Hello, I am 4 weeks post-op after vsg and I am struggling with my protein intake. I was also dehydrated 2 week pop and I been focusing on my hydration but I realized I have been slacking on Protein. Protein shakes make me extremally nauseous and does any one have any tips or ideas in how to increase my protein daily so I don't stay stuck in this stall.

Thanks.

Hey there, fellow Massachusetts person!

Here are a few options that might work for you for protein:

If you like soups such as creamy tomato, butternut bisque, etc., add a scoop or two (10-20g protein) of unflavored protein powder such as Isopure or Syntrax to the soup. Also, if you make a canned soup like cream of chicken, make it with Fairlife skim milk for even more protein. 1/2 a cup cream of chicken with 1 scoop of protein would give you about 17g protein.

If you are at a stage where you can have apples, make a great protein dip by taking 1 cup Greek yogurt and adding one serving chocolate protein powder and 1 scoop powdered peanut butter and eat 1/2 cup with 1/2 an apple. This gives you around 25g protein depending what brands you are using and tastes delicious.

A great source of plant-based protein is edamame, which they sell already shelled and lightly salted, ready to eat, in the produce section of Hannaford (and probably other stores, I would assume). Also, four of the cracker-sized slices of Cabot cheddar have 8g protein, and if you pair it with Triscuit thins, that's another 3g for a nice 10g snack (when you can have crackers).

Hey there, fellow Massachusetts person!

Here are a few options that might work for you for protein:

If you like soups such as creamy tomato, butternut bisque, etc., add a scoop or two (10-20g protein) of unflavored protein powder such as Isopure or Syntrax to the soup. Also, if you make a canned soup like cream of chicken, make it with Fairlife skim milk for even more protein. 1/2 a cup cream of chicken with 1 scoop of protein would give you about 17g protein.

If you are at a stage where you can have apples, make a great protein dip by taking 1 cup Greek yogurt and adding one serving chocolate protein powder and 1 scoop powdered peanut butter and eat 1/2 cup with 1/2 an apple. This gives you around 25g protein depending what brands you are using and tastes delicious.

A great source of plant-based protein is edamame, which they sell already shelled and lightly salted, ready to eat, in the produce section of Hannaford (and probably other stores, I would assume). Also, four of the cracker-sized slices of Cabot cheddar have 8g protein, and if you pair it with Triscuit thins, that's another 3g for a nice 10g snack (when you can have crackers).

8 minutes ago, NickelChip said:

Hey there, fellow Massachusetts person!

Here are a few options that might work for you for protein:

If you like Soups such as creamy Tomato, butternut bisque, etc., add a scoop or two (10-20g protein) of unflavored Protein Powder such as Isopure or Syntrax to the Soup. Also, if you make a canned soup like cream of chicken, make it with Fairlife skim milk for even more Protein. 1/2 a cup cream of chicken with 1 scoop of protein would give you about 17g protein.

If you are at a stage where you can have apples, make a great protein dip by taking 1 cup Greek yogurt and adding one serving chocolate protein powder and 1 scoop powdered Peanut Butter and eat 1/2 cup with 1/2 an apple. This gives you around 25g protein depending what brands you are using and tastes delicious.

A great source of plant-based protein is edamame, which they sell already shelled and lightly salted, ready to eat, in the produce section of Hannaford (and probably other stores, I would assume). Also, four of the cracker-sized slices of Cabot cheddar have 8g protein, and if you pair it with Triscuit thins, that's another 3g for a nice 10g snack (when you can have crackers).

thanks for the tip very helpful will try!

4 hours ago, NickelChip said:

Hey there, fellow Massachusetts person!

Here are a few options that might work for you for protein:

If you like Soups such as creamy Tomato, butternut bisque, etc., add a scoop or two (10-20g protein) of unflavored Protein Powder such as Isopure or Syntrax to the Soup. Also, if you make a canned soup like cream of chicken, make it with Fairlife skim milk for even more Protein. 1/2 a cup cream of chicken with 1 scoop of protein would give you about 17g protein.

If you are at a stage where you can have apples, make a great protein dip by taking 1 cup Greek yogurt and adding one serving chocolate protein powder and 1 scoop powdered Peanut Butter and eat 1/2 cup with 1/2 an apple. This gives you around 25g protein depending what brands you are using and tastes delicious.

A great source of plant-based protein is edamame, which they sell already shelled and lightly salted, ready to eat, in the produce section of Hannaford (and probably other stores, I would assume). Also, four of the cracker-sized slices of Cabot cheddar have 8g protein, and if you pair it with Triscuit thins, that's another 3g for a nice 10g snack (when you can have crackers).

omg that dip sounds AMAZING! Im making this tonight LOL

22 hours ago, NickelChip said:

Hey there, fellow Massachusetts person!

Here are a few options that might work for you for protein:

If you like Soups such as creamy Tomato, butternut bisque, etc., add a scoop or two (10-20g protein) of unflavored Protein Powder such as Isopure or Syntrax to the Soup. Also, if you make a canned soup like cream of chicken, make it with Fairlife skim milk for even more Protein. 1/2 a cup cream of chicken with 1 scoop of protein would give you about 17g protein.

If you are at a stage where you can have apples, make a great protein dip by taking 1 cup Greek yogurt and adding one serving chocolate protein powder and 1 scoop powdered Peanut Butter and eat 1/2 cup with 1/2 an apple. This gives you around 25g protein depending what brands you are using and tastes delicious.

A great source of plant-based protein is edamame, which they sell already shelled and lightly salted, ready to eat, in the produce section of Hannaford (and probably other stores, I would assume). Also, four of the cracker-sized slices of Cabot cheddar have 8g protein, and if you pair it with Triscuit thins, that's another 3g for a nice 10g snack (when you can have crackers).

if I’m not mistaken the PB Fit came in different flavors at one point??. I haven’t seen them in a while though. I’m wondering if that would be as good (if I can find it) since your dip sounds absolutely delish but I don’t like just chocolate shakes at all so I would have a ton of protein powder leftover. Edited to add that I realize why you do it that way now that I looked it up the PB Fit is only 6 grams of protein and the scoop of protein powder is a lot more. Ignore me. Lol

Edited March 26, 20242 yr by ShoppGirl

1 hour ago, ShoppGirl said:

if I’m not mistaken the PB Fit came in different flavors at one point??. I haven’t seen them in a while though. I’m wondering if that would be as good (if I can find it) since your dip sounds absolutely delish but I don’t like just chocolate shakes at all so I would have a ton of Protein Powder leftover. Edited to add that I realize why you do it that way now that I looked it up the PB Fit is only 6 grams of protein and the scoop of protein powder is a lot more. Ignore me. Lol

There is a brand of peanut butter powder that has flavors like cookie dough and such. I think that might be nice.

And yes, the protein shake powder is way higher in protein. I feel like mixing it as a shake makes me gag, but using it as a fruit dip somehow changes how it tastes to me. I may try it with a strawberry banana shake mix I have too. Being back on liquids right now is messing with me because I've come to hate the texture of shakes. And even a more natural version made with yogurt, banana, and pb powder is making me gag today. One more week of this and then hopefully I can go back to eating soft protein and maybe a little bit of veg. I miss veg. I didn't expect to be back at square one 5 weeks post-op! As soon as I can, I'm going to have fruit dip!

16 minutes ago, NickelChip said:

There is a brand of Peanut Butter powder that has flavors like cookie dough and such. I think that might be nice.

And yes, the Protein Shake powder is way higher in protein. I feel like mixing it as a shake makes me gag, but using it as a fruit dip somehow changes how it tastes to me. I may try it with a strawberry banana shake mix I have too. Being back on liquids right now is messing with me because I've come to hate the texture of shakes. And even a more natural version made with yogurt, banana, and pb powder is making me gag today. One more week of this and then hopefully I can go back to eating soft protein and maybe a little bit of veg. I miss veg. I didn't expect to be back at square one 5 weeks post-op! As soon as I can, I'm going to have fruit dip!

Ooh. PB cookie dough does sound good. Why were you set back to liquids? Have you tried the clear protein. I used the ones by premiere protein my first time around and they are pretty good. Seems like it was fruit punch or peach flavor was the options. I don’t lile peaches but the fruit punch wasn’t bad.

46 minutes ago, ShoppGirl said:

Why were you set back to liquids? Have you tried the clear protein. I used the ones by premiere protein my first time around and they are pretty good. Seems like it was fruit punch or peach flavor was the options. I don’t lile peaches but the fruit punch wasn’t bad.

My program has one week of liquids, soft proteins at week 2, and then if you are meeting your protein and hydration goals, you can start adding some veg and fruit starting the third week. So, I was eating things like eggs, tuna, cottage cheese, salmon, and some very well cooked veg like broccoli and green beans. I was doing fine until last week when I had several incidents of vomiting. So my doctor moved me back to liquids 5 days ago to allow healing. I'm stuck with it until my appointment a week from today and pretty much everything sounds terrible. Anything with sweetener is too sweet. I have clear protein water and I swear it tasted like perfume. I made a smoothie with frozen banana today and even that was too sweet. Protein shakes disgust me. I have one flavor I can handle. So I'm mostly doing cream soups with a scoop of unflavored protein. Everything about eating feels really disgusting right now, although I haven't had any issues with my stomach, so that's a good thing. And my hydration has been consistently good.

I personally added protein powder to everything that passed my lips the first four to six weeks! It doesn't have to be a lot, it adds up pretty quickly. I did this until I started on my Fair life elite core drinks (42grams)..just make sure to drink no more than half at each meal, anymore and our bodies can't process that much Protein in a short time (according to my surgeon and dietician).

2 hours ago, NickelChip said:

My program has one week of liquids, soft Proteins at week 2, and then if you are meeting your protein and hydration goals, you can start adding some veg and fruit starting the third week. So, I was eating things like eggs, tuna, cottage cheese, salmon, and some very well cooked veg like broccoli and green Beans. I was doing fine until last week when I had several incidents of vomiting. So my doctor moved me back to liquids 5 days ago to allow healing. I'm stuck with it until my appointment a week from today and pretty much everything sounds terrible. Anything with sweetener is too sweet. I have clear protein Water and I swear it tasted like perfume. I made a smoothie with frozen banana today and even that was too sweet. Protein Shakes disgust me. I have one flavor I can handle. So I'm mostly doing cream Soups with a scoop of unflavored protein. Everything about eating feels really disgusting right now, although I haven't had any issues with my stomach, so that's a good thing. And my hydration has been consistently good.

I’m so sorry you are having issues. Hopefully it’s just the one week and you are back on track. If you are allowed caffeine, the premiere protein caffe latte was the only shake that didn’t taste extra sweet to me. Some people said they just mixed a shake with coffee to achieve this as well. Others on here have mentioned mixing the shakes with fairlife milk to thin them out a bit and I’m guessing that cuts the sweetness too. If not, I guess just stick with the soups since they are actually staying down okay. I’m glad you are not vomiting anymore and you are meeting uour hydration goals.

These tips are super helpful. Is there an app or a tracker that you are using to see how much protein you are taking in?

25 minutes ago, TinyBink said:

These tips are super helpful. Is there an app or a tracker that you are using to see how much Protein you are taking in?

I haven’t had my revision surgery yet and I did it the old fashioned way with my sleeve but someone mentioned the Baritastic app. I’m pretty sure that tracks everything.

16 hours ago, TinyBink said:

These tips are super helpful. Is there an app or a tracker that you are using to see how much Protein you are taking in?

I personally use the Baritastic app. It tracks your macros, exercise, bowel moments (if you need/want that) H2O ...etc. It also has a countdown from starting the program to your surgery to maintenance and beyond. It also has recipes for each stage and a vitamin tracker. ?