Protien drink and breakfast

I was banded in Jan.  Lost 15 pounds.  Lost nothing in the past 6 weeks.  I have a protein shake every morning because everything else (except oatmeal) gets stuck (I was a cereal addict and I can't believe I don't even crave cereal anymore!)  I am reading on this board that by this time I shouldn't be using shakes?  Any thoughts? Suggestions?

This is a typical day:
Protein drink (26 grams/1 sugar/carb)
Greek Yogurt with homemade high protein granola
Handful of nuts/cheese stick/spreadable cheese and wheat thins
dinner (ranges from soup to chicken) No bread/pasta

My doc personally dont want us to drink any kind of protein shakes unless we get a fill and then its only for 24 to 48 hrs or we have a stuck issue .


where is your chicken, fish, things like that ? .

Gosh I have 20 - 25 grams of protein per meal I average around 70-100 grams each day .

How many calories are you getting also ?

My calories got way to low and I had to up mine . I can not eat below 1000 per day or I dont lose weight so I'm usually around 1200 to 1400 per day .

Now this is just me and me alone. I will not keep my band to the point of restriction that I can not eat my meals even breakfast.  I would rather be on the looser side of things have a some will power and self control then not be able to eat. But like I said this is me.

This is a typical day for me this is what I had today for my meals.

for breakfast I had two pieces of chicken thighs boneless cooked on the grill

lunch      same thing because I fixed to much the other day and didn't want to throw it away lol.

Snack   refried beans with cheese and 12 tortilla chips

Dinner   BBQ spare rib.   2 tablespoons of mashed tators , green beans , and some cottage cheese a spoonful .

I always take some spoon fulls of everything that way it feels like I'm also getting a full dinner and not wishing I could eat that lol.

Even with my mashed tators, chips and refried beans I have only had about 50 carbs today  , 90 grams of protein ,  only about 900 calories .

What I will do is have some snacks tonight to get my calories up .  Usually on the weekends  because I dont exercise I keep my calories around 1000 per day.  The days I do my exercise I go up to 1500 . I do Zumba 5 times a week for a hr. 

I have to keep my carbs around 60-70 during the week cause of my exercise . If I dont then I get dizzy and will get sick  During the weekends its around 50 .

also you really need to exercise you didnt mention that.  If I dont exercise I dont lose weight its always been that way so I have to exercise to lose .

No consistent exercise :(
No seafood but chicken almost daily.

I am only tight in the morning....by noon, I can pretty much eat anything except bread.  I can eat very little although I usually chose not too.  I can't even get scrambled eggs down in the AM so that is why I drink a protein drink.  Wonder what else I could eat in the AM besides oatmeal to increase my protein?

okay this is what I would do then drink your protein shake for the mornings my gf has to do the same thing :o)

What about some snacks during the day that is good in protein do you like shrimp ?  I will buy a bag of that frozen shrimp and then take about 15 out every night and let it thaw and munch on that during the day.

That has excellent protein in it :o)

Maybe at lunch double up your protein as you can see I had nothing but protein for lunch. I used my whole cup on protein alone .

Please be careful because you need food to get nutrients in your body . If you are not eating enough that could be just as bad as eating to much !! Your body will go into starvation mode and then you wont lose anything because it's trying to hang onto everything.

Now this is my doc and my doc only. He does not think it's healthy when you cant eat a cup of food per meal.  If you cant eat a cup of food per meal he will actually taken saline out of you because your body does need the nutrients .

Exercise is the biggest key to weight loss. Yes you can lose weight without exercise but it will be very very slow and the band is the slowest weight loss surgery out there anyways .

I would really try to up your exercise if you can physically do it :o)  If you cant my sister has cerebral palsy so what she does is Richard Simmons sit tight I think its called.   Its a exercise program you can sit in your chair and do . She is has lost 20 pounds doing just that and watching what she eats :o)

Peanuts has protein in it also I munch on them during the day also . Be careful though those are high in fat so dont eat to many of them :o)

Also this might sound strange but change your food up also . Im very very bad about that your body can get use to foods also.  I need to work on that myself also lol

Have you tried having a cup of coffee or hot tea before you eat in the AM?

My morning routine is to have coffee and vitamins and read my email.  That takes 30 min to an hour, then I have breakfast.

Recently I've been eating a "Dr. Kracker Organic Pumpkin seed and Cheese Artisan Cracker" with a wedge of laughing cow cheese  while driving to the gym.   It's a large whole grain cracker, so it gives me some carb which I need before exercise.. and it has 5g of protein.  The cheese has 1 or 2 grams..

Things you could try besides oatmeal  (you are using steelcut oatmeal and not instant ??   Most instant oatmeal has way too much sugar for those who are trying to lose weight), might be some 0% or 2% greek yogurt with fresh or frozen fruit.  Do NOT get the greek yogurt with fruit or honey already in it.. again, the sugars are just too high.  I will add a tablespoon or two of the high protein Kashi cereal to give the yogurt/fruit combo some crunch.

Do you like cottage cheese?  I get the breakstone cottage cheese snacks and add a tablespoon of bacon bits and a little bit of chopped tomato.  It's my imitation BLT.  :)  Sometimes I'll add a dab of Olive Oil Mayo for flavor.. but just a dab.

I know you said scrambled eggs are a problem, have you tried poached?   I have problems with dry scrambled eggs, but if I add spinach and mushrooms and a tablespoon of bacon bits, I can eat them.. IF I don't overcook them.

My doctor would prefer us to eat real food, but is OK with us drinking protein in the morning if we are too tight or too busy to take the time to eat.  He doesn't want us to use liquid protein all day long.

Back to the oatmeal.. depending on which kind you are using, oatmeal has protein in it.  I use Bob's Red Mill.. a 1/4 cup (dry, before cooking) has 170 calories and 7 grams of protein.  I've heard of people taking egg white and mixing it into the oatmeal and microwaving it.  It's supposed to make the oatmeal very fluffy and it does increase the protein.

Just some ideas to throw out there.

I would advise finding some kind of exercise that you can stick with consistently.  It doesn't have to be strenuous.  Just anything that moves your body more than you did before surgery.  Walking, bike riding, hula hooping, swimming, dancing, malking (mall walking), Yoga, Pilates, Zumba,  Belly dancing.   You don't have to do them all. ::grin::. I'm just listing some things that come to mind.   My sister & bil took ballroom dancing classes for exercise.  My parents did square dancing.   Just find something you like and do it.   I walked my dogs the first 7 months after surgery for my exercise.  Every day I just went a few steps further.

Right now I don't have an extra hour in the AM during the week to wait to eat breakfast.  I am going to try poached eggs this weekend.  I like my eggs well done so maybe they are too dry.  I definitely can't eat bacon bits in the AM.  That is a consistent food that gets stuck.
Yes, I like cottage cheese and will have that as a snack.  I guess I could do that instead of oatmeal!?   I am going to check out Bobs Red Mill oatmeal!

THANKS!

You're welcome.   I understand the not having time in the morning.. some days are like that for me.  That's why I have little carton's of Muscle Milk Light in my fridge!!

It's just been recently that I've been able to eat the Dr. Kracker thing in the morning.. I think I'm due for a fill in the not too distant future.

Here's one other idea to ponder.   Sometimes people are tight in the morning due to allergies and drainage down their throat during the night.   I've been noticing a little bit of difference since I've started taking benadryl at night to help me sleep.  I think I'm waking up less congested and a little looser.  

I know that when I made an overnight trip recently and didn't take my benadryl with me and didn't bother to buy some .. the next morning I was really really tight.

Hope you like the Bob's Red Mill.  You can order from their site or I find it sometimes at my grocery store.

I am almost 3 years out and I have a shake most every morning............ I will have an Atkins shake after a regular work out and have a Oh Yeah chocolate shake on a weight lifting day because it has 32 grams of protein.

For some reason having a protein shake puts me in the right frame of mind for the day and helps me stick to my plan...... my Doc has no set rules, but we are not supposed to substitute a protein drink for solid protein........... I have lunch meat or tuna for lunch and steak, chicken or pork for dinner.

On the weekends I will eat a regular breakfast (eggs with ham, bacon or sausage) because I make it for the family.

If you are having a shake because you can't eat or don't eat solid protein then it is not good, but if you are using it as a supplement to solid protein I don't see it as a problem. I enjoy mine!!!!!!

Michele

In the AM, yes, I am drinking protein because I can't eat.  But as the day goes on, I can certainly eat more than 1 cup of food.  I just can't in the AM.  My band must be too tight.

 I still drink protein shakes for breakfast here and there. Otherwise I do cottage cheese, yogurt, eggs or bacon.