Let's do a poll: Do you drink protein shakes?

I am doing 3 scoops a day, either in two 1 1/2 scoop shakes or 3 1 scoop shakes, don't know how I will settle in but I am addicted to the morning one after only 5 days.  I am still worried that eating any food at all with these shakes will cause me to gain back all my weight but they make me feel so good.  I am finally, after 4 days, not swollen anymore.  But my weight is still up.  I cannot explain my weight gain in one day but just doing the shakes, being afraid to eat and watching the scale.  I think I'll not worry about losing to goal anymore.  If I can just keep off what I've lost so far I'll be grateful.

I think you'll find that the shakes actually improve the weight loss - they did mine.  When I was religiously drinking them, I did much better than when I was drinking them hit or miss.  Even now, at goal, if I bounce up a pound or two, the best way to get that pound or two back off the fastest is to do a day of protein shakes.

Well, Mary - I hope you're right and thanks for the encouragement.

I am still pre-op - FOR ONLY 8 MORE DAYS!!  So bear that in mind.

I drink between 2-4 shakes a day.  It really depends on how many I get in before I go home from work...as my new store of protein powder hasn't shown up yet so that I can have it at home and at work.  Remembering to take it from one place to the other never works for me, I always end up leaving in once place or the other!!

I tried a whole bunch from vitalady but never tired the Champion Pure Whey Stack, which it sounds like i should!  But I am loving, BSN Lean Dessert - Chocolate Coconut (or Candy) Bar, Chocolate Fudge mixed with Cinnamon Roll (or Bun).  I like that they mix very smooth with just shaking them and that they are kind of thick.  Now I might not like that post-op b/c I won't have as much space to accommodate the thickness, we'll see.

My plan post-op is to get at least 4 shakes in a day, even when I am eating enough protein.  We'll see how I do.

My question is - how much time should there be between shakes?   Lori if you are having between 5-6 shakes a day, how long between each shake?  I want to allow enough time for the body to absorb as much as possible before I am sending more protein through.  I don't want to be wasting a shake, does that make sense?  I am thinking 2 hours between shakes, but I could be way off on that time estimate - so a little help here kids!

IMO 2 hours is a good benchmark.  I'm pretty sure Michelle has one before she eats any meal, and then the couple in between.  I SOOOOO miss mine.  I'm hoping to find another one that works for me!

Okay, first of all, OMG EIGHT DAYS!!!!  I know you're ready!

I follow Vitalady's suggestion of 30 g of protein in 30 minutes every 2-3 hours.  This is what my day has looked like today.

7:30am- Protein shake

9:45am- Protein shake

11:45 - Protein shake

12:30- 10 Chick-fil-A nuggets

2:30  Mixing my next protein shake now

4:30 I'll have another shake while cooking dinner

6pm- I think I'm making meatloaf tonight, not sure yet

8-9pm Protein shake

There will be snacks in there somewhere too...I grab handfuls of this and handfuls of that all day.  Once my labs show that my protein levels are doing better, I may back down to 4-5 shakes a day.  But, I dunno, I realllly LOVE how good I'm feeling!

Lori

I AM ready!  I was going through all my OH bookmarks and saving websites, products, recipes, making a list of things to take to the hosptial, and a list of things I need to get done before we leave for Omaha next Wednesday! 

Thanks for you "schedule" that helps a lot - pretty similar to what I am doing at work, actually!!  I didn't know about the 30 grams in 30 minutes thing...I am assuming that is NOT for newly pre-ops right?  

I am SO happy that you are feeling good - you can so tell in your posts!  Now that I have actually met you, I can see you in my minds eye being all bouncy and happy!

  <------- Yup, that's the right image!  Lol!  I'm a complete dork, but now that you've met me you already know that! 

You may not be able to drink your protein shakes in a 30 minute period, but if you mix them with a small amount of liquid it will make it MUCH easier to do it!  It's the reason I've always like the Champion so well, once i mix my powder with 4 oz water, it's only about a 6 oz shake and NO big deal to down in just a short amt of time!

LOL - that IS you!!  And you aren't dorky, I love how you are!!

Ahh good to know, I am having problems imagining how hard it is going to be to get in liquids and food!  I guess I won't have to imagine it for much longer!!

The biggest reason Michelle does the 30 grams in '30 minutes' is because bacteria starts to grow in 30 minutes.  If you mix it up, take what you CAN finish in 30 minutes, and put the remainder in a air-tight container in the fridge, you can come back to it later.