Post-op life comes with a certain amount of spending — supplements, new clothing as your size changes, kitchen equipment, and various tools that promise to make things easier. Some of it is genuinely worth it. Some of it isn’t.
Here’s our honest breakdown of the things we’ve spent money on and whether they were worth it.
Worth It
A good quality blender was one of the earliest and most useful purchases — essential in the liquid and pureed stages, and still useful for protein shakes and soups long after. It’s not a glamorous purchase but it gets used constantly.
A meat thermometer sounds trivial but has changed how we cook. No more guessing whether chicken is cooked through, no more overcooking to be safe. Properly cooked, tender protein is significantly easier to eat post-sleeve, and this is the tool that makes it consistent.
Portion-sized containers for meal prep — the kind that actually seal properly and stack neatly — make the batch cooking approach genuinely practical rather than a frustrating exercise in finding lids. Worth spending a bit more on decent ones.
A bariatric-specific multivitamin rather than a standard supermarket one. The absorption rates and formulations are significantly better, and given that supplements are a permanent fixture of post-op life, the quality matters.
Less Worth It
Bariatric-branded protein shakes and speciality foods from dedicated bariatric shops tend to be significantly more expensive than comparable products from mainstream suppliers. The branding is reassuring but the products aren’t always meaningfully better.
Any piece of exercise equipment bought in the early optimistic phase of recovery that became an expensive clothes horse within two months. You know the one.
Disclaimer: This post is based on our personal experience and is intended for general information only. It should not be taken as medical advice. Every journey is different, and it’s important to speak with a qualified healthcare professional about your own circumstances before making any medical decisions.