Ana-Maria

Thank you so much for your response. Trying to prepare myself in ase it happens.

It's not the end of the world if on occasion you don't get absolutely all of your Protein for a meal or even a day.
It's likewise no terrible sin to leave food on a plate uneaten. It can actually be liberating.
Enjoy your vacations.
Tek

You can carry ready-made or powdered Protein Drinks on ship and in Italy. Individual envelopes of mix are available from several companies; Bariatric Advantage and ProtiDiet come to mind. Or you could fill single portion baggies to keep in your luggage. The Water onboard is safe to drink, but in Italy you may want bottled water if you are unsure. You may no lonhrt be drinking Protein drinks by the time your trip rolls around.
On the ship there are plenty of things you can eat both in the dining room and buffet. You can order just Soup and/or starters and not the main course. They usually have sugar-free Desserts. Be careful! It's so easy to eat, eat, eat on a cruise. It's so good. Avoid the bread: It's SO good! Avoid alcohol. Save some room for lobster tail, escargot, and prawns--seafood usually goes down well at 6-7 months out.
I couldn't eat steak for a year or more post-RNY, Pasta got stuck, and Pizza Crust is too much carbohydrate. Italian pizzas are not loaded with sauce, meat, or cheese like US pizza. They get a swipe of Tomato sauce, and you may find things like artichokes or a fried egg on the pizza. Pizzas are personal-sized. I would say to taste your husband's pizza, but don't order one for yourself. Seafood is a good choice in Italy as well as on the ship.

I went to Italy 4 months post op too, twins! I had a lot of coffee, salads, nuts, cheese, yogurt, fruit with some pizza, gelato and pastries thrown in (surgeon said I could although I assumed I couldn’t) because… it was Italy.
Pharmacies did have ready made and powder Protein for shakes. I shopped at local markets a few times and made a meal of my own at a cooking class.
I was limited by capacity so that was nice. I did try to be balanced but still have fun. Surprisingly food was not the fun I ultimately had.
Good Luck and have fun ❤️

I have not been to Italy since pre-surgery, but I was just at Walt Disney World for two weeks, and I was 4 months out from surgery. I focused on my Protein, and I did have carbs, but it was not a lot at one time because I was full from the protein. I passed on bread, I attempted to eat some Naan, but I probably only ate 2-3 bites, and that was more than enough. One breakfast was Stuffed French Toast with Turkey Sausage ... I ate the Turkey Sausage, and the cream cheese, apple bits in the french toast. It was decimated when I was done. I haven't really introduced bread to my regular diet (it was not allowed the first 3 months on my program). For pizza - focus on the toppings Although Pizza in Italy is certainly different than America. I only eat Poultry, so I have not had steak. But I will say, any food I did try while on vacation, I fortunately had no issues with (including the sweet stuff). I just couldn't eat much of it.

..and don't be scared of the scale, I lost no weight while on vacation, then dropped 5.2 lbs the week after I returned.

Perfect timing! I’m not in Italy, but I am on a cruise ship! If meals onboard are an option, My husband and I have just been sharing everything and I’m able to eat anything/everything without issue (except maybe too much once or twice). Lots of Protein options in the morning and at lunch. I have found dinner a bit more challenging because of the number of courses. Our solution has been to order room service so there’s no pressure, I can take my time, and not feel like the odd man out at a table.

You won’t be restricted to just having to eat Pasta & pizza when in Italy. Italian’s also eat a wide range of meats & seafood without pasta or rice. If you are limited by menu choices try to eat the Protein in the dish before the pasta & opt for Tomato based sauces not creamy ones. Pop into grocery stores & purchase tubs of yoghurt & any other available food stuffs which would keep up your protein levels. I love the card idea to explain your eating situation.
By four months I was easily eating steak (thick cuts cooked to medium rare so still very juicy) but yes some can’t tolerate it yet.
I’d contact the cruise ship line & ask them what foods you could take with you. Would think powdered Protein Shakes would be ok.
Hope you have a wonderful time.

From my experiences in Italy, it's not a problem to share if you explain. (Mi hanno operato allo stomaco e non posso mangiare molto... andrebbe bene se io con mio marito condividessimo il piatto principale, se ognuno de noi ordinasse un antipasto?)
However, you might have some trouble with Protein in the morning. It depends where you are staying.
If you are in a rented apartment where you must shop for your own food, of course, no problem, you can just buy the Proteins you want and cook in the apartment.
If you are in a tourist hotel, no problem, Germans travel to Italy in huge flocks and they tend to eat Brötchen (rolls), cold cuts, and cheese, you can just skip the rolls.
The problem will be if you are in a little pensione or a hotel that caters to Italians, breakfast is likely to be Cappuccino (never ordered after about 10 a.m.) with either bread and jam, or with a cornetto (like a sugary croissant, but either filled [ripieno] with sweet almond paste, cinnamon paste, fruit paste, or Nutella, or not filled [vuoto]). If this is where you are staying you might ask if they have any yoghurt for breakfast. Italians don't eat eggs, bacon, sausage, or ham for breakfast... US breakfasts confuse them.

Hi everyone,

New here.I had my sleeve on 10/5/21. I am just starting on mushy foods. I have a big concern with what I can eat after 4 months. I am going to Italy in may and I already pushed this vacation back. It was originally in January. My question is at what month did everyone start eating, Pasta, bread, pizza, steak, sweet stuff and did you have to wait to get approval from your doctor for it? I am a little worried about what I can and can’t eat on this trip. Also has anyone traveled by cruise lately, Do they allow you to take powder for your shakes?

Thank you :)

I'm going to Italy late next month and I'll be about 3.5 months out. My plan is to have Protein at the hotel Breakfast as much as possible and then a lot of shareable meals and Snacks so that my husband can eat most of it. My understanding is that it's okay to not order all three courses but it's also a little rude to order only an antipasto, so I'm hoping that ordering three courses between the two of us will be fine.
You could also stay at an Airbnb and cook for yourself; this wasn't feasible for my situation but could work for you. Whoops, just noticed that you might be on a cruise!
My nutritionist is totally on board with me trying a little pizza, Pasta, and gelato--it is vacation after all--but to also focus on protein where possible, drink lots of Water, and get right back on track when back home.
If you want to remind me in mid December, I'll be happy to share my experiences!

You'll know a lot closer to then what you can and can't eat. Some people can't eat steak, because it's too dry. Some people can't eat Pasta or bread because it expands too much in their pouch. Everyone is different.
I will say this, though... you're likely not to be able to come anywhere close to eating an entire three-course Italian meal. If you don't speak Italian, you might want to take a little card with you that says something like Mi hanno operato allo stomaco e non posso mangiare molto. Per favore, mi serva piccole porzioni.

Down 65 pounds at 12 weeks post op

This is the first time posting any pics. I am a couple days shy of 2 mos post op. Down 46lbs.

This is me, 7 months post-op..79lbs lost

I remember being pre-op and my favorite thing to do was look at progress photos and dream
I am 6 months, 10 days post op and I am down 128 pounds total. This isnt a very great pic since I have been sick, but i still took it because anything is better than my before!!

So on my soft food stage, heck, my binder said even on my puree stage, I was able to have soft, flaky fish such as salmon and flounder. So I made the recipe found on this link for my husband and had one of the sticks myself (only had one cause it had some "breading" and I didn't want to push it so soon). It was SOOOOO GOOD!!! If you cannot try it now, depending on what stage you're on, I'm sure once you get to the "regular food" stage you could. Skip ahead on the video to about 2 min 40 seconds to get to the recipe. If you try this, make sure you SEASON the flour to YOUR LIKING. I think I used some Tony's, Old Bay, parsley, and a few other things. I'd imagine you could experiment and use almond flour instead of regular flour and ground Pork rinds instead of panko too to make it even healthier.

Nope, if you go through it you just go through it....and it is not fun! Lol just try really hard not to go through it lol don't eat too much sugar or fatty foods.

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Nice I am on week 2. I have my post op tomorrow hoping everything goes well. I am having trouble with the Water intakes so that is the only thing that is worrying me. My incision look ok except I have 1 that bleeds a little everyday after I shower.

there's your problem - you're believing what you read online. Just don't. NO ONE loses 5-15 lbs a week from weight loss surgery. People who are on shows like "My 600 lb Life" might lose somewhere at the lower end of that range, but even THEY aren't going to lose 15 lbs a week.

the average WLS patient (and I am NOT talking people who start out at 600+ lbs, like on those shows) loses somewhere in the 15-25 lb range the first month - and then it drops to about 10 lbs a month (give or take) after that. And for lower BMI patients, it'll be even lower than that. Yes - you will find people here and there who do not start out at over 600 lbs who might drop 30 lbs the first month, but they are outliers. And NO ONE loses 15 lbs a week (OK - maybe the very first week when most of that is Water weight - but after that, no. It just doesn't happen).

I started out at almost 400 lbs and lost 16 lbs the first month. 12 lbs the second. And then around 10 lbs, give or take, for the next six months or so. And I lost every molecule of my excess weight - over 200 lbs.

You are doing fine. Readjust your expectations a bit. If you are following your program, and you're seeing a general downward trend, you're good.

your rate of weight loss is fine and perfectly normal.

I don’t recognize my self in my pics any more I’m firing into stuff that I fit into from middle school and even in middleschool it was tight but now it’s lose such a suprised but also hard because I’m having a hard time breaking my coping with food what have others done to help so I do more therapy that deals with talking about not using food as a coping skill I’m at a lost here me 4 months post op I use to weight 325lbs at my highest at my lowest today 10/18/2021 I can ever remember now is 229lbs

For me - It got easier each day. Now I can drink without discomfort but it's still slow sips!

Oh it is rough at first that's for sure but trust me it will get better! I actually wish I could go back to eating two bites and being done lol bc I'm at 4 mo ths post op and can eat almost anything and any amount lol I do get that dumping syndrome which really sucks sometimes but when it passes your all good. It's my own fault though.

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Lots of us have regret the 1st month. Give it time, it will get better. You have just put your body through a major shock! Just take it easy & slow down your eating. Take one bite, wait 10-15 min then take another. In a couple of days shorten the time between bites. You’ll get there.

My surgery was a bit more than months ago. I am pretty much back to normal eating now, though not with sugar and fat. When I was 4 weeks past surgery, I could only tolerate about 4 ounces of food. Now I'm up to almost 8 ounces, even a bit more if the foods are mostly liquids like cottage cheese and pineapple.
I was never quite as bad as you are, though. Can you tolerate Protein Drinks? In my early days they were a mainstay of my diet. Staying hydrated is also important.

My surgery date is october 1.