Question:
I've stop taking my protein at 6 mo out, was this a bad idea?

At month 6 or 7 I was on vacation and my protein shake became a little inconvenient so I stopped taking it. I had hair loss between mo.3-7 but it stopped. Now at mo.9 I am noticing a little more hairloss. The shake provides an extra 350 cals. a day and I hate to waste it on a shake but do I still desperately need it? I do feel I eat a good amount of protein but is most of it malabsorbed? My weight loss is down to about 5 lbs. a month so I'm not losing incredibly fast. Has anyone heard of the liquid protein? Staying healthy is very important to me, do I still need the protein?    — Jennifer T. (posted on October 13, 2003)

October 13, 2003
Well, I am biased since I am successful due, in part, to using more protein supplement than I am "required" to use. The way I look at it is that you have been successful doing what you were doing. IF you change the formula, will you change the result? In my case, yes. I do no milk, no sugar, no grazing. Every time I have deviateed from that, poof,wt gain. I have not taken less protein, ever, only more, and my weight control is directly proportional to protein supplement IN, sugar g OUT.
   — vitalady

October 13, 2003
Stick to that protein! Remember this mantra "Protein burns fat". You need to change the protein shake, that has too many calories. I take Xtreme Smoothie, chocolate flavor. It is 16oz, 35g of protein and only 170 calories. You can't beat that. Also, to prevent hair loss, are yout taking Biotin? This will stop the hair loss. Good luck!
   — earana

October 13, 2003
You need to get adequate protein every day, but you DO NOT need to get it from protein supplements. You said you get "a good amount of protein" each day, but what's "a good amount"? How much protein per day are you supposed to be getting in? As long as you're getting at least that minimum every day, it doesn't matter if it comes from food or from supplements. If you are not getting enough protein (I've seen MINIMUM recommednations anywhere from 50 to 60 grams a day--you may want to shoot a bit higher) from your food, then either drop some non-protein foods from your diet and substitute those with protein foods, or add a snack or two of protein food. You certainly could take a shake if you want to, but it sounds like you don't want to. If you're not sure how many grams of protein you eat each day, then I recommend tracking it (fitday.com is a good online source). I do not use protein shakes (never have, never will), and I average 80 to 90 grams of protein a day from food. It means I eat very few non-protein foods, but that's OK. I get some veggies every day, and fruit a couple of times a week. Lap RNY 4/1/03 290/199/168
   — Vespa R.

October 13, 2003
If I experienced hair loss after quitting protein shakes (and the hair loss had actually started but stopped before then), I'd be resuming the protein shakes, but I'd be finding one with a lot fewer calories in it (there are plenty out there).<P >It may be true that you can get your minimum required amount of protein from food only, but it is significant you were previously succeeding using shakes. Also, it's interesting that your weight loss has slowed since you quit using protein shakes (therefore, the calories in your shakes aren't the immediate problem, though again, I'd be switching to a shake with half the calories you're using). Weight loss slows for many of us after month 6 or 7 anyway, but I'm also wondering if you're grazing more than you know now, and perhaps the shakes helped with that tendency before (they do, for me).<P>Though I wouldn't tell anyone they MUST protein shakes, I'm a big fan of them because they help me keep my eating habits on track, even though I probably eat at least 70-90 grams of protein a day now (and take in another 60 grams in shakes). My thinking is that the "minimum" requirement for protein just isn't good enough, because we malabsorb protein (who knows how much). I'm 16 months out, and it takes every gram of protein I take in just to keep my labs in the low-normal range for protein (so that's me ... somebody else may have a different result).<P>I also considered the fact that protein and carb grams each amount to about four calories apiece, so someone eating 60-70 grams of protein a day is getting 240-280 calories from protein, and the rest from carbs, fats, sugars, etc. Since most people eat somewhere between 800 and 1200 calories while trying to lose weight even as post-ops, getting your minimum protein grams in would still leave you with a diet that's emphasizing carbs over protein, whether or not you're eating protein first. I'm not an anti-carb person, but I did find success in reaching goal by just keeping my protein grams ahead of my carb grams while losing, and I did that using both protein shakes and protein food. I still do it on maintenance, though I now let my carb grams creep ahead of protein grams (I kept losing the other way, even at 1500 calories a day).<P>'Scuse the long lecture, but I think many folks reject protein shakes based solely on the taste, and on believing those are somehow "empty" calories, without attaching as much importance to the other factors (shakes help with appetite control, protein malabsorption, and/or maintaining a relatively lower-carb, higher-protein diet) that were important to me in using them. RNY 5/30/02, 268/130 (at/past goal for 7 months ... so far ...).
   — Suzy C.

October 13, 2003
You SURE do need the protein! And what kind of protein powder were you using? Mine only has 80 calories with NO fat or sugar. No taste either. I add stuff to it to give it the taste I desire. Sometimes I spike it with Crystal light or a very little fruit or an Instant Breakfast. Of course this adds to the calories, but they are healthy calories. The drink stays with me and I really feel good and engerized. I have a protein drink for breakfast EVERY morning. (Open RNY 10/30/02 total of 216 lbs lost.)
   — Ginger M.

October 13, 2003
The more protein you eat the lower your carb cravings will be. There are other forms of protein that are more like juice and not milk shake thick. Amino 5000 by Sci Fit is great. It tastes like Kool-aid. You can add it to water and take your water bottle with you. It is only 21 calories per tablespoon. Each tablespoon is 5 grams of protein. You can find it at wlssuccess or vitalady. But you will have to get extra protein if you want to keep your weightloss steady and your carbs low. Not to mention keeping your hair! Keisha Open-RNY 3/12/03 316/219/160 -96lbs.
   — keishax

October 13, 2003
Jennifer...I, too,like Michelle Curran, am biased. I am a total amateur compared to Michelle. I agree with her that if you've been successful doing what you're doing then don't "fix" it.....but on the other hand...you CAN experiment...I have tried things that DIDN'T WORK and STOPPED! ...and visa versa..... As far as protein supplement goes - I haven't used a protein supplement since 1 month post-op......(13 months out 349/182/175..size 30 to 12.......) Don't get me wrong....I eat up to 125 gr of protein in actual food every day.... Protein IS THE MOST important and the more protein I eat the less the carb intake and craving is and I LOVE to eat................. Anyway.....I'm still learning, trying, losing... what do I know?
   — Debby M.

October 13, 2003
In my opinion it doesn't matter how you get your protein but you definitely need it. You don't say exactly how much protein you are getting. But I would get back up to the same total level you were at since that's what was working best. If you cannot do it totally in food right now then use some sort of supplement. If you don't want to use the protein drink how about a protein bar. Usually 25 grams of protein, 15 grams of carbs and around 240 calories, so it's less than the shake. Obviously it varies on which bar you use. Good luck and push that protein and water of course! At 8 months PO those are the two things that get my weight moving again when it sits for a while.
   — zoedogcbr

October 14, 2003
I too, like Michelle, have to give my protein supplementing a large part of my success. I have lost 177 lbs over the last 14 mos and keep my protein intake around 80-90 grams per day. I drink shakes from Robard (Advanced Health Systems) that has 100 calories and 15 protein in them - put 2 together and you get 30 grams protien and just 200 calories! (you can get them at www.i-shophere.biz) They also have protein fruit drinks that are similar to Crystal Lite but each have 15grms protein in each too if you don't like the choc,vanilla ones. Hope this helps!
   — Kathy_P

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