What Actually Gets Used
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 is not. Two years in, we have a fairly clear view of what we would buy again and what we would skip.
The Things Worth Spending On
A good quality blender was one of the earliest and most useful purchases. Essential in the liquid and pureed stages, and still in regular on for protein shakes and soups long after. It is not a glamorous purchase but it gets used constantly.
A meat thermometer sounds trivial but changed how we cook. No more guessing whether chicken is cooked through, no more overcooking to compensate for uncertainty. Properly cooked, tender protein is significantly easier to eat post-sleeve, and this is the tool that makes it consistent.
Portion-sized containers – the kind that actually seal properly and stack neatly – make batch cooking practical. We use them every week. The investment is small and the return in terms of making good food choices easier is real.
A good set of digital kitchen scales was worth it for the early months in particular when understanding actual portion sizes mattered. Less critical two years on, but useful during the period when building a new sense of appropriate quantities.
For James specifically, joining a gym with proper facilities rather than trying to manage with home equipment was worth the monthly cost. The bodybuilding competition he entered post-op required structured training, and having access to the right equipment made that possible. The social element also helped during months that were otherwise quite isolating.
The Things Not Worth the Money
Bariatric-specific meal replacement products cost significantly more than standard alternatives and, in our experience, are rarely meaningfully better. A good unflavoured whey protein and standard bariatric multivitamins cover most of what you need without the premium pricing.
Various gadgets promising to slow down eating – plate timers, portion-control crockery with dividers built in – gathered dust quickly. The habit of eating slowly has to be built in your head, not on your plate.
Expensive cooking gadgets for specific purposes, bought in the enthusiastic early months when everything feels like it might help, rarely justify the cost. The basics – blender, thermometer, good containers – are more useful than anything specialised.
The Investment That Actually Matters Most
The honest answer is that the highest-return investment post-op is blood tests. Regular six-monthly testing tells you what is actually happening in your body – what is being absorbed, what is deficient, what needs addressing before it becomes a problem. James learned this the hard way during a significant deficiency crisis around month eleven that left him with fatigue, brain fog, and cold intolerance. Proper monitoring would have caught it earlier. The cost of a private blood test is small relative to the cost of what happens when deficiencies go undetected.
Sources
NICE CG189 – Obesity: identification, assessment and management
BOMSS – Guidelines on the peri-operative nutritional management of bariatric patients
NHS – Weight loss surgery: what to expect afterwards
About this content
This blog is written by James and Kirsten, a couple from the UK who had gastric sleeve surgery together in March 2024.
We started this blog because we couldn't find any sources of content that details before surgery, the surgery and then life post surgery - so we decided to write one ourselves.
Everything on this site is based on our own experience and the research we have done along the way. It is not medical advice. Gastric sleeve surgery is a serious procedure and every patient's journey is different. Please always consult your own bariatric team or GP before making any decisions about your health or treatment.
Some posts on this site may contain featured or sponsored content, or affiliate links. Where this is the case, it will always be clearly stated at the top of the article. Our opinions are always our own.
Publish Date: 24 February 2026 | Last Reviewed: 7 June 2026 | Next Planned Review: 7 December 2027