Got this e-mail from Unjury protein. Thought it was interesting so I'm sharing.
Myths: Weight Loss Surgery and Protein
Here’s something we’ve learned from you:
We’ve learned about mistakes that patients have made that hurt their results and their health. We do hope this email helps others learn the “easy way".
These are the 3 myths that we believe can cause the most problems:
- Myth 1: I’m done with the program. I’ve lost weight. I don’t need to track my protein anymore.
- Myth 2: I’m at the solid food stage. That means I’m off supplements.
- Myth 3: Protein is Protein. Just get the number of grams recommended.
Let’s discuss one myth at a time:
Myth 1: I’m done with the program. I’ve lost weight. I don’t need to track my protein anymore.
Why it’s a myth:
Protein is essential to every part of your body. When you don’t consume enough protein, your body gets what it needs by taking away more protein from your muscles and organs—to use it for building and repairing elsewhere. Eventually your muscle and organ tissue weaken.
The New York Times "Diagnosis" column
1 told the story of a man with severe chest pain who had been on a restrictive diet without medical advice. In the ER, they first thought it was a heart attack, but it wasn’t. It was a case of malnutrition. "
Malnutrition can eat away heart muscle." He wasn’t getting enough protein to his heart. The walls of the left side of the man’s heart were thin and weak...painfully, and dangerously weak.
Myth 2: I’m at the solid food stage. That means I’m off supplements.
Why it’s a myth:
First, when the doctor’s office says you can move on to solid foods after surgery, that doesn’t automatically mean to stop using supplements. The ASMBS (American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery) has issued recommendations that patients get
60 to 80 grams of quality protein each day.
Can you get that much protein from food? Well, you would need, for example,
this much each day:
10 ounces (almost two-thirds of a pound) of chicken or beef (the weight after cooking shrinkage)
OR
10 eggs
OR
14 containers of Yoplait Original Strawberry yogurt
That’s hard to do...What if you don’t get enough protein?
First, reread the story about the man with the thinning heart walls above.
Then, remember that protein is key to not being hungry -- and not being hungry is key to losing weight
2. We regularly hear from patients and from surgeons’ offices, and even read in the newspaper about patients who had surgery one or more years ago, who are now gaining weight or who have hair falling out.
Please do get the recommended amount of protein for the rest of your life. Every day.
Myth 3: Protein is Protein. Just get the number of grams recommended. (We have even heard this from surgeons and dietitians.)
Why it’s a myth:
The quality of the protein makes a huge difference.
What you need most is complete protein. Some supplements that have a lot of protein
only provide a little complete protein. If it isn’t complete protein, your body cannot use the protein for building and replacing cells -- what your heart, and the rest of your body needs.
