istytehcrawk

I don’t advise going against your particular surgeon or dietitians recommendation, and I think that’s pretty risky to encourage others to do the same. Your surgeon has set forth a plan for your healing organs for a reason.
I used my nutri ninja to purée chicken salad, pinto Beans with taco seasoning, puréed cauliflower, etc. Just because you are on purée does not mean you cannot have real food. There are some great recipes out there worth trying that don’t involve going against doctors orders.
Just my two cents.

Hi and welcome to the boards! It isn't so much that you "can't" have surgery with a >60BMI. It's more that you need to make sure to choose your surgeon and new tool wisely. Make sure to ask your surgeon how many people he/she's operated on in the past year with BMIs >60? Ask if it will be an open or closed procedure. Ask about the surgery type. Ask about their success rate/complication rate. If it were me, I'd be sure to go with a Center of Excellence surgeon, team, and hospital--but I'm a wieny that way...I'd mainly want to know that my doc has great comfort/skill in operating on someone towards the higher BMI spectrum. Ask about contingencies: what happens if he/she gets in there and that there's "not enough room" to perform the chosen surgery--then what happens? Will the surgery change to an open procedure? Will you wind up with a different procedure?
BTW, most docs are gonna wanna see some weight loss. They're gonna want to know you can go the distance, are serious about changing food relationships and sticking with a diet program. They're also gonna want to reduce your bulk to increase the space they have to operate and to reduce your liver. So you may have to lose 5-10% of your weight or more. My insurance company only required I lose 5% of my total weight. My doc said 10%. I've lost 10% from the date of my first weigh in with the surgeon. I think I will have surgery either next month or in early March.

If you are affiliated with a program that has multiple nutritionists, PLEASE do your best to keep patients consistently seeing the same one. I was in a WLS program for ~2 years that swapped me around between approximately 9 different nutritionists over that time (*partially* due to staff turnover), and though they *said* they were all on the same page, they were very inconsistent with their recommendations/instructions, and it was highly frustrating for me.

I'm 424 now (BMI roughly 74 I think). I started out in a program that wouldn't do surgery on anyone over a BMI of 60, but I switched to a different program that doesn't have an upper limit. I asked about that at my introductory seminar and was told they've done the surgery on people with BMIs in the 80s and 90s. So it all depends on the surgeon, but many are well acquainted with working on the larger among us.

Those of you who are post-op, what are the kitchen gadgets/utensils you've found most helpful? I want to make sure my kitchen is ready before my surgery in ~6 weeks.
So far, I've got measuring cups/spoons, mini strainers, silicone ice cube trays (for broth and yogurt and such), and small containers for taking lunch to work. As for bigger items, I also have a food processor, blender, immersion blender, and crock pots.

I'm not sure about the other brand mentioned but I got some Protein Water from Target. It has 20g protein per bottle and I didn't find that there was a weird taste. They're much better cold then room temp but that was just my preference. They tasted similar to G2 or a melted ice pop.
Trust me, you're going to want something that isn't so thick and milky like Protein Shakes and these are a HUGE help for those moments.
https://www.target.com/p/glanbia-trusource-protein-water-orange-16-fl-oz-4pk/-/A-51224464#lnk=sametab

For after surgery, it is nice to have the good quality smoothie travel cups with the canisters attached underneath for the Protein Powder. Have a few of those ready to go. Also get Water travel cups with tight lids to go everywhere you go, at home, On the go, with measurements on the sides to let you know how much Fluid you are getting in. Those are what I couldn’t have done without. For when you are back commuting make sure you have premeasured amounts of Protein powder every where you spend time (home, office, car). Along with bottled water in quantity for car and work. That way, in a pinch, when you feel shaky and low on protein, you can just mix protein powder into plain water and it will make you feel better ASAP, even if no flavor.

Those of you who are post-op, what are the kitchen gadgets/utensils you've found most helpful? I want to make sure my kitchen is ready before my surgery in ~6 weeks.
So far, I've got measuring cups/spoons, mini strainers, silicone ice cube trays (for broth and yogurt and such), and small containers for taking lunch to work. As for bigger items, I also have a food processor, blender, immersion blender, and crock pots.