Eating and Protein Questions

I hope all of you are doing well. I had my surgery on July 29 and it has been a very rocky 6 weeks. I developed a leak right away after surgery and was in the hospital for 9 days. Got over that but continued to have a temp. and then developed a collasped lung that filled with fluid. Back in the hospital I go - this time for 12 days! What a nightmare. I had a chest tube put in which was the most painful thing I think anyone can go through. I have been home now for almost two weeks and SLOWLY getting better. My big problem now is that I am not eating right and still lightheaded as a result (I think). I am also losing hair like crazy. My question for you all is what are you doing for protein? I have a powder that I mix with either water or milk. Either way - I can not stand it and am looking for a lighter, fruit type drink. Any suggestions? How is your appetite? Truly, I could easily go all day without eating. I have to force myself. And last, what have you been and/or what are you eating at six weeks out. Thanks for your help everyone! Leslie

Leslie, I'm so sorry about your problems. I have had problems too, but not as awful as yours. I too could go without eating, no problem, so I force myself. I don't get in enough protein, and I can't tolerate protein drinks anymore, so I got GNC Liquid Protein. It is a fruity syrup - not delicious, but tolerable. 3 tablespoons=18 grams of protein. I usually take 2 oz. per day for 24g protein and 120 calories. I generally eat softer foods like cottage cheese and real mozzerella cheese. I never know what's going to be ok and what isn't - it varies from day to day. I can't eat scrambled eggs, but I can eat soft boiled. I can't eat tuna salad, but I can eat chili. My pouch is very persnickity and can be downright EVIL!! I can eat chili cheese bugles, but throw up water....so it's a coin toss every time I put something in my mouth. Hopefully, we will all level out and our bodies will grow accustomed to the changes. I wish you the best and hope you are feeling better soon!! Hugs, Nancy

Dear Leslie - I'm sorry about all the problems too! Did you have lap surgery? I had an open and am finding out that that may have been a better thing for me at least. I'm at almost two months. I never know what's going to go down easy or hard. I'd rather drink water than eat anything. I can't stand the protein drinks either - they're way too sweet (never had THAT problem before!), so I'm trying to figure out something else also. Let me know if you find a good one. Haven't started losing hair yet, but I think it won't be long. Sometimes I get hungry, but not very often. I chew things to almost nothing when I am having a meal by myself, but if I'm with people, I tend to try to eat faster and have major problems. I eat a lot of hard boiled eggs, chicken, beef (cut into small cubes) and string cheese is a must! Also crackers and peanut butter. Schwan's has some really good sugar-free ice cream bars - they're to die for! (if you have a Schwan's guy that comes around). Also other Schwan's dinners are good, tender and easy to go down. Hoping you'll continue in good health, Margaret

Hi Margaret Thank you so much for you reply. It really helps me to know I am not alone! I did find a drink at GNC yesterday that I think is my answer to protein. It's a light, fruit drink called Isopure Zero Carb. I got two bottles to try @ 20oz with 40 grams of protein each. I had the fruit punch yesterday and icy orange today. I love the icy orange. It's light, good taste and no after taste. It's expensive (around $3-3.50/bottle) but I just went on the internet and found it by the case at around $2.25 each. When it comes down to it, we need the protein so much that I don't care what it costs as long as I can stomach it! I think it's also available in a powder but I rather the bottles for convenience. Hope this might help! Leslis

Hi Leslis, Glad you found your way to my favorite, Zero Carb clear glass Isopure. If you order online you'll save BigTime. Variety Pack includes two of each of the following: Fruit Punch, Grape, Orange, Apple Mellon, Blue Rasperry, and Passion Fruit. There are two new flavors that I ordered recently (not in variety pack). The Mango Peach (a bright deep orange/redish color) is very nice for an orangy breakfast drink and I like it a lot. The other new one is Pineapple Orange Banana (pale yellow color) which is a much milder taste which I also like. My favorite source for purchasing these in bulk (case of 12) is: http://www.nojonetwork.com/twocasofzerc.html They package it very well and have prompt delivery, with ground it usually appears 4 days after I order it. I have purchased the powder but I have been told that you have to drink it after it is mixed up within 30 minutes whereas I can nurse a 20 oz bottle of Isopure Clear in bottles for several hours. I checked with my nutritionists and surgeon's support staff and they said that the open bottle of glass bottled Isopure clear should be potent for up to 24 hours after opening (but I keep the bottle in the fridge and just pour out what I want). If anyone out there has any other information on the potency of these products please post. I have also been told that we can only absorb 30 grams of protein at a time so I usually divide my 20 oz bottle (40 grams) in half and drink it 10 ozs at a time, at least 2 hours apart. I usually drink it straight but enjoy it over ice in a pretty glass for a festive change. The ability to take in my protein and fluids at the same time is a great way to meet my surgeon's nutritional guidelines for 64 ozs fluids (minimum) and 60 grams proteien (minimum) a day. I have no interest (or hunger) in eating or preparing food but I force myself to eat one meal of actual solid food to keep my little pouch in shape. I've become creative in my protein sources. I love FitDay.com because I can keep track of everything there and I don't do well without a structured log of foods eaten. They make it pretty easy to calculate such things as 1/2 of a meatball (about all I can eat at one time). They give you a choice of portion size and you can enter any fraction of that for what you were able to eat). For half a portion use .5; for a quarter use .25 and for an eighth use .125. At this point, 6 weeks out, my biggest goal is to keep my pouch from stretching for as long as possible. Since it is inevitable that it adapts to change and stretches over time I decided I would do everything possible to insure that it stays as small as possible for as long as possible so I can be more successful in my weight loss. I broke my recent plateau by upping my intake of two bottles a day to three. Since there are 40 grams of protein in each bottle and I usually take in a minimum of 80 grams a day the plateau breaking 120 grams seems to have worked well for me. I'm back to my 80 grams but won't hesitate to bump it up again if (when) I reach another plateau. All the best, Cathy Open RNY 7/26/04 -45 pounds

Hi Leslie, Sorry to hear about our problems. You have had a really rough time. I'm glad you are finally home. Protein ideas: Necter...fruit flavored protein powder that tastes pretty good. You can order it on line or buy it at The Vitamin Shoppe. Lots of folks like to mix it with Crystal Light or SF Tang to make different flavors. Check out Bariatiric Eating.com,Hoods Carb Countdown Milk-they have different flavors which are good. I finally found a product I like...I use chocolate Egg Whey from The Vitamein Shoppe 2 scoops and a pkg of SF CIB, mix ith ice and water. I also grind up my calcium, biotin, vit. C and MVI with the shake to make it easier to take them. This shake has about 50 gms of protein. As for real food....I can only eat about 2 ozs at a time. And if I eat too much, up it comes. YUCK! Tuna with LF mayo. Egg salad with LF mayo, soft scrambled egg, roast chicken with gravy, pintos and chese with a dab of salsa, chili, homemade spaghetti sauce with lots of meat have usually set well. I find I have to experment alot, and it's hard to be brave ..... Applesauce and SF/FF pudding are also good. I find that since I don't get hungry I have to make myself eat on schedule or I won't get enough nutrition or fluids. Good luck on the rest of your recovery and stay in touch. CJ

I'm glad you are doing better! You can try Zero-Carb Isopure, found at GNC. It has 40g protein in a 20oz bottle. It is expensive, but what protein supplement isn't? It tastes like watered-down kool-aid. It comes in a glass bottle, pre-mixed, but I believe they also have a powder to mix up. It's not chalky, which is what I liked about it. I get my protein in through regular foods. I have not had any real problem tolerating foods, although I have to be careful and eat meat slowly, or I'm in agony. For breakfast, I usually have a 1oz piece of light string cheese wrapped in 1oz VERY THIN turkey breast. For lunch, it varies, though it's usually tuna salad. Dinner is whatever I make for the family, whether it's spaghetti, chicken, or sloppy joes. I eat small portions, of course! This is all stuff that I have been eating since about six weeks out, some of it earlier...like at four weeks. Hope this helps!

Sorry you are having such a horrible time - it sounds awful. Glad you are doing better. I too would recommend the zero carb ISOPURE drinks from GNC. Make sure you get the zero carb ones, since they have both with carbs and w/o carbs. I like the grape and the orange best. Jules

I am so sorry you have had some difficulties. As far as protein goes..... I eat mostly meat and cheese. Also, there are these new snack bars down the cereal aisle that is made by Post that tastes just like a peanut butter rice crispy treat (10 grams protein). Quaker also makes a snack bar called Q-Smart. They have the peanut butter chocolate chip, which is delicious and tastes like a granola bar. It has 11 grams of protein. Both bars are low in sugar and only have about 3 net carbs per serving. I also drink a nasty protein drink here and there (it just depends on how much protein I have had throughout the day). I usually get in an average of 50-60 grams of protein a day. I wish you the best of luck, Leslie!! Carol -41

Leslie, I am from CT too! Do you ever go to the CT boards? As for protein, Carb Countdown milk has been a lifesaver for me. I mix 8 oz of the choc with 4 oz of the skimmed for 18 g of protein. I sometimes add a 1/3 of my GNC designer Whey Natural Flavored protein powder to bring it up to 30 g of protein. To make a shake with more protein than that is a waste, as our bodies can not absorb more that that at one time (from what I have read). I a soo sorry you went through all that...hopefully you will start to feel the positive benefits of this surgery. Push your protein..is the best advice I can give you. I will keep you in my prayers. Joanie