46 Part I: Eating Right with Every Bite
✓ Contract your muscles
✓ Maintain healthy blood
✓ Maintain a healthy immune system
✓ Have more energy
✓ Feel full longer
Without adequate protein, your body will develop a deficiency called protein
malnutrition (PM). This results in your body breaking down its own muscle for
energy (not a good thing), weakness, anemia, and of course hair loss.
Your surgeon and dietitian will give you a level of protein they want you to
strive for each day. In general, this is anywhere from 60 to 80 grams a day.
Some people tolerate protein better than others after surgery. While getting
your nutrients from real food is best, using protein supplements will likely
be necessary, especially if you don’t tolerate protein foods well. (We discuss
protein supplements in the later section “Meeting your protein goal with
supplements.”)
Good sources of protein
So what do you eat to get this all-important protein? Well, you get protein
from a variety of foods, the best sources being animal products. The protein
in plants is found in smaller amounts and isn’t as high quality. The following
list shows you sources of protein and the amount of protein you can expect
to get. For packaged goods, comparison shop to find the option with the
highest amount of protein.
✓ Meat, fish, and poultry* (7 grams per ounce)
✓ Cheese (be sure it is low fat or fat free)* (7 grams per ounce)
✓ Eggs* (7 grams each)
✓ Yogurt (again, low fat or fat free and no added sugar )* (12 grams per cup)
✓ 1 percent or fat-free milk* (12 grams per cup)
✓ Tofu* (7 grams per ounce)
✓ Legumes (beans) (7 grams per^1 ⁄ 2 cup)
✓ Nuts and seeds (4 grams per^1 ⁄ 4 cup)
✓ Soy milk* (12 grams per cup)
✓ Vegetables (2 grams per^1 ⁄ 2 cup cooked)
✓ Whole grains (3 grams per serving)
✓ Cottage cheese* (7 grams per^1 ⁄ 4 cup)
✓ Nut butters (7 grams per 2 tablespoons)
*Sources of high-quality protein
