Hello all! So i am almost 1 month post op and i'm now allowed to start eating some soft foods. I'm a little nervous to do this in fear of stalling even more or gaining weight. I may just be paranoid about this.... but i'm really nervous to switch back into eating foods because of this. How did switching back to foods affect your weight loss? How many calories do you think you are consuming a day? I don't want to eat too much.... Also right now i am just drinking about 2 protein shakes with water a day and getting 70g of protein. Do you think eating too little could be why i am stalling?

Eating too little can definitely make you stall. Stick to the nutrition guidance you were given - try not to go over OR under what they've advised you. I went under for several days and my nutritionist yelled at me. But there is nothing wrong with still getting most of your nutrition from shakes if that is easier for you.

On another note, I was also afraid to move away from protein shakes. It's so easy to stay on target when your diet is so strict. Our doctor's office psych told us not to aim for perfection. She said to aim for 90% on plan 10% off. Otherwise, you'll burn out and go totally off plan.

Good luck! The fact that you are worried means you'll do great.

As long as you are getting adequate water and protein, it makes no difference at all what composition your food takes on - liquids, soft and mushy or firmer and more real foods. That can make a difference to how your new stomach tolerates things as it heals and inflammation subsides, but that is a very individual thing. Most will typically stall or at least slow down somewhere in the 2-3 week range - that is completely normal and has its physiological roots in your starting a major weight loss program with a large caloric deficit. This happens just the same to those who start out on soft foods as to those who start on liquids and transition later.

Initially, you are living off of your short term energy supply of glycogen, which involves a fair amount of water weight loss. After that has exhausted and your body gets the idea that you are serious about this caloric deficit thing, it starts drawing on your longer term energy stores of fat which burns more slowly, so you will experience a bit of a slow down in loss rate. But this is what you are really here to do - burn stored fat (and you don't need a "ketogenic" diet or any other fadish things to do it - just a caloric deficit.

Enjoy the ride.