Hi guys !

I had my sleeve on january 29th. So i'm on day 6 post-op. I'm on puree stage until monday. I have sooooo much trouble getting my proteins in and it worries me. I know it's normal but because i'm home, I go to bed late and wake up really late too. Usually, I wouldn,t do that because of work and school but my surgeon didn't want me to keep doing those for obvious reasons. So..... Any tips for getting my proteins ? (I'm scared of the hair loss.....) I can only eat 1/4 cup for now, it's a little easier and i'm not nauseous nor did I vomit so far. I'm kind of lucky and hopefully my luck will keep going.

THank youuuuuu

You are 6 days post op?? You should be getting the bulk of your protein from things like protein shakes, protein waters, fairlife milk, and other things like that. Your tummy is way too small and way too raw to be getting your protein from actual food yet. I know every surgeon varies and some do purees early, so I won't comment on that, but even then, you can't possibly get enough in on food alone to hit your protein goals.

Some soft things to try on the puree and soft food stages: very softly scrambled or poached egg, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, greek yogurt, sugar free pudding, sugar free jello (you can even get protein jello), some even include bean purees though I found those VERY hard on my stomach. You can also puree proteins into a soup base. I did a lot of cream soups and strained soups. I was on strict liquids the first two weeks. In soft foods you can also try things like egg salad, chicken salad made with chicken thighs because they are more moist, and tuna salad, but don't add things like onion and pickle to it yet. Too rough.

ETA: Generally patients are encouraged to focus on their hydration goals for the first two weeks. This is because dehydration is the number 1 complication of bariatric surgery. Our bodies have protein stores that will last us the first few weeks after surgery. So focus on those 64 oz of water and if that is going well, then you can think about getting some protein in as a bonus!

Edited February 4, 20242 yr by ChunkCat

I agree with @ChunkCat. And also add, yes it is difficult to hit those protein goals as you move through the first stages & you’re eating so little. On purées (cause I couldn’t stand to continue on the shakes) I ate a high protein yoghurt to boost my daily protein intake. (You can make it into a drink by blending with milk which also gives you additional protein). Don’t worry too much if you’re not hitting your protein goal every day in this time. As long as you’re close to it & getting closer you’ll be okay. It’s one of those things that gets easier as you progress.

It’s likely you’ll lose some hair from around three months regardless of whether you reach your protein goals from the beginning or not. It’s your body reacting to the stress of the surgery, anaesthetic, hormonal fluctuations, etc. And it’s just an acceleration of your usual hair loss cycle. It lasts about three months. And your new hair is still growing at the same time you’re shedding just at its usual rate. It’s quite common after many major surgeries, periods of stress, child birth, menopause, etc.

I agree with the other posters. And regarding hair loss, everyone seems to worry incessantly about that - I did, too, but in the grand scheme of things, it's such a small blip on the screen that I shouldn't have bothered wasting one brain cell on it. Some people don't lose any hair at all, and many don't lose enough for others to notice. Some do lose more significant amounts, but the hair loss is like shedding - not big clumps like you see in chemo patients. I wouldn't worry about it. It's a small price to pay for the benefit you get from the surgery, and again, you may only lose a little or none at all.

Protein - get it from protein Gatorade, protein shakes, bone broth, etc. You shouldn't be eating anything right now.

Hair loss - it's gonna happen. How much? It varies from person to person. Nothing really stops it, and it'll end when it ends. personally, I cut my hair shorter, used thickening and volumizing shampoo and conditioner, and styled it so the middle part wasn't as visible. It's heavy shedding, not clumps coming out.

Foods - once I went off liquids, I ate cottage cheese, hummus, avocado spread, refried beans, black beans, scrambled eggs, and continued with protein shakes and protein Gatorade. I never really did pureed food because that's nasty lol

Everything will work out and be ok. Go slow, don't panic about the hair loss, and don't rush the eating schedule.

Oh at 6 days out I was still on liquids OP! Didn't get to puree until 2 weeks after my sleeve. Honestly - get as close as you can to your protein goal and don't worry too much about that. At this stage what matters most is not getting dehydrated, so focus on your fluids!

Hair loss will happen because that's what our bodies do when we cut calories. Not sure what, if anything, stops that. It's not nice but it does stop eventually.

just wanted to respond to comments about being on liquids only - depends on the surgeon. Our clinic at the time had us on purees as soon as we got home from the hospital (not sure if they still do, since it's been nine years for me). To the OP - follow your surgeon's plan.

Hi I am 3 months out and I am experiencing hair loss, but honestly, even people that do Keto or Code Red where you basically only eat protein (btw hard on the kidneys) lose hair, so I think it's unavoidable. Things will get much easier once you can eat actual food (you'll learn by trial and error what works for you.)