Question:
Having trouble with solids and getting protein, please help!
I am 9 weeks post op and am having trouble eating solid foods. I can eat crunchy things fine, such as crackers, chips, but when I try to eat meat like chicken, sometimes it will go down ok, and other times I end up throwing up. Since I can't eat a lot, I'm having trouble trying to get all of my protein in. Any suggestions on high protein foods that are tolerable? I do not like the drinks and shakes, and all of the bars have too many calories and or sugars. — goldielox75 (posted on May 27, 2009)
May 27, 2009
I am sorry to hear you are having trouble. You are not alone in having
trouble with chicken, beef, pork. It is hard to get your protein with meat
alone in any case. At 7 grams of protein per cooked ounce, you would need
to start with 12 or 13 ounces of meat, to get 70 grams of protein.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you considered protein shakes? You can discuss this with your
dietitian, and feel free to talk with one of our dietitians at UNJURY.com.
Kind regards, Jerome UNJURY (R) Protein
— UNJURY
May 27, 2009
Hi Kristie, what did your NUT say to eat? Besides meat you can use other
things. Do you have a GNC close? They will allow you to taste some of there
protein mix. I have gotten several from them...Essential
Natural..strawberry with ice liq of your choice, Amplify..Chocolate
mint..ice, liq. I make these into a smoothie type of drink. Choc tastes
like Girl scout Mint cookies. Use Syntha-6..Mochaccino in hot water to
make drink like hot coco. Also, use Isopure pre-mix bottles for on the run
days. I am close to 1 yr out and still have trbl with some meats. I do
better with fish...never been big on fish..and cant fix it a lot as someone
in the house is highly allergic. There anre many thing to eat..riccotta
cheese...ad pizza sauce, or mix with a little vanilla,cinnamon..tastes like
great. Try turkey pepperronis micro waved..comes out like chips. Crackers
& chips were not on my list of ok things to eat. NO SUGARS...all sugar
free things. Hope this gives you a few new thoughts.
— tootsie52
May 27, 2009
hey, relax you will be ok don't panic. you need a good protein shot like
new whey liquid only 3.4 oz and not to hard to tolerate. Take it slow and
eat only a few bites at a time then walk away and come back to it later.
this will go away in time, but it will take a month or two. I had lots of
trouble with meat. get your protein in multiple ways like ricotta cheese
milk, turkey has high protein and so do beans. just go real slow and small
amounts. better to keep a small amount in than losing it all. do not go
with high carbs or sugars now. you need to be healthy first and loose the
most amount of weight in your 6-8 month period go to web site bariatric
eating.com and get some of this protein shots it will help even if you take
small amounts at a time. also get the bariatric vitamins, they make you
feel great. take your time with everything you put in your mouth. even
small amts chicken with broth will help. soft boiled eggs saved me. good
luck tina b.
— tinabeana
May 27, 2009
I am 3 months post now and I too have a terrible time with meat, poultry,
fish staying down. Sometime cold
cuts work better. I can tolerate the crackers much better as well. Cheese
seems to work best for me, there are alot of low fat or reduced fat
selections. Cottage cheese is high in protein. No fat refried beans or
canned soft beans, tofu is good too. I use a low fat low sugar sauce with
it. Always remember to read your labels. Try the Atkins protein bars - good
amount of protein and super low in sugar. I don't care for the protein
shakes either, so for my protein drink I like Isopure zero carb 40gr
drinks. They come in many flavors. Hope this helps.
— marwilldoit
May 27, 2009
Here are some of my tricks.... fat-free cottage cheese with a quarter
teaspoon of Dry Original Buttermilk Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
stirred into it.... I could eat two ounces of that at a time. I also have
a scrambled egg in the morning with some reduced fat shredded cheese in it,
sometimes with a Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Link. I have a VitaMix blender,
so took some cooked chicken breast and cut it into chunks and threw them
into the VitaMix with a little chicken broth and about a teaspoon of
mayonnaise, then ate two ounces of that at a time. I was also told that
liverwurst was a great source of protein, and fortunately I love it, so I
always have that around. Unfortunately, it's fairly high in fat, so I have
to limit what I eat of that. I also shop at Wal Mart and buy their Great
Value Fat Free Smoked Turkey Breast lunch meat, and for lunch I wrap a
quarter piece of Kraft American Cheese slices up in one of the pieces of
lunchmeat - I actually do this to two of them, and have the cheese roll ups
for lunch or a snack. I found that the 97% Fat Free Hebrew National hot
dogs are wonderful for days when you're in a hurry... one of those and a
stick of Weight Watcher's string cheese work well for another snack. I'm 3
months out now, but think I am fighting a stricture (I've already had one,
and am having some of the same symptoms), so I literally take kitchen
shears and cut my chicken up in quarter inch squares. Then, I spray them
with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, place a piece of Kraft Deli Delux
American Cheese over them, and spray them one more time with the butter
spray, and sprinkle some garlic salt on them, and microwave the small bowl
just until the cheese melts. Then, and I kid you not, I use my 36 year old
daughter's baby spoon to eat my meal. I eat two ounces of chicken, and
then if I have room, I try to get in some vegetables or fruit....but I have
to watch the carbs. Some of the fruits are extremely high, and have no
protein whatsoever. I keep track of what I am eating (even my vitamins) on
SparkPeople.com, and if I can see towards the end of the day that I am not
going to get all my protein in, I'll have a Lean Dessert shake, or some
Syntrax Fuzzy Navel, or I'll pour a New Whey 42 gram protein bullet into
some fruity Celestial Seasonings tea. It makes the tea more fruity
tasting, and adds a little tartness. I found a bar called "Power
Crunch" that actually has more protein than carbs, but I save those
for special occasions when I really need something resembling a candy bar.
I've heard other people on here mention Kroger Carb Master Yogurt, but I am
unable to find it here in Denver. One last thing.... are you making sure
to chew your food at least 30 times? They really drilled that into us when
I was attending support groups. If your food is not sufficiently chewed,
it is possible that a chunk will block your stoma, and that's why you
vomit. I hope this helps. Let us know!
— Erica Alikchihoo
May 27, 2009
Hi! I am 11 months out and still have trouble with some porks and
beefs..so don't be worried yet. I have no prob with chicken, tho I hear
others do. Try a protein suppliment. I do unjury shakes...and they saved
me. But there are many to choose from. I preferred unflavored int he
beginning as the sweeteners were too much for me. Also eat stuff like
cottage cheese, yogurt, scambled eggs, peanut butter. They are good sources
of protein. At nine weeks you are probably still eating an ounce or maybe
2. I used to eat a lil cot cheese with some beans..I liked to mix things
up..once establishing that it wouldn't make me sick. But you should be ok
once you find a suppliment you like. As I said , I found nothing at the
stores..I needed to order some unjury. I tried a sample of the chicken soup
flavor and found I liked it, so I ordered the unflavored and chicken first
time out. try different ones until you find one you like. Getting enough
protein is important in keeping muscle and your hair! Best of luck to you!
hugs, Kim
— gpcmist
May 28, 2009
eggs, nuts, milk, and beans are all good sources of protien.
— trible
May 28, 2009
Hello,
From what I understand from my surgeon and my nutritionist you are
"not" supposed to be eating the foods you've mentioned 9 weeks
post op.
If you would like I can send you a print out of what to eat 3-4 weeks post
op, this is from a book by Nova Body Solutions that was given to me at the
hospital where I had my surgery in Nov '08, it has a lot of good
information on everything you would need to know pre and post op surgery.
Good luck and I'm here if you have any questions.
StrangePassion
XOXO
— StrangePassion
May 28, 2009
I'm 10 1/2 mos out and here's what I eat in a day for protein . . .
Morning latte that I make myself, 1% milk, decaf, sugar free syrup.
Hard boiled egg white (I cannot eat eggs any other way and definitely not a
hard-boiled egg yolk--all feel like I'm swallowing a hairbrush.)
1/2 cup Fages (or Trader Joes) plain fat free Greek yogurt mixed with sugar
free cherry or vanilla coffee syrup.
1/2 cup Cottage cheese (it's Knudsen's pink container from Costco)
1/2 angus cheeseburger, minus the top bun. These are from Costco and in a
white box.
Salad (VERY small--few pieces of lettuce with mainly shrimp, ham, or
chicken.)
5-6 strawberries with my Fages (or TJ) yogurt mix
— MKPstamps
May 28, 2009
Protein IS harder to eat than simple carbs...That's the reason so many eat
simple carbs. YOU must learn to chew the daylights out of your meats and
proteins so YOU do not vomit. Losing weight during this first year of rapid
weight loss depends so much on your diet and eating habits. You need to
make these important changes in your diet so you can lose your weight...and
then maintain it thru the permanent changes you make. CHEW CHEW CHEW! You
need very little protein to feel full and stay full. Sure crackers and
chips are going to go down easy...they are processed food with little
nutrition...They pass thru the pouch so easy and your body doesn't have to
work hard to process them...so it's easy! Eating protein is NOT easy...But
it is necessary ! Try softer proteins to start like baked fish, canned
(moist) tuna or other meats in broth or water (or puree any meats in
broth...low fat cheeses, yogurt, scrambled eggs, shrimp...Then when those
things are well tolerated move on to more dense proteins like ground meats,
deli meats, beans...And finally your dense proteins, such as chicken, pork
and beef...Eat very slowly and chew very completely til it is soupy in your
mouth and swallow it all a little at a time...I ate a lot of different
soups/stews (pureed) the first few months,because they were far more
tasty... I pureed chili with beans and lentil/veggie soup...Split pea and
ham soup...Chicken in cream soups...I made fruit smoothies with soft tofu
(caned fruit the first three months, like peaches or mandarin oranges made
a NICE tofu smoothie...Or I'd add some fruit preserves (no seeds or
sugar)...Try a little tuna between those crackers or a little smooth
peanutbutter and no sugar preserves...I hope this helps you...
— .Anita R.
May 28, 2009
Hi there. I am 5 1/2 years out and still can't eat chicken, so don't feel
bad. It, for me at least, is a texture issue. I do better with seafood than
any other meat source. I guess it's because it's so soft if prepared
properly. Some people can eat anything and some people, like you and I,
have trouble. There are some wonderful tasting protein powders out now, so
my suggestion would be to supplement with those. If you haven't tried the
BSN Lean Dessert Protein, you should. It is thick and yummy just like a
milk shake and comes in the best flavors around(if ya liked mounds or
almond joys before your surgery, just try the chocolate coconut candy bar
OMG!!!). They also have a straight vanilla that you can add fruit or
flavorings to so it is what you want when you want it. Good Luck!!!
— CAMFR
May 28, 2009
Just to give you an idea of maybe something to try... I had a hard time
finding a protein powder that worked for me too, I am 4 months out now and
drink Designer Whey Protein from GNC I was able to try it with being able
to return it, and you really can return it within 30 days. I wasnt a fan
of the Vanilla so I drink the chocolate one daily. One thing I like about
it is that it is 18grams in 3oz of water, so I double it to 6oz and get
36grams in a shaker. I drink that 2 times a day (my surgeon wants his
patients at 70-80 grams a day) I just cant drink it too close to eating
anything because I get pretty full from it. I usually have one for
breakfast and one later in the evening. Now, on the protein foods I prefer
to eat much of my protein in a meatless product. I really love Morning Star
products! I ate a "Chix Patty" with a slice of low fat cheese
melted on top, but ate it with a fork because I dont want the bread, I get
way too full from that! 8 grams of protein in one patty, if you can put
some cottage cheese with it. I love all their products, very tasty and I
cannot even tell it isnt "meat" Their classic burgers and
"Ribs" are delicious! And you can BBQ them next to anything your
family is eating, now I never feel "left out" at a family BBQ!!
Just a few ideas for you! I also have a pie that is made of yogurt if you
are interested!
— hope78
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