TracieSue

Any shake that does not contain artificial sweeteners basically passes in my book!! I have been through so-ooo many different Protein Shakes and my favorite is Plexus chocolate and vanilla!!😋

I echo the advice to go back to your surgeon for guidance & if you haven’t got one, find a dietician/nutritionalist with experience supporting wls patients. There are differences in plans, your very quick cycle through the return to eating stages as an example. But we ourselves are very different & consequently have different needs. For example I’m shorter, probably older, likely had a different weight loss/gain history, had no comorbidities before surgery & aren’t very active.
I wasn’t given calorie goals only portion size: 1/4 - 1/3 cup from purée slowly increasing to about a cup at goal which was 6 months. I remember for months it would take me three days to eat two scrambled eggs. I could eat one egg at 6 months - just the egg nothing else I didn’t have to track calories but I know I was barely consuming 300 in around the soft food stage & was barely eating 900 calories at 6 months. My plan did not allow for any rice, Pasta or bread at any stage while losing.
Beat advice is to go slowly & be more tentative with your food choices while you are healing (& it does take a few weeks). The staged return to eating we work through is to protect & not strain your healing tummy & support your recovery. Remember all those staples & sutures holding your tummy & digestive system together & all the nerves that have been cut too.
All the best with your recovery & weight loss.

Hello. I had my gastric sleeve surgery done on July 10th. I am in the USA, so I am a bit jealous of the folks overseas in the UK and Europe with lax restrictions. My team also seems to have some of the strictest restrictions from what I've researched online. I was on clear liquids for 7 days following surgery. After that, I was on a full liquid diet for 13 more days. During this time I've only been consuming Protein Shakes, sugar free Gelatin and sugar free pudding, low sodium beef and chicken broth, and strained healthy request campbell's cream soups(cream of chicken, celery, mushroom, tomato). I've only been getting 300-400 calories a day. Its a struggle for me to get enough Protein and my 64oz of clear liquids a day. It isn't that my body won't tolerate what I am putting in, but I am trying to do everything exactly as dictated by my treatment team. I can eat more than 2oz of yogurt at once, but they say to limit portions to that. I can put 6oz of Soup in my stomach without any pain or discomfort, but they say only 1/4 to 1/2 cup at once. As for liquids, I am a gulper. I am used to drinking in excess of 1-1.5 gallons of clear sugar free liquids a day.(mostly crystal light iced tea mix). I am finding it so hard to take a sip and remember to keep taking sips. I usually just drink down 16oz and move on. Like others have mentioned, I too am able to drink more than I am supposed to without any discomfort. I am not doing it on a regular basis however, because I am terrified of complications. Also, I know I will have a much easier time of mastering my new lifestyle and diet changes moving forward if I learn and practice moderation early on. So for that reason I have been following my teams' advice verbatim. Until today that is. I decided to move on to the pureed food stage a day early. I went back to work last Tuesday, having taken roughly 2 weeks off for my recovery. My first two days were good. I had more energy than normal and enjoyed being back in the grind of things(pun intended, I am a butcher. :P) Yesterday and today, however, I've been dizzy, light headed, and my balance has been off. Also I've had a lot of muscular pains, more than before surgery, in my back and neck and sides. my blood pressure during one of these episodes was 88/41. I self diagnosed myself as having hypotension brought on by dehydration and possible lack of protein in my diet. So I left work early today with two bags of groceries to fuel my pureed stage of my diet, and set off to make up some egg salad, pureeing the eggs with nonfat greek yogurt and light mayonaise. I ate 2oz of that to test my stomach's reaction, and I didn't have any discomfort at all. This evening I made some adult baby food from 1 pound of skinless boneless chicken thighs, which I boiled, drained, chopped, seasoned, then pureed with a cup of low sodium chicken broth. I added 2oz of my chicken paste to 4oz of my creamy cheddar and mushroom(strained) soup, and that was dinner. At the moment it was the greatest thing I've ever eaten. As a Carnivoire pre-surgery, I really missed eating meat. I feel better tonight after getting more protein, and having gotten my 64oz+ of clear liquids in me. I am a bit concerned though, aside from my stomach gurgling and being a little gassy and occasionally bloated, I've had absolutely no adverse reactions like vomiting, nausea, trouble swallowing, or feeling really full. Maybe it is because I've adhered to what my treatment team told me to do, or maybe it is the slow pace of their rules. Here's the full list: Week 1 - Clear liquids. Weeks 2 & 3 - Full liquid diet. Weeks 4 & 5 - Pureed foods. Weeks 6 & 7 - Soft foods. Week 8 - Slowly start to introduce regular healthy low fat foods. The saving grace to all this is the fact I have no physical hunger, so it is easier for me to stick to this restrictive, slow pace. I think I am going to stick with it instead of trying to eat something 'normal' too early, risking injury. My total nutritional info for today: 588 calories, 29g fat, 63g protein, 18g carbs, 1,679mg sodium. Today I've eaten the most calories in a single day post-op.

Hi OP - I am a little concerned as to whether french toast is considered a soft food in your program. I have a sleeve so feel free to ignore, but I didn't have bread for some months after my surgery - it takes up a lot of room and gives almost nothing back in the way of nutrition. In addition to that, in the weeks immediately after surgery your stomach will be healing. Nerves have been cut that need to grow back. Sometimes we can't feel our restriction so we need to stick to tried and tested rules.
Might it be worth trying the generally recommended progression: Clear Liquids - full liquids- pureed foods - soft foods - that most of us are asked to, even though you haven't been? Especially if your own program is causing you concern.
Other than this I echo everyone else - please speak to your team and clarify what you can and cannot have right now.

My Stage 3 what to expect sheet says that "vomiting is almost always related to eating. Slow down! All of the following could cause vomiting: eating too fast, not chewing well, eating too much, eating foods not soft enough too soon, drinking liquids with food, drinking with a straw, lying down after a meal, or eating foods you do not tolerate." I hope that helps you!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Thank-you, mouse0707! Have a great 2017
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I am 4 Weeks out of surgery highest weight 390 Surgery weight 365 Current weight 320. Just ended a two week stand still super excited for what lies ahead feeling good, Congrats to all that have hit your goal weight super inspiring!!!
Sent from my SM-G925T using the BariatricPal App

Interesting points thanks for the feedback!! And I agree the surgery saved me I wasn't able to lose weight without it but it's a tool anyone past 1 year post op knows the weight can come back if we don't exercise and watch portions. Obesity is a disease and people need to realize that...it's like being rude to someone cause they have diabetes or heart disease. Part of these diseases are genetic and part are lifestyle just like obesity.

The reality is the surgery DID get you where you are today.
It's sort of like a mechanic staring at a bunch of metal parts laid out on the ground that used to be a transmission. If someone comes up and says to the mechanic, " Did you do this? " He says "Yes" And then they point to the wrench, and say, "but you didn't do it by yourself". It would be ridiculous. Would the mechanic get all huffy? Maybe. but it would just be as productive for him to say, yes, I did use the wrench, and it sure helped!
The truth is, there is a 98% chance that indeed, without the surgery you would be 300lbs. Own it, be proud that you got the help you needed, and that gives them zero fuel against you.

I have horrible Constipation when I don't drink at least 64 ounces of water! I wanted to try Water before resorting to pills or any other stuff and Water worked wonderfully! Also, and I know this may sound weird or be a TMI thing, but putting a foot up on the toilet seat and hugging my knee to my chest helped immensely! Something to do with our bodies are not built to fully relieve the contents of our bowels in a sitting position, but rather in a squatting position. It really helps so it's not so painful and straining.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

16 days post op and down 16lbs. It's slowing down as I'm leveling out but I'm feeling so much stronger and I'm eating yogurt, tuna fish, salmon, low fat cottage cheese, and high Protein meatless burritos with a flaxseed tortilla now. food is good but I'm still drinking my shakes because they make my Vitamins and Protein intake easier. shakes make sure I'm taking the food introduction and intake slowly as well. I want to get to know my new pouch nice and easy as the thought of throwing up or dumping horrifies me greatly!!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

9 days post op and I have lost 13lbs!!! I'm finally getting all my liquids down and I'm gaining strength every day. I am having some pretty heavy mood swings, but my husband has been so supportive! He's losing weight as well since I'm not eating a bunch of bad stuff or wanting to eat out or bring crap home. I'm really looking forward to eating food next week!!!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I barely had the energy to Shampoo my hair and had to take a break and sit on the shower floor before I could finish!! Your energy will come back just be patient, drink your Water, get your Protein in, and exercise as much as you can. If I can hang in there and exercise for at least 5 minutes my body warms up and it gets easier, so push yourself a little more while listening carefully to your body of course!


Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I would steer clear of bread, crackers, rice, Pasta etc... they do not add anyting other than empty calories and zero nutrition. Focus on Protein first, especially now, when you are maintaining it might be a different issue.
Congratulations on the surgery!
Kate

Bananas also have a lot of sugar. If you don't get your Protein in, your going to burn muscle instead of fat. If I don't get all my Water in I get terribly constipated. High protein, low sugar and carbs, and 64 ounces of water. I promise if you follow that you will start dropping weight in a few days, but no cheating! Just advice based on my own trial and errors as you have to test the waters and get to know your body all over again! Also stay away from bread- there's nothing in there good for you anymore, you don't need it, and it contains too many carbs. It makes me put on a couple pounds even if I have just a few bites because it throws my body out of weight loss mode!


Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

You have got to try hard to get your 64 ozs of Water in or you will get dehydrated!! My eyes and face start to get really dry and itchy if I don't drink enough water. I am almost 3 months out and I can easily drink all of my water now. Most of the struggle is establishing brand new habits, but once I did everything got much easier!


Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Same thing with me and I'm almost 2 months out! Just be patient, I think it's our bodies way of readjusting and healing. I'm confident the weight will start coming off again as my extensive research points in this exact path! We're doing everything right and our bodies are going to get with the program really soon!


Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I am now 1 month+ post op and wondering if I'll ever be able to eat at least close to normal again. I know the portions will be much less, but what are the Bypass Veterans eating? Can they eat lightly fried foods, noodles, sweets, chips, bread, etc. I'm not planning on eating them on a regular basis after going through all this, and I refuse to gain weight back. I would just like to know if I can have a little treat every now and then without getting sick!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Lead from example and hope she follows.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

My Stage 3 Grocery List says I can have Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones, Healthy Choice, and Atkins Frozen Meals but to select high Protein ones and eat the Protein first!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Thank you very much for that!! I can barely get in three bites without having the feeling of it coming back up. I am convinced my new pouch is not ready for all solids yet. However, as I mentioned previously, I will continue to take it day by day and try again slowly
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I hope this helps. Notice the first bullet point. Maybe you're trying to eat too much, not eating too fast and your tummy may accept a certain food or get used to it in smaller portions.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I couldn't agree more! I will continue with my soft foods until I feel my body is ready to handle other foods. There is no need to rush and as long as I'm keeping in contact with my surgeon and meeting my Protein requirements, all is well!
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Thank you very much. I appreciate your kind words!!
Xo
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App