I am 23 days away from my surgery day and I am so scared. idk what liquid drinks to get for that 2 week liquid phase. broth? smoothies? what's allowed and not allowed? what did you consume? what would you have done different?

hii kort, my surgeons had me doing the premier protein or equate high protein OR the fairlife protein drinks only, same as the pre-surg liver shrinking diet. they wanted me to *try* to get 2 shakes down a day (which got easier after the first several days). I also wanted to try protein2o which i got from amazon, it had the protein and was a water based drink. HOWEVER, i thought it was super nasty and couldn't get down more than half a bottle. Still have half the pack in my fridge. i was also allowed the sugar free popsicles but they dont have protein in them and the protein helps healing all the stuff they had to cut through and rearrange

I used the same protein shakes I had pre-surgery for my 2 week diet, and I bought some protein water. I found the premixed Premier Protein were very convenient the first couple days. As time went on, I became more and more disgusted by the artificial sweetener and chemical flavor of just about every protein shake I had. Luckily my liquid phase only lasted a week. After that, I started mixing unflavored protein with milk and blending in some frozen fruit for a smoothie. Much more palatable. I have a ton of protein shake mix leftover that I will likely just throw away.

Some programs can vary with this. Are you speaking of the 2 weeks prior or 2 weeks post?

For mine - the 12 Day Pre-Op Diet consisted of 2 protein shakes 1 for Bkfast and 1 for Lunch and dinner was a lean protein and non starchy veg for the first 10 days. In that time I could have essentially any sugar free liquids - tea, black coffee, diet sodas, seltzer water, gatorade zero and even sugar free jello. (was only allowed 1/2 cup of skim milk at this stage).The 11th day was liquids only so protein shake, broth and all liquids above. The 12th day was clear liquids only so I subbed protein water and then broth.

I did not have to do a liquid diet post op. I was released from the hospital on the pureed stage. Again every program can vary. I could not have caffeine for the first 30 days. No carbonated beverages either. I liked the Protein2O protein water, but there are other brands. (I could not stand Recovery Water) It was a nice change from the milky stuff. Sugar free popsicles are also a nice treat. Different flavor broths help to mix it up. I am not a fan of jello so that wasn't my thing. Unflavored protein I definitely tried to add to things, but I did not like the taste personally. To each their own as many people find it very helpful.

I will say - do not get too attached to any particular protein shake and don't stock up on too many. What you liked prior to surgery you may not like much after. Maybe have on hand some 4 packs of different brands/flavors so that you have handy options while you are healing. Vanilla is easy to mix with other things to switch it up. Personally I love Fairlife Nutrition Plan shakes in vanilla and chocolate (warmed up it's a nice hot chocolate). Fairlife milk is also a good high protein option that you can easily add to make your own shakes.

The only thing I might have done differently is make my own broths prior and freeze them. You have more control over the flavors as some packaged broth can be meh.

I relied on a bottle of ProT Gold to help me meet my protein goals right after surgery. It was given to me when I was in the hospital, so I reckoned it would be fine to keep using it.

I second the suggestion of getting a few four packs and seeing what you like after surgery. I drank protein shakes the first couple of days when I could barely stay awake to drink them and get my water in. I liked the Fairlife ones the best but many like Premeir.

I’m on day 8 of post-op full liquid now (3 weeks for my program) and have shifted toward the savory. I made a turkey bone broth and a beef Asian spiced bone broth before surgery and froze in pint containers. You can buy bone broth or bariatric broth packets as well. I've been rotating between those and “healthy” canned cream soups mixed with Fairlife milk - adding additional protein powder as needed. I spotted my miso in the back of the fridge tonight and am going to add that to the mix tomorrow. I strain everything I make through a fine mesh strainer and add plain protein powder to meet requirements.

I think the variety of options is helping me get thru.