Hey people!

4 months and 3 days post RNY.

What meal and snack ideas can you give me that are high in protein? I'm still not hitting my goals and currently thinking about drinking protein, turns my stomach. This happened in the beginning aftrr surgery as well. Any good recipes? I know there are recipes on here somewhere, but what are your top high protein foods? I need to start planning my foods ahead again.

How long did everyone's hair loss last? When I had lapband in 2009, my hair loss wasn't as bad as it is this time. My hair gets SO tangled! Probably because this time my hair is lightened and colored with fashion colors. But, when did the hair loss start to ease up for you?

I feel like im overeating. I feel like I could have lost a lot more weight by now. If it's not overeating then it's high calorie foods. For example, I can eat almost a who bagel with a serving of cream cheese and a 1/2 to a cup of cherries for breakfast. A lot of the times I skip lunch because I eat whatever I have at breakfast at that time. Then if I have a snack yes I'll eat a junk food item like a serving of chips or a cheesestick and then at dinner I'd have the 3 ounce of chicken, with 1/2 cup veggies and spoonful (the ones you cook with) of rice. Of course I'd have regular BBQ sauce or chic fil a sauce (a serving) and a serving of butter on my rice. Then awhile later before I get in the shower I'll have one or two of the following; a popsicle, another serving of chips, popcorn, yogurt, ice cream sandwich (yep I shouldn't be eating this. No, it hasn't made me sick and no I don't have it often), a cheesestick, etc. Or sometimes I'd eat some cereal if I know it doesn't make me feel sick. When I write it out, it doesn't look like I'm overeating, but when I track it, it comes out to be around 1200 calories. I shouldn't stress, but I need to make better choices and maybe make schedule for water intake and food intake.

PLEASE, no rude/mean replies. Please be helpful. I want to succeed, and right now I feel like I'm not gonna succeed eventhough I'm not gaining, I'm still slowly losing.

Thanks for your time!

On 6/27/2023 at 7:41 AM, LindsayT said:

Pinterest is a great place for recipes as well.

When eating tuna/chicken/or egg salad, I don't normally eat it with anything. I want to keep the room in my stomach for the Protein. To get Fiber (and a little extra protein) with it, I like to add thawed frozen peas to my chicken or tuna salad.

Maybe talk with your family about keeping Snacks and other foods more hidden so they're not so tempting to get into.

Another option is to make up your own snack boxes, so you can just pull them out. Maybe some reduced fat cheese and veggies, hummus and veggies, or whatever else you like.

Meal planning (even out to eat planning) is so important for us. I have noticed that foods are way more unhealthy than we think. For example, our regular brand of Pasta Sauce has 16g of added sugar per serving (not to mention the added surger in a lot of food in the US), a small burger patty from a fast food place (no bun or condiments) is 280 calories, and carbs and salt are lerking everywhere in prepackaged and restaurant foods. For example, I got a cup of Soup at Penara the other day and just looked at the calories when I ordered, once I tracked it in my app, it had over 2,000mg of sodium. Yikes! (Remember, track first) And I'm not scared of carbs, they just need to be the right carbs; however, they all add up. I try and stay under 60 carbs per day. So, I've learned to track before I put anything in my mouth, unless I know it meets the criteria that my dietitian has put me on. Sometimes, life happens and it's not always possible and none of us are perfect; it's really the effort we put in. Gosh, it's hard though.

None of this is easy, I totally get that. And whoever said this was easy....well, I have a few words for them. I look at the surgery as a tool to help us fight back to get healthy and get our lives back, but it's still up to us to use it properly. (Not saying your not, it's more of a reminder for all of us).

Again, I wish you all the best.

I like the snack box idea! I could totally see my own version of those P3 snack things. Minus the ham/turkey. The taste of ham and turkey lunch meat just tastes gross to me right now. So nuts, fruit and cheese or nuts veggies and cheese. Or instead of cheese, add Hummus or the Greek yogurt ranch dip we can make.

It's still hard for me to eat the right things since it's not readily available so yes, I need to write down the meals I want to make and go grocery shopping. I drink more water than I have been, but still not enough. Nowhere near my protein goal either.

I am thinking about keeping my carbs lower as well, but more than 60, maybe 100?

I'm definitely having a great experience with this, no regrets at all. My weight has been going down and that's awesome to me ?

6 hours ago, Erin18 said:

I like the snack box idea! I could totally see my own version of those P3 snack things. Minus the ham/turkey. The taste of ham and turkey lunch meat just tastes gross to me right now. So nuts, fruit and cheese or nuts veggies and cheese. Or instead of cheese, add Hummus or the Greek yogurt ranch dip we can make.

It's still hard for me to eat the right things since it's not readily available so yes, I need to write down the meals I want to make and go grocery shopping. I drink more Water than I have been, but still not enough. Nowhere near my Protein goal either.

I am thinking about keeping my carbs lower as well, but more than 60, maybe 100?

I'm definitely having a great experience with this, no regrets at all. My weight has been going down and that's awesome to me ?

Sounds like you have some great ideas that'll work for you. So happy things are going well for you!

13 hours ago, Erin18 said:

I like the snack box idea! I could totally see my own version of those P3 snack things. Minus the ham/turkey. The taste of ham and turkey lunch meat just tastes gross to me right now.

Is it ham and turkey or specifically the lunch meats? Because the beauty of making your own is, use chopped turkey breast. Cube ham. Make it yours. ? Now I'm really looking forward to being able to eat again! (Still in post op liquid phase.)

30 minutes ago, WanderingLass said:

Is it ham and turkey or specifically the lunch meats? Because the beauty of making your own is, use chopped turkey breast. Cube ham. Make it yours. ? Now I'm really looking forward to being able to eat again! (Still in post op liquid phase.)

Lunch meats are funky to me as well, but I do like adding lean meats to my boxes like leftover chicken, turkey, ham, or steak (steak is touchy for some, so see how your stomach reacts). And be careful that the meats aren't too dry. Leftover meat can dry out and cause your stomach problems. I also like imitation crab or shrimp cocktail for some different protein options. For me, it's all about mixing it up so I don't be bored.

Eating again is so much more enjoyable. Food just hits different, ya know. The taste, texture, and smells are like trying something for the first time. Just keep in mind things that you liked before, you may not like after surgery or when you start eating again. That one weirds me out. I'm hoping my liking to those foods comes back as time goes on.

8 hours ago, WanderingLass said:

Is it ham and turkey or specifically the lunch meats? Because the beauty of making your own is, use chopped turkey breast. Cube ham. Make it yours. ? Now I'm really looking forward to being able to eat again! (Still in post op liquid phase.)

Just the lunch meats lol. It's just the ones already packaged, maybe that's why. I really want to get some right from. The deli to see if it's any better. But I definitely like the non leach meat meats haha. The liquid phase was hard for me, but you'll get there before you know it! ?

3 minutes ago, Erin18 said:

Just the lunch meats lol. It's just the ones already packaged, maybe that's why. I really want to get some right from. The deli to see if it's any better. But I definitely like the non leach meat meats haha. The liquid phase was hard for me, but you'll get there before you know it! ?

Meats from the deli are definitely better than the prepackaged stuff. But they both are not doing it for me. I've been craving cured Italian meats, but they are much higher in fat and calories...bummer.

Just as something to consider: Dr Matthew Weiner (his you tube videos are great) posted this about lunch meats & other ‘protein’ snacks recently. Maybe try cooking up a little chicken breast or thigh or turkey yourself & freeze small portions to defrost as snacks. You could marinate it, add your own herbs & spices for flavour. I’d sometimes buy a quarter BBQ chicken from the supermarket eat some as a meal & freeze the leftovers in small portions for snacks.

I did eat pork sausages when I first got to solid foods. I got them from my butcher who makes his own & not those mass produced highly processed supermarket ones.

PS - I did run & check my protein bars for the 10:1 ratio. Mine are little over, oops, but I’m 4 yrs out so not as important.

Just as something to consider: Dr Matthew Weiner (his you tube videos are great) posted this about lunch meats & other ‘protein’ snacks recently. Maybe try cooking up a little chicken breast or thigh or turkey yourself & freeze small portions to defrost as snacks. You could marinate it, add your own herbs & spices for flavour. I’d sometimes buy a quarter BBQ chicken from the supermarket eat some as a meal & freeze the leftovers in small portions for snacks.

I did eat pork sausages when I first got to solid foods. I got them from my butcher who makes his own & not those mass produced highly processed supermarket ones.

PS - I did run & check my protein bars for the 10:1 ratio. Mine are little over, oops, but I’m 4 yrs out so not as important.

Convenience is also a thing to consider. For example, Jello makes ready-made sugar free Jello cups and sugar free chocolate pudding cups. I always have these on hand for my chocolate craving that pops up every now and then. I also always keep Sarrgento low fat mozzarella string cheese and lower fat Babybels on hand. I always have Chobani zero sugar Greek yogurt on hand as well. I know you said it makes you gag right now and I went through something similar because i honestly dislike Greek yogurt but I have learned to eat it. I buy multiple flavors to keep it "fresh". I can finally eat fresh fruit and vegetables so I buy a bag of frozen blueberries to add to my yogurt cup. That really helps the yogurt go down smoothly. I also still drink a Premier protein Chocolate Peanut butter ready-made shake every day. That is the only one I can get down without difficulty although the cookies and creme does taste just like Oreos! Maybe try a different brand/flavor of protein shake. I'm 3.5 months post sleeve and just met with my nutritionist. They love protein shakes for us and told me to continue to drink them. I have not had bread, pasta or rice since my surgery 3.5 months ago. That was something I prepared myself for prior to surgery. I will make enough dinner to have it as a leftover for lunch at work the next day. There are so many lower fat/ no sugar options. Use cauliflower rice instead of regular rice. Add salsa to it and you have Spanish rice! Use zoodles or spaghetti squash for pasta substitute. Use a lettuce leaf instead of bread for burgers. Use plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Dip veggies in hummus or ranch dip made with greek yogurt for more protein. I think if you make changes as everyone has suggested you will be successful on your journey. Don't get discouraged because you've already realized you need to change how you eat. That is already a win for you! Good luck, I know you will be ok! We are always here for support!

I started losing my hair at 2 months post-op and it stopped after my dietician recommended that I drink an ounce or 2 of keifer per day which was at 4 months post-op. I did it for a month because she didn't tell me how long I needed to until the next month when I went back for my visit and I was only supposed to do it for a week. However, it seemed to reset my gut microbes and helped with a the constant nausea I was having.

I feel as though I can relate to what you've been going through. I've been losing slowly myself and they have me tracking all of my foods so that I am noticing how many carbs I am eating. My program suggests limiting carbs to 30 grams per day. I find this extremely difficult especially after the surgery because I get really tired after eating a higher protein meal. I do meal prep. I take a cup of chicken and marinate it in different marinades, cook it and I freeze it in small containers so that I have snacks or ready cooked protein for meals. I keep cottage cheese, boiled eggs, and string cheese or cubed cheese handy in the fridge. I have tried to change all my high carb foods like potato chips, ice cream, and milk to the high protein versions. I get the quest high protein chips, fairlife milk, and if I want any ice cream I get the yasso greek yogurt frozen bars. My biggest problem is the vending machine at work. Cheez-its are my kryptonite and I'm just really lucky that the past 3 weeks they haven't restocked the machine with Cheez-its ?.

I have a hard time with drinking the no sugar drinks like diet coke or coke zero. Too many of any diet drink and my stomach is upset. Also, I'm having a hard time with drinking plain water because I don't like the taste. When I saw the dietician this month she suggested that I get an infuser water bottle and it's helping. She told me that I needed to make sure that I was drinking enough water, reaching my protein goals, and try to keep my carbs as close to 30 as I can. She also suggested that I start doing some cardio every day 15-30 minutes.

I have lost a total of 60 pounds including 15 before the surgery. I still want to lose another 30-40 pounds and I'm 7months post-op. I've only been losing about 5 lbs each month since about 2 months post-op. I'm hoping to see more weight loss with the changes that I keep implementing. I was very discouraged when I started noticing everything that I was doing but my doctor and dietician were so supportive. They were very encouraging and told me that the surgery is my tool but that I would have to make some long-term lifestyle changes and the fact that I'm noticing what I'm doing and trying to make corrections that I was still on the right path. I'm sure that you will also reach your goals and the hair loss will stop eventually. Once the hair loss stops you'll have a bunch of baby hairs growing in ?.

On 7/20/2023 at 3:42 PM, naynay77 said:

I started losing my hair at 2 months post-op and it stopped after my dietician recommended that I drink an ounce or 2 of keifer per day which was at 4 months post-op. I did it for a month because she didn't tell me how long I needed to until the next month when I went back for my visit and I was only supposed to do it for a week. However, it seemed to reset my gut microbes and helped with a the constant nausea I was having.

I feel as though I can relate to what you've been going through. I've been losing slowly myself and they have me tracking all of my foods so that I am noticing how many carbs I am eating. My program suggests limiting carbs to 30 grams per day. I find this extremely difficult especially after the surgery because I get really tired after eating a higher Protein meal. I do meal prep. I take a cup of chicken and marinate it in different marinades, cook it and I freeze it in small containers so that I have Snacks or ready cooked protein for meals. I keep cottage cheese, boiled eggs, and string cheese or cubed cheese handy in the fridge. I have tried to change all my high carb foods like potato chips, ice cream, and milk to the high protein versions. I get the Quest high protein chips, fairlife milk, and if I want any ice cream I get the yasso greek yogurt frozen bars. My biggest problem is the vending machine at work. Cheez-its are my kryptonite and I'm just really lucky that the past 3 weeks they haven't restocked the machine with Cheez-its ?.

I have a hard time with drinking the no sugar drinks like diet coke or coke zero. Too many of any diet drink and my stomach is upset. Also, I'm having a hard time with drinking plain Water because I don't like the taste. When I saw the dietician this month she suggested that I get an infuser water bottle and it's helping. She told me that I needed to make sure that I was drinking enough water, reaching my protein goals, and try to keep my carbs as close to 30 as I can. She also suggested that I start doing some cardio every day 15-30 minutes.

I have lost a total of 60 pounds including 15 before the surgery. I still want to lose another 30-40 pounds and I'm 7months post-op. I've only been losing about 5 lbs each month since about 2 months post-op. I'm hoping to see more weight loss with the changes that I keep implementing. I was very discouraged when I started noticing everything that I was doing but my doctor and dietician were so supportive. They were very encouraging and told me that the surgery is my tool but that I would have to make some long-term lifestyle changes and the fact that I'm noticing what I'm doing and trying to make corrections that I was still on the right path. I'm sure that you will also reach your goals and the Hair loss will stop eventually. Once the hair loss stops you'll have a bunch of baby hairs growing in ?.

I feel like im going to destroy my journey because I keep reaching for the sugary drinks too especially soda and I know im not even supposed to be drinking them. Once I saw that I can tolerate them, I allow myself to drink them. I really don't want to drink them because this is why I wanted the surgery so I can't drink them and if I did I'd get sick. But I don't get sick and my mind thinks it's okay to drink it. Ahh! I can only drink about 6 to 8 ounces of it depending on what kind it is. If it gets flat, I don't want it. I honestly believe it's the carbonation that I crave, but im not sure. I just really want to avoid it, it's soo hard. I drink water as much as I can, no where near the recommended amount tho.

The drink packets are too sweet for me and I just want something tasted to drink. Maybe I'll start combining fruits in my water for something refreshing with lots of ice. I did save a few videos on tik tok that are meant for bariatric patients that I want to try. I'll have to order some of those sugar free syrups to make tastes drinks without all the sugar and maybe I'll find something 100x better than soda that I'll crave. Or at least that's what I'm hoping.

I could totally marinate chicken and turkey or even steak and portion them out and freeze them. It just sucks when you live with family and if you're having something weird they all complain lol.

Oh yes, I don't like the sugary drink once it gets flat either. I've tried to drink the zero sugar drinks but they upset my stomach and are very sweet. I enjoyed my cirkul but it isn't carbonated. My husband and my daughter eat a lot of fast food or highly carb filled foods, so I can understand when they think that you eat something weird. Even though they are supportive it's still very difficult to not eat or at least take a bite or 2 of it. I did get them to try the chicken meatballs and cauliflower rice and they liked that so it's a start. I'm really really trying to change my habits but I'm finding that I'm not meal prepping enough. I feel like I need to take that modo "a boy scout is always prepared' and apply it to my eating habits. ?

Try sparkling water instead of soda. All the bubbles but no sugar or artificial sweeteners.

The artificial sweeteners in the zero sugar drinks could be what’s upsetting you @naynay77. The sugar alcohol ones (any ending in ‘ol’) are the usual culprits.

I've been very specifically told that all carbonated beverages after surgery are completely off the table for a number of reasons including the high risk of stretching of the stomach pouch, suppression of nutrient absorption, bloating, irritation of the stomach lining, and especially in the case of regular sugared versions, they're 100% empty calories.

There is also a study that was done by the University of Wisconsin that found soda and other carbonated drinks decrease weight loss after bariatric surgery and that they heavily impacted how much weight patients lost. Over 80% of patients who quit drinking soda after surgery achieved their weight loss goals while almost 50% of those who continued their drinking habits had unsatisfactory results.

University of Wisconsin predictors of weight loss after gastric bypass study The section that addresses soda consumption is 3.3.1 with the breakdown in Table 3

Edited to insert this section quoted from the study;

"Patients who did not drink soda preoperatively or quit by the surgery date were more likely to experience successful weight loss compared with those who drank soda preoperatively and were not able to quit. Given that all soda drinkers were counseled by our dieticians to quit soda consumption preoperatively, this variable may be a proxy for postoperative dietary compliance. Those who were unable to quit soda consumption preoperatively may have been less likely to comply with our dietary recommendations postoperatively. Furthermore, given that consuming liquid carbohydrates such as soda leads to poorer satiety compared with eating solid foods, caloric intake may have been significantly higher in patients who continued to drink soda postoperatively [34,35]. Given these findings, cessation of soda consumption preoperatively continues to be an important part of our preoperative bariatric patient evaluation process."

Edited July 28, 20233 yr by ShooterInTheSix

Ohhh, the soda thing is good to know. I don't have a habit of drinking them, but this is incentive not to develop one before surgery!

Also, to the OP, have you checked out the little bento box containers you can get on Amazon? There are a variety of them. I have two different ones and love them because they make it so easy to prep meals and snacks! I have the Kinsho small bentos and the Easy Lunchboxes bento snack boxes.

The sugar free drink mixes can be overly sweet but you can cut them with unsweetened tea! Or carbonated water if you are craving carbonation and don't want to quit. Or just use a portion of the pack/dilute it more and add fruit/lemon slices. I find I crave the taste of sour fruit things, so adding lemonade powder and lemons or limes to things usually cuts the cloying sweetness some of those other fruit flavors have. I often use the unsweetened Just Lemon or Just Lime powder in things. I think you can even get a grapefruit one. Just avoid the sugar alcohols, they are brutal on the gut!