Sample menus with protein from actual food?

I had the same issue with things being waaaayyyy too sweet for the first couple months.  Now my taste buds have settled down, and it's easier to make things tasty.

Hang in there - you're asking good questions.

 I'm just six months out and had the same issue with protein drinks.  I started out using Nectar.  I got so sick of it so I stopped and started using GNC's Whey Isolate Protein Powder.  I love it now.  I mix it with one scoop of vanilla, one single packet of instant coffee and skim milk.  I use a 28 oz blender bottle.  Best investment EVER!!!  You have to mix the coffee with a little warm water to dilute it first.  I get in about 55 grams of protein from that one shake.  if I don't get in enough protein the rest of the day, I have another one.  I take to work those little PB cups with a few crackers, cheese sticks etc...  I also eat salads with cheese, meat and egg.

I don't know if you've heard of it yet but Unjury makes a protein chicken broth, I tried it at the nutritional class that I had to attend for surgery. It really is quite good, and I bet that it would be a welcome change to all the sweet stuck that it sounds like you're getting sick of. Good luck!

I have been doing protein puddings.  I make up a box of sugar free instant pudding with 1% milk and add a couple of scoops of unflavored protein.  A great treat and good protein.  I purchased Any Whey unflavored protein from netrition.com.  I like it.

I actually don't mind protein pudding, but I just wrote a long blog post on my profile about this... I'm frustrated because sf ff pudding will not set if made with soy milk or almond milk.  I'm lactose intolerant so I figure it could only be worse post-op.  I'm avoiding real milk like the plague because I worry what horrors will come in the bathroom if I have any.  Yogurt has always worked for me and still does, but real milk is a killer.

"WLS for Dummies" has sample menus for all stages and all types of surgery (RNY soft, sleeve soft, etc.).  There are also recipes for the different levels as well.  There is also a "WLS for Dummies Cook book" which has a lot of  smoothie and WLS friendly recipies in it.

Thanks!  I actually have that and have not gotten that far yet- I greatly appreciate it!!

Hmm, let's see. You need what, about 75 grams of protein per day? Or are you doing 100 grams?

The only way to do it all with food, especially as early out as you are, would be to graze on protein all day. You'd have to toss that "three meals and a snack" thing out of your mind. Heck, I'm four years out from my DS and do it by grazing still.

Let's assume for the sake of argument that you could eat every other hour and that you'd do about a third of a cup of protein food each time, at least of the denser stuff. Here's a sample of 75 grams of protein, each item being consumed on the two hour interval:

4 oz. Greek style yogurt-10 grams; 1/4 c. soy nuts-10 grams; 2 oz. by weight roast beef-15 grams; 2 oz. by weight good Cheddar cheese-15 grams; 2 egg whites-10-15 grams; 2 oz. by weight of excellent quality deli chicken or turkey-15 grams.

You'll notice that you're basically eating nothing but protein. That's one reason why supplements are so desperately important. You are not going to have enough space to eat a meat, a veggie and a starch for a very long time.

So, I believe that it's entirely possible to get your protein in from food, but especially in the early times when restriction is still intense, you have to be willing to live on pretty much just those foods. DSers have to do this, too. Later there will be more room to add other foods, but not for quite some time for most people.

Thank you for responding.  I'm sorry- I think my question did not make it clear that I am asking for long-term solutions.  Right now, I'm basically living off of protein shakes and yogurt or hummus with unflavored protein mixed in. 

I'm asking the question not because I want permission to graze or cheat (this is what I meant in my original question by "within our volume constraints" although I now see that's not clear).  I'm asking because my surgeon states I must get 70 g of protein per day, and that "protein from food is preferable to protein from powders".  Protein powders are on my allowable foods list, and are basically the only thing I can have at this early stage that has more protein than greek yogurt.  I was asking for my long-term plans, and wondering if I'd be able to get enough protein just from food. 

Ah okay, I follow now :-). My advice is basically similar, though. If you want to get your protein from food ASAP, it's going to involve that kind of "grazing."

Later, when you are able to eat something more resembling "real meals," basically you need to look at your animal source protein (meat, fish, fowl, cheese) as 7 grams protein per ounce. So 3 oz. of, say, roast beef is going to be about 20 grams of protein. If you want to use deli meats, you need to read the labels very carefully and choose those that have the fewest fillers and the closest to 7 grams protein per ounce. Use real, high quality cheese and not processed cheese food, because that stuff has much less protein per ounce.

So, let's say later on you do 6 oz. Greek yogurt for breakfast = 15 grams, tuna salad with 3 oz. tuna at lunch = 20 grams, dinner with 3 oz. of some kind of flesh = 20 grams. That's 75 grams of protein for the day. (Tuna and meat are oz. by weight, yogurt oz. by volume.) That's basically how it works to get your protein in from food. You read the labels carefully and measure your portions. Then you build the rest of your meal around your protein choice with an eye toward total calories, or if you prefer, toward a certain number of total grams of carbs and fat for the day.

Another way to learn how to do this is to use the diabetic exchange plan, which can be found easily via Google on a bazillion different sites.