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Everything sounds so difficult to begin with. Once you get thrown into it, its a lots easier than you thought. I obsessed about taking my meds and needn't have. My plan changed in two week cycles. I couldn't do puree, not my texture that. My surgeon didn't do shakes or protein powders so I drank a lot of milk, its higher in protein and cheap. I did do high protein yogurt and protein pudding though. He didnt ask and I didnt say. I love cheese, I would eat soft cheeses. Never be afraid to go back a step for a day or two. We are not all the same

I have a red bull addiction. It's not as fizzy, but definitely what I shouldn't be drinking. I was told it need to give up fizzy drinks for life, ideally, but for at least during the firstv8 weeks after surgery. I knew I couldn't give them up, but I don't drink coffee or tea and I need caffeine somehow. I was good and waited until the recommended time after surgery to drink fizzy drinks.

A high protein yogurt was my go to in the puree stage & you can make it into a smoothly y simple adding some extra milk. Add powered flavours or protein if you want. That an instant oats (very milky),runny scrambled eggs (again lots of milk to keep therm thin) and soups. Your tummy can be very fussy in there first couple of months and your taste buds and sense of smell can become very sensitive. For me shakes were unpleasantly grainy and many foods were too sweet or too salty. Also I struggled to eat any meats I pureed but if you go down this route ensure to add enough gravy or stock to keep the pureed meat thin ( slurping off a spoon thin). So beware & tread warily when introducing new foods. Yes plans can be different. Mine was probably the most common of two weeks liquids, two weeks, puree, two weeks soft food but there were differences in what foods were allowed or not allowed at the stages from other plans. Another thing to consider is we all heal at different rates and while your plan may say you can move forward to the next stage at a certain time your digestive system may not be ready. Don’t be afraid to stay longer at a stage than your plan says if this happens to you. If you don’t reach your protein goal in the first weeks don’t panic too much. As long as you’re making an effort and getting closer as the weeks pass you’ll be okay. The volume of food you’ll be able to eat those first weeks alone hinders your ability to get all your protein in. It would take me three days to eat 2 scrambled eggs and the same for a single serve of instant oats. But work extra hard to get your fluid in. I could count shakes (but I stopped them after liquid stage) but I also did things like count the extra liquid I added to soups or yoghurt, the extra milk I added to the instant oats and scrambled eggs - not the recommended liquid you might have to add but any extra I added. All the best.

I had my gastric sleeve surgery 10/31/2024, turned 57 2 weeks later. Had hysterectomy 1/20/2024….so slapped into menopause then g. sleeve…..my hair is 1/3rd the thickness it was 18 months ago…had started thinning in late Jan 2024….but handfuls are coming out now. 😭

Yep, SpartanMaker is awe inspiring a lot. He has good advice and will give you volumes of information. That is why he is so high up there on the track to Guru. Just to restate that hydration is the #1 reason for a visit to the ER. While there will be some nausea, it is because your body is healing and you need to give it time. Think about your 1 day out as having a 1-day old baby to feed, they only get formula. Your formula is fluids. Week 2 you have a 2 year old tummy, and they are still struggling with some foods, so it is a slow introduction of new foods. Slow and steady, don't push and you will do just fine. The nausea goes away once you are on real foods. But it takes time for the insides to heal. Just breathe right through it and don't over do it. Sip means sip, no gulping. Wishing you the best!!

My Gastric bypass surgery is scheduled for August 18, 2025 and here in Hawaii, our liquid diet is only for the first 2 days after surgery, then we move on to pureed for the next 2 weeks. I am trying to prepare because I know the day will be here shortly so just wanted to get some ideas of how most of you managed to get a lot of protein in with such small portions.

A'ole pilikia my friend. I'm sure you'll do great! I won't lie, it can be hard the first few weeks, but it should does get better over time. Remember, you're having major surgery, so give yourself some grace. Remember to just take one day at a time and if you have problems, turn first to your surgical team, but for everything else, we're here for you.

ok... first: DISCLAIMER...we are all different and will experience life and all its awesomeness in different ways. what *I* go through is in no way indicative of what YOU will go through. with that said, I am closing in on 7 years post-op (sleeve) here is/was MY experience: - i accidentally found out that i was able to GULP a whole bunch of liquid at around 3 weeks post op (i was super thirsty at the time), and have no problem doing it since. - i was cleared for ALL food/drinks at 1 month post op (except alcohol..which was 6 months**). - i started drinking carbonated drinks (i.e, Perrier or Soda Water) at about 1 month post op) and had no issues, and i could even GULP it! i did not drink sugary carbonated drinks much at this time...except for tonic water, which i had with my GIN or VODKA. ** i drank maybe 4-5 partial gin/vodka tonics in the time before i reached GOAL at 7 months post op. - since reaching goal (like 7 years ago!), i have regulary drank carbonated drinks (real sugar and artificially sweetened) almost every day. i also have some sort of alcohol every day, but that's a different story, ha! - i have maintained BELOW my stated goal weight (127 lbs) since achieving it more than 6 years ago. - i am currently 103 lbs, and eat admittedly not the healthiest, but i exercise like a m-f*cker so i think it all evens out. Edited to add: for those that my think i'm like way underweight, i'm barely 5'2" so my current weight is actually "healthy" for my height (at least that's what BMI and my doctor says, ha!)

I was wondering, how am I able to raise my liquid intake if my stomach pouch doesn't allow more than 4 ounces sometimes 3 ounces per hour? I read that if we don't increase our protein intake it'll be a lot slower to lose weight. Maybe instead of drinking water a few more hours I should drink protein? I'm 3 weeks post op from a sleeve surgery

Hello @Mama - Bee. I am wondering why this is an issue for you ? As its a surgery on the stomach and it really affects your hormones, the chances of getting nausea early on are a thing. They give you medication to deal with it if its a problem. I found that it was like being in the early stages of pregnancy. If I smelled food cooking or thought of food then the nausea would start. It didnt last very long though , maybe a couple of weeks. Also I had issues with excess stomach acid which made me queasy early on but being on PPI and a wedge pillow sorted that out. Don't worry about things that you may never have an issue with. Its not worth the stress.

During the first week of surgery, I was absolutely miserable and very much regretting my decision to have the RNY. Now I’m 15 days out from surgery and I have done a complete 180! I feel AMAZING. The support of this forum is wonderful. I appreciate being able to lean on you all and hear from your experiences. If you are on the fence about this procedure, I would highly recommend it. BUT, go into it with the expectation that the first week will be pretty terrible. Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones that it won’t have much pain or issue. But if not, just know it DOES GET BETTER. So much better. I’ve never been so excited to the future. ❤️

Wendy, I just want to thank you for this. Seeing your experience and your positivity really helped. They did give me an abdominal binder and I also did the pillow method for coughing. 2 weeks out now and I’m feeling a million times better. I hope your journey is going amazingly!

Sorry you are having such a tough time & I do agree with the others your experiences are extreme and unusual. While aversions to certain flavours, smells &/or textures isn’t uncommon in the first couple of months, it usually is to rather specific foods & odours not the broad ranging all encompassing aversions like yours. Same with developing such extensive sensitivities or allergies. Our digestive system is just so sensitive after surgery & while healing. Can I add it might be an idea to get a referral to a therapist. You may find it helpful to talk the through your feelings of failure and even your food aversions. Our mind can really mess with us and convince our bodies of many things. I recall my dad’s oncologist saying that sometimes after experiencing a lot of nausea over a number of weeks, your body can start to think nausea is its natural/normal reaction to food. Not saying this is your situation but it can’t hurt to rule it out as a possibility. Also have you tried sipping water overnight to get in more fluids? Still have a large glass y my bed and sip every time I wake ( usually when I get up to pee 😆) or while I’m reading before I sleep. Another thing to consider is that multi vitamins are known to cause nausea and is an issue many of us experienced the first months after surgery. They could be adding to the nausea you are experiencing. As you have an allergy to anti nausea meds, try sipping ginger tea (it counts to your fluid intake & warm drinks are often more soothing) or look into acupressure point bands often sold to help sea or motion sickness. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Anti+nausea+bands&ref=nav_bb_sb I hope you can find some relief and solutions soon. All the best.

So sorry you're going through this! This does NOT seem normal to me at all. Yes, most of us have things early on that just don't seem to sit right in our guts. For example, I could not eat eggs in any form for the longest time. I also can relate to the mental side of things. I was probably about 3 months post surgery and had a work function where they catered lunch. I knew better, but wanted to "fit in", so I decided to just eat whatever was provided. It was sandwiches so I decided to just eat the deli turkey out of the sandwich. It made me horribly nauseated to the point I had to leave work. After that, it took me almost 2 years before I tried any sort of deli meat at all. I knew it probably wouldn't actually make me sick, but the fear that it would kept me from trying it. Anyway, my point is a few changes and food aversions is quite normal. EVERYTHING making you sick is not normal. Regarding fluid intake, lots of people have a little bit of a challenge drinking at first, but it's supposed to get easier and easier as you go. That does not sound like you're experience, though? At 5 weeks in, if you're still only getting 40-48 oz that's pretty low. You mentioned that you're working with your surgeon. I'm curious what they are telling you? Have you really told them everything you explained above? I have found a lot of people (forgive me for stereotyping a bit), especially younger people are not good at advocating for themselves. Unless you really make your doctor fully understand what's going on, they may not realize just how big of an issue this is. I would also recommend talking to your dietitian and your therapist about all this if you have not already started working with those other professionals. The dietitian should have more experience dealing with these sorts of dietary issues and may be able to help you find foods that can help. I would also agree with your assessment that at least some of your issues are mental, thus talking to your therapist would be a really good idea because they may be able to teach you some ways to overcome those issues. With all that our of the way, I wanted to maybe suggest a few things for you to try to help you eat and hydrate: Your water intake seems to be on the low side as I mentioned. I would think you really should be getting closer to 64 oz a day right now. (If your program told you a different amount, go with what they told you.) Be aware that dehydration can actually cause nausea, so could be making your issues worse. IMO, you really need to double-down on drinking, even if that means you have to change your meal schedule. Also, at 5 weeks you should be able to drink several ounces at a time, thus it really should not take hours to get in another 15-20 ounces. If it does, this is yet another thing to talk to your doctor about. You could also consider adding in an electrolyte drink to help with the dehydration, but please only do that with your doctor's blessing. Consider taking a broad spectrum probiotic. I know that then becomes one more pill to take, but I do think at least some of your digestive issues are due to an out of whack gut microbiota. If you can get your gut healthy again, it should really help. You mentioned you are not exercising. At 5 weeks, you really should not be doing any strenuous exercise anyway, but you do need to be walking. I don't know your current weight or how much you're capable of doing, but if all you can do is just 5 minutes to walk to the end of the block and back, that's what you should be doing. If you can do more than 5 minutes, great, do what you can do. I would strongly encourage you to do this outside if at all possible. There are lots of benefits mentally from that exposure to nature, so please don't just walk around the house or on a treadmill. I know this feels like just one more thing to do, but how about you take some water with you and drink some while you're walking? Believe it or not, walking can reduce stress and even improve gut health. In short, don't consider this a nice to have or somehow related to weight loss. Think of it as part of your treatment plan to get past this nausea and on the path to feeling better. Food-wise, you mentioned you're okay with yogurt, but getting burned out on it. You might try flavoring it? In other words, if you're just eating plain greek yogurt to avoid the fake sugars and other ingredients, you probably can add extracts to make whatever flavor you want. I love coconut for example, but vanilla, almond, etc. would also work well. Just check the labels carefully and make sure it doesn't have weird ingredients and that it's using natural flavorings. Fairlife Milk. This is lactose free and taste just like regular milk (at least to me). It also has a lot more protein in it than regular milk, so will be a way to boost your protein intake. Best of luck. I do hope you find solutions to your issues.

Have you tried the unflavored powder you mix into things. I will have my surgery in a week and have allergies already the powder is easer for me to mix into things even the water if I can not stomach the flavored shakes. I like the Isopure Zero Carb 100% Pure Whey Isolate Protein Powder, Lactose Free, Gluten Free, With Vitamins, Unflavored.

Hi everyone! Sorry for the information dump, I'm just incredibly overwhelmed right now and would love to hear any experiences you've had. I've been talking with my surgeon about all this. I just need to get some thoughts from other people who've been through it. I'm in my 20s, autistic and ADHD, and got the SADI early May. It's been 5 weeks. I've basically failed almost every instruction (except to lose weight, I've done great with that! I've lost over 30 lbs post-op). Like protein shakes. I'm very lactose intolerant, and intolerant to several fake sugars, AND allergic to yeast (which is in every soup known to man). After surgery I became intolerant to every fake sugar, even stevia. The three shakes I had managed to tolerate became intolerable post op. Two have things that burn my insides now, and one just makes me puke because it tastes gross without too much sugar for me to tolerate. So I tried a bone broth and then eventually foods (in line with the stages) to try and get protein. Lactaid didn't work unfortunately so no cheese, creamy soups, ECT. Meats are hard to tolerate. Eggs are ok, and vegan Greek yogurt, but after eating anything consistently (like every day) it makes me nauseous. I wasn't picky before surgery, and actually had a protein shake daily, so I wasn't prepared to find food I tolerate literally vomit inducing after a few meals of it. I have massive food aversion now. I get nauseous anytime I think of food, or smell food, though I manage to find something to choke down with my pills so I don't get more nauseous. I've tried to force myself to eat/drink things, but it always ends in dry heaving at best. Its mental, I'm sure, but I liked eating the same foods pre-op so that's confusing for me. Water was fine when I was in too much pain to sleep and had all that extra time, so the first week, but now I'm mentally and physically exhausted and want to sleep a lot. Or even just lay down, and with the GERD that means not drinking while laying down. With all the meals and the not drinking around them, I get 40-48 oz of water a day. I'm not exercising (another ding) so I don't actually seem to be too dehydrated? But once I hit the 40-48oz I stop being able to drink, even if I stay up 2 extra hours to get some more down much more slowly. It just makes me nauseous past the amt mentioned. I don't know what that's about. Also intolerant to the anti-nausea pills btw. For some reason they make the nausea worse and give me stomach cramps to boot, yay. There's more issues, but that's the gist. There's so much to juggle, and it seems like everything I try to fix my issues leads to nausea. How do you do all of this? And not go crazy? And please tell me it ends soon?

Hi! I got a SADI 5 weeks ago and have really been fighting nausea ever since. The nausea pills make it worse for me, and I'm on the double set of PPI to keep the GERD down (which is only working moderately well). I'm not nauseous constantly, but it's inconsistent enough to confuse me. I've been struggling to know what's causing it when every issue seems to come with nausea as a symptom. I'm trying to stay hydrated but not drink too fast, eat but don't eat non-tolerated foods, take my meds but do it with food, etc. Since the nausea goes away each morning I'm guessing it's not an ulcer or something like that. I'm in talks with my surgeon ofc, but I just wanted to reach out and see how you all deal with this? I thought it would be better by now and I'm really miserable. I'd love to stop eating but I know my meds will give me more nausea on an empty stomach.

It's been very chilly here all week .. brrrr Sunday lunch today, tried something new, a Dish by a Cypriot Turkish descent British cook called Melizcooks on Insta, never tried this before it was delicious!! Yanyana Tavasi... Lamb and veggies, all cooked side by side! a Big hit with the family, especially those that don't eat this.. or that, serve yourself what you like! 😁

I used to regularly get similar cramps but since my sleeve surgery, doing more exercise and losing weight they are thankfully less frequent though when I do still get one they can still be so bad I almost vomit. Something I am using most nights is a massage roller on my feet and legs and I find it can help. When I do get a cramp, if I can manage it (sometimes is too bad to do more than walk and stretch it out) I will roll on the area and massage it out. I also take electrolyte powder a few nights a week if needed.

Popped into the local grocery store yesterday to pick up some yoghurt & on my way to the arctic zone I spied a garlic and Parmesan chicken parcel ready meal. I hesitated but picked it up. Can’t say it didn’t puff well but maybe that’s where the 19g of protein listed on the nutrient panel was. It certainly wasn’t in the almost non existent barely 2 level tablespoons of the creamy garlic Parmesan chicken filling. I have no idea where the chicken actually was either - I saw two or three small shredded pieces. And it tasted unpleasant. I know why I avoid these mass produced processed ready meal foods. The second one is in my fridge though it may be in the bin later today. At least my usual vegetables were yummy.

Agreed. It's always best to talk to a health professional whenever your health is involved. It's never a good idea to self-diagnose issues, even if it's something you've had going on before. Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is potentially life threatening, so not worth taking a risk. While the risk for DVT is highest in the first few days after surgery, it can happen even weeks or months later. If it's not DVT, I do find it odd that you seem to struggle so much with dehydration and think you really need to double-down on drinking more water and not so much on supplements. Hopefully you're taking a bariatric multivitamin as recommended by your doctor? These typically already have potassium and magnesium, so it seems unlikely to me that you'd need additional supplementation of these particular electrolytes. (I assume that was the rationale for eating bananas and avocados). Sometimes people that sweat a lot exercising can actually lose too much sodium and cause an electrolyte imbalance since sodium is the primary electrolyte in your sweat. I suspect if you're only 3 weeks out, this is also unlikely.

Happy Friday! I am recently sleeved - about 3 weeks ago. All my life I've had leg-shin-ankle-foot cramps off and on and usually remedied them by upping my hydration, drinking Gatorade, eating bananas or avocados, and taking magnesium supplements. After the surgery I've had them EVERY NIGHT/EARLY MORNING. I'm hoping to stick it out till my next appt to bug my doc about it, but I wondered if any of you take supplements (like magnesium or potassium) that help with this? If so, do you have a recommendation of a brand that worked well for you? I can't just eat half an avocado anymore - I'm only up to 4 tbs per meal....so while I can certainly have a Gatorade, I'm not really sure how to handle this effectively. I know I should consult my doc and plan to - but any tips are greatly appreciated.

I'm not entirely sure if this is a win, but let me give you a little bit of my backstory first. Thanks to a work accident many years ago, I have multiple herniated discs in my lumbar spine that sometimes cause a lot of sciatica. When this was at its worst, I had to use a walker just to get around the house because I had no motor control over my right leg. To be honest, this is one of the things that actually led to me becoming obese. I wasn't able to workout (I could hardly move), and was in a lot of pain, so I self-medicated with food and alcohol. The pain isn't completely gone now, but after losing all this weight, it's so much better than it used to be. Fast forward to this week. I spent basically 4 days (Saturday-Tuesday), trapped in a zoom class and this inactivity took its toll on my back. I'd been in a lot of pain and hadn't worked out at all since taking a short run Monday. Wednesday and Thursday I didn't get the walker out, but i did seriously think about it. Today the pain was still about a four or five on a ten point scale, but at least it wasn't radiating down my leg much. I really struggled with trying to determine if I just needed to man up, or if it was stupid to try to workout, knowing that I might make it worse. I finally decided I just needed to try to run, since I knew that once the endorphins and endocannabinoids kicked in, I'd probably be fine. Plus, the movement should actually help loosen things up in my spine and help me heal. It took a bit for me to work up to going for it, but I did finally go run this morning. (The bad thing was that the delay meant I was running in the heat.) To be honest, the run really sucked for the first mile or two. Thankfully, once I made it to about 4 miles, the pain was mostly gone and I was able to complete the 9 miles I had planned. I'm still thinking I'm going to have to skip my strength training tomorrow (I'll probably log a few running miles instead), but at least I got out there. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that completing the run wasn't actually a win. The win was that I didn't let this pain become the start of a spiral down to a place I never want to go to again. I personally think the most important thing is not actually the highs, though those are great. It's not succumbing to the lows and letting yourself fall back into those old destructive habits. I wanted to throw this out there because i know I post a lot here and I suspect some of you might think I've got it all together since I'm normally the one giving advice to others. That's just not true. Like everyone, I have my own demons that I have to deal with and this back pain is just one of those.

I don't know if this is a win, but there is a podcast called "isnt the stall the point" ... to me at some point weight stalls should be the point. I've noticed in the bariatric community that some are never satisfied and steady strive for more. I certainly won't be living my life like that. So my win is I stalled for six months, which I was fine with but at my breast augmentation appointment my weight had finally broke the STALL. I am finally 7 pounds from my goal weight in which the STALL and living my Life in Maintenance will be the point. 💪🏽

Yes, any crisps or crisp like foods such as pepperoni crisps or Serrano ham crisps mentioned above are all a big no for the purée stage. Sure look at them for when you’re much further out but ensure serve the portion recommendations. They can be moorish and before you know it you’ve eaten 2 or 3 serves and there’s 200, 300 calories. (I’m looking at you those pork crackling/scratchings.) It takes at least 6 weeks for your tummy to heal. (Think of all those sutures and staples holding it together.) The staged diet of liquids, to purées, to soft is all to protect your tummy/digestive system and not damage your it or impeded your recovery. Remember too any desire for crunch is a craving and thus a head hunger. It’s got nothing to do with real hunger. The first weeks after surgery are stressful and emotional & naturally your head tells you to seek something to comfort you: food and often crunchy or salty food. Look for distractions at these times: craft, read, play a game, call family or friends, sip a warm drink, go for a walk, etc. It does help. You will get through it and learn to better manage cravings in the future.