Protein question

Why does drinking protein help you lose weight? can you all help me with this question? Thanks Rosie

I don't know what the deal is with protein. While I was in the hospital, the doctor who was covering for my doctor said that I should try laying off on so much protein for a while because it my be aggravating my diarhea. He said that my body might be having a hard time digesting the protein because I didn't eat that much protein before I had the surgery. He also said that he did not beleive that anyone could actually build anything (like hair or muscle) during the rapid weight loss phase anyway. He said that in 1400 patients, they have never seen anyone who became seriously deficient in protein during the first year. Apparantly they don't require the protein like my doctor does. So...I have slacked off on the protein some what. I still get in some but not nearly what they had me doing before. I am going to try to slowly ease my way into more protein. This probably does not really answer your question exactly but I hope it helps some. Jacinda

Thanks Jacinda. It just doesnt make sense to me. I dont understand how protein can help. I do understand that it fills u up because it does me,and I dont want to eat for a an hour or so. Thanks for you help. Luv ya Rosie

OK cool - I know the answer to this one! First and foremost, what else are you going to use to nourish your body? You have carbs (sugar), fats, and protein. Dietary fat is unrestricted for DS people - one of the reasons DS people list as their reason for their choice. But for RNY and the other procedures, the requirement is to stay on a low-fat, low-carb diet permanently. Therefore, that only leaves protein. If you don't eat protein, you'll be eating something you aren't supposed to be eating. Second, regardless of what any doctor says, I find it VERY hard to believe that protein intake doesn't matter as far as building (or failing to lose) muscle. There is an entire industry geared at body builders with sound science behind their high protein intake - and they do it in order to give their bodies the building blocks to build muscle. Finally, metabolically speaking, weight is lost this way: over a period of weeks, weight loss = loss of a roughly equal amount of fa****er, and muscle. (BTW muscle=protein) This is how the body consumes itself when its calorie needs are going unmet. This is why some people who diet without exercise experience weakness- they have lost muscle tissue. There can be ways of changing this, however - that's what the Atkins diet was all about from the beginning. If you don't feed too many carbs into a diet, it will force the body to convert fat and protein to the sugars it needs for energy to function. The higher protein intake gives the body building blocks to replace the protein it is consuming. Having no carbs to easily digest for energy speeds the breakdown of fat stores, which is why Atkins-faithful people could eat so many calories and still lose. Finally: PLEASE CONSIDER THIS CAREFULLY!!! Almost every wls doctor and dietician will tell you that adequate protein consumption is as absolute as your vitamin/mineral supplements. They are all in agreement and science backs them up. They know what they are talking about. When you signed up for wls, you had to agree to be compliant with the rules for life afterwards. For example, I know that I can NOT live on a permanent diet (duh) and that's why I need wls. However, once I learned the requirements for all of the procedures, I knew that I could not expect success because they all required a lowfat, low-carb diet forever after. I gave up on WLS until I discovered that one procedure, DS, requires only taking the supplements and making sure you eat protein first and go easy on simple carbs and sugars. I had decided not to have WLS at all until I discovered that there was a procedure with which I can be compliant. If you want a scary example, I have one for you. In an early episode of 'Gray's Anatomy' they were doing surgery on a patient who had lost 90 lbs in the past year. The surgical team was unaware of her weight loss, and her heart was accidentally punctured because the muscle tissue (of which the heart is made) had thinned significantly due to such great weight loss. Well you can just bet that scared the dickens out of me. AFter all, we WANT quick loss and LOTS OF IT...right? So I put the question out on the main board and also asked the doctors of my acquaintance and got the same response from all: Without adequate protein consumption and exercise ( muscle and cardio building) it can be expected that ALL of the muscles in the body will be considerably weakened by quick and significant weight loss. The heart is a muscle, and that muscle tissue will be consumed along with other muscle (protein) tissue. PLEASE do not back off of your protein requirements. You had this surgery because you want your health back - but the very thing that would otherwise give it back will be sabotaged by inadequate supplementation of your body's very real nutritional needs. Denise in Ark

OK so why do we need out protein?...................................................Just kidding!Boy do you know your PROTEIN!!!! Dont worry I love my proteins!!!! Do you ever feel like your addicted to protein? I find myself crave my protein drink. I go thru my 2.48lb protein drink in 2 weeks. I actually crave it. I'm going to post on the california board and ask them this same question,unlessssssssssss...............you can answer this one for me too!!!!!!!!!!!??????????? You are awesome Denise.Thanks for the info. I just couldnt understand the reason behind it thats all!!!!! PS.My daddy is form Arkansas!!! Have a beautiful day in Jesus! Rosie

He he he I can really get on my soapbox about this LOL. Gotta tell ya, that whole thing about losing heart muscle along with the rest of the muscle scared the whoopies outta me. Can't say I crave protein- but then, I'm a preebie. The insurance situation is dreadful and, short of money falling from heaven, I will have to find a job that will get the insurance coverage I need since DH's has an exclusion for bariatric surgery. I did get a notice from Arkansas Rehab that I have been accepted to their rehab program - perhaps being in with them will make it easier to get the job I need. The only way to find out which companies do/don't have exclusions is to ask people who work there. I have all my friends looking up their ins. policies for me LOL. Anyway, it would be good to like something you have to take so much that actually you crave it. There are lots of stories about 'can't stand this and that' so I'm a little scared of the time when I HAVE to drink them. I won't have to drink them forever because my stomach volume will be large enough to get all I need through real food, and having an intact pylorus instead of a pouch helps a lot of people to have a better tolerance for more proteins - but all of that comes AFTER that most important time when the weight is falling off and you are desperate to have adequate protein. So I know I'll have to find something tolerable. But everyone says that your tastes change so much that you can't count on anything being the same after the surgery, so there's no sense in trying them out now. I'll probably be bugging you when that blessed day comes and the Lord makes a way for DH and I to get our surgeries. Whatever you like so much you're craving it will surely be worth a try! I'm actually from OK/TX but wouldn't trade living here. We have no close blood family, but to tell the truth our church family is closer than some of the blood. Western Arkansas is a wonderful place to live. I hope your daddy enjoyed it as much as we have for the last 22 years. Denise in Ark

As I was reading your reply i was asking God to open up the gates of Heaven and to pour out his blessings upon you. Did you know that there are billions and billions of demons that are working against our blessings? Thats why we need to pray and pray so that the devil cant get his way with us. I will keep you in prayer especially for this reason. Anyways MY protein is delicious. I tried the rest now I have the best! good one huh! Well the one I drink is called Muscle Milk. It has 32gms of protein in each 12oz that you make. It comes in 7 different flavors. I like banana and strawberry. I could drink that all day long,it doesnt taste like protein or like mediceney(sp) But im sure you will have a chance to try pretty soon. God Bless You Rosie

OH Rosie! Thank you so much - it is so sweet of you to remember me to our Lord. I think you're right about this battle and appeal to Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts) regularly to fight off everything that stands in the way of our having this surgery. I never heard of Muscle Milk, so I am really glad that you mentioned this. The more different types there are to try, the better chance of finding one that is actually enjoyable. That is a HUGE amount of protein in one serving. (I know... for post WLS, 12 oz is less of a serving and more like close to a day's worth of food! But still....) Denise in Ark

I'm sorry what do you mean(about the protein)? I was told that we needed about 100grams of protein a day after surgery. I guess every Dr.is different. I thought that was alot too. Thought that I would never be able to drink that much. But I guess they mean either by eating or drinking that much or both. I dont know,when it comes to instructions I dont follow well. Luv Ya God Bless You Rosie

Sorry, I guess I should have referred back to your post. You said that the Muscle Milk has 32g protein in a 12oz serving, and that's a GREAT number - a good deal higher than some I've read about. That's when it occurred to me 12oz is a HUGE serving when we're post-WLS LOL. It might take a while to get 12oz down, especially early on. But hey, one step at a time. If it took all day to get two down, that would be 2/3 of your day's protein even before you put a bite in your mouth - not a bad way of making sure you get the full requirement. As much as it's possible to get in up to 100g is what I've heard - (and I've heard 125 too) no matter whether it's meat, dairy, or shakes. Several of the people on the DS list quit protein shakes by 4-6 mos out and are getting all of their protein via food. But again, they can only do that because DS leaves a bigger stomach capacity to start plus it stretches to about 3/4 the size of a normal stomach over time, and the intact pylorus is less finicky than the pouch's stoma, so that's why it's possible for them. Some people have found that having only the VSG (restriction only) has been enough for them to get and keep the weight off because of the ghrelin-producing tissue that is removed. I'm positive I'd need the continuing malabsorption of the full DS and, after all, there are a lot of nice food options available when you don't have to restrict fats. Denise in Ark