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I'm having eggs prepared all different ways, plain Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit, tuna salad, smoked salmon, ricotta bake, quiche, white fish, ground turkey, baked tofu, and all types of cheese. I went out for sushi (sashimi, actually) and that was really nice. I also love edamame as a snack. Right now I'm having a no-sugar drinkable yogurt for a snack that's nice, although maybe too sweet to buy again. I'm not having a ton of veggies yet but I usually have a small serving of cucumber slices, julienne carrots, and diced tomatoes with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar at lunch, and I like to add spinach to an omelet for breakfast sometimes. I'll have broccoli or green beans with my protein at dinner. Another nice treat is peanut butter powder, which I have in plain and chocolate.

I need to get back into the swing of taking my vitamins and I’m thinking it was easiest to remember at mealtimes. Exactly how many hours do we need to wait between calcium and the iron in the multivitamin for it to absorb properly? What about calcium and calcium? I’m thinking calcium at breakfast and lunch and multivitamin at dinner but I don’t ALWAYS wake up super early so there may be less time between the two calcium’s on occasion. I used to do the multivitamin with breakfast and calcium at dinner and bedtime BUT now I make my protein shake into a Proffee (protein shake and iced coffee) and my tummy doesn’t like the vitamin with it diluted that way.i suppose I could try taking the multi with my evening snack which is a Greek yogurt? What do you guys do??

@BlueParis My skin has been so dry! I've been using more lotion than usual and my hands still feel like sandpaper. Maybe because I barely eat any fat right now? I'm not convinced the advice for non-fat milk and yogurt makes sense right now because I basically get no fat when all I'm having is protein powder and dairy.

Okay, my Feb buddies, so how much protein are you able to get strictly from food each day? I find I can manage soft stuff like a smoothie or a yogurt, but when I try incorporate fish or meat, it's very limiting in terms of how much I can eat. I put my lunch on a dessert plate the size of a saucer and still could only eat half. Are you still supplementing a lot with protein shakes or adding powder to your foods? Or do you get most of it from food? And if so, what types?

Ratio Protein ... I find at Walmart... it's like yogurt, 28g OWYN 32g Prorein shake. Not as cloying as others I find...still getting sick of them though Tuna w Iight mayo 17 g Some scrabled eggs and I am over 80 every day!

Traveling is hard. I used to travel a lot for work and by the end of a week of restaurant meals, I would be craving fruit and veg so much because I could never seem to get enough of that. I have found ordering simple chicken dishes in restaurants with a veg side and skipping the starch has been the best way to get something well-balanced when away from home, and that won't upset my stomach. Can you stop at a grocery store to get Greek or Icelandic yogurt and fresh berries when on the road? I'm not sure how common it is to have a small refrigerator in your hotel room in the places you're going, but a serving of unsweetened yogurt with fruit and a sprinkle of sliced almonds is a great start to the day that requires no cooking or blending. You could also try raw veg and hummus (if you are able to tolerate raw veg). Does your job require going out to dinner with clients? If not, you might see if you can travel with a small electric hot pot to heat your own meals in your hotel room. Maybe bring small containers of your favorite spices to make simple go-to meals on the road. A few times I recall staying in hotels that had true kitchens and being able to buy groceries when I arrived. That was such a relief. It's funny that when you start traveling for work, you think it will be such a treat to go out to eat all the time, and after you do it for a while, it's not fun at all. Congratulations on making it 12 weeks with no alcohol! That's a great accomplishment. I had a single sip of a friend's cocktail this weekend and I have to say, it didn't taste good to me anymore. Maybe it was just a bad cocktail, but hopefully my tastebuds have changed for that. Sadly, I was not cured of my sweet tooth from the surgery. It was such a disappointment when chocolate was just as delicious as before.

The unstuffed cabbage rolls sound good. Believe it or not I’ve never made any type of cabbage roll. I have however been using deli roast beef for my cheese steak for a while. I just get the really rare meat and then heat it for a few Seconds in a skillet. I’ve never tried mixing cream cheese in it though. That sounds interesting. I like to make Philly cheesesteak stuffed peppers when I trying to be good. I bet the cream cheese would sorta hold the mixture down into the pepper better. I wish I could try it now. I suppose I could make it for my hubby and puree mine. My AC miraculously came back on last nigjt after two hours of flashing an error code and not working. It just started back up- so weird. We don’t dare touch it because we don’t believe it’s fixed but it’s cheaper to have someone come check it during the week. My husband is going to tell them the error code it was giving tomorrow and just see if there is anything they need to do. Maybe it is fine. That would be a nice break since it’s just barely out of warranty now plus I won’t habe to deal with the workers being here. I’m still thinking about them cabbage rolls. After the purée tuna was gross to me I kinda thought purée meat was gonna be a no go. Was it good? I’m sure iit helped that it was in the sauce and all that too. I was looking at another ricotta recipe that had chicken and spinach that was a casserole with cheese as well I was considering for my early soft food stage. I think it had artichoke hearts too. It was on Pinterest. They actually have a-lot of recipes under high protein low fat and high protein bariatric recipes. One thimg I forgot about is adding to the plain Greek yogurt. The ranch or French onion soup mix or PB2 to make dips. I added that and some peeled apples and a seedless cucumber to my shopping list for soft foods with the ranch and the PB dip in mind. I think the dry onions should wait for regular foods but it is really good so I mentioned it.

I ended up at the hospital. I have extreme pain but no explanation as to why. My nutritionist doesn't know why either other than I ate phase 3 in phase 2. (Cottage cheese and black beans). Yes I was in pureed stage but even with the beans and cottage cheese mushed well... My tummy didn't like it. So I'm going back to just protein shakes, jello, broth and Greek yogurt for another week. Going to try pureed food in a week again. So far, I still can't drink any water/shakes without extreme pain. Shoots through my chest and shoulder still. Still unsure from anyone as to why unfortunately

Does anyone have vitamin suggestions? I am 5 weeks out from surgery. I used bariatric fusion soft chews and the bar is so high now cause it is honestly like candy. I thought of subscribing to it and getting 4 packs at a time but it isn't the best pricing, although if needed I will do it for sure. I initially got them for the first month so I wasn't dealing with massive tablets right away. This week I implemented tablets again and OMG I regret it immediately. I had the WORST nausea since getting this procedure. I was so close to vomiting, my heart was accelerating, and I was shaking. I took it with yogurt in the morning. I haven't had anything happen to me when it comes to my stomach even the first few days after surgery. I am avoiding tablets and capsules for now. My doctor also told me to not use gummies due to the sugar. I am open to gummies if they are sugar free. I would like to eventually buy in bulk but wanted to explore my options before I commit to the soft chews. Does anyone also have suggestions for calcium citrate? Those tablets are even worse! I used caltrate chewables but was reminded it was the wrong one! Let me know what you think folks!

8 oz can vary a lot, depending on what it is. I could easily eat 8 oz of yogurt, but I could never eat 8 oz of meat. A full plate of food also depends on what it is and how big the plate is, but in most cases, yes, it's likely too much, Do you know how many calories you're averaging? You probably haven't stretched your stomach, but once you get used to eating larger amounts of food, it's hard to go back..

I bought 1 oz glasses at Walmart (they’re the size of a shot glass and are 97 cents in the baking aisle). I bought 12 of them. I used 6/hour. I drank 1/2 ounce every 5 minutes. I got up and walked a lap around my downstairs after every ounce I drank. I rotated between protein shakes, protein water, regular water, fiber water (not too much at first!), popsicles, jello, collagen coffee, and Propel. This allowed me to get all my fluids and protein for the day. My first fluids every morning were 6oz of decaf coffee with collagen mixed in. BIGGEST thing to do after surgery: Get your protein, water, and movement. You do those three things and you’re good! As soon as they have you start your multivitamin and calcium, take them as directed. Take your multi and your calcium at least two hours apart. Your body can only absorb up to 500mg of calcium at a time so take calcium four hours apart. What I do, I take my multi at lunch (12:40) (because I tend to have yogurt or cottage cheese with breakfast: calcium), and I take my calcium during my 1st and 2nd snack (10:40am and 3:00 pm).

I think like most things, moderation is key. I have a basement stash of UPF in the basement for quick fixes: shelf stable protein shakes (obviously), instant bone broth packets, and a couple of instant soup powders I bought from the BP shop. They get me through days I'm feeling low energy or have no appetite. Right next to them, I have a huge stock of SF FF pudding mixes that I bought pre-op thinking I'd need them for the first two weeks of recovery (spoiler alert: I didn't need 1/16th of the **** I 'prepared' with), so the greek yogurt recipe sounds like a fab way to slowly make my way through the stash. I've also got a SF Lactose Free chocolate ice cream sitting in my freezer for certain monthly cravings. Again, something I bought for recovery that just.... hasn't been fully used up yet. It's not awful nutrition wise, but I use it sparingly. I have a pack of high protein flatbreads in the freezer, some NSA protein pancake mixes and a few NSA flavouring syrups in my pantry. I'm not against sweeteners or UPF in general, it's more that it's rare to find any one pre-made food that hits all the macros for me, and my brain really likes when I follow a nice, strict, mathematical structure. The only thing I use more often than I think I should is probably the protein pancake mix? Twice a week I'll make a pancake in place of a more balance meal -- this week it's been three times already because it -- and oatmeal-- are one of the few things not pinging my nausea. (It's been a rough week) (@NickelChip That's good to hear about the yonana machine -- I've been eyeballing it for a while but even as a child I go through cycles of strong banana-aversion LOL.)

I stumbled upon this recipe for a protein packed overnight oats recipe that I've been eating almost every day and I'm loving it, maybe someone else will like it. Before bed I mix a container of greek yogurt (12g protein) and a scoop of protein powder (the brand I use is 20g per scoop). Once it is smooth I mix in 1/4 cup of milk (4g protein) and a packet of high protein instant oatmeal (10g protein). I put a handful of frozen berries on top and put it in the fridge until morning. When I'm ready to eat I mix it all up and it's very good. The total protein ends up being 46g. It's more than I can eat in one sitting but I usually eat it for breakfast and lunch and if any is left as a snack later. My favorite flavor combo so far has been raspberry yogurt with a scoop of chocolate powder and frozen raspberries.

Oh wow, French onion dip is my downfall. That sounds so delicious. I had some big reusable parfait cups in my cupboard with two sections to them, where you could do your yogurt and berries in the big section and then keep your granola or nuts in the other to keep them crisp until the last minute. I used 4 of these to portion out the blended container of cottage cheese dip into 4 servings with about 8oz of carrots, cucumbers, mushrooms, red peppers, and tomatoes. Turns out that for an evening snack, I actually can only eat half. Which is fine. That gives me a week's worth of veg already prepped. Once the ranch dip is used up, I'm doing French onion! And I'm going to try those pepperoni chips. I also want to make some kale chips. Those are so tasty. I need an air fryer. I think I want to replace my toaster oven with one that has the air fryer built in, but I keep waffling on which brand to get.

@Kmgaustin I also wonder the same thing. But, if you cant take it with water... have you ever tried with a small amount of pudding or yogurt to take your medicine? I used to have to do that because I couldn't swallow pills. Seems like it might help if you needed to take them with a meal and it gets the pills down. I wonder since I take Abilify and it helps to absorb Abilify when taken with food and fat. So Yogurt or protein pudding might help take it. Just a thought. I'll be looking for updates on this topic.

I think you need to take a deep breath and try to calm down a little. You've lost 9 lbs in a week. Your liver will be okay. It's good to take the rules seriously, but it's also good to be realistic about how much damage can be done by any particular action and not overcompensate by doing things that seem healthy (water) but might not be (making yourself sick). Two scoops of ice cream is not the same thing as a gallon of ice cream The better question to be asking yourself right now might be why you decided to have the ice cream, and why two scoops instead of one. Understanding behaviors, especially self-sabotaging ones, will be important for long term success. It can also help you find good alternatives. If you absolutely love ice cream on a hot day, consider getting the Yasso frozen yogurt bars with 5g protein for a summer treat when you're able to have them again after surgery. Or if it was because you thought you'd never have ice cream again, I suggest evaluating the rules you plan to follow in the future and make sure they aren't unnecessarily restrictive, as that can cause failure. Or if you just wanted something cold and sweet, stock up on no-sugar added popsicles, which are great for getting in your liquid. Point being, make this a learning experience to do better next time, not a reason to punish yourself or get worked up before your big day.

Hey Yall. Very very new to this but I need some help. I had gastric sleeve surgery on May 10th. The liquid diet leading up to it, and afterwards was absolutely torture for me (I know it's really hard on everyone) but I could barely get broth down, especially post op. When I say that, I mean the idea of drinking more and more broth, no matter what kind or flavor, made me feel absolutely nauseous. And I literally gagged trying to get it down. Needless to say, I didn't get much broth down, but I tried to stay as consistent as I could with protein shakes, which also had a similar effect on me. So when today came around, I was so excited because finally I could slowly try to incorporate foods that didn't make me want to vomit when I thought about them. I started slow with just a yogurt for breakfast, taking tiny bites, with 2 minutes in between bites. That went down pretty well. For lunch, I tried an applesauce, repeating the same process as with the yogurt. Again, that went down fine. Throughout the day, I also timed taking my vitamins, so as not to push a bunch of pills down my throat at once, I was afraid of the effect it would have on my stomach. My plan for dinner was to have some tomato soup, and maybe even put in a little extra flavorless protein, because I hadn't gotten in as much protein as I should of during the day. But before I could make the soup, I started feeling disgusting. And the thought of eating anything else makes me feel nauseous. But I know if I go back to the clear liquid stage for a bit longer, I'm going to be struggling to get more broth down. I just don't know what to do. I feel like I'm completely undernourishing myself and it would be even worse if I went back to the clear liquid stage. I've talked to my nutritionist about it, and she only told me to try drinking other types of broth. Which I have. I've tried every kind you can think of. And she said if that doesn't work, to try to drink Gatorade zero to at least make sure I'm staying hydrated. I have just reached a point of such regret. I feel like I'm just going to get sick before I can get better. I'm at a point where I would rather live my life the way it was, than to feel like this for months. I know it's too late for that, but man, never let anyone tell you this is the easy way out.

It sounds like you are doing pretty well! I'm on day 3 and not a happy camper today. I feel weak and a bit faint. For a snack, I had some allowed yogurt and PBfit in it. Best yogurt I've had in my life! lol. I'm so so lucky I only have to do this for 10 days.

Ooh and to answer your question, sorry, things I like to have between meals when I’m being good are fruits suck as apple slices, grapes, veggies such as broccoli and carrot chips, raw nuts, nut butter, cheese, Turkey jerkey, boiled eggs, lunch meat, hummus, guacamole, yogurt, and smoothies (but I watch the serving size and frequency because I like strawberry banana). They bave some protein packs at the grocery store that have a protein and fruits and veggies in them to give you some ideas. They are kinda pricey but they are easy enough to make at home.

On the one hand, the farther out from surgery you get, the more you can physically eat. This is normal at a year post-op, and may have coincided with the timing of your poor food choices. But if you have been going "off track" by eating a bunch of slider foods, that will in part explain why you don't feel any restriction. The more you focus on eating lean protein and high-fiber veggies, the more full you will likely feel. Your tool never goes away, but your nutrition becomes even more important the more your body can eat. My suggestion is to skip the "pouch reset" where you go through the stages of food. There's nothing magical about eating puree and drinking shakes. You were supposed to do that because your stomach had just been slice open and stapled up. What you should do is go back to a bariatric diet. This means eating protein first, veggies second, carbs third. It means portion control, eating at planned intervals, avoiding sugar and fat. It means waiting 30 minutes after you eat before you drink (not because you can't physically drink, but because doing so can contribute to hunger), and making sure you get a minimum of 64oz of water every day (but 90 oz is probably better). Instead of revisiting the first few weeks after surgery, meet your body where it is now. Plan three high protein, healthy meals for yourself each day. For breakfast, you might try making two eggs, a serving of spinach, and some roasted sweet potato. For lunch, you could try a salad with 4 oz of chicken and some black beans, plus lots of veggies. For dinner, make yourself 4 oz of salmon, a serving of broccoli, and a serving of quinoa. Space your meals evenly throughout the day, around 5 hours apart. See if that amount of food fills you up. If it does, you're pretty much where you probably should be at this stage. If it doesn't, add more veg to your plate at meal times, and allow yourself up to two healthy snacks, such some fresh raw veggies and a ranch dip made from Greek yogurt, and maybe a bowl of fresh berries with Coolwhip and nuts for dessert. My guess is, if you focus on eating the right things and not eating simple carbs and high fat comfort foods, you will start feeling much better.

One of the biggest adjustments I had to make post op was to eat because I needed to, not because I was hungry. I actually never lost my hunger post op, but in those first few weeks when all you can consume is liquid, it is a struggle to get everything in. As soon as I moved to purees I started eating something every 3 hours when I was awake. Everyone's interval is different. Some can do just 3 times a day, but for me if I got over the 3 hour mark I'd start to get shaky and irritable and completely crash, it was clear I needed food, even if food was just a shake or a protein yogurt. I'm 6 months post op now and this has eased and I can go a little longer, so I follow my hunger cues more now and mostly eat at normal mealtimes with snacks if I'm up late or up early. But in the early months I just couldn't do that.

100% with you! I mean technically, there's no "normal" weight loss in the sense that all our bodies are different to begin with, all of us have different health complications or diet restrictions, etc -- but I think you're doing really well if it helps! I'm 2 months post-op myself and have had two 'short' stalls of about a week each time. I think at the time, one of the members in the forums mentioned that the stalls are basically your body doing a bit of a reset/reboot to find a new equilibrium before moving forwards again. Don't get discouraged! Keep at it, or maybe juggle a few of your meals/proteins around to see if a small change can kick you out of the stall. (For example, I was really reliant on greek yogurt and lowfat cottage cheese well past my puree stage. I avoided them for a few days after I noticed a stall, and ate more plant based protein and fish in the meantime -- and I honestly feel like my body responded like "oh, some new puzzle to figure out!" and shocked me out of my stall. I'm not saying change everything up but if there's a meal or a protein that you're really leaning on right now, maybe switch it up a bit and see what happens.)

I had sleeve done on March 27th. I was amazed how well it went, really no pain. The first 10 days were a breeze. But then, everything started tasting overly sweet. I couldn’t drink protein drinks or protein water without gagging. Not getting my liquids. I was very dizzy and nauseous. I ended up severely dehydrated and had to get IV’s at home for 3 days. Turns out my blood pressure had dropped and no longer needed the meds. This caused the dizziness and led to the nausea. Even though I only lost 30# between pre-op and 2 weeks post-op, it was enough to no longer need the meds. IV was removed 2 days ago and I stopped BP meds. Appetite back, still having a hard time with protein drinks, but am doing high protein yogurt and chicken. If you are on blood Pressure meds, check your blood pressure!

Well I had a revision (no surgery on my stomach) so I won’t even talk about portion. Also, I’m pretty active (2-3 hours of at least walking) so take this with a grain of salt but my calories are around 900-1000, protein is 90 plus, net carbs are 60-70, sugar is usually under 20 but my max is 30, fiber is still too low but around 10-15 with the fiber powder, fat is 20-30, water is about 80, and calcium is usually around 1800 or above. I was told that calories alone don’t mean much at all and carbs and fat depend significantly on what kinds of carbs and fat. Carbs from fruit and veggies are usually fine in our portions and healthy fats like olive oil, avocado and nuts or low fat dairy are okay too but you do have to measure of course and not have them multiple times. It’s when you get into the processed stuff that you have to watch them numbers so much closer. They sneak things in. I have noticed that the low carb stuff is usually really high in fat. My goal is to keep it to Whole Foods as much as I can. So far I have had the occasional low carb wrap, Turkey jerky, yogurt drinks, and quest potato chips in terms of packaged food. Ooh and that burrito wrap I had to seriously budget for. But I mean like twice or three times a month. Your team will have the best info for what’s right for you though. So many things make these numbers different for everyone. Did you ever find an app that you can access to log your food?. It has really helped me. Usually when I sit down to have lunch, I enter my breakfast, my lunch and play around with ideas for dinner and snack and see how that works out in terms of macros. I always have fish and frozen low carb veggies that I can pull out of the freezer if I am too high for the day. I found these burritos that supposedly freeze well I wanted to make but they used a real tortilla. They do not have the big ones in the low-carb version. I looked everywhere but I needed the bigger one and order get enough protein. I wanted to make those four nights in a row but every time I entered them I was going over on something. I finally was able to have them last night but all I had was my morning proffee and five egg whites with pico de gallo for lunch. Then I added a little bit more cheese because I was 2 g low on protein. Anyways, it makes it so much easier to be able to plug these things in and you can delete and try something else if it doesn’t work or add or subtract snacks. The only thing that I do not enter, but I always allow myself to have. I kind of learned on the preop diet was the sugar-free popsicles they’re actually 15 cal I believe but they were free foods on my preop diet and I keep them that way in my mind. It keeps me thinking that I’m never going to be not allowed to have food. Mentally it somehow makes me think that I don’t have to starve. I can always have something.. I actually really enjoyed them the tropical flavor ones on my preop but I haven’t wanted sweets very often since. I have had them a couple of times when I wake up late wanting something though.

Hi Tynisha! I don’t focus much on carbs, but I try to not go overboard. I eat crackers or a tiny PB&J as a snack most days and may have some oven roasted potatoes with protein for dinner. And I drink whole milk. What has been really important for me is making sure to eat three balanced meals a day, hitting my protein goal (around 110-120 grams daily). I have to have a protein shake or two with milk to get there. If you find you are eating too many carbs, it’s probably because you are snacking too much. If you focus on balanced meals and up your protein goal, you won’t be hungry/want to snack. Veggies and milk aren’t a big impact on carb intake, and help you feel full. Another good way to sneak in more protein is Greek yogurt. I like Oikos mixed berry. Fairly low on carbs/sugars and 15 grams of protein. Basically make sure you are getting enough protein, focus on feeling full from good food, and try to limit snacking. Has worked for me, and I’m still slowly losing weight almost 9 months later. Oh, and work out with weights. Since working out 3 days a week, my body composition has changed quite a bit. Best of luck! Dave