daily protein

i am 18 months out. down 150 lbs....from 302. how much protein do you all try and take in per day. for the longest time I haven't really been counting or paying much attention. the weight just seemed to melt away I stopped counting long ago. Just wondering......

I do 100-120 grams "supplemented" per day. Darlene

Darlene, I'm sorry if this is a dumb question, but, what do you mean by supplmented? Protein shakes or are there actually supplements that you take? I only have to have 60 grams and can get that easily during my normal meals but suspect that if I upped my protein I may be able to get my loss going again instead of staying at the same weight for months on end. Dixie

I do not count my food in my protein grams. I only count "supplemented" via shakes, bars, etc. I have no idea how much of the protein that I absorb so if any then I consider that a bonus... Darlene

My surgeon said 64 gms daily for the first two years - the amount needed drops slightly after the two year mark. 45 gms after 2 years. check with your doc to be sure, each one is different in their recommendations.

Hello Randy - Ive yet to meet anyone, in the medical field or weight loss patients in general, that ever seem to agree on the "magic number" ...myself included. I do what leaves me FEELING healthy/good. I used to actually track my intake, havent done that in awhile - now it's just the ol' "guestimate" kinda thing. In the beginning - I was very faithful about 3 shakes a day, with a DISTAL RNY and a micro-pouch, I had a very built in obstacles that hampered my overall absorbtion. After I reached goal, I decided to stop the shakes and just get my protein via foods. FOR ME - that was a big mistake - 3 months later, my nails became like glass, brittle and never grew - lots of RIDGES (vertical) in my toe nails and my thumbs - my hair started falling out again, energy went out the door, etc. I started back on protein shakes as a supplement (2 a day - unless Im going in for any type of surgery, ie, recent neck l ift, then I up it to 3 a day) getting in 90 grams from shakes and whatever the heck comes from my foods is just icing on the cake. What does your doc suggest? I don't have a "surgeon" to refer to anymore - havent had one since I was 3 months post-op. Hubby is in the military and we left Washington state almost 3 years ago - so I realize "asking your doctor" is NOT always an option or the "fix all" solution that some people seem to THINK! Good luck to you - Lei

This is interesting to me. I'm a pre op and when I consider getting "enough" (whatever that is) protien it makes me a little nervous. I don't want to be a slave to protien shakes the rest of my life. I would like to get to the point that I can get enough protien via normal food. It strikes me odd too that my eating habits are so bad right now (too many carbs) that I probably don't get in near as much protien as you all are right now. Why is the need for protien levels post op higher? Just trying to get all this figured out. Thanks, Julie

Julie, because of the malabsorption factor following surgery, you may very well be a slave to protein shakes (see Lei's post above), not to mention vitamins and other supplements for the rest of your life. That's what you need to come to terms with before your surgery. Are you willing and able to do your part forever and make that commitment? I get about 90-100 per day and always have my AchievOne! Jan

the need for protein in post ops is the same as for no ops/ the difference is that you are resticted to very small portions and in order to get an apprpriate amount you need to get it in first. I posted detail in another post on this thread and my profile has info. you do not have to be a slave to shakes, havent used them since I started eating food except post plastics or after I had an illeus and lost too much weight. my hair is shiny and pretty, my hair dresser is amazed at how fast it grows and comments every time on it. My nails are better than in my whole life. my skin is clear and my cheeks are rosy. I look better than I have in years and feel so awesome words cannot explain!

figure ideal body weight. divide by 2.2 . that is your weight in Kilos. you need 1 gram of protein per kilo. for me that is 53 grams. I generally get 70-90 from food. I do not use shakes other than the immediate post op period and when I had plastics. they leave me hungry then I eat more, then I ingest too many calories. too many calories from any source store as fat. when I had an illeus and got too low on my weight I used pretein shakes to get my weight up. it worked well. 6 oz of meat fish or chicken equals about 50 grams of protein and I eat that much daily divided over 2-3 meals. I eat 6 small meals a day. I also get protein from my 3 dairy servings a day. I am 3 years out and my needs may vary from others. I have a medial RNY with aproximately 60 cm bypassed. the surgeon I am following up with tells me that the malabsorptive component of my type of RNY is very minimal. that I am probably absorbing a pretty much what I eat except for b-12. At this point I know how much I have to eat and it is habit. I do not chart it daily , but occasionally will to check up on myself. I know if I eat 6 oz meat fish chicken, my dairy 3 times a day, a couple pieces of fruit, a couple or three veggies and 2-3 whole grains I will maintain where I want to be.