Jillian K8

Same here. Before this drinking wasn’t even a thought. I was drinking almost a gallon of water and drinking protein 3 times a day was not a problem. Now I can barely get it down. I have been doing the half and half of water with cranberry or pomegranate juice. I’m also eating a lot of refried Beans and thank goodness for the sugar free popsicles.

Thank you for replying. I'm glad you found something that was gentler on your stomach. I'm just trying to finish this last week of just protein to get to puree foods and hoping that will be a bit better. I go back to work so I'm just worried. I hope you are doing well now and continue so 😊

Same boat. I can't do anything Protein Drink, Protein water, Protein Powder. Probably same reason too (I got the flu on 3 days PO and violently puked up my Protein Drinks for 24 hrs). I recently tried the Koia brand and they're pea protein/vegan and it's much gentler on my stomach but I still nurse them. My doctor is happier with me getting protein from whole foods and not rely on the artificial nutrition so she says not to worry and just try my best.

I've had my sleeve surgery on March 23rd. I was 326 lbs before the liquid diet, dropped down to 310 just a day before surgery and now I'm between 271 and 275.
Today (April 20th) kinda marks my 1 month post op and I've been hospitalized twice! The first time happened was when I was switching over to a Multivitamin pill from a chewable. (2 weeks post op) Once I popped that pill and swallowed it, I felt it opened in my stomach and left a extremely bitter taste and threw up all of my medication and made me weak. Went to the hospital and they said that I was dehydrated. Thank you multivitamin pill for making me feel this way. They gave me IV and sent me home the same day.
The second time, which was last Saturday (4/15), I was sitting on my couch taking a little nap because I was a little tired. I woke up and left my plate from my lunch on my table. I got up, took it in the kitchen and right away felt so exhausted! My partner saw me and said what's wrong? I remember saying help me to the couch. 15 seconds later and I was on the floor by my bathroom. I've actually lost consciousness for 15 seconds and let's just say that I didn't make it to the toilet in time... Went back to the hospital for test and lab work and my red blood cells were at a all time low. They gave me IV and magnesium. Stayed overnight. When my levels were somewhat normal, they sent me home.
Today, had an appointment with my regular doctor. He said that I'm mild anemic and things will slowly get better overtime. I have another appointment to go to tomorrow and that's with my bariatric surgeon. Almost everyday, im having nausea. Making it a little difficult to take my medication/vitamins and eat/drink. If I knew my body would be going through this, I never would have did this!

Aw man, hope things turn around soon!

1 Factor meal usually feeds me for lunch and dinner. So a 1 week box really goes far. I work full time, I'm in college full time, and I have a lot of medical crap going on due to complications from my sleeve. In and out of surgeries before I can be cleared for my revision. So for me and what I have going on right now, the Factor 75 meals are perfect.

I had the bypass on 3/16 and have only lost 16 total. From what I've seen, that's technically low-average for bypass patients with a 300 lb starting weight. I don't really care though because I know it'll come off. I'm meeting my Protein and Water goals and walking 1-2 miles per day. Something's gotta give, you know? I think a lot of us are just primed to hold onto weight until the bottom gives out. But I will say the non-scale victories are something to celebrate! I can sleep through the night now, my high BP has reversed, no more GERD to manage. Hopefully you have some nsv's to look forward to. I made a list of 15 things I look forward to from this surgery that can't be 'found' on a number on a scale. I made the list for this exact scenario - when you feel like you've stalled or get discouraged. If you don't have one, I definitely recommend making one. Hopefully that helps!

Helps a bunch!!! Thank you

I had the bypass on 3/16 and have only lost 16 total. From what I've seen, that's technically low-average for bypass patients with a 300 lb starting weight. I don't really care though because I know it'll come off. I'm meeting my Protein and Water goals and walking 1-2 miles per day. Something's gotta give, you know? I think a lot of us are just primed to hold onto weight until the bottom gives out. But I will say the non-scale victories are something to celebrate! I can sleep through the night now, my high BP has reversed, no more GERD to manage. Hopefully you have some nsv's to look forward to. I made a list of 15 things I look forward to from this surgery that can't be 'found' on a number on a scale. I made the list for this exact scenario - when you feel like you've stalled or get discouraged. If you don't have one, I definitely recommend making one. Hopefully that helps!

So I'm incredibly disappointed in my progress so far. I was sleeved on March 7th and I've only lost 15 lbs. I know everyone is different and we're not supposed to compare but I'm a little panicked.
Would someone mind sharing how they've done this month after surgery?
I did contact my Nutritionist and asked her how many calories I should be eating a day and she said not to worry about that right now. Just concentrate on getting my Protein and Water in, which I am doing.

I understand your frustration. However, 20 pounds is definitely not "gaining like crazy." It's fairly common to gain +/- 20 pounds in the second year after surgery and beyond. Very few of stayed at the low weight we reached in the year after surgery.
Your focus now should be to stay more or less where you are without gaining more, and your best bet would be to consult a nutritionist. Your surgeon wouldn't be very relevant at this point in your journey.
Many people claim they have "stretched their pouch" and can therefore eat more food, but my surgeon claims that is an urban myth and is essentially impossible. Our restrictions do ease over time and we are able to eat a greater volume and variety of food than we could at first.
Also, a "pouch reset" does not shrink your pouch and increase your restriction. It's really just a psychological/motivational tool to get you back on track with healthier eating habits. Personally, I think it's a bit extreme, and you can do the same thing by simply re-focusing and shifting your mindset. However, if it works for you, then go for it.

I like nutritional yeast because it makes salad taste like bread. Try mixing it in a vinaigrette, or sprinkle it anywhere you would Parmesan. It is low volume Protein. 2 tablespoons gives you 6g ish. Also, it is my understanding that it is grown on molasses, which is high in Iron. The yeast breaks down much of it to a very mild and digestible form. I hope this is true...
Bragg's brand is at most supermarkets, but you can find it much cheaper at a health food store that sells bulk items.
I love the stuff.

Has anyone used this as a way to increase Protein? A vegan friend told me about it and I was just wondering if anyone else has tried it.

I haven't actually tried this because I haven't had any problems, but my NUT gave me some other options... Add dry powdered milk, it adds a lot of protien. Add powdered egg whites = protein... Carnation instant Breakfast, sugar free with powdered milk or plain Protein powder. broth with plain protein powder (I did that, it was good). If you have greek yogurt, you may want to thin it out, it might be too thick for liquid stage until you get into puree or soft. good luck

My surgeon used skim milk as my primary source of Protein for the first 2 weeks. He's not a fan of Protein shakes in general. I was allowed to use NesQuik No Sugar Added chocolate mix-in to make chocolate milk. It's not a huge difference from a chocolate Protein shake, but maybe enough suffice? Are you allowed to drink milk? For weeks 3 & 4 I was on full liquids & able to put the unjury chicken in some cream of chicken Soup, which was much better to me than having it mixed with Water. Good luck!

I am probably going to rile up a bunch of people! I don't use low fat or sugar free anything... never have since day one post-op. I ate ALL sugar free and fat free everything since I was 7 years old and guess what? I ended up 260 pounds. So, I eat the real deal in small portions, I am so much more satisfied and healthy. I have maintained my goal weight for a year and counting. When you are eating such small amounts of things I truly believe real fat is much better than processed, fat removed, sugar added crap. My cholesterol is normal, all my labs are great. Just my opinion!!

I feel your frustration OP. Hitting your stride can be really difficult. My advice 5 weeks out would be to try to hit your Fluid goal and your Protein goal as many days as you can, and to let everything else fall into place around those.
Don't fret too much about calories at your stage - you are unlikely to be able to physically get enough in to gain weight, or even be close to maintaining your current weight - you are programmed to lose right now. Be mindful of everything you take in and aim to form habits for a new and healthy life. I wish you the very best of luck.

I am almost 5 weeks post-op, and am frustrated. I joined another site to help me track my foods, and yesterday I consumed less than 300 calories for a whole day and was nowhere near my Protein goals. Last week I was able to make some egg whites and I had a 1,000 calorie day and felt like that was too much. My dietician told me to aim for 700 per day, with a minimum of 80g of protein. I feel like there's no consistency.
Yall, I am really struggling. Do I need to go back to my liquid diet where I was getting all my protein? I've been at a stall for almost 2 weeks and don't see my dietician again until mid-April.

Sorry you’ve been battling. I was told all liquids count towards your Fluid intake: shakes, broth, cream Soup, tea, etc. (not chunky Soups when you’re able that’s just bonus liquid). I diluted all my shakes & soups to make them more palatable & extra fluid. I’d sip the shake or broth, etc. ‘meal’ until it was finished & waited 30 minutes before & after before sipping the non food/meal Water or tea. Actually, I think I only waited about 20 minutes then while on liquids.
I found the shakes hideous too so maybe give the bone broths or other consommés (strained won ton soup or pho) a try. I’d hold off on the cream soups & drinking yoghurts until you’ve recovered from the flu. Try some Protein water too.
Hope you feel better soon.

I never waited 15 minutes (or whatever) between Fluid A and fluid B. They're all just fluids and they go right through you. Waiting to drink after eating is so the food doesn't wash out of your stomach before you feel full (or at least, not hungry), but a shake is going to move through pretty quickly.
I've always counted Protein Shakes toward my Water goal. Actually, I count all non-caffeinated beverages toward my water goal (although some people count coffee, too).

My doctor and nutritionist said that anything other than Water only counts as half the ounces.
So 10 OZ water = 10 oz...
10 Oz Protein Shake (or anything besides water) = 5 oz water...
So keep that in mind to avoid getting dehydrated.

I'll tell you a tip that really helped me get in enough water--- Good ice chips:)
8 oz ice chips = 4 oz Water
I prefer the ice chips at Sonic- perfect for enjoying ice chips. A Route 44 cup of ice = 22 ounces of water.
Also sugar free popsicles will really help you out- so helpful, soothing and yummy.
Hope this helps.

Sorry it's been so rough! I had 24 hours of puking around 4 post-op and it was terrible, so my heart goes out to you. I hope your recovery starts snowballing now and a week from today you feel *normal*🤗
My plan counts Protein Drinks and Soups towards liquids 100%. ( And for the record my "output" has been regular and the right color and whatnot, so I've not had reason to second guess it). I didn't love premeir protein's clear, but I could keep down propel (the individual sticks) either in hot Water or well-watered down. I also love LonoLife powdered Bone Broth, it has 10 grams of Protein and just settled really well. Lastly, a Protein Drink (fairlife or premeir), 8 oz of skim Fairlife milk, and then 8 oz of Decaf coffee has really been helping me get down protein (43 grams) and Fluid (~32 oz). It just seems to settle better than a straight up protein drink. It just takes a couple hours to drink, but I don't mind sipping on it that long 😅
Lastly, I did try mixing some powdered pb or regular pb into a blended shake because my plan okayed that. That can bump up calories 👍 I just need to taste something different/different consistency, so I haven't done it again. There were a few days there everything tastes weird and nasty, but thankfully that has gone for the most part!

To piggyback on this comment, an FYI. You can buy bags of ice from sonic. They used to be $2 but are probably more now.

This is very helpful, thank you so much!