How to get all the liquid and protein in?

 OK, I am a week post op and still struggling with both liquid and protein, I just can't seem to get all the requirements in.

Today was a better protein day, I was able to get 45grams in, still not where it should be up better than what I had been doing. 

For liquid I am able 40 oz, the surgeon would like to see me at around 64. 
I feel I am sipping all day. Please when I eat I have to not drink for 30 minutes. It takes me forever to eat even a tbsp. or two of yogurt. Just doesn't seem like I get enough time to sip 64 oz of liquid.

I found I can't handle milk. I used to love the protein shakes with milk, but when I tried one 4 post op I ended up in the bathroom 90 minutes :(   I did try a protein shake with jus****er today and BLAH!!! It took me forever to choke it down. Yuck! 

Anyone have any recipes to make protein shakes/smoothie???? 
I can have pureed foods. 

Also put a scoop of "supposedly" unflavored protein power in my crystal lite and BLAH!!! That was NOT unflavored. 
Can anyone give me a good brand name of unflavored power. I got this sample from the surgeon's office and it is just NASTY!!!!! 
If I could find one that was truly unflavored I could probably get all my protein in and most of my liquid. 

Other than this I am doing great. My incisions are starting to really itch like crazy though!!  Ugh 

And I stepped on the scale and I lost 11 pounds from my surgery!!!! Woohoo! I lost 31 pounds pre-surgery so I am already down 42 pounds total :) 

My first goal is to get under 300 pounds and I am only 20 pounds from being out of the 300s! I am SO Happy! 

Anyway, can anyone share how to get my liquid and protein in, or give me some tips. Maybe some foods that are higher in protein, but still on the pureed stage? 

Thanks!

Hey Kristine!  It is really hard to get in all the protein and fluid at first.....it will get easier. 
Have you checked out the website  www.theworldaccordingtoeggface.com   She has some great recipes for shakes and tons of other great WLS friendly recipes.  Check it out.  In the beginning I always just did the best I could and don't get discouraged.  It does get better.

Christine

Kristine,

I love the Unjury unflavored protein powder.....I also like the flavored Herbalife, my Son is a distributor and they have tons of recipes online...

1 scoop Unjury
1/2 c. milk
1 container strawberry yoplait yogurt
10 frozen strawberrys
Since the strawberry's are frozen it's more like a real shake......

2 scoops cookies & cream Herbalife protein powder
1 cup ice
1 cup 8th continent chocolate soy milk
1 T. peanut butter
1 tsp. chocolate pudding mix powder

For protein they also have the liquid bullets, they come in 3oz. tubes usually at 25g. They taste like a thick yucky koolaid, but worth it if your not getting in the protein....I drank these quite often in the beginning....

Getting in the water is hard in the beginning.....Good luck....

Kelly

Have you tried making your protein shakes with soy milk?  I am lactose intolerant, and so milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese are out for me.  I add the cup of soy milk to my Unjury chocolate protein powder, and I have 28g of protein in one drink.

I've been told soy milk is an aquired taste, but if milk is out, it's definitely work a try!

Also, have you tried canned chicken or tuna mixed with fat free mayo?  You have to mash the meat until it's almost mush, but the proteinin it is amazing. 

 I'm 2 1/2 months out and still trying to fit it all in.  Some days are better than others.  You will find a routine and what works and what doesn't.  I use Choc Silk Light, soy milk, it's ok, other than being lactose intolerant I don't really like milk, so not loving Silk is just me.

I had the same time issues with eating and then waiting and drinking, but again, you will find that it will get easier.  At first I felt like all I was ever doing was watching the clock and eating and drinking all day long.  It's gotten a lot better.  I still have to watch the clock if I'm going out and make sure I eat or bring a protein source with me to eat later.  It just comes down to planning ahead.  I just toss it in the diaper bag along with the kids snacks and off we go.

Sounds like you are really being serious and doing a great job, I applaud your effort!  Keep up the great work!

Tess

I would double-check with your surgeon's office, but my nutritionist told me for the Fairview WLS program, the 30 minutes before and after rule for not drinking while eating is different during your liquid stage.  The rationale behind the no drinking is they do not want you to "flush" food out of your pouch sooner than necessary and it helps maintain satiety.  With the liquid diet, you are not washing anything out. 

Drinking your water and eating your protein is soooo important so I would see if the before and after rule applies to your doctor's rules.

YMMV

Kevin

First off congrats! Welcome to this side of the fence...

You absolutely will not probably get all the protein and water in you "should" this fresh post-op.. its like physically impossible. Sip sip sip all day long.. I think I was about 3 weeks out before I could get 40 oz in..

I added unflavored protein in my yogurt or pureed food.. I could not even imagine trying to drink protein powder in crystal light.. yucko!

I used prepackaged EAS LIGHT protein shakes in vanilla and chocolate.. they were in small silver juicebox size containers... That way I could pour it in a glass and sip sip sip those for my main protein intake... (remember don't use the straw).. You can buy 25 packs of them at Sams Club...
It wasn't until I was about 6 weeks out I converted to making my own shakes with milk...

Right after surgery I found warm liquids were sooo much easier to drink than cool or room temperature liquids.  I couldn't tolerate skim milk unless it was warm.  Sugar-free Carnation Instant breakfasts were a nice to get protein, almost like a hot chocolate. 

Have you tried the Isopure protein drinks?  They're clear protein drinks in various fruit flavors, like kool-aid or gatorade type of flavors.  Thay have them at GNC and lots of other places lke that.  These helped me out in a major way right away post-op.  It was a month or  two before I could tolerate any non-clear protein drinks, but these were fine.  For me, they were too strong-tasting straight out of the bottle for the first couple of months, so I had to cut them half and half with water and they worked great.  Cottage cheese is a great early source of protein if you can do dairy.