinking these, to maintain my protein levels. IN fact, she is the one who suggested using this as my mid-morning snack/meal.

If you can get the eggs to work now, omelets are a big go to for me. I usually do one egg, cheese and turkey sausage or something along those lines and that gives a little extra protein. I also go a greek yogurt as a snack because that packs a big protein punch. I'm currently trying to phase out my protein supplements at the encouragement of my NUT. I'm 16wks out.