What do you eat in a typical day?

Okay, so I'm really having a hard time getting in all my protein. I'd like to know what the typical post ops eat in a typical day. I have an aversion to protein drinks, but I try to choke one down a day. I've even gotten a case of the Beneprotein unflavored powder, but it's difficult for me to tolerate. I'm looking for suggestions, especially from the folks who manage to get in 90-100 grams a day. I'm lucky if I hit 30. I'm very weak and have a hard time with stairs and haven't been able to return to working out and I know it's because I'm malnourished. so...whaddya eat? *hugsnluv* Phyllis

Phyllis, I'm 16 months out so don't try and eat this much. But, I've successfully gotten in over 100 grams of protein a day since I was about 3 months out...about where you are. Here is a typical day (I will mention the protein sources only.) 1 c fat free cottage cheese 26 grams of protein 3 oz chicken 24 grams of protein SF Yogurt 1 cup 5 grams of protein 8 oz skim milk 8 grams of protein 2 string cheese 16 grams of protein 1/2 Premier Protein Bar 15 grams of protein I get in another 10 grams of protein or so from foods that you don't really think about having protein...they don't have much, but, some, even a tomatoe has 1 gram. You will feel better when you up your protein. Also, you will lose less hair. Good luck! Lori

Hey phyllis, I can so agree with you. I have just started eatting more protein than usual. It has always been hard for me because of having nausea from the get go. So yes, it has been an up hill struggle. But I am almost eight months out now and am doing alot better. Even my hair has started slowing down on the falling out ordeal. It still comes out but mainly when I wa**** I have also started making things to eat in the mornings and eat on it all day at meals and snack times. And seem to do alot better than sitting down and trying to get so much in at once. So here is an example of what I do... I take two cans of tuna and make tuna salad with it with dill pickles and two eggs and onion and lil light mayo and go and eat that one day. Then another day I take two chicken breast (boneless, skinless) and nuke in the micro. When they are done I take them and pour lil salsa on them and two pieces of sliced 2% cheese season with whatever seasonings I want,and nuke again, ( chef lingo) lol... And thats another day. Then one day might be talapia seared in a pan with butter spray or olive oil spray, and one day maybe canned chicken salad. Just nothing fancy.. just whatever I feel that day. I just have started eatting tuna and chicken more. And eggs were something I couldnt even look at till lately..And in between eatting that I have maybe string cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, south beach diet cereal and if a really really poor eatting day, I hit the protein drinks.. Which I hate but have to on occasion. Hope this helps. Its just amazing to me how some can eat with no sweat..... Wish I had been one of them.... The only thing else I can say is that you do start eatting more and wanting different stuff so thats a blessing for sure.. Hugs Marge

Phyllis, I don't want to be an alarmist, but 30 grams of protein a day isn't just bad, it's dangerous. After a time of not getting in enough protein, your body starts to break down non essential muscles (non essential meaning not your vital organs). Losing muscle mass will cause you to slow down in your weight loss (YIKES), but after it's done breaking down your non essential muscles, your body will start breaking down organ tissue NOT A GOOD THING!!!! If you can't get the problem corrected soon, i'd go see your surgeon. Some ideas (i'm a DSer so i don'****ch fat levels, you might want to not try some of these): -Ricota cheese 1/4 cup has 8 oz of protein -Skim Milk with 2 SF carnation instant breakfasts in it (i've never tried it, but lots of people say it's good and cheap), or you can just add dry milk to skim milk. Either way milk by itself has 8 grams of protein per glass, and if you add dry milk to it, you can double that. -Protein bars -hard cheeses (they go down easy and have about 7 grams of protein per oz) - string cheese Unfortuantely at your stage, your going to need to find a protein drink that you can tolerate. Don't go investing 100s into one that you don't like, but I have to be honest I had the DS, and with an 8 oz stomach, I still coudln't eat enough protein until I reached about 5 months out, and to this day I still drink a protein shake a day. You could try these protein drinks: Profect (25 grams of protein in 3 oz) Or ISOPURE (40 grams of protein in a bottle) it's sold at GNC Go onto bariatriceatting.com and you can order a sampler pack of protein drinks. But they have one called Roadside lemonade that people rave about (i can't tolerate whey so i've never tried it) but people say if you cut it 1/2 with crystal light lemonade you'd never know it was a protein drink. I really hope this helps Scott

Oddly, I guess I'm one of the people that care barely stand to drink the roadside lemonade flavor!! I do, however, like the Carribean Cooler - that one is decent. I had surgery in mid-November of 2005 and I still have to take shakes on a daily basis to get int enough protein. I haven't had any real hair problems, though. No day is really typical for me. I eat things like: - nonfat yogurt (no sugar) - light string cheese - soup - 1/4 - 1/2 of a sandwich with a slice of turkey, cheese, and lettuce - tiny portion of meat and veggies from whatever I make my hubby for dinner. - HEALTHY protein bar (not the fake candy stuff) - 1/4 to 1/2 of a small red apple - frozen grapes - mashed potatoes (from flakes) made with only milk and with cheese on top - Lunchables (my weakness) - the kind that doesn't have a drink or dessert - just the turkey slices and cheese and crackers. Today I had about 5 strawberries for a snack -- I do try to get in fruits and veggies. I can't eat that many "normal" foods. Meats are eaten in VERY small portions and often make me feel rather icky. Eggs are ok, but I don't eat them very often.

I mix my chocolate or vanilla protein powder with cool coffee then once it's dissolved I nuke it to warm it back up.... If I don't feel like coffee or a protein drink, I snack on beef jerky, imitation crab meat, reduced fat string cheese or a hard boiled egg..... I also do the omelet in a bag once or twice a week.... - Crack 2 eggs (large or extra-large) into the quart size Ziploc bag (not more than 2) shake to combine them. - Add your choice of mixers to bag and shake. - Make sure to get the air out of the bag and zip it up. - Place the bag into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes. You can usually cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot, just mark the bags so you can tell which one belongs to who.... or is that whom???? - Open the bag and the omelet will roll out easily. I usually nuke mine for about 2 minutes..... just leave the bag slightly open to let the hot steam escape.... YUM! 1 large egg is 75 calories and 6 protein grams, if you use 2 eggs and 1 slice of FF cheese that's a total of 181 calories and 17 protein grams! Karen

Breakfast: venti non-fat half-caf latte w/ SF vanilla syrup (20 grams protein) Snack: low-sugar yogurt or cottage cheese w/ fruit (6-8 grams protein) Lunch: open-face sandwich w/ 3 oz. turkey or ham, plus 1 slice 2% Kraft cheese on multigrain or whole grain bread (30 grams) Snack: low-sugar yogurt, cottage cheese w/ fruit, cheese spread w/ multigrain crackers, or string cheese (6-8 grams protein) Dinner: varies, but always includes 20-30 grams of protein (broiled salmon, baked chicken, broiled steak, chili, soup, plus a veggie or salad, occasionally a bit of carbs) Snack: usually some frozen, sugar-free treat (fudgsicle, popsicle, etc.) I'm lucky that none of these proteins upset my pouch, so I have no problem getting in 90-110 grams of protein per day, all from food sources. When I was 3-4 months out from surgery, I ate a lot of eggs because my pouch tolerated them very well. I don't eat a lot of eggs now, but do still enjoy them occasionally. Good luck finding a way to get in more protein - your body definitely needs it! Keep working at it until you find a way - Kellie Lap RNY 10/25/2005 396/230/165?

Phyllis, I just browsed through the other posts so I hope I'm not repeating information that's already been given. I drink Isopure Protein Powder. I buy it at GNC and it comes in big 3lb tubs. I mix mine with 2% milk. I tried Skim milk but just can't tolerate it, it's like mixing it with water. I've tried the chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavors. I like the chocolate and the strawberry but not crazy about the vanilla. It mixes up very well and it's like drinking a glass of nestle chocolate milk. There is 25 grams of protein in each scoop so I drink one glass in the morning and one in the afternoon. I use a straw to help me so I can sip on it for a little bit. You have to be careful with trying to get too much protein in at one sitting. For instance the Isopure fruit drinks (that come in a bottle ready to drink) are 40 grams of protein but our bodies can't aborb that much at one sitting so you'll be wasting protien if you try to get it that much at one sitting. I tried the bottled Ispoure drinks when I first had surgery and even before surgery and just couldn't take the aftertaste. I'm sticking with the powder its more like a milkshake type of thing for me. I've even heard people putting ice in there and blending it to make a milkshake. I also eat the individual 3 oz cans of tuna. I usually just crack one open and eat it. The pouch flavored tuna and salmon isn't too bad either. I've tried cheese several times and just can't seem to "like" it. I've tried eggs a couple times with No luck..but I wasn't a big egg fan before surgery. I depend on my shakes and my tuna to get me through. I also LOVE deli meat..turkey, chicken and it's good for us. The thing that seems to be giving me trouble is my calcium. I try like the devil to get those chews down and it's all I can do. If I get my three a day I am so happy. I haven't had hardly any calcium since surgery. I'm hoping I'll be able to take pills soon and that will help out alot. It's really tough trying to get in everything we need and I try not to stress about it too much but I do. Good luck with your protein and if you find something that works please share it with us. Hugs, Jamie

I never could find a protein drink that I could tolerate and the bars weren't much better. I did use the Power Crunch bars for quite a while for breakfast. I simply couldn't eat much else in the morning. I then ate meat or fish--just a bit of chicken as it didn't set well with me. I made stews but only ate the meat, baked fish, and fixed lots of shrimp. I can do eggs better know so I'll use them a bit more as well. But I'd recommend you get a good nutrition guide--either a book or online--and start planning your day. It is amazing how much easier it is when I know for sure what I am doing. Some nights I'd finish with a glass of milk just to get the extra protein in. And if you can handle the sodium, beef jerky is a high protein snack. I know it can be tough, (sometimes I get so tired of chewing, chewing, chewing) but it is important fbr both short term success and long term health. Best of luck, Sally

I think you have been given lots of advice. Finding what works for you is the key and that is trail and error. I drink a protein drink every morning. And I couldnt do this in the beginning. Just the last few months. This is how I make my protein drink 5 to 7 ice cubes( more cubes the thicker the shake) one container yogurt ( usually strawberry but whatever you like) 1/2 cup orange juice ( any flavor, I have used apple) 1/2 bannana ( or choice of fruit) one scoop body fortress protein mix vanilla flavored blend with a blender and drink. Now the more cubes the thicker it is. And taste is in comparisson to what type of mixture of fruit flavors that are used. Now the other thing is this has around three hundreed calories , which is a lot. So be careful. but around 30 grams of protein. I cannot tolerate milk so I started using yogurt as a substitute and just experimented until this combination worked. If you can tolerate some tuna. It is very good in protein. A lot of times if I am running low on protein. I just open a can of tuna add some salad dressing and eat on it. Sometimes it takes two or three times to get it all down but it has around 40 grams of protein per 6 oz can. I also grap some cheese sticks or slices throughout the day. Then I eat a lot of chicken salad. Sometimes I cannot stomach much at one time. So I just grap a bite here and there. I feel as I am eating all day long sometimes. Good luck. love marie