I will be at 11 weeks post by-pass this next week. Good solid weight loss, over 60#. Was hungry through weeks four but now by 11 have almost no hunger pangs, less every week. I have missed a few meals but not many. I get my 80oz of H20 no problem. Still in mushy, mainly eating Protein powder/powdered milk mixed; low fat cheese, cottage cheese, soft cooked poultry, soft cooked pork, white flaky fish, home-made Protein Bars.

One of the problems is that I feel no desire to eat protein, even though I force it down and eat an average of 80g a day. Today, I took a protein break and just ate some healthy veges and fruit, trying to see if a break would help with the protein overload.

HELP! Don't want to derail an excellent start of this WLS. Any tips from you veteran WLS folks on getting through these blocks? Do you schedule your meals? How much do you vary your types of protein?

Thanks!

The Protein requirement is a combination of the protein you consume from meals combined with the protein you consume from supplements. As my meal volume increased I was able to consume more and more protein from my meals alone. Now that I am up to a cup of food per meal I am consuming 65 grams of protein from my meals alone and I no longer use supplements. I went from 3 Protein shakes per day, down to 2, down to 1, and then down to none.

I concentrated on homemade high protein chili and Soups. I included the recipes in the following article. Hope this gives you some help.

http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

Too much of anything (with nothing else) gets boring.

My suggestion is to keep adding (as your volume permits) fresh veggies and even a little fruit. See how that goes.

But always eat your Protein first.

Jim's comment is wise -- if you want protein to taste better, put something else in it besides just meat. Try spices. BBQ it. Cajun blacken it. Put chili powder in it. Or garlic or Thai peanut sauce or other Asian sauces. Those don't have to "cost" a lot of calories, either.

I love chili -- will be making another batch today:

1 pound lean ground round

1 15-ounce can of black Beans

1 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes

1 envelope McCormick chili seasoning.

Brown the meat, add the other stuff, cook for half an hour.

Serve with sour cream and/or cheddar cheese.

Mmm mmm good!

This is one of the issues my nut has focused on from the very beginning. I have been taught 2 bites of Protein for every 1 bite of good carbs like fruit and vegetables.

It helps maintain a more balanced and realistic diet for the long term.

I would really try focusing on adding vegetables and fruit to your diet using that approach. It will help you to be less bored, stay on track and ensure good balance and good protein intake. I always hit my protein goals.

I do drink one Protein shake for Breakfast to get me kick started but the remainder of my day is the 2/1 approach for every meal. If I need a snack I choose cheese, jersey, nuts, cottage cheese, milk or pudding.

Good luck!

i was told to stop with the Protein shakes and i am having a horrible time making the protein requirement and we dont even want to talk about my energy levels

@@James Marusek how are you eating all your protein or rather what are you eating?

sorry to @ for taking over this post for a brief second lol

I still go through phases (currently in one) where I just don't feel like eating. I think it's partly a matter of just being bored with my usual rotation. It normally only lasts a week or so and then I'm back to normal. I do kind of follow a schedule to eat by. I eat once right after I walk in the morning, once between 11-1, once between 4-6, and once between 7-9. It can change slightly, but I almost always will eat 4x a day. I'm about 6.5 months out and I haven't added back much veg/fruit. I'm going to stick to the Protein diet for a while longer.

i was told to stop with the Protein shakes and i am having a horrible time making the protein requirement and we dont even want to talk about my energy levels

@@James Marusek how are you eating all your protein or rather what are you eating?

sorry to @ for taking over this post for a brief second lol

I have pretty much detailed what I am eating in the link above. I supplement my protein either with a cup of hot cocoa (no sugar added) or a blueberry smoothie. Both recipes are included in the article.

@@James Marusek I just read your link, loved it! So helpful! How do you eat two apples? I'm 4 weeks out and constipation is a big problem and nothing seems to help. I'm not suppose to eat real food till 12 weeks out and for now everything I eat seems to give me nausea except for yogurt and I'm really getting tired of yogurt. I've lost 20 lbs since surgery and that really doesn't seem like much to me. I'm getting really down, only 20 lbs and can't eat anything but yogurt!

There is Protein in nearly everything. I am vegetarian. I do supplement with my morning shake but I get most of my protein from food. I eat greek yogurt, cheese, nuts, Beans, dark green veg, fruit and whole grains. This week I am using something I called green base. It's 3 cups of raw kale, 1 cup frozen spinach, 1/8 cup almond slivers, 1/2 apple blended in the vitamix and poured into ice cube trays. I use 2 cubes per servings. It's only 3 gms of protein but loads of Fiber and Vitamins. I then added 2 ice cubes of orange juice, 1 small orange. 1/2 cup greek yogurt, 1 scoop Isopure unflavored Protein Powder. I drink half before and half after my workout. It's 36 gms of protein.

lunch is Explore Asian - Organic Mung Bean Pasta. I'll probably add some sauteed veg with it. 3oz is 38gms of protein.

I'll have some nuts for an afternoon snack.

A salad with an egg for dinner.

A lot of nutritionist tell you to stop Protein drinks because they want you to focus on eating whole foods. I told mine I was never a breakfast person and I always my a Protein Drink for breakfast. She seemed okay with it since I eat regular meals otherwise.

I did go through a period where I wasn't interested in food at all. I just went through the motions to meet my protein goals. However for the most part I enjoy being creative and making nutritious things to eat. It makes it easier to continue to make this part of my lifestyle.

@@James Marusek I just read your link, loved it! So helpful! How do you eat two apples? I'm 4 weeks out and constipation is a big problem and nothing seems to help. I'm not suppose to eat real food till 12 weeks out and for now everything I eat seems to give me nausea except for yogurt and I'm really getting tired of yogurt. I've lost 20 lbs since surgery and that really doesn't seem like much to me. I'm getting really down, only 20 lbs and can't eat anything but yogurt!

At 4 weeks out - that is a little soon for whole apples. My mom had constipation and she was unable to eat whole apples because of her false teeth. I cut up the apples, removed the core and blended this to make an apple sauce with bits of apple skin. It worked for her constipation. If you have constipation at 4 weeks out, the problem may also lie in the fact that you may not be obtaining your Fluid requirements. There is also an herbal tea called "Smooth Move" that is used to correct constipation and may be of help.

To James point, I believe I was able to start eating raw fruit at 8 weeks but with peels removed.

I ate vegetables and fruit from week 1. I never had any issues with constipation. I have regular BM's 1 -3 times a day. I started small with cooking or puree peaches and yogurt or tossing fresh spinach in my Protein smoothies during the full liquid stage. I also pureed spinach as a Soup base or tossed some into scrambled eggs as I moved onto soft food stages. By week 4 I was back to eating raw fruit and veg.

Protein is important but so are the natural Fiber and nutrients you get from fruit and veg. I find that I lose more when my bowels are working properly.

My protein is routinely in the 80 - 100gms range. You do not have to sacrifice one for the other.

I found this article with 19 ways to have portable Protein Snacks. Maybe you might find something there that you didn't think about trying for variety. Good Luck!

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1996

P.S.

The article was first posted by MrsSugarbabe. I wanted to give her credit.

I eat a Qwest bar every morning for Breakfast - 20 grams of Protein. I am sick of Protein shakes and don't care if I ever see one again.

I then try to get 25-30 grams at lunch and 25-30 grams at dinner. I eat chicken, lean steak, pork loin, shrimp, lobster, fish like salmon and halibut and any that isn't tilapia or mahi-mahi which I hate. I also eat crab and sometimes hamburger. I eat cheese too.

Debbie623, thanks, good article and recipes. I really need to vary my Protein more, that is the takeaway from all comments, and schedule my meal times. It is too easy just to not eat! THANKS EVERYONE. JAMES, great suggestions.