protein PROTEIN protein

As WLS post-ops, PROTEIN is drilled into our heads from Day 1. I (Jennifer) still shoot for 60-70g of protein each day, and Richard shoots for 70-80g/day. Some days we have to get creative with the foods we eat, and I've definitely been experimenting in the kitchen a lot more these days with tons of recipes from blogs like www.theworldaccordingtoeggface.com.

These are a few of my favorite protein packed go-to's:


Pork Rinds. {we don't eat them all the time, but it's a nice crunchy salty snack}


Laughing Cow Wedges. {spread on some cucumber slices... oh yum}


Nuts. {not for the early post-ops but I enjoy them for a snack - be careful of high fat nuts}


Sushi. {my absolute favorite is the Ron Roll from Red Bowl - cream cheese, crab & cucumber. I could eat it every day and be happy}


Wendy's Chili. {tried & true and still just as yummy as that 5th day out of the hospital}


Tuna Salad. {I eat this about every day on some cucumber and tomato slices. It's packed with protein and I know it will always settle well}

Rich Wk 1 & Jenn 6 Month Progress Pics

Happy Week #1, Rich!
I have to brag on my "Love Dumplin" (he hates it when I call him that, but I think he secretly loves it!)....
Richard lost 39 POUNDS in his 1st week post op! That's like losing a pre-schooler! SO PROUD OF HIM!

I started my new job this week, so I'm trying get used to my new "normal". The strangest thing is that no food is allowed at my desk except food that comes from the vending machine. Sounds healthy, huh?! Well, I put in for a doctor's note from my surgeon about that, and I'm crossing my fingers that I will be allowed bottled water, cheese sticks, and protein bars at my desk for break.

I mentioned last week was my 6 month check up. We took some pictures to share as progress pics. I CANNOT WAIT to share Richard's progress pics in a few weeks!! He is looking SO GOOD! Crazy Crazy :o) Enjoy!

My Favorite Protein Shake

For anyone trying to gag down low sugar, low carb protein shakes... I wanted to share my favorite again. Especially since I had such a hard time finding a shake that I could tolerate after surgery (your tastes change so much!)

Max Protein. It may cost a bit more, but I'm serious when I say~ the higher price is SO worth it!

THIS IS MY FAVORITE SHAKE:
Banana Bread Protein Smoothie.

It was created by Michelle over at The World According to Eggface.

Baked Spaghetti... sort of ;o)

I just made the most delicious Baked Spaghetti.
... with NO PASTA!
Instead I broke the mold and used spaghetti squash.

It was my first attempt using spaghetti squash and honestly, I wasn't too hopeful that spaghetti squash would be a good substitute for pasta... but it is!

HOW TO COOK a SPAGHETTI SQUASH:
Pick out a hard, pale one.
Cut in 1/2 length-wise.
In a roasting pan (I used a cookie sheet), add 1 cup water.
Place squash face down in the pan.
Bake in 400 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.
Let cool enough to be able to handle.
Take a fork & shread the insides of the squash. It will pull away from the sides in shreds like thin spaghetti.
Now you can use it like pasta!



For my Baked Spaghetti, I made my favorite meat sauce (ground beef, onion, green pepper, garlic, oregano, basil, diced tomatoes, & tomato sauce). I tossed the sauce with the shredded spaghetti squash, and I basically made it like lasagna.

I layered the squash/sauce mixture with Ricotta mixture (Ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, 1 egg, salt, pepper) and mozzarella cheese.

OH YUM. I will definitely be using this low-carb substitute in many more dishes!

Simple Doesn't Mean Boring

Eating after weight loss surgery doesn't have to be boring. Tonight I fixed Smoked Turkey Sausage with Peppers, Onions & Corn. OH. MY. STINK. So good. SO GOOD.

I think the key is planning. I'm not a good planner when it comes to meals- but I've been trying to plan when I go to the grocery store, so at least I have a good selection of ingredients when I go to fix dinner.

I have 2 goals with each meal:
1. Richard will like it.
2. I can also eat it.

Usually this means that I add in an extra carb or two for him. It works out well most days! When I have tuna salad-- he gets a tuna salad sandwich ;o) When he has beef stroganoff-- he eats it over noodles, and I eat it plan with mostly beef.

We're moving away from bland & boring! Or as Rich told me "Jenn, you need to let your freak flag fly!" ;o)

Turkey Sausage w/ Peppers, Onions & Corn
Chop up Peppers, Onions & Sausage (2 oz = 9g protein).
Throw it all into a hot pan with a little EVOO.
Saute for 10 minutes or so, until the sausage gets some color & the veges become more tender.
Toss in some frozen (or canned/drained) corn for another 10 minutes or so.
Add a few dashes of garlic powder, onion powder & pepper to taste.
Enjoy.

Random Things in my Shrinking Head ;o)

1. My wedding rings are getting big. Doesn't that mean I get knew ones? ;o)

2. It's fun to see family & friends I haven't seen since my surgery-- my favorite response yesterday was "Dang. Look at you!"

3. I feel the same way about chicken that she does.

4. Size 14/16 never felt so good!

5. I believe I've lost 30 lbs in my legs, and 20 pounds in my shoulders & chin.

6. Insomnia. It's bad. I probably should be looking for a 3rd shift job.

7. Two words: Tzatziki Sauce. Oh my dang :o)

8. I'm so ready to retire my baggy size 24 Winter clothes! Go away snow!

9. People are nicer when you're thinner.

10. I am craving salads. Lettuce isn't working though.

11. Favorite 'new' foods: Tzatziki Sauce. Pineapple. Special K Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Meal Bars. Shrimp.

12. "Hello There, Mr. Collar Bones!"

Week 9 Post-Op Weigh In

Wow what a week this has been!

I am now the proud Aunt to the most PRECIOUS little girl in the world. Miss Carly Kate was born late Tuesday night, on March 15th. I'm sure Mommy Renea will be posting more about this sweet Miracle sometime soon :o)

On to the scale... I wasn't surprised to see that the scale didn't move this week. That's right- 0 pounds-- zippo. The past 2 weeks though, I lost 10.6 pounds. That's a bit crazy. But I know that I haven't been as diligent this week in getting in my protein and water. I have to make a conscious effort to do that. Also, I haven't been getting in much fiber, Benefiber, or ground Flaxseed. With all the cheese I've been eating-- well, let's just say that things aren't moving regularly like they should.



I've averaged over -5.6 pounds lost each week here at week 9. My Mom was so sweet and took me shopping on Tuesday. (I love her by the way!) I've lost 5 pant sizes in 9 weeks... although I noticed most of it was in my legs! But I actually bought several XL shirts (down from a 3x). {Old size vs NEW size above!} I'm looking forward to the time when I can shop in the normal women's section. One thing's for sure, if you don't shop at Lane Bryant... a lot of the clothes look old lady-ish in the big women's section.

Right now foods are trial and error. I've noticed more error here lately, but that's not a bad thing. One day a food will be fine, then the next day it won't stay down. It's the strangest thing, but it's very common and normal for RNY patients. When something doesn't agree with me now, it's painful. The best way I can describe it... it feels like you have a ping pong ball sitting at the bottom of your throat OR your stomach feels like it's trying to turn itself inside out. This doesn't happen often but when it does, oh me. Rich knows when I say 'bathroom', he moves out of the way ;o)

Some of my favorite food staples at 9 weeks post op:
Ground Beef (meatballs, meatloaf, hamburger patties)
Turkey Pepperoni
Laughing Cow cheese wedges (my fav is Garlic & Herb)
Cheese cubes
Seedless Hothouse Cucumbers (love this spread with laughing cow)
Soy Nuts
Protein Bars (low sugar - mostly Kashi & Snickers Marathon)
Eggs (fried in Pam & deviled eggs)
Fish (baked fillets of most kinds)
Tuna Salad
Skim MILK (I love this stuff!)
Chili (I make big batches at a time)
Broccoli (tender) in light cheese sauce
Peaches
Kashi Go Lean Cereal
Beans Beans (taste like fruit, the more you eat... the more you SMILE!)

things I avoid like the plague:
chicken :o( bread, pasta, rice, peanut butter, nuts, popcorn, chips, coconut, tough meats, stringy meats, hot dogs, fried foods, bologna, pastries, pies, cookies, junk food

4 1/2 Week Update + a little dog

Old Habits Die Hard

I'm learning that even though my stomach is now the size of an egg, my old habits are still as strong as ever.

I learned a very important lesson on Friday night. I had just eaten something, and for some crazy reason left my brain in the refrigerator when I got out the milk. The next thing I know, I chugged a cup of milk. Chugged it, don't even remember swallowing.

Oh the pain that followed. The worst part was that I couldn't get it to come back up for some relief (sorry if that's TMI.) So after about 20 minutes of pain and hovering over the toilet without any luck, I managed to get down a nausea pill. After that kicked in 30 minutes later, I went to sleep.

Lesson Learned: Sip. Don't gulp. Sip. Don't chug. SIP.

It's a good reminder to me that even though I'm feeling better, it's so important to continue all the new lifestyle changes until they are habit. Sipping, not gulping. Taking 30 minutes to eat. Not drinking while eating (or 30 min before or after.) Eating small frequent meals. Avoid sugars, fats, and simple carbs. No carbonated drinks. No caffeine. Exercise, 30 minutes a day. Just to name a few :o)

All that to say.... just like being on any other diet, Lifestyle Changes are a must for success!

3 Week Post-Op

it looks like I just woke up :o) I'll try to fix my hair next time! ha!

Energy? Where are you?

Today I've had more energy than any other day since surgery. But I still feel pretty zapped. I'm not used to laying around on the couch, ah!

My day is pretty regimented. I have to to get in 70g of protein each day, at least 64oz of fluids, and take my vitamins (2 multi, 1 iron, 3 calcium, 1 b-12) divided between breakfast, mid-morning, lunch, and dinner. Oh and a couple prescriptions thrown in there. My alarm clock is going off constantly :o)

I made some pouch-friendly chicken salad later this afternoon. But after I made it, I was too tired to eat! I had to laugh at myself!

Crystal Light is my best friend. Plain water, although it tastes good, doesn't sit well on my new stomach. This is what happens when Rich goes shopping...



Bottoms up!

Dinner -- Pureed Food Day 1

After a week of sweet crystal light, sweet pudding, sweet jello, sweet yogurt, sweet protein shakes, and sweet popsicles.... I cannot begin to tell you how excited 2 tbsp of pureed egg salad makes me! Crazy, right?!



(That's more than 2 tbsp- that's about 3-4, I can't eat all that. And yes, I eat with a baby spoon.)

I'm not hungry. From what they tell me, I won't be hungry for 6-8 months BUT I have to eat every 2-3 hours in order to get in my 70 grams of protein each day. This is tough, but I'm getting it.

Off to enjoy my dinner :o)....

What did they do to you?

I've had some people ask me "What did they do to you?" So I thought I'd share a drawing that my surgeon, Dr. Stephen McNatt, drew for me at my pre-op appointment on January 6th.

This first drawing is of a normal digestive system. The big part there is my stomach, and you can see where he wrote Liver and Pancreas (that's the point where they are attached to your intestines and deliver all their goods that we need.)



This is a picture of my NEW POUCH. You can see that they made a small pouch out of the upper part of my stomach. The rest of my stomach is still in there, it still makes digestive juices and things that aid digestion. They pulled up a lower part of my small intestine, and you can see the arrow at the pouch indicates where my new pouch was connected at that point. (The little thing that looked to me like a mouse attached to the end of a piccolo was the drain. They took that out on Friday, didn't hurt.) You can see by this illustration that my stomach and intestinal track now resemble a "Y"; hence the name "Roux en Y" Gastric Bypass.


I hope this was a little informative. I refer to these drawings quite often these days, and I'm still in awe of how God has made our bodies to be so resilient!

Every day is not rainbows and butterflies :o) but I'm doing great! Today I made the decision not to take any pain meds, and I've done well. Only 1 more day of full liquids, then I get to venture into the Pureed Food stage for several weeks.

Post-Op Diet (Phases)

There are several phases to my Post-Op Diet.

Hospital:
In the hospital, I was on Clear Liquids. I think my biggest treat was a sugar free Popsicle. I was restricted to 2 medicine cup fulls an hour.

Home:
The first 5 days after discharge (which I'm currently on), I progressed to Full Liquids. Full liquids consist of: all clear liquids, protein shakes, light yogurt, skim milk, sugar free pudding, sugar free jello, and broth.

The next phase will begin Thursday, 1/20/11. Pureed Foods. Pureed Foods consist of pureed fish or chicken, finely lean ground beef or turkey, beans, cottage cheese, soft cooked veges, soft fruits (no peels), Weight Control Oatmeal (thinned out), and all Full Liquids.

I am looking forward to trying a tbsp of chicken salad and maybe some Wendy's Chili. (To give you an idea of portion size ---- One 99 cent Wendy's Chili will last me at least 4 meals.)