What are you thoughts on using protein shakes at 6, 9, 12 months out and more?

Yeah, they are from a mix which makes me hurl. I tried a few rice/veg proteins and they were so disgusting I couldn't even start them.. LOL Thanks though, I will look at it!

 My NUT encouraged me to keep drinking my shakes always. She said it's so much easier to get the protein in. And I love them for breakfast. When I was pregnant and had GD, I made my own soy protein shake from a recipe out of the South Beach Diet book. I had that for breakfast every day and didn't get bored like I did with eggs. Shakes will probably be my breakfast forever.

I drink a protein drink every morning and I'm 2 years post-op.  I've been drinking one a day since about 6 weeks after surgery; before that I had 2 or 3 a day until I was able to eat enough food to get all my protein in.  

I mix mine with water so I only get the protein drink calories with it.  When I travel, I take a packet of the protein powder for each day and mix it in a small shaker jar.  It works well for me.

 I do one or two a day still, and probably will for the long haul. 

I have one a day, and likely will for a very long time... I like them, it gets in good protein first thing in the am when I don't like to eat (no appetite in the early am, never had one..)

As a main food source, no. I think real food, real meals are more satisfying and healthy in many respects for me personally, but to each their own.

 as someone who doesnt eat alot of meat and finds legumes too carby i would drink most of my protein as a shake (using water to get the low cal/low carb benefit) and eat low carb healthy vegetables in between (steamed spinach & kale, avacados for good fats, etc), then blueberries and other low carb antioxidant foods.

i also like 'superfoods' like maca, chia seeds, etc as supplementation.

and unprocessed teas (ginger, circumen and green tea is my fave).

So I'm an extreme case, but I've become a vegetarian because I just don't care for meat any more post-op. I have a small sleeve and it doesn't sit comfortably. As a result, I drink 3 medium or 2 large shakes every day.

Breakfast is a smoothy shake (almond milk, a scoop of vanilla protein powder and 1/2 cup still-frozen berries). Sometimes a shake during the day and a shake in the evening, with a salad for dinner. Sometimes a little more food during the day and just a larger shake for dinner.

My feeling on shakes: If they satisfy you and can replace a meal or snack they're great. If they become empty liquid calories in addition to your food, that can be a problem. Watch your protein counts, carbs and calories. If your shakes aren't driving your calories up, you're doing it right.

I drink one every morning when I head out for my run...have it during my warm up walk. Will always be a staple in my life like greek yogurt.

Thank you all for the great replies! I feel a bit better now about all of it - hopefully the NUT will agree!

Be a vegetarian, this really is a super easy way to get my protein numbers up!  Plus, thanks to trial and error (and, no small part thanks to suggestions here) I have several kinds of protein that I like.  I a REALLY picky so it took a long time to find one that I like.  For a long time the bariwise hot chocolate was the only protein supplement I could stand.  Now I also love Matric Mint Cookie and (very recently added) Cellucor sports.  

If the NUT oks this, I'll keep doing this as long as I can stand it.  I'm losing weight and feeling good, so why not?  At least until I get towards my maintenace weight.  It's good to hear that so many of you continue to use these in maintence, because I am sure that I will too.  

I still do one protein shake a day. It is low in calories, gets my fluids a bit higher and gets my protein up higher (16 oz, 180 calories, 31 protein).

I also love that my breakfast is so quick and easy every day. Makes me feel energized for the rest of the day.

I foresee myself using them forever at this point. But I know for sure until maintenance.