How/when did you find your groove?

[CrankyMagpie 509]

I have a question for sleevers who are at least a year post-op.

I'm at about two months post-op, allowed to (and able to) eat pretty much anything. (I haven't risked rice or Pasta, and I won't until ... what? 6 months? That's a question to ask at my 3-month follow up, I guess. And, I mean, there are definitely other things I haven't tried! But I have enough range, now, that I don't feel limited at all.)

I need some Fiber in my life, but every ounce of Protein I replace with something fibrous is yet more Protein Shake I'm stuck drinking; even swapping in Beans means decreasing my protein count from what it could be, for that meal. Honestly, I have to have a shake most days. And I guess adding in 1-2 prunes per day, between the three meals I'm allowed, is probably not a huge deal, calorie-wise, but I still feel weird about it? (The alternative is pretty painful and bad, though. I'm honestly having a lot of trouble finding the right balance for my lower digestive tract, and "1-2 prunes, combined with a fiber supplement," is mostly just a best guess, right now. That balance will shift over time, too, I'm sure.)

Anyway, I'm curious about when people move out of the initial stages of all this. For instance, at what point were you able to stop with the Protein Shakes? And at what point did you start to kind of hit your stride, with long-term eating habits?

Because I know this protein-only lifestyle comes to an end; at some point, getting to 60+ grams gets easy, and you need to shift focus toward choosing nutrient-rich foods to supplement your serving of protein at each meal. And I'm really interested in when that is. Like... I'm not trying to rush the process, but I also don't feel like I'm building those lifetime eating habits, yet. "Don't entertain yourself with food, " sure, and "get enough fluids," yeah. "Take your Vitamins, " yeah. (All still works in progress, to be honest.) But I'm still pretty interested in finding out when it'll be time to start building the habit of eating fruit- and vegetable-based meals with healthy Proteins.

[Hrsnjs 267]

I have a question for sleevers who are at least a year post-op.
I'm at about two months post-op, allowed to (and able to) eat pretty much anything. (I haven't risked rice or Pasta, and I won't until ... what? 6 months? That's a question to ask at my 3-month follow up, I guess. And, I mean, there are definitely other things I haven't tried! But I have enough range, now, that I don't feel limited at all.)
I need some Fiber in my life, but every ounce of Protein I replace with something fibrous is yet more Protein Shake I'm stuck drinking; even swapping in Beans means decreasing my Protein count from what it could be, for that meal. Honestly, I have to have a shake most days. And I guess adding in 1-2 prunes per day, between the three meals I'm allowed, is probably not a huge deal, calorie-wise, but I still feel weird about it? (The alternative is pretty painful and bad, though. I'm honestly having a lot of trouble finding the right balance for my lower digestive tract, and "1-2 prunes, combined with a fiber supplement," is mostly just a best guess, right now. That balance will shift over time, too, I'm sure.)
Anyway, I'm curious about when people move out of the initial stages of all this. For instance, at what point were you able to stop with the Protein Shakes? And at what point did you start to kind of hit your stride, with long-term eating habits?
Because I know this protein-only lifestyle comes to an end; at some point, getting to 60+ grams gets easy, and you need to shift focus toward choosing nutrient-rich foods to supplement your serving of protein at each meal. And I'm really interested in when that is. Like... I'm not trying to rush the process, but I also don't feel like I'm building those lifetime eating habits, yet. "Don't entertain yourself with food," sure, and "get enough fluids," yeah. "Take your Vitamins," yeah. (All still works in progress, to be honest.) But I'm still pretty interested in finding out when it'll be time to start building the habit of eating fruit- and vegetable-based meals with healthy Proteins.

Great question, and I'd like to know the same thing. For the fiber, though...I'm using benefiber added to all of my liquid and it seems to be helping. The doctor is also having me take a dose of Miralax each day for now. If I didn't use the benefiber, I'd get almost none. I'm eating 6 times a day right now, and getting about 50g of protein from food. I have one Protein Shake a day, which is great with me! I figure once I can have larger portions, at six months, and I'm eating more veggies, maybe I won't have to have any of the shakes anymore. [emoji16]

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[GreenTealael 24,850]

5 hours ago, CrankyMagpie said:

I have a question for sleevers who are at least a year post-op.

I'm at about two months post-op, allowed to (and able to) eat pretty much anything. (I haven't risked rice or Pasta, and I won't until ... what? 6 months? That's a question to ask at my 3-month follow up, I guess. And, I mean, there are definitely other things I haven't tried! But I have enough range, now, that I don't feel limited at all.)

I need some Fiber in my life, but every ounce of Protein I replace with something fibrous is yet more Protein Shake I'm stuck drinking; even swapping in Beans means decreasing my Protein count from what it could be, for that meal. Honestly, I have to have a shake most days. And I guess adding in 1-2 prunes per day, between the three meals I'm allowed, is probably not a huge deal, calorie-wise, but I still feel weird about it? (The alternative is pretty painful and bad, though. I'm honestly having a lot of trouble finding the right balance for my lower digestive tract, and "1-2 prunes, combined with a fiber supplement," is mostly just a best guess, right now. That balance will shift over time, too, I'm sure.)

Anyway, I'm curious about when people move out of the initial stages of all this. For instance, at what point were you able to stop with the Protein Shakes? And at what point did you start to kind of hit your stride, with long-term eating habits?

Because I know this protein-only lifestyle comes to an end; at some point, getting to 60+ grams gets easy, and you need to shift focus toward choosing nutrient-rich foods to supplement your serving of protein at each meal. And I'm really interested in when that is. Like... I'm not trying to rush the process, but I also don't feel like I'm building those lifetime eating habits, yet. "Don't entertain yourself with food," sure, and "get enough fluids," yeah. "Take your Vitamins," yeah. (All still works in progress, to be honest.) But I'm still pretty interested in finding out when it'll be time to start building the habit of eating fruit- and vegetable-based meals with healthy Proteins.

This is something to discuss in depth with your team. I decided around 6-7 month post op to switch focus a bit and be flexible with daily protein goals. I did this with my teams knowledge and (semi) approval. I could have gone off shakes at about the same time and almost did, but it was just easier to use them in place of Creamer in coffee and tea. Using them in that way does help a lot with being able to eat non protein centric foods more readily.

Hope that helps!

[Frustr8 7,886]

Hey cranky but sincere question. Three different staff members with 3 differing opinions. All with fluids/ liquids Opinion# 1 add Miralax Opinion#2 Add beneficent Opinion# 3 stir in scoop of unflavored Protein Powder. Now if I do all that,its going to,look bad and taste/feel even worse. Do I take advice of ranking member, alternate the add-ons or what?

[FluffyChix 17,409]

I'm 10 months out. And I can literally get every ounce of Protein I need at each of 2-3 meals to make my daily protein goal. I also have a mature pouch. So I can get at least 3oz of veg in at the same meal.

As for fiber and pre and Probiotics, I concentrate on dark leafy greens and low glycemic veggies + fermented veggies (kim chi and sauerkraut) + some seeds/nuts/legumes + a bit of low glycemic berries and/or a green apple with peel for the pectin a couple times a week and a bit of Greek yogurt. I'm experimenting with adding inulin into the mix of Prebiotic fiber. I also drink/use whole psyllium husks here and there in iced tea, green smoothies, and I make psylli wraps (psyllium + egg whites to make tortillas). I also am down to taking 10g of Miralax (down from 17-20g) per day and also take 2 Colace).

I drink 120+oz of liquid per day with 80+ of those from pure unflavored Water. If I skimp on any of those things, then the train schedule gets totally whacked. If I eat a crap ton of cheese, the scheduled is off-kilter.

Edited November 25, 2018 by FluffyChix

[CyndieRI 251]

This is a great question and I’m having the same trouble. I’m 6 1/2 weeks out and sometimes I need 2 Protein Shakes a day to meet my goal. My problem is I just can’t eat very much meat. I try small bites - chewing really well - and eating slowly but I after only a bite or two I feel bloated! I tried eggs and sometimes it’s ok but other times eggs make me feel crappy. I just want to be able to eat a couple of ounces of meat and still feel good!!

[Oct517 527]

I was able to swap out some Protein Shakes for the Quest Protein Bars. The quest bars have Protein and most have lots of fiber also.

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[Frustr8 7,886]

Going to check,if Quest bars come,in anything,but chocolate, I could use the fiber And they might be an alternative, then and a nice,protein Water, or 2. shakes rapidly,losing their charms.

[Oct517 527]

Going to check,if Quest bars come,in anything,but chocolate, I could use the Fiber And they might be an alternative, then and a nice,protein Water,or 2. shakes rapidly,losing their charms.

Yes, they have a ton of flavors!

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[Oct517 527]

All the flavors   

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[Frustr8 7,886]

I were I see 4 possible flavors, the one that calls out to me? The Lemon Creme Pie, open those doors Wal-Mart, Sweet Mama is coming!!!