Search the Community

Hi, I'm so sorry you are having such a hard time. I know this will sound so mechanical but it will get better. First, call your Dr for something to help with your nausea. There is no reason to feel so bad. I use a nonflavored Protein Drink called GENEPRO. I add it to my espresso every day. You need to get your nausea under control. Focus on getting your fluids in and push that protein hard. It doesn't take long for us to dehydrate. Are you sick before or after you eat or drink? Check with your Dr. You could have a Stricture. ( kind of like scar tissue) not to worry if it is there is an easy fix. They do an Endoscope and use a balloon to dilate your Stoma. Not trying to make problems where there isn't one but explore all of your options. Take care and keep us posted on how you are doing. BTW I also have Fibromylgia and my surgery has actually helped me some. So that might be something that helps you too.

For all of you who don't like, or cannot eat, Protein shakes, try GENEPRO. I bought it on amazon.com. One little scoop (about a rounded tablespoon) is all you need to get 30 g of protein. It is Water soluble, just like Benefiber or Miralax. You can put it in just about everything and not taste it...your morning yogurt, cottage cheese, mash it in with enough hamburger for one patty and grill it, put it on your salad, etc. The possibilities are endless. It does add a slight flavor to water, which isn't a bad taste, it just a funny taste. Now I mix it in with my daily Sobe Lifewater or Fuze Slenderize water. I really feel less tied to protein shakes (powdered or canned) since I have found this great product.

GenePro makes a pretty good unflavored that you can add to broth. I like the syntrax as well. I bought 2 cases of premier protein and was gagging at the thought of them after day 5. Nashua Nutrition has samples for 2$ a scoop. Good Luck!!! You can do it!!

I started drinking coffee right after surgery. In fact, it was one of the liquids offered to me at the surgical center which surprised me. I've never had a problem with it. I usually add a scoop of Genepro protein powder in the morning to my cup for the extra protein. I live in the Seattle area and we are definitely fond of our coffee here!

Hi everyone. Coming up on day 7 post op. Down 13 pounds. Very little pain and overall feeling good except for one thing- I AM SO HUNGRY! Everyone says we should not be hungry but I know what I'm feeling is physical hunger. All day I think and dream about food. Not even super fatty food. Just a bite of chicken breast or a cucumber would make me happy. I'm dreaming about the purée stage at this point. I've been getting my liquids and Protein in but that only totals to about 200-300 calories a day. I've been adding GENEPRO to almost everything I consume to get my protein in. shakes started making me sick and I'm even allowed yogurt and SF pudding. Taking a PPI twice a day. What should I do??? I don't feel like this is normal. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

My sleeve surgery is March 28. I know I will have to supplement with protein powder, I have already purchased genepro powder. How have you fellow vegetarians gotten all your protein? Especially when at liquid & mushy stage? Is it OK if almost all my protein comes from supplement? I would Iike to know what all of you are eating...

I'm over 4 years out and I definitely can eat more than in the beginning. NOT like I ae before my RNY by no means. I still eat small amounts. My morning I have 2 cups of black coffee and then I fix me an Espresso with added GENEPRO nonflavored Protein. ( BTW there are some that don't care for GENEPRO please check with your DR) I love it. Every blood test results have been great, but others on here are not fans. Lunch I have some mixed nuts, maybe a banana or frozen grapes in the afternoon. Dinner I have a half sandwich made with a little mayo 1 slice of chopped ham and 1 slice of swiss cheese or a Tamale, Chili beans or a homemade burrito made with refried (spicy) Beans, cheese onions, and some sour cream. My the HEALTHY wholegrain bread. My burrito is made with low-fat low carb tortillas. Sometimes I have a salad with lots of veggies and tuna added. I feel bad that I can't eat too much salad and then it goes bad before I can get it ate. But sometimes I just have to eat a salad. I miss the big everything salad. LOL Actually, I eat pretty much whatever I want just in Moderation. I say everyone has to find their NEW NORMAL. Have a great one!! And Happy Holidays!!

I use Genepro Medical Grade protein powder. I add a scoop of it to certain foods when I need to get my protein in. There is no taste to it. I mix it first in a small amount of liquid to get the clumps out then I mix it in whatever I put it in. I liked premiere choc protein shakes before surgery and still do. I have one a day. I use Genepro protein powder as a fill in. I bought my Genepro Medical Grade protein powder on Amazon. It delivered the same day - I was surprised. It comes in a small bag with 30 servings. I hope that helps.

Spitfireash I made broth and put mushrooms and green onion in it just to give myself something to chew on. The mushrooms and green onion has very little to no calories....even my son snd hubby loved it. I lost 11 lbs in 10 days before surgery. I also purchased Genepro protein and put it in everything!! My soup, water bottle, and even the jello I made. That seriously helps with hunger! Drank about 3-4 protein shakes a day so with all the protein I never felt hungry although I’m not going to lie, the first week was tough just because my brain wanted to eat although I wasn’t hungry. Let me know if you have additional questions. Im two days post-op and this is the worst I’ve felt so far. Terrible headache (yes I’m getting all my water in and then some)....I hope it gets better throughout this week.

I agree genepro. I found it on a recommendation almost a year ago on this site. If you do a search of unflavored protein powder you will be able to read recommendations from other sleevers on this site. Good luck.

This is a bit of a vent and a lot of questions... I'm concerned I'm not eating enough. I'm 3 weeks out and on soft foods. I've just recently had my surgeon change my acid pills because I was having terrible heartburn that inflamed my sleeve. I'm a bit better now, but I don't think I'm eating enough, and I'm not sure I'm doing this right. Yesterday, I measured out 1/3 cup of cottage cheese with some crushed up pears for Breakfast. I try to eat only about 1 tsp a minute or so, but each one makes my sleeve contract in pain. By 5 tsp or so, I'm full and tired of the pain so I stop. I can't drink my Protein shakes because they are just too sweet. I'm going to try my GENEPRO unflavored in a bit of chocolate milk today. Anyway, I ate 3 ounces of refried Beans for lunch which took me 15 minutes or so because of the pain, and then dinner I had 1/2 cup of roast beef hash which went down nicely but was way too much by the end. I even tried to eat a pudding with genepro in it to get my protein in but I'm too full and uncomfortable after half of the snack pack. I totaled 545 calories yesterday and 50g of protein which I know is not enough. Should I just eat way slower and keep trying to get this food in, or is it ok to be this low? I'm having such a hard time telling "full" from the pain because every bite of food that isn't liquid makes my sleeve contract in pain, and it does this the whole time I eat. I don't really know when to stop because I know I can't be full from one small bite, so when am I supposed to stop?? I'm feeling so confused and discouraged. I'm losing weight, but I am not eating enough to have any energy, and I've been feeling terrible the last few days. I'm supposed to walk 2 miles a day, but how can I do that when I'm barely eating anything??

@@brather You need to transition to unflavored Protein and incorporate it into the foods you're eating. You can add it to any hot or cold beverage, Soups, soft foods, yogurts, etc. There are many brands like Quest, Isopure, Syntrax, GENEPRO, as well as powders made from plant Proteins, too.

Those shakes are making me so sick too. I add GENEPRO unflavored Protein to yogurt, sf pudding , Soup and cottage. cheese. It's 30 grams of protein for 1 scoop Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hey Everyone, I just had my surgery on Dec. 8th and I read on here that if you call the Genepro flavorless protein powder phone number you can get a free sample, does anyone have that number or know where I can get it? I don't want to buy a whole bag and not like it, even though everyone says it's great!

Hi all! I'm newly in the puree stage (woohoo!), and I'm not entirely sure how often I should be eating. For example, this morning for Breakfast I had maybe a 1/4 cup (if that) of cream of wheat made with GENEPRO. I saved the other portion (about half) and went back to have it about 2 hours later. I don't normally have a midmorning snack, but I really wanted to get in the whole 15g of Protein. How often do you guys eat? I don't want my protein Quest to become a grazing habit, and I'm not feeling hunger yet because I'm not far enough out.

Sleeved 09/06/16. Started 266 pre-op. Funny, at my post op apt now waiting to be seen by the surgeon. Lost 79lbs so far. Biggest challenges: 1. hair loss 2. Iron deficiency, 3. Not getting enough Protein in my diet. 4. Feel tired Food: 1. Love lactose free milk w/ decaf coffee2. Roasted chicken 3. Avocados 4. Kind bars 5. eggs 6. Peanut Butter 7. Spinach-cooked. 8. GENEPRO great stuff! Scared to eat salad. Will wait until 6 months post to try. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

My surgery's tomorrow. I got broths, a selection of ready-made and powered protein, some sugar-free vitamin water, those sugar-free water flavor drops (Mio, Crystal light, etc.), sugar-free jello, sugar-free popsicles, cream soups to strain, and sugar-free pudding. Oh, and Genepro unflavored protein. We'll see how it goes!

Genepro protein powder is a little pricey but perfect for you to put in your food. No taste and it's a really small scoop compared to others! Sent from my SM-G965U using BariatricPal mobile app

I haven't used that one. But I did like ATKINS, Rich, and Dark Chocolate MYOPLEX. But a good nonflavored protein is GENEPRO. You can mix it with anything you want to, I put it in my Espresso every day. It is a good nonflavored protein, in fact, it is the only one that I have tried that didn't have any flavor at all. Good Luck.

I think many of us have our own places where we self-sabotage. For me, going into this surgery, I knew consistency was going to be a challenge because I have ADHD and my brain really struggles with routine, even though routine helps my life flow better... The biggest thing I've done to help myself is to not allow things into the house that I'm not supposed to be eating. I put them all in a basket and put them in my partner's office. Out of sight, out of mind. LOL To support me, they keep the snacking in their office, thank the gods. The other thing I did was educate myself on what will happen to my body if I consistently fail my protein, vitamin, and hydration goals. Some other surgeries can get around this, but DS patients cannot. It is a very unyielding surgery. When I was younger I had a friend who had an old school bypass and was non-compliant with the dietary advice and vitamins. She'd sit there and chat while eating M&Ms, breathe through the dumping symptoms, and keep on eating them. Her hair was falling out and brittle, her skin was dry, she'd get heart palpitations with the slightest bit of exertion because her calcium was off. I can't even imagine what was happening to the strength of her bones... I don't say this to scare you, I say this to illustrate what can happen long term when we can't get our habits under control. I know for her, she just had the surgery. She had no aftercare. No psych care. No mindfulness coach. No dietician. No one supporting her through these difficult changes and helping her understand what was happening to her body when she was making less than stellar choices. Every time I'm tempted to ignore my vitamins or skip a meal I think of her and march my ass to the fridge and eat some cheese. 😂 You have a good list of things to help course correct. I've seen you post before, I know you are trying. Where is your support system to help you achieve your goals? If you have no one local, where and how can you cultivate them? I find when it is hard for me to act in my best interest, that's the time when I most need my support system to kick in and give me a helping hand...or a kick in the ass. Instead of focusing on what you need to NOT do, how can you frame those things as a list of supportive things you can add to counter those behaviors? It is so easy with our dieting history to get into a restrictive mindset, but I've been working with a mindfulness coach who has been encouraging me to be additive instead of subtractive and that helps a lot with the mind game that surgery is! So instead of fussing at myself for missing my 3rd snack of the day, I've instead added a morning protein cocoa made with Fairlife milk, Genepro protein, collagen, and a hot cocoa mix. It packs almost 30 grams of protein in one go and soothes my queasy early morning tummy. Plus by front loading it in my day, I increase the chance of having time for that post dinner snack! And yes, dehydration and lack of protein will make you snack and feel hungry... Try a snack/meal with protein and fat.

Just got my shipment of GENEPRO Protein powder after reading a lot of reviews and posts on here about it! I had a TERRIBLE experience with the Proteinx that they gave me in the hospital (it's liquid unflavored protein) so I was skeptical to say the least. Turns out I mixed it in my Greek yogurt and actually enhanced the delicious strawberry cheesecake flavor! Anyone have any great ways they sneak their Genepro into their food or tips? About to hit the purée stage so any ideas would be welcome. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Atkins protein lift, I've seen those in the supermarket and Walmart. Isopure I found those at GNC and the Vitamin shoppe. I went with GENEPRO, it has 30g of protein in a tablespoon and is flavorless and odorless, I mix it with my Water with a little crystal light and that gives me two in one liquids and proteins, I got this at gnc. I could not stomach sweetness in the Atkins lift water post op, it was a bit much for me right now . I'm day 4 post op. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I went with GENEPRO too. What a blessing. You can't taste it at all. I add it to my broth.

I couldn't handle the shakes in the beginning until I learned the coffee trick. I use one scoop of unflavored genepro, one bottle of the fairlife shakes (salted caramel or vanilla) and an ounce or two of black cold brew coffee or decaf espresso. Mix it all up and it taste like a frappe but not as sweet and that's 60grams or protein in one drink. I usually put it in the freezer for a little to be fancy! Sent from my GM1917 using BariatricPal mobile app

I dont have a preferred flavor yet (havent tried wings post op) but I have a prefered method of cooking. Its the Alton Brown method. I have noticed that it works best on never frozen wings. After breaking down the flats and the drums, steam your wings for 10 min. Dont overcrowd the pan, do it in batches if ness. The bake on a wire rack at 400 for 20 min on each side. They will come out really crispy. Toss to coat. If you use a thick sauce like bbq or teriyaki put back in the oven on broil for 1-2 min per side (watch it!) I used to prefer garlic parm which should be fairly on plan. I also have made a ranch dip using greek yogurt that came out well. I added GENEPRO but that is optional. HW 385 SW 359 CW 331 (54lbs down!) Sleeved 10/5/16