Hey guys, I'm having the sleeve done on the 17th of next month and I haven't bought anything for post surgery yet! I'm seeing posts all over my Instagram feed of cool cooking gadgets and even this machine that turns all your vitimans into a shot but I just wondered what you would class as the basics/must haves. I already have a blender, food scales and a step tracker. Anything else you could add that you couldn't be without now? ?

Thanks xx

Surgery due January 17th 2018

CW 238

GW 133

Protein shakes and Gatorade G2 (currently living on those two things). I also am finding that a drinking bottle or similar with a know quantity or measurements is helpful. I fill up an empty g2 bottle (20 oz) and at the start of the day I have everything I need to drink already portioned out so I can keep track and know how much is left before I hit my hydration goal.

My husband got me a package of the little 2 ounce plastic cups with lids and those were really helpful when I got to pureed because I was on 2 ounces 6X a day with protein shakes between. I could make a meal and puree it and store it in those. I used the left over cups later to make PB2 in for when I wanted some peanut butter.

Also GNC has lots of protein options so try everything, don't buy in bulk now. I couldn't stomach shakes after surgery well so I drank protein waters. They also have protein Tea as well now. GNC Lean 25 shakes are really good too, lots of flavors and much smoother than most premade shakes.

Finally I loved my magic bullet for puree'd meals. I found it worked better than the full sized blender and I could store my left overs in one of the cups. I make smoothies with protein powder now when I'm having a low protein day and the magic bullet cups come with lids that I can take with me.

I havent prepared either, my brother is looking in to protein powder for me as he has more experience with this, other than that I intend to buy a whole chicken, roast it, collect the chicken stock and boil the whole chicken to create a broth and package the meat/ broth for different stages of my recovery. Ill probably mix some broth with vegetables and then strain the veggies out for use during puree stage. I live on a bland diet now so if this sounds terrible to you, dont worry I'm just boring lol.

Edited December 28, 20178 yr by Xerox

I'm 8 months out and I'd say the most helpful gadgets are just ramekins and small containers. I bake little portions of casseroles in the ramekins, serve most of my meals in them, it's great for making sure I'm not cooking too much. (I throw away A LOT of wasted food these days). I love little containers for my lunches at work. Keeping my portions tiny helps me not to accidentally overeat which makes me miserable and sick.

My food scale. Small plates/bowls (kiddie size - cheap ones from Ikea). My Ninja blender.
Oikos Triple Zero Yogurt (15 g protein in a serving)

Fairlife Skim Milk (13 g protein in 8 ounces)

Premier protein pre-mixed shakes (I liked their taste best)

I still use all of these today, 15 months post op. Best of luck

Small containers, good kitchen scales, myfittnesspal on my phone, a bariatric plate and small cutlery.

On 12/27/2017 at 9:49 AM, etc. etc. etc. said:

Protein2o saved me. It's a flavored water thing available at most grocery stores (usually near where Propel and Powerade and stuff are stocked). The flavors vary, but they all have 15 grams of Protein and 0-4 grams of carbs. These drinks have been extremely useful for me in keeping a high protein intake without having to go nuts. I like the coconut and mixed berry, but all of them are at least decent.

http://www.drinkprotein2o.com/

Do they have any kind of weird taste to them? Thank you.

On 12/27/2017 at 9:49 AM, etc. etc. etc. said:

Protein2o saved me. It's a flavored water thing available at most grocery stores (usually near where Propel and Powerade and stuff are stocked). The flavors vary, but they all have 15 grams of Protein and 0-4 grams of carbs. These drinks have been extremely useful for me in keeping a high protein intake without having to go nuts. I like the coconut and mixed berry, but all of them are at least decent.

http://www.drinkprotein2o.com/

Do they have any kind of weird taste to them? Thank you.

1 hour ago, Elise24 said:

Do they have any kind of weird taste to them? Thank you.

I'm not sure about the other brand mentioned but I got some protein water from Target. It has 20g protein per bottle and I didn't find that there was a weird taste. They're much better cold then room temp but that was just my preference. They tasted similar to G2 or a melted ice pop.

Trust me, you're going to want something that isn't so thick and milky like protein shakes and these are a HUGE help for those moments.

https://www.target.com/p/glanbia-trusource-protein-water-orange-16-fl-oz-4pk/-/A-51224464#lnk=sametab

Edited January 4, 20188 yr by Molly23

Ninja! I can make a shake and ice that it is the consistency of a wendys frosty!

Bone broth was my go to!

Matrix protein powders is what I use (perfect chocolate is my favorite) they are decent if they are blended. I can tolerate it in a blender bottle if I have to. I bought a sample pack months before my surgery and tried every flavor they make. 1 flavor a day until I did all. Perfect chocolate and peanut butter cookie were the 2 that I can tolerate. I have been using silk nut milk. Little thicker like cashew milk, but it actually has protein! I never knew almond milk had nothing! So it is a thicker consistency, which seems to blend smoother. 1 shake can give you half the protein you need a day!

PB2 powdered peanut butter, flavor and protein.

I could not do the protein water, it gave me heartburn.

ETA!

LulaRoe leggings! I started wearing them 80 lbs ago!

SW 350 (11/15)

BSW 260 (10/17/17)

CW 228 (12/29/17)

RGW 199

GW 175

• Propel. I felt really dizzy in the morning and that helped replenish me enough that I would feel better within an hour or two.
• Blender bottles to shake up protein powders.
• Oikos zero yogurt was a huge life saver. I basically only ate that and shakes for a couple weeks.
• Memory foam pillow. When my stomach hurt it felt so nice to hug the pillow. It had enough density and was also soft on my sore tummy.

I agree that those gimmicky vitamin machines are just unnecessary. My NUT recommended Flinstones vitamins and I've been taking them ever since now 8 months later. All blood work has come back normal so they seem to be just fine. They have more iron than adult chewable and WAY cheaper. Ask your doctor/NUT if they recommend them for you.

My NUT said if you take Flintstones chewables that there are 3 other supplements you have to add... B12, Thaimin, and something else. BUT after starting my Bariatric one-a-day chewable today it might be worth it.

7 minutes ago, brendamcfarlane14 said:

My NUT said if you take Flintstones chewables that there are 3 other supplements you have to add... B12, Thaimin, and something else. BUT after starting my Bariatric one-a-day chewable today it might be worth it.

I asked my NUT about adding vitamin B specifically since I've heard that before but she said a lot of the time when it's added it just results in high vitamin B levels. I had my blood tested at 3 and 6 months and my vitamin levels were good so she said there's no need to add it. Forgot to mention that she is having me take two Flinstones per day, not sure if everyone's plan requires 2 daily vitamins or not. That may also be why my levels are okay. Definitely take your NUT's advice but the Flinstones are so cheap it may be worth it to price out what it would cost to take them with the additional vitamins too. I usually get two big bottles on Amazon for $25ish. They last about 3-4 months so compared to other vitamins that would be double that for one month I'm happy with them!

This is such a great post. As a newbie, these suggestions are so helpful. Thank you!

Flinstones complete, with iron is what I take. They added b12 sublingual and i do take additional iron. I myself added biotin. And of course calcium citrate. I have not had bloodwork yet, so I will know if there are changes then!


SW 350 (11/15)
BSW 260 (10/17/17)
CW 228 (12/29/17)
RGW 199
GW 175

2 hours ago, Molly23 said:

I asked my NUT about adding Vitamin B specifically since I've heard that before but she said a lot of the time when it's added it just results in high vitamin B levels. I had my blood tested at 3 and 6 months and my vitamin levels were good so she said there's no need to add it. Forgot to mention that she is having me take two Flinstones per day, not sure if everyone's plan requires 2 daily Vitamins or not. That may also be why my levels are okay. Definitely take your NUT's advice but the Flinstones are so cheap it may be worth it to price out what it would cost to take them with the additional vitamins too. I usually get two big bottles on Amazon for $25ish. They last about 3-4 months so compared to other vitamins that would be double that for one month I'm happy with them!

My surgeon also has me taking 2 Flintstones with iron every day (also chewable pepcid for awhile). He also has his patients take a calcium pill but long story, I can't take that so i get my calcium in my food. There is also some issue with absorption of B12 in the portion of the stomach that is left after gastric sleeve surgery so he gave me a choice of a B12 breath in type that has to be done every week or a once in a month shot that you give yourself..I had my husband give me the shot and that worked great.