Protein Advice Please

I hit my one year post op on January 7th of 2014. When I went into surgery I weighed 356 and today I weigh 195. I just had my one year post op visit and was told that I am very low on protein which shocked the heck out of me because I feel like I am always eating. Since the appointment I have kept track of how much protein I eat, (I was told to start eating 100 grams a day) so I could reach my goal. The problem is, I am having a very, very hard time eating that much food. I've tried many different kinds of protein drinks, and have found out that the whey in them for some reason makes me really sick to my stomach. Does anyone know of any protein pills that would help? Or, at this point, any advice would help. I was low on some of my vitamins as well, but have bumped them and am doing much better. The low protein however, is causing me to feel light headed threw out the day if I don't eat something every 2 hours. My problem is, each as much as I am told to is a very hard thing to do, I'm just not hungry. 

You might look into egg based protein shakes. JayRobb is a good quality. Also, Fage Greek yogurt is about 18 grams of protein for 8 oz. I make our Greek yougurt with 2%, blueberries and Splenda. Hubby eats it too.  I need 120 grams a day of protein in the form of whey protein isolate so I can imagine you're struggling if you can't drink shakes. Keep us posted and good luck.

--gina

I've never heard of egg based protein shakes. Do you know if they are sweet? For some reason I can not handle sweeties at all only more. Thank you for your advice!

It looks like they carry an unflavored egg white based powder. I haven't tried it but I imagine you could mix it in soups and casseroles and such. Link: http://www.jayrobb.com/protein/egg-white-protein-unflavored. asp

--g

 

How are you with milk?  Could you manage to drink milk for half your daily liquid intake?  I get between 20-50g of protein a day from milk.  (I gag when trying to get my whey isolate in)

I am lactose intolerant. So milk is a once in a blue moon for me. I'd love to be able to drink milk and it be that easy though! Thank you for your advice!

Are protein bars am option?  I know lots of them are high carb - but the Qwest bar has 20g of protein with only about 5 net carbs ... Might be worth trying?

I have tried protein bars before... However I find them to be very sweet. For some reason I can't handle sweets at all anymore. I've never tried the Qwest bars though... I'll have to check into them. Thank you so much for your advice!

I share your aversion to sweets and eat gluten-free and nearly lactose-free (at least for cow's milk). Five years out from my VSG come April, I've gained back 23 pounds. Hard to get those last few pounds off so I'm working on that now.

Every few days I boil up a dozen eggs and pop out the yolks (which go to the street cats where I live).
Egg white halves stand in for bread or chips or pasta or high-carb veg, or whatever to hold yummy fillings--hummus or eggplant dip, refried beans or hamburger w/ salsa, chicken or tuna salad, lactose-free cheese or tofu dips--like that.

High protein fillings can be made up to include:
clams/oysters/mussels, chopped chicken livers, shrimp, cheese (some cheeses work OK for lactose intolerant--try goat cheese, feta, etc.), salmon, sardines or herring, etc.
Check out the protein punch you get from these on the OH Nutrition site.

Protein drinks make me want to gobble carbs.
Try taking double gummy vites (4/day) for awhile to get your other vitamins up.
I plan my meals on OH Nutrition Tracker the day before and try to "play chess" to get the right combination so that most of my nutrients are covered. Try to stick to 3 meals 5 hours apart and high protein/vitamin/mineral foods.

Still, I keep coming up short on Thiamine, Selenium, Vit K, Potassium, Manganese, Copper.

Good Luck!
Liz

Quest bars are good and not too sweet to me. I enjoy the apple pie flavor and the cinnamon roll.