Post Op Food Services or Recommendations

[newyorklady20 97]

Hi! I’m planning on hopefully having a sleeve in March, and I realize it’s going to come up quickly so I’m thinking and planning!
I’ve been wondering if there are any reputable meal delivery or prep services that do post op food prep - like for liquid and and purée stage foods. I absolutely understand that the purpose of WLS is to relearn food and food prep and how to make to sustainable and work for you in the future - and I am a big cooker and so is my husband who is super supportive and all about prepping food for me that will meet my needs! I also have bad anxiety and am big into ✨planning✨ and for those few weeks I’m so worried that I’m not going to eat the right thing, it’s not going to have enough Protein, it’s going to be a bad balance of calories/fat/protein, I’m going to not eat things I should or eat things I shouldn’t - I was just thinking if there was a place where I could just get meals that know what they’re doing and those meals contain the right things, then I can really put all of my energy into what will come next and learning how to plan for more long term sustainable meals in the future!
I live in NYC if that helps.
Thank you!

[catwoman7 10,844]

I've never heard of such a business, but that sounds like a good idea! Although post-op diet plans vary somewhat (for example, I was on purees as soon as I left the hospital, whereas some people don't start on them until they're a couple of weeks out). So there really wouldn't be any standards for a business to follow...unless your clinic started up such a service for its own patients.

I didn't find the first couple of weeks that difficult. I got good guidelines from my dietitian and I pretty much ate the same three or four "meals", in addition to my yogurt and Protein Shakes. I think it'll be easier than you think...

[Arabesque 6,424]

I found the food prep in the first couple of months really easy. Because you eat so little (like only 1/4 cup) you only need to prep food every couple of days. The freezer & microwave were my friends - they still are actually. If I scrambled 2 eggs, it took me three days to eat them. Like Catwoman7, I rotated through a small number of meals too. A lot of my old favourites did not taste the same (your taste buds temporarily change) & I admit I had to toss some things I made because they tasted terrible. While I didn’t experience any issues with food intolerances, I added new foods to my diet slowly.

Good luck on your journey.

[TheMoxieMama 47]

I agree, the early stages were quite easy. I also ate a lot of the same things every day, including Protein broth, yogurt, eggs (never finished in one meal) and Protein Shakes. Since then, it's been trial and error. Some foods sit well, and others do not. I could not stand Premiere shakes anymore post-op for example.

[AZhiker 2,251]

I also found the first weeks pretty easy because everything is so limited. Protein Shakes, Water, and broth is all you need at first. Your program should give you a list of foods for the various stages, but your body will tell you which ones will work for you at that time. I wouldn't advise to prep lots of meals, because you will probably waste a lot. I prepped fish, chicken, and ground beef in 3 oz servings and froze them. But I could only eat half of that and it was just too much to handle. Then I kind of got sick about them and didn't/couldn't eat any of it. I stuck with cottage cheese, refried Beans thinned with broth, and yogurt for my soft stage. Really pretty simple and not a lot of work. Don't get too stressed by these stages. They pass quickly and you will advance to regular foods within a couple of months.

[BigSue 1,320]

I haven't heard of such a service, but if you're willing to pay, I'm sure you could get a private chef to prepare stuff for you. But honestly, I don't see a need for it because (1) the liquid/pureed stage is very short in the great scheme of things (I mean, it feels like an eternity when you're in it, but it's really only a few weeks), and (2) you're so limited in what you can eat that it's pretty easy. Has your surgeon provided a list of foods for each stage? Take those foods and add some Protein Powder and you're all set for the pureed stage.

I over-stocked pureed foods. I bought a bunch of sugar-free pudding and unsweetened applesauce for the pureed stage, and I made a big batch of pureed black bean Soup (frozen in individual servings), and 5 months later, I still have a lot of it. I even stayed on pureed foods for longer than required because I was afraid of getting sick from eating solid food. I guess I was kind of stupid when I bought all of that because I wasn't thinking about how I could only eat half a container at a time. Since I've been out of pureed and soft foods, I haven't eaten much of that stuff because there are better things I can eat now.