Protein question??

Ok here goes. I need to come out of the confused corner and figure this out. My surgery date was Feb 22/05 and I think I am losing at an ok rate. I am down 59 lbs and I want to be one of the success stories we all hear about and envy. My question... One line of thinking is that you need to take many protein shakes each day because with the RNY you can't absorb enough. Also there it is suggested that if you don't you may need a revision because your body will try to "fix" itself. HOWEVER My surgeon says not to supplement with protien as you will end up with too many calories and will regain. (That is now that I am almost 3months out you don't need to supplement with the protien shakes and that you can get all you need from the food we eat.) I want to trust my Dr but can all the people who have successfully lost weight and seem to be keeping it off be wrong? Currently I am drinking a protein shake (30 grams) in the morning as my mid am "snack". What is everyone else doing that had their surgery about the same time as me? Thanks for your replies. Karen A

I too was taken off the protein shakes at almost 3 months out, my nutrionist told me I am getting enough protein with my food.

I try to get in all my protein through my foods - me and protein shakes had a really rocky start so I never drank them.

Hi Karen, I had surgery the day after you. I am still drinking 1 protein drink a day. I drink the Isopure. It has 40g of protein. I was never told to stop drinking it. I go back in June for a checkup. I'll see then. I just checked the bottle. There are 160 calories in my protein drink. I'm not sure if that's too much. Maisy

I was told we would always need them because it was so hard to get in 64 grams a day just from food. However through my own experience I can see where it would be possible if making an effort to do so. I choose to drink atleast one a day. I have it for breakfast then if I feel I didn't get in enough for the day I will have one as a pm snack. a plus is it counts towards my fluid intake as well. Janice

Hi Karen, My nutrionist told me to drink 4 a day and I try to drink them since I can't keep any food down. My drinks have 170 calories and no refined sugar so I am hardly getting enough calories to hinder my weight loss, in fact if I got all 4 of my drinks in that would only be 680 calories. For me they are a life saver though I wish I could get my protein from some foods. Today I got bloodwork (will find out just how back I am doing next week) done and we stopped for dinner on the way home and actually had no incidents today. Of course I only had Onion Soup and soup seems to be one of the only thing I don't have a problem with other than cottage cheese. Liquid and mush is all that stays down.

Hey thanks so much for taking the time to reply! I see that there is a varying degree of answers to this question and I am glad I am not alone in this. I am going to try to bump up the protein and take one in the am and one either in the afternoon or evening. I guess nothing says it has to be written in stone and if I start to gain I will make a decision then. Good luck with the weight loss everyone! Karen A A little less confused one..lol

Hi Karen - I had surgery on 2/22/05 and I am only using one protien shake aday - unless I'm lazy and don't want to cook. It also depends on how I am feeling that day and how well food goes down. I've not had many problems but some days I don't want to eat so I use my protien drinks. For snacks I eat cheese and peanut butter(smooth only) & I add peanut butter to my choc. shake - it really fills me up for sometime. Good luck on finding what works for you but if you are in doubt call your dietician - they love to hear from patients at least mine does.

I usually drink one protein drink a day. I make it with 1% milk. Without my protein drink, I would have a hard time getting in enough calories during the day. The powder has 135 calories and the milk has either 50-75 calories depending on how much milk I use. Without the drink, I would only get about 35-40 grams of protein a day from the food I eat. Cathy G.

You should check out : http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/OSSG-Protein/ Hugs Susi