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You may need to eat out after WLS, because Americans eat out a lot. Some estimates put one-quarter of Americans eating fast food on a given day, before counting food from casual and upscale restaurants. A total of about 1 in 3 calories come from foods that are eaten away from home, such as prepared foods and restaurant foods. With restaurants, fast food, and other prepared foods being such a big part of our culture, you may not be able to, or even want to, stop eating out. That is okay, even after WLS. You will just need to be a savvy customer to be sure that wherever you are, you get a meal that fits into your meal plan. Take heart: it is almost always possible. The Trouble with Eating Out Research has been clear on the differences between eating out and preparing food at home. Restaurant meals tend to be bigger and higher in calories. Beyond that, they are higher in sodium and saturated fat, and lower in fiber. That does not bode well for weight loss, but you are not doomed. Most restaurants are willing and able to accommodate you. You may be pleasantly surprised at the choices. Do Your Homework (Or Procrastinate) Most restaurants have their menus posted online. Many have their nutritional facts online. Check before you go to the restaurant, and decide on your meal before you get there. When it comes time to order, you need not browse the menu for temptations. Or Procrastinate It is not always possible to check beforehand, and that is okay. Just keep your goal in mind: Some lean protein, such as eggs, chicken, or fish. A vegetable. A small amount of a healthy starch and/or healthy fat. Build that meal from the items you see on the menu. The Customer Is Always Right If you need another expression to drive home the point, what about, “He who pays the piper calls the tune?” You are perfectly entitled to ask for no sauce, dressing on the side, or no bun. A surprising number of joints allow substitutions or modifications for no extra cost, although some may charge. The cost is usually minimal, and worth it. Examples include getting grilled instead of fried chicken or fish, or swapping a side salad or steamed vegetables for a side of rice, pasta, or potatoes. Best Bets for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner You can go to a restaurant with some ideas of what they might have for each meal, and search for those. Breakfast Eggs: in an omelet or scrambled. Look for egg whites if you can, and choose vegetable toppings. Cheese and turkey can also be good additions. Skip bacon and other fatty meats in your eggs. Oatmeal: plain, regular or steel-cut, without add-ons such as dried fruit or brown sugar. Nuts are okay. Steer clear of granola. Breakfast sandwich: English muffin (you can eat half) with egg and/or cheese and/or ham – no bacon, sausage, croissant, or biscuit. Create a meal from sides or add-ons, such as cottage cheese, an egg, fresh fruit, or turkey sausage. Lunch Green salad with any of grilled chicken, cheese, nuts, vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers, and light dressing. Skip regular dressing (or order it on the side), croutons and chow mein noodles, and dried fruit. Chicken, fish, turkey breast, a veggie burger patty, a hamburger patty, or taco beef. Skip the bread, tortilla, bun, or taco shell, and steer away from breaded and fried. Side salad, carrot sticks, yogurt, or sliced apples. Dinner Shrimp cocktail or broth-based soup for starters. Avoid dips, chips, bread and breadsticks, and fried starters. Grilled, baked, or roasted plain chicken or fish. Avoid fried choices, fatty meats, and creamy or buttery sauces. Steamed vegetables or a side salad. Avoid fries, pasta, rice, and mashed potatoes. The Final Filter: You No matter what lands on your plate or your to-go box, the ultimate decision about what goes into your mouth is made by…you. You can turn a potentially disastrous order into a not-so-bad or even good meal with some smart choices. Decide how much you will eat and pack away the rest before you take your first bite. Scoop out the filling from sandwiches and burritos, while leaving the bread and tortillas. Eat the proteins and vegetables from your plate, while leaving the fries and fatty sauces. Scrape off any breading and eat only the chicken or fish inside. Weight loss surgery is to help you lose weight, but it is also to help you live a better life. If the good life for you includes eating out, you can do it. Just be careful. Keep your weight loss surgery diet plan in mind as you order and eat, and you can lose weight as you live your normal life.

With restaurants, fast food, and other prepared foods being such a big part of our culture, you may not be able to, or even want to, stop eating out. That is okay, even after WLS. You will just need to be a savvy customer to be sure that wherever you are, you get a meal that fits into your meal plan. Take heart: it is almost always possible. The Trouble with Eating Out Research has been clear on the differences between eating out and preparing food at home. Restaurant meals tend to be bigger and higher in calories. Beyond that, they are higher in sodium and saturated fat, and lower in fiber. That does not bode well for weight loss, but you are not doomed. Most restaurants are willing and able to accommodate you. You may be pleasantly surprised at the choices. Do Your Homework (Or Procrastinate) Most restaurants have their menus posted online. Many have their nutritional facts online. Check before you go to the restaurant, and decide on your meal before you get there. When it comes time to order, you need not browse the menu for temptations. Or Procrastinate It is not always possible to check beforehand, and that is okay. Just keep your goal in mind: Some lean protein, such as eggs, chicken, or fish. A vegetable. A small amount of a healthy starch and/or healthy fat. Build that meal from the items you see on the menu. The Customer Is Always Right If you need another expression to drive home the point, what about, “He who pays the piper calls the tune?” You are perfectly entitled to ask for no sauce, dressing on the side, or no bun. A surprising number of joints allow substitutions or modifications for no extra cost, although some may charge. The cost is usually minimal, and worth it. Examples include getting grilled instead of fried chicken or fish, or swapping a side salad or steamed vegetables for a side of rice, pasta, or potatoes. Best Bets for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner You can go to a restaurant with some ideas of what they might have for each meal, and search for those. Breakfast Eggs: in an omelet or scrambled. Look for egg whites if you can, and choose vegetable toppings. Cheese and turkey can also be good additions. Skip bacon and other fatty meats in your eggs. Oatmeal: plain, regular or steel-cut, without add-ons such as dried fruit or brown sugar. Nuts are okay. Steer clear of granola. Breakfast sandwich: English muffin (you can eat half) with egg and/or cheese and/or ham – no bacon, sausage, croissant, or biscuit. Create a meal from sides or add-ons, such as cottage cheese, an egg, fresh fruit, or turkey sausage. Lunch Green salad with any of grilled chicken, cheese, nuts, vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers, and light dressing. Skip regular dressing (or order it on the side), croutons and chow mein noodles, and dried fruit. Chicken, fish, turkey breast, a veggie burger patty, a hamburger patty, or taco beef. Skip the bread, tortilla, bun, or taco shell, and steer away from breaded and fried. Side salad, carrot sticks, yogurt, or sliced apples. Dinner Shrimp cocktail or broth-based soup for starters. Avoid dips, chips, bread and breadsticks, and fried starters. Grilled, baked, or roasted plain chicken or fish. Avoid fried choices, fatty meats, and creamy or buttery sauces. Steamed vegetables or a side salad. Avoid fries, pasta, rice, and mashed potatoes. The Final Filter: You No matter what lands on your plate or your to-go box, the ultimate decision about what goes into your mouth is made by…you. You can turn a potentially disastrous order into a not-so-bad or even good meal with some smart choices. Decide how much you will eat and pack away the rest before you take your first bite. Scoop out the filling from sandwiches and burritos, while leaving the bread and tortillas. Eat the proteins and vegetables from your plate, while leaving the fries and fatty sauces. Scrape off any breading and eat only the chicken or fish inside. Weight loss surgery is to help you lose weight, but it is also to help you live a better life. If the good life for you includes eating out, you can do it. Just be careful. Keep your weight loss surgery diet plan in mind as you order and eat, and you can lose weight as you live your normal life.

Hey all!! Started my liquid diet on 7/23, got sleeved on 8/8. So total weight loss for now 22 lbs since liquid diet, 8 lbs since getting sleeved. Having a hard time drinking 3 protein shakes a day. It’s not that I can’t keep it down. I would just rather eat yogurt, pudding or broth. I drink up to 2 shakes at most. I know we need the shakes for protein and all. But how bad is it that I only drink 1.5-2 shakes a day? Visiting my dietician this Friday post-op. But what are your thoughts? I don’t eat much more than a few spoons of yogurt anyway. If I’m just not hungry is it okay to just not drink the shakes? Hate to force myself.

Sure. I usually eat a homemade egg frittata for breakfast. I mix up what I put in it so that I don't get bored. I also do egg muffins that I can reheat for on the go. https://kalynskitchen.com/cottage-cheese-and-egg-breakfast/ My snacks consist of: -Greek yogurt -Cottage cheese -Raw veggies with Greek Yogurt veggie dip (and I eat a lot of dip LOL) -Hard Boiled Eggs - Turkey roll ups -Tuna to-go packets -Edamame -*New* favorite is Chia seed pudding yummmmm -String cheese - Guacamole and whole wheat or black bean chips. - Avocado toast (usually a half of a half, as a snack, a whole half as a meal) -Apples and peanut butter -Berry mix with some Greek yogurt and stevia to take the bitter edge off. - Brussels Sprouts (3 small ones hits the mid-day snack spot) - A cup of FairLife Milk, with SF chocolate syrup. 13 grams of protein For meals: I make a lot of meat. And I accompany my meat with veggies. Mostly Brussels sprouts, because they are my FAV. But I will occasionally mix it up with broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, ect . - My go too is different seasoned or marinade chicken and veggie Kabobs. - I do frozen wild salmon patties with a lemon garlic, minimum butter sauce - I will make stuffed peppers with cauliflower rice, lean ground beef/turkey, shred cheese, sour cream, salsa, ect. I can usually get two meals out of one pepper (so long as I'm digging eating the pepper). - I make lots of things with WonTon wrappers. I make little lasagna cups, taco cups, chicken cordon bleu cups, ect. And these are great for reheating! https://www.barilife.com/blog/10-single-serving-meals-you-need-in-your-bariatric-life/ -I will make chicken legs on the grill that go a long way. I can easily make on here or there for lunch or snacks. - I eat A LOT of soy meat. I haven't mastered cooking with soy, but I buy the Gardein brand and make that for a lot of lunches. I started doing this to naturally lower my cholesterol, and it has seriously WORKED. - I make this tuna macaroni salad, that is a good cold version of Tuna Noodle Casserole. I use tuna, protein noodles, capers, tad bit of olive oil, lemon juice, Greek yogurt, sugar free sweet relish, and green onion. - I make protein pasta a lot. My mom buys me this amazing pasta that is made from black beans and edamame (22grams per 1/2 cup) and I make a really meaty pasta sauce. She finds it from this specialty store in Chicago. I could go on and on.... I'm still a foodie at heart! LOL. But I don't use any protein supplements unless I'm extremely busy and know that I won't be able to get my protein in. So I do keep a couple single serve powder packets on hand for those days.

Ok so now I measured 3/4 cup of yogurt out and could not eat it all. But THIS time I did not even try. Restriction is back at full capacity y'all. No sliders...

I add dressing mixes into Greek yogurt (fage 0%). Hidden valley ranch powder... or you could add in mustard and Splenda.

I just hit the purée stage. It took me three days to eat a yogurt. I mad scrambled eggs with on egg and some cheese, only ate half of it.

I’ve been sticking with scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, ricotta, and broth with protein powder. My nutritionist gave me a great recipe for ricotta, marinara sauce, mozzarella, and parm. I’ll post it when I go downstairs. She said I could eat it during the puréed food stage.

It is the second day of my pre-op diet. I can have three protein shakes, chicken broth, jell-o, ice pops, yogurt, and calorie free drinks. I am currently starving and miserable. I really need some encouragement. Surgery is on Friday. I am just so sad and want food 😭😭😭

I am also around week 4. I can barely get in 300 calories a day. I feel full all the time and still have no desire to eat or drink anything. I have stalled about the last 10 days. Very discouraging but trying to focus on non scale victories. I typically have a protein shake with around 2 ounces of yogurts for breakfast. I try to have lunch but that rarely happens. So dinner is usually 2 sugar free popsicles and maybe a 1/2 cup of cream soup. I feel like I should be eating more and losing more. Taking it day by day. Hope something happens soon.

Ok so I’m preop day 5 of the same type of diet where your allowed food just no starch. So far I’ve utilized my air fryer like crazy I love making steak in it. So far a typical day for me is a few eggs in the am with either cheese or yogurt. Then I’ll have an approved snack. Then for lunch I have meat and veggies then for lunch another snack then dinner I’ll have a different protein with veggies. Then a snack to accompany my nightly meds. I get in at a minimum two doses of calcium I’m working on getting my vitamins down. It’s also me struggling to get in all my fluids while obeying the rule of no drinking after meals for a half hour. In two weeks from today I will have a last meal so to speak of I’ll not be on true solid food for a good month so it’s a nice mmmm yeah that’s getting eaten

Start a healthier trend, bring veggies, fruit, reasonable protein in crockpot. Donuts are lazy, they say I wanted to bring something that I gave no thought to, ran in the gas station omw to work and that's how much I really care!!! P3 protein snacks, Quest chips if you have to have something chip-like, yogurts, string cheese, almonds, delieat, cottage cheese, cantaloupe

Ugh that is tough. I work in the hospital and there is always cake, doughnuts, and candy around. This week someone brought in packages of full size Cinnabon for heavens sakes! I always keep Greek yogurt, cottage cheese...if you can find Muuna it’s yummy...cheese sticks, and such for snacks. Granted I am post op and it is much easier to not stray now. The more you stay away from the sugar though, the less you will crave it!

It must be really difficult to adjust your salad dressings to savory if you are used to and prefer sweet ones! I'm not sure how interested you are in making your own honey mustard dressing but a low fat one is super easy. I just eyeball it but approximate measurements are: 1/4 c greek yogurt + 2T dijon mustard + 2T honey, add black pepper or cayenne to taste, thin with lemon juice if too thick this has a decent amount of sugar from the honey so if you want it to be low carb you'll have to swap out that luscious honey for an alternate sweetener or a sugar free honey substitute like Nature's Hollow or Pyure I'm sure you could find a thousand island dressing recipe if you have time to get experimental in the kitchen. It's not something I've tried before.

It's hard to find, but OPA! Greek Yogurt dressing is amazing. They have a blue cheese, ranch and a feta dill. It is usually in the produce aisle with the refrigerated dressings instead of on the grocery shelves.

I NEVER had restriction with yogurt though... I just stopped at the measured amount. Now I need to backtrack

Yes!!! I still didn’t have a BM. Surgery was Wednesday. I didn’t start a shake until today. And couldn’t finish the whole 8 oz of it. Had a few spoons of yogurt. How long did your BM take? I asked him what to take for gas and he told me simethicone. He didn’t even mention Gas X or suggest it.

Let me preface this by saying I'm 9 months post op and I know when to stop eating. I don't have a "tell" so I just had to learn by measurements. I started experimenting with intermittent fasting about a week ago, from 8 or 9pm to morning just water if needed. Morning to 1pm tea, or coffee with a little protein shake in it. Then food and fluids in between. Then back to the fasting. Apparently this has restarted my weight loss (stalled for 1month) and I just found out it reset my full point and which foods "slide". 1 cup of Greek yogurt (22 g protein) was a prior slider and now I'm in pain 3/4 the way through. I can't believe it. Yogurt prompts restriction again... FML. I need to lay down. On the floor.

Right, that's the other reason I take mine at bedtime. I take Nexium in the morning and have protein shakes or yogurt up through dinnertime. I need that separation too in order to keep the calcium and medications from blocking the absorption. On the other hand, I'm starting to have a little bit of stomach issues this morning, and I just read a few articles saying that iron supplementation is thought to decrease production of Leptin, which provides the feeling of satiety. That makes me think it could very well be the cause of my increased hunger and food intake this week, and my first gain since surgery...which of course makes me not want to take it anymore. My doc prescribed Ferrous Gluconate Rx as it would supposedly be easier on my IBS symptoms...

A few years after surgery, my blood workup showed that I needed more iron. My nutritionist directed me to take it in the form of ferrous sulfate for the best absorption. A year later, my next blood work showed that I had too much iron, so they said I could cut back on the iron. I took my iron supplement just before bedtime because I wanted to make very sure I was giving it a 2 hour separation between when I took in any form of calcium, not just the supplements (such as calcium from milk, butter, yogurt or other dairy).

Hi there. Sorry you’ve had so much nausea. I’ve had it mostly with vitamins. I am approaching week five. Sick of tuna and canned chicken meat with low fat mayo. Can’t stomach it anymore. Tried a piece of low fat sausage and it was heaven. Eating soups, cooked chicken, yogurt things like that. Haven’t really tried veges other than squash. Oh I also tried mashed potatoes and chilli and they were so good. Yes. I do occasionally get a metallic taste in my mouth. Not sure what that’s about.

After the surgery it turned out that I'm no longer tolerating meats. I can eat a little bit before my stomach riots, but that amount was far not enough to get my proteins. I also tried beans, tofu, cottage cheese, greek yogurts etc as a source of protein, but those have various negative sides, such as gas, fats, sugars and so on. Finally I realized, that I was now even more focused on foods, than I used to be before the WLS. I decided to go back to shakes, but discussed that with my NUT first. Her only concern was that I might have psychological issues with relying on a single boring food, which might be considered as a low-quality life. Other than that, there are simply no solid arguments against relying fully on supplements. One may say that shakes are bad chemistry and not healthy. But we could say that about anything we get from a grocery store, right? That said, my 4 shakes (Premier Protein, which I personally enjoy) provides over 200% of daily proteins, 100% of selected vitamins and minerals (+ I'm adding extra post-bariatric vitamins as recommended by NUT), 20% of fat, 8% of carbs - with very low sugars, and just 640 calories. Basically, I take one shake (11 oz) as a full meal every 3 hours, starting from 9am. On the top of that I eat fruits and some vegetables in between, but mostly afternoon. If I want some snacks late after 7pm, I crave berries or melon. So far doing fine. If I go out with my family or friends, I'm not going nuts and eat whatever is served - my sleeve just doesn't let me go too far

In the beginning I would use protein shakes to supplement, but I don't anymore. On a regular day, I get 100% of protein by food. I'm lucky that I like protein rich snacks like Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs, ect. I've also been on a 1,000 calorie diet since about 8 weeks post op. Goes to show, different strokes for different folks.

I drink about 72+ of pure water daily... And I still use a protein shake for breakfast, I stick to taco salad for lunch, which consist of 1/2 cup of taco meat with some romaine, some spinach, 2 tablespoons of salsa and about 1/4 of cheddar cheese, sometimes I put black beans in, dinner varies but usually chicken, about 4-5oz and a few bites of veggies, I don't make much carbs anymore... And I'll have a snack or two a day, usually dannon light and fit Greek yogurt or sargento breaks with the cheese and nuts... For a "treat" once in a while I will have a mini ice cream sandwich or mini Klondike which those are about 120 calories... But I don't eat those everyday... I am not gonna lie, I have had some snack foods in the past but the last month or so I stick firm to this menu... I did email my nutritionist and waiting for a response, I go back at the beginning of Sept for my 3 month followup so we will see what she says too.... Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app