Protein drinks

I went to my mut last week and she took me off my protein drinks. I had blood drawn also that day to check my levels. Yesterday she put me back on them because I had a low level.  My question is, how many of you are on protein shakes after surgery (3 months out, 6months, a year)? Is it by choice? Nut approved? Required through your program? I mentioned to her that I was surprised I was going off them because I notice that a few of you are still on it after a long while.

Many still use a protein shake here and there for variety of intake or when they aren't feeling too well; one step back, two steps forward kinda thing. I was told I needed to get protein in in a variety of ways, especially and most importantly foods that require chewing.  My body has to learn to digest real food and too many shakes over too long a period of time causes the body to get lazy and reject solid food (in non-medical, techno terms). I use Pure Protein Chocolate Deluxe bars and Detour Low Sugar Caramel Peanut bars most frequently.  I still toss protein powder in some yogurt or SF pudding once in a while or have a smoothie with protein powder added.  Food-wise I get good protein from shrimp, refried beans, Wendy's chili, and Taco Bell Beef and Bean burrito or refried beans and cheese bowl.  I can also handle the chicken quesedillla.  I use the Quaker Oats Oatmeal Breakfast bars (banana bread, oatmeal raisin, brown sugar cinamon) the ones without the filling, for breakfast or a snack with my protein bars.  3-4 protein bars and 4 bottles of water a day make meals easy to get filled up.  My latest  find is shrimp mixed in with salsa. I'm 5 months out from open RNY and down 135 lbs. Joe

Tom, I am 11 months out and still have protein shakes by choice.  I have Unjury chocolate or vanilla with 8 onces of 2% milk every morning.  About 29 grams of protein.  I love the stuff so much it is more than a treat than anything else.  Plus a good way to wash down the vitamins.  Good luck. John

same here Tom. my tests always come back low no matter how much protein i consume. they tell me to get it naturally but that's hard. that's a lot of food for a lifter to get in and not get fat. plus i just can't eat a lot of food. so two protein drinks a day and high protein meal at night for me. i'm 15 months out and need the shakes. as you just read, i'm making a noontime shake with bananas and fruit to jazz it up. i think i'll take those to work too. just make them early and pack it up in my cooler. i'm shooting for 150 grams a day. i don't know why i'm still low every time i get tested though. you would think i would be up there by now.......Carbonblob

Tom, I haven't had one since I started regular food.  I don't like sweet things and the shakes were a bit too sweet for my tastes.  However, if I were sick or having a problem, I would probably have them again. My nut does include protein shakes as possilbe selections in my program.  So I can have them if I want to.  I just don't want to.

I'm 6 months out from surgery and haven't been too good about getting my protein in. I was struggling with finding protein bars that had a variety of nutritional value in them in addition and also tasted well. I've been doing a lot of weight training and cardio to try to build up my endurance and strength enough to go rock climbing and mountaineering, so I've recently switched to drinking Amplify protein smoothies which are very low in sugar but high in protein. Now with those and a couple of South Beach Diet 10g Protein bars per day, I easily get over 100g of protein every day. I'm feeling much better and energetic when I exercize. I have stalled on the scale a bit, but I know that I'm loosing inches and gaining muscle mass. The nice thing about drinking these shakes is that it removes some of the pressure to get protein from the other foods that I eat that may end up making them higher in fat or carbs. Now I can eat fruit and small portions of dinner with my family without worrying that I'm filling up on somehting that doesn't have enough protein in it. Plus, i also count the water that I mix the shake with as part of my daily water consumption.