Question:
I am 4 weeks post-op and I am having trouble getting all of my protein in everyday?
I am 4 weeks out and I am now on soft diet. The physician's assistant said it is my goal to try and get all of my protein in foods or drinks without using protein shakes. I don't know how this is possible since I eat so little. Also, the shakes are starting to make me nauseous everytime I drink them. I dred them. Any suggestions. — saveliephsol (posted on April 21, 2007)
April 21, 2007
I am soooo glad I am not the only one that now gets nauseous after drinking
the protein shakes! They were fine the first few weeks, but now are icky!
(too sugary tasting to me) I, like you, started my 4 weeks this past
Wednesday. I just try to get as much protein in before giving in to the
protein shake. According to my surgeon you have to build up to getting in
all your protein. You cannot just jump in and start getting the amount you
need daily. I have also tried the Anywhey tasteless protein powder (can be
bought at GNC) it is not as nasty as the protein powder and can be put in
tea, and a lot of other drinks, not just water or milk. I can still taste
it but it is a LOT more tolerable and has very little taste. It can also
be used in baking/cooking later on. I tried the ready to drink protein
drinks by Isopure. Taste good at first then get icky till room temp, then
they are tolerable and the best thing is, they have 40 grams of protein per
20 ounce bottle. So not only are you getting in some of your needed
liquids for the day, you are getting some of your needed protein for the
day. Hope this helps! Good luck! Let me know if you are able to find
anything else out that will help us! Thanx!
— crystalsno
April 21, 2007
I am 10 weeks out and I don't know how I would get all my protein in
everyday unless I had my protein drink in the morning. I had the same
problem with shakes, they made me sick and come to find out that I needed
to find a protein drink that didn't have the milky base to it. I now drink
a brand called "Syntax Nectar" Fuzzy Navel flavor. It tastes
like orange juice. I drink 8 oz in the morning and it gives me 23gm of
protein and I still eat my 3 small meals a day so I make it to my goal of
60gm of protein in a day. It is hard but you have to try different drinks
till you find the one that works for you. Good luck.
— hugger1021
April 21, 2007
I am lucky,I guess that protein shakes don't make me sick...but I do notice
I don't care for chocolate flavor anymore. I try a couple of things,for
variety. I make super milk (skim milk with dry powder milk) it doubles your
protein per cup. I use it with all my protein powders so I don't have to
drink as much fluid. I add unflavored protein powder,a bit of sweetener
& decaf instant coffee to taste. And Unjury has a great chicken broth
with 21 gm protein per cup. It is nice to have something not sweet for a
change. And for portability,I drink Isopure grape frost with 40 gm protein
& 20 oz fluid per bottle.There are lots of products out there. I wish
you well finding things that you like. I know the goal is to try to get all
your ptotein from foods that you eat, but I don't know anyone who doesn't
use something.( And these are people 2+ years out) The important thing is
to get your protein in,and take your bariatric vitamins & keep your
health (and hair & muscle mass). If you find something that you
like-let us all know.Knowledge is power!
— peacelovecat
April 21, 2007
Hi Tracy! You have been so brave to drink shakes for 4 weeks! I had
trouble right out of the gate with shakes. I am 3 years out now, and am
glad, but I do very well understand your struggle. Here is what I do, and
take it for what it is worth. Milk is a great protein source, and liquid,
I drink milk regular! Cottage cheese, yogurt were staples for me. If I
wouldn't drink the shakes, I had to do something. Also, I have found a
protein powder that you add to foods that is "virtually
tasteless". This is how they advertise it, but there is a small,
creamy taste to it, but NO aftertaste or bitterness. I just tried it this
week, it is 17 gr. of protein per scoop. You might want to give it a try.
If you won't do shakes, then beef up on the dairy and eggs. I also put
chicken through the food processor (the roasted chickens at wal mart), and
make chicken salad. It is small bites of almost completely chewed protein
and pretty tasty. I can eat that. You can do it with ham, chicken, even
beef or egg salad too. There are soft choices, and I even do them now,
just think outside the box! The website for the protein powder is:
bariatriceating.com, click on protein, and look for the tasteless powder.
Thanks, and best to you. Patricia P.
— Patricia P
April 21, 2007
OK THIS IS WHAT U HAVE TO DO----- cookies n cream whey powder. I swear by
it, its dellcious as weird as that sounds. Its 21g protein per scoop- it
tastes sooo good i usually add 1 1/2 scoop per 8 oz milk! Check it out. GNC
has the best Whey I found.
— NDCHICKADEE
April 22, 2007
For the first 8 weeks or so I used profect drinks--www.protica.com It's 25
grams of whey protein in just a 3 oz test tube. Taste is good too. Now I
get all my protein from eating, my surgeon recommends that as well.
— Jill23
April 22, 2007
I'm 5 weeks post op and what I do is add protein powder to my food. I
can't quite stomach the idea of adding it to tea or anything. I use the
unflavored pro performance whey protein from GNC (don't know if it's the
same as the previous person wrote about). And, for example, I will add
part of a scoop to the soy milk or milk I plan to use in my morning
oatmeal. I mix it well and strain it into my oatmeal so I don't
accidentally get lumps. No taste at all that I can tell.
I too find the shakes really sweet and icky once the cold is gone. At GNC
and Kohl's they have a drink cup that you can put a frozen piece that comes
with the cup into and that works to keep it cold longer. I get Worldwide
Pure Protein Shake from Trader Joe's. They have 35 grams of protein. My
new plan -- we'll see how it works -- is to get as much protein as I can in
my food and then, at the end of the day, top off with enough from the shake
to make up the difference. I expect once I can eat more meat it will be
easier. Right now I am doing a lot of lentil and pea soups (with protein
powder added).
— promises2keep
April 22, 2007
Forget it, you will not be able to get all the protein in, that's why we
need supplements. My surgeon forbids the protein drinks and I know they
keep you from losing properly. I know six people who drank them
religiously, and they did not lose all of their weight. Do the best you
can, it gets easier. I am seventeen months out and can do more now.
— blm4602
April 23, 2007
Hello... it IS possible to get all of your protein in by just eating foods
and not the drinks... if you send me your email address I will send you an
attachment that lists the foods you can have, the foods to avoid, etc....
it came from a very reliable site... anyway, in general: 1oz of meat,
poultry, fish = approx 7 grams of protein, 1egg = 7 gm protein, 2 T PB =
7gm protein, 1/4 cup lowfat cottage cheese = 6.5gm protein, 1oz fatfree
milk = 1 gm of protein. If you eat 6 times a day at this point you can get
all of your protein in with just the foods. (it should be taking you 20-30
minutes to eat a meal) You should not be drinking 30 minutes before or
after eating. Initially you will feel like you are eating all of the
time... but, when you work towards 3 meals daily with 2 healthy snacks and
your fluids, you can do it easily. The minimum requirement for a woman is
50gm protein daily and 63 for a man. so hope this helps.. my email address
is [email protected]..
— Kari_K
April 23, 2007
Tracy -
I am 5 weeks out and am having the same problem. I'm getting sick of eating
yogurt and string cheese. My doctor told me to cut out the protein shakes
because I only lost 19 pounds the first month. I'm at a loss myself on how
to get the protein in. You are not alone. -Marion
— Kling
April 24, 2007
I dont know if you can try this at 4 weeks, but when I was two months out I
started to eat protein bars for breakfast. I normally could get 19 grams
of protein. I bought them at the drug store, Walmart or the grocery store.
— barfiep01
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