Question:
How do I eat more?
I had RNY on 6/1/10 and at four weeks out am on soft foods. The meal replacement shakes I was on for the last few weeks are now gross and I can't stand them! Soft foods are cottage cheese, string cheese, laughing cow light swiss, canned chicken, tuna to go, and no sugar added diced peaches. I can only eat about 450 calories a day (there's only so many hours in the day!). For example, my lunch today was 1 oz of canned chicken. It took me 45 minutes to eat and was only 25 calories! I know I'm not eating enough and now am getting a chest cold. Anyone have any ideas of how I can get more tolerable calories in? — hazelcurls (posted on June 30, 2010)
June 30, 2010
I hate to be a nag, but you MUST get 50 grams of protein daily. I did not
like a lot of protein drinks either, but I found some that are great. I
use Chike and ProMax, I like Chike a lot.
If you do not get your protein in, you may get sick and lose your hair.
Try Greek yogurt, it is packed with protein as well. I can't tolerate meat
so I am stuck. I eat cheese, beans and quinnoa.
— FSUMom
June 30, 2010
Hi, I agree with your first answer... you must get your protein in... if
you are near a Ralph's or Kroger's store they have CarbMaster Yogurt... the
BEST! High in protein and has nice small bits of fruit. Very low in carbs
and fat. One of the protein drink I get - for a special treat only cuz it
is soooooo good - is Oh Yeah! They are premade and you can pick them up at
the Vitamin Shoppe. Try making pudding with protein powder... it fills you
faster and you can add either the flavored protein (love the Nectar
Chocolate Truffels) or use unflavored (prefer Unjury's). I also, have
found that the shakes at Costco - Premier Protein - are great, too. I also
wanted to let you know your taste buds change, just like a child's... so if
you get some shakes or powder and you don't like them.... just wait a litte
while and try them again. Hopes this helps.
— Kathleen O.
June 30, 2010
My 2 cents worth is try all the Nectar products at Bariatric Advantage.
Love all of them except the Carribean Cooler, too much coconut flavor for
me. They are so good, I can even eat the powder by itself. Also, refried
beans with a little salsa stirred in and some cheese melted on top was a
main stay for me right after surgery. Also, because I got constipated I
ate oatmeal with a scoop of unflavored protein powder in it, I made it
extra creamy, it was delicious (I used splenda to sweeten it). Also
chocolate pudding with Nectar Chocolate Truffle in it for added protein (or
unflavored if you don't like it real chocolaty). Creamed soups with a
scoop of unflavored protein powder is also good. Your hair is going to
fall out but it will be lessened if you get enough protein in. That being
said, my surgeon basically said that during the first 6 weeks it is
virtually impossible to get in enough protein, but just do your best. I
was taking in about the same amount of calorie that you are for the first
2-3 months and I am fine, my hair fell out but it grew back and I am at my
goal and very happy. You can do this, oh yeah, on soft foods I was allowed
fish (almost any because it is a soft meat), I love halibut and tilapia so
my family got a lot of that in the beginning. I still don't tolerate
chicken very well, a year and a half out and it still seems to get stuck
easily unless it is canned and that just really tastes like tuna to me.
You can try canned salmon as well. You will love the Nectar Protein powder
even my teenage daughter and my son like to mix up a shake regularly. I
get mine on BariatricAdvantage.com I have 2 cans sent per month - Fuzzy
Navel and Chocolate. But you can find it on other websites a little
cheaper. Good luck and you will do fine, just experiment. Congrats
Cathy
— brindledanes
July 1, 2010
Personally, I can't eat anything with the texture of canned tuna. You could
try greek yogurt. It has 22 grams of protein and about 90 calories. I
used to mix it with peach (or any fruit) baby food. I eat oatmeal with the
consistency of soup and protein powder added. I use soy protein. It is not
flavored. I can't tolerate whey protein. Vitalady.com has samples of
protein. Health food stores sometimes have small portions of protein
powders available. Also, I eat split pea or black bean soup. I am six
months out. I still can't tolerate foods with certain textures. Isopure has
a clear liquid drink that has 30 grams of protein. You can buy it on-line
or at health food stores. Its good if you can't stand the milky variety of
protein drinks. It is like a fruit drink.
— MargaretHM
July 1, 2010
I bought Jillian Michael's protein powder from WalMart and I mix in some
milk, fresh or frozen strawberries and some splenda and some ice and WOW it
is amazing!!!! You can't even taste the protein and it gives me about 30
grams of protein for an 8 oz serving. It is very important to get your
protein in! I have to have about 80 grams a day or I feel sick.
— Kim M.
July 1, 2010
I had the same problem and don't feel bad. I hated all those things to, so
I found some creative ways to get it in. I am Haitian and our meals consist
of beans and rice.here's what I did:
-I bought the skim milk powder and added it to anything I could to increase
the protein intake.
-I did the the smoothies myself and you guessed it I added the skim milk
powder to it.
-I liked meat but couldn't tolerate it for a while so I made my own recipe
of "special soup" I would boil the chicken with broth veggies and
any spices I was able to tolerate, I would have the broth and veggies
-I made some bean soup(when I was able to add beans to my diet)with chicken
broth
-instead of getting the canned foods which I hate, I would try to make my
own (my own shredded chicken, cook my own fish and mash it, make my own
soup with all the extra protein I could find)
Basically anytime I could find a creative way to increase the protein
contents of what ever I was eating I did it. Balance your intake with your
exercise regimen. Do not stress your self,make a conscious effort and you
will reach your goal without ever realizing it. I made it to mine within
the year post my surgery, I never lost my hair.
Best of luck!!!
— gertrude M.
July 1, 2010
I found there are only so many hours in a day too, and no way can we get
enough calories in 3 meals. So, I would snack all day on little
items.(healthy choices, but with some substance and calories) Some will
say that is bad, however, if you make good choices for snacking, it works
for me. That is how you maintain your weight, is to stay within your
calorie range but how to do that is hard. I am 4 yrs out from RNY and I
eat things like Grape nuts with yogurt (blend it you need to), a lot of
fresh deli meats, I love refied beans and rice in a tortilla, which takes
me all day as a snack. Plus I eat my meals. Again, some may say don't
"Graze" but for some it isn't a good idea, some will say that is
what got us fat. However, I got fat for the fact that I love food and my
portions were very large, not controlled like with the tool of a smaller
stomach. Hope this helps. You need to maintain your calories for many
reasons. To maintain your weight and to stay healthy for the few vitamins
from food, so also be sure to take your vitamins daily. 2 multi vitamins I
take Centrum A-Zinc.
— Kristy
July 4, 2010
I read most of the responses you have received and I am not saying they are
incorrect, but I am 7 months out and I can't stand protein shakes of any
kind. Once I start drinking them I can't drink but maybe 2 to 3 oz of
them. I drank so much of them in the beginning that I have had enough. My
NUT say to just keep trying every so often to see if I can tolerate it. I
just hate to waste the products. I do find that Unjury is the mildest and
taste great! As for other foods I usually have more soup that anything. I
have the same issue as most with tuna and chicken salad, after eating it so
much in the beginning as well. As for hair loss, you are going to lose
your hair anyway, so be prepared. It depends on your body chemistry. I
really don't think there is a sure way of knowing just how much someone
will actually lose because of how much protein intake they don't absorb.
I've heard of some folks using vitamins and other herbal supplements and
they say they had minimal hair lost. So I believe it depends on the
person. Good luck.
— Jrice423
July 14, 2010
I'm impressed that you can tolerate the tuna and canned chicken. My
surgery was on 6/4/10 and I am still in mostly thick liquids at this point.
If I eat anything w/chunks, I toss it back. I try to get in some Unjury
chicken soup (20 g protein) or some Slim Fast (20p) off and on during the
day. I'm not hungry either. My biggest problem is eating too big bites
and then getting air trapped so I want to belch or throw up while i wait
for it to go down.
— Ksdb8mama
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