High protein and low carb diet? Impossible for me!

I'm 3 months post op. I'm grateful to have lost 80 lbs (including the month prior to surgery). I've gotten food stuck more times than I can count. I think I'm done with the stage of leaving what I can and can't handle. I've come to the conclusion that all meats are off limits. The only things, with the exception of soups, that I can handle are high in carb like mashed potatoes, grits, and rice. How can I maintain a low carb diet, if that's all I can handle???

You probably should see your surgeon...

I agree...you should talk to your surgeon.

Have you tried having your meats as part of a stew or chili. You also must make sure you chew the heck out of it. You stomach can not break it down.

See a dietitian to have them work with you to get some solutions.

My rules in the beginning were: small bites, chew well, and make sure it is moist- gravy sauce broth crock pot whatever it takes

you sound like i did, no meats... you need to see your surgeon, i ended up with a hernia which is why i couldn't tolerate meat.. i've had it repaired and it's going way better....  get some protein shakes into you until you figure out what is going on... this will certainly slow down your weight loss 

Definitely see your doc, if you keep going with the starchy mushy foods your weight will come back.  I'm sure you know that.  There could be an issue for sure because with RNY unlike say the lap band there is not something specifically restricting your food going into your stomach.  In the meantime before your doc appointment try eating really slow, and chew the heck out of your meat.  Try less dense meats like fish, scallops, shrimp over chicken, pork or beef.  If you weight each item you'll see that fish for instance is typically less dense than beef because the portion of fish on the scale is larger than the beef.  

You can't.  But you're in luck.  Because high carb is not all you can handle.  I know it feels that way and that's ok. You just haven't found what works for you yet in terms of dense protein.

We are all different but one thing we have in common is what our post-op eating plans look like once we graduate to solids.  Most of us had to do a little experimenting with proteins.  Some of us (raising hand) had to experiment a LOT. You've been given great advice, I'll just add what worked for me although we are all different of course:

*small bites.  I had to practice with different sizes of small, but I never will be able to put a huge bite of meat in my mouth again without it getting stuck.  So now I use small bite of whatever I'm eating.  I've learned not to fill the fork.  About a third of a forkful constitutes a bite for me.

*chew.  chew, chew, chew, chew. chew.  Certain kinds of protein are tougher than others. Not chewing enough can lead to gagging or that horrible stuck feeling.  Yuk.

*make a list of proteins you ate before surgery.  Ground beef, chicken, steak, pork, fish.  Try them all more than once and cooked in many different ways, before you give up on them.  Use sauces and such to soften them up.  Crock pots are our friends.  You can put some pretty tough meat in there and it will come out wonderfully tender.  You will probably go through many iterations of recipes and variances on the same theme.  It's tiring and somewhat boring but it is completely worth it to have  the knowledge you need to get your protein in (and to know what your "safe" proteins are so you don't end up miserable at dinner somewhere.)

*make use of things like chili if you like it.  Try some greek yogurt - it's higher in protein than regular. Eggs are protein. Cheese is protein.  Peanut butter is also but that is a slippery slope, lol

The bottom line is that you WILL NOT succeed in losing weight permanently if you only eat high carb foods.  That kind of a diet is what got us here in the first place.  The first year or so postop we lose weight without even trying.  We really can't even take credit - our bodies have been altered and they do the work.  Around year two or three stuff gets real. Bounceback weight looms. Successful people use that first year to figure out what works for them.  I know of no person more than two years out either at goal or maintaining their weight who eats mainly carbs. So you see you really must get a hold of this ASAP.

Anywho, hoping you take this in the spirit intended.  I'm really glad you came in and asked about this now and not a year from now when it will be harder to get control of the carb-monster and make it all the way to goal.  Good for you for taking charge!

oh and PS:  Most of us do not drink with meals or within 30-45 minutes of meals. That will help you as well if you get in the habit

=)

Wanted to add that I just saw some of your recent posts. You had mentioned you were struggling and had possibly hit a plateau several weeks ago.  I can tell you right now that if you are eating the types of foods  you describe here in this thread you will face MANY plateaus and may not even make your goal.

Normally I don't look at peoples profiles much so please don't think I'm a stalker , lol.

It's just when I saw  your concern over plateauing too early and you had stated that you didn't know why you were stuck I thought it might be helpful to see that those two issues are directly related.

I do think you should see your surgeon as you could have a complication that needs to be addressed.

However, you do not need to be so worried about protein, nor do you need to be at all worried about gaining weight from eating complex carbs like potatoes, grits, etc, as long as you are not adding lots off fat to them in the form of butter, sour cream, slots of cheese, etc. (Simple carbs ARE a problem but you didn't t indicate that you are eating those).

Check out the facebook site of Bariatric surgeons Garth Davis and the YouTube channel of Bariatric surgeon Matthew Weiner  you will see that the super high protein intake pushed by most Bariatric centers has no basis in fact  the facts are: average woman needs only 30-40 G protein a day, and RNYGP only results in a protein malapsorption of up to 25%  which means that a post-WLS woman only needs 37-50 G protein a day.

You can increase your protein levels to that quite easily without ever touching meat.  Beans (legumes) for example are One of the foods most easily tolerated post-WLS. Quinoa is a wonderful substitute for rice and is super high in protein. Tofu can be added to almost anything, and used in place of chicken in almost any recipe.  If you miss the taste of meat, try Gardein Beefless Tips in your favorite meat recipe  

And if you are still worried about protein or have an unsupportive nutritionist, add a daily protein shake to get up to the crazy-high numbers for protein intake.  

Listen to what your body is telling you to eat during this time of healing! And as long as it's not unhealthy eat it. For example The first month after surgery, all I could get down was fish, well-cooked broccoli, & mashed potatoes. That's what I ate 3 times a day. Now  just the thought of fish turns my stomach, so I'm eating beans w my broccoli and mashed potatoes. You will be fine, I promise!