Do you still drink protein drinks?

Hi,

I had my 6 month checkup this past month and was told to stop drinking my Isopure drink (40 gm daily). The NUT said that I needed to be getting all of my protein from food, not from supplements at this point. I have read on this site (not this forum) that people seem to drink one or two protein drinks daily.

I was just wondering what you all do. I will like not having the expense of Isopure - but it makes me nervous not having that as my "standby" and I knew I'd meet my protein goal daily.

Also, my goal is 140, I'm almost there. I asked the surgeon and he just said don't worry, just keep doing what you are doing and your body will stop losing weight. Have you all found that to be true too?

And lastly, does anyone eat "good" carbs and keep their weight off. The NUT said I can have one fruit daily, and to still be restricting foods a lot.

Thanks!

I'm close to my goal too and drinking 3 protein shakes a day.  My surgeon thinks it's great.   Doesn't mean it's truly right, but he does think it's great.

I was told the same thing that my protein should be coming from the food.  But I do usually have a protein bar in the afternoon.

I just had plastics 2 weeks ago so I have had several protein drinks just to make sure I am getting enough protein for healing but other than that , I do not do the shakes anymore.
Besides, I really don't like them that much.

Patty

Yes ma'am.  I'm about 18 months out, and I drink a protein shake first thing in the morning, usually Premier or sometimes Oh Yeah or Isopure Smoothies.  I prefer RTD. My protein goal per day is 100, and I range from 90 to 110 or so.

So carbs.  I eat a half-cup of blueberries with breakfast pretty much every day, along with 1/2 c cottage cheese and a couple spoons of greek yogurt and some SF Torani.  Besides the carbs in dairy, I eat beans, nuts, veggies, occasionally some quinoa, 100-calorie popcorn packs, low carb ice cream bars like Breyers or Klondike, and the very occasional slice of WW bread or a tortilla.  I have single servings of SF pudding and NSA applesauce in the cupboard, that I bought for my mushie phase, and haven't eaten them for months.  I no longer have a carb max, but they generally range around 80-100 a day.  Very little, if any, refined sugar or refined wheat products.  Total calories these days range from 1100 - 1800.

I did find that my body stopped losing all on its own.  For me that ended up at 133, amazingly, which is pretty low for my height, it gives me a BMI of 21-ish.  My "goal" was 150, but I basically pulled that number out of my ass, I had no idea where I would end up.  I thought it was possible I wouldn't even be able to get to 150, and here I am 17 lbs below. 

The only time that I have a protein drink is after I am finished with a hard workout. I add some unflavored protein to my morning Fage or Chobanni yogurt, along with some berries, a few nuts, which helps to increase the protein. I don't find protein drinks very filling, if I try to use them for a meal. After working out, it seems to take the edge off my hunger and helps to refuel my muscles quickly.

The thinking is that dense protein is more filling than protein shakes and the further out that one gets, the less reliance there should me on liquid calories. My program has the same philosophy about getting protein from food. After all, the dense protein is what helps us to feel the restriction and makes us feel satisfied/full. This is even more important the further out that you get.

I do eat good carbs. I have 1/2 cup of berries with my morning non-fat Greek yogurt. At  6-8 months, I think I started with 1/4 cup of berries. I also have a morning non-fat milk latte in the AM. I started this at 4 months. During my losing stage, I averaged about 40-50 carbs/day. Over the past several months, they have gradually increased, to the point where I will have some oatmeal with added protein powder, berries, and a few nuts, on the weekend.

I get my carbs from non-fat milk, one serving of berries/day, some veggies, beans, nuts, quinoa occassionally, oatmeal, small amount of a high fiber low sugar cereal that I mix with my yogurt, 1/4 cup yams maybe twice/week. I don't eat pasta, bread, rice, or crackers (sliders for me). Over the holidays, I did have small amounts of some treats, but I it was only for one-two days and not weeks on end.

My carbs are about 100-130/day, sometimes a bit more, but not more than 165. I do exercise about 4-6 times/week, so I burn a lot of them off. My calories are about 1200-1550. I am only 4'11.

I have been maintaining within a 2 lb range since last April. I continue to track my food, which ensures that I stay within a specific caloric range, get sufficient protein, fat, and carbs. I think the food tracking and exercise have been paramount for my success so far.

Gail

I think protein drinks may be more important for those individuals with malabsorption type surgeries, IMHO.

I still occasionally have a protein drink at two years if for some reason my daily protein is low. Usually a protein hot choc at end of day. but I don't like them much so I was eager to get away from them. Even so, at six months I had one most days because I just couldn't get enough food protein in to get to 70 g without being overstuffed. My nut and doc seem to think its fine to use them long term. 

I have a skinny brother who drinks them daily because he thinks its healthy.

Yeah, your body will level out - you may even drop a few pounds more than you planned but it will even out. Congrats on being almost at goal. Bet it feels great.    Diane

Thanks everyone!

Yes, I am so excited to almost be at my goal of 140. I also go to Weigh****chers (which one NUT thought was a good idea, and the other one I saw this past month made her nervous) for the group support as it is more convenient than my surgeon's meetings.

Over the holidays, I did have some "treats", but nothing at all like in the past. They were good, but not as good as I remembered them.

I don't have a "carb" goal, but my protein goal is 60-80 per day. They do not want anyone to have more than that as they feel it is just wasted calories. On the NUT plan, I can have the occasional whole grain pasta or breads, one fruit daily and vegies. But, my protein has to always come first. The other stipulation is if any type of sugar is in the first 3 ingredients, then I am not supposed to eat it. So, I have gone by that. Usually my carbs are anywhere from 30 - 80 daily. My protein when I was drinking isopure was usually 90-110 daily. Since I recently stopped it, I am just around 60 gm per day of protein.

Thanks again for all the great responses!

Lynn

I think part of the equation is capacity. At one point at the advice of a Nut I tried to get all my protein from food. I was eating 5 times a day full meals and it took so long for my stomach to clear that I wasn't getting my fluids in. And I was still BARELY getting 70g of protein.

I went back to the shakes, now I get 100 oz of fluid easily and am getting 100g+ of protein. When I did that my weight loss picked up dramatically. I used non-caloric or very low calorie add-ins to spice up my shakes and stayed easily under my calories.

That said, my two large shakes replaced two of my meals (I find them quite filling), they weren't in addition to my meals. Each was nearly 40 grams of protein and under 200 calories.

I am now adding fruit or peanut butter and milk to one shake a day as I start to slowly up my calories but I never did during the loss period.

 I've been at goal for a long time and still have one Sytrax Nectar every morning. it's the perfect drink when it's too early to feel like eating solids.

I think you should get your protein any way that works for you.

Thanks everyone for the great advice. Back to GNC tomorrow to get my Isopure!