Post-op Diets and Questions

Okay, I'm 10 days post op (sleeve) and just starting to ease into the soft food diet. The literature provided by my doctors office says to avoid fresh fruit. Elsewhere, it talks about using fruit in Protein smoothies at this stage. So, which is it? Yes, I'm kind of a stickler for the rules, so I want to make sure I'm doing this right. Is it mostly an issue of the texture of fresh fruit, and blending them into smoothies solves that? Or is there something about the way fruit digests? Which fresh fruits can I add to my smoothies, and which should I avoid entirely? Thanks, Christi Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I've been on a Quest to find Jerky that I like. I've tried all sorts and I always give it away because I don't like it. I finally found one that I like. It's very toothsome but really good. So if you live in TX and have an HEB near you check it out. Let me know if you have any other brand recommendations. I've tried all the major brands and think the flavor is too strong.

I'm just starting to ease in to the soft food stage. I know I can eat soft cheeses, but hard cheeses are about another 3 or 4 weeks away. I went to my local cheese shop today to ask for recommendations on flavorful soft cheeses, and I got some wonderul options: a goat cheese, an onion and chives cotswald, and a super squishy soft gorgonzola. Yum, yum, yum. So, now my question: Are hard cheeses okay if they are melted? I also have some gruyere, which I often use for making quiche. If I were to skip the crust and make a fritatta instead, with shredded gruyere, is that allowable in the soft food phase, even though gruyere is a very hard cheese? Thanks!

As the title suggests, when I get over-full, I have the urge to sneeze... Now, I'm pretty certain that it's NOT because the food has backed right up and is pressing against my sneeze button... (All you non-doctors won't understand 'sneeze button' but trust me, it's an organ..) I don't actually sneeze tho... It's just that weird bit just like you're gonna sneeze... Your eyes start to Water and get squinty and stuff... Anyway, I'm not looking for advice or anything on how to fix it... It doesn't happen very often and when it does, I'm fine with the feeling... But it leads me to this question... What kinda weird stuff does your body do now that it didn't do befor…

Okay, I need an easier and more convenient option for smoothies than my regular blender. Not sure if I want to go with an immersion blender or a bullet. Anyone care to share their thoughts on pros and cons of each? I'm 6 days post surgery, so it's something I'll be using every day. Thanks, Christi Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi. I'm hoping someone can advise. I'm still waiting for my very first appointment with the dietician at the START of the gastric sleeve process but there is quite a while to wait apparently as they're short on dieticians. Sigh. So in the meantime, it's just me and google....and you guys. As well as the weight that kept piling on over the years, I've also developed diverticulitis in the last 18 months (bitty bits of food getting stuck in colon, getting inflamed then infected), and in the last few months it turns out that I'm riddled with candida (yeast infection). Happy Days. :/ Both of these require careful changes to my diet (on top of my high protein/low car…

Could you please share what your favorite, no sugar, high protein greek yogurt is? There are so many kinds that I am not sure what one(s) to chose.

What do you guys use for your mayo, especially in the puree phase with things like tuna and chicken salad??? I've been a fan of the Hellman's olive oil mayo since it came out, but I want to look at other options, too. eggs give me a hard time and I'm a little worried about how I'll tolerate mayo in my puree phase, so I've been considering one of the vegenaise options. Do any of you guys have recommendations on brands of vegan mayo, or simply reviews of the original or reduced-fat vegenaise? Other suggestions for reduced fat conventional mayo are welcome too!

I'm slightly afraid to start another topic in this forum but here goes... okay so when I went to my teach I was told my sleeve would hold 2 oz. period. and that's all I should put in it at one sitting.. but then I read another post by someone here at the forum that was two weeks out and could drink far more than 2 oz of her Protein shake, Water, etc at a time.. and someone said it was because the swelling had gone down and liquid runs right through the sleeve so this is normal.. So then.. how much of my shake should I be drinking once I'm post surgery.. I had planned to make it in 2 oz increments... but apparently this may not be necessary? 0.0 *bit confused*

Did anyone else pre surgery get horrible reflux from Protein drinks to the point it felt like a heart attack? I get it so bad that I can't drink any protein powders. I have tried so many. It started as just a small issue when I had the band for a little while and then by about 3yrs post op I had to stop drinking them all together because it became so painful, with nausea, sweating, shaking, rapid heart rate, feeling like a had a giant rock in my throat, etc.... Did anyone with the bypass have this issue before surgery and not have it after? I'm hoping with the separation of the digestive juices the issue will go away. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Do you know of any good portion control plates and portion control containers for like lunches and where to buy them? This would be of a great help to me.

Ok I had surgery 2 weeks and 5 days ago on April 21st. I lost 16 pounds post op on liquid diet but have only lost 5 pounds since surgery....I am not eating actual carbs except for drinking milk, yogurt and a little cheese.....I live off of eggs chicken and pad salsa with a protein shake in the morning....has anyone else gone through this? I am def not getting in my 64 oz of liquid a day but I am trying.....advice?

My NUT recommended that I try and get some Cottage cheese into my diet as an alternative, as I am getting bored with the same ole stuff. I have never eaten cottage cheese in my life, so I wasn't real sure. I ate some today straight up and it was ok. I am looking for some ideas on what to do with it. Any suggestions out there?

Hi everyone. I went through the posts but decided to cut to the chase and ask does anyone have a vanilla whey isolate you would recommend to cook with? I have heard jay Robb is pretty good. If you have a suggestion it would be appreciated and also for 2 additional thank you points... What do I like to cook using it? Any pointers? I am finding that I have been getting a sweet tooth or sweet craving which has never been my thing but I guess it is now. Thanks in advance!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi! I had a crazy idea after reading this eating well article and wasting food as well. recipes and they are pretty delicious but I am not a big fan of leftovers and find I waste a lot of food. I really like trying new recipe hacks to make them bariatric friendly. I was wondering if there are others in San Francisco that may have the same issues with leftovers etc or would just be interested in trying out a food share. Not sure exactly how it would work but I thought I would check to see if there was any interest. Let me know if you are interested in exploring the concept. We can have our own little munchery franchise . Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricP…

Looks interesting. 80 cal and 14g of Protein. I'm curious to know what it tastes like. https://www.elliquark.com

Anybody else out there have trouble with medicine absorption? I have noticed when I have to take ABX for a sickness that the meds never seem to work. I tried liquid and a shot and that did seem to help a while back if I remember correctly. But wondered if there was something I need to know or tell my regular doctors about. I have an abscess tooth right now and I took regular tablet ABX and the pain never truly went away. Wondering if I need to always get liquid? Any ideas about this? Please help! Thanks, Leigh Ann

I am 3 weeks post-op and on soft foods. I have been cleared to eat meat as long as I chew well. I am struggling with Breakfast. Protein shakes are very heavy on my morning tummy and don't sit very well until the late afternoon. Also, my tummy doesn't like eggs just yet. I'm hoping that will improve as time goes on because I love eggs and egg included things like quiche, custard, and so on. To make things more complicated I DESPISE Greek yougurt, regular yougurt, and cottage cheese. I wondered if anyone had any non-egg or shake breakfast ideas.

So how many carbs per day are we supposed to be at? I heard it should be no more than 22 is this correct?

I'm lap band post op day 4 and so happy to try creamy soup today. (Reminds me of eating Chef Boyardee in daycare 30 years ago! [emoji1] ) I filled up a 0.5 cup container with Campbell's healthy request creamy tomato soup straight from the can and ate half with a kid's spoon. I don't feel pain but I do feel very full, like the thick soup is just sitting in my pouch. The instructions say to mix the soup with a can of water or milk. Does anyone do this? And does it affect how the pouch feels?

I'm a carb loving Italian and am craving some spaghetti! But I'm only a month post op and don't want to eat real carbs. So if anyone can share which one is more like spaghetti? Also- any good recipes to make it yummy thanks!

anyone eat popcorn for a snack im 6 month post op

Hi everyone! I am roughly ten days post op and in need of some advice and/or encouraging words to push me through these last days of the full liquid diet. I'm growing so tired of protein drinks, carnation instant breakfast, broth and jello. Please tell me there are some other things I can eat that I haven't thought of!

Goofy question, I know, but I don't have any, and I'd like to know how soon I should worry about getting some. I have a semi-well-fitting upper denture that I only wear in public, for cosmetic purposes, and I have no lower denture. I literally gum all of my food and there's some stuff I just can't do (most nuts, tough meats, thick crusts on bread, etc). My VSG will be in late May/early June and I know I'll be fine for the first 6 weeks at least, while I'm on liquids and soft stuff, but sooner or later I'm going to need to actually chew my food, to break it down completely for my new tummy. I have a plan worked up with my prosthodontist to have implants put in my lower…

I am loving scallops! Per myfitnesspal one large scallop its 35 calories and 5 grams of Protein. They are beautiful little chunks of protein and a blank canvas so you can pair them with so many flavors! My current favorite is garlic and then I use Chardonnay to deglaze the pan and make a light sauce ..... What's your favorite way to make scallops ?

I had a dentist appointment today and then was going to the gym to sign up and work out and I needed to get some food in me. I went to a popular restaurant next to the dentist that has a salad/hot food/ Chinese food/ sushi by the pound type of place. I typically avoid this type of food but I remembered they always have steamed fish and chicken. (Probably some msg thrown in haha). To measure my steamed fish, they have the 1 ounce salad dressing cups so I just put some fish in it multiple times and tossed in a little chicken piece. I added some steamed eggplant because they charge more for all meat. Very tasty. The grand total was $2.25. Hahaha. Before when I went …

I'm pre-op, and still wrapping my head around the things I should eat and shouldn't. I haven't really found too many things I'm going to miss too much, except smoothies. Are they frowned upon? Can anyone personally tolerate them? I always make green smoothies with berries and/or pineapple, etc. I never add sugar, so I'm hoping it wouldn't cause dumping.

Help! so I've put on some weight and going back to Protein shakes and the basics that I was doing before but protein shakes don't keep me full! What do you guys add to it? I've been using Protein Powder, milk, handful of spinach, 4 frozen strawberries, and 1 tbsp of benefiber and I'm really hungry within 2 hours! usually I have cottage cheese with berries and a few walnuts, but wanted to go back to shakes because of more protein. Any suggestions?

I am 7 months out I had the gastric sleeve. I haven't been worried about calories, but I still want to know because I am unsure of how many calories and carbs I am supposed to be consuming. Can some one please let me know? I was told not to worry about calories but I want to keep everything going as good as it's going. Also Is one cup of food to much? So far I've lost 95 pounds. I know that the "honeymoon" period will be coming to a end soon.

Anything available for us out there or is it all bad?

Ok, so I'm 6 weeks out of gastric bypass surgery and can have protein bars for a meal (snack????). So I just ate a Premier Protein bar that has a weight of 5.63 oz and I'm not suppose to eat over 4 oz. ... of course now i'm really paranoid that i'll stretch my pouch or gain weight. Uggh. should probably cut them in half going forward or no big deal really?? Your thought? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi everyone, I am having my gastric bypass surgery 3/7/16 ...(this Monday)... and am trying to learn everything I can. I can't believe the day is here.! Well have been going over the various phases if the gastric bypass diet and am having a real problem anticipating the Puree diet. You see I am a nurse of 35 yrs, predominantly in the emergency room but I can still remember vividly my time on a medical ward. There we used to do long term care of the patients and the population was geriatrics. I remember feeding the patients puree diets and almost got sick to my stomach many times. The smell, consistency, and texture was nasty, especially the pureed liver. I have been…

I got a new FitBit Blaze last Friday. I decided to start tracking my food on the FitBit site for this first little while, just to get a sense of all the features available to me with the Blaze. I have been maintaining at or below goal for 6 months and I am currently training for a half marathon. The problem I'm having is that every time I have ever tracked my food regularly in the past, it has been in an effort to LOSE weight. I have an obsessive personality and I find that I am now becoming super obsessed with the numbers and I'm finding it hard to force myself to eat enough to MAINTAIN my weight instead of trying to lose more weight. I've run a significant deficit eve…

I am trying to find out how to know what the calories, carbs, fats, sugars, Protein, Vitamins, etc. Examples are: 1 cup of red seedless grapes. Cooked great northern Beans - how many = what? Jiffy cornbread - 1 slice. Need to know how much it "costs" me to eat things like this. By "costs", I mean the things we need to keep up with mentioned above. I would appreciate any help you can give me? I'm sure there is a link somewhere but I'm not finding it. Thank you so much for your help! I am post surgery but don't have a nutritionist to ask these questions.

Hello everyone, I'm wondering how much weight you lost per week after you had your sleeve done??? Thanks in advance!! BettyBoop

Prior to surgery and the months following, our diets are so restricted and very planned out for us. A question I get asked a lot is what do you eat now that you are a ways out from surgery? So I decided to make a list of recipes and snack/meal ideas I use now at almost 4 years out. Remember, I eat six meals/snacks a day. Breakfast: Frittatta with Ricotta and Mixed Greens- omelet Nonfat greek yogurt with fruit and granola. oatmeal (old fashioned oats) with cinnamon and banana One piece of whole wheat or 9 grain bread with Almond/Peanut butter Turkey bacon with egg whites and salsa Special K Protein Cereal with almond milk, or 2% milk Any kind of Breakfast smoothy with p…

I had sleeve surgery in June of last year, so 9 months out. I typically eat 2 oz of meat per meal, but I'm thinking it may be time to try to up that a bit? I see other people eating more like 4 oz, which seems like a ton. but I do snack more than I probably should, and maybe if I ate more Protein per meal I would stay full longer.

I'm 11 weeks post op and can't eat a full small meal yet! Get sick still and run to bathroom before It happens!! Anybody else feel frustrated

My son actually found these precooked chicken patties in the freezer section . I love my healthy salmon patties but it's great to have some variety. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using the BariatricPal App

Saturday my family is having a get together and the headline reads: BYOB, bring a snack or dessert and chip in for pizza. Obviously not sleeve friendly. The day of the get together I will be almost 5 weeks post op and in the soft food stage. Any suggestions on what I could bring to appear normal but also have something to eat? Or am I stuck being the weirdo eating out of my lunchbox? I'm okay with it if I am but I'd appreciate recipes or suggestions!

Where I am at this point is I'm meeting with the surgeon next week for the first time, so I'm just a newbie. My relationship with food right now is that I feel that I obsess about food: how much I'm eating, what I'm eating, feeling tempted, and basically feeling a lot of anxiety surrounding food. For you post-op people, do you feel that food is an obsession? I'm thinking specifically about the "diet mentality" - needing to count calories, weigh and measure everything, and having to think always about what I'm putting in my mouth. I'm worried that I'll still have to obsess about food, even post-op. I don't want to live the rest of my life obsessing about these things. Ha…

Found a yogurt drink in Walmart called Powerful Yogurt. Tastes like I remember a Yoohoo. 160 calories and 20g protein. Thought I'd share if you hadn't seen it before. (Tried to do a pic and it wouldn't work)

I can start soft foods today! I'm a little nervous because I don't want to overdo it. Any suggestions? I also have a couple questions on what qualifies as a soft food? It just seems like such a broad term. Can I do tortillas?! Bagels? I want to stay on track. Help!

Ok, not a great title, but I can't figure out how to ask this - here goes. Do you guys feel it is "healthier" (for WLS patients or more importantly a food addict) to eat a few bites of a variety of foods at each meal or more bites of a smaller variety? I had a counseling session yesterday, and she was concerned about the variety I eat. And what I mean by that is she fears that eating just a few bites of so many different foods at one sitting is not a great idea for me as I am still in "recovery" mode from food addiction. Her theory being that if I keep eating lots of different stuff that I like, it stimulates my taste buds and eventually will lead to desire to eat "ju…

So I hate protein shakes and have not been doing them at all and barely getting protein in and my doc is aware and I been trying to eat more things with protein. Welllllllll I went to market today and found oikos zero yogurt fruit flavored 15 grams protein for that little container!! Woohoo!! I never really looked because I thought there was only vanilla yuck!!! This is big for me right now you guys have no idea!! Lmao haha laughing at myself over how ecstatic I am.

I have a question, Iam three weeks post op and my calories range between 800-900 and that works well for me but Iam constantly watching you tube videos of other Gastric SLeeve patients and they all say 400-600 calories. Im concerned that Im over doing it even thou I feel good and no bad effects from it. Im in the mushy and soft phase but all the calories come from foods I allowed to have. Can anyone tell me if this is to much ?? and what there calories intake was or is ? Please

I've gotten where I cannot tolerate shakes that are require at least twice a day in addition to my puree foods. Does anyone have this problem? Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated. Oh by the way they make me nauseous and I feel literally ill after drinking one. All shakes.

I just discovered that Popeyes the fast food restaurant sells blackened chicken tenders. No breading. They are so good. 170 calories for 3 tenders and 26g of Protein. 2g of carbs I think. Don't let them give you a biscuit though. I got one planning on throwing it away. It looked better than Michael Fassbender and I think he looks pretty darn good!

I've never been a big cook, but I have found several recipes I'd like to try although I would need to add protein powder to them. Is there a certain powder that does best when baking? Or will any work?

Has anyone tried these http://www.flatoutbread.com/products/flatout-wraps/flatout-light/? The nutrition doesn't look terrible on the light or the Protein one. Just wondering. They look big, so I am assuming I wouldn't be able to eat a whole one one I put meat and such.