need protien help

Wow, with surgery so recent perhaps you just need to try pureed and soft foods. Did your program have you try pureed foods?  

Even if you did a pureed phase maybe you can try going back to soft/pureed protein.  

There are many awesome blogs and sites for cooking tips out there.  A popular site (and personal fave) is http://www.theworldaccordingtoeggface.com.  In particular you may want to read the Eggface - Pureed Food post.  Eggface's (Shelly's) Baked Ricotta recipe on that page is legendary here on OH.  Meatless and soft and amazing.  

I can also tell you that Eggface's Pot Roast recipe on that same page is OUTSTANDING.  It's soft and puree's really well.  I always thought the idea of pureed food was gross, until I pureed that pot roast. OhMyGod. It was so good I cried.  

I am one of the fortunate ones who did not have a picky pouch but many others report that dense proteins like meats and fish can be tricky to adjust to post surgery.  Before you give up, try a few different recipes and preparations.  

In the meantime, try the baked ricotta.  Maybe some refried beans with unflavored protein powder mixed in. All the plant-based proteins will have more carbs and lower protein counts, so you'll have to find ways to keep mixing in the protein powder to hit those protein totals! If you truly cannot handle meats and fish and animal based proteins, I suggest you go back to your nutritionist and work with her (or him) to come up with a vegetarian plan that will give you adequate protein without stretching your pouch.  Good luck!!  Don't give up!! 

I am so glad they helped :) xo for the shout out. ~Shelly

I would for sure not be worried about not tolerating dense protein yet!  I think I was at about 5 months before I was able too. I would not be eating nuts yet. 

At your stage I ate the hormel beanless turkey chili with cheese, eggfaces ricotta bake, low fat corned beef/roast beef hash, Wendy's chili, refried beans with cheese and shakes. Wash, rinse and repeat. 

I measured every tiny thing. And focused on counting protein. 

My program allows nuts at six weeks, so it is not too soon for them. Have you tried deli meats? People often find that those are easier to eat. You could try cooking with protein powder. There are many recipes on the internet for things like protein muffins and protein pancakes. Also, don't overlook seeds. Hemp seeds are a great source of protein. I like to stir them into greek yogurt.

Everyone is different on how they handle foods.  It sounds like you might be experiencing some texture food issues.  You may need to stay in the soft food phase a bit longer until you can tolerate these better.    If you have a food processor, you could make a chicken salad that is almost like a pate and it might go down better.   I know that in my early days post op, I would do that and I seemed to tolerate that texture better.  I used simply processed the chicken to where it was broken down and then I added fat free mayo to bind it and I could eat it that way. It was protein, so I was satisfied eating it and I would usually do 2 oz every meal.  As for Eggs, I was able to tolerate these with no problems, but I also stuck to egg salad and poached eggs.  I did not do scrambled early on, since you remove moisture from it and it would tend to get stuck.   This might be what you are experiencing as well.   

I would recommend the Unjury unflavored to add protein to your diet, if you still cannot eat these foods this way.   Unjury can be mixed with many soft foods to boost protein intake.  I have used Unjury and Premier to make protein pudding, and I have used unflavored unjury to make meal replacement shakes.  It will take on the flavor of whatever you add it to, so it is a good go to protein for boosting protein needs if you are having issues. 

I hope this and the other replies are helpful in some way.  

Good Luck to you! 

I eat boiled shrimp several times a week.  If you can have cottage cheese it's goes great with the shrimp, or sometimes I will have it for breakfast.  Actually, lately I can't seem to get enough cottage cheese.  I eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.  I'm sure that eventually I will be sick of it.  Everyone raves about the Unjury chicken soup.  I'm getting ready to order some.  I did pick up a couple boxes of chicken broth at the grocery.  My plan is to buy some Isopure (unflavored) to sprinkle into the broth. 

I really don't like the taste of greek yogurt.  I like the Carbmaster yogurts (found at Kroger).