Okay, stick with me here, there's going to be some math.

According to the nutrition guide from my surgeon:

1. at my height my Protein goal is 64-70 grams per day.

2. you can only eat three meals per day.

3. most protein sources that they list as "good" contain 7 to 10 grams of protein per serving (except tofu, which is 20).

4. most of the serving sizes are 1/2 cup.

5. at six months, they expect you will be eating 1/2 cup of food at each meal.

6. protein supplements are discouraged.

7. they don't expect you to hit your protein goal until you are out of the liquid stage.

So, with all that, 7 to 10 grams of protein per serving times three meals per day is 21 to 30 grams of protein, not 70.

What am I missing? My pre-op is on Tuesday, so I will be bringing this up then. I figured I would ask here first in case there was something glaringly obvious.

Who told you to only eat 3 times a day? I am supposed to have 3 meals and 2 snacks per day. I am supposed to be eating every 2.5 to 3 hours. I don't always get to do that but I atleast try. If you do it this way, it's much easier to get ur proteins in.

My surgeon said only 3 meals, no snacking and no shakes after I get to regular foods. I'll still be drinking my shakes though. I workout so I use them before I go to the gym. 47 pounds down since pre op diet that began on 10/5, surgery was 10/12.

Edited November 28, 201510 yr by raylene76

My surgeon said only 3 meals, no snacking and no shakes after I get to regular foods. I'll still be drinking my shakes though. I workout so I use them before I go to the gym. 47 pounds down since pre op diet that began on 10/5, surgery was 10/12.

It would really depend on your protein goal. Since mine is 100 grams a day, I would have to have 35 grams of protein a meal (which is just not realistic for me). I can see it being possible if your protein goal was 70 grams. But, 70 grams is really low.

My surgeon said only 3 meals, no snacking and no shakes after I get to regular foods. I'll still be drinking my shakes though. I workout so I use them before I go to the gym. 47 pounds down since pre op diet that began on 10/5, surgery was 10/12.

It would really depend on your Protein goal. Since mine is 100 grams a day, I would have to have 35 grams of protein a meal (which is just not realistic for me). I can see it being possible if your protein goal was 70 grams. But, 70 grams is really low.

Not only that but your body can't absorb more than 30 gms and hour so any meal with more than that is wasted protein. This is when Snacks come in handy. A protein rich, nutritious snack with about 10 -15 gms of protein is a life saver.

For the OP. One of the things I do is split one bottle of Isopure Nocarb clear drink into 3 parts. I then add it to my 24 ounce Water bottle and refill that at least twice. Anytime I am not eating, I'm sipping. Isopure NoCarb drinks are 40gms. of protein per 20 ounce bottle. Between that and my meals I can easily hit my protein and Fluid goals.

I couldn't get to 80 protein grams without the shakes.

I was sleeved 23 months ago and I still have 1 protein shake a day (35g protein). I would not get in enough protein without it. My doctor approves. I know others that no longer drink the shakes and do get in the 65g of protein. Every one is different.

My doctor recommends 60-100g of protein per day and wants me to rotate meal, snack, meal , snack, meal, snack...eating or drinking all day long to ensure I get all my protein in. He does allow protein shakes though, and it confuses me why a doctor would recommend them in the beginning and then later down the road want you to avoid them. Seems contradictory to me.

It depends on the protein source. I can eat 4 ounces of fresh mozzarella (with a drizzle of balsamic and some pepper!) and that's about 20g of protein. Yay! The same with chicken breast or fish. OTOH, I cannot eat enough egg in one meal to meet a 20g protein goal per meal, so I have to supplement that. And yes, I'm a protein shake person. I use them two ways -- in the morning, I often have one as breakfast. If I don't, then in the evening, I add up my protein grams, and if I'm short, I have a protein shake or Syntrax Nectar to help boost that number. I am 3 months out tomorrow, and while I do have days with no liquid protein, they're less than half of my days, total.

^{I know there are a few surgeons that recommend only 3 meals per day with no Snacks and no shakes. I have never understood that. I seems that most diet studies show that 3 meals and a 2 or 3 snacks per day is more effective than 3 meals. I am talking distinct meals and snacks not grazing. It seems like the only 3 meals per day is setting up a WL patient up for failure.}

^{My NUT recommends 5-6 small meal none to exceed 6 oz at a time.}

Edited December 1, 201510 yr by NikkiDoc

My surgeon said only 3 meals, no snacking and no shakes after I get to regular foods. I'll still be drinking my shakes though. I workout so I use them before I go to the gym. 47 pounds down since pre op diet that began on 10/5, surgery was 10/12.

It would really depend on your Protein goal. Since mine is 100 grams a day, I would have to have 35 grams of protein a meal (which is just not realistic for me). I can see it being possible if your protein goal was 70 grams. But, 70 grams is really low.

Not only that but your body can't absorb more than 30 gms and hour so any meal with more than that is wasted protein. This is when Snacks come in handy. A protein rich, nutritious snack with about 10 -15 gms of protein is a life saver.

For the OP. One of the things I do is split one bottle of Isopure Nocarb clear drink into 3 parts. I then add it to my 24 ounce Water bottle and refill that at least twice. Anytime I am not eating, I'm sipping. Isopure NoCarb drinks are 40gms. of protein per 20 ounce bottle. Between that and my meals I can easily hit my protein and Fluid goals.

I having such a hard time getting my protein in. I'm going to try that! Thank you for the suggestion. Any flavors that you like best?

My surgeon said only 3 meals, no snacking and no shakes after I get to regular foods. I'll still be drinking my shakes though. I workout so I use them before I go to the gym. 47 pounds down since pre op diet that began on 10/5, surgery was 10/12.

It would really depend on your Protein goal. Since mine is 100 grams a day, I would have to have 35 grams of protein a meal (which is just not realistic for me). I can see it being possible if your protein goal was 70 grams. But, 70 grams is really low.

Not only that but your body can't absorb more than 30 gms and hour so any meal with more than that is wasted protein. This is when Snacks come in handy. A protein rich, nutritious snack with about 10 -15 gms of protein is a life saver.

For the OP. One of the things I do is split one bottle of Isopure Nocarb clear drink into 3 parts. I then add it to my 24 ounce Water bottle and refill that at least twice. Anytime I am not eating, I'm sipping. Isopure NoCarb drinks are 40gms. of protein per 20 ounce bottle. Between that and my meals I can easily hit my protein and Fluid goals.

Sorry to ask what is probably a dumb question but do you dilute the Isopure drinks with water?

I would use water.

^{I know there are a few surgeons that recommend only 3 meals per day with no Snacks and no shakes. I have never understood that. I seems that most diet studies show that 3 meals and a 2 or 3 snacks per day is more effective than 3 meals. I am talking distinct meals and snacks not grazing. It seems like the only 3 meals per day is setting up a WL patient up for failure.}

^{My NUT recommends 5-6 small meal none to exceed 6 oz at a time.}

My surgeon happens to be one of them. It states in his 29 page folder he gave me on the first day I saw him 3 meals a day and no snacking. It is even one of his 4 rules. Rule 1 Eat your Protein first. Rule 2 drink your required amount of Water every day. Rule 3 eat 3 meals no snacking. Rule 4 exercise. He asked me several times during this 6 month supervised diet what are the 4 after surgery rules? I am still waiting to get my surgery, so I can't tell you how well Rule 3 works.

My nut has us on 3 small meals and 3 small Snacks per day - like eating every several hours, and I still can't get my 60-80 grams of Protein. So I still drink one protein shake (premiere protein) and that alone has 30 grams of protein. I take sips throughout the day while at work to stretch it out.

For snacks, I usually choose from the following:

• 2-3 ounces of low-sodium Boars head ham and then 1 ounce of mozzarella cheese (sometimes wrapping the meat around the cheese) - cheese is 7g of protein & ham is 9g
• a single serving container of natural Peanut Butter, which is 9g of protein
• Oikos Triple Zero Greek yogurt has 15g of protein
• 1/2 cup of cottage cheese has 13g of protein (I can only eat about 1/4 c. at a time)
• 1/2 cup of black Beans are 12g of protein (I use 1/3 cup plus a TBS of Rotel tomatoes and 1 TSP of low-fat sour cream

Edited December 2, 201510 yr by agreen67

I know some people who faithfully do the 301 thing (three meals a day, nothing in between, one day at a time) for psychological reasons but I don't know how helpful it is for WLS patients.