Protein .... NOT needed???

So today I met with the NUT. and everything i thought went out the window. She told me that they could careless if i ever drank any protein supplement?? WTH? I was always told this was a key step in the progress? Has anyone ever heard of this. I have been drinking all these drinks for a week to find one I could tolerate.   

Did she say how many grams of protein you're expected to eat every day?  The thing is, in the beginning you can't eat enough to get in the required protein, so that's when protein shakes come into play.  Eventually, and ideally, we're all supposed to be getting our protein through good quality protein dense foods, so as not to "drink your calories".

When i asked she just said eat what you can and drink drink drink anything so i stay hydrated. I know each Dr. is different but this is strange to me. on my meal plan I will not be eating until really week 3.

 

Right it's important to stay hydrated, especially in the beginning.  Did they saw how much protein you're expected to consume?  I really didn't have much protein the first four or five days, but even in stage one liquids I started having a protein shake a day.  Now I eat soft foods, and still have one almost every morning.    

I meant later on you since liquids slide on through us, you don't want to be having a bunch of empty calories, i.e. sugar in the form of milkshakes, juices, etc. 

You should probably confirm - as some of the rules early on don't apply later and vice versa.

I have a band so could be mistaken but she may have meant that yes you need protein but no not from shakes. Some docs prefer you don't get started on them and then end up using them as a crutch to get protein in when you should be using real food for protein. I do think tho that for awhile after any surgery you need the shakes or some type of protein drink because for a certain amount of time you can't eat solid food. Myself I got off them as soon as full liquids, I used soups with lots of protein like lentil because I just hated all the protein drinks I tried. I would suggest you talk to the surgeon about it, often I don't think they have any idea what their so called nuts tell people!

You may want to get a 2nd opinion on that. I have never heard anything like it.

My surgeon and NUT highly recommend protein drinks/powders, especially on the full liquids phase since you can't eat meat/cheese, etc. I even have an entire list a page long just for protein powders and another page long just for protein bars that they gave me.

Maybe she meant just right after the surgery when you are on clears? I was told not to worry about protein until I am put on full liquids this Thursday. I know they want you to get your protein from multiple sources eventually so maybe that's what she meant?

OK I just pulled the protein part of my post-op nutrition out of my Bariatric Book given to me by my surgeon/NUT and this is what it says: 65-75 grams of protein daily is your goal.

Examples given are No Sugar Carnation Instant Breakfast, skim milk, low fat cottage cheese, protein powder, high protein beverages and shakes, lowfat cheese, lowfat yogurt, eggs or substitute, beans, sugar free pudding, etc etc. An example menu is given and it says you should eat a protein rich food at every meal (B, S1, L, S2, D, S3). It goes on to say because you can only consume small amounts of food, you will need to use protein supplements to reach that total (65-75g).

BTW I have a tip that is in my book: you can increase the protein content of soft food by adding non-fat dry milk powder. One tbsp adds 2 grams of protein and only 28 calories. To double the protein content of milk, add 1 cup non-fat dry milk to one quart of skim milk. A one cup serving of that mix added to milk has 14 grams of protein and 149 calories.

I hope this helps. I would re-clarify with the NUT what the heck she meant. GL!

I can't drink protein shakes at all and my NUT was fine with me having no protein until I could eat food at 3 weeks. If fact she prefers people to get their protein from real foods so doesn't actually expect patients to be getting large amounts of protein until 3 months or so.

I probably get 40ish grams a day from food at the moment and this will likely increase as I heal fully and my capacity increases. At the moment, I can barely do 2 ounces of dense protein foods and absolutely nothing else. If all I ate every day was chunks of meat I could probably get more, but as I was almost vegetarian before surgery (pasta was my downfall!) I just can't eat like that and I need to have a balance of veggies and salad too. Unless I stayed up 24/7, I simply couldn't eat enough food to hit 80 grams of protein at the moment.

Eating like that also wouldn't give me enough calories for the day to sustain my energy, so I need to have a more diverse range of foods to get my calories up over 400 which is actually the bigger challenge for me at the moment. have to balance my focus on dense protein with keeping some room for higher calorie foods like cheese, grainy toast, beans etc, otherwise Im falling asleep at my desk every day!...lol

I know I definitely dont conform in terms of the general advice on here, but i just adapt the basic principles to work for my plan. My NUT is very happy with what Im eating, my bloodwork 2 weeks ago was perfect and Im doing just fine without shakes

I know there are some doctors who want patients to get protein from whole foods.  In the beginning this will be extremely difficult to do.  I would confirm a protein goal with your nut.  

Protein is extremely important...your body needs it to maintain lean muscle mass, make you feel full longer, and help you avoid spikes in blood sugar. 

Yeah - its easy to down play the importance of protein - but i agree that it's extremely important for maitaining/preserving muscle mass - the heart is a muscle - there are bad consequences to inadequate protein.