Question:
Has anyone...

Is there anyone out there who never managed to get in all of the required protein and still had success and overall good health? I am eight weeks post-op and I still can't manage to get in all of my protein. I average about 30-40 gram per day. I'm trying to eat food choices that are high in protein to get that much. All protein supplements make me extremely sick to my stomach. I'm wondering if there are some of you out there that honestly never got in enough protein and are doing just fine. ~Kristy (lap rny 09/18/03, 320/280/168)    — kristynush (posted on November 12, 2003)

November 12, 2003
How many meals are you eating a day - you may want to try and eat 5-6 small meals in a day. <p> Just to give you some ideas on protein - I'll try to go with things that are more easily tolerated by people at your stage - 90% lean ground beef has about 8g of protein per oz, so if you do 2 oz of that in a meal, that's 16g of protein right there. Beef Jerky is 11g an ounce. Chicken is between 8-9g per ounce, so eating 2 oz of chicken at a meal will get you 16-18g of protein. Fish will go anywhere from about 6-8g of protein per ounce. Shrimp is a little of 6g of protein per ounce. <p> If you want to go with beans, lentils have 9g of protein in 1/2 cup, refried beans 8g in that same amount. A large egg will get you 6g of protein. Cheese - 6g per ounce for American, 7g per ounce for cheddar. 1/2 cup of 2% cottage cheese? 16g of protein. Get some string cheese - a one-ounce protein (one stick of string cheese) has 7g of protein. Peanut butter has 4g of protein per tablespoon. <p> So there are plenty of options out there to get your 60g of protein in a day <b>without</b> supplementing....JR
   — John Rushton

November 12, 2003
Never really have gotten in 60 grms a day. I'm just fine. I don't do supplements. I've lost 148 lsb and am past my Dr's goal, just about 5 more lbs to my personal goal. I am one year out. I've lost mostly nice and steady, very few plateaus. My labs are good and I'm now in excellent health. I just don't seem to be able to eat enough to get in the 60 grams. SOME days, I do, but MOST days I don't. Certainly before 6 months I never did.
   — LMCLILLY

November 12, 2003
Kristy, at first, I didn't get in all of my protein and the only problem I had was BAD... and I mean BAD hair loss. I started pumping up my protein and I now have sprouts all over my head of new growth. My advice to you is eat more fish. It is higher in protein than chicken. Also, try the Nectar protein drinks or Unjury unflavored protein powder at www.unjury.com. Alot of people put the Unjury in sugarfree pudding. It has NO flavor what so ever. Good luck! Shawna - 5/2/03 - 445/308/165
   — SMG I.

November 19, 2003
I personally can't stand protein drinks and stopped taking them about 6 months after surgery. My two personal favorites for getting in protein each day are: 1)drink 1 quart of skim milk about 5 out of 7 days each week (this is 36 gms of protein), it takes me about 2-2.5 hours to do it, but I like milk & it's easy to me to get it this way, 2)the other is to cook 2-3 egg whites and top it with co-jack cheese on a piece of toast, this is about 24-35 gms of protein depending on the number of egg whites & how much cheese you use. I also have found 1 or 2 protein bars that I can stomach once in a while, but I hardly ever eat them anymore. I only try to get about 50-60 gms of protein in each day for quite a long time now and it hasn't seemed to bother me too much. I have perfect labs and haven't had any big health issues at all. I am 2 yrs and 2.5 months postop now, lost 151 lbs, wear a size 8/small. I simply don't stress about it at all. If I get it great, if not, oh well, there's tomorrow to try again. Good luck to you!! karen (open rny, 9/6/01, 297/147)
   — Karen M.

November 19, 2003
Don't worry... Here are some products you may want to try. Try ISOPURE from GMC (grape, orange, etc). You can sip on this all day. It you finish the whole bottle it will provide you 40 grams of protein. Drink it cold. Soup is good (HEALTHY VALLEy no salt added) and add your power milk, ff cheese and chopped up meat.
   — Linda R.