How do you balance adding all the food in?!

[Mjohnson4631 10]

Hey guys I'm totally confused. I'm 5 wks out down 20 lbs since surgery. Idk if that is great or not. But as you move thru the stages and start to add in foods it's so hard to balance them. Like , in order to get my Protein I still have to substitute like a shake and bar etc but if you start adding in food it seems like you're always eating?! Surely I'm not suppose to have a couple shakes plus three meals a day?? And if I'm suppose to substitute a shake for a meal then when do I get to eat real "foods"? Is anyone else having this issue? How many times should I be eating? I feel like in order to get my protein in I have to drink a couple shakes, so if I add that to a couple or few more small meals of food I feel like that's a lot. Anyone else feel this way?

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[FrankyG 1,450]

In order to get Protein from real foods, you have to be more mindful of what you are actually eating. Did your doctor give you a list of what foods are acceptable to eat at each stage? Ask for one if not, and if they are not interested in providing, you can check through the hundreds of threads on here.

In the early liquid stages, you're going to have to rely on the Protein drinks/shakes, but going to mushies, you have things like yogurt, cheeses (cottage cheese and soft cheeses are the most discussed), eggs, refried Beans, canned tuna or chicken salad, baked fish (I make swai fish like three times a week - it is marvelous and cheap and I have fun changing up the spices), specially filtered, protein added milk like Mootopia or Fairlife (NOT the chocolate versions - that's added sugar that you don't need)... and you can always add Protein powder to most foods if you can tolerate eating it (I personally could not eat any protein powders - they made me sick just smelling them - even the unflavored versions).

There are tons of foods that are healthy and would work, and lots and lots of ways to prepare them (recipes abound on here).

And you should be eating often enough to get in your daily protein, Water and calorie requirements. If that means you eat 6 meals a day or 3 meals - that's what you shoot for. It doesn't matter what others do, you do what works best for your situation and what follows most closely with your doctor instructions.

As far as your progress - 20 pounds down in 5 weeks is just fine. Don't compare your progress to anyone else. Your body will lose (and stall) at its own pace. Just keep on track with your Water and protein/calorie goals and you'll be great.

[kmorri 1,689]

I am able to get all my Protein from real food, which is what my surgeon and my NUT want.....In order to do it here's a sample day's worth of food.....

Breakfast - 1/2 flatbread = 4.5g Protein

scrambled egg = 6 g

turkey sausage = 7g protein

morning snack - Greek Yogurt = 12 g protein

lunch - 2 oz Low sodium turkey breast = 13g protein

1/2 of flatbread = 4.5g protein

1/2/ serving of cheddar cheese = 4 g protein

afternoon snack = 1oz dry roasted peanuts 7g protein

dinner - 3 oz chicken breast = 18g protein

1/2 serving of cheddar cheese = 4g protein

evening snack - 1 oz raw almonds = 6g protein

So 86 grams of protein and 991 calories.......I didn't list the veggies but there is such a small amount it's not worth listing....for example at dinner I may have a bite of green Beans or summer squash...

[Mjohnson4631 10]

Thanks ladies.. I think the main issue is there's no way I could hold the food in the sample menu @@kmorri . It would take me two days to eat all that. So in order for me to get my amount I have to substitute.. Like for Breakfast for example.. The most that I could hold is maybe 1 egg with a thin slice of cheese anything further would hurt and I'd be over eating.. It could be that I'm not far enough out to get all my Protein from real foods.. I am focusing on eating mainly Protein at this point but I still cannot get it all in from just food. I would be constantly eating. If I make dinner, say one chicken breast and veggies.. The most I can get down would be 1/2 or 1/3 of the breast not even touching the veggies. If I get out lunch and have some ham and cheese I'm only about to eat about 1 slice. My point is there's no way to get my protein from foods. I can't consume enough of it. @@FrankiesGirl

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[kmorri 1,689]

Thanks ladies.. I think the main issue is there's no way I could hold the food in the sample menu @@kmorri . It would take me two days to eat all that. So in order for me to get my amount I have to substitute.. Like for breakfast for example.. The most that I could hold is maybe 1 egg with a thin slice of cheese anything further would hurt and I'd be over eating.. It could be that I'm not far enough out to get all my Protein from real foods.. I am focusing on eating mainly Protein at this point but I still cannot get it all in from just food. I would be constantly eating. If I make dinner, say one chicken breast and veggies.. The most I can get down would be 1/2 or 1/3 of the breast not even touching the veggies. If I get out lunch and have some ham and cheese I'm only about to eat about 1 slice. My point is there's no way to get my protein from foods. I can't consume enough of it. @@FrankiesGirl

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Yes maybe you're not far enough out.....I'm about 2 and half months out.....but I can't eat a whole chicken breast either....so I weigh it and can eat about 3oz......2.5 to 3oz of any meat is about all I can eat. good luck to you!

[Shaunie 123]

I eat 5 times a day!! If its a work day I have a Protein shake for breakfast. I do that just because I leave very early and don't have time to sit and eat and this way its an easy way to get 37g in right off the bat

My two Snacks a day I try to make sure there at least 10g ex. Greek yogurt w/ 1/4 c cashews or 1/2c cottage cheese maybe some chedder cheese w/ rice cakes. Sometimes one of those Snacks I have for lunch so by dinner time I'm already at about 60g which I think is great. At dinner I focus on a meat maybe fish some moist chicken etc. I rarely ever get to get the veggie in. Just to full!!!

I do get very sick of the shakes so I try to have something different on the days I don't work ex. Boiled egg, oatmeal etc.....on those days I do find my Protein intake a lot less so if all else fails grab a Protein Shake

I do struggle with the fluids but its a work in progress

Keep working on it :-)

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[KristenLe 5,980]

@@Mjohnson4631 At 5 weeks - my plan has me eating 3-4ozs 5-6 times a day (every 3 hours)and 2-4ozs Protein Drink (as my liquid) 30 mins after each meal. I'm still on puree until week 6 or 7. I would skip the Protein Bar if I were you - they often have too many carbs. Replace that with something less dense (cottage cheese, string cheese, tuna). Congrats on your loss so far!

Oh - and we aren't allowed nuts at that stage (I believe it's more of a healing/staple issue than a nutrient issue).

Edited July 30, 2016 by KristenLe

[Dub 10,070]

Hey guys I'm totally confused. I'm 5 wks out down 20 lbs since surgery. Idk if that is great or not. But as you move thru the stages and start to add in foods it's so hard to balance them. Like , in order to get my Protein I still have to substitute like a shake and bar etc but if you start adding in food it seems like you're always eating?! Surely I'm not suppose to have a couple shakes plus three meals a day?? And if I'm suppose to substitute a shake for a meal then when do I get to eat real "foods"? Is anyone else having this issue? How many times should I be eating? I feel like in order to get my Protein in I have to drink a couple shakes, so if I add that to a couple or few more small meals of food I feel like that's a lot. Anyone else feel this way?

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I really appreciated my program's simple approach. It was very, very simplistic and effective.

3 meals a day at that point. 1/4 sized meals of protein growing to 1/2 cup in size those first 4 months. chicken, steak, fish other seafood.

No Snacks.

Lots of Water in between meals.

Vitamins.

It allowed me to lose weight and not be food focused. Some of the plans I see people suggesting or living with would have me thinking about food all at the time.