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They probably didn't give you any calorie values because they don't want you worrying about that yet. As long as you're not eating more than the recommended amounts, you'll be fine. As to macros, the absolute minimum recommended protein amount would be 60 grams, but really, shooting for 100+ would be better. It can be hard for some folks to hit that higher value early on, so as long as you're getting a minimum of 60, you should be okay for now. Just try to work up to 100+ as time goes on. Eventually, ~1 gram per pound of bodyweight would be a better target for protein, but I'd be surprised if you're able to get there at 2 months post-op. I wouldn't worry too much about carbs and fats at this point other than to say you do need a bare minimum of fats to make sure you get your essential fatty acids. In short, eat the recommended portion sizes, aspirationally shoot for 100 grams of good quality protein per day, at least 30 grams of (good), fats per day, and the rest can be carbs. Your carbs should ideally be from whole food sources like veggies, grains and fruits.

Hi everyone! I haven't been on this site in a VERY long time, but I am currently on a new weight loss journey and I thought I would report in with my experience and the hope that some of you newbies can learn from it. I had my VSG surgery on 9/1/2014, so 10 years ago this month. At the time of my surgery, I weighed ~260 pounds and I am 5'6". I have lost and gained weight a million times before that, with my highest weight ever having been 277 pounds. In the first couple of years after my surgery, I was able to get below my goal weight (165) all the way down to 154. During that time I trained for and ran in a half marathon and a full marathon, completing the full marathon in September 2016 (almost exactly two years after my surgery). I separated from my then-husband in May of 2016 and our divorce was final in December 2016. My life took a very different path after that and I did not stick to my healthy diet and exercise. I met my current husband in February of 2017 and while I love him dearly and he is THE BEST, he is a bit of a hedonist and we definitely supported each other in our hedonism. I became a connoisseur of fine craft beers and we have a large friend group who we go out with or have get-togethers with several times a week. I not only stopped running but stopped exercising altogether. Both my current husband and I put on weight in the seven years we have been together, especially during COVID, and I got all the way back up to 234 pounds! Last year, my husband was diagnosed as pre-diabetic, and, in April, we resolved to turn things around together. Since then, I have lost 30 pounds and I am on my way down to my new goal weight of 180. So, here are some things I want to report, trying to lose weight again for the first time since immediately after my surgery: The restriction still works! I cannot eat much more than about 200 grams of food in one sitting. Once I cut out snacking and stopped drinking as many calories (beer), it was easy to rely on my sleeve to restrict my daily caloric intake. My metabolism is still normal. As a 5'6 female weighing 203.2 pounds, I still burn ~2100 calories per day just by living, according to my Garmin watch and it definitely tracks with the calorie differential I am logging and the weight loss I am seeing. I still can't eat and drink at the same time. I usually have to wait about 45 minutes to an hour to drink anything after I eat a full meal. Being overly full is still an unpleasant feeling. Before my surgery, I used to love the sensation of being "stuffed." Since surgery and to this day, it is still uncomfortable for me if I overeat in one sitting. Not a pleasant sensation at all, but not painful like it was in the very beginning. I can still get dumping syndrome if I'm not careful. If eat too much sugar too fast, usually in the form of ice cream or a milkshake, I get dumping syndrome and it is VERY unpleasant, fortunately, it is very rare. Food can still get "stuck." Every once in a while, mostly when I am eating turkey or pork it seems, food can get stuck and it is completely miserable. Be sure to thoroughly chew your food!!! Especially dense meats. My advice to anyone who is post-sleeve and still losing weight or trying to maintain their weight: Snacks are the enemy! It's so easy to get in extra calories by eating smaller amounts between meals. Your sleeve won't help you at all with this. Drinking your calories is easy and dangerous. I haven't given up my precious beer entirely, but I have cut back and I am mindful of the type of beer I am drinking as some types are more caloric than others. You can just as easily drink your calories even if you don't drink alcohol. Be wary of soda, milkshakes, energy drinks, juices, and too much cream/sugar/syrups in your coffee. Keep up with the exercise. It doesn't have to be training for a marathon like I did in the beginning. Currently, my husband and I take a ~mile walk after dinner each night and we try to do one, long, 4-5 mile walk/hike on the weekend. Just that moderate amount of activity can make a big difference. Be mindful of calorically dense foods. Even though I can only eat 200 grams at a time, if it is 200 grams of junk, it can have a LOT of calories! I hope the lesson that all of you take from this post is that the sleeve is a tool and it is all about how you use it. It can work for you, even 10 years out, as long as you use it correctly.

Hello, this is my first time posting after finding this forum back in February, I had my surgery day back on 2/20 (gastric sleeve) and everything has gone well, I have a great support system at home and have been very strict on following all my phases (yay for finally being in phase 4), I haven't felt bad, so far no dumping syndrome and my body seems to be accepting foods well The issue is that I work at a clinic (admin dept.) and some of the medical staff have been telling me of patients that they've had or know who've had issues with their surgery, from things like, "oh they ended up in the hospital because they had a nutritional deficiencies" or "their sutures caused a leak and they had to have surgery again", I'm sure they're not doing it on purpose, a clinic will have patients who have issues at all times, my thing is, that the comments are starting to make me feel a bit afraid, in a way that's almost like, when is the other shoe going to drop, apparently some of the patients were feeling fine when one day their body just gave out, so now I am worried and stressing if it could happen to me too, and if having my surgery was a mistake, how do I deal with this?

So sorry to read you are having these experiences @Dsmart. Wait times for specialists are terrible everywhere regardless of what country you live these days. (My mum was told 18 months to see a gerontologist in Australia. She told them not to bother as she could be dead by then!) I have experienced a sudden & unexpected intolerance to a specific food but nothing like yours & it was only one food: eggs. Never had an issue with them after surgery but around the four year mark I suddenly started to vomit if I ate them (didn’t matter how they were cooked.) took about 18 months I was able to eat them again but I generally avoid them - too risky if I’m out. I wonder if it could be a parasite or a bacterial infection if not the cause but contributing to your symptoms. When you do see the gastroenterologist ensure you get a colonoscopy, an endoscopy and stool samples are taken. Ask about trying a FOD map diet which eliminates a lot of ingredients that can cause digestional issues. (Actually you could try it now.) Just throwing some ideas out there. No expert. I did have the parasite giardia for years which hates lactose and causes cramping and strong diarrhoea and a general feeling of being unwell which made me suggest a parasite or bacteria. A cousin is on a FOD map diet after experiencing an array of digestional issues following a series of viruses including covid twice. I hope you can get some answers and a solution soon.

I have and I'm 10 days out. I've had a very rough go with several other issues, needed a blood transfusions, and as soon as I went to full liquids, I could not hold food in so I got dehydrated. On top of all that, I've been so hungry, lost 20 lbs though.

We started off about the same weight, and at month 4 (I just checked my spreadsheet), I'd lost 52 lbs, so not much more than you. It seems to be pretty common to lose about 10 lbs a month for the first few months (although some people have a big drop the first month (I did not), which is likely a lot of water weight - before settling in at a slower rate of loss). After the first six months or so, I dropped down to maybe five lbs a month - and after I passed the year mark, there were some months when I only lost about two lbs. It took me about two years to reach goal. If you stick to your plan, the weight will come off, whether fast or slow. There are so many factors that influence your rate of loss - age, gender, body build, how muscular you are, your metabolic rate, how active you are, whether or not you lost weight before surgery, starting BMI, etc. The only things you really have any control over are how closely you stick to your food plan and how active you are, so if you do well with those two things, the weight WILL come off. I ended up losing over 200 lbs, so definitely don't lose hope! P.S. of course, if your scale actually weighs differently than the one at the doctor's office, well then there's that, too...

See I think you are very determined and committed (at least what I gather from your posts and replies) and I believe you have great awareness and the ability to make the right choices for yourself. I pretty much know that you haven't come this far to let go completely and go back to old habits. I would also argue that the shame and guilt that accompany you are as detrimental as eating all the processed food in the world. I am not a role model. I eat chips, I eat chocolate, I eat carbs, I eat everything. But I also eat my protein, salads, fruit, veggies. I workout and take my whey, creatine, I take my supplements. I think I have achieved a good balance - that allows me to indulge daily - so I do not sweat the little stuff. IF AND WHEN (sorry for the caps) I see a change in the scale that I don't like, then I address it and evaluate what I can tweak. What does balance look like to you? Living with guilt will never help you achieve a balanced state, worrying too much won't either. Continue doing what you've been doing (you have done fantastic), but get rid of the shame and guilt. These are my thoughts, take them with a grain of salt

Congratulations on your loss. I was a savory girl Lee bariatric world and post sleeve I became a sweet girl too. Then post SAFI that went away but has started to come back. I think MAYBE it’s just our bodies wanting carbs and sweet food is usually the absolute highest in carbs so the quickest way to get them. I did not have the bypass but I don’t think your friend is correct about eating whatever you want. I know that was for sure not true for the me with the sleeve. I started at 235, lost down to 168 then gained it all back plus some to 258 and was still gaining when I started the preop diet for my revision. I have also heard plenty of regain stories on here about the bypass. Now, does it malabsorb some of your food, absolutely. So if you were like 900 pounds before it’s possible you would stay a bit smaller just because you pretty much already ate all you wanted volume and calories wise before and the malabsorption would in theory make you weight a bit less if you ate the same exact food, but it would only be a bit less anyways and who of us wants that. . As far as a more common starting weight I really don’t think so because even at our high weights we still weren’t eating absolutely all we would have liked to or we could have and if we ate any and everything we wanted, even with some calories not absorbing that’s still probably giving our bodies more than we were eating before. I do know from experience that what fuel I put into my body changed how I feel, though, so even if I could get away with eating anything I wanted cosmetically, I know that I wouldn’t feel as good as I do when I eat a balanced diet and keep up my activity. That processed junk that most of us used to eat all the time is not good for us and it doesn’t give your bodies what it needs to run efficiently. Another thing to keep in mind is that we are still pretty early out to be relaxing too much. Most people have a 10–15 pound bounce back even if they keep working at it. I don’t know about you but I’ve still got more that I want to lost. I definitely don’t want to be bouncing back!! for the sweet cravings try the sugar free popsicles again. They can trick my brain sometimes and others i Have fruit. I figure calorie wise they may be more calories but at least it’s not added sugar. I try to avoid that as much as possible because that makes me have more cravings the next day and for like a week.

First, congratulations on your surgery. No, it’s not uncommon to start having doubts, worries, be a bit emotional about things. This is a big thing. Something you have never gone edits so and have absolutely nothing to base these new experiences and emotional reactions you’re having upon. With a sleeve, about 75% of your tummy is removed. This differs person to person & depends upon the size of your tummy. Larger tummy, more is removed. I actually got an internal photo of my tummy being removed (it’s not framed up on my wall 😄). It is impossible for you to regain if you’re following your plan and the volume of food/calories you’re consuming. A very common occurrence, which almost every one experiences, is called the three week stall. Around the three week mark (could be earlier or later than then) your weight loss will stall. It may last from 1-3 weeks. It’s very normal & just your body taking a moment to adjust to the changes and reassess your new needs (metabolic rate, digestive hormones, etc.). You will start losing again. Because there is no hard and fast rule as to your rate of loss, surgeons don’t tend to set weight loss goals - interim or final. There are just lots of averages around how much you may lose and how long it may take. Your surgeon may have spoken to you about how much weight you may lose by a certain time but it’s no guarantee of what will happen but just an idea of what might happen. They may ask how much you’d like to lose and then advise if it is possible or not. Whether it is possible or not is based on stats (averages). Don’t worry about not meeting your fluid or protein goals in the first weeks. It’s not easy in the beginning. As long as you’re making an effort and aren’t too far off. You’ll notice you get closer and closer and some days will be easier & others will be a real struggle. A quarter cup of food seems like nothing to begin but is again not unusual. My advice was 1/4 - 1/3 cup from purée to about a cup at 6 months. If you’re struggling eating soft food you may need to go back a stage for a few days & that ‘s okay. Sometimes we’re ( our tummies) just aren’t ready & healed enough yet to tolerate the more & more dense food as you progress to each new stage. Often weeks 3 & 4 are purées and then soft foods in weeks 5 & 6 but plans do differ. Trust me, it does get better and easier in time.

I second everything said by @Bessieboop1981 I was also sleeved 8 weeks ago, and have found it hard at times to deal with the head hunger and the change to my body and lifestyle (former chef and pastry chef) Food has been a HUGE part of my life for a long time, and now it is not so much! But that doesn't stop the desire! The physical pain of overeating is very real post surgery, I can not eat much at once, and sometimes grieve that, but I do know that after trying to lose weight my whole adult life, this is the only thing that will help to control the volume I eat. That is what I was after, the handbrake to stop me overeating, but it is only a tool, the fact is you need to be ready emotionally. The physical risk factor of Gastric Sleeve is minimal, however, as said above, all surgery has risks including serious complications and even death and this has to be weighed against the potential benefit. Only you can know if it's worth it to you. I also wish you well!

How much food can everyone eat now? Those of you further out? So many delicious food post but I can only enjoy about 1 cup of food at a time. I'm about 5 months out!

I understand completely how you feel and agree it’s a good idea to try some different things. I didnt do much variety in the purée stage with my sleeve because I refused to try puree food that wasn’t supposed to come that way. I’m so glad I am this time to get some variety now though because for on it’s not as bad as I thought and two I’m telling you the soft food stage for me was the absolute most anxiety ridden part of the whole experience. I was worried about all the new foods not being tolorated but also if it was soft enough. After every meal I sat there for like an hour worried it was gonna come back up and then all night I worried if I hurt something inside and was gonna end up in the ER. I do struggle with anxiety normally but that stage was so much worse for me because I didn’t try the new foods during purée and I was worried about twice as much at once. Hopefully it will be better this time since I am incorporating some variety now.

I am still craving carb heavy food and it’s been a week now. I swear for me processed carbs are the enemy. I can have any amount of healthy carbs without it affecting my appetite but processed ones just make me hungry for days after.icily I haven’t gained but I really need to Figure out how to get back on track. This is a slippery slope for me.

Only you know the answer as you have to be ready, mentally, physically and emotionally, for the surgery and the changes you will have to make to be successful with the surgery in the long term. I was healthy, no comorbidities at all yet I knew at my weight and age (almost 54) the chance of them developing was very high. I also knew I could lose weight myself as I had many, many times before (though it’s much harder as a menopausal woman) but I also knew I could put it all back on again which I always did. The decision was easy. Woke up one morning and said enough. Made an appointment with my GP and 6 weeks later I had my surgery (no or very few hoops to jump through in Australia if you meet the criteria). Yes, the first couple of months aren’t easy: restricted diet, temporarily changed tastebuds and interesting discussions with yourself around food, eating, hunger, etc. (the head work we talk about begins). Pain was gone after 4 days though if you have surgical gas pain it can linger a week or so. You’ll discover and decide how & what you want to eat in the long term to maintain and that may be different from others. It’s all about what works for you & your lifestyle. Many people still eat ‘unhealthy’ food but it’s all about the portion they eat and how often they eat it. Everyone travels & then it often comes down to making the best choices you can and not beating yourself up if you do indulge while away. I just came back from a short girls trip and ate an obscene amount of cheese & drank more than I usually do. I’m okay about it and got back on my usual path when I got home. Like @NickelChip there are things I avoid. Bread, rice, pasta sits heavily in my tummy too. Foods can be super sweet so I generally avoid sweet things (I do indulge at odd times like at Christmas). I don’t find it hard to avoid or reduce my intake of those foods I struggle to eat or choose not to eat rarely. I don’t want to waste the opportunity I’ve been given. And yes, I’d do it again in a heart beat. All the best whatever you choose to do.

I am on day two, and I was so hungry last night i ended up having 2 extra string cheese before bed, I feel bad because I did so good on day 1, but before bed i was starving. Today I am making use of my "free foods" and am going to try adding some broth, and sugar free jello as well as some extra free veggies. I had a headache yesterday but today none, I also did a modified diet for one week before my pre op started, 3 shakes during the day and then a regular meal for dinner.- my surgeon didn't mention not having the surgery if the liver was still too big but I definitely don't want to take the chance.

I'm starting my purée foods stage today. I'm eating tuna mashed with low fat yogurt. I'm just glad it's not soup.

Did anyone else grow up with parents who told you to clean your plate/not waste food?!?! I still really struggle with this. I dislike when I portion out food and then feel like I can't finish it, especially if I have already logged it in my app. I definitely have to fight with my brain to just put it in the fridge and finish it later, if I get hungry. I actually think eating out helps with this because I know I'm going to not finish a whole plate or I share with my husband and he will finish it.

I am so glad I'm not the only one who eats sweets every day. I told myself that I was not going to restrict myself from eating sweets, knowing that I like sweets, I didn't wanna set myself up for failure so I include them just as I do protein and healthy food that I have to eat. OMG I'm going to try your peanut butter balls. 🤪😋! Simplest form for my cups would be to find your favorite chocolate (no sugar added or high coca content), add coconut oil to it for the fats. Microwave it. I work out a lot I'm not afraid of fats. Buy your cup molds, then really have fun with it put whatever you want in it. I try something new every week. Pop in freezer 30 mins. I don't give measurements cause you'll have to tweak it to your dietary thingy things. 😂, @AmberFL

I am having a hard time with this surgery. I’ve been bigger all 29 years of my life but I finally decided to make a change Jan 8 2024. I had the gastric sleeve surgery done… Since then I don’t like the taste of anything that I use to like. I can’t even stomach the smell of certain food, it makes me literally nauseous. I’m not use to how slow I have to drink water now so when I swallow too much, it make my chest hurt terribly. I always feel nauseous 24/7 for not reason at all. Plus, I’m not losing anything. I still look and feel overweight. I deal with depression and other mental illnesses so I may be beating myself up but I guess I expected differently.

I have this craving for salty, so it's not terrible. I do drink my broths and whatnot, I can eat scrambled eggs, so I'm not entirely liquid. I've been referring to this stage in my diet as the baby led weaning stage, because I'm able to eat soft foods but most of my intake is still liquid. The only thing I have found that my body didn't like was pasta.. I deconstructed my dad's Christmas lasagna, ate a very small piece of pasta, and regretted it. Next day, I was fine with pasta. It was weird.

I hear you. I believe in balance for sure but as long as it doesn't follow with guilt and maybe more binging? I had a burger for dinner and I feel guilty even though my stomach is punishing me as we speak so I feel unless we feel okay about enjoying some food then yes but no pooint in indulging then feel shitty on top of it :(( why is everything so hard yet easy

Had my consult at Banner University Medical center in Tucson. The team seems really nice and eager for you to succeed. My first appt with the dietician is Jan 29th and is supposed to be about 90 minutes. Lots of tests I need to have completed asap; sleep study, cardiology clearance, endoscopy, barium swallow, psych eval, chest X-ray, and a ton of labs. Gotta complete the 6 month supervised diet and lose 10% of my weight throughout the 6 months. They want to see a little each month and not a lot at real quick. I weighed 344 yesterday and they want me at 310 before surgery. I shared this in a Facebook forum and the 1st comment was, "Really, how do they figure you can lose that much in 6 mos? Wow. Good luck with that!" (Nothing like a little encouragement right off the bat! 😬 ) I replied that it's only 34 lbs & I need to lose 6 lbs a month. She said if she could lose 6 lbs a month she wouldn't need surgical help! I looked at her profile & it turns out she's a failed ESG from September because 'she likes food too much'. BUT now it's in my head that maybe I can't lose the 34 lbs in time. I'm definitely ready to get this going! I have studied this for so many years! I'm super excited to have finally taken this step & have saved money for the last several months to cover my deductible & most of my Out of Pocket max. The fat girl in me decided I needed a food funeral, so I had my last ever buffet yesterday. I hope this 6 months goes by quickly! I'm ready to feel better & move better. My knees & back need a break LOL! If y'all have any tips for losing the 34 lbs in 6 months, please share them. I know low carb/sugar free & keto..... but I've obviously never been successful with them or I wouldn't be this big.

yes!! In another video he shows him eating a candy bar...He says I am eating this before my cravings get to out of control, so if you eat what your craving when its a level 2 instead of a level 10 you wont get out of control. When we restrict ourselves so much is when we tend to fail and that balance is so important. He also focuses on protein with every meal. This is so true for me. I eat for the most part really well, whole foods, high protein, low in fat and moderate in carbs. But I do eat something sweet every night lol! usually a Yasso ice cream bar or a protein ice cream I make in the creami. But I def will have a mini snickers or two lol

I feel like I need to track because I’ve only lost 40 lbs in a year since my surgery. Though I did have some significant issues about 4 months after surgery. Things are going much better now and I feel like I “need” to “do” something. This was a lot of pain, effort and mental anguish/anxiety to go through and my final result be just 40 lbs. LOL I do know clothes are fitting better. Wearing smaller sizes. But I also know that I will forget to keep tabs on myself because I become blind to things that are not built in/hardcore habits for me. I think because I have the issue with object impermanence that I need to be super aware of what I am doing/eating or else all this effort was just an exercise in futility. Does this make sense? EDIT: I also forget to eat or wait too long to eat. Food has never played a vital role of importance in my brain in my life … it’s more like a fire… I don’t notice it when it is out or smoldering. I do notice it when it’s become a full blown issue that needs to be corrected. Like I don’t remember I need to eat until I start getting shaky or jittery because I’ve let my blood sugar drop too low. This has been an issue my entire life. So I need a way to stay on top of my food / eating habits, etc so I can be more balanced in my approach. This is my thinking anyway. Maybe it’s not right… I don’t know

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.