I am making a concerted effort to up my protein lately. I have mentioned on here before that I am a huge fan of The World According To Eggface blog. She was an absolute lifesaver when I first had surgery and had no idea what to eat! And she continues to live out a successful post WLS life enjoying life and food to the fullest.
I have learned that a key way to up my protein is to use protein powder in what I cook. Eggface currently has a great giveaway going for a protein powder that I have not tried yet. So check out her blog and her current giveaway of Max Protein powder. http://tinyurl.com/a78ors.
Showing posts with label protein. Show all posts
Showing posts with label protein. Show all posts
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Foamies
Today was pretty good. I got all my protein in yesterday (I am striving for 80-100grams) without too much trouble. Today I tried an Isopure Dutch Chocolate protein shake. That was OK - I had to mix it with a spoon so it wasn't quite the right consistency. I think it would be better a little colder and a little smoother. I made it with milk to get even more protein. That shake alone is 50 grams of protein! I made it with milk and was able to add 16 more grams of protein. I had no problem making my protein alotment by using that. I have heard great things about "Oh Yeah!" protein shakes. They are 32 grams of protein and I plan on trying one tomorrow.
I had the potato soup again this evening - and in my excitement to eat it I ate it too quickly. Oh - not good. Not good at all. The pain! The discomfort! The foamies!!! Yup - foamies. They can be brought on by eating (or drinking something thick like the soup I was having) too fast, or by not chewing your food enough. Our pouches are no longer capable of producing hydrochloric acid. But the body is an amazing self-preserver given half a chance. When we get into problems overfilling our pouches by eating too fast or taking bites that are not small enough, the body begins to produce large quantities of mucus to help things along. It is an overwhelming nausea, stomach churning feeling. Not the same as dumping - but no fun just the same. Note to self: sip ... slowly!
And I am sure that people will say that I am pushing myself too hard by having gone back to work so soon, etc..., but I am so tired by the time I get home. I could just crawl into bed for the rest of the night. I'm hoping that now that I am getting more protein in my diet that will help.
I got a fun package from www.bariatriceating.com today. It's a protein sample pack - has different samples of all different types of protein drinks. Powders to mix in all different flavors and by different companies, Ready-To-Drinks (RTD) from different companies and in different flavors, as well as a blender bottle, a bracelet to remind me to believe in myself, and a great book called "Before & After, Living and Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery". I am looking forward to trying a few of these. I also recieved some DaVinci Sugar Free Syrups. Now those I can't WAIT to try. I got 3 flavors, chocolate, peanut butter, and cookie dough. They are made with Splenda (no aspartame!) and you can use them to add to your protein shakes in order to make an endless amount of different flavors! I chose these 3 flavors to start, but they have a ton of different flavors like butter rum, toasted marshmallow, german chocolate cake, lemon, lime, orange, peppermint, creme de minthe. You add just a little to your protein shakes and voila! You have a different flavor! I don't think I am going to be able to try anything tonight. I really wanted to, but I'm still dealing with the foamies and I think I should just be gentle to my pouch.
Speaking of pouch - I got some great name suggestions. I think my favorite right now is to name my pouch "Kanga" and what I put into her "Roo".
I have also found an easy quick way to get some walking in at work. I take the elevator to the top floor - walk all the way around the floor then take the stairs down to the next level and so on. It takes me 15-20 minutes if I don't get caught up talking to someone I haven't seen in a while, and I try to do it for my morning break and for an afternoon break.
OK - half way through my first week back to work. It's not so scary. I can do this. :)
I had the potato soup again this evening - and in my excitement to eat it I ate it too quickly. Oh - not good. Not good at all. The pain! The discomfort! The foamies!!! Yup - foamies. They can be brought on by eating (or drinking something thick like the soup I was having) too fast, or by not chewing your food enough. Our pouches are no longer capable of producing hydrochloric acid. But the body is an amazing self-preserver given half a chance. When we get into problems overfilling our pouches by eating too fast or taking bites that are not small enough, the body begins to produce large quantities of mucus to help things along. It is an overwhelming nausea, stomach churning feeling. Not the same as dumping - but no fun just the same. Note to self: sip ... slowly!
And I am sure that people will say that I am pushing myself too hard by having gone back to work so soon, etc..., but I am so tired by the time I get home. I could just crawl into bed for the rest of the night. I'm hoping that now that I am getting more protein in my diet that will help.
I got a fun package from www.bariatriceating.com today. It's a protein sample pack - has different samples of all different types of protein drinks. Powders to mix in all different flavors and by different companies, Ready-To-Drinks (RTD) from different companies and in different flavors, as well as a blender bottle, a bracelet to remind me to believe in myself, and a great book called "Before & After, Living and Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery". I am looking forward to trying a few of these. I also recieved some DaVinci Sugar Free Syrups. Now those I can't WAIT to try. I got 3 flavors, chocolate, peanut butter, and cookie dough. They are made with Splenda (no aspartame!) and you can use them to add to your protein shakes in order to make an endless amount of different flavors! I chose these 3 flavors to start, but they have a ton of different flavors like butter rum, toasted marshmallow, german chocolate cake, lemon, lime, orange, peppermint, creme de minthe. You add just a little to your protein shakes and voila! You have a different flavor! I don't think I am going to be able to try anything tonight. I really wanted to, but I'm still dealing with the foamies and I think I should just be gentle to my pouch.
Speaking of pouch - I got some great name suggestions. I think my favorite right now is to name my pouch "Kanga" and what I put into her "Roo".
I have also found an easy quick way to get some walking in at work. I take the elevator to the top floor - walk all the way around the floor then take the stairs down to the next level and so on. It takes me 15-20 minutes if I don't get caught up talking to someone I haven't seen in a while, and I try to do it for my morning break and for an afternoon break.
OK - half way through my first week back to work. It's not so scary. I can do this. :)
Monday, January 5, 2009
Oy!
So I went back to work today. It actually went very well. I felt really good this morning other than being kinda tired because I couldn't fall asleep last night. I'm not sure what that was all about - wide awake until just afte 1am. Doesn't bode well for a 5:30 alarm clock.
I did fine at work - didn't get done as much as I wanted to, but I stayed busy. I tried my first protein bullet. It's a 3 ounce drink with a lot of protein in it. The one I tried had 42 grams of protein in it. It was orange flavored. Not fantastic - but OK. Took me 3 hours to drink 3 ounces. I found I liked it very cold. I also had about half of a jello-snack pack for lunch. And sipped on my water and juice throughout the day. That's a day in life of clear liquids for me!
Tomorrow I get to graduate to full liquids! That means milk, protein shakes, smooth low fat yogurt (like vanilla or lemon - not anything with fruit in it), strained creamy soups, and sugar free pudding. I am a bit excited let me tell you. I have found a wonderful website that has been a life saver for me of late. It is www.bariatriceating.com. When I came home from the hospital I started to have a little bit of "buyers remorse" so to speak. I felt like I would never be able to eat anything that I liked or that tasted good ever again! This web site showed me that there were so many things that I could do with what little I could eat right now. There are a bunch of recipes for all the different food phases. For instance - I found a great quick and easy recipe for a potato soup involving chicken broth and Idahoan dehydrated potato flakes and grated parmesan cheese. I am going to make it for dinner tomorrow - I can't wait. The site has great products that you can order - specifically designed for bariatric patients. It also has a fantastic support forum and message board site. There are RN's, licensed nutritionists, and veterans of WLS moderating the boards. One of the boards is devoted totally to recipes! There are some great ideas on how to make your protein shakes taste better, how to get more protein into your every day foods, and is in general a huge encouragement to those who have decided to make this huge life change. Even if you haven't had WLS - it's worth a gander just for the recipes alone. If you're looking for high protein, low fat and low carb recipes - you will be amazed at the yummy stuff you will find at this site.
So in my excitement about going to full liquids tomorrow I decided I would brave the grocery store with my list in hand after work. I think that was the straw that broke the camels back! I was doing good, but as I was pushing the cart and walking around Harris Teeter I got so achy in my belly (still kinda swollen and tender). Going grocery shopping is a new adventure for me. I have to read all the nutritional and ingredient information on everything! It took me what felt like forever to get about 20 items. I want to get sugar free of a lot of things, but I have to look and be sure there is no aspartame in it. A lot of yogurts are sweetened with aspartame or NutraSweet. I need to check the ingredients to be sure - looking for sucralose or Splenda instead. Or something may say "light", but still has sugar in it. I can't have sugar at all yet, so i really need to pay attention. I'm not interested in testing my dumping ground just yet.
So I will be going to bed when the kids do this evening. I am absolutely exhausted. I am looking forward to tomorrow. I get to have Carnation Instant Breakfast for breakfast! And I am packing some yogurt for lunch. Most of all I can't wait to try the potato soup concoction for dinner. I now have to start recording everything I eat, so I also picked up a small notebook to start journaling my eating. I need to keep track of how many grams of protein I take in and start to work towards getting 80 - 100 grams of protein in a day. I also want to keep an eye on calories and carbs. I also need to start paying attention to when I drink and when I eat. I have to stop drinking 30 minutes before I eat, and can't resume drinking until 30 minutes after I eat.
Something else that I see starting to happen is I'm becoming a tad emotional. I've been forwarned about this. Fat cells actually store and hold on to hormones. As the fat cells shrink they release the hormones back into the body. It can be kind of a wild ride with the hormones. I have found myself a couple of times today crying over seemingly simple things. Now if you were to ask D he would say that's not so unusual, but it is a little odd feeling for me. One time I got all verklempt as I was thinking about a comment that someone made to me about how I was taking back control of my life. Yeah, in a way I am. But in a way I feel like I am cleaning up this temple so I can give it back to God. Control - an ongoing theme in my life. I like it - I want it - I have to have it. And yet as a Christian I am to yield - no release! control in my life to my Savior. A big AH HA! moment for me this past summer that I feel led to my decision to pursue WLS was when I realized that I was working exceptionally hard at controlling a lot of things in the lives of the people around me. My husband, my children, my family, my friends. Why am I so concerned about making sure that my son gets his homework done on my terms? Who's homework is it? It's not my homework. If he doesn't get it done it's his problem - not mine. That realization (and the subsequent release of that control back to my son - which actually worked wonders! He does his homework all on his own! Who knew?) led me to see that I wanted to control all of these outside things because I had no control over my own life - specifically in the area of my weight. Being controlling works for me to some extent - I am a Project Manager - I need to control many details of a moving project - I'm pretty good at it. But I couldn't apply those same principles to myself personally. What a disconnect. And now here I am shedding a few tears again. Hormones, gotta love 'em. I guess the point of this hormonal rant is this: May I ever live in submission to my Savior. He is the one who is in control. He deserves a better temple from me.
I did fine at work - didn't get done as much as I wanted to, but I stayed busy. I tried my first protein bullet. It's a 3 ounce drink with a lot of protein in it. The one I tried had 42 grams of protein in it. It was orange flavored. Not fantastic - but OK. Took me 3 hours to drink 3 ounces. I found I liked it very cold. I also had about half of a jello-snack pack for lunch. And sipped on my water and juice throughout the day. That's a day in life of clear liquids for me!
Tomorrow I get to graduate to full liquids! That means milk, protein shakes, smooth low fat yogurt (like vanilla or lemon - not anything with fruit in it), strained creamy soups, and sugar free pudding. I am a bit excited let me tell you. I have found a wonderful website that has been a life saver for me of late. It is www.bariatriceating.com. When I came home from the hospital I started to have a little bit of "buyers remorse" so to speak. I felt like I would never be able to eat anything that I liked or that tasted good ever again! This web site showed me that there were so many things that I could do with what little I could eat right now. There are a bunch of recipes for all the different food phases. For instance - I found a great quick and easy recipe for a potato soup involving chicken broth and Idahoan dehydrated potato flakes and grated parmesan cheese. I am going to make it for dinner tomorrow - I can't wait. The site has great products that you can order - specifically designed for bariatric patients. It also has a fantastic support forum and message board site. There are RN's, licensed nutritionists, and veterans of WLS moderating the boards. One of the boards is devoted totally to recipes! There are some great ideas on how to make your protein shakes taste better, how to get more protein into your every day foods, and is in general a huge encouragement to those who have decided to make this huge life change. Even if you haven't had WLS - it's worth a gander just for the recipes alone. If you're looking for high protein, low fat and low carb recipes - you will be amazed at the yummy stuff you will find at this site.
So in my excitement about going to full liquids tomorrow I decided I would brave the grocery store with my list in hand after work. I think that was the straw that broke the camels back! I was doing good, but as I was pushing the cart and walking around Harris Teeter I got so achy in my belly (still kinda swollen and tender). Going grocery shopping is a new adventure for me. I have to read all the nutritional and ingredient information on everything! It took me what felt like forever to get about 20 items. I want to get sugar free of a lot of things, but I have to look and be sure there is no aspartame in it. A lot of yogurts are sweetened with aspartame or NutraSweet. I need to check the ingredients to be sure - looking for sucralose or Splenda instead. Or something may say "light", but still has sugar in it. I can't have sugar at all yet, so i really need to pay attention. I'm not interested in testing my dumping ground just yet.
So I will be going to bed when the kids do this evening. I am absolutely exhausted. I am looking forward to tomorrow. I get to have Carnation Instant Breakfast for breakfast! And I am packing some yogurt for lunch. Most of all I can't wait to try the potato soup concoction for dinner. I now have to start recording everything I eat, so I also picked up a small notebook to start journaling my eating. I need to keep track of how many grams of protein I take in and start to work towards getting 80 - 100 grams of protein in a day. I also want to keep an eye on calories and carbs. I also need to start paying attention to when I drink and when I eat. I have to stop drinking 30 minutes before I eat, and can't resume drinking until 30 minutes after I eat.
Something else that I see starting to happen is I'm becoming a tad emotional. I've been forwarned about this. Fat cells actually store and hold on to hormones. As the fat cells shrink they release the hormones back into the body. It can be kind of a wild ride with the hormones. I have found myself a couple of times today crying over seemingly simple things. Now if you were to ask D he would say that's not so unusual, but it is a little odd feeling for me. One time I got all verklempt as I was thinking about a comment that someone made to me about how I was taking back control of my life. Yeah, in a way I am. But in a way I feel like I am cleaning up this temple so I can give it back to God. Control - an ongoing theme in my life. I like it - I want it - I have to have it. And yet as a Christian I am to yield - no release! control in my life to my Savior. A big AH HA! moment for me this past summer that I feel led to my decision to pursue WLS was when I realized that I was working exceptionally hard at controlling a lot of things in the lives of the people around me. My husband, my children, my family, my friends. Why am I so concerned about making sure that my son gets his homework done on my terms? Who's homework is it? It's not my homework. If he doesn't get it done it's his problem - not mine. That realization (and the subsequent release of that control back to my son - which actually worked wonders! He does his homework all on his own! Who knew?) led me to see that I wanted to control all of these outside things because I had no control over my own life - specifically in the area of my weight. Being controlling works for me to some extent - I am a Project Manager - I need to control many details of a moving project - I'm pretty good at it. But I couldn't apply those same principles to myself personally. What a disconnect. And now here I am shedding a few tears again. Hormones, gotta love 'em. I guess the point of this hormonal rant is this: May I ever live in submission to my Savior. He is the one who is in control. He deserves a better temple from me.
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