Does anyone not eat their required protein and still do well?

 Hey everyone! I'm about a month and a half out and feeling great, eating just about anything with no difficulty and drinking like a champ. I have to say, though, I haven't been drinking my protein shakes for about 3 weeks. So far all of my protein has come from the food I eat, and I do well to ONLY eat protein for my meals. I'm probably falling about 10 grams short of my quota, and it hasn't stopped my weight loss at all.

Doing a little research it seems protein does not help you lose fat, it only keeps it so if you are working out your body chooses to eat the fat stores before the muscle stores. Even then, this is in extreme cases where your muscle index is close to that of your fat. ie You are already rather skinny and have low body fat, so your body opts to eat your muscle instead. For anyone in the losing phase, I doubt this is the case. Seeing as I drop roughly 3 pounds every few days and I am NOT weight training or guzzling protein, in my case at this point in time, the protein is not necessary to success. Now, everyone is different and there is nothing that says not meeting my quota won't catch up to me someday (I can't see the future, so who knows if this loss trend will keep up with what I am currently doing).

All of this makes me wonder, for those who are approaching a year out or if you've simply lost all of your excess weight, did you stick to your protein drink/quota like a die hard? 

Ok, back to the drawing board! You've got some mixed up and bad info here.. First, protein is an essential macro nutrient, regardless of working out or no.. while 10g under your goal (what's goal btw? and are you a gal/guy?) will prob not mess you up.. but a certain amount of protein is NEEDED period. Your body if lacking in the essential amino acids (found in protein) will utilize those avail by going to your muscle.. your fat does not supply this.

Speed of weight loss is not an indicator of anything nutrient or protein wise.. you can lose healthily and keep your vites and protein levels up and therefore keep your body running well, or you can malnourish yourself and you will eventually suffer protein deficiency if you go too low for too long. Google protein deficiency for some info.

So, protein is needed. Period, no ifs ands or buts, it has nothing to do with working out (if you are attempting to build muscle, upping protein is a good idea) and has nothing to do with fat loss.. but has plenty to do with keeping your body, tissues, and organs functioning well. 

 That is very true about the body functioning on protein. I absolutely do not intend to fall below the standard of what a woman my age/weight should be getting in order to remain a functioning body. The physical need is roughly 75g a day for a person of my stats. I'm getting about 65g a day from meat. Once I start up my weight training next month, I'll either have to start pushing more greek yogurt into my routine or buckle and opt for a protein bar or shake. I suppose time will tell!

 I just started a thread about this b/c I am finding it hard to get in protein too. Here is my thought: 

The MDs give everyone the same goal for protein intake, but we are all different sizes and weights. I am a Registered Dietitian and when I worked in the hospital and recommended protein intake for the very ill (ICU pts) who need extra protein, this is how we would calculate their needs: 

Take your Ideal body weight (not current wt b/c extra fat doesnt increase your protein needs) in KG (just take weight in lbs and divide by 2.2)  and multiply that by either .8 (for normal needs - no stress), 1.0 for slightly increased needs, 1.2 for those whose bodies are in stress (surgery and illness, low protein stores) and 1.5 for those who are severely stressed and have depleted protein stores. 

SO using that formula and even using 1.2 if we have increased needs still puts me at a max of 65 gm protein per day. I am only 5'2". Those that are taller, bigger frame, etc obviously need more. Too much protein also taxes your kidneys. 

SO.... (sorry if this was hard to follow) I think it is very individual and the recommendations from your surgeon and nutritionist are general guidelines. That is my take anyway. 

I can also tell you that most MDs have NO training/education in nutrition and most dietitians get no training in bariatric nutrition - most are just following a preplanned guide that they were given from the surgeon or medical center where they work. 

OK that is my rant. Dont mean to offend anyone or anyone's post op plan. 

 I agree, I do think it's highly individualized. There are guidelines for men and women to follow based on their age/weight for how much protein you need to survive, and it's in that formula you just stated! So we're all on the same page there.

What I suspect my nutritionist and others like her are freaking out about when they say PROTEIN EVERYTHING AAAAAAARGH! is they are worried that people with mental hangups over food or who have a tendency to graze are more likely to do so if they are not sufficiently satiated with protein. If this is in fact the case, I do agree it is necessary for those who battle head hunger and bad habits to stick to the protein regimine like champs. For those of us who do not have those issues, I just feel like the nazi-esque protein agenda is a little much.

Thank you SO much for this information on how to calculate protein needs.  I hope you don't mind that I'll be sharing this with the DSer's.

While I agree that protein needs are highly variable based on body weight, I respectfully disagree that protein needs do not increase with body weight.  I've read critical care journals that support the use of more like 2.0g/kg IBW for obese patients and I think .8g/kg IBW is far too limited.

Three weeks of low protein won't do much harm, but long-term protein deficiency can lead to heart disease, among other health issues, because as the PP (can't remember, is it Jo?) mentioned, if the body doesnt' get the amino acids it needs from food, it will get them from muscle tissue.  The heart is a muscle.  Assuming you had WLS to regain your health, by shorting yourself on protein you're working against your goals.

A few months ago I was wanting to up my protein intake, when I read a post by a VSG vet, Mikey Mike, who said he takes a protein shake or RTD drink within a half-hour of waking up.  I thought this was something I could easily incorporate into my day, and started doing that, and I'm now at a level of around 90-110 gms per day.  I'm 5'7" and currently weigh 134.4, and feel great.  (Per the formula someone else posted in this thread, that puts me at the 80% of body weight level, I guess.) I drink my protein drink, then start in on my coffee and go from there, and the protein drink doesn't substitute for breakfast. It's a pretty easy way to get in some protein early in the day. From your post, it doesn't sound like you're having trouble tolerating protein drinks, so this might work for you?

The only problem I have with protein shakes is that they're a big calorie hit, 160; that's 25% of my calories for the day and not especially filling. I may try mixing with water, but I think they taste better with skim milk. I find my lunchtime tuna or chicken more satisfying. Still thinking this over.

most of the syntrax nectar powders are 90 calories per scoop, with 24g of protein.   i've being doing 2 a day & trying to get some food in between.