Carnation Instant Breakfast. A good meal supplement?

I met a man at the doctors office. He had a rny, not a lap band. But he insisted that drinking Carnation Instant Breakfast with nonfat milk, and taking in nothing else, was the best way to lose weight. He had already lost about 90 pounds doing it that way. He recommended I do it like that too. And if I did I'd lose a ton of weight.  

What do y'all think of Carnation Instant Breakfast? A good way to lose weight? Or a good addition to the rest of a diet? Do 'you' think of it as a protein drink? He did. 

                                                     

To each his own I guess regarding whether it's a protein drink.

Here's my bigger question -- why go through all you do in getting a lapband to revert to drinking liquids only?  I don't know about you, but I like food.  I'm enjoying a balanced diet of things that taste good and make my taste buds jump for joy.  CIB wouldn't do that for me, weight loss or no weight loss.

I think it is a bad idea for band patients once they are past the liquid phase of their post op diet.

Everything about the band tells us that SOLID protein, good carbs and limited fat is the way that the band helps us be satisfied and lose weight.

My doctor said that CIB  was 'adequate' in my post-op phase if I could not tolerate any other type of protein drink ---- but once I was allowed food, he told me to 'shelve the drinks' for days when I have fills ----

I am allowed a protein shake as a meal if I want one in the morning, but if I can comfortably eat, there are better ways to spend that same number of calories and get a higher protein, more filling meal.

 Even at the full liquid stage be sure and get the no sugar added CIB. It only has 12 grams of protein so I added 2 scoop-fulls of soy protein and 2 equals for about 32 grams of protein. I think it tastes good!

Its not on the top of the list for higher protiens. I also am not real wild about the flavor. My doc told me when I was just out of surgery that on my full liquids I could use it if I was out of my protein powder, but he prefered that I stayed with somthing that had more protein per serving. Most of those protien powders can be mixed with skim milk and you get easy 30-50 grams, some even more.

Many nutritionists, familiar with the abbreviation we use, CIB, say it should stand for crap in a box.

My NUT reluctantly includes it because it's cheap for the pre-op diet but NOT for the post-op diet because it's not enough protein in 8oz to bother and too many carbs.

The Band does not work like a RNY pouch, it must have solids to function. 

Even RNY would do themselves a severe disservice to live off crap in a box.  I use CIB, but none of my peeps on the LW board do, I don't think.  They all do real protein powders and only as a supplement, not as their entire food source, only in the beginning weeks. 

 

I am currently on day 5 of my liquid pre-op.  My surgery is Wed. 23rd.  My Doc has me drinking 6 SF Carnation Instant Breakfast's a day and water or sf beverages in between.  He says it gives adequate nutrician with low calories.  I actually like the taste of it, which is great because 7 days of it would be awful if I didn't like it!  LOL

I drink it with light soy milk and so far I've lost about 7 lbs.  That's more than a pound a day, but I couldn't keep this up forever.  I NEED solid food.  I know my Doc's office does not want you drinking protein drinks after the first few weeks.  They want you eventually off them and onto solid protein food.

Remember RNY patients don't aborb well, so they can lose much easier on  lower quality foods.  Also remember that the band is made to work best with dense proteins, not liquids.

I looked over the nutritional facts for that stuff on daily plate.
http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition-calories/food/carnation/instant-breakfast-dry-mix

It has a lot of sugars...18 grams for a serving!  Calories aren't bad but only 13 grams of protein (milk included) isn't great for a meal replacement.

I don't know about you, but that's the sort of thing I used to do when I was trying every diet in the world.  Someone would say how great their diet was and off I'd go on starvation diets... liquid diets.. grapefruit diets..etc.. Personally I think healthy meals & losing nice and slowly will get me where I want to be without resorting to crazy diets or feeling deprived.

Lisa

I had another doctor recommend it as a 'plateau buster' years ago. But he recommended the sugar free kind mixed with nonfat milk. The other kind, the regular kind, like you read, would be too full of sugar. 

                                                   

Not the best choice of protien drinks but.....I would use them only after fills or PB's if that is the kind of shake you prefer.  The band works best with solid, dense protien.  xxoo Annette