Eating enough protein
Diet after weight loss surgery
As part of your diet after weight loss surgery, it's important that you reduce how many calories you eat to get to and remain at a healthy weight. However, if your diet is not properly balanced, you might not get enough or the right nutrition. This can lead to problems.
Protein helps the body to grow and repair itself. It's found in foods such as:
Muscle is made up of protein, so rapid weight loss or not enough protein can lead to you losing muscle. This can affect your strength and ability to exercise.
The aim of your diet is to achieve a healthy weight, while keeping normal muscle stores. For this reason, it is important to learn about good sources of protein to make sure your protein requirements are met.
The following foods are rich in protein. The foods are listed as average portion sizes. We list both the protein and calorie content to help you make suitable choices that fit in with your diet.
Aim to have 60g of protein a day.
Meat
| Food | Portion | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken or turkey breast | 2 average slices (without skin) (80g) | 20g | 120kcal |
| Lean beef | 2 slices (60g) | 18g | 106kcal |
| Lean lamb | 2 slices (60g) | 18g | 130kcal |
| Lean lamb chop (with bone) | 1 chop (120g with the bone) | 21g | 150kcal |
| Lean ham | 2 slices (80g) | 24g | 160kcal |
| Chicken livers | Quarter of a cup (35g) | 7g | 45kcal |
| Lean minced meat (beef, lamb, pork, turkey) | 3 dessert spoons (100g) | 22g | 180kcal |
| Bacon (lean) | 1 rasher (25g) | 6g | 70kcal |
Fish
| Food | Portion | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuna (canned in brine or water) | 1 small tin (100g) | 24g | 100kcal |
| White fish (such as cod or haddock) | 1 fillet (150g) | 36g | 140kcal |
| Mackerel (smoked) | 1 fillet (125g) | 30g | 380kcal |
| Mackerel (canned in brine) | 1 tin (125g) | 16g | 200kcal |
| Sardines (canned) | 1 tin (120g) | 20g | 206kcal |
| Salmon (canned) | 1 small can (100g) | 19g | 215kcal |
| Smoked salmon | 3 thin slices (50g) | 11g | 72kcal |
| Salmon fillet | 1 fillet (140g) | 25g | 300kcal |
| Pilchards in tomato sauce | 1 small can (100g) | 18g | 144kcal |
| Prawns | 1 cup (75g) | 11g | 80kcal |
| Mussels | 1 cup (85g) | 10g | 80kcal |
Dairy
| Food | Portion | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milk (semi skimmed) | 1 glass (200ml) | 7g | 100kcal |
| Milk (skimmed) | 1 glass (200ml) | 7g | 70kcal |
| Diet light yoghurt | 1 small pack size pot (125g) | 6g | 80kcal |
| Low fat natural yoghurt (less than 2% fat) | 1 small pot (150g) | 9g | 90kcal |
| 0% Greek style yoghurt | Total’ small pot size (170g) | 15g | 100kcal |
| 2% Greek style yoghurt | Total’ small pot size (170g) | 14g | 125kcal |
| SkyrTM yoghurt | 1 pot (150g) | 13.7g | 110kcal |
| AlproTM soya Greek yoghurt | 1 pot (150g) | 7.2g | 125kcal |
| Low fat custard | 1 pot (150g) | 6g | 134kcal |
| Low fat rice pudding | 1 pot (150g) | 5g | 136kcal |
| Skimmed milk powder | 1 dessert spoon (6g) | 5g | 21kcal |
| Egg (medium) | 60g | 8g | 88kcal |
| Egg (large) | 65g | 9g | 95kcal |
| Egg (extra large) | 73g | 10g | 107kcal |
| Cheddar cheese (low fat) | match box size (30g) | 10g | 94kcal |
| Cheddar cheese and other white or hard cheese (Cheshire, Lancashire) | match box size (30g) | 8g | 123kcal |
| Low fat cottage cheese | 2 heaped tablespoons (100g) | 13g | 78kcal |
| Cottage cheese | 2 heaped tablespoons (100g) | 12g | 110kcal |
| Dairylea lightTM | 1 triangle (18g) | 3g | 26kcal |
| DairyleaTM | 1 triangle (18g) | 2g | 43kcal |
| Quark | 1 dessert spoon (50g) | 6g | 35kcal |
| Low fat cheese spread | 1 dessert spoon (50g) | 8g | 77kcal |
| Cheese spread | 1 dessert spoon (50g) | 6g | 123kcal |
| Babybel lightTM | 1 mini Babybel (20g) | 5g | 42kcal |
| Mozzarella | 1 quarter of a ball (30g) | 6g | 74kcal |
| Gouda | match box size (30g) | 8g | 109kcal |
| Brie or camembert | match box size (30g) | 6g | 90kcal |
| Danish blue or stilton | match box size (30g) | 5g | 100kcal |
Beans and pulses
| Food | Portion | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baked beans | Half a can (200g) | 10g | 151kcal |
| Tofu / bean curd | Half a pack (100g) | 8g | 73kcal |
| Kidney beans | 3 tablespoons (100g) | 5g | 100kcal |
| Chickpeas | 3 tablespoons (100g) | 7g | 121kcal |
| Lentils (cooked) | 1 cup (50g) | 16g | 52kcal |
| Lentil soup | 1 can (400g) | 8g | 190kcal |
Nuts and seeds
| Food | Portion | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | 40 nuts (50g) | 14g | 282kcal |
| Almonds | 25 nuts (50g) | 10g | 306kcal |
| Brazil | 15 nuts (50g) | 7g | 341kcal |
| Cashew | 50 nuts (50g) | 10g | 306kcal |
| Hazelnuts | 50 nuts (50g) | 7g | 325kcal |
| Macadamia | 30 nuts (50g) | 4g | 374kcal |
| Pecans | 8 nuts (50g) | 5g | 345kcal |
| Pistachios | 45 nuts (50g) | 7g | 300kcal |
| Walnuts | 15 halves (50g) | 8g | 344kcal |
| Sesame seeds | 2 tablespoons (4g) | 4g | 300kcal |
| Sunflower seeds | 2 tablespoons (32g) | 6g | 290kcal |
| Pine nuts | 3 tablespoons (30g) | 4g | 344kcal |
| Tahini paste | 1 heaped teaspoon (19g) | 4g | 300kcal |
| Peanut butter | 2 tablespoons (32g) | 7g | 300kcal |
QuornTM
Quorn is a low-fat, high-protein vegetarian meat substitute.
| Food | Portion | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken style pieces | 1/3 frozen bag (100g) | 14g | 103kcal |
| Sausages | 1 sausage from a pack of 6 (40g) | 5g | 70kcal |
| Sausages (Cumberland style) | 1 sausage from a pack of 6 (50g) | 7g | 86kcal |
| Mince | 1/3 frozen bag (100g) | 14g | 94kcal |
| Family roast | 1/5 of a 454g roast pack (90g) | 14g | 96kcal |
| Peppered steak | 1 steak (100g) | 11g | 107kcal |
| Quarter pounder | 1 quarter pounder (113g) | 20g | 157kcal |
| Bacon style rashers | 1/4 of a 150g pack (40g) | 5g | 76kcal |
| Lemon and black pepper escalopes | 1 escalope (110g) | 11g | 249kcal |
Protein supplements
| Food | Portion | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| MeriteneTM shake | 1 sachet mixed with 200ml semi skimmed milk | 9g | 107kcal |
| MeriteneTM soups | 1 sachet mixed with 150ml water | 7g | 207kcal |
| ComplanTM | 1 sachet (57g) mixed with 200ml semi skimmed milk | 16g | 340kcal |
| SlimfastTM (ready to drink) | 1 bottle (325ml) | 15g | 211kcal |
| SlimfastTM powder | 36.5g with 200ml skimmed milk | 14g | 230kcal |
| Vegan SlimfastTM | 4 scoops and 250ml water | 21.2g | 220kcal |
| Arla Protein drinkTM | 500ml | 22.5g | 265kcal |
| Protein water | 500ml | 30g | 127kcal |
| UFIT protein drinkTM | 310ml | 22.4g | 166kcal |
| Precision whey proteinTM | 27g added to water or milk | 20.2g | 101kcal |
Resource number: 5030/VER2
Last reviewed: August 2026
Next review due: August 2029
