Hi,

I am 6 week post op now and doing pretty well...... I do though struggle with protein levels. I cannot drink protein drinks, even if I put powder into a drink,.... it causes me to be sick (vomit) and I have avoided that as it was becomming to much. I have beans, but you can only eat so many. I have had shrimp, but now that makes me ill. I have chicken, and some beef, but not allot. I am chewing chewing chewing as instructed, and that's all fine. But my diet of food is becoming rather stale and needs a pick up.

I have yogurt, as cottage cheese now makes me very ill. I have to be careful of my dairy levels as that makes me sick too sometimes.

Anyone else have this problem?  Its also hard to drink the amount of liquid (64oz) in a day.

I just wondered if anyone had any ideas or recipes to help out during this akward stage.

thanks.... everyone on OH is so helpful, I figured someone might be able to suggest something.

I had similar problems come and go during the first 6 weeks of my recovery.  I think the most important thing you can do is listen to your body.  Try new things at home, take a small bite and wait to see how your body is going to react.  I'm still not getting the recommended daily amount of water or protein, but I'm feeling great, losing weight, and all my labs have come back perfectly normal.

I'm not suggesting that you don't listen to your doctors or strive to reach the daily goals.  Please don't stress over them, though.  Your body will tell you when you need more or less of something.  Take things slowly and try adding new foods when you feel ready for them.  Also, I found an interesting cookbook from Borders.com called "Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery: Over 140 Delicious Low-Fat, High-Protein Recipes to Enjoy in the Weeks, Months and Years after Surgery".  It has recipes you can start making from week 5.

Have you tried the Special K protein waters?  They make flavored water packets (pink lemonade and lemon iced tea, both yummy!) that have several grams of protein and don't have a nasty protein aftertaste.  They can be found in the health food/protein powders section of your grocery.  Good luck!

 

I am also six weeks out and have had the same issue with protein and with fluids. I try to boost my protein in any way I can since the shakes make me throw up. I use the Special K drink mix you add to water to get some protein. I also use the protein bars which we are NOT supposed to do but I had to get it in some way and was really stressing myself out over it.  I sip on something all day every day and dont forget those sf popsicles count as fluid as well. Hang in there and if you need to talk...message me!

 I am also having monumental struggles with protein.  Prior to WLS, I was a virtual vegetarian, but I would now have to eat 4 cups of tofu each day to get in my protein that way.  I hate the protein powders.  I can eat yogurt and cottage cheese, but honestly, how much can I eat in one day.  How on earth do people do this?  And straigh****er makes my stomach cramp!   Frustration!!

Don't get discouraged.  I too had trouble with the liquids.  I eat Chobani yogourt or buttermilk or Kefir and mix in protein powder to reach my required protein levels.  The buttermilk or Kefir were particularly good for me early post-op as they went down smoothly and I could drink them slowly.  I am now trying different protein powders, but I did use Unjury [it advertises on the OH site, so you should be able to find it] and found the unflavored variety very helpful.  If I need a little sweetener, I use honey.   I found it sometimes took an hour to drink 8 oz of  buttermilk with protein powder.  Go slow.  Take small sips, spoonsful, whatever.  Listen to your body.  It does get easier and it is worth it.  

 

I am at 5 weeks and have the same issues. I have become lactose intolerant so milk products are out. Chicken doesn't like me nor does beef. I am living on eggs (poached) but you can only eat so many a day.  I went back to work but will have to go back on a leave of absence as I am too dizzy to work.

I also can't drink the protien powders. In fact I can't tolerate ANY artificial sweeteners so most of the drinks are out.

Any other suggestions would be welcomed.

Oh, I hear ya.

I can't drink protein shakes either. I just hope I am doing the diet right. I worry that I don't get enough liquids, I worry I am no****ching my calories so much, but I'm not eating much either. I try real hard to get in protein. I eat cheese with a piece of ham sometimes, I eat cottage cheese. I have an occasional peach cut up small, or a banana. I can only eat eggs so much.

I can tolerate beef and chicken (most of the time). But eating them gets boring.

I am trying salads now with chicken on top and hope that works out for a bit.

 

Good luck to you I hope things get better. have you ever logged onto theworldaccordingtoeggface it's a GREAT place for recipe ideas. try it out. I love it.

I'm crying as I type this!  Today marks 3-weeks post surgery for me and I've got no protein coming in & staying in my body at all!  I actually dry heave when I look at or pick up the protein cannister!  The Vitalady (our vitamin and shake provider) and my doctor keep telling me giving up protein is NOT an option, but all they can do is suggest I keep trying different kinds of flavors, techniques, etc.  I TRULY CANNOT EVEN PICK UP THE CANNISTER WITHOUT GETTING PHYSICALLY ILL!  I have two more weeks on the liquid recovery regimen, THEN it's on to Soft, fork-mushable, foods for 3 weeks... I try to supplement my liquid diet w/ tiny bites of beans, chicken, seafood, etc but am worried about scar tissue (dr. says).  I cannot tolerate the K-water packets, either.  Can anyone help me?  I'm so scared and don't have a clue what to do!
M 

Hi Marilyn, I can feel your pain. I too had the exact same feelings as you when I came from surgery and the following weeks afterwards.

My nutrionist said that adding powdered milk to what ever I ate will add some protein. I was able to do that for a while but then it had a bad affect, so I stopped. Have you tried mushroom soup? be sure to strain it. I did mashed potatoes with milk powder and thinned with broth. It helped.

I found the liquid diet the hardest part, not much variety and it was boring and most foods made me very ill.

I talked to my surgeon as I couldn't hold anything down and I was throwing up all the time with everything. He suggested I do 2 days of beef broth and gatorade just to put my body back with the proper electalights etc. It helped so much. Be sure to take your vitamins. I had troubles with that too, but honestly it does get better with time.

Have you tried yogurt? I did 1%milk too if I had troubles getting in protein. I couldn't take and still can't any type of protein drink or powder it makes me sick instantly. I have bought many kinds and spent lots of money.

I hope those few things help, let me know how it goes for you ok. take care keep faith it will work out.... Laurie

Thank you so much!  It's good to know I'm not the only one!  My surgeon actually did another endoscopy yesterday to ensure there is no stricture... there's not... I'm doing ok with my vitamins, I'm going slow with them, I don't want to develope the same gag reflex.  I think the best advice that I've been hearing is don't pu**** keep trying , but don't pu****!