NickelChip

Hey there, fellow Massachusetts person! Here are a few options that might work for you for protein: If you like soups such as creamy tomato, butternut bisque, etc., add a scoop or two (10-20g protein) of unflavored protein powder such as Isopure or Syntrax to the soup. Also, if you make a canned soup like cream of chicken, make it with Fairlife skim milk for even more protein. 1/2 a cup cream of chicken with 1 scoop of protein would give you about 17g protein. If you are at a stage where you can have apples, make a great protein dip by taking 1 cup Greek yogurt and adding one serving chocolate protein powder and 1 scoop powdered peanut butter and eat 1/2 cup with 1/2 an apple. This gives you around 25g protein depending what brands you are using and tastes delicious. A great source of plant-based protein is edamame, which they sell already shelled and lightly salted, ready to eat, in the produce section of Hannaford (and probably other stores, I would assume). Also, four of the cracker-sized slices of Cabot cheddar have 8g protein, and if you pair it with Triscuit thins, that's another 3g for a nice 10g snack (when you can have crackers).

Hey there, fellow Massachusetts person! Here are a few options that might work for you for protein: If you like soups such as creamy tomato, butternut bisque, etc., add a scoop or two (10-20g protein) of unflavored protein powder such as Isopure or Syntrax to the soup. Also, if you make a canned soup like cream of chicken, make it with Fairlife skim milk for even more protein. 1/2 a cup cream of chicken with 1 scoop of protein would give you about 17g protein. If you are at a stage where you can have apples, make a great protein dip by taking 1 cup Greek yogurt and adding one serving chocolate protein powder and 1 scoop powdered peanut butter and eat 1/2 cup with 1/2 an apple. This gives you around 25g protein depending what brands you are using and tastes delicious. A great source of plant-based protein is edamame, which they sell already shelled and lightly salted, ready to eat, in the produce section of Hannaford (and probably other stores, I would assume). Also, four of the cracker-sized slices of Cabot cheddar have 8g protein, and if you pair it with Triscuit thins, that's another 3g for a nice 10g snack (when you can have crackers).

How has your recovery and first month gone?

If you're allowed, I found heating up a serving of tomato soup with unflavored protein powder was much more satisfying for my dinner than a shake. Just check that the combined calories and carbs of the soup plus the protein is roughly in line with a meal replacement shake. I used the Tomato Basil from Pacific Foods with 2 scoops of Syntrax unflavored and it was right in line with a Bariatric Fusion meal replacement shake but with a hot and savory flavor instead of sweet/cold.

@BlueParis The liquid diet isn't so bad. I guess it's a good thing I'm not actually hungry. I bought a bunch of smooth soups to add my protein powder to so I wouldn't need to do shakes, and picked up some favorite yogurt flavors. For the vitamin issue, are you able to buy Celebrate or Bariatric Fusion brands of vitamins in France? If so, they both make multivitamins that are iron free, and then a soft-chew iron supplement. I would suggest getting your multivitamin in first thing and then taking the soft chew iron in very little nibbles throughout the day. Celebrate's cherry flavor is pretty good, and the texture is like a chewy candy (like Starburst, if you are familiar with that candy). It's probably the 45mg of iron hitting all at once that's causing the issue, so if you took the very tiniest of bites 6 or even 12 times per day, you could get the iron in by the end of the day without the shock to your stomach.

The first program I was in had a similar requirement. It would've been liquids for Saturday and Sunday with surgery on Monday. But the program closed and I was referred to a different program at a nearby hospital. And even though they were part of the same healthcare system, the new program required a full 2 week liquid diet. Let me tell you, it was not easy being mentally prepared for 2 days and then being told 2 weeks!

The vomiting has probably caused some swelling. You'll probably need to baby your tummy with very easy to digest foods in very small quantities for a few days. And I wouldn't try any red meat for quite some time. Are you already allowed to have that? It's very hard to digest. My program says 3 months before beef, pork, and lamb.

That sounds awful! Nausea is no fun. I hope you're able to find ways to keep yourself hydrated. I'm grateful that I don't feel poorly unless I eat something that "sticks," so as long as I just go with the liquids, I feel okay (just bored).

I talked to the nurse the other day about some vomiting issues I had been experiencing, about 5 times in total over the past 2 weeks. While the first time was almost certainly due to overcooked/dry food, there was concern over the other times, especially a few days ago when I was sick twice in a day with quite a bit of pain and multiple times of fairly aggressive vomiting. I had a longer, more complicated surgery than usual (6 hours) due to some scarring and issues with my intestine, so my doctor decided I should go back to the liquid phase until I see him on April 2. Not gonna lie, 11 days of protein shakes and yogurt is not what I was hoping for. I thought they would say just avoid the foods that were making me sick. But I guess the doctor feels my systems need more time to heal. I can have some simple creamed soups, though, and plan to supplement those with unflavored protein because I can't stand the shakes and protein waters. At least I'm having no issues with hydration.

Honestly, I would demand an explanation for why their program is so different than almost every established program out there and why the discharge papers contradict her instructions. Are you getting protein with the clear fluids? Also, I would want them to outline clearly what your food intake goals are going to be for the next several weeks. I've seen 2 Tbsp as a guideline on solid foods before for the first few months, but never limited to once a day. That's usually per meal, with 3-6 meals per day.

The day I got home from the hospital, I had two Premier Protein shakes. The next day, I had 2 protein shakes, 16oz of bone broth sipped over a very long period of time, and 2 Tbsp apple sauce. On day 3, I managed to eat 1/4 c of very thin Cream of Wheat made with high protein milk along with the 2 shakes. On day 4, I had 2 shakes and one 5oz cup of Greek yogurt. Even 4 weeks out, 1/2 cup of anything but soup in one sitting would be a challenge. But the only thing my doctor's office really cared about the first several days was fluids.

After only 4 days? I've seen dozens of people on this board say it took them a week. It might be time to take a dose of Miralax.

It took about three weeks to not feel exhausted. I'm 4 weeks out now and this si the first week I haven't felt like I could close my eyes and nod off at any moment.

What else is allowed on your program? Some are more lenient than others. Mine allowed tomato or strained cream soups, for example. Although lobster bisque has got to be one of the richest soups I've ever encountered. It's so full of calories and fat, not to mention lobster is not as easy to digest as, say, flaky white fish. I honestly can't imagine eating this 4 days post-op. Greek yogurt would be a healthier option, or strained cream of chicken soup. So, the issue with coffee is caffeine, which dehydrates. If you said you were getting 64+ oz water every day, no problem, I might shrug at a little bit of coffee. Some programs allow a cup a day. But given that you're struggling to hit even a much more modest 48oz goal, I wouldn't drink something that is known to dehydrate you. Could you try decaf instead? I drink a 32 oz travel mug of decaf tea every morning and it goes down so smoothly, better than water, and counts toward my hydration goal. Ultimately, taking a bite or sip of something forbidden isn't as big an issue as why you're doing it. When I am tempted to do something not approved on my plan, I have tried to ask myself why, and get to the bottom of it, because what can quickly undo all your best efforts and intentions is not being in a healthy headspace. Is there something going on that will continue to drive you to push the limits, or lead to a slippery slope? That's something only you can know. I totally understand how boring and disgusting the options get that first week post-op. But it's really such a short time. For me, my program allowed soft proteins at one week post-op. That's really not so long to wait. Your body doesn't need much right now. If you're like me, you don't even experience hunger yet. So "needing" something different is mostly head hunger, which can get a lot more dangerous as you go along. Bending the rules now makes it a lot more likely you will bend them later, too.

These all sound delicious!

This is what I was thinking of doing with my meals, prepare the size that's recommended and then eat it in 2 shifts if needed. I did speak to the nurse at my doctor's office yesterday about the recent vomiting and she wanted me to go back to liquids at least through today. Not sure if they'll want me to do any tests but she was going to check in with the surgeon and the dietician for their opinions and get back to me today.

Here is my 4-week post-op update: Highest weight: 251 Start of 2 week pre-op diet weight: 238 Day before surgery weight: 226 Today's weight: 214.8 I had a stall that began exactly at the 3-week post-surgery mark and lasted 7 days. Below are photos taken before surgery and this morning.

Well done! You're definitely making great progress.

Well, I think you look spectacular and very healthy. The transformation is absolutely stunning! I also think as our population trends heavier, we don't see the extra weight as much. I was a chubby kid, and I was like one of maybe 3 chubby kids in my entire grade, not just my class. I dieted like an idiot as a teen and got down to 126 lbs and I was nowhere close to the thinnest person in my friend group. Nobody said anything about me getting too skinny, for sure. I gained weight in college and by the time I graduated, I was overweight again, and obese by the time I hit my late 20s. I always felt like the biggest person in the room (at, like 210 lbs). But by the time I was in my mid-30s, I started seeing bigger people than me all around. Everyone was getting bigger. My weight went up to 225, but many of the parents of kids in my daughters' grades were way bigger than that. It almost had an insulating effect from my own weight gain, because I was no longer the biggest person in the room. I just kind of looked normal. When a friend heard I was getting bypass, her first response was "but you're not that big" and at this point I was 250 lbs with a 40+ BMI, plus high blood pressure, prediabetes, and high cholesterol. And this was from a person who is in the healthy BMI range and never been overweight. So I definitely think we've become so used to seeing larger people that we think "obese" is a term reserved for the people on television shows who weigh 600+ pounds. And, of course, the rapid weight loss from surgery is jarring so people notice it more. But don't let their comments get to you!

Excess body weight equals your starting weight minus your "ideal" body weight (not the highest weight in your healthy BMI range). You can calculate your ideal body weight here: https://www.calculator.net/ideal-weight-calculator.html You get several slightly different calculations with this, plus a healthy BMI range (in my case, 114.6-154.9). For me, 3 out of 4 calculations tell me my ideal weight is 130, so I'll go with that. It should be noted, that is not my "goal" weight. Keep in mind all of this is a guessing game, not an exact science.

Dang. That eliminates what I would say. I will say this, though. Did these same people tell you to your face you were "too fat" when you were obese and your weight was actively trying to shorten your lifespan? Or is it just your skinniness that worries them? Because you are right in the middle of a healthy weight range right now. You could drop to 125 lbs and STILL be 100% healthy and normal weight. So, if these people weren't telling you every day when you were 262 lbs how worried they were about your weight, I don't think I'd trust their judgement where weight is concerned. I'm not saying the comments don't come from a place of love, but they do seem to come from a place of ignorance.

I know I shouldn't complain because I'm feeling great and hitting my protein and water goals every day since I got home from the hospital, even tolerating soft proteins really well. If it weren't for the incisions and the lack of hunger, I'd almost forget I had anything done. But man, I would check my scale for bad batteries if I hadn't just changed them. My preop diet was a very exciting time as I was dropping weight like crazy. 15 lbs in 14 days! I was 238.8 on February 7, and the day before I went to the hospital, February 20, I weighed in at 223.4. I stayed off the scale after getting home because I knew I had IV fluids and all of that to flush out of my system. But I weighed myself today, 10 days post-op, and I'm down exactly 1 pound at 222.4. Color me underwhelmed. I know it's probably just an early appearance of the "3 week stall." Logically, I understand all the reasons for it to happen. But it doesn't stop me from wanting to kick something, specifically, my scale. My body will never miss an opportunity to mess with my head. Anybody else have a slower start after surgery than you were expecting? How long did it take to pick up the pace?

I hope talking to them about it will help! It's funny because everyone knows right now I can barely eat anything, but they all catch themselves offering me food because it's "polite." I'm eating dessert, want some? I made this big meal full of stuff you can't even look at right now, can I get you a plate? And then I see it on their faces, it's like oh, wait... But since you're dealing with regain, it's good that you are figuring out your triggers and asking others to help you avoid them now so you can have the best chance for success the second time around.

You can take my advice with a grain of salt since I've never been in the position of losing too much weight and am only 4 weeks post-op, but I think at this point your best bet is to ignore calories and just listen to your body. Eat if you're hungry, don't eat if you're not, and focus on nutritious food. Your body will stop losing weight when it feels like it. I agree with @Spinoza that I think the surgery gives you a new set point. It's best to just see what that is and only worry about it if it's so low that it's unhealthy. More than likely, it'll bounce back up on its own if it's too low for you to maintain. But better you bounce up to where your goal was initially than put the brakes on now and then bounce up 10 lbs higher than you wanted in a year.