Question, 2 weeks post lap band

I have a question. I had lap band surgery two weeks ago (9/30). When I went to my post op appt, Dr. Medali(sp), told me that I am not getting enough protein, which I was well aware. I have an unjury shake for breakfast which fills me. He suggested that I buy some of the soups at their office, which I did, but they do not fill me even though they are high in protein. I am always starving. I found that the strained soups from Trader Joes or even the strained Campbells Select Soups are definitely filling and hold me over for a LONG time. With these soups, I eat 1/4 of a cup and I am full! The problem is, they only have about 3g of protein per serving and a serving size is a cup. IN essence, I am getting 1.5g of protein per serving. I was told that the reason I am hungry is because they will not give me my first fill for 2 months. I am still on liquids for another 2 weeks. It kills me making dinner for my kids and husband and being so hungry, I do all but pull out my hair to keep myself from eating it. I have not and will not, b/c I don't know what would happen and I do not want to end up back in surgery for whatever reason. Anyway, after two more weeks, I will progress to strained foods. Any suggestions? Has anyone else experienced this? The good news is, I am down 16 lbs, they bad news is, I am always hungry

I'm not a bandster but our protein requirements are similar. I drink the Nectar Protein Iced Tea, Cherry Berry and Caribbean Cooler flavors. I mix 2 scoops with about 18-20 oz of water (46g protein) and sip on them all morning & afternoon. I try to drink 2 each day which gives me over 90g of protein so whatever I eat will be bonus protein. Also are you sure you're on liquids and not supposed to be on pureed foods? I was only on liquids for the first 2 days after I got home from the hospital (RNY) then I started on 4 weeks of pureed foods before I started adding regular foods. If you're only drinking your meals then no wonder you're starving! If you're on pureed, then puree some of the soups that you like and add the unflavored Unjury to them. I would puree boiled, seasoned chicken with chicken broth. 1oz is about 7g of protein. You can also make some SF pudding & Jello with the unflavored Unjury. Go to www.bariactriceating.com. They have protein samples you can buy as well as some really great recipes. Hope this helps. Also are you taking your vitamins?

Thanks DIneen for your response and suggestions. I sincerely appreciate them and will try them all. Also, thank you for the link. It is nice to know their is support out there. When I whine to my husband he says......... you wanted to do this! Ugh! I told him and I would do it over again if I had given the chance

Carla, You can put the unflavored Unjury is soups. Just wait to mix in after it is heated up. I had Gastric bypass, so of course the 1st month is different. I did smoothies with 25-40 grams of protein for a long time. Some of us still do smoothies. This is the easiest way to get in the protein. Isopure makes a Strawberry powdered protein, 1 scoop=25 gr, mix with 8 oz or more of Carb Countdown skim milk, 15 gr = total 40 grams of protein. Mix in blender with ice, mmmmmmm a strawberry milkshake. After you are able you can throw in a banana or peanut butter to give you a little variety. Another idea, the hot chocolate from the dr's office =15 gr, add 1/4 tsp decafe instant coffee, 8 oz Carb countdown milk = 15 gr, heat it up and you've got Kalua tasting hot chocolate that has 30 grams of protein and is really tasty. Add a squirt of redi-whip to the top, almost no value at all, just makes you feel good. My all-time favorite is crystal lite red grapefruit, 16 oz mixed with 1 scoop of Unflavored Unjury. 25 grams of protein. I drink 2 of these a day =50 grams of protein. Sometimes I'll switch to the crystal lite orange. Use your imagination. Good Luck. Hope this helps to fill you up. Elissa

Thank you. I am going to try your suggestions. I did try the unflavored injury but I guess I added too much, I didn't have quite 16 oz of crystal light and all I tasted was the unjury. I will try that. I am going to try all of your suggestions. Thank you so much! I sincerely appreciate it!

Carla, First things first ... you are doing awesome. Not only in the weight loss department, but in the determination department. Good for you ... keep it up!!! Second thing ... You said the doc said you are not getting enough protein? Have you had bloodwork that has come back on the low side, or are they simply saying that by looking at your food diary you are not getting enough protein in? If you find your numbers down, then you may want/need to push protein a little differently. If so, email me and I will share with you what I have run across to up those numbers. If however you are saying you that based on your food diary you need more protein then perhaps something below can help you out? The suggestions from the others are great. While I am not a bandster, I can offer what I found that helped me, hopefully something someone offers here will help fill your tummy and keep you motivated until your first fill ... I found adding vanilla unjury to oatmeal a real filler. A little bit of cooled cooked until mushy slow cooked oats added to my protein shakes really added some longevity to them. I was told it is like when you add a bit of cereal to a baby's diet and suddenly they sleep because their tummy is satisfied??? BTW - you don't need to use a lot to get this effect. I also found adding fresh ground flax seed to my shakes made them more filling. (adding good fats helped my tummy stay fuller longer as well as helped my hair and skin) Are you allowed to eat "real" food yet? If so, push solid proteins also to boost your protein levels as well as staying power. Have you stopped by the Band Board yet ... you will find a whole group of others who will likely be able to offer you tons of suggestions as well. http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/LapBand/posts.html Best wishes Carla ... keep up the good work. Tammy