Please talk to me about protien

Hello all,
I am three and a half months out of surgery and have hit two walls. One is that I haven't lost any weight in two weeks and the other is I just can't seem to drink protein drinks any more. It is not a physical thing with the protein, it is a mental one. The bad habits that got me here in the first place are resurfacing and my head tells me I don't need protein anymore. Any thoughts on this? I would welcome anyones advice. How important is protein? Is it what is causing my weight loss stall? Any suggestions on how to stop the old though patterns from coming back?

Have you gotten into a rut with your shakes? I found that I was. Now I add extras, such as a sprinkle of cinnamon to chocolate, or mix with crystall lite instead of water.

Do you like yoghurt? Greek yogurt has 2x the protein that regular yogurt does.

What about protein bars? I got some Adkins chocolate raspberry ones that were heavenly. If you try bars, be careful - read the labels. Many have alcohol sugars that can upset a post-op tummy.

What kinds of protein does your tummy like? If you do well with chicken, buy a rotisserie one at the grocery and munch away. I hear the dark meat is easier at first.

I also try to keep lunch meat around. Not fatty meats, but lean turkey breast or roast beef if you can handle it.

Be creative. I seem to be pushing Shari's wisdom today, but I visited her page earlier and she had some lovely protein pancakes featured.

There is a lady on the RNY board that experiments with shakes and has all kinds of yummy protein shake recipes - maybe that will help you shake things up and not feel like you are in a routine! 

http://bariatricfoodie.blogspot.com/

Thanks for alll your advice and help.

Hi, Tia! We all have wrong-thinking to cope with, so we can all sympathize.Those bad thought patterns and behaviors have developed over many years of psychological abuse and habit, and will take years to completely overcome. Just take it one day at a time.

Whenever I get a thought like,"I'm so stupid and fat, I'll never get there! How could I eat that? It made me sick! God, I'm dumb!" etc. etc. I INSTANTLY counteract it with,"STOP!! JUST STOP! You have come so far. Look at yourself. Your chins are gone. You can see your cheekbones. Look at your legs. The muscles are really getting defined since you started running! Wow! You have come a long way! Your size 8's feel even looser than last month! You may not be seeing a lower number on the scale, but your waist is an inch smaller than before! Awesome!" BE YOUR OWN BEST CHEERLEADER!! Eventually the bad voice will be easier and easier to quell. 

You might want to start adding vegetables and salad, a little at a time, to your diet. See how it goes. Chew, chew, chew until it's like liquid in your mouth before swallowing. It will help with your elimination, and give you vitamins and energy. Getting away from refined flour and sugar and highly processed foods slowly but surely will not only make you feel better, but you'll be able to stretch out your calorie budget! It worked for me. 

I hated protein shakes as well, but you have to hang tough! I ended up mixing two scoops of protein mix with just 8 ounces of skim milk. Makes a thick shake, BUT you get 56 grams of protein with very little fluid. Just sip, sip, sip over an hour or so. As your pouch heals, you will be able to add regular protein, which is preferable to concentrated sources like protein bars, which often have too much sugar.

Water,

Thank you for the awesome encouragement. I appreciate all your help. I think I really need to work on finding out exactly what simple sugars and the bad stuff is, I fear they might be hiding in some of the food I am still eating.

Toni