Hard to make yourself eat when for so long on diets you were trying not to!

[SuperMom 33]

For years - I have probably been up and down 40-50 lbs three or four times in my life - Adkins or Sugarbusters seemed to work the best on me. Now I find myself one month out of sleeve surgery and not able to eat red meat or chicken yet (which for years has been my mainstay - avoid the carbs and eat the lean meats right?). Since the surgery I am not hungry at all. The only way I know to eat is I get a weird kind of pain in the middle of my back and realize it is meal time. Presurgery I did the shakes and Protein pudding and lost some pounds and thought the shakes would work for me after surgery. I am not sure what happened but since the surgery the shakes make me GAG. It is so weird to have to 'make" myself eat something. After years of being able to eat everything and anything.....I find myself standing in the kitchen scratching my head ALOT. I am really not hungry. I think to myself "drink the shake" and almost immediatly think "barf". I have ordered the chicken Soup with protein added. I am hoping when it gets here that will help my problem. I really can't eat enough real food right now to meet the protein 40-50 mark and I really just can't do the shakes. Will there come a time when I can eat enough meat to not have to do the protein supplements? Will it hurt for now if I only get 30 ish of protein for the next couple of weeks? I am loosing alot of weight and my energy and stamina feel fine. I have lost 37 lbs so far (10 were presurgery). Thanks for any suggestions.

[Disney 20]

Yes, you will be able to eat enough meat, etc. to get your Protein in later. Lots of us had trouble in the beginning. It is very common. I know Tiff said she stayed on mushies for a long time to get all her Protein in because she couldn't tolerate the shakes (also very common). I know the shakes make me gag as well!! Anyway, the mushies include things like chicken, tuna or egg salad. You can get your protein in that way. Maybe even though you can't eat chicken much, you could still eat the chicken salad? ?

But I totally get what you are saying about not wanting to eat and never feeling hungry. Who woulda thought?

[moongirl 0]

I have the same problem. I had surgery June 15th and I am still on liquids. I only consume 150-200 cals per day and maybe 10-20 grams of Protein. Nothing appeals to me except yogurt. I eat the Fage yogurt because it is high in Protein. I was able to drink Protein shakes preop too, however now they make me retch. I was able to add some of the Protein powder to my yogurt and it went down okay. Hope you the chicken Soup works for you.

For years - I have probably been up and down 40-50 lbs three or four times in my life - Adkins or Sugarbusters seemed to work the best on me. Now I find myself one month out of sleeve surgery and not able to eat red meat or chicken yet (which for years has been my mainstay - avoid the carbs and eat the lean meats right?). Since the surgery I am not hungry at all. The only way I know to eat is I get a weird kind of pain in the middle of my back and realize it is meal time. Presurgery I did the shakes and protein pudding and lost some pounds and thought the shakes would work for me after surgery. I am not sure what happened but since the surgery the shakes make me GAG. It is so weird to have to 'make" myself eat something. After years of being able to eat everything and anything.....I find myself standing in the kitchen scratching my head ALOT. I am really not hungry. I think to myself "drink the shake" and almost immediatly think "barf". I have ordered the chicken soup with protein added. I am hoping when it gets here that will help my problem. I really can't eat enough real food right now to meet the protein 40-50 mark and I really just can't do the shakes. Will there come a time when I can eat enough meat to not have to do the protein supplements? Will it hurt for now if I only get 30 ish of protein for the next couple of weeks? I am loosing alot of weight and my energy and stamina feel fine. I have lost 37 lbs so far (10 were presurgery). Thanks for any suggestions.

[meggiep 57]

Try some different kinds of Protein powder for your shakes. The ones I liked pre-surgery made me retch- even vomit- after but I finally found one chocolate one that I mix with Decaf coffee and blend with ice in the morning for a solid 30 grams. Get some samples and you may hit one you like that will serve you in the months to come. Many companies will send you samples, and Vitalady.com will let you order a single serving of any of the powders they sell. I used the ratings in the nutrition area to decide which ones to order but you never know- I accidentally ordered one of the drinks rated lowest and it ended up being the one I love! The ready to drink shakes all disgust me- powders work so much better because you can add fruit, flavoring, all kinds of ways to fix them. I say that because I do think that it will be hard to get the Protein from food for quite a long time- I can eat 1/4 cup at the most weeks out and I just can't finagle 60- 80 grams from that. If I did then I would be shorting myself on vegetables and fruit and those are important too! With such low caloric input and so little protein your body will consume muscle and that is not good! I know it is tempting to let it go when you are so excited about losing weight and the protein thing is so difficult but you are starting a long journey and getting the important components in place is important!

BTW- the unjury chicken Soup is one of my two daily drinks but make sure you add more than 8 ounces of water- it is way too salty that way! I add 12- 16 ounces depending on my mood ;-P and it counts towards fluids too. All the Protein Drinks do.

[Lakelady 2]

It will get much easier. When I feel like that I go for cottage cheese or Greek yogurt.

[GreginMI 76]

I'm with you on that. I get my Water and my Protein Shakes in fine (although I hate the shakes now that I'm post op), and that's about it. I'm supposed to have 6 small meals a day, including the 3 Protein shakes and 3 of the soft foods stage, but I can only get in the 3 protein shakes. Nothing sounds good to me. I've tried pureeing chili and beef stew and the texture just grosses me out. I am not hungry at ALL. I hope I get a little of my appetite back eventually. I do love the taste of food and would like to enjoy the little I do get to eat. In the mean time, I guess since I'm getting my protein in and my water in and taking my Vitamins, I'm okay for now. Hope it gets better for both of us someday!

[MrsPositive 5]

Have you tried Isopure in Alpine punch flavor, grape or Orange? They are thin..no weird texture and very little to no aftetaste. I get mine at The Vitamin Shoppe and they are ready to drink. Over ice, they taste like very mild popsicles with 40 grams of Protein in 20 oz. It has been my savior. I was sleeved on June 24th and still have 4 weeks of liquids since I have Chrons disease. Hope you find a way soon. Hang in there! Joan

[MegInNOLA 531]

I'm right there with you! I'm 10 weeks out and can still only eat 1/4 c. of food at a time, and it's HARD to make myself eat, especially eat Protein food! On the up side of that, it's nice and wonderfully surprising to feel absolutely full and content after eating 2 shrimp!!! LOL

Post surgery, I couldn't tolerate Protein supplements in any liquid form, shakes, Isopure, chicken broth, you name it--they all made me retch. I subsisted on milk and yogurt and blended cottage cheese (kinda gross to think about now, but back then, it was the stuff!!). I didn't meet my protein goal at all until well into my 2nd month post op, and most days now I still don't make it. My nutritionist said I should be aiming for 110 g of protein a day (!!! I guess because I'm really tall, 6'2"), and until I can eat more than 1/4 c. of food at a time, there is no way I'm getting there. Saving grace for me has been finding a Protein Bar that I could tolerate--ThinkThin brand, and I like most of the flavors. They are not going to work for you if you are low-carbing (I'm not), but there are 20 g protein in 1 bar (I break it up into 2 servings), and there's no gluten and no sugar. I supplement my protein foods (seafood, dairy) with 1 bar a day. So at least I get close.

Obviously, if you're still on liquids, this won't be an option for you, but it's something to keep in mind for later. I carry a couple in my purse for "emergencies" and have found them a very helpful product.

Cheers!

Meg