I have gained 18 pounds since my lowest after surgery

I know others have been there. It is just really disappointing. I only have myself to blame. I've been sick of crap unsatisfying food ( protein shakes). And due to the pandemic my gym has been spotty. Meaning. Masks no masks. Vaccine requirements etc etc

i can't tolerate being super fat again. I'm going to have to work shakes back into my diet. I really actually hate them.

I know others have been there. It is just really disappointing. I only have myself to blame. I?ve been sick of crap unsatisfying food ( protein shakes). And due to the pandemic my gym has been spotty. Meaning. Masks no masks. Vaccine requirements etc etc

i can?t tolerate being super fat again. I?m going to have to work shakes back into my diet. I really actually hate them.

you don?t have to use protein shakes if you hate them. Just be sure to eat protein forward.
meat, poultry, fish, pork, eggs, cottage cheese, cheese of all kinds.

don?t eat a lot of carbs products, even oatmeal, sweet potatoes or any whole wheat product or white flour. Non carbs begs Ste ok. Drink 64 plus oz of sugar free liq every day

@hollykim: I like the way you made it straightforward in your reply. It's super simple to eat clean, but not necessarily easy.

When I had regain the dietitian told me not to drink protein shakes. They are great for getting in protein and calories when we are not able to eat actual food after surgery. But we don't need the fast calories once we can eat real food.

first of all, your gain is not uncommon - AT ALL. Many of us (maybe most?) have a 10-20 lb rebound after hitting our lowest weight.

but if you want to lose it, I'd start tracking your food intake again if you're no longer doing that just to see how much you're eating. Do it for a good week or two since one day isn't going to tell you much. Take note of your average calorie intake (if you're using a tracker like MyFitnessPal (or whatever), it adds up your calories for you). Then try cutting out 100 calories a day for a couple of weeks. If nothing's happening on the scale, then cut a hundred more. Rinse and repeat until you start losing again.

if that doesn't appeal, go back to the way you were eating once you were a couple of months out of surgery. That is, protein first, then non-starchy vegetables, and then, if you have room, a small piece of fruit or whole-grain carb (if you're carb sensitive though, then maybe just stick to the protein and non-starchy vegetables)

or you could always try a program like WW (Weigh****chers) - there are several people on here who've been successful with that.