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For YouTube workouts, I’d say check out FitnessBlender and MadFit. FitnessBlender has a ton of different types of workouts, from strength training to HIIT, and they have routines for all fitness levels, which is awesome. MadFit, on the other hand, is perfect for those who love bodyweight exercises or prefer a more low-impact option. Another one I’d recommend is Pamela Reif—her routines are tough but super effective. Also, if you’re into building muscle, I’d suggest looking into the best anabolic steroids in Canada if that’s your thing.

I bought one of the OWYN to see if maybe plant protein might taste better to me right now, as well as one other shake that I can't remember the brand of. Just singles, to see if they taste okay. My girlfriend enjoyed the pumpkin spice flavored premier protein, but I could smell it across the room and it just smelled so sickenly sweet.

I drink the regular 2% fairlife milk and use it in just about everything I make, like pudding, etc. I've been drinking it for a while though, I developed some lactose intolerance after having my child in 2020 and found that it settled better on my stomach. I am now back to tasting the difference between it and regular milk thanks to taste changes, but it's nothing super terrible. I agree that the 42g are the best bang for the buck. It was easier to down them when I could chug them, but now they are just very whey-like and gross to me. The regular fairlife nutrition plan shakes are easier. Sam's club has them back in stock now so I picked up a case. Per the nutritionist on my surgery group's facebook page, the BariatricPal protein shots are about 7g whey protein vs 23g collagen protein, and that we don't absorb collagen well. I will instead use them to supplement my protein intake instead of just using them as primarily protein.

Hair is primarily protein, so protein intake does affect hair and hair loss as well. I know I will lose some hair. I used to have super thick, long hair, but PCOS thinned a LOT of it out for me. Fortunately, it is still pretty thick, but I am still trying to limit what I will lose as much as I can. Muscle wasting is a concern for me. I do have a decent amount of muscle, I work as a bedside nurse and, before I had some lower body issues, lifted pretty regularly. Didn't touch the scale or take any inches off, but at least I was flexible and stronger. Today marks the end of my lift restrictions, so I am hoping I can go back to doing some weight training soon!

Did an intense leg workout followed by a slow jog on the treadmill. Then it was time for dinner. We had pesto chicken sandwiches for dinner, with air fried breaded chicken breast, pesto, melted cheddar and sliced heirloom tomatoes. I grabbed a half (already had bitten into it as you can see) How I did: Not sufficient protein obv, will have a protein shake before bed.

I’m glad you asked this! I am 1 week post-op and still up 2# from my pre-surgery weight. Finally meeting my fluid goals and almost at protein goals, hoping that scale will start moving and give me a momentum boost!

I hear you on adding more food. It can definitely be hard, especially at this point of your weight loss journey. While I suggested a few hundred per day, you might honestly need to start with less and work your way up. Even 150 calories of lean protein like chicken or fish would be a good start. That's only around a half cup or so, depending on which food your choose. From there, work your way up to around a cup.

Yes, Core Power is a Fairlife product. They actually make a number of different products, so it can be confusing. Fairlife Core Power Elite is 42 Grams of protein in a 14 oz serving, for 3 grams per oz Fairlife Nutrition Plan is 30 Grams of Protein in a 11.5 oz serving, for ~2.6 grams per oz Fairlife Core Power (Regular, not Elite), is 26 Grams in a 14 oz serving, for ~1.88 grams per oz Finally, they have "Fairlife Ultra Filtered Milk", which also has more protein than regular milk. it has ~1.6 grams of protein per oz. If you compare that to an 11.5 or 14 oz serving respectively, it would have ~19 or 23 grams of protein. For comparison, regular milk has about 1 gram of protein per ounce. Edited to add that all the "shakes" (in other words everything except the milk), are flavored and at least to me taste about the same. As such, I'd recommend Core Power Elite for most folks here since it has the most protein for a given volume. I use the milk religiously for everything I'd use regular milk for as an additional way to get more protein per day.

2024 was a great year. I lost a sh*t ton of weight and became HOT and athletic again, landed a dream job, my relationship transformed and its the best its ever been, I am thriving and thankful. 2025: Travel (3 trips booked) Build my booty back Manage my anxiety through guided meditation Read 40 books (read 38 in 2024) Save more (have been so reckless with my spending) Continue eating the way I do, never depriving myself of anything but never going overboard with anything either, taste and put it down if I didn't like it, prioritize protein, nourish my body and continue to be anxiety free regarding food and lifestyle

Ooh and Amazon has the core power shakes in chocolate which I am 99% sure are the same as fairlife. if not, they use fairlife milk and they are really good. People say that their kids will even ask for them because they are just like chocolate milk. According to google the fairlife is lower calorie and core power is a workout recovery drink but I found it comparable to premiere protein and it worked for me for weight loss. Maybe check it out to see how it compares to fairlife.

If you find some protein shakes are okay except they are too sweet try mixing them with coffee. This helps a great deal. Cold or hot. I mix iced coffee with a premiere protein caramel shake and it’s like an iced coffee. I actually kept this habit after all the others went out the window from my sleeve because I like them so much. Well that and the premiere protein caffe latte shake. I just prefer to mix my own now because I do decaf coffee and the caffe latte has caffeine. Both options are good but I’d say the caramel with coffee is less sweet of the two if sweetness is the issue. Also, the change in taste for sweet is often temporary so try again in a month or two and keep checking because this most likely will go away at some point.

I second the suggestion to track everything you eat or drink. I know it can be annoying to weigh/measure and record everything but it is the best way to ensure your portions are too large or you’re missing hidden calories or underestimating them. For example ate your potatoes mashed with butter, milk & are you counting them? Try to focus more on home made foods too so you can control the ingredients and cooking methods. I’d also suggest eating more regularly aiming for three small meals of real food not two meals of shakes. I was someone who lost their hunger and interest in eating for about a year. I ate to a routine to ensure I was getting in the nutrients I needed. I still eat this way. Even if I’m not all that hungry, I’ll still eat something. At 800 calories, most of your meal would be protein with some vegetables. Take your record of your tracked eating & drinking to your dietician and ask them to review it and make actual suggestions of what you could eat (add or remove). Demand better advice than an eye roll or general you must be eating something that’s sabotaging your weight loss.

Yep, it is exactly like a growing baby’s stages of eating: liquids, purées, soft food then solids. Most of us are told no pasta (rice or bread) because it swells in the tummy and takes up valuable space which should be dedicated to protein and then vegetables. Plus they are simple carbs with little nutritional value when the nutrient value of what we eat is so important. When you are able to eat carbs look to whole or multi grain complex carbs and then only if you are able to eat them after eating all your protein first, then vegetables, (then fruit if you are able) and finally carbs. You’ll be getting some good carbs in any vegetables & fruit you eat. Some, like me, can never go back to eating pasta, rice and bread. They just sit far too heavily in our tummies. Don’t be worried if you eat a meal that is solely protein either. I often did that but it wasn’t for all my meals or every day but sometimes the protein was all I could eat at a meal. Also yes to high protein yoghurts. Blend them with milk for added protein & to make a smoothie. These were a game changer for me in regards to meeting protein goals. The yoghurt I buy used to have a pre-made yoghurt drink with 34g of protein & I would sip it during the afternoon. But be careful of some pre-made ones as they can have lots of added sugar or artificial sweeteners and not much protein.

I have two shakes a day, one cup of fruit, sugar free jello or ices, and one meal with lean protein, low starch veggies. I can have more low starch veggies another time.

@melissa i am on a low fat high protein (definition-eat nothing) for two weeks. I am struggling and its only day 4.

Thank you so much! I actually use Parrot Pal app to track my calories and it gives me an average each week of my calories and protein! That’s the number it generates for me from all my tracking, which I do pretty religiously. I’ll try adding a little more cals it’s just hard because I can’t fit in a lot each day. Thank you again.

I too skipped the whole pureed stage, continued on thicker liquids (mainly lentil and chicken soup) and protein shakes.

I have tried my fair share of whey protein and recently tried the biotech caffe latte protein powder and it's so good. It doesn't have an aftertaste and it just blends so well and isn't too sweet so I've been taking it for months are not close to being sick of it yet! Give it a try.

I am sorry to say this but you will either loose hair or you won't. There is nothing you can do about it. Its a fact. Muscle is a different matter, protein does help there. I had a super fierce restriction due to swelling. I had to eat tiny meals about 8 times a day. I split my 3 meals into little pots and as a grazer this may be a way forward for you. I struggled to make my 60 gram protein quota. I survived, and eventually so did my hair. Look for protein yogurts in the supermarket. A 200 gram yogurt will have 24 grams of protein in it. They were a game changer for me.

I do like milk! I just feel like it isn't helping me with the 70g protein/day thing, especially if I struggle to meet fluid intake.

I found Nurri protein drinks at Costco. Just like chocolate milk, 30 G protein. Good luck!

I hear you about the shakes. I found them sweet too and also very grainy so texturally off putting. I used to dilute the shakes to try to reduce the sweetness and had only one a day. Shakes aren’t your only source of protein if you’re still in the liquid stage. Bone broths, consommés, cream soups can all be eaten/drunk during this stage. I found the bone broths salty so drank cream soups ( just strain them to make sure there are no stray fibres or random chunks). I agree with @summerseeker’s suggestion to make your own shakes with milk, yoghurt, protein powder, skim milk powder and an unsweetened powdered flavour if you wish. You will likely find this sensitivity to certain flavours, textures and even smells continues for a couple of months. Your tummy can be pretty fussy. I described mine as a petulant, temper throwing 2 year old child. You may find you tolerate something one day but not the next. It does pass so don’t think you’ll never be able to eat those foods ever again. Multi vitamins can make you nauseous too. Make sure you take them after you’ve eaten or with the last few sips of your shake, broth, etc. Also if you have to take multiple vitamins spread out across the day when you take them. I’d take one multi in the am and the other in the pm to reduce the effects of the nausea. Also have you tried taking an anti nausea med to get you through this period. Your liquid stage will soon be over and then you’ll be on purées and that can be another interesting experience in finding something you can tolerate eating. It does get better and easier.

While I absolutely do not agree that it’s likely you will GAiN weight on 800 calories, 800 Calories can be a pretty good amount of food depending on what you eat. for example this is 757 calories and it’s 100 g of protein. breakfast: Caramel “Proffee” made from a premiere protein caramel shake with iced coffee mixed in. (It’s really good and filling with the protein btw). lunch: three eggs omelette with 2% cheese (1 ounce) and tomatoes and onion (1/2 cup). dinner: grilled chicken breast (3 ounce) and zucchini and onion (1/2 cup). snack: oikos triple zero yogurt I use the Baritastic app and I always have the same breakfast but then before I have lunch I plug in my plan and an idea for dinner to make certain it’s okay macro wise. I do pay some attention to calories but protein, added sugars and fat are more important. I also pay attention to my carbs because on some days my exercise is higher and I actually need to increase them a bit. If your dietician is not asking about your activity and your food choices and inky giving you a cookie cutter plan without real guidance I would be asking more questions. These plans need to be tailored to you specifically. if you are having a difficult time finding foods you like that meet the criteria you are definitely not alone. I had to do a ton of research and trial and error with recipes to find a couple weeks worth of meals that I enjoy and I was doing 900ish calories. I scoured the web and found low calorie recipes and also ways to cut calories from things I knew I enjoyed. Basically type “healthy” in front of anything you like and you should find ways to make a more bariatric friendly version. Some days you may need to reduce calories further by having two shakes or egg whites instead to budget for a higher calorie dinner. I don’t love to cook so I make double batches of things and freeze them in individual portions. this has been my lifesaver. For the 800 calories you may have to do a lot of lower calorie lean meat and veggie type dinners unless you cut calories during lunch. For instance instead of 3 eggs you could do five 5 whites and you could even omit the cheese if you need to cut calories further. i would imagine you could still lose on a little higher calorie budget and you have more flexibility in your menu but it may not be as fast as you would like. Either way, check out Baritastic (or another calorie tracking app). It’s very helpful to see exactly what’s in different food and to play around with these meal ideas on an app because you can add and delete and adjust the measurements to figure out how to make things work to fit your plan.

I ordered the cream of chicken soup and the protein shots. I had to throw them both away they tasted so horrible.

My surgeon and I spoke about my other health diagnosis and food habits at length. I was very adamant about wanting to be able to eat a variety of foods after if possible. Since I didn’t have previous GERD issues, and based on my other health and meds requirements, she suggested the sleeve was the best option. I also in my research saw there were just a few less complications with it so I was comfortable with that.