Let's Play Another Round of "How I Get My Protein" post WLS

[MyBariatricLife 18]

I used to gain on 1500 (with extreme exercise). Lost slowly on 1200. It took forever to find the right combo of thyroid meds. I take 120mg NP Thyroid (similar to Armour) plus 100mcg levothyroxine. Now I can burn 1700 calories a day if I lay around and do nothing.

[gotime0810 71]

I’m 10.5 weeks post op VSG. I have been extremely lucky to have not had any issues with anything I’ve eaten.
My surgeon and NUT have never really set caloric or Protein goals after the 4th week when I was released to eat whatever I could handle.
As of today I’ve gone from 240 day of surgery to 199.
About three weeks ago I started focusing on a whole food, plant based, no oil Way of eating. I’m not counting calories or protein and eat about 1/2 c every 3 hours. I start my day off with a sizable green smoothie and eat nummy nummy guilt free yummy the rest of the day.
I eat Beans, grains, and nuts and my body really, really enjoys it. I have cut out dairy with surprising ease. (I still have a mental love affair with cheese. It’s almost as bad as when I had to give up Dr. Pepper.)
I signed up for a weekly meal plan from the Clean Food Dirty Girl website. They have made this transition so easy and unbelievable delicious.
My NUT is totally supportive of my decision to go WFPB and I hope my labs in a couple of weeks will make my surgeon happy.
In the end though I feel so good knowing that every half cup I eat is packed full of nutrients and no artificial sugars or processed crap. My body feels good, my mind is less fuzzy, and I’m actually beginning to understand what “I have energy” means. [emoji4]
Sorry if I sound overly excited about this, I’m just really excited, happy and proud of myself for taking charge of my health.

[Berry78 4,261]

7 hours ago, gotime0810 said:

I’m not counting calories or Protein

I implore you to please start counting protein.

The average, typical woman needs 46g/day, a guy needs 56g/day.

Bariatric patients digest protein surprisingly well, but there still may be a small deficit to our absorption. Studies have shown that patients that consume less than 60g/day lose muscle mass.

The body also doesn't store protein. It has to be eaten daily. Those that have a typical stomach can eat 5 times the food that we can, so it's not hard for typical WFPB followers to meet their protein needs. We have special needs.

[FluffyChix 17,418]

14 hours ago, Berry78 said:

Ok, the stuff on the plate and drinks were at 9 weeks. The stuff around the plate I've gradually added since then.

4oz chicken, 4oz cottage cheese, 3.5oz Beans, 1 egg, 1oz cashews, 1 small banana, broccoli, and butternut squash.

Beautiful, beautiful picture! We visual aides! Ok, so lemme make sure I understand this picture.

This is a picture of 1 day's worth of food, right? 5-6 small meals?

Meal 1: 4oz cottage cheese and 1/2 banana

Meal 2: 1oz nuts and 1/2 banana

Meal 3: 3.5oz Beans + 1 egg

Meal 4: Broccoli

Meal 5: 4oz chicken

Meal 6: Butternut squash

Liquids: 12oz milk, 12oz coffee or tea, 36oz Water?

Thank you for sharing!!!

[FluffyChix 17,418]

14 hours ago, Berry78 said:

We are coming from VERY different places, metabolically. I was eating 3000-4000 calories a day before my preop diet. And I wasn't putting on much weight.

My metabolism was on overdrive, so I can handle more food during the losing phase than some patients. If you gain on 1200 calories (which is about how much you see in the picture..about 1100 unless I add oil to veggies.), then your postop calories are gonna have to be more strict.

I was gone all day, so still need to eat everything on the plate. Made it halfway through the chicken and am stuffed. *sigh*

Yes, very different places metabolically. Because of the insulin resistance/PCOS, I am VERY thrifty at storing fat from very few calories!

So, from 9.14.17 when I first went from 1000cals to 1200cals, to this morning where I'm eating 1500 cals/day, I went from 237.4 and am 233.4 this morning, 10.21.17. So in 5 weeks, I've managed to lose 4lbs going from 1200cals to 1500 cals/day. I believe this is because of the levothyroxin, 100mg of T1, and walking 45minutes/day.

My best weight loss for the month came between eating 850-900cals/day while taking the same meds and doing the same amount of E. I lost 13.4lbs that month. I've NEVER in my life lost that much weight in one month.

[Berry78 4,261]

You got it! The "players" change each day. Today it's a banana. Tomorrow, strawberries. Exchange chicken for salmon, etc. But the portion sizes stay pretty much the same.

The bowls holding the veggies will hold 8oz Water if filled to the brim, so my stomach is holding about a cup of food now, if it's soft.

The cloudy jar of liquid is coconut water.

[FluffyChix 17,418]

6 minutes ago, Berry78 said:

You got it! The "players" change each day. Today it's a banana. Tomorrow, strawberries. Exchange chicken for salmon, etc. But the portion sizes stay pretty much the same.

The bowls holding the veggies will hold 8oz Water if filled to the brim, so my stomach is holding about a cup of food now, if it's soft.

The cloudy jar of liquid is coconut Water.

Awesome!!! Thanks so much! I'm going to save this to my desktop so I can have easy visual reference. So about how many weeks out were you able to eat this quantity? Gosh! Maybe THAT would be a fun game to play post WLS? We all photo a day of food like you did and explain it out.

(Oh also, sorry to take so long getting back to you. Had to watch our 'Stros play the Yankies in game 7 of the ALC playoffs. We're goin' to the Series!!! Woot!!!)

Edited October 22, 2017 by FluffyChix

[FluffyChix 17,418]

14 hours ago, MyBariatricLife said:

I used to gain on 1500 (with extreme exercise). Lost slowly on 1200. It took forever to find the right combo of thyroid meds. I take 120mg NP Thyroid (similar to Armour) plus 100mcg levothyroxine. Now I can burn 1700 calories a day if I lay around and do nothing.

I'm so glad you've found the magic dose for you!! I feel like we are still working on finding mine. I have to get my 3mo f/up labs drawn tomorrow and I think I will be seeing him on Wednesday. It's funny though, I think it may be jacking with my blood pressure. My BP is still up between 140/84 to 150/90 and I'm taking 3 BP meds. Soooo not happy about that, but it's way better than 170/110 like I was!

Losing weight on 1700cals/day sounds thrilling!

[Berry78 4,261]

Ok, here is what 61g of Protein looks like on a whole food plant based diet. Each bowl is 1/2 cup black Beans.

Now, you can replace a bowl of beans with the following:

3.5oz tofu

1 cup soy milk

2 slices ezekial bread

3/4 cup kasha (probably too much to eat at once until later)

So, what's the problem? Well, I don't see any fruit or veggies. If you drink a quart of soy milk a day, then only 2 meals have to be so protein heavy and you can squeeze in some then.

So I'm not saying its impossible...I'm saying it requires counting and planning.

Now, if you drink 2 Protein Shakes a day, then you're covered and can eat what you want.

[FluffyChix 17,418]

2 minutes ago, Berry78 said:

Ok, here is what 61g of Protein looks like on a whole food plant based diet. Each bowl is 1/2 cup black Beans.

Now, you can replace a bowl of Beans with the following:

3.5oz tofu

1 cup soy milk

2 slices ezekial bread

3/4 cup kasha (probably too much to eat at once until later)

So, what's the problem? Well, I don't see any fruit or veggies. If you drink a quart of soy milk a day, then only 2 meals have to be so Protein heavy and you can squeeze in some then.

So I'm not saying its impossible...I'm saying it requires counting and planning.

Now, if you drink 2 Protein Shakes a day, then you're covered and can eat what you want.

Dang! This sorta reminds me of the campfire scene from Blazing Saddles.

[Berry78 4,261]

Fluff, you asked how soon I was eating that quantity...

I was eating everything on the plate by 9 or 10 weeks out.. I just had to split it up into 6 meals. Now I can eat it in 3.5 meals, making room for veggies. The plate is holding my Protein, and my protein requirements haven't changed. If I dropped milk off the menu, I'd have to add 12g protein to the plate. Easier to keep the milk and make room for veggies.

So last night I stayed up eating until 11pm, didn't get my veggies or nuts (I'd eaten my fruit earlier in the day). Went to bed full of Beans. I got close to goal. I wasnt expecting to be gone all day when I left the house, so 5-11pm was eat eat eat.

[Berry78 4,261]

I love that movie!

[FluffyChix 17,418]

7 minutes ago, Berry78 said:

So last night I stayed up eating until 11pm, didn't get my veggies or nuts (I'd eaten my fruit earlier in the day). Went to bed full of Beans. I got close to goal. I wasnt expecting to be gone all day when I left the house, so 5-11pm was eat eat eat.

Thanks @Berry78! That gives me a good goal to shoot for. But holy guacamole about staying up until 11pm just to eat. *gulp* Maybe you should carry a small sleeve of nuts in your purse for when you are out? Or a meat stick? I was thinking about that. Tomorrow my surgeon appt isn't until 2:30pm. I always go in fasting in case she wants blood work, but also cuz I want to weigh my lightest. LOL. So afterward, I will drink a Premier Protein in the afternoon, but also think I will bring an ounce of almonds and 2oz of GS apple for the car ride home. I might also pick up a meat stick. Then I can have a regular dinner and make my Protein for the day even though my cals will be low.

Late L:

11fl oz Premier Protein (30g P)

1oz almonds (6g P)

2oz GS apple (0g P)

Dinner:

3oz grilled sirloin (24g P)

chopped salad with avocado and tomatoes and 3zeros Greek dressing

6oz broccoli in olive oil and garlic

BS:

64g Halo Top vanilla Bean Ice Cream (5g P)

1/2oz almonds, chopped (3g P)

16g sf Hershey's Choco Syrup (0g P)

Daily Totals: 992 cals; 75g Protein; 52g Fat; 62g carbs; 24g Fiber; 38g Net Carbs

Edited October 22, 2017 by FluffyChix

[Berry78 4,261]

Yeah, I normally keep nuts in my purse, but forgot to restock. Oops. Ah well. None of it bothers me anymore. The first month if I woke up in the night I'd get Water to help meet fluid goals.

[Lukeadelle 16]

How do you get your Dr to work with you to find the right thyroid meds for you? My GP handles my thyroid and he’s lousy. I told him I need to go to a specialist imo but he isn’t referring me. I don’t have a functioning thyroid. I took the radio active pill to kill it years ago. I’m 10 months po and have not lost anything for 3 mo [emoji24]. My gp lowered my levothyroxine from 150 mcg to 125 mcg 3 mo ago. My #’s haven’t been right since I started taking thyroid meds.

I started adding genpro to my daily diet to boost my Protein hoping the extra protein would restart the losing. Not helping.

AM - genpro in 2-3 oz Premier Protein chocolate. 30 G protein

am snack- 2 oz pistachios 12 G protein

Lunch - 3 oz tuna 25 G protein


Dinner- 2 oz filet 15 G protein 1/2 c low-fat cottage cheese 13 G protein

Pm snack- yogurt 12 G protein

107 G protein total