Can we live off of just Protien Shakes, Clear Liquids and Vitamins ????

yes,medically speaking,we can. Think of people who have had strokes or catastrophic injuries and end up paralyzed from the neck down,for an example. those ppl eat only liquid nutrition and water delivered via a feeding tube. I have personally seen ppl live for YEARS on this type of feeding,so yes,it is medically possible.

is it fun? I would think not? Bowel issues, definately and that would have to be addressed with medication. But,possible? totally/

GL

KAT--I read all the responses, before I posted, and HOLLY and WHITE DOVE most said what I was thinking. It's kinda like me wearing a tube top and spandex-just because I CAN doesn't mean I SHOULD...

Coming up with ideas to keep things "interesting" CAN be a true pain in the butt sometimes, and there are times I DO just do shakes cuz I'm lazy hat way. At 11 years out I normally STILL do a shake or protein in coffee EVERY morning, because  Oscar (my grouch pouch) wouldn't allow solid food at my 5am breakfast time, if you paid him cash money. The shake gives me 20 gm protein to jump start my day, and makes me feel "virtuous"...

I have nursed lots of folks who. for various medical conditions, had no choice but to have all liquids, either by mouth, tube, or IV. I cannot any of them who, given a choice, would not have CHOSEN to eat...

I did Optifast, back in the early 80s..at $500/month. I think. I did it for 90 days...lost 63 lbs...When I stopped I gained 30 lbs in 30 days, and nearly died from "toxic bowels"...Oh, the things we have done to lose weight!!!

So..anyhoo..to answer your question...yea..you CAN....but..YUCK...it would be like me in spandex and a tube top...

I'm sure you can do this for a while, maybe for a long time, but it would be healthier to get some of your protein from food. If your just on protein shakes I would do some research into different types of proteins and things like amino acids that are an essential part of the diet. I think you could find that stuff as supplements too. Just don't focus solely on the protein. Depending on how often you have labs done you might consider getting them more often until you are sure you haven't missed anything in your supplements. If you go that route I wish you well.

OT - as a DS I don't really hear from many people that get the surgery so they can eat anything, definitely not buffets. Many are fans of bacon. Most people end up with a version of the Atkins approach. Hi protein, low carb. Due to the fat malabsorption some people find they need to increase their fat to keep themselves regular. I'm 3 months out and happy with the results. I looked at a lot of studies and found nothing pointing to long term complications except those by people not supplementing correctly. You can't slide on he vitamins.

I guess you COULD (although I seriously doubt that anyone could do it for a very long time), but why in the world would you WANT to?!?  How would you handle going out to eat with friends/family or special occasions?

Lora

yes, of course. you could live on jus****er although I don't think you should.

for months post op I lived on syntrax nectars, a protein drink I liked the taste of and that I could fit in when mixed with water. I felt fine and had no problems.

my restriction was so tight I could only eat very small amounts of actual food. for months.

over time it changed to a more typical sleeve but for a year or two (when I used to be on the VSG forum every day) I would always post in threads where people would say "you don't understand, I can't get in more" after others told them they could "just" add this food or that and ...whatever the point was. add more calories, get in more protein, whatever.

I wanted those who couldn't eat more than a bite or two to know they weren't alone, even though we did not have a typical experience.

in the first few months I would sometimes track and I was getting in around 400 - 500 calories.

I lost weight just as fast when I was finally able to get it up to 800 and 1000!