Just had my second follow up with my Dr. (who I'm not very impressed with anymore) and would like some help figuring out how to get all my protein needs in. I am supposed to get 80g a day but only eat 3 times a day 5 hours apart, no snacks, and I can only physically eat 4oz at a time Not allowed cheese or protein shakes, I don't really like yogurt. No added carbs that aren't already in food ( which isn't that big of a problem). I am also supposed to be adding vegetables in but don't see how I can eat vegetables and get my protein.

I just requested a meeting with a dietician and hope they can help. Just a little discouraged after my appointment and needed to vent.

It’s a shame you didn’t enjoy yoghurt that’s where I got my extra protein in each day. It was my allowed snack (could have fruit or yoghurt, 1 snack per day). Have you tried blending it with milk to make a yoghurt drink? You could get 20-30g of protein depending on the yoghurt brand you use & how much milk you add. I sipped it in the afternoon. It counted as a fluid as well as protein - yay!

I know some people add protein powders to various drinks or make their own smoothies blending it with fruit &/or vegetables.

Protein water is another option.

Hopefully your dietician will come up with other suggestions.

That would have to count as my meal. I would drink a protein shake if I was allowed.
For right now, I’m just stuck with eating a chunk of meat until I can eat more.

Most surgeons will not be much help in regard to what you need to be eating post op. Please check in with a bariatric dietician to sort out your food choices.

You can have eggs. You can have baked beans. You can have a fillet of fish with vegies. You can have custard and that will count to your protein. You can add protein powder to your shakes. You can have smoothies with protein powder in. You can even add protein powder to tea and coffee.

I am adding a link to a site in Australia that sells Tasteless protein powder. https://costpricesupplements.com.au/tasteless-protein-collagen-500g-by-feel-good-protein/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=tasteless_protein&utm_term=tasteless%20protein%20powder&utm_content=138100867419&gclid=CjwKCAjwr_CnBhA0EiwAci5siq4K5LLhUSBAsPkQkza1QEg4FXhXg6aTlkA9D1xJdMOKSZAsupmjmBoCoVUQAvD_BwE It will end up cheaper for you with the exchange rate.

Hope that the bariatric dietician can expand your food choices.

that's too bad he's anti-shake. Most of us have to use those for a couple of months - or until we can meet the protein requirements through food. I wonder If he'd allow Fairlife milk? That's much higher in protein than regular milk.

Ok, not to sound too harsh here, but your surgeon is being stupid. In this one (and only this one) thing, ignore him. There's nothing wrong with shakes. And you should be eating 4-5 times per day, 3 hours apart. I do 3 meals and 2 snacks. For my snacks, I do things like colby jack cheese cubes and pepperoni slices. Or pepper jack cheese sticks and salami (or roast beef) slices (sandwich meat). I tend to make my own protein shakes in the morning, mostly because I've never been big on breakfast foods, so making a protein shake works well for me.

I get my protein shakes from Arbonne (so so many vitamins in it, 20g of protein, mixes well, not grainy, and really yummy flavors). I'll put in 16oz of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 2 scoops of whatever protein shake I'm doing that day, 2 tbsp of avocado (no flavor, makes the shake creamy, added healthy fat), 1 tbsp mct oil, 1 tsp black seed oil, 2 tbsp "triple seeds" (flax, chia, and hemp seeds), 1 scoop Arbonne protein boost (10mg protein), 2 scoops Arbonne probiotic fiber booster, 2-3 tbsp Jordan's skinny syrup (whatever flavor I want to add, it has no calories, no carbs, no sugar), sometimes I add frozen fruit (depending on the flavor shake I'm doing), a few icecubes, blend, and YUMMY!!!!!

When eating meals, you want to make sure they are protein first, then veggies, then carbs. Too much protein isn't good for you. That's why, in general, you need between 60-80g protein. I tend to be in the 80-90 range on heavy work out days, and 60-70 on rest days. If I know I can't get my veggies in, I drink my greens. I get the Arbonne super greens powder (blend of 36 fruits and veggies), and I make sure to add the Arbonne GutHealth (digestive enzymes with pre and pro biotics). Drinking greens is a good way to supplement getting in your fruits and veggies without adding all the extra calories, carbs, and sugar. But it's not meant to completely replace eating veggies. It just helps if you're struggling to get them in, or if you really don't like to eat them all that much.

You stomach is much smaller than it used to be, so you need to eat more often. I tend to get protein in 2 of my meals and both snacks. The 3rd meal usually has more veggies (I love salad, so I've been known to have a salad for a meal and have very little protein in it) but with my shake, my snacks, and 1 other meal, I get the protein I need. I like to add veggies to my salad (green peppers, olives, cucumbers, shredded carrots, etc) so I try to balance my needs with protein and veggies that way (and drinking a greens drink at least 3-4x per week). I drink A LOT of water (84oz typically per day) and that actually helps with hunger. So does drinking tea (I love green tea, black tea, white tea, oolong tea, and yerba mate tea). It's true that protein helps you feel full longer, but you can't fill up on just protein. Your body needs a variety of foods, vitamins, nutrients, and minerals to be balanced and healthy.

Your plan is not that different from my plan. 3 meals of 3-4oz protein + 1oz veggies, no snacks, no protein drinks. The idea is learning to eat like a healthy person. It took me several months to be able to complete a meal somewhat regularly.

Unfortunately for your Surgeon, the math doesn't really work out. There is no way you will get to 80g of protein on this plan, nor do you need that much. 60oz is more than enough for a healthy person. Depending on your size even less may be OK.

Regardless, just do the best you can. You can only fill a cup so much. You will manage.

All these years later, this is still my eating plan. It just comes naturally now. Still don't manage to eat everything much of the time.

Good luck,

Tek

I would talk to your dietitian or nutritionist. Your doctor is a surgeon. When I read this type of advice from them I just have to wonder.. I would have questioned him about that most definitely. They don’t know everything.
my dietitian said 3 meals, 2 snacks. She preferred only one protein shake a day. And drink, drink, drink.
good luck

Here is my suggestion for a natural breakfast smoothie with around 25g protein, which does not rely on protein powder and can be made dairy-free:

1/2 c Greek yogurt or soft tofu (about 10g protein)

1 Tbsp hemp seeds (3g protein)

12 oz milk or soy milk (12g protein)

2-3 oz frozen spinach (gets you some veggies!)

4-5 oz your frozen fruits (tastes yummy!)

Blend, blend, blend, and you're done.

I'm pre-op but this is what I have been having every morning for the past month or so, along with a big lunch salad with chick peas, black beans, and salmon in it. I like that smoothies don't require a lot of thinking and have no added sugar or anything artificial. Personally, I add a scoop of whey for an additional 21g protein, so if your nutritionist is cool with that, I highly recommend it. You could do pea protein if you can't do dairy. I honestly don't see many ways to reach those goals given the restrictions you've been given and how little you can eat right now, so definitely talk to the nutritionist for a reality check on those numbers!

On 9/9/2023 at 5:40 AM, catwoman7 said:

that's too bad he's anti-shake. Most of us have to use those for a couple of months - or until we can meet the Protein requirements through food. I wonder If he'd allow Fairlife milk? That's much higher in protein than regular milk.

My nutritionist said she loves Premier Protein shakes and said i could drink them the rest of my life!

Just because your surgeon (or dietician) told you do something, doesn't mean that it's actually possible. They usually don't think about their guidelines that hard.

You kind of have to work through it yourself.

To meet these requirements, you need to get 80 g of protein in 12 oz of food max, but realistically more like 9 oz to accommodate the volume of your veggies. You need protein food with at least 8.9 grams of protein per oz.

If you go for the most protein dense solid foods, you can do it, barely. 3 oz of chicken breast or egg white (not the whole egg!) has 27 grams of protein. So you eat 3 oz of egg whites for breakfast with 1 oz of veg, and 3 oz chicken breast + 1 oz veg for lunch and dinner.

You can't really afford to eat protein foods that are less dense (like shrimp, tuna, lean beef) unless you give up on the veg, so chicken breast and egg white are pretty much your only options. (If y'all know of another food with 27 g of protein per 3 oz, please let me know!) If you cut back to a half an oz of veggies per meal, you might be able to get away with some of them.

Does this sound absolutely awful to me? 100% But if you want to follow your surgeon's recommendations, this is, mathematically, pretty much the only option. And you can do a lot with cooking methods, spices, and mixing up the veggies to make this a little more tolerable.

It is unlikely that the surgeon has thought through the practical requirements of their recommendation and done the math. (Less than 350 cals per day at over 3 months out seems a little severe, even to me.) It's unlikely that they expect you to actually follow their recommendations.

It's much more likely, imo, that they think that protein shakes equals processed and processed equals bad, that they had a patient once who liked cheese who didn't lose weight after surgery, and that they expect you to eat utter garbage at least 25% of the time so a strict, highly restrictive diet the remaining 75% of the time you're compliant is the only way to succeed.

Edited September 13, 20233 yr by Nepenthe44

What is his reasoning for all these restrictions?? I'd consult a dietician trained in bariatrics, most doctors and surgeons have NO CLUE about nutrition and come up with these odd plans that have no medical basis because they don't think about the patients who will actually try implementing them. If the dietician there supports his weird restrictions, find another one. There is no medical data saying bariatric patients should avoid cheese and protein shakes post surgery. Are they checking your vitamin and mineral levels? You'd become deficient eventually without proper supplementation on a plan like that. Early post op recs are different than maintenance when you are over a year out and your restriction has eased up some. I know some docs favor a no snack plan because they think snacks will lead to mindless eating, but planned snacks can actually PREVENT mindless eating. Anyone can hold out for an hour or two when they know when they will eat next...

Again, some people can survive on this sort of plan long term after the first year, but to try forcing it when you are still healing is cruel and misguided. You will end up with a lot of fatigue and weakness because you aren't getting enough nutrients.

Finally got another referral to a dietician as my Surgeon doesn't offer a dietician after surgery, but couldn't get an appointment to see her until Oct. 19th.

Really not happy with my aftercare after this surgery. If I had known that after surgery I would basically be on my own, I would have chosen another Doctor. I am happy that I didn't have to do the long process to get surgery and that it went fine and so far no complications but otherwise the Doctor sucks.

I am still basically eating only turkey or chicken and trying to get in a little bit of vegetables, I am supplementing with a green powder drink in the morning. Eating has lost all enjoyment now and I know that I can't do this long term as it's not healthy to only eat protein. I am just waiting until my appointment to change what I am eating now.

There's a point where you may need to do some of your own research and make decisions that are right for YOUR body, because I agree with the sentiments shared above that the person telling you don't drink protein shakes this early in your recovery is useless.

There may be people out there who can hit 80g of protein on whole food when they're only able to eat 1/2 a cup at a time, but I definitely wasn't one of them. I still have to eat a bar or two to fully reach 80g of protein and I am two years out. That's ludicrous.

Its crazy how different every Dr is. Mine tells me the same things to strive for. 3 meals plus a snack no more than 4oz or 1/2 cup. But she 100% understands that I just can not physically do it yet at 2 month post op. So she absolutely tells me to supplement with shakes because it is more important to “try” to get to these guidelines while maintaining my protein intake for the health of my body. Right now she says is the time to take advantage of the weight loss, to try all the foods I can tolerate so I can build that healthy diet. But telling my I am not allowed to supplement will only discourage me and make me feel like a failure. She said these are your goals, and every day you work to make it to these goals. But 3 priorities over everything. Water Protein vitamins…..

To ensure I get all my protein, I focus on incorporating a variety of protein sources like lean meats, legumes, and dairy into each meal. I also include protein-rich snacks throughout the day, such as nuts and Greek yogurt. Lastly, I consider using protein supplements if needed to meet my daily goals.