My surgery was in February 2021, and this week I had my follow-up appointment with my nutritionist. She was very happy with my progress, but she did not seem very impressed with the fact that I was not getting my protein in. We reviewed my food logs, and I believe there was one day on there where I had 40g of protein (my highest). We looked at ways that I can increase that number and be within the range she wants me in, which is 60-80g of protein. We also discussed fruits, and she indicated that I am fine with the amount that I am eating.
These are the guidelines that I was given and am to follow until I am six months out, which is when I have my next appointment with her.
Calories: 600
Carbs: 50g
Sugar: 40g
Protein: 60-80g
I followed my prescribed diet after the surgery. The only time that I veered off was during my puree stage, as I progressed to that stage a day or so earlier than noted in my instructions.
Right after surgery, I thought that I would never be able to eat normal food again or enjoy food – because eating was torturous for the first two and a half months. I found no enjoyment and I forced myself to eat so that I could get my nutrients. On top of that, I tried to add protein everywhere in order to get my required amounts and that just made eating stressful because no matter how hard I tried, I could not get my protein in.
At three months, I am still not able to get my 60-80g of protein in every day, but I am able to eat more, and food is starting to taste like food again. I basically live off of eggs (scrambled/hard boiled), cheese, chicken, sausage links, and chicken salad (especially those in the pouches shown below). Those are basically in my rotation, but without the protein drinks I am unable to get to 60-80g of protein with the amount of food that I consume. Before surgery, I loved protein shakes and it was so easy to get the protein in, but after surgery my taste buds have changed so much and the sweetness of the protein drinks has been hard to tolerate. Now that my appetite (and tolerance for food) is coming back, I am going to try the protein shakes again and see how it goes. In the beginning, right after the surgery, I forced myself to drink the shakes and even bought flavorless protein powder and added it to everything, I overdid it and now when I try to have unsweetened ice tea, I want to throw up because it reminds me of protein that I added to it and made myself drink.
My guilty pleasure is fruit now. It started with strawberries (I craved something sour and sweet) and this past month I started craving pineapples and watermelon. I am not sure what fruit is next.
My advice if I could go back in time: don’t overdo it with the protein in the beginning, because it takes time to adjust. I think I was being hard on myself and trying to meet all the goals instead of giving myself grace and pacing myself. I should have added smaller amounts of protein powder and tried to eat more protein every other day, instead of forcing myself to eat it all the time and getting sick of it to the point of wanting to throw-up now every time that I smell/taste it. Listen to your body and take it easy, especially those first two - three months.
