Question:
What's the big controversy over protien shakes?
I'm just curious. My surgeon is against the use of protien shakes saying we should get our protien from food. I can understand, but I usually have an atkins shake for breakfast because my stomach doesn't want food first thing. It has vitamins and nutrients, plus lots of good protien. When I went for my 4 week post op appt, the nurse said "he's gonna have a fit when he finds out you're drinking protien shakes". I got scared but he never said a word about it to me. But my question is... why the big controversy? Why is it bad (if anyone knows)? — Happy I. (posted on June 10, 2003)
June 9, 2003
— Linda A.
June 9, 2003
Surgeons are not nutritionists! My surgeon and nutritionist vary so much on
post op eating that I decided to never talk to my surgeon about food, only
physical things related to my surgery. I drink shakes and have done so
since one week out. I can't see how else I could get 90 grams a day any
other way without eating constantly and over doing the calories.
— Carol S.
June 10, 2003
For me and my surgeon, he is AVID about drinking our protein drinks.
Obviously with the RNY you do not absorb everything which is why we have to
"SUPPLEMENT" which means protein, calcium, vitamins. It is VERY
hard to get the amount of protein you need to get in everyday by just
trying to eat the "protein". I would be eating ALL DAY! Ha Ha I
have never heard of a surgeon not reccomending protein drinks but every
surgeon is different. To be honest, the protein drink can only help you,
not hinder you. God Bless darlin.
— Egyptianeyesdiva
June 10, 2003
Carol is right about the protein drinks, the chasm between what our surgeon
dictates and the nutritionists advise and most other things for that
matter. Tending to agree more with the surgeon rather than the
nutritionist, I consume protein in any form (protein shakes, Atkins bars
and even pork rinds). I don't see why having protein shakes can't be a
part of the lifetime of healthy eating in which we are all supposed to be
engaged.
— SteveColarossi
June 10, 2003
My surgeon (well not mine yet, since I'm preop ;-) is also against protein
shakes. He speaks out against them in support group - but he clarified
that he was concerned about their calorie content and that they went down
too easy, etc. The Nurse Practitioner qualified this by saying that it is
important that you pick the right protein supplement - not one with a lot
of sugar, etc. I also think the surgeon may not really know about all the
new modern shakes and be thinking of like milkshakes or something ;-) Like
someone wisely posted, surgeon's are not nutritionists and might not be on
the cutting edge of all of this stuff. Now, for me - I've been spending
time preop researching shakes and have found ones I like the taste of
(well, that might change post op) that are low in sugar and pretty high in
protein. I plan to use them post op as my full liquid diet because they
have protein and other vitamins that we need and might not be able to get
if we have trouble with "real" food. Reading nutrition lables
for shakes or any food for that matter will be important. After RNY we'll
have to pick what we eat carefully because our food intake will be
restricted (well, at least that's what I'm assuming) .... so we better pick
well. You may want to ask your surgeon more about it, or talk to a
nutritionist - they know more for sure. Oh, while I'm on my soapbox, the
program I'm with has pretty marginal nutritional support. People at
support group are always having problems because they seem to not know what
to eat (well I probably will have the same problem). I was lucky and went
to a good nutritionist and got a very detailed program of eating for the
first year and then lift. Not everyone got that which I find shocking. No
wonder people are having trouble. Ok, sorry - thank you for indulging my
vent! Good luck to you!
— w8free
June 10, 2003
Oh how I resent so called 'experts' telling me I am doing things wrong. I
was a Flintstone/Tums taker. Oh AND I take Ferrous Sulfate (iron) too!
I'm here to tell you these things are working for me. I do take Centrum
Silver now in place of the Flintstones. I bet the 'experts' think that is
all wrong too. My labs and DEXA were PERFECT. First time in my life I
have not been borderline anemic. I am healthy and have tons of energy.
Looking and feeling gooood! I do plan to keep track of my journey with
frequent labs and a DEXA (bone density test)every three years. Open RNY
10/30/02 and down 158. Well now, this spells
s-u-c-c-e-s-s to me. Smacks wonderfully of it!
— Ginger M.
June 10, 2003
— [Deactivated Member]
June 11, 2003
I was drinking protein shakes before surgery because I was eating 5-6 small
meals a day and the shakes help with convenience. I'm another person who
thinks of it as my medicine (I take it first thing in the morning to get
most of my required protein in but I don't like it all that much). I eat
"normally" the rest of the day (protein first plus healthy fruits
and veggies and usually dinner that has some 'carbs' such as pasta or rice)
but some days I just don't feel like eating much of anything so knowing
I've had half my protein at breakfast is a big help. If I'm really feeling
anti-food-ish I will have a second one later in the day. However, I try
not to have more than one and I try to get the majority of my protein from
food. YMMV
— susanje
June 11, 2003
My surgeon and his dietician recommend and use protein drinks. When my
weight loss slowed he told me to go back to all Carnation SF for a few
weeks. I followed his advice but did not loose anymore weight. I went to
see another dietician who works with another WLS group. She told me that
when surgery fails that it is often because of protein drinks. It can wash
right through your system. She recommended that I get all my protein from
food so that my body would burn fat and not muscle. Just thought I would
pass this along. Kathy
— kathleen S.
June 11, 2003
As long as you are armed with information on your daily intake of calories,
including breakdown by protein, carb, fat, and sugar gram intake, so that
you can give the doc your "total" nutritional picture, you have
an answer for the doc's concerns (if he ever voices any). Granted, the
Atkins shakes aren't particularly good protein shakes (lots of fats/sugars,
as I recall), but they're better than Carnation Instant Breakfast,
Slimfast, Ensure, Boost, and other types of drinks that are not (and never
were) appropriate protein supplement drinks for WLSers because of their
high sugar and fat content (or relatively forgettable protein content).
Problem is, the docs lump together all so-called protein shakes, the
"bad" ones (some of which I've just listed) AND the
"good" ones (and to me, a "good" protein shake is one
with 30 grams of protein per serving, very few or no carbs, sugars, or fats
added, and that needs nothing like fruits or milk added to it -- just
water).<P>Personally, I think most docs and nutritionists who oppose
protein shakes are guilty of one of two things: (1) they aren't
distinguishing between good shakes and bad ones; and/or (2) they don't
think their patients have the intelligence to do so, or the smarts to
figure out how not to drink them all day long (well, DUH).
— Suzy C.
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