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I’m 4 days post op and it definitely gets easier. Today was the first day I was able to get close to my 64oz but definitely felt like a full time job. Protein drink makes me sick so I’ve been eating 1-2 oikos pro yogurts which total 50 grams of protein. I split those 12 oz in yogurt into four different snacks. It definitely gets better. Never realized how much I enjoyed chicken stock

The 23rd of March was my 1 month sleev-a-versary so I thought I'd post an update. I'd love to hear how others who are about a month out are doing, so feel free to share the good, bad, or gross (and I do mean poo talk). My recovery has thankfully been uneventful. I had the normal struggles in the first week (nausea, water/protein intake, gas pain, uncomfortable sleeping) but nothing terrible. I have had some poo struggle days, that has been the worst! Right now the pipes are working (cross fingers) but a week ago - hoo boy, not great. I've discovered that I need to take a stool softener at least every other day or things stop moving. My energy has been better, but there are still days when I can't believe how tired I feel just walking up the stairs. I graduated to the pureed stage this week (my program does full liquids for 4 weeks) which was exciting but also a little scary to try "new" foods on my tiny tummy and see how she did. So far, she has handled everything like a champ and I am really enjoying eating more than protein shakes, protein soup, and yogurt. I've lost 19 pounds since my surgery day and can feel a difference in how my body moves, how much less pain I have in my joints, and how my clothes fit. I can bend at the waist more comfortably, balance on one foot better, and crossing my arms or my legs is comfortable again. I tried on a dress that I wore to a family wedding in January of last year and was shocked to see how baggy it was on me. One of my biggest WLS fears was my emotional state taking a downturn during recovery and from not being able to eat normally. I'm happy to say that hasn't happened, in fact it's been the opposite. I feel like I have a stronger perspective and more balanced moods overall. I think seeing some immediate positive results in how my body feels is part of the reason, along with having finally done the thing I spent so long thinking and worrying about. Now that I am on the other side I am experiencing what the reality of WLS is for me rather than worrying about what it might be.

I could only drink the protein shakes really cold over ice. have you tried that or mixing it with milk so it's thinner and less sweet? You can try protein water (sold at Walmart and other grocery stores). Others loved them but they had a slight dry/chalky after taste so poured over a lot of ice helped and I could drink it that way. You can also buy Fairlife skim milk that has more protein. I had to play a mental game initially to get enough protein and would pour 2 ounces in a shot glass and make myself take a sip after playing a game on my phone so I would sip and after 10-15 minutes I got that 2 ounces drank. I would also do it while watching TV and made my self drink the 2 ounces shot glass half way between every set of commercials. That way it didn't seem too overwhelming. Greek yogurt also has a lot of protein that you may be able to blend with milk so it's not as thick.

Here’s what I ate yesterday. I work nights so times are approximate and wonky as I mostly just snack at work so I don’t keep definite track of times- 7pm- protein shake in coffee- 25g protein 8-9pm- protein beef bouillon soup packet- 15g protein 10pm-1am- 1 serving bugles, 1.5oz beef jerky, single serve packet freeze dried apples, and cottage cheese- 27g protein 2am-3am- protein cream of chicken soup packet and Starbucks doubleshot coffee- 22g protein 4am-5am- protein shake, 1/2 chobani blueberry yogurt- 36g protein 630-7am- 1/2 special k meal bar- 6g protein 8am- 3 bites of a bacon cheeseburger that I had already eaten from 3 other times. Maybe 5-10g protein Came out to about 140g protein and 1450 calories. My protein requirements are insanely high because I had a bowel resection in December ao I don’t absorb protein as well as I did before and I’m now trying to maintain at 150-155. So far today I’ve been up for about an hour and eaten the other half of that special k bar from yesterday.

Thank you for the suggestions. I am still on the liquid phase of my diet, so I’m not sure about the Greek yogurt and other things until Tuesday. Everything else I eat/drink does not make me sick, but protein drinks just make my stomach churn for some reason.

Yasso bars and whipped greek yogurt helped me. Soups made with bone broth could be a nice change. Two weeks out, my favorite things were cream of wheat and thinned refried beans or thinned mashed potatoes or pureed potatoe soup. Plant protien in beans and potatoes made a nice break from all the milk protien in the shakes. Some nutritionists will frown on carbs, however. Mine did not. Wishing you the best.

Have you tried protein hot cocoa? I found that much easier to drink than cold protein shakes. A lot of people like to use protein shakes as coffee creamer (caramel shakes work well for this). Have you tried clear protein, like Syntrax Nectar? That's more like juice than a shake, so you might find it more tolerable. You can also try protein soups, or mixing unflavored protein powder into regular soup. Are you allowed to have purees yet? If so, you can mix unflavored protein powder into almost anything pureed. (I prefer to use flavored protein powders with sweet purees like yogurt, pudding, applesauce, oatmeal, etc. and unflavored in savory foods like refried beans, mashed cauliflower, soup, etc.).

Might I suggest googling "post op bariatric smoothies" and "post op bariatric soups"? My best friend had her sleeve done 3/18 & blends & strains smoothies made with whey protein powder, skim milk, frozen blueberries & bananas, frozen strawberries. She recently added some sugar free Greek yogurt with good success. Soups are Campbell's cream of (chicken, mushroom, celery) with ricotta, milk & seasonings blended and strained for good measure but there's several good squash soups that people seem to love as well. Good luck and great job preparing in advance!

What about regular plain yogurt with a bit of splenda/stevia/vanilla/honey? Goat cheese? (Not sure what is allowed as I'm several month prior to surgery, but I like food). Refried beans with cheese? I hit a wall with protein drinks this morning and I'm not a fan of eggs so I'm trying to find ideas for protein heavy breakfasts now, and I get it that trying to get yourself to eat something YOU JUST DON'T LIKE is not going to work!

So I was a companion on 3/18-21 to my best friend (38f) while she had her sleeve thru Baja medical with Dr. A (Dr A's Iron Sleevers group is a great resource on FB) I've been considering the surgery myself but am still actively losing weight & maintaining my loss (we both had lost 50lbs since October of 2020) and I'm not quite ready to commit to the sleeve just yet. So here's what I'd tell future Tijuana (or any) bariatric patients. Buy a good variety of broth packets & cubes as well as electrolyte packets because what tasted good before may not after surgery. I cannot stress this enough- do not ALLOW yourself to get medically dehydrated. They kind of skimp on the IV fluids so it won't take long after surgery to become dehydrated & once that dry heaving begins it's a short trip to kidney strain and needing the hospital. Two girls (different surgeons than our group but same hospital) ended up needing IV fluids after being discharged. Bring an extension cord & heating pad- that heating pad was my friends favorite thing while down there. Take the preop diet very seriously, including caffeine, it will ensure you're body is burning fat stores before you have surgery which you'll be grateful for when you're only getting 150-300 calories a day the first few days home. Try to learn a few Spanish phrases or bring a decent translation dictionary because the service industry down there caters mostly to other Mexican tourists and don't speak much English- this is super helpful for uber, ordering food or even just going to sbux. Bring a small thermos that you can take anywhere. 10 oz is ideal and you won't be drinking even that much in a sitting before coming home. Buy Miralax & use it the day you get home (surgeon said this was fine) because the constipation struggle IS REAL after general anesthesia & you DO NOT want to be straining your abdominal muscles after surgery! Buy everything you need for bariatric smoothies & soups before you go- you won't want to be hunting down ingredients two days after getting home. Chobani now makes a bottled yogurt drink with 25g protein, chicory root fiber & monk fruit with no chunks- very post OP friendly & you'll be SUPER sick of protein shakes by the 1 week mark. Most importantly- be your own advocate; if your nurse is overly busy & blows you off (hospital is crazy busy down there right now b/c stimulus + tax returns) then ask to speak to your dr. and make yourself heard. Lastly, if you have a hotel day try & visit Avenida Revolucion (10 minute Uber from the hotels)- we went with some other sleevers & it was an awesome distraction, great place to walk & the Hotel Caesar (birthplace of the caesar salad!) makes a French onion soup that if you as for "just jus'" or "suave', liquido colado (strained liquid) they'll give you a crock of just the rich broth! Be safe everyone, my friend is 6 days post OP & getting stronger each day!

If you want something incredibly delicious and shakey....try frozen bananas with coco powder, skim milk, coconut milk, frozen greek yogurt (I just dump some in a zip lock baggie and break pieces off after it's frozen) and vanilla...in the blender. Bananas do have sugar, so watch out if you are sensitive. This is my go to when I crave ice cream. It's amazing, decent nutrition, and you can add protien powder if you want.

I use IdealLean protein by IdealFit. The birthday cake flavor is my favorite (especially to mix into yogurt), and they have some other delicious flavors, too (I like chocolate brownie, chocolate coconut, and mint chocolate).

That I know of yes, I have that on my plan along with yogurt. Today I’m 1 week post op and start full liquids.

oh yea - Liberte yogurt is great. I think it has a fair amount of fat in it, which is probably why! So creamy - I love it - haven't had it in a long time, though...

I don't normally buy flavoured yogurt...I prefer to get plain greek yogurt and just add my own fixins. BUT...picked up this lemon flavoured one by request and OMG its delicious! Gonna make a sweeping declaration here and state that this is the best store-bought pre-flavoured yogurt I have EVER had. Yummer. 189 calories for this cup with 10 almonds...ate it all

I am 8 months out and up until the last month or so, I usually needed protein powder to reach my goal of 60 grams of protein per day. It varies from one person to the next (and your surgeon may recommend a different protein goal than mine), but it could be a while before you can eat enough to get all of your protein from food. That doesn't necessarily mean you need to drink protein shakes every day (I know we all get sick of those); you can mix protein powder into other foods or beverages (a lot of people like to use caramel protein shake as a coffee creamer). My go-to breakfast for a long time was half a scoop of protein powder mixed with half a container of triple zero Greek yogurt, for a total of 19 grams of protein (my favorite combo is birthday cake protein powder plus vanilla yogurt, topped with raspberries). Another good one is protein oatmeal. The BariatricPal store sells some with 15 grams of protein per serving, and you can add some more protein powder to that. There are a lot of protein pancake mixes on the market (and you can even buy frozen protein pancakes and waffles). Eggs, chicken sausage, and turkey bacon are always good high-protein options for breakfast. For lunch and dinner, I usually have about 2 ounces of meat and 2 ounces of veggies, like a salad with chicken, or BBQ chicken (with sugar-free BBQ sauce) and air-fried veggies (green beans, asparagus, carrots, or broccoli), or lettuce wraps (like PF Chang's). Another favorite is Mexican-seasoned chicken with cauliflower rice, salsa, black beans, cheese, and nonfat Greek yogurt. And taco bites, with Quest chili lime protein chips topped with Mexican-seasoned chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and nonfat Greek yogurt. You can't eat much at this point, so you have to keep it simple and focus on protein. I love my air fryer and Instant Pot and I make a lot of recipes with them, but if you don't have those, you can find similar recipes that use other cooking methods. Here are some great recipes that I've made recently: Chicken Divan with cauliflower cream sauce (the cauliflower cream sauce is fantastic and can be used as a white sauce in a lot of recipes) Instant Pot Carnitas Instant Pot Mexican Chicken Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken Garlic Parmesan Carrot Fries Buffalo Cauliflower (I make it in the air fryer) Turkey Ragu (excellent with Shelly's Ricotta Bake, roasted spaghetti squash, or shirataki noodles) Instant Pot Egg Bites Instant Pot BBQ chicken White Chicken Chili I have a freezer full of bariatric portioned meals and Pinterest boards full of more recipes that I'm dying to try! If you don't already use Pinterest, you definitely should -- it's a gold mine.

Tommorow will be my third week post op.I start soft foods tomorrow. The problem is I’ve been having trouble eating. Every time I stand up I get so dizzy,and I’m forgetting things a lot.I’ve been taking my vitamins; I don’t know what to eat because I have no appetite ( I know this is normal). Today I tried to heat up some canned chicken noodle soup ( without the noodles) and I was instantly repulsed by it . Even yogurt I have no interest in eating. I’m just sticking to 2 protein shakes a day and sometimes even less. I don’t even know what I’ll eat on soft foods because I don’t eat eggs or tuna. Any advice?

I am two weeks post op. I started the puree diet phase today. My surgeon did not have me on pure liquids for the last couple of weeks though- I could eat jello, pudding, apple sauce, thin soups w/out chunks, yogurt, instant mashed potatoes, etc.... I have been putting my food in a 4 oz paper cup- usually about half full, sometimes a bit more. Never to the top. So about 2-3 ounces every time I eat. I usually eat 3-4 times per day. As I introduce new foods, I am concerned about how I feel while/after eating. I am not sure if what I am feeling is normal for this point, if I am overeating, or if the food is not agreeing with me. I have never thrown up and only once felt like I was going to. I don't experience pain, but discomfort sometimes. Like an acid reflux feeling or I feel like I need to burp. It feels like the food just sits there for a bit. The feeling typically does not last long- a couple of minutes. Never more than 10-15. Since I am not in pain or vomiting, I just kind of assumed this is just something I have to deal with for a while. But since I can now add more foods to my diet, I thought maybe I should ask. I don't go to the doctor for another week. I can tolerate the feeling, but just am more nervous about doing damage of some kind.

I am coming up fast on my surgery, 3 days and counting. So I am attempting to food prep for recovery since I have 4 children ramging in age from 11 months to 12 years old., my hubby will have his hands full trying to take over as Mr Mom while I recover for the first 2 weeks. I am hoping to have easy recovery meals planned out for me so all he has to do is microwave them for me or I can just throw them together easily. I am planning so far on mostly pureed soups but mostly because I cant think of other things that appeal to me. Blending eggs is just not something I am going to be able to do. I dont eat fish, canned chicken, eggs, greek yogurt, cottage cheese or tuna. In the nutrition class that was almost all the recommended things. 🤦‍♀️ I have tried since october to be get use to cottage cheese, greek yogurt and canned chicken. But I havent been able to stomach any of it. Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Wrapping up day 7 as far as meals are concerned. Still going well. Enjoying the soft foods I am eating. Even picked up a yummy quiche from Costco. It was SO GOOD! It is funny because a lot of people think the "Pouch Reset" is a starvation diet... but I never felt it was.First day of clear liquids I felt a little hungry, but drank broth or other fluids and it helped. Was less of an issue with day two... and remember... "I" chose to do a day two of clears because I had actually eaten a very small breakfast before starting clears. Days 3-4 were full liquids. My nutritionist allows greek yogurt on a full liquid diet and between that and protein shakes I felt very satisfied. Now... sticking to a full course of purees would have sucked, just because they are gross... but even then I am always able to find something to satisfy me. Anyhow... I don't see a few days of puree as a huge deal... it is nowhere near as bad as you experience post op. And soft foods? OMG.... you can make some really great meals with soft foods. It has been good to remind myself of that. A lot of people believe this diet regimen to be "hocus pocus" and while I am sure it doesn't work for everyone, it did what I needed it to do. And I didn't just go out and look it up on the internet... I had an actual plan outlined for me by my nutritionist. Anyhow... I will likely stick to soft foods for the next week just as recommended by this plan. I am not nutrient deprived. I am not starving. And I feel great. And I am feeling the sensations and signals that I had lost over the last couple months. Oh... and this was NEVER about punishing myself for bad behavior. I own that. I did the best I could with the resources I had at the time. And now that the crises is averted... I am getting back on track of my own free will. Anyway.... my follow up self accountability replies will be less frequent now. No sense in beating a dead horse lol.

Oh thanks for the idea. I will try the Greek yogurt with ranch as a dip. I am getting sick of hummus, and cottage cheese.

Thanks for the great suggestions. Funny how different pre- surgery diets are. I don’t think cream cheese and PB are on my pre-op or maybe only in small amounts. these are great post wls options too. Also Greek yogurt with ranch seasoning as a dip for cukes, carrots etc.

What did your medical team advise? While there are similarities in our experiences we are also different & I’m not just referring to the surgery we have. We lose at different rates. We need different amounts of food to function & lose.... And there are many different medical plans out there even for the same surgeries. It can get really confusing. The important thing is to stick to the plan your team has recommended as closely as possible. If you feel you require more specific information about calories & macros recommendations contact your nutritionalist. They should help you to design a diet that fits your lifestyle. Honestly, I was never given a caloric goal at any stage just 60g of protein & low carb. But I was told about serving sizes. A quarter of a cup to begin increasing to a third over the first couple of months from puréed stage onwards. I never precisely counted calories every day but was conscious of the calorie content of the food I ate. I found once I got my protein in I couldn’t eat much else. I was consuming less than 500 calories for ages. Even less before I was on solid food. I wasn’t hungry & not really interested in eating. I can’t even imagine eating 1000 calories in those first 2 or 3 months even 6 months. I only eat about 1200 now but that’s me. I also never had another protein shake once I got to the purée stage. I got most of my protein from yoghurt. (30g in my drinking yogurt & it contributed to my fluid goals - double win!) I don’t think you’re losing slowly at all either. At 5 weeks I’d lost about 12 kg (about 26lbs) so not that different really. Congratulations on having your surgery & your loss so far. Good luck.

Day 5 1/2 now... 2 clear liquid days done... 2 full liquid days done... and just finishing up my first "pureed" day that I decided to mix up a little since I can lol. Started the day with a protein shake. Sugar free pudding for an AM snack. Then took my kids to cracker barrel which is when I had to decide... stick to puree? Or just move on to soft diet foods. Well... I found a meal that was the best of both worlds. Mashed potatoes (pureed), Cooked baby carrots (cooked so tender that when they get to your mouth they mush very fast lol... so I can almost count them as pureed), and the meatloaf (soft diet). (And of course skipping Corn Bread/Biscuit) I ordered the lunch portion. Plate arrived and I immediately requested a togo box. Put over 3/4ths of each item plus the Corn Bread/Biscuit in the box (hubby gets those). For my afternoon snack I had a greek yogurt. And for dinner... I had another small portion of my meal from lunch. How did it go???? Apparently just 5 1/2 days of the "Pouch Reset" - or what I view more as a "resting my pouch" diet WORKS FOR ME! I got my "getting full" hiccups after 8 ounces over 20 minutes of protein shake. Got all of the pudding in. For lunch, I got my "getting full" hiccups as I was taking my last bite or two of my tiny meal. And then afterwards I felt full for a couple hours. Got my "getting full" hiccups after eating about 75% of my yogurt. Then I got them again after my tiny dinner. Plus the need to burp a couple times lol So what have I learned? At least for me... this pouch reset DID WORK! And I didn't even need to "finish" the pouch reset diet to feel the benefits. I am getting the benefits NOW. On day 5! Did it actually "shrink" my pouch? Who knows... but it certainly feels like it did in the months after surgery. AND... I am already well on track to eating my normal scheduled diet of 3 meals and 2-3 snacks every 2-3 hours (got the 3rd snack in the last several days but will probably skip tonight since it is getting late and I am still full. Obviously I have to work to keep this up... but I am doing great so far. And my portions are DEFINITELY much smaller. Probably to wear they were about 5 months post op... though I can't be sure. I just know they haven't been THIS SMALL in quite a while. And I am NOT hungry in between meals. And with the two tiny puree/soft diet meals... I got my warning hiccups followed by my signals that I really should stop eating right away. And with the second actual meal I ate probably 2 extra bites and not only did the hiccups last a little longer, I got that need to burp. Yep... when I get 1 hiccup... it is time to stop. Now I have to figure out how to stop before that first hiccup. And if I had gone to cracker barrel just before starting this... I probably would have eaten nearly half right away and then continue to graze for a while until it was gone. And today... I not only didn't do it... but my body wasn't going to let me do it. Did my belly shrink? I dunno. I will never really have that answer since there haven't been any before/after scans lol. But did I get my "getting full" signals back? Heck yeah! And I was VERY satisfied with the tiny portions on my plate. I think over the next few days I will continue the mix of full liquid/puree/soft diet similar to what I did today. But will gradually transition away from the liquids - then purees and then stick with the soft diet. Anyhow... I knew before I posted this tread that there are a TON of people on this board who think this is a hocus pocus scam crash diet.... but I think I am a believer. Should everyone do it? Absolutely not. I knew I had my nutritionist's blessing and I followed stage plans she previously outlined for me. And I monitored my health and I advanced when I knew I needed to in order to prevent too much weight loss which would simply cause me to rebound. I also feel I went into it with realistic expectations. It was something I wanted to try to reteach myself the steps I took before to get to the lifestyle maintenance diet I had in the past. And to hopefully start recognizing those full signals again. THAT was my goal. And losing my little bit of gained wait was a nice side effect. Will it work for everyone? Maybe, maybe not! I think one key is if you are going to do this you must 1) consult your nutritionist at some point before doing it and 2) it should be done before you are fully back into very bad habits and before you have gained a significant amount of weight. I think it worked for me because I am doing it before I totally lose control. I may have not have been eating right... but I knew I was still able to regain control if I simply did what I needed to do. While it wasn't so hard for me to regain control. And I also haven't forgotten what I am supposed to be doing (well... except I forgot my macro guidelines... that post is in another thread lol)... but I know how to eat a healthy maintenance diet and I did well before and I knew I could do well again. Going forward will be interesting.... to see how my body continues to respond. But I am glad to be able to recognize my stomach signals again! And that they are the same signals as before lol

I just like it better. Meat has never been my thing. I do eat meat, but have always eaten a lot of vegan and vegetarian dishes simply because I enjoy them. I'd a lot rather get my protien from oats, whole grains, beans, chickpeas, peas, potatoes, mushrooms, soy. I do eat dairy and eggs quite a bit, greek yogurt and cottage cheese go into a lot of recipes. I do like fish, shellfish, mollusks. I do like roast turkey and chicken...but I avoid deli meats and prefer the real deal. Red meats are a very rare thing in my diet. Ground meat is a total turn off...don't eat it. In the end, it's all personal preference. No one size fits all. Eat what you enjoy:)