Not eating right!

[augieaxel]

Hi..I'm Jennifer. I'm new to the board....had RNY June 30, 2009.
I hate to introduce myself with a complaint..but....

I am having so much trouble eating! I can't stand the taste of the protein shakes! Chicken, ground beef, and other meats are blah! I can eat eggs, but I get sick of them.

Everything tastes YUCK! I am basically living off of "snack" type foods right now. Nuts, Mini Ritz pb crackers, pretzels w/ pb, basically anything salty and crunchy.

Whenever I try to eat "real" food, it seems like after 2 bites, I can't eat anymore. I did actually get doen a nice portion of a baked potato w/ sour cream... but it seems like I am eating too many carbs and no where near enough protein.

I miss veggies and fruit... I tried to eat them...but they don't taste that good either. Sweet things taste terrible (one of the problems I'm having with protein shakes---why are they all sooo sweet!?)

So here are my questions:

At about 3 months out, what should I reasonably be eating?
Has anyone had trouble getting down those protein shakes and what did you do?
Dis anyone else have taste issues (nothing tastes right or good anymore) and then your tastes came back?

Please Help!

(P.S. I have called the dietitian---she hasn't called me back yet)

Thanks for listening to my rambling complaints!

BTW---I have lost 66 lbs so far! Can't complain about that! :o)


Jennifer

Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass A type of gastric bypass procedure which combines restrictive and malabsorption techniques - meaning, it reduces the amount of food a patient can comfortably eat (restriction), and also reduces the amount of calories that can be digested in the small intestine (malabsorption). This combination of bariatric methods leads to greater weight loss and the roux-en-y procedure is seen as one of the best ways to treat clinically severe obesity. See WLS Videos for animated surgery technique.

Protein One of the three nutrients that provides calories to the body. Protein is an essential nutrient that helps build many parts of the body, including muscle, bone, skin, and blood. Protein provides 4 calories per gram and is found in foods like meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, beans, nuts, and tofu. Proteins are an essential human nutrient, obtained from both plant and animal foods. Though their greatest commercial use is in food products, they are also employed in adhesives, plastics, and fibres.

[MsJacquiiC]

Hey Jennifer and welcome to the board! Congratulations on the weight loss as well - that's a lovely accomplishment.

I do know a lot of people have trouble tolerating the protein shakes. There are all sorts of options though for getting your protein in though - have you ever tried the unflavored protein? You can mix it with most any type of soup or in dips, etc... We have several recipes you might like in the Eating Right section.

I'll be 5 months post op on the 28th September. I've not had any trouble tolerating foods though - and my tastes have not been altered very much - I told my surgeon that I have a cast-iron pouch LOL - Perhaps you might try other protein sources like carb master yogurt or refriend beans with all the fixings (one of my favorites) - there's a lot of options - perhaps someone else can recommend stuff as well.

At anyrate - good luck with things and I look forward to getting to know your through your posts. Again = Wellcome , enjoy and happy posting

Jacquii.

Protein One of the three nutrients that provides calories to the body. Protein is an essential nutrient that helps build many parts of the body, including muscle, bone, skin, and blood. Protein provides 4 calories per gram and is found in foods like meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, beans, nuts, and tofu. Proteins are an essential human nutrient, obtained from both plant and animal foods. Though their greatest commercial use is in food products, they are also employed in adhesives, plastics, and fibres.

Pouch Most bariatric surgeries restricts the amount of food a patient can eat by reducing the size of the stomach by gastric banding, stapling or removal. What results is known as the gastric pouch.

[danidunavant]

Wow I can't believe you're eating carbs! The most outright carbs I've had since surgery were 2 chips with salsa when we were at a Mexican restaurant. I was told not to introduce carbs until you were 6 mo out. I have stuck with high protein, low fat and low carb items. My surgery was 7-27-09 so I'm not yet 3 mo out. I think you need to find a protein shake you can tolerate because they are actually quite filling. I don't think I'd be able to get my carbs in without them. I can't eat enough to fulfill that requirement without both the shakes and the protein bars. The ones at the office are pretty good; especially the peanut butter bars. Try those. The Low Carb and Lovin It chef has a wonderful site called StellaStyle.com and there are some wonderful recipes on that site that are protein loaded. You just have to be careful because he also loads in the fat!! I make his lasagna all the time and it's only about 3 grams of carb and fairly decent on the fat unless you use full fat cheeses. Hope you can find what works for you. I realize I am posting this almost a month after you did so it would be great to hear how you are doing now. Dani

Protein One of the three nutrients that provides calories to the body. Protein is an essential nutrient that helps build many parts of the body, including muscle, bone, skin, and blood. Protein provides 4 calories per gram and is found in foods like meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, beans, nuts, and tofu. Proteins are an essential human nutrient, obtained from both plant and animal foods. Though their greatest commercial use is in food products, they are also employed in adhesives, plastics, and fibres.

[MsJacquiiC]

I eat carbs - quite a bit more than is recommended for my phase to be honest. I've always been a carboholic as have a lot of we WLS post-ops. I've implemented my own "edits" to my program actually. The reason being is that I realize that this is not some diet type fad. I'm trying to create habits that I will stick with for the rest of my life. So yeah - I've added carbohydrates back into my diet a few weeks before my phase dictates BUT I do it in very high moderation! I think the concept I'm embracing is "anything in moderation" - so while I have had some chicken & rice or chicken alfredo pasta - I've done it in moderation and not OVER-done it as I would have pre-op. It's not a daily thing either, but an every-once-in-a-while type thing. Of course my main food source is the high-protein foods as recommended by my post-op program. And for me - I think it's working quite well, because my eating routine now is something that I can definitely see myself following in 2 - 3 years down the road: high protein sources with a balanced amount of carbohydrates. Moderation is key and eating to satisfaction, not over-eating!

This is probably something that I'll be talking to the New Life team next week at my 6-month post-op consult -- The interesting thing is that I'll be moved to the next phase which adds carbs back into the eating plan LOL

Jacquii.

Protein One of the three nutrients that provides calories to the body. Protein is an essential nutrient that helps build many parts of the body, including muscle, bone, skin, and blood. Protein provides 4 calories per gram and is found in foods like meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, beans, nuts, and tofu. Proteins are an essential human nutrient, obtained from both plant and animal foods. Though their greatest commercial use is in food products, they are also employed in adhesives, plastics, and fibres.