Well, duh! Meal sizes

[Briardlady 73]

I've been trying to up my dense Protein, and had one of those moments. I followed a diet plan during my Kaiser options pre surgery program that called for one ounce of Protein with Breakfast, two for lunch, and three for dinner (plus one heck of a lot of healthy carbs, and a protein snack). I did that for six months. I just realized I've stupidly been following the same protein guidelines. Three months out - makes me feel pretty silly.

I'm kind of assuming most people try to eat the same amount / protein each meal? If not, how do you balance it?

[Djmohr 6,965]

Honestly I boost mine in the morning with 1 premier Protein shake. It has 30 grams of Protein and I need to get 70 per day. This is my Breakfast as I cannot eat eggs and yogurt is a slider food for me.

I them try to balance out the remainder of my protein between lunch and dinner as well as my Snacks. I have a pretty heavy restriction still so I have to snack to get all my protein in even with the shake.< /p>

I track absolutely everything in myfitnesspal. It tells me exactly where I am and if I need to make any adjustments as the day goes. I think I have been so successful because of tracking.

[jane13 2,256]

@Briardlady- I eat Protein that I have weighed out for tracking and eat it first and then the others (veggies/carbs) follow. Hardly ever get to the carb part :/

food with higher carbs are what I snack on (sometimes) like pretzels and occasionally popcorn :/

[JamieLogical 8,727]

Depending on what you are eating, 6 oz. of a Protein source per day may not be enough. Some protein sources are richer in protein than others, so measuring by the ounce is uselss. You need to be measuring GRAMS of protein and making sure you are meeting your minimum each day (my minimum is 100 grams). You can space that out throughout the day in any manor that works for you. It can be tough if you aren't eating foods that are protein-rich enough. Always put your protein first at EVERY meal/snack.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I've been trying to up my dense Protein, and had one of those moments. I followed a diet plan during my Kaiser options pre surgery program that called for one ounce of Protein with breakfast, two for lunch, and three for dinner (plus one heck of a lot of healthy carbs, and a protein snack). I did that for six months. I just realized I've stupidly been following the same protein guidelines. Three months out - makes me feel pretty silly.

I'm kind of assuming most people try to eat the same amount / protein each meal? If not, how do you balance it?

Pre-op is completely different than post-op. Pre-op, your objective is to maximize volume but minimize calories while still getting enough nutrition. Post-op, we have to maximize nutrition while minimizing volume and eating food textures that will allow us to heal.

It was drilled into my head from the beginning, that the keys to success post-op are protein and fluids.

My primary focus is getting at least 100 grams of protein a day and 64 oz. of Fluid.

Because there are different amounts of protein in different foods, the amount of ounces/protein grams varies. I track my food in MyFitnessPal so I can keep up with my protein grams. Also, keep in mind that we shouldn't have more than about 25 grams of protein at a time (a premier Protein shake at 30 grams of protein is really my upper limit).

Wasn't this made clear as part of your pre-op nutrition class?

[jane13 2,256]

@@Briardlady - maybe I didn't make myself clear. If I am eating sliced deli turkey and its x grams of Protein per 3 slices then I "weigh" out the amount of Protein I want for my meal by counting out the slices. Protein first, when eating, and fluids all day!

[Briardlady 73]

I guess I wasn't clear in my post, sorry. I weigh and track everything in MFP, and always do my Protein first. I am meeting my protein goals, but am trying to up my DENSE protein, and reduce my Protein Shakes. It was just weird to realize I was limiting my dense protein to one ounce in the morning, out of habit. Then for my midmorning snack, I was doing a Protein Shake. I'll be upping the dense protein at breakfast, and switch to a Greek yogurt for the snack.