How long do you need to prioritise protein?

[Chevron 49]

Is prioritising Protein just for the recovery stage (a few months) or is it meant to be the new normal forever? My dietician hasn’t mentioned it as she tends to only deal with the current recovery stage.

[johnsons13 359]

my dietician has told me that healthy eating is prioritizing Protein first. In the beginning, I think it's to get us in a routine what is healthy.

[FluffyChix 17,409]

I think there are many opinions about this.

I personally have to eat low carb because I still struggle with insulin resistance and carb sensitivity. So I focus on getting my lean Proteins first. I am "protein adequate" for my size and try for 60-70g Protein daily from complete protein sources. Then I go for veggies, especially green leafy and brightly colored low glycemic veg. Next is healthy fats like EVOO, butter, coconut oil, avocados, nuts/seeds. Last is small quantities of low glycemic fruits.

I still usually start with protein. It makes me feel fuller. The veggies are kinda slider food for me...and too much fat makes me nauseated.

[CrankyMagpie 509]

I really like this guy's take on long-term eating after surgery:

(Yes, he has a book, and I'm sure he'd love for you to buy it. But I feel like you can get the gist of what he's written about by watching his videos.)

If you aren't into videos, he says once you can eat enough that getting enough Protein isn't hard for you, you should move to a "veggies first" plan. Focus on getting lots of good, nutritious food.

A month out, I am not able to eat enough that this is a reasonable plan for me, yet. But this is kind of where I'm heading, long-term, in consultation with the nutritionists at my surgeon's office.

Oh! And he has a video just about diet, too. Here's a link to that. It covers immediate post-op through longer-term.

[Jimmy Keller 36]

Well from a guys look at it.I want to start going to the gym and do as much as I can as soon as I am givin the ok to do so from my surgeon so Protein will be very important .I figure the gym will help a little with extra skin in the long term.Besides Im a carnivore by nature.

[GreenTealael 24,867]

13 hours ago, Brissie said:

Is prioritising Protein just for the recovery stage (a few months) or is it meant to be the new normal forever? My dietician hasn’t mentioned it as she tends to only deal with the current recovery stage.

You can prioritize it indefinitely while increasing vegetables intake because your capacity may increase in time.

Also keep in mind that there are many sources of Protein, some also being plants.

So what post op protein intake and sources are can/may/will change or cycle over time

e.g.

Protein Shakes -1 week post

eggs - 1 month post

Ricotta bake -3 months post

Haddock- 6 months post

Protein pancakes - 1 yr post

Vege & tofu salad - 1.5 yrs post

Beef and broccoli - 2 yrs post

Quinoa bowl - 2.5 yrs post

Quiche - 3 yrs post

chicken salad- 3.5 yrs post

Etc...

[FluffyChix 17,409]

36 minutes ago, GreenTealael said:

You can prioritize it indefinitely while increasing vegetables intake because your capacity may increase in time.

Also keep in mind that there are many sources of Protein, some also being plants.

So what post op Protein intake and sources are can/may/will change or cycle over time

e.g.

Protein Shakes -1 week post

eggs - 1 month post

Ricotta bake -3 months post

Haddock- 6 months post

Protein pancakes - 1 yr post

Vege & tofu salad - 1.5 yrs post

Beef and broccoli - 2 yrs post

Quinoa bowl - 2.5 yrs post

Quiche - 3 yrs post

chicken salad- 3.5 yrs post

Etc...

Don't forget eel.

[Frustr8 7,886]

Eel, yccch! I like oysters, prawns, lobster, tilapia, flounder, crabs and clams!🐟🍖🍝🍗

[FluffyChix 17,409]

14 minutes ago, Frustr8 said:

Eel, yccch! I like oysters, prawns, lobster, tilapia, flounder, crabs and clams!🐟🍖🍝🍗

Eel was a joke. It's brought in at 5.5months per @GreenTealael's timeline. LOL. *snort*

[Neversaynever 268]

This question interests me as I have never used the Protein Shakes, not even at the beginning, I use meat and milk to get my Protein. However, I am not a gym bunny (wish I liked it but I don't) so I don't need "extra" protein I don't think.

I usually get 60gm of protein a day but I have to work at it. In a typical day, without trying to get protein in, I could very easily only have 30gm but obviously I avoid doing that at the moment.

Do I really have to do this for the rest of my life?

[sillykitty 10,705]

6 hours ago, Neversaynever said:

This question interests me as I have never used the Protein Shakes, not even at the beginning, I use meat and milk to get my Protein. However, I am not a gym bunny (wish I liked it but I don't) so I don't need "extra" Protein I don't think.

I usually get 60gm of protein a day but I have to work at it. In a typical day, without trying to get protein in, I could very easily only have 30gm but obviously I avoid doing that at the moment.

Do I really have to do this for the rest of my life?

Yes ... there are long term consequences to protein deficiencies

http://time.com/4374959/protein-health-benefits-nutrition/

[KC Chris 9]

I'm sure it is different for everyone, but I eat Protein first, then veggies. I don't deny myself any type of food. I eat a slice of pizza if I want it but I make sure it has lots of protein on it (cheese, meat, then a few veggies). I usually only eat 1 slice but it is enough to curb my appetite. There are also several Keto recipes (chicken or cauliflower crust) that are actually great alternatives. I also eat Keto protein waffles or pancakes if I feel a weekend splurge creeping up. On days that I feel I am not managing my protein as well I have some protein gel shots that have 20g of pure protein. I mix it with 1 ounce of Water but you can do just the gel if you like the intense flavor. I also try to hit 45-60 g of protein per day.

Edited November 15, 2018 by KC Chris

[Healthy_life 1,437]

On 11/8/2018 at 10:12 PM, Brissie said:

Is prioritising Protein just for the recovery stage (a few months) or is it meant to be the new normal forever? My dietician hasn’t mentioned it as she tends to only deal with the current recovery stage.

My two cents.

The mantra "protein first" is because your stomach restriction is tight for the first few months. For many of us it's a struggle to get food/shakes in and hit your dietitians Protein goal (60 to 100 grams)

You can consume more food as you get further out from surgery. Hitting your protein goal is normal forever. It's surprisingly not as much effort as the beginning of surgery. At this phase it's not so much "protein first" because you can consistently hit your protein goal with vegetables and other foods.