My Gastric bypass surgery is scheduled for August 18, 2025 and here in Hawaii, our liquid diet is only for the first 2 days after surgery, then we move on to pureed for the next 2 weeks. I am trying to prepare because I know the day will be here shortly so just wanted to get some ideas of how most of you managed to get a lot of protein in with such small portions.

Glad to help our fellow bariatric pals. That is what this forum is about. So as you venture through your journey, check in now and again and let us know how you are doing.

On 6/19/2025 at 2:52 AM, Mama_Bee said:

just wanted to get some ideas of how most of you managed to get a lot of Protein in with such small portions.

short answer: i didn't.

i was not able to reach my prescribed protein goal, even with protein shake supplements (70g if my memory serves me correctly) regularly until about 3 months post op.

and even after then, i probably only reached it daily about 85% of the time.

during weight loss phase, i relied heavily on protein shakes. during maintenance and beyond, i get my protein from the regular stuff: meat fish/seafood dairy, etc. i also have a chicharron addiction, but i wouldn't advise it during weight loss phase (lotsa calories!)

today (7-ish yrs post op) i"m "supposed" to be getting in 80g based on my current weight (103 lbs) and activity level (alot! ha)...but honestly i probably reach 80g in a day less than 50% of the time. and i seem perfectly fine. so i dunno.

just do the best you can (your honest best, not your pretend best), i always say. nobody is perfect. and we are all so different that what work for me may not work for you. find what works for you and keep doing it until no longer does...then find something else that will.

you may not be getting all your protein in, but if u are losing weight and all your labs come back satisfactorily, then why fix what aint broke??

sorry, just my self-supporting proverbial 2 cents. if my POV flavour is not for you, feel free to ignore...

good luck❤️

On 6/21/2025 at 4:34 AM, SpartanMaker said:

There are lots of studies that show weight loss (and thus also bariatric surgery), can lessen depression and anxiety.

The thing to keep in mind though is that it won't help everyone. It all comes down to the underlying reasons for those negative emotions. As you point out, weight loss has has a considerable effect on how we feel about ourselves, so it follows that for some people, weight loss will help lessen anxiety and depression. There is also some belief that excess body weight can impact how certain hormones in our body work. By losing weight, this can help normalize some of those and that may also help mental health.

Like everything, I think the real answer is "it depends".

Yes thank you for a little more info about how bariatric can lessen anxiety. My doctor told me that there is a part of the stomach (maybe hormones) that when cut out should lessen it!

10 hours ago, ms.sss said:

short answer: i didn't.

i was not able to reach my prescribed Protein goal, even with Protein Shake supplements (70g if my memory serves me correctly) regularly until about 3 months post op.

and even after then, i probably only reached it daily about 85% of the time.

during weight loss phase, i relied heavily on Protein Shakes. during maintenance and beyond, i get my protein from the regular stuff: meat fish/seafood dairy, etc. i also have a chicharron addiction, but i wouldn't advise it during weight loss phase (lotsa calories!)

today (7-ish yrs post op) i"m "supposed" to be getting in 80g based on my current weight (103 lbs) and activity level (alot! ha)...but honestly i probably reach 80g in a day less than 50% of the time. and i seem perfectly fine. so i dunno.

just do the best you can (your honest best, not your pretend best), i always say. nobody is perfect. and we are all so different that what work for me may not work for you. find what works for you and keep doing it until no longer does...then find something else that will.

you may not be getting all your protein in, but if u are losing weight and all your labs come back satisfactorily, then why fix what aint broke??

sorry, just my self-supporting proverbial 2 cents. if my POV flavour is not for you, feel free to ignore...

good luck❤️

Thank you for your honesty and for your reply ?. you had tremendous weightloss and your body looks great so I guess your way works great!

7 hours ago, Mama_Bee said:

Yes thank you for a little more info about how bariatric can lessen anxiety. My doctor told me that there is a part of the stomach (maybe hormones) that when cut out should lessen it!

Interesting. He knows best I suppose.

I have to assume he's talking about ghrelin, which is sometimes called the appetite hormone. If you have VSG, one part of the stomach that's removed is the gastric fundus. This is the primary place where ghrelin is produced. There is an association between anxiety and ghrelin, but what that relationship is and if a reduction in ghrelin will reduce anxiety seems a lot less clear.

I had problems meeting my Protein goals and honestly Fluid. I’d get close. I ended up doing Water enemas to make up the difference so I didn’t end up needing iv fluids the first week. (Yeah, gross I know). I had issues getting the non-premixed Protein Shakes down after surgery and then eventually any protein shakes. I went from loving sugar to despising it. Literally thought I was prepped and bought tons of crap that I just couldn’t stand after surgery Since you can walk at discharge I ended up going shopping daily for whatever my body said it wanted. Fairlife milk is a godsend. Yes, it’s just milk…. But with added whey protein so it pretty much tastes the same, or darn close. Runny eggs… soufle… custards without sugar, I ended up loving this wanna be 7 layer dip type meal with mashed Beans, sour cream, avocado and hot sauce. Tomato basil Soup with goat cheese (Campbell made with milk rather than water, basil (paste from a squeeze bottle) and a chunk of goat cheese swirled in after melting. Those ended up being my jam until I could add in tuna packets with various flavors (they make a ton now) and shredded chicken (then blended on pulse and mixed with avocado so it didn’t get dry stuck). Getting used to 1 can of soup being 4-6 meals was a bit of a shock. I had a ton of tiny meals in the fridge and would just sit down every 2 hours with some protein thing and slowly get it in. Then wait 30 min and set water timers. If I wasn’t “caught up” to where I should be by the end of 2 hours… I’d then sit and have to focus it down till I got it in. Don’t leave water till last minute, you can’t chug.

8 hours ago, TiredAngel said:

I had problems meeting my Protein goals and honestly Fluid. I’d get close. I ended up doing Water enemas to make up the difference so I didn’t end up needing iv fluids the first week. (Yeah, gross I know). I had issues getting the non-premixed Protein Shakes down after surgery and then eventually any Protein shakes. I went from loving sugar to despising it. Literally thought I was prepped and bought tons of crap that I just couldn’t stand after surgery Since you can walk at discharge I ended up going shopping daily for whatever my body said it wanted. Fairlife milk is a godsend. Yes, it’s just milk…. But with added whey protein so it pretty much tastes the same, or darn close. Runny eggs… soufle… custards without sugar, I ended up loving this wanna be 7 layer dip type meal with mashed Beans, sour cream, avocado and hot sauce. Tomato basil Soup with goat cheese (Campbell made with milk rather than Water, basil (paste from a squeeze bottle) and a chunk of goat cheese swirled in after melting. Those ended up being my jam until I could add in tuna packets with various flavors (they make a ton now) and shredded chicken (then blended on pulse and mixed with avocado so it didn’t get dry stuck). Getting used to 1 can of Soup being 4-6 meals was a bit of a shock. I had a ton of tiny meals in the fridge and would just sit down every 2 hours with some protein thing and slowly get it in. Then wait 30 min and set water timers. If I wasn’t “caught up” to where I should be by the end of 2 hours… I’d then sit and have to focus it down till I got it in. Don’t leave water till last minute, you can’t chug.

Wow those are great ideas especially the custard and the 7 layer dip! I really appreciate your response, everyone has taught me so much already in this short time i’ve been here. I feel like i’m even more prepared now because of everyones different ideas. I thought i’d be eating blended meats for days because thats all i could think of.

I have protein shake powder on stand by if I don't get enough protein for the day but I mainly just get at least 1 chicken breast in me for that huge protein boost, if you can't eat them as solids you can grind them down and mix with a shake. I do strongly recommend not just focusing on protein only. You need a balance of everything else too.