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Solid food vs liquid protein

desertgirl

desertgirl

Member
If I am taking in all of my protein in liquid form do I still need to eat solid food?
Also, how much will it hurt if I fast for about 3 days except for water?
 
Hi DesertGirl. As long as you are getting your minimum calories and protien in the liquid form it should be no different from the pre op meal plan I was on for a week, I don't think a fast would be advisable but you should certainly call your nutritionist or doctor before considering a fast or staying on a liquid diet for an extended period of time so they can monitor your health for signs of malnutrition and vitamin deficiancies. Is it difficult to keep foods down still? Hope all is well. :cool: Tom
 
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Desertgirl-Since your surgery was on the same day as mine I have some questions for you. Why are you using liquid protein only and why do you want to go on a 3 day water only fast? Sounds scary to me.
 
Desertgirl, I'm a straight-shooter and tell it like it is. I care too much for others who are facing this weight loss challenge to not speak up. So, I don't mean to offend, but here is my two cents on your thoughts....

I have to agree with Pat...very scary indeed. It sounds like you are having emotional issues. You do not "fast" as a post op patient. Maybe in a few years when you have reached your goal, maintained it and just need to clean yourself out and take a deep breath.

I was on the Opti-Fast program years ago. Drank only the protein drinks. Lost tons of weight. Sounds like that is what you are trying to do. Don't do it. Go chat with your doctor. Talk to your nutritionist. Scream it from the rooftops that you need to speak to them.

I find it very helpful from time-to-time to chat with a counselor. It helps to weed out what is going on in my head. I have lost 200 lbs but still can't fathom it. I still put 4 times on my plate what I will eat. I am a size 4 and I start with size 10 or 12 when I try on clothes. I know I have a mental block and I am working on it. You may too. I think most of us do, it just sometimes takes some of us longer than others to figure that out.

Go chat up your doctor or nutritionist. Be honest with them. PLEASE, tell them why you want to fast. And scream at us. We don't know who you are. You are safe. Let us know how you are feeling if you think you can, all of us would love to help.

Be safe, be smart, hang in there! This really isn't so bad. Once the weight loss kicks in, as long as you aren't "cheating", the lbs will simply melt off and we can all give you huge kudos and hugs!!!

Be safe.

Letrell
 
Desert Girl,

I'm surprised you're still on liquids this far out past surgery.
We were told to avoid protein shakes as they are higher in calories & pass through too quickly to give you that feeling of fullness from a meal.
It's pretty easy to get all my protein in daily including my 2-8oz of skim milk that adds an additional 16 g of protein as well.

I eat for 30 mins being mindful to chew the heck out of smaller bitfulls of food before swallowing.
Seriously, about 20 mins after I really do feel the "fullness" that we're told is the delay between eating & the brain telling us we're full.

When I add the protein grams & calories, I'm staying pretty low in calories, at least minimum of 60 g + of protein per day.
This coupled with the exercise is what it takes to move that scaled & BMI down.

If you're still on liquids I would check w/dietician. I would think they would want you on solid foods for now.
As far as fasting goes; sounds like a really bad idea to me. You really need the 64 oz of water/day along with the 60 g of protein; 16 of which you can easily get from milk between your 3 meals daily. Again coupled with the exercise I believe will yield better results.
My concerns for you are the complications from dehyration which are awful & dangerous as well as screwing w/you electrolytes.
Remember, we don't store protein anymore. YOu have to feed it to your body daily.
The body will go after lean muscle mass first; we want to reassure the body it's got enough protein & to go after the fat for energy.
Please check with dietician and/or RN with your program. Fasting so early in the process seems really scary & I don't want you to end up in the ER or hospital again - it sucks.

Take care, move forward w/confidence and working towards your new normal. You really can do this; I was initially a doubter but believe the beginning is rough & the changes that come are for the better. We all want you healthy.
 
Hi desertgirl,

We were told in our nutrition class to follow a staged diet starting with clear liquids, then full liquids, then soft, then regular. Each stage lasted two weeks except when you finally got to regular. I realize that everyone's program may be somewhat different from mine but as rule of thumb it has worked for me. All throughout I was to try and drink at least two shakes per day. Generally as you increase your regular food proteins you can drop the shakes. I still do one a day, usually in the morning. I know that if the gut/stomach/bowel/pouch is to work correctly you need to be eating real foods. Fasting is purely dangerous for the previously mentioned reasons of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Furthermore if you starve the body it will rebel and say "I don't like this, I better keep all the nutrients I can" and you will not lose weight smartly. I had been kind of depressed because I was not losing and seemed stuck but I stuck with it and am beginning to drop those pounds again albeit slowly. People with lapbands tend to lose more slowly anyway and that is what I have. Please don't try fasting and check with your bariatric center or nutritionist and I am sure they will tell you to start eating real food in small amounts and to chew chew chew and sip sip sip. That doesn't mean a steak dinner ROFL.
 
Hi desertgirl,
Please help me!! I'm having surgery in a week & I want to know what I can put in ice trays. I put tomato soup in ice cubes. Do you have any suggesting’s?? I would like to be prepared. Thank you I'm a little scared.
Cathy


We were told in our nutrition class to follow a staged diet starting with clear liquids, then full liquids, then soft, then regular. Each stage lasted two weeks except when you finally got to regular. I realize that everyone's program may be somewhat different from mine but as rule of thumb it has worked for me. All throughout I was to try and drink at least two shakes per day. Generally as you increase your regular food proteins you can drop the shakes. I still do one a day, usually in the morning. I know that if the gut/stomach/bowel/pouch is to work correctly you need to be eating real foods. Fasting is purely dangerous for the previously mentioned reasons of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Furthermore if you starve the body it will rebel and say "I don't like this, I better keep all the nutrients I can" and you will not lose weight smartly. I had been kind of depressed because I was not losing and seemed stuck but I stuck with it and am beginning to drop those pounds again albeit slowly. People with lapbands tend to lose more slowly anyway and that is what I have. Please don't try fasting and check with your bariatric center or nutritionist and I am sure they will tell you to start eating real food in small amounts and to chew chew chew and sip sip sip. That doesn't mean a steak dinner ROFL.[/QUOTE]
 
Tomato Soup in Ice Cube Format

cat45 said:
Hi desertgirl,
Please help me!! I'm having surgery in a week & I want to know what I can put in ice trays. I put tomato soup in ice cubes. Do you have any suggesting’s?? I would like to be prepared. Thank you I'm a little scared.
Cathy


We were told in our nutrition class to follow a staged diet starting with clear liquids, then full liquids, then soft, then regular. Each stage lasted two weeks except when you finally got to regular. I realize that everyone's program may be somewhat different from mine but as rule of thumb it has worked for me. All throughout I was to try and drink at least two shakes per day. Generally as you increase your regular food proteins you can drop the shakes. I still do one a day, usually in the morning. I know that if the gut/stomach/bowel/pouch is to work correctly you need to be eating real foods. Fasting is purely dangerous for the previously mentioned reasons of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Furthermore if you starve the body it will rebel and say "I don't like this, I better keep all the nutrients I can" and you will not lose weight smartly. I had been kind of depressed because I was not losing and seemed stuck but I stuck with it and am beginning to drop those pounds again albeit slowly. People with lapbands tend to lose more slowly anyway and that is what I have. Please don't try fasting and check with your bariatric center or nutritionist and I am sure they will tell you to start eating real food in small amounts and to chew chew chew and sip sip sip. That doesn't mean a steak dinner ROFL.
Click to expand...
[/QUOTE]

Hey Cat,

Be careful and check the sugar content in the tomato soup; it can be pretty high. Should be less than 10 g/serving & actually that seems a litte high for me.
The weight loss was slow initially in my pre-op diet and immediately post-op but I think a lot came from the IVs in the hospital and ER & last of energy and activity.

Time passes, things get better & you will have more energy and see the results. You're absolutely correct that if you don't get at least the bare minimum amount of protein, keep the fats, sugars & carbs low along with the water, it will through things out of whack. The protein is so key since we don't store it & it forces our bodies to look for energy in the fat very the lean muscle mass.

Best wishes on your journey.
 
I am really sorry that I confused you guys so much. I wasn't planning on fasting. I found myself not eating or drinking for 3 days due to problems I was having in my home. It is all over now and I am back to a normal diet. Well , if you can call it that. I still have problems with an upset stomach after drinking my protein shake. I am still drinking 2 shakes a day with some solid protein to make up the 70 grams of protein which I need daily. I wake up nauseous. It goes away after I start taking my vitamins with a protein drink.

Cat45: I have never used ice cube trays for anything but water. Sorry. I wish you the best.

Tom, I was never given a minimum or a maximum calorie number just the amount of protein I need to have each day.

Thanks for everything guys
 
Hi Natallie, It's good to hear your not fasting, I hope everything is well. I wasnt given a post op calorie limit either but it is something I try to keep an eye on when I am expending a lot of energy and when I get more sedentary in the winter, if I don't watch myself I tend to get weak in the summer or graze when I dont need to in the off season:rolleyes: the protien has'nt been a problem for the last year but the first year I really had to monitor my intake or I would not get enough protien and physically crash. Give it time and it will get easier to get your protien, like I said before my first year was the hardest. :cool: Tom
 
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