Search the Community

Well, except the potatoes have to go so you'll starve to death. (Kidding!) Let me give you an example from the liquid and soft food stages. Someone else can chime in if they like about the "regular" food so you know what to expect. There's also a whole huge thread called "Food Before and After" with photos in the Lounge. I am in the US though, and every surgeon has different requirements. I am in this phase supposed to be going for 80-100 g protein a day and about 800 calories. (I am very active, my calorie count is higher than might be normal for this phase.) One week after surgery (still in the liquid phase): 2 Core Power Chocolate Protein shakes 1 container raspberry fat free skyr 300 ml chicken broth with 11 g of cream of rice cooked into it 120 ml sugar-free Jello 120 ml sugar-free Jello with protein powder 1 bottle isopure (protein water) TOTAL: 111 g protein, 37 g carbs, 11 g fat, 691 calories Yesterday (soft foods phase): 1 wedge La Vache Qui Rit 95 g deli turkey 1 core power chocolate shake 0.5 c tuna salad with fat free mayonnaise 1 small portion ma po tofu 30 g basmati rice 120 ml sugar-free Jell-O 1 container fat-free, sugar-free tapioca pudding TOTAL: 88 g protein, 49 g carbohydrates, 19 g fat, 719 calories

Hang on a tick, I'm stuck on something here. Let me see if I have the facts correct: 1. Your dietitian thinks you're not losing weight fast enough. 2. You have lost 25.5 kg (56 pounds) in 7.5 weeks. 3. Your dietitian refuses to give you guidelines for what or how to eat beyond 60 g of protein and 2 L of water. 4. You're still on shakes at 7.5 weeks out from surgery. I think it is high time you tell the dietitian to shape up or ship out. There are plenty of dietitians out there who don't require their clients to be mind-readers. And who understand how bariatric patients lose weight. I mean, is this dietitian brand new off the wagon from dietitian school? You should be extremely satisfied. Most bariatric patients lose 7-11 kg (15-25 lbs) in the first month and then about 5 kg (11 lbs) a month thereafter, with several stalls that can last a few weeks. Expecting you to AVERAGE 2 kg a week when you have lost 25.5 in 7.5 weeks means that you could be stalled for 3-4 weeks and lose not a single gram and still come out okay. Expecting you to lose 2 kg EVERY SINGLE WEEK is—and I said what I said—daft. If you are stalled, try increasing your calories by about 100 a day for a week to see if that breaks the log jam. Even just 15g of peanut butter or something along those lines could do it. 100 cal a day times 7 days is not enough to make you gain weight.

I would say go with what u can handle…i know from being on these forums for 3 years that my daily cals back then were on the very low side of the range that most people were eating at the same stage. I was blessed (or cursed, depending in how u look at it) with very, very, very little interest or desire to eat. So going as low as i did was relatively low-effort and angst-free for ME. So long as u are consistently at a caloric deficit you will be successful. P.S. Fast forward to now and it now seems (based on what i’ve read on here) that i am on the higher end of average daily calories consumed for my size and stage post op. So who knows? We all operate on different gears…i am of the mind that success is based on one’s ability to determine that gear and operate effectively in it, as well as adapt when those gears change. Good luck! ❤️

Another day of packed meals. Green smoothie this time with kale, spinach, unsweetened almond milk, strawberries and chocolate protein powder a cheesy broccoli spinach soup I threw together in the instant pot while making the kids dinner (they had Mac and cheese and chicken nuggets). Have to say the soup reminds of the ooze from the TMNT secret of the ooze movie from the 90’s an egg white with furikake and American cheese on an everything bagel thin protein shakes, chocolate almonds, seaweed snacks, a protein bar, freeze dried tangerines, and a beef broth packet my exercise calories look off because it doesn’t account for the fact I sleep during the day and do most of my walking and stuff at night. I’ll break even before i clock in at work.

I'm only a month out and I'm eating about 600 calories a day. I am wondering if I need to eat less to be as successful as you!

I think a lot of bariatric programs adopt a "one-size-fits-all" strategy because, frankly, it's easier than tailoring it to each individual patient. They go with something conservative and simple that should be fine for everyone, even if not ideal for all patients. To be clear, I don't think there's anything wrong with your asking these questions, and you're probably better off for looking at it this way and trying to optimize your own nutrition. But I can also see how this kind of discussion can be confusing for some patients. Hang out on this site for a while and you'll see a lot of posts from people who have alarmingly little knowledge about what they're supposed to be eating post-op (although I suspect some of these are trolls). Some patients basically need to be micromanaged and told exactly what to eat and drink at every stage. Plus, the surgeon might be afraid that if he tells you that a different shake is ok, other patients will either hear what they want to hear ("If Unjury shakes are ok, I guess that means I can drink any shakes I want, and I like McDonalds shakes!") or start bombarding him with questions about other specific products. That could explain why he is more reasonable when you meet with him one-on-one as opposed to in a support group setting with other patients. Anyway, I'm with you about real food vs. shakes. For the first several months, I relied on protein shakes and other protein-fortified products a lot, but I'm 15 months out now and I can easily get enough protein from real food, so I don't want to waste my calories on protein shakes that I don't even enjoy! I would much rather have a grilled chicken salad or a Mr. Tortilla turkey wrap or a broccoli slaw omelet than drink a protein shake.

I was just thinking about this thread. I had my revision to RNY due to gerd in August. Sounds like you are doing really well to me. To me, it's not race, especially if you are eating healthy and exercising, making the shift from poor habits to healthy self-caring eating habits (mentally, emotionally and physically). Generally speaking, to lose 4 lbs. a week you would have to have a calorie deficit of 2000 calories a day. Good job so far.

I'm 20 months out and still drink 1 protein shake a day. But then I had a surgery that requires a minimum of 80g of protein a day and I stress less if I get in a 30g protein shake (yes, a little high calorie as it's 160 calories, but I'm less stressed out trying to cram protein in when I drink it). It's possible for most people to eventually get their protein in with just food. Honestly, I could probably do it, but again, I stress myself out less if I just drink the protein shake and am only responsible for getting 50g in via food. And, with the way that so called 'support group' treated you I don't blame you at all for dropping them. I would have too were I in your shoes!

I eat alot of salads. All my salads look pretty much the same. So here's something a little different: a pic of the mise en place instead, lol. Romaine, vinaigrette, carrots, cucumbers, apples, kimchi, cheddar, smoked oysters, salami w/ prosciutto slices: 368 calories. Ate a bit more than 1/2, will eat the rest later, unless someone in the fam gets to it first.

I am a person who always wants to know the "why" behind a rule (unfortunately!). So, as I've slowly been progressing through my surgeon's plan (still on pureeds for two more weeks, and I'm 7 weeks out), I've started wondering if we will always have to drink protein shakes. I hate them, they taste gross, and the ingredients list is like 5 paragraphs long full of things I can't even say - besides that, they're full of carbs and often high calorie. And if we do have to always drink them, why? Why can't we meet our protein goals through eating real food? For example, an egg and a morningstar breakfast sausage patty is 16 grams of protein and 150 calories. The protein shake I drink is almost 300 calories (bariatric advantage with PB2 over a plant based milk). Also, bone broth, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, tuna are all high protein, low calorie options that taste way better than protein shakes. If a person is able to meet protein goals and still stay around 600 calories a day during weight loss phase, why the shakes? (I don't know if that's feasible, I haven't tried it - I am still drinking the nasty protein). So, I posted the question to the online support group my surgeon keeps on Facebook. I asked if a person can meet their daily protein goal through real food, are protein shakes still required. Man! You would have thought I asked if I could eat a full meat lovers pizza from Papa John's! People launched on me, accused me of eating too much food, told me if I wanted to lose weight and maintain it I HAD to drink protein shakes for life. Then the surgeon came on and publicly shamed me, said I was way off track and wasn't following the plan. What bomb did I set off??? And nobody ever explained WHY the shakes are required??? The previous time before this when I asked a question, almost the same thing happened. I asked if I could drink the Unjury ready made shakes instead of the powder because they taste so much better. People berated me, and told me the ready made shakes were not good for me. Then the surgeon chimed in and said the ready made were not as good because they are protein caseinate instead of whey isolate. Um, the packaging clearly says the Unjury brand is whey protein isolate. So now why are they bad for me? The next day, my surgeon posted a long post about people having this surgery and not taking it seriously. I can't help but think it was in response to my question about protein shakes. I didn't even have Facebook, I deleted it in 2016 when things started to get so nasty online. I only started using it again to join my surgeon's group. I cancelled following the page. I was really ticked off at the responses. I'm so angry I don't even want to continue with my surgeon's office. AND, by the way, I am not way off track, I've lost 41 lbs. in these last 7 weeks, and I'm really happy with that. Started at 235, now 194 (and have been losing about 1 lb a day for the last few days). I know I'm being a baby, I think I just needed to vent. I do like my surgeon when we meet one on one for appointments. Facebook is evil. Sent from my SM-N976V using BariatricPal mobile app

Have I misunderstood? You've lost 56lb in about two months or just a little under that? I think what you've lost is great. Some professionals or those who deem themselves to be seem to set some unrealistic expectations. Were you happy with your weight loss up to the point in time your dietician told you otherwise? 10kms a day is quite a lot. I assume you are followng your post op guidelines for calories, volumes of food, types of food etc? Protein intake? Liquid intake? And hopefully consuming sufficient to sustain 10kms a day. If so and your are averaging a reasonable weight loss you are doing great. Editied to add: You mention you stopped losing weight? How long since you've lost some weight on the scale? Stalls are not uncommon, most of everyone who has WLS has a stall or more than one, even in the first few weeks.

The surgery throws you on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. Plus you’re healing from a pretty major surgery, you’re on a restricted, low calorie diet. So having low energy & feeling flat or down emotionally is quite common. It does pass but when is an individual thing. You also haven’t experienced anything like this before & as you said don't know anyone who has which would add to any feelings of being lost or confused. There are lots of people here happy to help, offer suggestions, offer support & to celebrate with you. It was a great source of information & advice when I began. You don’t have to post. Sometimes just reading about others’ experiences can be helpful. Maybe sitting down with your closest friends to explain why you chose to have the surgery may help them understand your reasons better & they may become more supportive. It is something that will be part of your life & you will be making changes to your eating, physical activity, etc. Having them onside would be helpful.

Honestly, I probably do focus on what I’m eating more now but the focus is how much protein, is there sugar in this, etc. So I focus more on the nutritional value of what I eat. Also before I used to skip meals. Now I try to make sure to eat more regularly. I cooked before surgery & I still cook. I prep most of my food so I can control the ingredients & how they’re cooked & I do cook a little more often - one because of prepping lunch now & I’ve dropped my once a week takeaway. I randomly check calories & portion sizes to make sure I’m on track & not over or under estimating. I also cleaned out my pantry, fridge & freezer in the first months. Got rid of all the food I couldn’t or didn’t want to eat anymore. If it’s not in the cupboard I can’t eat it. If I don’t buy it, I can’t eat it either. As @The Greater Fool said it can be an obsess ion if you let it or want it to be. How rigid/flexible do you want to be in your food choices? Your dietician should be a good source of possible eating plans & food options that fit in with your lifestyle, family, etc. You will have to make some changes. If you go back to eating exactly as you did before you will end up where you were before surgery. Remember, there is no one right way to eat just the way that’s right for you. Good luck & I hope everything goes smoothly for you.

I’m soo distraught, I’m 9 days post op..just began purred good stage… since then I have been gaining weight. My stats are as follows highest 240… final weight before surgery was 210, during the clear liquid and full liquid stage I lost 7lbs… and was at 203. Since I started the puréed stage about 2 days ago… now I’m weighing 208….I’m following the diet…and only consuming about 400-450 calories a day with my 64oz of liquids a day. Has this happened to anybody!…. I’m freaking out.

I had that ‘lag’ too. I think it is the lack of calories and the lowered amount of water. It took me about 2-3 weeks to get through it. Now, 3.5 months out, my body got used to the lack of food and I have so much energy! Remember that you just went through a major surgery and your body is healing….take care of yourself! At this point make sure you practice at drinking more and start focusing on meeting your protein goal. It will get better! Oh, and take naps when you can, they help!

No I have not tried that. I’ll have to though. I love this site, so many ideas that would never cross my mind. And I hope so. It will make 3 weeks on Friday and same. Have had no more than 600 calories a day and I work out 2-3 times a week depending on my knees and ankle. And still Not a pound lost since the initial weight loss after surgery. I do feel feel relieved knowing this will pass. Lol. Thank you for the encouragement and the advice. I will try that!

I know the feeling! I stalled the second week post-op despite barely making 500 calories a day and exercising regularly, but I did a google search on why it happens, and reading that put me at ease. Made a lot of sense, and knowing that it's super common also helps. You'll break yours soon. Have you tried a little diet cordial in water to see if that helps? I've never been a soda or sweet drink person, so water and I have always gotten along well, but I know for folks who have an aversion to it, diet cordials help. Also protein waters - double your fun!

That is so exciting that your stall has let up. I can’t wait. I feel like I’ll be stuck at this weight for a while. But I am ok with that. I’m just grateful I am feeling better than I was before. I am the opposite. I wish I was not but the one thing that always got me was I like sweet drinks. I seriously probably drank most of my calories before the surgery and that was something I had to work on months before the surgery. I hate water. My husband gets on me all the time about how I don’t drink enough of it and now I’m trying so hard to get the recommended water in I just can’t stand it. So that could be my issue as well. And thank you so much 😊 I feel so much better already. Best of luck on your journey! And I’ve definitely had the cramping drinking water. It is horrible.

It can be an obsession if you want it to be. There are many here that obsess about every calorie. It can also be a simple task that you handle like several other tasks you do every day. It's really up to you at least as much as you can control any of your obsessions. You manage to feed yourself now and your new diet plan need not be significantly more complicated, again, unless you want it to. For me, my plan didn't require counting calories or much else than "this much protein, this much veggies", done and done. To this day this continues to be my plan. Relax. Take the time to learn about your surgery and your plan. You will have plenty of time to learn what appeals to you. Good luck, Tek

I agree with you on that. I have no desire to eat candy, cake, etc. I guess the real reason is that if I am not getting any protein or nutrients from it, it is just going to stall my progress. I really don't need any empty calories right now.

it takes awhile to figure out maintenance. You have to experiment with calorie ranges to find the one that works for you. I can maintain my weight on 1500-1700 calories per day - a bit more if I'm really active. If I go over range too often, my weight starts heading north - if I'm consistently at the low end or below, I'll lose. That figure is going to be different for everyone though. There are some women who can eat 2000 cal/day -- and others who can only eat 1200. It'll depend on a bunch of factors like age, height, how muscular you are, how active you are, etc. keep in mind that it's very, very common to have a 10-20 lb regain during year 2 or 3. It's just your body settling in to its new, hopefully permanent, weight (and it WILL be permanent as long as you monitor it). I purposely went a little under my goal to account for this, because from everything I'd read, I knew it was likely to happen (it doesn't happen to everyone, but it does for most people) a lot of us set a drop-dead weight ceiling once we reach maintenance - and if and when we reach that drop-dead weight, it's all hands on deck until our weight is comfortably back in our acceptable range. That's going to differ for people, too. My personal ceiling is 160 lbs. Weight fluctuates all the time - up a pound, down two, maybe up three. But once I hit that ceiling, I really crack down until my weight is back down again. I think that's probably what most of us have to do -or something like that, anyway -- to keep from gaining a bunch of weight back. As long as you keep an eye on what you're eating - at least most of the time - and monitor your weight, and take action when you need to - you should be fine.

Carp. I'm 4 weeks out and I'm already at 600-700 calories a day and still hungry all the time. I have half a protein shake mixed with 10 oz decaf iced coffee for a start, then 150-250 calorie meal portions of eggs, beans, ground meat, ricotta bake, that are all low carb and medium fat, then a different one of those for lunch, then a snack of a protein shake or light and fit (80 calorie) Greek yogurt for a snack, and the same portion of whatever food for dinner. Last night I added sugar free hot cocoa made with high protein 1% milk because I couldn't take being hungry and I was also cold. I am drinking over 70 oz of liquid and protein is over 60g a day.

Packed my lunch (meals really) like always- green smoothie- kale, spinach, unsweetened almond milk, frozen pineapple and Syntrax lemonade protein powder egg white and American cheese everything bagel thin with extra everything bagel seasoning onions, zucchini and tomatoes with everything bagel seasoning 2 protein shakes (for coffee) 2 different dried fruits, beef bone broth packet, a pack of seaweed snacks, and a 100 calorie chocolate almonds as snacks and a random orgain protein bar because I was still hungry 9hrs into my shift.

As @ms.sss said. It can take time to work out that sweet spot of the number of calories your body needs to function & maintain your weight. It took me about 11 months till I stabilised, worked out how many calories I needed & was physically able to consume enough food to do so. Consequently I lost another 11kgs but have basically maintained there for about 12 months now. I eat less than @ms.sss - around 1200/1300 calories a day but I’m not very active. Not a runner nor the owner of a gym membership. 😁 If I was more active I’d need to eat more calorie dense food. If I was happy to maintain at a higher weight I’d also eat more. I eat three meals & 3-4 snacks a day. Generally I follow a healthy eating plan of nutrient rich foods. Prep most of my food myself. Almost every thing I eat contains protein. I eat fruit, vegetables, dairy, two serves of multi or whole grain carbs a day. I don’t have a lot of fat (salad dressing & liverwurst are the main - & worst - sources) & I got rid of a lot of sugar (real, artificial & substitutes) out of my diet. It also takes time to work out a way of eating that works within your lifestyle so you can still enjoy your life without being limited by restrictive food choices. My choices may not work for you & that’s perfectly ok. I doubt our bodies would gain weight faster than anybody else unless you’re eating more calories. The surgery gives your metabolism a boost & I’d think it would settle at a rate that is pretty acceptable for someone of your height, weight, activity level, age, gender, etc. Have a chat with your nutritionalist & discuss what eating options which may work for you.

I am 7 months out and I have around 8-900 a day. My team did not give me a calorie goal so idk if this is ideal or not. I actually have an appointment Wednesday and this is a question I will be asking.