No protein drinks after 6 weeks

 I went to my nutrition class yesterday and was very surprised to hear that my surgeon doesn't like his patients to use protein drinks after 6 weeks.  He and the nut. consider it liquid calories.

The idea is that you should be able to consume enough protein with your meals if you eat your protein first.

I plan on doing what my team suggested although I may add some unflavored protein to foods but was wondering if anyone else has heard this from their team.

After six weeks, there was no way that I could fit in enough food to get all my protein through food. Now, some doctors have said six months but I'm 17 months out and I still do at least one protein shake a day with a minimum of 25g of protein to get in all of mine. I'm a big believer of following your doctor's plan but sometimes I wonder, lol! As you can see, it didn't hurt me. I believe as long as your are not going over your calorie count, getting in enough fluid and protein and your protein shakes are not ones that are high in surgar, you should be fine. I would definitely consult your doctor if you get to that point and cannot fit in enough through food.

I have to agree with Felicity.  At 6 weeks postop there was NO WAY I'd even come close to getting enough protein from meals.  Your stomach is still swollen and healing at that point.  I'm 11 months postop, about to go into maintenance, and I still use unflavored protein powder in iced tea to make sure I hit my goal of 90-100 gm protein/day.  The protein powder is a total of 160 calories/day and I stay around 700 calories/day.
With that being said, you should follow your surgeon's plan.  He knows what is best for you.  I just wanted to give you a different perspective  :)

Good luck on your journey!
Marie

6 weeks, no way at all- if you have a small sleeve. 

Me, I still use protein shakes because a. I love mine, and b. I'd have to eat far more frequent and less varied meals still at almost a year and a half to meet my protein needs~ I eat 4-6x a day now, I don't feel like eating pure meat like I did for the first 6mo (with a couple shakes in there to boot!)

Depending on the size of your sleeve though, it may be possible.. for me- at 6 weeks I was still reaching full with one HB egg.. or an ounce to an ounce & 1/2 of meat.. tell me, how would I get 70+g protein a day w/o shakes when the max per meal is anywhere from 7-12g? Oh, and I was supposed to only eat 3 meals a day, no snacks! Shakes were never restricted though..

Sometimes the advice/instructions we get from NUTs & Drs. doesn't really apply in real life.. Use common sense and your own judgment when you get to this point. 

 I am an athlete, there is no way in the world I could eat enough protein to keep my body healthy, so personally I think it all depends on what you are going to be doing. I could easily eat 50 to 60 grams of protein from food, but I can't touch 100/120 grams that I need if I didn't have a shake. I keep them low cal, no carb and they fit perfectly into my plan. Sometimes you need to do what YOU need to do in order to be healthy, and sometimes that's deviating from suggestions that others give you and sometimes it's sticking 100% to your plan. 

They aren't living your life, so in the end it needs to be your decision.

 This is actually fairly common thing.  Both my surgeon and Nut prefer you to get your proetin from meals instead of shakes.  My surgeon doesnt mind if you supplement with shakes if you have the calories in your diet to support them, but would still prefer eating real food.

I think this is also to help us make the best food choices for protein, accountability, and planning.  I became pretty good at picking foods like chicken breast and preparing them so that I got the most protein possible.  It became fairly easy on 600 calories to routinely get over 70 g of protein.

Like Rob said, this philosophy is a fairly common one held by many surgeons and their NUTs. My surgeon is very anti liquid calorie. I would also like to point out that my surgeon is in his late 40s and has the metobolism of a suped up race car. He readily admits he can eat anything and not have to worry. The man looks like it, too!

He and I have debated this very issue. He conceded that I could start my day with a protein shake and that I could supplement, if needed at the end of the day.

The big problem here, I think,  is that most everyone telling us what to do has not been sleeved! They don't understand how terribly difficult it is to get enough food in to meet calorie and protein needs without liquid supplementation. I am now 8+ months out. I HAVE to eat 5 to 6 times daily just to MAINTAIN my weight. That includes 2 protein shakes on work out days (which equals 240 calories and 40 grams protein).

I struggled trying to get protein in from food and became very frustrated.

I chose to follow advice from fellow sleevers that had already been successful. Most of them kept up with their shakes all the way through weight loss and on into maintenance.  So, following a proven path to success, I kept up with my protein shakes and now plan to for the remainder of my life. I think it's a healthy habit - at least for me. I was never a person who took in a lot of calories via liquid - no soda, no fancy schmancy coffee drinks, not a milkshake person, etc...

I look at it this way: Getting the protein in was the most important part of my food day - still is. I couldn't do it without the shakes, so I took them. You'll have to decide what is best for you. I think you understand most everyone here would support your continued use of the shakes to meet your nutritional needs.

Yeah when I heard that I asked "have you had surgery" that ended the conversation.

At my 3 year appointment I was told my protein was LOW and to increase it.  I had been doing 75g of protein, mostly from food.  I went back on my protein shakes.  I know a few other people who wihtout protein shakes have low protein.

Ultimately I always say your body tells the story via your labs, but just KNOW that if you do not get in enough protein and you have rapid weight loss your body WILL get that protein from the FIRST available source and that source is your muscles.

Ms Shell

I'm 14 months out and still need a shake everyday. Maybe my sleeve is small, I don't care I'll take it!

My nutritionist prefers that I not use protein supplements, but she also said I should be eating 4 oz. dense protein per meal - like that's going to happen without puking.

I'm 7 months out and have a scoop of protein in coffee every morning for my 1st meal of the day. Most days I have 5 more meals - small amounts, but I have to eat several times to get in all the protein. I have 90 to 100 grams a day.