Hi,

I will be starting solid food in 2 weeks (YAY!). And I need your valued opinion on some stuff. I want to try some food but I want to know if I'll get in the required amount of Proteins with these items.

1) Many have commented that they eat cottage cheese for Protein. I love cottage cheese but I'm a bit skeptical about it because of the fat content. I know there are some low-fat brands but I dont get many options in India. So, do you think it is advisable to have regular cottage cheese? How many grams of protein do you think it has in, say, 3 one inch cubes (coz that is what I think I can handle for a day with my sleeve LOL)

2) I rarely eat non-vegetarian food. I only take eggs regularly. So I'm out of touch eating chicken though I used to LOVE it in my school days. I'm planning to start eating chicken when I start solid food. Now, I was wondering how many pieces I'll be able to eat for a meal and how much protein I'll get from it. I know everyone has a diff capacity but I just want to get a rough idea.

3) Some say they eat peanuts, roasted soybeans etc. I'm again skeptical about these because of the fats. Your opinion pls...

I welcome any other suggestions from you. I want to have a protein rich diet when I start the solid phase coz I haven't really been able to get as much protein as required till now. Though I'm making sure my food is low carb and low calories, I havent been concentrating on proteins. I just take 1 protein mix a day (20 gms protein), 2 egg whites (6.5 gms protein), lentils and pulses 2 times daily (10 gms protein), milk twice daily (3 gms protein). I barely get in 40 gms of proteins a day. Though I dont have any complications I really dont want to mess up because of my carelessness.

PS: What do you think is the healthy amount of fat and carbs that I can take in a day?

Wow, do you have a nutritionist you can see. I wish I could help. I think you should be increasing your protein drinks to up your protein intake.

Right now i would be concentrating on protein first, then worry about the carbs and fat. My nut said at the 8 week mark no more than 100 grams of carbs and 20 grams of fat. If you do protein first then veg then starch you should be fine on the fat and carb content. i do 3 grams of protein, 1 gram veg. if i have any room left i might have a bite of potato. Some days i go over carbs some days im real low, so it balances itself out i guess. i can no longer tolerate the protein powders so I have been drinking muscle milk in the little cardboard boxes, they have 20 grams of protein, 170 calories.

There is a thread or two here from vegetarian sleevers about how they get in their Protein. You should really be concentrating on the protein and liquids, then worry about fats or carbs, although my doctor suggests that fried foods be a very limited part of my diet. Cottage cheese is an excellent source of protein and you should eat whichever one works for you. Check the protein content of the low-fat vs. regular versions and choose the one that is higher in protein/

Also, I can usually eat a chicken leg and thigh if I dont eat any veggies. I'm a little over 5 months out, if that gives you any idea. Very early post-op, I couldnt eat a full 4 oz chicken breast. It would make at least two meals for me, sometimes 3.

Good luck on your journey!!

Thanks for all your replies! I too eat Protein first, veggies next and only if I have room, do I eat carbs. But I dont think I'm getting in enough protein now.

I'll take protein mix twice from today to meet the requirements but that is going to be really hard coz I just hate it. But now that I take protein mix with orange juice, it surely helps! I'll have to check with my doc about what else I can take that will suit my sleeve. I've not tried anything 'ambitious' with my sleeve yet LOL.

Don't reintroduce chicken right away. Your stomach is going to be really sensitive. How long has it been since you have eaten chicken, at this point you may have lost the enzyme to digest it.

Don't reintroduce chicken right away. Your stomach is going to be really sensitive. How long has it been since you have eaten chicken, at this point you may have lost the enzyme to digest it.

Thanks for your advice, unbanded! I'll surely run it by my doc and get his advice before starting to eat chicken. I'm really apprehensive about reintroducing chicken in my diet too. The last time I ate chicken, it was 2 years ago and before that it was a good 8 or 9 years of vegetarian and egg diet. I'm considering chicken only because I dont know other protein rich vegetarian food. I'm going to do more research on that front!

I am a vegetarian. I do eggs, cheese, beans, protein shakes. I add protein powder to everything. Hope this helps

I am a vegetarian. I do eggs, cheese, Beans, Protein shakes. I add protein powder to everything. Hope this helps

It surely does! But what about the fat content in the cheese. I'm not a big cheese fan (except for cottage cheese which I love). So I dont really know if that fat content is going to mess with my weight loss.

I'm not vegetarian, but I do have a strong preference for Beans and lentils over meat most days. I even substitute lentils for rice in many dishes, because they are that good.

I don't read labels for carbs, I read for Protein and Fiber. I know everyone is not the same though.

What I have found is that I eat so little of anything that if I can find just the right product, at any price, I go ahead and buy it. So if you have a way to get low fat cottage cheese, do it. If you don't, go ahead with the full fat. I really doubt you will be eating that much, and if you are, you can figure it out quickly and dial back the cottage cheese.

Seriously, you won't be eating a cup of cottage cheese, maybe not even a half cup.

I hope this is a little helpful. Best wishes to you, I am sure you will do great!

cheese can be high in fat but I eat less than an ounce at a time and I couple it with high Protein. I precut the cheese in 1" cubes and store them in tupperware. I eat yellow cheese with low fat creamy Peanut Butter. I eat white cheese with humus.

Also I think you may be surprised that your tastes may change after the surgery. Before I couldn't get enough of sweets, chocolate, etc. Today I really have little hunger. I don't really like the taste of sweets as much. I love Greek yogurt with a touch of honey(great high protein food that I didn't care for before).

I'm not vegetarian, but I do have a strong preference for Beans and lentils over meat most days. I even substitute lentils for rice in many dishes, because they are that good.

I don't read labels for carbs, I read for Protein and Fiber. I know everyone is not the same though.

What I have found is that I eat so little of anything that if I can find just the right product, at any price, I go ahead and buy it. So if you have a way to get low fat cottage cheese, do it. If you don't, go ahead with the full fat. I really doubt you will be eating that much, and if you are, you can figure it out quickly and dial back the cottage cheese.

Seriously, you won't be eating a cup of cottage cheese, maybe not even a half cup.

I hope this is a little helpful. Best wishes to you, I am sure you will do great!

Thanks for the helpful reply! I'll definitely try out the cottage cheese.

cheese can be high in fat but I eat less than an ounce at a time and I couple it with high Protein. I precut the cheese in 1" cubes and store them in Tupperware. I eat yellow cheese with low fat creamy Peanut Butter. I eat white cheese with humus.

Also I think you may be surprised that your tastes may change after the surgery. Before I couldn't get enough of sweets, chocolate, etc. Today I really have little hunger. I don't really like the taste of sweets as much. I love Greek yogurt with a touch of honey(great high protein food that I didn't care for before).

Yogurt and honey? Sounds interesting. I'll have to try that. And I totally understand what you say about sweets. I dont really have any craving for sweets but pre-op I used to eat chocolates atleast twice a week!

I only have full-fat cottage cheese readily available to me, so I have eaten it all along -- it's still not that high-cal or fat-full. I don't track fat grams at all though, I don't think fat is bad. I just try to aim for protein over 70g per day, and calories at or around 1500 (one year out).

I only have full-fat cottage cheese readily available to me, so I have eaten it all along -- it's still not that high-cal or fat-full. I don't track fat grams at all though, I don't think fat is bad. I just try to aim for Protein over 70g per day, and calories at or around 1500 (one year out).

Thank you very much for the reply, Swizzly! Right now, my food is totally fat-free. So I dont think I'll have any problems with the cottage cheese. But I just wanted to check with people here so that I dont mess up my weight loss