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Yes and also my weight loss plan doesn’t want us to count protein shakes as protein intake. They want us to eat our protein!

I got down to within about 10 pounds of my goal weight a few years ago but slowly started inching back up. I have been on Wegovy for 8 months now and I've lost those 30 extra pounds and I'm staying consistent. I am one of those who were genuinely hungry ALL the time. Like not snacky hungry but really hungry. I have no idea how long I can stay on Wegovy but I'm on 1.7 right now and will increase to 2.4 if necessary. It is a total game changer for me. Im not plagued by constant hunger. I will say though, full disclosure I've felt sick to my stomach every single day while on this drug. I mean, every day! It's the price I'm willing to pay though to not constantly feel hungry and I'm likely going to weigh what I did in high school before summer is over. If you can handle feeling sick (nausea/diarrhea) then it's worth it. You have to be sure to hydrate and eat extra protein but I'm used to that anyway. I know a lot of people are scared of it but for me it's been worth it

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 hate decaf. caffeinated coffee helps me w/constipation. I use vanilla premier protein shake in my frother to add to my coffee. I only drink one cup of coffee a day. I also drink flavored (hazelnut) coffee beans.

Keep in mind some plans (like mine), specifically say not to count protein shakes toward your fluids. Like @catwoman7 said, plans are all different. Some plans also won't allow the ricotta bake until a later stage because of the marinara sauce. This is why specific recommendations are so hard. You may not be able to eat what some of us ate. In other cases, you may not WANT to eat what we ate since tastes can be so messed up after surgery.

I have pain if I eat too much, or don't chew enough times before swallowing in the upper area of my abdomen, as if the pouch is not allowing any more food in it and pushing up on the diaphragm. I guess it is in the esophagus, but I learned my less the first time it happened and now the only time it happens when I eat too much shrimp. I keep it to 2 oz. Fluid is the most important thing. I would avoid carbonated beverages, and alcohol, you need to let your body heal from surgery before going off plan. Stick to the plan your team has given you. The most problems that end up in the ER are for dehydration. I drink Crystal Light with Isopure Clear Protein in my drinks to get the protein goals I have. Good luck!

Try a ricotta bake, there are several recipes out there. Protein Shakes, I got Premier Protein, in a variety pack from Amazon to give me some interesting tastes. We didn't have puree in our plan, we went from clears to full liquids then to soft protein only. Salmon is a good one for protein. Or tuna, shrimp, or any fish really will give you good protein. I use the Baritastic App to keep track of my fluids and protein and I meet or exceed it every day. Remember drinking a protein shake is fluid and protein both on the app. I got a variety of Crystal Light for my clear fluids, and added Isopure clear powder to help get the protein in during the early days too. I am a member of BariNation, and they have a wealth of information and various recipes for the bariatric patient, along with people that get you, and group therapy with licensed professionals or dieticians that are registered dieticians and all of the doctors and health care providers, everyone has experience with bariatric patients. For $40/month, it is well worth checking out for a month to see how you fit and I bet you fit right in. Good luck on your journey!

we were eating pureed food before even leaving the hospital, so plans are all different. I had to rely on protein shakes for a while to make get up to the required amount of protein.

Wow, that's really quick to move to pureed. Let me share the plan from my surgical team for comparison: Stage 1 -- Days 1-4: Non-carbonated Liquids only. Water, popsicles, jello, etc. Stage 2 -- Days 5-7: High protein Liquids. Add in 1 oz of a protein shake per hour. Goal was to work up to 2-3 eight oz protein shakes per day. Stage 3a -- Days 8-14: Easy Pureed foods. At this point, I was only allowed Yogurt, cottage cheese and ricotta cheese. In addition to the protein drinks, I was now allowed to add in 1-2 "meals" consisting of 1 TBSP of these foods per day. Since I focused on Greek Yogurt, this meant a max of 2 TBSP of yogurt per day. Stage 3b -- Days 9-30: Other pureed foods: Now could add in Pureed Meats, Pureed Beans, Cream Soups, Hummus, Cooked Pureed Veggies, and Eggs. Here the meals went up to 2 TBSP in size and I could have up to 3 "meals" per day. In stage 3b on a perfect day, I might have gotten to ~60 grams of protein per day, with the bulk of that still coming from protein shakes. I averaged less, especially early on since I just couldn't get that much food in me. Note that my plan didn't actually have a protein goal for the first month. It wasn't until I got to the next stage where they wanted me to get 70-90 grams of protein per day. I added all that not to say my plan was right and yours is wrong, I just wanted you to see how little protein I was getting for the first month. I think it's important to keep in mind a few things during the recovery period right after surgery: If you have to choose between hitting your hydration goals and food (including protein), hydration comes first. Introduce foods slowly. Things you loved before, or even things you think should be easy to digest may not be. As an example, I loved eggs prior to surgery and ate them all the time. I was unable to eat eggs at all for the longest time after surgery and still don't eat scrambled eggs to this day because of how bad an experience I had right after surgery. Things you never ate before may become your new favorites and things that sound good now may turn your stomach. It's weird how we all react differently to surgery. I would advise not trying to stock up on things now, expecting you'll want them after surgery. Just ask here how many people still have stuff they thought they'd want and now can't eat it. When reading your plan, keep in mind words like "up to", "max", etc. I highlighted some of those above in my plan because sometimes I think people read right over those and think of the upper end as mandatory. If they put words like these in the plan it's there for a reason. You may just not be able to reach the higher end of those ranges and that's perfectly fine. It's not like there's some sort of test and you only get an "A" if you hit the upper end. All 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.

It's hard and we all went through it, but you need to prioritize fluids. It will get easier over time. The reason fluids are important is that dehydration is one of the most common reasons people end up back in the hospital post bariatric surgery. Yes, protein is important too, but at this point, as long as you're getting some protein, you'll be fine. Protein is prioritized over carbs and fat during extreme weight loss because it can help prevent catabolization of muscle. Hitting your protein goals does help some, but it's not the huge issue some people think it is. A lot of that mentality comes from the bodybuilding world where every ounce of muscle mass counts. The reason we don't want to lose a lot of muscle is because metabolically, muscle is more active than fat. I believe the net difference is roughly 6 calories, meaning if you lose 1 pound of muscle, vs lose 1 pound of fat, you'll burn about 6 calories less per day. Keep in mind that some loss of muscle is inevitable after bariatric surgery, so don't stress over it.

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

This was both very informative and very kind, thank you! It's good to know that this level of aversion/nausea might also not be normal. As for telling the surgeon, I think you're right. I see this as a failure on my part to follow the instructions, which is making me ashamed to bring up more than necessary. I'm also really telling 5 different people on his team since other people respond, so maybe they don't know the whole picture. So far I've gotten "don't worry about the protein shakes just eat what you can", extra GERD medication for the GERD and trouble drinking, and to do my best. But I really do need to outline everything directly to the surgeon and have my follow up coming up. My dietitian was only assigned pre-op, but I have a request to the insurance to let me talk to her again. I genuinely can't get that much water down, especially at once. Ice water is helping me even get to this much 😞 The PPI was supposed to help but I don't see it helping with the water yet. Electrolyte drinks have fake sugar /: I have POTS and was drinking LMNT daily 😭 The probiotic is a great suggestion, I'll add it! Yeah, with the exercise it's very, very hot outside. I walked 5 min the other day, AC on both sides, cold water in hand, and was still nauseous all day. With the POTS I don't have good temperature regulation and chronic fatigue. I'm doing some light indoor exercise, but yeah that one is tanking very hard. I don't want to sweat out my water or use my little amount of protein to build muscle instead of heal. I was going to start once I could get down more protein but I haven't found a way to do that consistently. Genuinely thank you for reaching out and giving all the suggestions!

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.

Yeah I tried that powder in some super blended canned peaches and cherries for taste, but had a lot of trouble with the taste. You can drink it in just water? I've heard people sprinkle it on things like soup and mashed potatoes but I don't know how it can taste palatable enough to not vomit up? Or maybe I just vomit really easily 😓 That's super nice of you to suggest though, I really appreciate someone responding at all! I'm trying to convince my body it can tolerate sucralose so I could do that Frogfuel protein shot. An oz is so much easier to get down than a whole shake.

I like the Isopure Zero Carb 100% Pure Whey Isolate Protein Powder, Lactose Free, Gluten Free, With Vitamins, Unflavored. It can be mixed with sugar free drink mix or other drinks or mashed food. I do recommend a mixing bottle though to mix it up well.

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?

Sorry, I forgot to mention earlier. A lot of the popular protein shakes like Fairlife and Premier Protein have a pretty good amount of potassium in them. This makes sense because milk has quite a bit of potassium naturally. I assume you're drinking these since most people are early after surgery. If so, you may be getting more potassium than you think.

That is something I hadn't thought about yet - the relationship of sugar with cramps. At this point I don't think that is causing them - I am taking in so little sugar...but I do wonder about the timing and what I eat/drink at night. Last night, for a variety of reasons, the last thing I had before going to bed was a protein shake and I woke up around 5:30 with milk cramps in my shins/ankles...nothing major and easily walked off. So maybe there's something to that last food being protein. Thanks for the info! Sorry you deal with this too :(

I got/get the cramps too. I did talk with docs and dietitian and they suggested magnesium supplements and electrolytes. It solved most issues, but sometimes I still get cramps right after having a simple carb. It will happen even after taking protein in first. Apparently the sugars need more water to process so my body floods the simple carbs out and throws off the electrolytes. So I plan my occasional intake and have a prune and bottle of Fairlife protein milk ready on hand for when the cramping starts. I do also take 400 mg Magnesium Nature Made supplement in the evening regularly . I lived high altitude for a decade and it did happen more often then. My WLS doctor said I have avoided sweets so long now due to wanting to avoid dumping, that I’m super sensitive. I usually use Gatorade Zero powder in my water too. Side note, anyone else interested in researching whether cramping from carbs is more prevalent with diabetes or pre-diabetes? I had an elderly friend who inadvertently died from a cramp. She tried to walk off the cramp, broke her leg, gangrene and blood clots did her in,…it does make me wonder about the simple carb and blood sugar relationship and electrolytes relationship to muscle cramping.

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.

We can buy these at M&S. I love them. 16 grams of protein and 99 cals a pack

Honestly the variation in post op dietary advice never ceases to amaze me. I had very few rules - 2 weeks liquid, 2 weeks puree were I think the only guidance I was given. I got most of my information here! I am an outlier in that I adored the puree phase. My first proper food, not yucky protein shakes, for about 2 months. My pre-op 800 calorie a day diet had to be extended when my surgery date was cancelled and I had to be in a state of preparation for a cancellation (that took weeks!) I made family dinner and then just pureed that in a blender with extra gravy. No fibrous veg but I had everything else. I hope you can make it through.

I was on a liquid diet then a full liquid diet. Followed by a soft protein only, so you are not weird about the no fruit and veggies. I have had no fruits or veggies yet and I'm only 5 weeks out from surgery. I'm still taking in soft protein. I did reward myself on Friday with a Pretzel and I made sure I softened it and chewed it a bunch before swallowing it, but having the crunch was so satisfying. That's the thing I miss most is the crunch. I had no puree diet following surgery. Soft protein, my go to is Ricotta Bake, and my husband makes it with spices and uses pizza sauce for further flavor. It is creamy and cheesy and really filling. So, just wanted to chime in that you are not alone in the no fruit/veggie department.