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On the flip side.... I have to chuckle at the responses here. Most are from those that openly admitted to hating protein shakes and wanting "real" food. To each his own. Hahaha! I may be in the minority here along with @waterwoman I'm 1 1/2 years out and still drink protein shakes. In fact just last night. I made one that tastes just like a strawberry shake. Way healthier than eating ice cream. I think if you struggle with eating real foods early on like I did and still do on occasion, the shakes are a godsend. When I have a day where food does not agree with me I go to my shake to get my protein in for the day. Forcing food to meet a daily quota is bad if you can't keep it down or you end up making yourself sick. As for total meal replacements? It has it's place in this journey. For a time. Although I have drank my fair share of them, I have always tried the foods suggested for each phase. You will find that some days the food goes well and another not so much. And if not, I will revisit that food later on down the line and drink my shake. It's a long slow process but I've come to a place that most foods are tolerable for me now but I still have those days where my protein drink is my best friend. LOL

Egg Drop was my first take out item post-op but I waited till soft food stage to eat it. My program didn't have a puree phase. I did cheat a bit by using a Vitamix and totally liquifying some soups. But as @Arabesque said, wait until your Bariatric team OKs you for the puree stage then either strain or liquefy. I was also concerned about the amount of fat added to Egg Drop from my local Chinese restaurant but it didn't seem to effect me. It tasted wonderful! You can also make your own using some chicken bouillon or broth and dropping an egg into it. GL and congrats on your surgery!

I'm now 4 weeks post op. I'm not really in any pain except my hip which is unrelated. I'm about to start the soft foods phase,. I'm nervous about when I will start solid foods because solid foods are what helped me get big in the first place. I have my ne month review with my surgical team in the 7th of November.

No! No! No! Besides why would you? Let’s be honest. We enjoy eating. The smell, the textures, the flavours, the look and sometimes the sound of food ( like the crunch of an apple) is appealing & gives us pleasure. We celebrate with food. We share food with loved ones. We give thanks with food. Why would you sacrifice that to drink a protein shake for every meal? Yes, you may be prescribed shakes in your pre surgical diet and you will be prescribed them for usually 2 weeks after surgery. The pre surgery shakes are to increase your weight loss to improve your surgical success odds & to shrink your liver so the surgeon can see the surgical field more easily. Post surgery it’s to support your healing & not strain your digestive system (remember all those sutures & stables holding it together). Short term reliance on shakes. The goals of the surgery include you changing your relationship with food and establishing a healthy, nutritionally dense, sustainable way of eating. Drinking shakes for any extended period of time is simply not sustainable. It’s not nutritionally sound, only gives more power to cravings, creates new bad relationships with food and will highly likely result in weight regain & poor health. Key word here is supplement. If you are struggling to get your protein in via the real food you eat, sure a protein shake can be beneficial as a supplement to your earring. Same with any vitamin or supplement. If your body is lacking in specific vitamin or minerals, sure take a supplement but they should never be what you totally rely on to get the nutrients your body needs to function unless you have a specific medical condition that means you can not eat real, solid food. I never touched another shake after I began purées (start of week 3). My goal was always to get all the nutrients I needed through real food. And I do. I don’t even take vitamins now (except in winter when I have a dip in my vitamin D - I feel the cold so hibernate in winter & rug up if I have to go out so little sunlight for me then). Ask your nutritionalist, surgeon & GP. I bet they agree with all of us.

As others have said, absolutely not. Fruit, veg, and lean protein is essential to good health. I had protein shakes for the two weeks before surgery to shrink my liver, and for the first few weeks after as my insides healed. I would never want to rely on them beyond that. I can't even imagine how horrible and unfulfilling that would be. I've continued to have maybe one shake a day as a supplement when it's difficult to hit my protein goals. Tonight I'm having a protein hot chocolate from Premier Protein because it's chilly outside and a nice treat. But mostly I eat real, minimally processed foods. It's important to remember that supplements and vitamins and minerals are only able to provide the nutrients we know about, the ones scientists have discovered are directly responsible for diseases and disorders if you don't get them. But there are countless thousands of compounds in natural foods that we need and that are absent from shakes and supplements because they haven't been studied. The only way to get that is to eat a wide variety of real whole foods.

It’s possible whoever told you this meant short term as in the immediate preop and early post op period. Or meant you can supplement/augment protein needs with shakes in addition to food but your bariatric team will move you through food stages and require you eat actual foods.

Ahh today is our weekend and was at my in laws from lunch and I got comfortable with food.. had abit of rice for lunch and dinner i had lasagna and also i had a piece of cheese cake and well my stomach ain't happy. I'm chilling in the toilet!! Tbh, I like to be "punished" when I know i over did. It was a good reminder to yo eat food but don't over do it!!

Same. I'm not great at eating slowly even after surgery. It takes 20-30 minutes for me to eat, but its supposed to take more like 45. I enjoy playing a phone game or reading while I'm eating to slow me down. I will say I make much more of an effort to chew my food a lot more and this has helped me slow down a lot (it has also pretty much turned me off eating plain deli meat, because the texture gets too gross when over chewed). Some times I will even step away from the table/meal for a while and then come back if I am still hungry. Just adding my 2 cents, but I think you have a lot of good information to help you @Neostarwcc I'm going to try to incorporate more of these myself.

Absolutely not. Not enough calories, carbs, nutrients. That's basically a starvation diet, and we don't support that here. You need food. For various reasons. The protein shakes are supplements, not complete meal replacements.

my parents did, but they were not prepared to face off with my super-master level of stubbornness: they would tell me i could not leave the table unless i finished the food on my plate, but i would stay at that effing table for HOURS, not eating...even falling asleep a few times, i remember, just refusing to eat whatever was on that effing plate. after a while (months? years?) instead of making me sit at the table, they would make me do chores as a punishment instead. whatever. i did the chores. better than eating those disgusting brussel sprouts (spoiler alert: i love brussel sprouts now, lol), but i make them better than my parents did, so...) fast forward to today, and i always remind my Kid that she doesn't have to finish the food in front of her if she is done. if you don't want to eat, you don't have to eat, man.

Hi guys, I wondered if any of you have decided to completely given up conventional food and have protein / meal replacement shakes instead post op. I have heard that this is absolutely fine to do as long as you are taking your supplements and drinking plenty of water. What's your thoughts/experiences?

I never got an advice on "mindful eating" until AFTER I was a week post-op. I had a total of 15 minutes with a therapist pre-op. I have had to go back to staying on liquids because I just can't stop eating too quickly when it's purees. Even yoghurt is too heavy. It's definitely better to get in the habit now. I still haven't mastered it.

@NickelChip is on totally on point. I cannot stress the importance of asking yourself do you need this next bite or do you just want this. If you just want it put your fork down. If you’re about to put that mouthful in your mouth out of habit, put the fork down. Even if your response is I don’t know put your fork down & wait. In a couple of minutes try again & if the answer yes, I need it take the bite. Of course you have to really consider the difference between wanting & needing. I started practising this from my surgery (so 5,5yrs ago) & still do it. Been extremely helpful. Slowing your eating is based on the fact it least. 20 minutes for the message to get through to your head that you’ve had enough. If you are a fast eating, eating mouthful after mouthful, by the time the signal you’ve had enough registers you’ve eaten way too much. Notice I say enough not full. Enough is the goal. Enough is what your body needs to function. Full or over full is usually the volume of food to make you feel good or better or happier or whatever. Some hints & tips to incorporate which can help. Buy yourself some small cutlery. Baby forks and spoons, cocktail forks, sporks or similar. (I think almost everyone uses smaller cutlery after surgery but you could start now.) They will make your spoonful smaller and slow your eating. if you haven’t yet, get hold of some smaller bowls & plates. Will help to keep your portions the correct size and can make you think you’re eating more because the smaller plate is full. I used ramekins, tapas plates, side plates while losing & now use entree/appetiser plates (9in dia). So still no dinner plates for me. After putting food on your cutlery, push some off so the fork and spoon aren ‘t full. Try sending timelines for smaller portions of your meal. Like, I’ll take 10 minutes to eat a quarter of my meal. If you eat it before ten minutes, wait before starting the next quarter. Or, try cutting up your meat (depending on your meal) first. Count how many pieces and work out how often you can eat a piece. I still do this type of portioning. Right now I’m eating some crackers with a topping for lunch. I eat one cracker every ten minutes. Sometime I wait longer but never more quickly. If you are eating with others, put your cutlery down when they are talking and don’t take a bite until they have finished or someone adds to the conversation. You become a good listener & distracts you from eating. I live alone & didn’t like using a timer so I used to set other guideline. If watching tv, take a bite with an ad or a scene change or similar. If playing on line game like solitaire, play a game before taking a bite. If reading, take a bite after reading a certain number of pages. Between bites, put your cutlery down, and sit back from the table so you're not leaning on the table. Sure others may have some tips as well. All the best.

It's not that we're trying to pick on you or force you to justify yourself. But honestly, what you're saying doesn't make sense. How is it your insurance covered your surgery and a panni but won't cover you for organ failure? How are you not in the hospital now? If your organs are shutting down, no way would they have just sent you home. I work in healthcare, and we've sent people to the hospital for way less than that. I would suggest eating carb and calorie dense slider foods. Mashed potatoes are great for that. Add sour cream and butter. There's a lot of stuff you can have that will add weight. I've been struggling to get my weight up, but adding protein shakes, avocado on nearly everything I can, slider foods, etc... And eat every 2-3 hours during the day and the evening before you go to bed. You shouldn't have to get up through the night to eat.

Have you seen a bariatric specialist? It sounds like something other than a small pouch to me I am over 6 years out, but I still have a lot of restriction. My capacity for the last 5+ years has held steady at about 4 oz. So a small frozen burrito, a taco bell taco, etc. But that does not restrict the amount I can eat in a day, and certainly not necessary to stay up at night. Is there a reason you can't eat slider foods, calorie dense foods, eat more frequently?

BlondePatriotinCDA- I have been tracking my food and beverages until yesterday I was eating 500-600 calories a day for the last year waking up at night is the only way I am able to increase my intake. My symptoms aside from low calorie intake was severe hair loss, extreme fatigue like I could only be awake for a few hours at a time. I have epilepsy with medication I typically have 1 seizure a month, suddenly I was having severe a week. My mood also changed I am usually a very happy bubble person and my thoughts and emotions started going to a very dark place. I lost the ability to think clearly, could not even watch a 30 min show without losing g focus. I was snapping at everyone and I had a general unwell feeling and I started to get back pain and upper stomach pain. Then my blood pressure dropped low.

Did anyone else grow up with parents who told you to clean your plate/not waste food?!?! I still really struggle with this. I dislike when I portion out food and then feel like I can't finish it, especially if I have already logged it in my app. I definitely have to fight with my brain to just put it in the fridge and finish it later, if I get hungry. I actually think eating out helps with this because I know I'm going to not finish a whole plate or I share with my husband and he will finish it.

Ok on Ok on the pamphlet she gave me it says chew for 22. It doesn't mention anything else like whether it means chew for 22 seconds or 22 bites it just says chew for 22. Your 1 minute seems a little excessive so I might just go for 22 bites which should last for longer than 22 seconds anyway. 22 bites should take 35-40 seconds which should completely puree the food. One thing that I found helpful last night because my wife works and isn't always around to have a conversation with is turning on the TV and watching it while I'm eating. I know the doctors tell you not to do that but I find it REALLY helpful in eating slower because it's a distraction and it helps me eat slower and make my meals last longer. I tend to not eat more like most people do when watching TV so it really, really helps. My question is though when my meals are a lot smaller how am I possibly supposed to make them last for 20-30 minutes? I barely can make large meals last for 15-20 minutes. I did manage to eat a salad in 20 minutes yesterday while watching TV but it was a big snack sized salad. When my food is basically the size of a golf ball how the heck is that supposed to last for 20-30 minutes? Even with being distracted by talking or watching tv?

Officially 8 weeks and 2 days Post-op and honestly I'm pretty comfortable with my progress though a little disappointed with my hydration. The weight loss is steady, protein intake was a little tricky but I think I got it, and keeping up with physical activity has been smooth. Last month's first follow up with the nutritionist did get under my skin, I questioned returning to my previous vitamins vs these nasty Flinstones...and she went on and on about my calcium, iron and protein levels wouldn't be sufficient due to me not eating meat. I explained I had no problem taking additional calcium or iron IF necessary, and finding new ways to add my protein BUT I wanted to see how my bloodwork came back. She finally conceded in saying "well, you're an adult, if you want to take more vitamins that's your choice". I mean OBVIOUSLY it is my choice and her condescending tone is one of the many reasons I've never cared for nutritionist. Nevertheless, guess who's blood work is PERFECT?! In other news, I will say this ketosis stage, while extremely beneficial... it is giving me the "ick" with side effects, smells, body odor etc... I've introduced some carbs hoping things will balance out but it seems to be a slow process. Uranalysis confirmed I'm still burning ketones sooooo there's that. 🤷🏽‍♀️but when will these side effects end ? Speaking of introducing carbs... I had a small bowl (4 oz) of mac and cheese (chickpea pasta)... this is a true trigger food for me, but I ate it, I enjoyed it and I moved on... it wasn't until the next day, I was thinking wow, I really didn't "Want" another bowl... "I'm good". In the head scratching category... I overheard my co-workers having a convo about individuals on the show "My 600lb life"... DISCLAIMER: I say overheard loosely, there's 3 of us in a small room, they were speaking freely as we usually do but I had my earbuds on and wasn't a part of the beginning of the convo. While I can't say I've ever watched a full episode, I am familiar with the premise of the title as well as what "reality shows" really entail when it comes to production and I'm sure I've caught a snippet of an episode on a meme, commercial etc. They also do not know I've had a procedure. I digress, at some point in the convo, they were both giving their opinions on "how could someone let it get so bad"..." when your pants stop fitting..." "when you're out of breath walking from house to mailbox..." etc. and while I have no doubt that they did not have malicious intentions nor have I personally fit into any of these examples... I suddenly became very offended. I even thought to myself have I lost that much weight that this is how "skinny" people speak freely among you ? (The answer is no, regarding me... I've lost a good amount, but they've known me for several years...at my heaviest). I thought, are they thinking I'm really deep into my work and not paying attention ? (The answer is no, we always engage with each other based off of body language to get the others attention and they were engaging). The answer boiled down to, they were just ignorant to the reasons this could happen to someone and the fact that reality tv has a way of making people look and behave at their worse. So I chimed in with "As a fellow big girl..." and explained to them that food addiction is real, and it's real easy to forget that unlike, drugs and alcohol, people have to eat for survival/nutrition and if you are addicted to such it's easy to forget how someone can "let it get so bad", there are also health issues and medication side effects. They were both receptive and admitted that didn't even consider that thought. We went on to talk about the state of "healthy" food choices, labels, vending machines in schools and all. But I definitely walked away from that convo scratching my head because they are both thin and love to eat and not always the "healthy" stuff... so I'm thinking it didn't occur to you others JUST CAN'T do that. Anyways, it was an experience and I'm glad I had it.

I am so thrilled for your loss and the way you are feeling especially. Just try not to get too wrapped up in making a goal in two weeks. That’s a pretty short timeframe and just a one week stall could prevent you from reaching it. Even though we all know the way our bodies work, you may drop it all two days later. I like to try to predict my loss as well and I know that it has messed with my head a couple of times. Perhaps it’s just me but I get discouraged when I don’t need a goal even though it’s an imaginary one this morning. I was really expecting to drop that few pounds that I usually drop after stalling for a while and gaining a bit, well, I did not even drop one and I felt pretty bummed Until I realized it’s 6 AM and I jumped up the moment the alarm went off and got right into my walking because I was able to sleep at a reasonable hour to fall asleep easily and sleep all through the night waking up refreshed which I haven’t done in years because of all of the changes that have occurred In the last few months. That in itself is a huge win and I don’t want to lose sight of that as I try to achieve these other goals. I am looking forward to getting under 200, getting to overweight instead of obese, reaching my goal, eventually getting to a normal BMI if that’s in the cards for me, and finally reaching my secret goal. I am just really trying to figure out a way to wrap my head around the fact that even if I don’t reach my secret goal or get to a normal BMI, I am still 100 times healthier and happier than I was before. I really really really do not want to lose sight of that. I got so discouraged about 18 pounds with my sleeve that when I started gaining I think I gave up too easily. I still don’t think about the sleeve was the right surgery for me and what my body needed, but I probably could have kept some of the weight off a little longer. anyways, I am really glad that you decided to do what you thought was best for your body and that it is working for you it’s such a shame that these nutritionist are a little bit more helpful to giving more individualized plans. I am off to my surgeons office this morning, and the automated recording that called me said I was in to see the PA and not the NP that I have been seeing. I am really hoping that he gives me the same help with my food to make sure I am on track and my fitness as well. At the very least, I will find out what my labs looked like though I got an email that the results were ready four or five days ago but I decided not to even look. I figured it would only panic me trying to figure everything out on my own and with my anxiety I would’ve worked myself into something that’s not necessary. oh, and I found a local gym that has a lot of classes that look fun and when I added it up will actually be cheaper than what I’m doing now. It’s pretty tiny and when I popped in to the main gym part, it did not really seem my scene but I’m hoping that the classes are different. My friend told me that she would go to check out a class with me Saturday morning and if it seems promising, I’m going to check out a couple more this week. They have a day pass rate They don’t have yoga early in the mornings at this new place, so I probably will still take my yoga class, but even if I did both, it would still be a little less and I would have the added benefit that I could add more classes at the gym since those are unlimited. I really like to exercise every day for now. Eventually, I think I will probably give myself a free day or two, but until I feel like this is absolutely cemented in my brain as my new normal I want to just keep it up daily.

I am so thrilled for your loss and the way you are feeling especially. Just try not to get too wrapped up in making a goal in two weeks. That’s a pretty short timeframe and just a one week stall could prevent you from reaching it. Even though we all know the way our bodies work, you may drop it all two days later. I like to try to predict my loss as well and I know that it has messed with my head a couple of times. Perhaps it’s just me but I get discouraged when I don’t need a goal even though it’s an imaginary one this morning. I was really expecting to drop that few pounds that I usually drop after stalling for a while and gaining a bit, well, I did not even drop one and I felt pretty bummed Until I realized it’s 6 AM and I jumped up the moment the alarm went off and got right into my walking because I was able to sleep at a reasonable hour to fall asleep easily and sleep all through the night waking up refreshed which I haven’t done in years because of all of the changes that have occurred In the last few months. That in itself is a huge win and I don’t want to lose sight of that as I try to achieve these other goals. I am looking forward to getting under 200, getting to overweight instead of obese, reaching my goal, eventually getting to a normal BMI if that’s in the cards for me, and finally reaching my secret goal. I am just really trying to figure out a way to wrap my head around the fact that even if I don’t reach my secret goal or get to a normal BMI, I am still 100 times healthier and happier than I was before. I really really really do not want to lose sight of that. I got so discouraged about 18 pounds with my sleeve that when I started gaining I think I gave up too easily. I still don’t think about the sleeve was the right surgery for me and what my body needed, but I probably could have kept some of the weight off a little longer. anyways, I am really glad that you decided to do what you thought was best for your body and that it is working for you it’s such a shame that these nutritionist are a little bit more helpful to giving more individualized plans. I am off to my surgeons office this morning, and the automated recording that called me said I was in to see the PA and not the NP that I have been seeing. I am really hoping that he gives me the same help with my food to make sure I am on track and my fitness as well. At the very least, I will find out what my labs looked like though I got an email that the results were ready four or five days ago but I decided not to even look. I figured it would only panic me trying to figure everything out on my own and with my anxiety I would’ve worked myself into something that’s not necessary. oh, and I found a local gym that has a lot of classes that look fun and when I added it up will actually be cheaper than what I’m doing now. It’s pretty tiny and when I popped in to the main gym part, it did not really seem my scene but I’m hoping that the classes are different. My friend told me that she would go to check out a class with me Saturday morning and if it seems promising, I’m going to check out a couple more this week. They have a day pass rate They don’t have yoga early in the mornings at this new place, so I probably will still take my yoga class, but even if I did both, it would still be a little less and I would have the added benefit that I could add more classes at the gym since those are unlimited. I really like to exercise every day for now. Eventually, I think I will probably give myself a free day or two, but until I feel like this is absolutely cemented in my brain as my new normal I want to just keep it up daily.

Food. A lot of listeria contamination warnings lately but maybe it has always been this way and I’m just noticing.

Okay, first, once you have the surgery you will not physically be able to eat that fast without throwing up and/or being miserable with pain. So you'll learn real quick to slow down when the time comes. Trust me. In the meantime, here is what you do to practice and start training yourself. First, if you can, make a commitment to only eat from a real plate while sitting at an actual table for the next two weeks. No eating standing up in the kitchen with two minutes to go before you have to leave or grabbing a handful of something from the pantry as you walk past. Second, get yourself a timer. It can be a kitchen one, or one of those little sand ones that go for a minute, or just the timer on your phone. Whatever works. When you sit down to eat, take a small bite of food. This means something about the size of your thumbnail, or even half that size. Set the timer for one minute. Put your fork and knife down. Chew. Keep chewing. Chew more than you have ever chewed before in your life. Your food will be like paste. You should feel no lumps in your mouth. At this point, swallow. If there is time left on your timer, sit and wait. Only when the timer goes off do you pick up the fork for another bite. Before you take that bite, ask yourself if you feel like you need another bite. Presurgery, your answer is probably going to be yes. But post surgery, this is a point where you might start to think wait, I feel pretty satisfied. This is when you want to stop eating, because with a limited capacity, you will fill up really fast and might overshoot and feel ill. If that's all you do, you will be fine. If you want to be more mindful, ask yourself some questions as you eat. Maybe ask what you like about this food and think about that. Think about the texture and taste. Think about how your body is responding to eating. Do you feel tense? Are you relaxed? Are you feeling any emotions as you start eating, and do those emotions shift as you eat? Use some of your time between bites to write down some observations. You don't really have to do all of that, but on the other hand, you might be surprised by what you learn if you do. Also, I will say that I struggled a lot with this presurgery but the slow eating is second nature now. When I forget, I don't feel well, so I have a lot of incentive to slow down. You will too! Just do what you can to practice now so your nutritionist is happy with your progress. I will almost guarantee if you keep a notebook for the next week or two with what you ate and when, how long it took from start to finish, and some reflections on the food and how your body was feeling while you ate, you will pass with flying colors.

Sure. She was concerned that I was eating too fast when I told her that I was eating my meals within like 5-10 minutes. She said that I can't do that with the surgery because not only will I be miserable with vomiting and diarrhea and nausea and the like but I likely would undo the gastric sleeve surgery. She said I should aim for eating my meals in 20-30 minutes preferably 30-40. This seems like an impossible goal for me especially when I see her again in just 2 weeks. She also wants me to savor each bite and focus on the food or something like that. I don't really understand it to be completely honest with you. Mostly I just wanted to work on eating slower over the next two weeks so that when I do get the surgery I don't get sick and undo the surgery and "pass" with her so I can get the surgery. I can fake my way out of the mindfulness part of it or just tell her that it won't work for me and if it's a crucial part of the surgery than maybe bariatric surgery isn't the right option for me.

Grief is one of my favorite topics next to food post and weekly wins. I grieve often, maybe daily. Today i am in mourning as I sat down to eat after a couple of bites I was full! I could scream. The pouch is like an unruly child. Some days cooperate some days not 😡