Hi friends.

Question for those who are farther along the journey than I am. I was just sleeved 12/9 and am in the puréed food stage. I’ve ordered a few things like soups from Bariatric Pal due to convenience and elevated protein content and it got me wondering about long term food strategies. For those that are a year or more past surgery, are you able to meet your protein goals with food items from the grocery store, or are you still supplementing with protein shakes and/or specialty bariatric products?

I am not quite a year out but I am able to eat about one serving now so I am able to get my protein from food and one protein shake for breakfast.

I'm about 8 months out and I could easily get my protein from 'normal' food however I choose to have 1 protein shake per day because I like it for breakfast and also then I just don't have to think about protein again for the rest of the day because I know I'll hit the rest through food no problem. But if you had eggs for breakfast, greek yogurt and fruit for snack, lunch meat and cheese for lunch, jerky and nuts for snack, meat and veggie for dinner you'd easily hit your goal for the day once you are able to consume a few oz at a time and you'd have a pretty balanced day.

Not once have a used a 'bariatric' food product. I was expected to get my protein and other basic nutritional needs from actual food from day 1. The first three weeks I did as well as I could, which was not enough. After that everything fell into place.

My plan didn't call for x grams of whatever, rather it was 3 meals a day, each meal consisting of 3oz protein and 1oz veggies, eventually small fruit. Somewhere in the first year I wanted to compare my 3 meals a day plan to other folks plans and I was generally a bit over 60 grams of protein per day. Snacks were not on the menu but if I simply had to have snacks SF popsicles were acceptable. Who's kidding whom.. SF popsicles were fantastic!

I got curious about how my plan measured up to other folk, since they were given instructions including x grams of this and y grams of that. After I converted my 3 meals to grams of this or that I learned that my plan was very close the what most other folks were consuming. With the bonus that I don't need to count grams of stuff.

Counting grams of this or that feels like one of the zillion weight loss diets I encountered previously. I went into this with the idea I would never diet again. My surgeon agreed that he didn't want his patients viewing this as another weight loss program. Doc and I agree on this point, a match made in heaven.

Good luck,

Tek

4 hours ago, csrouse said:

For those that are a year or more past surgery, are you able to meet your protein goals with food items from the grocery store, or are you still supplementing with Protein Shakes and/or specialty bariatric products?

I definitely am, and I've set my protein goal higher than what my program requires (they want 80g, I want 100g because I work out).

I still enjoy the mac n cheese from BariatricPal, the protein cocoa, Quest protein chips and some protein, sugar-free gummy bears from Germany. But I don't *have to*. I could do without and still meet my targets.

I’m 2 years & almost 8 months post surgery & I haven’t had a protein shake (or used powders) since the first day of purées. I ate ‘regular’ food from that point on. It was always my intention to get all the nutrients I needed from ‘real’ food. It can be done.

I make choices based upon nutritional content of any food I buy (which isn’t a lot as I try to prep most of what I eat from scratch). I look at the protein content, sugar, carbs, fats & artificial sweeteners & make choices based on that information. Find a good high protein yoghurt & yoghurt drink (watch the added sugars or sweeteners though) to help with your protein intake especially while losing. I still count my protein every day & it is the focus of every meal I eat including all my snacks (except fruit).

At the beginning when you ate eating so little it can be a challenge to get your protein in so bariatric protein enriched foods like the soup can be helpful.

Have a chat with your dietician to identify high protein food options or what you can do to add extra protein. For example I made my scrambled eggs pretty milky & same with the rolled oats I ate.

All the best.

I am just over 3 months out and most days I am able to get all of my protein from whole foods. I always eat my protein first, then veggies if I have room. At this point, I'm still not eating any starchy veggies or simple carbs, simply because I don't have room for them after my protein & fibrous veggies. Occasionally, my restriction is higher which further limits how much I can eat, or if I'm out and about, I'll drink a shake or have a protein bar, but that's definitely not the norm anymore.

As for bariatric foods, I do not and have never used them. When I decided to have surgery, I committed to eating regular, whole foods as much as possible and completely get rid of "diet" foods. I don't do keto/bariatric/low carb/low fat/whatever diet foods or substitutes. I didn't have surgery to eat crappy diet food for the rest of my life; I want to eat GOOD food. Stuff that tastes good and is good for my body. That is just a personal preference though, and lots of people use bariatric foods with great success and truly enjoy them. You have to find what works for you!

yes - most people can get all their protein requirements met through regular food after the first few months.

I use a protein shake for breakfast or drink protein 2 O

Absolutely possible (and to my mind preferable) to get all your protein from real food. I am exactly six weeks post sleeve and haven't needed to top up with any processed protein for about 3 weeks. You need to track it until you are totally confident, and you need to prioritise protein at every meal, as the others have said. My only supplements now are multivitamins and a separate B12 spray now. I won't have blood tests to check vitamin levels for another 6 weeks so may need some readjustment then, but so far so good. I am loving eating small home cooked proper food meals and losing weight (too slowly for my liking though - I know am SO impatient, LOL!!!)

Sorry - having re-read your OP I see you were looking for wisdom from the people who are longer post op - feel free to ignore - I am also here mainly to learn. Good luck! ?

Edited December 30, 20214 yr by Spinoza
added final paragraph

I am able to meet my protein goals with real foods, but I just so happen to really like GNC Lean Protein shakes in chocolate flavor (25g protein) so I have continued to drink them for breakfast because they're easy and taste good.

Each day, I supplement with approximately 30 g of protein powder, between oatmeal and my water. Tracking makes me obsessive, so I figure that even if I don’t have a good food day, I will always have at least another 30 g from food to meet the 60 g minimum. On the few days when I do track the protein, it usually brings me up to 80 g.

I am 3 1/2 months out, I don't eat any bariatric or protein infused prepared foods and I have been consistently hitting my protein goals. I eat a lot of cottage cheese and marinated grilled chicken among other things. It can be done but it involves planning and it helps if you know how to cook so things don't get boring.