Question:
Having a hard time with protein.
I am 3 weeks Post-op RNY. My protein list is as follows, cottage cheese, tofu, and baby food meats, all of which I cannot stand the taste. I am eating mostly from the milk group which consists of hot cereals, cream soups, and protein supplements. I haven't lost weight in almost 2 weeks. Infact, every other day, I seem to go up a pound or so. I am extremely disappointed and thought that the weight would just be falling off right now. Has anyone else been in this situation? I'm hoping that when I am allowed to eat chicken, turkey and other meats, the weight will come off. Thanks for listening! — SarahMascara (posted on February 10, 2010)
February 10, 2010
You will be ok - your body is stalling right now because it's freaking out
- in the next week you will see the weight shift. Your body is adjusting to
having FAR less calories than it's used to and you've just been through a
major surgery. Make sure you measure yourself once a week in teh beginning
- it will prove to be a huge motivator when the scale isn't budging.
In the beginning the only way to get ANY protein into foods that I could
actually stand to eat was with protein powder. I also had cottage cheese
and a few protein-rich foods, but I could only eat a small amount so I had
to depend on unflavored protein added to almost everything and protein
shakes/drinks.
The guidelines for 60-90 grams of protein for you right now is a GOAL that
you are going to slowly be working toward. You can only absorb 20 (some
schools of thought say 30, depends on who/what you read/listen to) or so
grams at a time, so you have to space that out. You probably won't be able
to get in that much protein (even with supplementation) for a while. Just
do your best every day and try to be creative as you can - I even added the
unflavored to sugarfree jello. I also supplemented early on (still do
sometimes, but less now since I can eat all of my protein) with Proteinex,
a protein shot that has 18 grams. It tastes aweful, but it's what they use
for people on feeding tubes to make sure they get protein. IT's called
pre-digested protein and is available online - I think I got mine from one
of the bariatric websites.
Don't stress - you're pretty fresh out of surgery, I remember that from
this last May. Relax, do your walking, sip your water. You'll do great!
Good luck!
— stellarsan
February 10, 2010
I am 4 weeks out tomorrow. I know exactly how you feel. I think I lost
maybe 1 pound last week and 1 pound this week. It is very frustrating. I do
know that my measurements are getting smaller and my clothes are getting
bigger so that helps a little, but I know what you mean. You just want to
see the numbers on the scale going down. I am in the same boat as you. I
eat cottage cheese and protein during the day as I am at work and I am
afraid of getting sick. This past week I have added a crab leg which I
think got stuck the first time and I threw it up, but last night I tried
again and I added just a little butter to help it go down better. Which my
doctor said a little butter is ok and does help it go down better. I also
made sure to cut it and cut it until it was almost shredded and it worked.
I kept it down. I also got sick on eggs, but again I think it was just a
matter of cutting them smaller and making myself chew more which is very
hard for me. I am very limited in what I eat because I refuse to eat the
baby foods and puree anything. I just can't. I don't like chili and beans.
I am very picky so that is hard to get your protein mostly from food.
— przybylc
February 10, 2010
Hi,
Remember to drink your water. You might be retaining fluid. Be patient
for the weight to come off. The weight wasn't put on in a day and won't
fall off in a day. People lose weight at a different rate, but if you are
consuming a lot of carbs that could be the cause of the slow weight lose.
If you bump up your water that will help. You are doing just fine. I was
on a liquid diet for the first 1.5 months, so perhaps you can try that and
wait on the cottage cheese and other items until you are happy with a loss.
It seems the people that follow a liquid diet post op are more opt to lose
because there aren't any carbs. Best wishes to you. Hope this helps.
Also try getting your protein in powder like Whey Protein (5 lb tub) not to
bad in taste.
— Kristy
February 10, 2010
I haven't had surgery yet, I'm having it March 15th. But, Isopure no sugar
protein water is a very good source. They have 2 different flavors and I
know that you can buy it various places. It's a lot less of a hassle, then
trying other things.
— CourtCourt2009
February 10, 2010
If you are having a hard time with this try to revert back to the first
stages that you were suppose to be doing like the protein drinks. Try Egg
Protein 100% Egg GNC product way great. i was super picky trust me and wow
yeah this stuff is great. Try with some decaf coffee and s/f flavors and
yummy
or just try it alone super yummy with water or milk
— tl_morgan
February 10, 2010
Hi,
I am 6 months out today and at goal!!! However, I still have major
problems with protein, so I supplement with shakes. Protein is getting a
tad better but I have to really work at different protein. As far as the
previous blogger, you must have your 64 oz of water daily!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a rough road ahead of you missy, but in retrospect, you will be
saying the same thing I am going to tell you now: I would do this surgery
in an heartbeat again if I had to.
Good luck!
— FSUMom
February 11, 2010
I hated the protein thing also.... cream soups are probably not the best
thing.... i never even tried that post surg. isopure isn't the best but its
not horrible, I bought the non flavored powder protein and mixed it in with
broth soup or hot tea or even my coffee. I also never did the mushed up
stuff YUK.... you can take the isopure and make popsicles. ricotta cheese
works also. I was the worst for doing the protein .... no baby food for
me... I am 5 1/2 months out and 95 down. bariatric eating.com is a good
place to get stuff. if you do caffeine you will love it. I dont do caffeine
so I struggled even more. also soft cheese helps,, if you are feeling well
go slowly and try some other things... if you are not eating enough your
body thinks its starving so it holds on to everything.. it happened to me
and started forcing myself to eat more and i lost more... also now they let
me have a bar called "pure protein" walmart has them.... that has
been a life saver for me. each person is different and you should listen to
your doctor, oh yea.... dont weigh yourself every day... that is way
wrong..... once a week is fine, you are stressing out over numbers,
concentrate on eating appropriately. the weight is gonna come off trust me.
good luck
— MarthaJ0110
February 11, 2010
At three weeks out, I was eating EggBeaters, smooth low-fat low-carb yogurt
(I loved Oikos plain yogurt with a tsp of vanilla extract and a couple of
packets of Splenda in it - of course, that was for the whole 6 ounce
container - which lasted me 6 meals of 1 ounce each), fat-free-sugar-free
jello pudding made with a scoop of protein powder, cottage or ricota cheese
flavored with a quarter tsp of Hidden Valley Ranch dry Original Buttermilk
dressing, and Taco Bell refried beans (although I'm not much of a bean
person). Also, I really "cheated", but I don't see that it hurt
me at all....I'm a sushi lover and have a standing Friday night sushi date.
But, I can no longer have the rice, so my "normal" sushi order
just wasn't going to work (I love scallops and salmon rolls)... so we
figured out that we could ask the sushi chefs to chop up the fish until it
was almost mush, then add a tiny little bit of low-fat mayo (which I bring
with me), and some lemon juice and the zest of some lemon, and I could eat
that! It is soooo yummy! And I don't feel deprived at all.
— Erica Alikchihoo
February 12, 2010
This saved me...and I still love it!!!
Chobani non-fat greek yogurt...add in 2 pk splenda and 1 teaspoon sugar
free suisse mocha(international coffee). This has 18g protein!!!!
— jo b
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