Good for you, Fit.
A while back, I suggested using the tool of taking a drink of water every time you hear a certain word. So if you watch television, you will hear the same words repeated over and over. Each time you hear one of your words, take a drink.
TV news is an especially great source for people who want to play this game.
Make a list that includes covid, presidential, black lives matter, football, isolate, quarantine, pandemic, or whatever is currently being covered on the news when you watch it.
You can also use it if watching a mainstream television show. If you know the names of the characters, take a shot whenever you hear the character's name. Or take a shot every time a character you have on your list makes an appearance on the TV show.
There are all sorts of things you can use as prompts to get you to sip a drink of water. I'm really surprised that your team recommend two liters of water a day. Most post-op plans recommend only 64 oz of water a day, and most people find that hard to do. If you use this technique you will even find yourself thinking of one of your prompts everywhere you go. When you hear the prompt word, take a drink.
Of course, 2 L of water still only amounts to about 68 Oz. When you hear the prompt word, take a drink. I have a severe allergy to lead, so I cannot drink that much city water in a day because there is still a large amount of lead among all the minerals in water.
So I buy spring water or water that has been processed for drinking without pollutants. I keep a 34 oz bottle next to me all day, and if I go anywhere, I take my bottle with me. I have even taken my bottle into restaurants. I always explain to the wait staff that I am required by the conditions of my health to drink a certain amount of water a day, and that I cannot drink the water the restaurant provides because it is not filtered. You may not sense what is in your drinking water, but my body will tell me if there's lead because I become extremely weak and break out in a rash on my forearms.
If you just can't deal with drinking plain water, there are a lot of flavorings you can easily add to it. But make no mistake. You cannot possibly get enough water from your daily food consumption and your body will tell you that.
If you don't drink enough water and you end up dehydrated, you will have to go back to the hospital for an IV of fluids which will take all night to run into your veins. Drinking water is the simple preventative to this happening.
If you do drink the required amount of water, not only will it help you with satiety, but it will also accelerate your weight loss.
There are many many more reasons to drink water then I can possibly list. But you also asked about protein, so here's a list:
41 High-Protein Foods Ranked By Protein Content Per 100g
- Beef jerky 30-40g
- Parmesan 32g
- Tuna steak 32g
- Pumpkin seeds 30g
- Turkey 30g
- Peanuts 25-28g
- Edam 27g
- Canned tuna 25g
- Cheddar 25g
- Seitan 25g
- Beef 20-24g
- Chicken 24g
- Salmon 24g
- Stilton 24g
- Almonds 21g
- Sardines 21g
- Cod 20g
- Lamb 20g
- Mackerel 20g
- Pistachios 20g
- Pork loin 17-20g
- Tempeh 20g
- Cashew nuts 18g
- Mozzarella 18g
- Mussels 18g
- Chia seeds 17g
- Walnuts 15-17g
- Prawns 15-18g
- Quorn mince 14.5g
- Brazil nuts 14g
- Edamame beans 13g
- Eggs 13g
- Tofu 12g
- Cottage cheese 10g
- Greek yogurt 10g
- Oats 10g
- Lentils 7-9g
- Kidney beans 8g
- Chickpeas 7g
- Peas 6g
- Quinoa (cooked) 5g
Remember that those calculations above refer to 100 grams of food. That is 3 and 1/2 ounces. This is helpful if you use a scale in your kitchen to weigh and measure your food. So the protein value of eggs, reduced to grams, refers to two eggs on the list above.
Dairy products, eggs and cheese were my go-to foods. I always looked for the best ratio of amount of food to number of protein grams it holds. I was actually incredibly insane about protein following my surgery. Fortunately for me, that's easy. I love all dairy products, eggs and cheese.
I also want to extol the virtues of Magic Milk. This is a quart of nonfat milk well mixed with a packet of dried milk powder, like Milkman. I went for my protein bolus early in the morning so I could benefit from it all day. But in order to meet the goal, I also had to have protein in my other meals.
Make sure you follow your nutritionist's guide, which specifically tells you what to eat and how much, following surgery.
