Here's my advice based on what I was told, but if your healthcare team tells you something different, listen to them, not me!

Don't worry about protein right now. You're not going to become malnourished in the next month or so. What you need to focus on now is getting more fluid in. If the shakes are making you nauseous, either skip them or have tiny amounts. I learned the hard way how important fluid is when I nearly collapsed in the supermarket. Rather embarrassing!

One guideline that some people here use is that at 30 days out, you should aim to get 30g protein, at 60 days, 60g protein, and at 90 days, 90g (but you may not need that much).

Since you had surgery less than a week ago, you probably won't be able to meet your fluid goals yet, but it's important that you ramp up quickly so that you can meet your goals.

Here are some more tips, some of which will be more useful to you an a few months:

I alternate hot and cold liquids. Although I know that hot fluids count toward the goal, I tended to avoid them early on because you have to sip them instead of gulping them the way you can with cold liquids. However, I later realised that I actually consume hot liquids at a faster rate! That's because reaching for the cup and taking a sip at regular intervals happens automatically, without my consciously having to think about it. Also, hot liquids don't make me feel "waterlogged" and "sloshy". Compare that with cold liquids, which I have to remind myself to keep drinking. Also, I measured my favourite mugs and was surprised to discover that they hold 500 ml, so that's a quarter of my daily requirement. So now I tend to alternate between hot and cold liquids to avoid boredom.

I start before breakfast. Just thinking about drinking 2 liters per day is intimidating for me. So (and this is brain dead obvious in hindsight), I focus instead of getting in 500 ml before each meal. Drinking 500 ml before breakfast was a game changer; getting a quarter of the way to my goal that early really inspires me to keep at it.

I turn some of my liquids into indulgent "snacks". To decaf coffee I add protein powder, cocoa, cinnamon, and almond flavouring for a decadent "latte". One of the highlights of my day, and I'm killing two birds with one stone: protein and liquids.

I prefer a little acidity in my water. Adding lemon juice is one way. Another thing I do is fill a bottle with water, put an herbal tea bag in it, and stick it in the fridge for a few hours. Effortless ice tea!

For cold liquids, I prefer to bottles with screw-on lids. I drink them more quickly and automatically. I think this is due to years of unconsciously sipping on diet sodas. Liquids in glasses tend to warm up, evaporate, and collect dust more quickly. I have tried using water bottles with flip top lids, but I have found it difficult to develop a habit of drinking automatically from them. I now use those steel double-walled vacuum bottles. They keep drinks cold/hot for ages, and somehow liquids just taste better. Easy to clean, and never develops a funky smell like plastic bottles do.

Use fluids as an appetite suppressant. When I feel "hungry" outside of mealtimes, the first thing I do is drink. That usually makes the "hunger" go away, at least for a while. If it comes back the second time, I have a snack.

If you skip breakfast, try to get in 1.5 litres of fluid before lunch. I'm generally not hungry for breakfast. In fact, I find that breakfast "wakes up" my appetite, so I usually skip it. Drinking most of my fluid before lunch accomplishes several things:

• All that fluid reduces my appetite.
• I've met 75% of my fluid requirements early in the day, so the rest of the day I just drink fluids as desired and am virtually guaranteed to meet my goal.
• If I drink a lot of fluid later in the day, I will have to wake up frequently to pee.
• Drinking that amount of fluid over a relatively short period of time really helps me avoid constipation.

Those stalls are the absolute worst! I hit one a few weeks out myself and then the weight began to come off. I definitely have to admit that the smart scale helps me stay on track as well. Increasing the water intake helps me prevent severe constipation but I could've sworn I was giving birth all over again a few days ago, it was that bad. I went and purchased some stool softener and fiber gummies as others have suggested on the forum. Hopefully it helps. Also, I've been using a kitchen scale as of Monday and the scale started moving again. And I've increased my water intake to at least 64 oz, 96-100oz if I can. The water intake seems to change the further we are out or rather, the capacity does. Good luck to you! We got this!

I'm only 1.5 years out, but I have a couple of tips that might help:

I try to focus on what I should eat rather than what I shouldn't. By the time I've met my goals for eating a certain amount of veggies, fruit, fibre, etc., I'm rarely hungry and seldom tempted to eat things I shouldn't. I'm so busy trying to get in all the healthy things I'm supposed to eat that I don't have much time to think about unhealthy food.

I use water (or other fluids) as an appetite suppressant and to help me distinguish between real hunger and excess stomach acid or boredom. If I'm hungry and it's not mealtime, I drink a glass of water. A little while later, if I'm still hungry, then I eat. That way I'm not denying myself food, I'm just postponing it.

I make one change at a time; I don't try to fix everything at once. I look at the things I eat most often and try to tweak them to make them healthier. Tracking everything you eat is key.

By tracking everything I eat, I have learned that the amount of food I want fluctuates from day to day. This has helped me be more relaxed about those days that I eat more, because I know that I'll probably make up for it the next day.

Track your food- every bite. Cut back on carbs. No excuses.

I am battling regain, too. The mental part is the hardest. I know what to do- just making myself do it is the hard part.

Good luck!!

Not far enough out to really give the advice but just wanted to Give my condolences. And wish you good luck getting back on track. Knee surgery can put you down for quite some time between not being able to walk for a while and the stress included eating wrong can happen easily and not working it off at the time. i can see that happening really easy. Good luck on your journey back down! i wish you all the best. You can do it!! You did it once before.