protein shakes temporary or for life...???

As many of you know I have been with a new surgeon since mine lost his license.. There are things I like about him and things I liked about the old doctor.. things i agree on and things I dont.. I learned from others last night at the support meeting that my new doctors dietician is telling everyone to ween off the protein shakes at three months and get all your protein from your food.. she said the calories for the shakes is too high and that the liquid goes through too fast to get good protein like you do from food.. she even suggested just using protein bars if we need more. I know we get protein from food but is that enough??
I was under the understanding from my old surgeons dietician that we would have to suppliment our protein with shakes for the rest of our life in order to insure we get enough protein.. the protein bars have just as many calories and are very expensive compared to the shakes.. can I please get peoples advice on this.. I know I am suppose to follow what my plan is but this plan was the only one I had a choice of joining.. so I have mixed feelings.. I trust the doctor as a surgeon but I am not sure about the dietician..
help me understand what everyone else is doing..

Hi,

My surgeon wants the protein shakes for life and he doesn't like protein bars either from what I hear. I will ask about that at my next appt though. 

Linda

Thanks for your answering me.. Let me know what your Doc says..
with appreciation :)

My doctor told me to steer clear of protein bars because they can have horrendous amounts of sugar and usually don't have more protein than, say, 4 ounces of chicken (35 grams).

Frankly, I got off the protein shakes as soon as I could. I totally agree with your dietician there. I had initial hair loss in spite of drinking the daily recommended protein shakes back in 2007, but it all grew back just as thick as ever! And I have been getting all my protein from regular food sources for well over 2 years.

I have added muscle in the 4 months since I started running--it's really noticeable in my hamstrings, thighs and calves. So my deduction is that IF the amount of protein I am ingesting through lean protein sources (such as skinless chicken breast, 7% fat lean ground beef, lamb and stew beef) WERE inadequate for my nutritional needs, THEN I wouldn't have any new muscle growth. Seems logical to me!

Rock on, Teresa!

I am already having the hair loss because of the 62 lbs I have lost since February.. I could not seem to find a protein bar that seemed worth it..I guess I will have to try to just go with the new nut.  Seems like that is good advice..
I appreciate your answering my question..
Thanks

My Doc and the NUT both want us off protein shakes by at least 6 months out from surgery, if you can get enough protein from food.  They realize every one is different, so its not a set number of months to be on the shakes.  I cant drink the shakes, tried every way, every kind, just cant do it.  They make me sick.  But I can do the protein shots, and although they are not the optimal protein, some is better than none.  I do try and eat mostly protein full things right now.  Just had labs drawn so I'll know better if I'm doing okay in about 2 weeks.  And as far as the protein bars go, my Doc and NUT say NO...too much sugar for the protein that you get.  But again, everyone is different..so who knows, they might work for you.

I appreciate the responce.. It looks like all the docs are different.. I dont agree with the potein bars either.. I think they are too many calories and too much sugar for whar you get.. Good luck with your labs I hope they are good..
thanks again

There are some decent VERY low sugar protien bars available...they are hard to find though.  I know I got one at Wegman's...I may have a review on my site, been a long time.  I can't stand them now.  Lol.  Ate them for a while.  I'd rather just drink a shake and get it over with, no chewing.  YUK! 

do you still use shakes to suppliment what protein you dont get from foods..??

My dietician says to only use shakes as supplements and try to get all of the protein from food but it's better to do the shakes than not get the protein at all.  There are a lot of lower calorie products on the market.  Most non-WLS people assume that protein shake = muscle mass gaining and therefore are  high calorie.  Those protein drinks do exist, but they're high in sugars and carbs.  The ones we need to drink are the lower-carb ones.

Pure Protein are the best bars I've found out there and you can get them for about $1 each.  They're low sugar and have 18-20g of protein.  Only 180-200 calories or so.

My steadfast rule is for every 10cals I put in my mouth there better be at least 1g of protein.  1g of protein is 4cals, so that only leaves 6cals to be dedicated to fats or sugars.  I think 1g of sugar is 4cals and 1g of fat is 9cals.