Question for people more then 4 months out

 I cooked the salmon tonight.  I cook it alot actually.  I bake it in tin foil with lemon all over it, keeps it moist.  If I have to reheat it, which I usually do then i just put sauce on it to make it moist.  ****tail sauce does not bother me so I usually use a bit of that.

I don't seem to have trouble with foods that are too dry, except for hard boiled eggs, they don't do well with me.

If you use an online food log, it will track your protein for you. This site has one that I used pre-surgery. I now use mynetdiary.com because it has better reporting functions. Plug in 3 oz. salmon and it will tell you that you had 19 grams of protein. If you can't finish a portion of something, weigh the part you couldn't eat and subtract those protein grams from the total.

I usually drink a protein shake for breakfast, but that's primarily for convenience sake. I occasionally have scrambled eggs or an omelet for breakfast. I'll add some low-fat cheese and maybe some chopped up ham to increase the protein grams. Another of my breakfast options is greek yogurt mixed with fruit and a little Splenda. Cottage cheese is another high protein option.

I think it's absolutely possible to get your daily protein requirement in without protein shakes -- it just takes a little more planning.

My trick I tell new post ops is to put a small teaspoon of cottage cheese on your nightstand before bed.  If you get up in the middle of the night (to pee)...have some extra protein when you least expect it...

 Left out cottage cheese?  Um, not sure about that one....but I get the point.  Maybe a piece of soft cheese that won't rot and get smelly quite as fast.  But I don't wake up to pee much, I am pretty much a sleep through the night kind of gal....

I'm over a year out and there is no way I could get all the protein I need just from food.  I still have 3-4 a day.  Fortunately I love mine so it's no biggie.  I do aim for high protein every day, though.  I get in 100 at a minimum but preferably 150 or so.

 Tazz, you drink 3 to 4 protein shakes a day!  Really!  WOW!  That is a lot of calories as well as a lot of protein.  How many grams of protein are in the shakes that you drink?  I drink the pure protein ones, they are the best that I can tolerate.  If I make it myself with fruit and SF syrup and thicken it up a bit I can eat it with a spoon and that is sometimes better.  

I tried the EAS and those were terrible.  There is a mocha flavored Adkins shake that is ok, but only 15 grams of protein for 11 ounces, which is so low and the calories are high.  Not to mention, if you are drinking 3 or 4 day day they are expensive!  Unless you are mixing them from powder.

I have to say Tazz, from what I see in your posts and responses you are very dedicated to your program and I think it might because you had revision and you know there are pitfalls and you really want to avoid them.  I really admire you and your efforts to do this right.  Thank you for sharing your advice with me....sorry that I am so negative about the protein shakes, I feel like they are my kryponite (sp?)

I use whey protein isolate and it is about 100 calories a scoop.  I make my coffee drink with 2 scoops so all together it's around 300 calories with the milk.  I also add a scoop to my Crystal Light so that is 100 calories there.  I am actually trying to gain some weight so I'm not counting calories and I am trying to do it with increasing my protein as well as my healthy fats and complex carbs.
I don't blame you for being negative about the shakes.  With my first WLS I hated them, too, and couldn't wait until I could eat enough protein so I didn't have to use them.  Of course I had a bigger stomach then so I could eat a lot more.  Now I just can't eat enough to get in the protein I need.  Even with all the protein I get my protein and albumin levels are at the lower end of the range and have dropped a little since Oct. 2010 and are just below what Vitalady likes to see.
I finally learned to like them after playing around with the recipes I found on Bariatric Foodie and Eggface.  Now I like them so much they are my dessert.  I also have a ton of whey protein isolate unflavored and I add some to anything I can get away with to increase the protein.
If your levels are good then you are getting in enough protein.

I actually like tracking all I eat because it gives me a good visual of what I am really putting in, it also helps me identify trends with different hormonal changes throughout the month, and it also then helps me tweek my intake so that I make sure I am on the right path. The online tracker I use also allowed me to add a section for my supplements, and since I love finishing my day knowing tha I did good, having that visual reminder of my supplements keeps me on track :)

Another thing I like is being able to figure out the nutrition of any recipe I make :)

I too HATE the shakes.  I do not like to "track" my foods either, so I do as many and keep a estimated running total in my head. However I have found New Whey liquid protein - 42g of protein,  online I get the Acai Berry and add that to my 64 oz water with a couple of Splendas - I usually drink 2 of these through out the day. So that gives me 84 g of protein and 128 oz of water, anything else I get in that day - which I always get more is a bonus.  I have found mixing the protein shots with water is SOOO much better then the shakes and the make drinking the water better too.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but any and all of those "protein shots" are crap. The majority of the protein in them is collagen and that's something we just don't absorb. They put "whey" on the labels to suck people in, but the amount of actual whey isolate in them is very minimal. So, while you think you are getting a ton of protein you're really not. But, at least your getting fluids in, so that's good.