Hi gang! I'm doing pretty well, at least in terms of weight loss. I'm exercising every day, walking on my treadmill and swimming when time allows. I still find myself struggling with denser forms of protein. I am a little more than 8 weeks out. Sometimes I curse this difficulty but I know in reality it's my tool working for me.

I can't do eggs of any style (I loved them before). My favorite meal is Zoodles with meat sauce (and protein powder). I have trouble with chicken especially white meat. The other day they served us paella at work and I took a few shrimp out of there and had that and even that made me gag. I can do ground up Wendy's chili and that goes down well (YES I know I should be making it myself but I don't always have the time). I have a half cup of Cream of Wheat (with protein powder) every weekday morning. I feel like I need the carbs to jump start my brain, and this goes down easily without complications. (Yes I know Oatmeal would be better).

As I am starting a new job as a full-time teacher and have struggled with nausea during our "planning weeks" I have pretty much decided just to stick with protein shakes for the moment during working hours. I'd like to get off them ASAP but I just can't chance things at work considering only my boss knows about the surgery and I'd like to keep it confidential as long as possible.

Because of this and protein powder, I don't ever seem to have an issue hitting my protein requirements. But it's how I am reaching them that concerns me.

I have always loved hummus, and lately I find myself going to it as a go to snack especially on the weekends or when I've had a rough day nauseawise. I know that even though it's a "good" carb (relatively- chik peas would be better) and has some protein, it's still a carb, and I also realize I ought to be "challenging" myself to get better at tolerating denser proteins. Still, on the weekends, when I want something to "enjoy" I'll fix a snack of 3 ounces of it with a single stalk of celery. It goes down so well. I'll sometimes do this twice a day. My sleeve feels good when I eat it- but is it just being lazy? Is this a horrible habit?

Like I say, I'm losing at a pretty good pace, and I'm meeting my protein goals. But am I building bad habits that will come back to bite me after the honeymoon?

Thanks for your input.

Depending on the recipe hummus is mostly chickpeas. You can blend your own with just chick peas and lemon juice--yum! Add tahini (more protien) if you want.

Right. I get the Sabra with pine nuts.

I don't think there's anything wrong with it but if you want to work towards tolerating meat, I did better with ground beef or mixing canned chicken with cream cheese or guacamole, or chicken thighs are very tender and fill you up easily.

The ground beef goes fine with the Zoodles but a small patty with cheddar cheese and ketchup is a stuggle somehow.

I can do thighs but they are still a struggle. I'd rather have hummus and this concerns me.

First, remember that although it seems like a very long time, 8 weeks isn't long at all. It takes a surprisingly long time to get back to 'normal', or really to get to whatever your NEW 'normal' is going to be. Be gentle on yourself
Dense protein is hard, and I've struggled with it since I was on solids last years. I'm now 14 mos post-op and I still have a hard time with meats. Just a couple of nights ago I spent a couple of hours foaming and sliming because I ate some grilled pork tenderloin. By far, fish is easiest for me to tolerate...salmon, cod, tuna, all shellfish. They all go down easy and stay down. I used to be a beef-a-holic, now I maybe have a few bites a month. Chicken is hit or miss, dark meat easier than breasts. One tip: the moister the meat, the easier it is for me. I have a pressure cooker and make Indian chicken dishes in it often and the cooking method keeps the meat moist and makes it very tender. So, if you can use a sauce of some sort, that may help.
Have you tried eggs cooked different ways? I started with scrambled, which were a disaster, but I've found that I can eat them poached and boiled, but not fried or scrambled.

And to the main point of your post, hummus can be a good option for limited use, but it alone won't trigger any restriction in your sleeve the way a dense protein will, so keep that in mind. It's more of a 'slider' food, so while it'll help you in a nutrition sense, it won't be as satisfying as some chicken or salmon. That said, at 8 weeks I was eating what I could get my stomach to like and retain, with an emphasis on any form of protein that worked. I mixed protein powder into mashed potatoes, cream of wheat, oatmeal, cottage cheese, yogurt, ricotta cheese, etc. Really anything that appealed and was slightly soft and moist will work. And you have to decide how many grams of carbohydrates you're going to eat each day, how much space you have for those carbs related to your protein and form a long-term plan with that as a basis. I'm kind of on auto-pilot now with food, but I counted every. single. bite. for the first year. Doing that taught me what my 'danger' foods are, how I react to simple carbs, how often I need to eat to meet my protein and nutrient goals, etc.

It's a lot to think about in the beginning, but it gets MUCH easier as time goes by. Good for you for thinking about what you're doing now as potential habits for the future...you sure seem like you've got what it takes to be successful at this whole WLS thing!

I've tried eggs every which way. Right now, they just won't work for me. Make me sick to my stomach.

I forgot to mention that I love LOVE salmon- that's my go to "meat" when I can afford it.

@gwbicsteryou and I are very similar. Surgery days close together and similar weight. I'm where you are. Slight struggle with firm protein. Ive been adding unflavored protein powder to my hummus. Not a lot. Protein boost. But we can't live on hummus. I keep all sorts of shelf stable protein at my desk. Never get caught without something. You will do great learning what's safe at school and does not cause issues.

Ok, so basically you are eating up to 6oz of hummus in a day.

Each ounce has 80 calories, 4g net carbs, and 2g protein

So for 480 calories, you have 24g carbs, and 12g protein.

Let's compare it to peanut butter.

2.5 ounces of peanut butter will give you:

470 calories, 12g carbs, and 20g protein.

You get twice as much hummus for the calories, but peanut butter has almost twice the protein and half the carbs... and it is very good on celery too. (2-3 whole pieces of celery hold 1 oz of peanut butter very nicely).

Hummus isn't bad, per se, any more than peanut butter. But the habit you want to get into is limiting how much of these high-calorie, low protein foods you eat.

I would rather see you eat 1 ounce of hummus each day than 6oz in one day. In a week, you'll have eaten the same amount, but your mind will be tuned to the concept of moderation (and THAT is something every patient MUST work on. Me included!).