Need Help with Protein Please...

[Forensikchic 528]

Hi again. I am having serious trouble getting my Protein in. I dont do shakes or bars because they are just downright nasty to me. I have to try to get it from food and I am really struggling here. This past week I only got about 30 grams a day and that cant be good. I have tried several brands of shakes, etc and they just dont sit well with me. I also tried a few bars, I cant even get through a few bites. I am six weeks out and I cant hold a whole lot at a time. My dr. says to eat only three meals and no Snacks. How do people do it? I eat eggs and bacon in the morning but I cant hold a whole egg. I bought costco shrimp because it had 26 grams of protein but thats for 4 ounces and I had to graze on them all afternoon to get 2 ounces in and thats only half the protein! I am so frustrated! I drink a glass of milk at night to get 8 more in and I had a half of a chicken burger last night with cheese on top. I dont know what to do! If anyone has any protein recipes for like a hot coffee drink or something, maybe I could try that. I know a lot of you have said that the protein powders dont do well in hot beverages though so I dont know. Anything that you think might help me would be so appreciated. I also cant bring myself to try cottage cheese or greek yogurt... the thought of it is not pleasant. Thanks to anyone who will help me.

[JenniLee0628 3]

Could you try putting some of the Unjury unflavored powder in the different foods you eat? You can add a little sprinkle to your food! Since it has no flavor but acquires Protein that would be good! Also, Isopure which is like gatorade or Powerade counts as a liquid plus protein! Hope this helps!

[AngelaF75 0]

I agree with the above poster as far as unflavored Unjury...start adding it to your food. Also, I am the same way with Protein Shakes. BUT, I was lucky enough to find & try Unjury chocolate Protein Powder. It seriously tastes like chocolate milk. Everyone who's tried it, raves about it. You can order samples from the company, it's worth a shot. Without my Protein in my shakes, I wouldn't be able to get my protein in either. Each 8 oz shake has 20g of Protein (plus the protein in the milk). But you DEFINITELY have to find a way to increase your protein.

[RickM 1,753]

I can't understand the three meal a day restriction with our limited capacity - most docs allow a snack or two (or three) in between as long as they're healthy Snacks. We aren't supposed to get into grazing as that is a good way to torpedo our sleeve, but we do need to be able to work with this limitation that we have given ourselves.

What is your problem with greek yogurt - taste, texture, stomach toleration? I'm not a fan of plain yogurts as they're just too tart and bitter for me, but the sweetened ones tend to be too sweet. I make my own blend of plain and sweetened vanilla that fits my taste. You can also add a little jam to flavor and sweeten it some. I usually have it with some berries, almonds and granola to add texture and other nutrients (and now a little wheat bran for some added Fiber.)

I understand the taste problem with the Protein shakes and bars as many are downright unappetizing. I have settled (for now,) on the EAS Protein powder as its taste is mild and I can add some unsweetened cocoa powder, SF hersheys Syrup or instant Breakfast to it to build up the flavor and hide the protein taste. A SF instant Breakfast can add 5g protein to your glass of milk - not as good as the dedicated protein powders, but better tasting than most of the, too.

I make a protein enriched pudding using the SF instant puddings. The typical hi pro recipe calls for 2 scoops of protein powder along with the 2 cups of milk and pudding mix, but that still leaves a bit of the protein powder taste in it according to my taste buds; I substitute a cup of greek yogurt instead of one of those cups of milk and scoop of protein powder and that effectively masks the protein powder taste, though it does bring in a bit of tartness from the yogurt that you may or may not like.

Sometimes ground meats don't settle well with us, particularly the drier/lower fat versions like chicken and turkey - my wife had a problem tolerating ground beef for a long time after her DS, and the surgeon suggested that filet often works better - and it did. Fatter meats at the early stage often work better than leaner ones as they are moister - dark meat chicken instead of light meat. Deli meats are often suggested as being well tolerated for the same reason.

Meats are usually the slowest thing to go thru your stomach, so it's not surprising that you can only do 2 oz of the shrimp, but that's not a bad protein load for 2oz. - most of your meats are going to be in the same ball park.

I'm not a coffee person, so I can't help you there, but the others are correct in that you have to be careful in heating the protein powders (whidh is why the instant puddings are usually used for this rather than the cooked ones. I believe that unjury says that you have to keep their powder under 130F, so you can't brew it with the coffee, but can usually add it after it is made and cooled a bit. Also, some protein powders mix better than others, so that is useful if you aren't frapping it in a blender - I find that the EAS powders mix better than the Unjury ones, which tend to clump a bit (at least with colder liquids).

How do you handle cheese? String cheese is usually well tolerated and a common recommendation, and is 8g per stick. Most cheeses are in the 7-8g per ounce region.

Good luck with it all, it can be tough at the beginning but it does get better

[Forensikchic 528]

I can't understand the three meal a day restriction with our limited capacity - most docs allow a snack or two (or three) in between as long as they're healthy Snacks. We aren't supposed to get into grazing as that is a good way to torpedo our sleeve, but we do need to be able to work with this limitation that we have given ourselves.

What is your problem with greek yogurt - taste, texture, stomach toleration? I'm not a fan of plain yogurts as they're just too tart and bitter for me, but the sweetened ones tend to be too sweet. I make my own blend of plain and sweetened vanilla that fits my taste. You can also add a little jam to flavor and sweeten it some. I usually have it with some berries, almonds and granola to add texture and other nutrients (and now a little wheat bran for some added fiber.)

I understand the taste problem with the Protein shakes and bars as many are downright unappetizing. I have settled (for now,) on the EAS Protein powder as its taste is mild and I can add some unsweetened cocoa powder, SF hersheys Syrup or instant breakfast to it to build up the flavor and hide the protein taste. A SF instant breakfast can add 5g protein to your glass of milk - not as good as the dedicated protein powders, but better tasting than most of the, too.

I make a protein enriched pudding using the SF instant puddings. The typical hi pro recipe calls for 2 scoops of protein powder along with the 2 cups of milk and pudding mix, but that still leaves a bit of the protein powder taste in it according to my taste buds; I substitute a cup of greek yogurt instead of one of those cups of milk and scoop of protein powder and that effectively masks the protein powder taste, though it does bring in a bit of tartness from the yogurt that you may or may not like.

Sometimes ground meats don't settle well with us, particularly the drier/lower fat versions like chicken and turkey - my wife had a problem tolerating ground beef for a long time after her DS, and the surgeon suggested that filet often works better - and it did. Fatter meats at the early stage often work better than leaner ones as they are moister - dark meat chicken instead of light meat. Deli meats are often suggested as being well tolerated for the same reason.

Meats are usually the slowest thing to go thru your stomach, so it's not surprising that you can only do 2 oz of the shrimp, but that's not a bad protein load for 2oz. - most of your meats are going to be in the same ball park.

I'm not a coffee person, so I can't help you there, but the others are correct in that you have to be careful in heating the protein powders (whidh is why the instant puddings are usually used for this rather than the cooked ones. I believe that unjury says that you have to keep their powder under 130F, so you can't brew it with the coffee, but can usually add it after it is made and cooled a bit. Also, some protein powders mix better than others, so that is useful if you aren't frapping it in a blender - I find that the EAS powders mix better than the Unjury ones, which tend to clump a bit (at least with colder liquids).

How do you handle cheese? String cheese is usually well tolerated and a common recommendation, and is 8g per stick. Most cheeses are in the 7-8g per ounce region.

Good luck with it all, it can be tough at the beginning but it does get better

Thanks for the tips. Greek yogurt is a little on the tart side but I had not thought of adding granola or something to it to make it taste better. I like vanilla yogurt like the mcdonalds version..teehee.... so I think I might try vanilla greek yogurt with granola. God knows I am not eating enough calories so I am not going to sweat that right now.

I had not thought of making protein puddings either. I love pudding. I might be able to eat that pretty well too. I could not and still have problems with Jello. Weird huh? My sleeve doesnt like it. It sits in my stomach like a rock and feels uncomfortable even if I let it melt in my mouth and swish it between my teeth! I just gave up on Jello. I can eat pudding though just really slowly to prevent from over doing my sleeve. It doesnt like thick things like that.

I am not a fan of chocolate usually of any kind. I am going to order some unflavored powder to add to things. Maybe I can experiment and find something that works. The cottage cheese thing is all in my head I know but its hard to get passed that. I might try the instant breakfast. At least it has some protein.

Also, What kind of string cheese are we talking here? The light sargento ones or just any of them in general? I can eat string cheese. I will try that too. I bought some lunchables and it says it has 18 grams of protein in it.. I am going to leave the crackers off. Thought I might get through half of it anyway.

I think my main problem is that i have a LOT of restriction. Three or four small bites and I am done! I have to wait and eat a little more and wait...etc.. So basically I am grazing to get the little bit i get in!

I appreciate all the suggestions from everyone and I am going to keep on trying! Making a list and I am ordering some unflavored protein now! Thanks!

[MeMeMEEE 206]

We are having the same issue!! I will say one thing I could tolerate Protein in is hot chocolate - I get the diet swiss miss and use beneprotein. Now I am out of that and need to try it with one of the other unflavored protein's I have - the beneprotein mixed well if you can get that near you and I couldn't taste it in the hot chocolate. Also when I saw my nutritionist last week she told me I was imposing too many rules on myself - otherwise I was FOLLOWING THEIR RULES and not getting what I needed so I needed to BREAK THEIR RULES!! She told me it was ok to lick a spoon of Peanut Butter all day and still drink. She said if I needed to drink, do it. I have been doing better than I was. Today so far I have 20 Protein in at breakfast! How exciting! 3 pieces of bacon and a carnation instant breakfast. I don't think the milk agreed though so we'll see if I can do that again. I can do greek yogurt but not everyday. I do the cheese sticks, mozzarella is the highest. Maybe you could nibble on a few of those? I know your doc says 3 meals, period. But we have to do what we need to during early stage so we don't get our bodies in trouble - we are still swollen and like you said just not able to take much in at a time.

Hi again. I am having serious trouble getting my protein in. I dont do shakes or bars because they are just downright nasty to me. I have to try to get it from food and I am really struggling here. This past week I only got about 30 grams a day and that cant be good. I have tried several brands of shakes, etc and they just dont sit well with me. I also tried a few bars, I cant even get through a few bites. I am six weeks out and I cant hold a whole lot at a time. My dr. says to eat only three meals and no Snacks. How do people do it? I eat eggs and bacon in the morning but I cant hold a whole egg. I bought costco shrimp because it had 26 grams of protein but thats for 4 ounces and I had to graze on them all afternoon to get 2 ounces in and thats only half the protein! I am so frustrated! I drink a glass of milk at night to get 8 more in and I had a half of a chicken burger last night with cheese on top. I dont know what to do! If anyone has any protein recipes for like a hot coffee drink or something, maybe I could try that. I know a lot of you have said that the protein powders dont do well in hot beverages though so I dont know. Anything that you think might help me would be so appreciated. I also cant bring myself to try cottage cheese or greek yogurt... the thought of it is not pleasant. Thanks to anyone who will help me.

[Cindy-Lynn 10]

I like a ham and cheese roll up with a little low fat mayo. I also like the small prepared meatballs in the frozen food section. You can use a little mustard or some marinara sauce for dipping. I like my plain Greek yogurt with a classic orange crystal light mixed in. Tastes kinda like orange sherbet. Good luck with your journey. You'll find something to your liking in the posts here. I'm learning a few new ideas myself!

[Forensikchic 528]

We are having the same issue!! I will say one thing I could tolerate Protein in is hot chocolate - I get the diet swiss miss and use beneprotein. Now I am out of that and need to try it with one of the other unflavored protein's I have - the beneprotein mixed well if you can get that near you and I couldn't taste it in the hot chocolate. Also when I saw my nutritionist last week she told me I was imposing too many rules on myself - otherwise I was FOLLOWING THEIR RULES and not getting what I needed so I needed to BREAK THEIR RULES!! She told me it was ok to lick a spoon of Peanut Butter all day and still drink. She said if I needed to drink, do it. I have been doing better than I was. Today so far I have 20 Protein in at breakfast! How exciting! 3 pieces of bacon and a carnation instant breakfast. I don't think the milk agreed though so we'll see if I can do that again. I can do greek yogurt but not everyday. I do the cheese sticks, mozzarella is the highest. Maybe you could nibble on a few of those? I know your doc says 3 meals, period. But we have to do what we need to during early stage so we don't get our bodies in trouble - we are still swollen and like you said just not able to take much in at a time.

I am going to get some carnation instant breakfast. My kids liked it when I bought it before. I also like the hot chocolate idea too. I ordered some unflavored unjury protein in hopes I can hide it in my Decaf coffee. I use sf hazlenut Creamer and so I think I could tolerate it. I love Peanut Butter to and I can lick the spoon! lol. What a novel idea. I like the idea of granola/almonds mixed in the greek yogurt. I am going to try that too. I have some premium mixed nuts but I am not supposed to have those for another week. I think we are sleeve sisters! August 8th right? I will also try to bacon and carnation instant breakfast. I could drink that on my way to work.

A quick note: My doctor prescribes me generic zofran for nausea. It works wonders! It is a tiny pill and I take one every morning because my sleeve doesnt like Water or anything really on an empty sleeve. This enables me to drink milk in the morning without the discomfort. I dont have to worry about nausea at all. Its soooooo much better than phenergan. Phenergan puts me to sleep but zofran doesnt. I like that its generic and free with my insurance. Maybe you should check into it with your doctor. Hope that helps some with discomfort with milk, or alternatively you could take a lactose pill over the counter.

[Indymom 132]

I do the nectar unflavored Protein powder with Decaf and milk every morning and evening. Drink it out of a closed-lid cup (like a travel mug) - I sometimes think I can smell the protein when the lid is off, but really can't taste it.

[Forensikchic 528]

I do the nectar unflavored Protein powder with Decaf and milk every morning and evening. Drink it out of a closed-lid cup (like a travel mug) - I sometimes think I can smell the Protein when the lid is off, but really can't taste it.

Where do you buy it?