just a question about shakes..

so I made my first shakes today..pretty good..but when are you all drinking..

between meals or is this in place of?

So, that's going to depend on so many things... first, what your doctor's recommendations are... second, how far out from surgery you are... third, how many 'real' meals you are eating.

First starting out, most people use them as a meal... then in between dense meals as they progress onward.

I personally rarely drink them anymore, but when I do, it's in place of a meal.

Usual caveat: This is what MY plan from MY surgeon was, yours is very likely to be different, and when it comes to "rules" YOUR surgical team's instructions trump everyone else's experience.

That being said...

Pre-op the shakes replaced all but one meal.

Post-op the shakes were the mainstay of my diet, along with sip sip sip sip (ad nauseum) of water. I could only get a few ounces down at a time to start, so I was always sitting with some protein shake in a cup, and my water cup, pretty much alternating.

As I moved (slowly) toward a full diet, it started out with shakes being the meals and the new foods being snacks and that started switching. Now, I still end up needing a protein shake for one meal a day (usually breakfast) in order to get enough protein in.

Some people's instructions through the weight loss period is 3 meals a day and shakes in between as needed to control hunger and get enough protein in... but that varies based on the surgeon's attitude toward meal size and frequency.

ok thank you all..

At your point post-op, they are both. The focus is to get in enough fluids first, and your protein second. By drinking the shakes you are accomplishing both.

Further down the line, you will use them as a supplement to get in your protein when you start eating solid foods/proteins. Your little tummy won't be able to get in much solid protein, so you will still need to drink the shakes...however you need to do to get your protein in; all at once as a meal, or throughout the day as a beverage, whichever works best.

Finally, a lot of people never stop drinking the shakes. I know some who have one every morning for breakfast years after surgery. I, personally, haven't touched the nasty things since about 4 months post-surgery, and if I never have to drink another one I am perfectly fine with that!!

I do a shake in the morning for breakfast. It's kind of a habit from when I was on a shakes and entrees diet several years ago. I'm not really hungry in the morning, so this gives me a good start on my protein and I do my morning vitamins with it. I usually don't eat real food until around noon or one in the afternoon, so I guess I do sort of an intermittent fasting kind of thing, even though I do the shake and coffee.

Jen

I am down to one shake a day. I eat lunch at noon and leave work at 5. I drink it at 5, knowing I won't eat dinner until 7:30-8, most nights.

Whatever it takes to meet your protein requirements. If you can eat what you need, no reason to drink shakes.