Protein minimum

I saw the endocrinologist yesterday.  Good news - I'm now off my last med, a statin, with cholesterol under 200 for the first time in more than a decade.  Bad news - I'm spilling a lot of protein in my urine.  Not to the point of crisis but to the point that he'd like me to consume less protein.  Have any other folks here experienced this challenge?  How did you handle it?

What are the consequences, weight-loss wise, of consuming more vegetables at a meal than protein?  I'm going to email my Nut today and will bring this up at support group but OH is my preferred source of real-world experience information so I am asking here first.

How much are you consuming? That information is critical before responding.

55-70 grams depending on how much food I'm able to get in me on any given day.  According to an online calculator the range for my ideal weight is 24-43 grams.

The thing is, you're not at your ideal weight and that low level of protein could have some negative impact for you.  

I understand about the excess protein excreted by your kidneys but this isn't always a sign of "too much protein"...but it can be a sign of reduced kidney function or even early kidney failure.  Excess protein in the urine is one of the things seen in long-term alcoholics.  And I have a good friend who went through RNY surgery several years ago and is currently on dialysis because her kidneys are failing.  She never drank, but she abused her body horribly when she was obese and it took a heavy toll on her kidneys.  

I don't say this to scare you, honestly.  But healthy kidneys should be able to handle 80-100 grams of protein regardless of your weight.  

What else did your doctor say about this?  Perhaps he wants to experiment with less protein and see if that lowers the protein that is being excreted by the kidneys.  

Is it possible that your kidney function was compromised in the past by the different drugs you were taking?  And now that you're off them maybe it will clear up by itself?  It's a question I would research and ask him about.  This is serious stuff so stay on top of it.  

Thanks so much for your reply!  :)

He's been my endocrinologist for over fifteen years and we've never seen this before, even when my blood sugars were in the low 200s.  I have been in good control of my Type 2 since I started seeing a nutritionist weekly in 2001 and took off 90lbs.  Unfortunately I started to gain it back two years ago, although the glucose control still remained decent.  I was on very little medication at the time of surgery (low dose of metformin which I was not taking regularly and the statin) and had even been off all medication for a point last year without this coming up in my quarterly studies so the only change is the big uptick in my protein intake from the time I started my pre-surgery liquids till now.  As you can see from my ticker I was what some consider a 'lightweight' even at my lifetime heaviest.  Being that I have seen him every three months for the past 15 years I'm confident in his advice, drink alcohol once or twice a year so alcoholism isn't a concern and am hoping you or someone else can explain what 'that low level of protein could have some negative impact for you' means in more detail because I honestly have no idea what dangers there are in lowering the protein intake after surgery.

Like I said before, I'm going to email my Nut today but I so  much value the real-life experiences everyone here can share.  I believe in the professionals I see and the education they have received, but the folks here have lived it and that is something I respect tremendously.  :)

Pre op, on your old diet, were you eating less, the same, or more than the 55-70g of protein your eating now?

I know I was less consistent with my protein intake, likely ranging from 20-200 on any given day. I haven't had my post op blood work done yet, but am curious/concerned. All those years of abuse, and now taxing the kidneys and liver as I detoxify my fat stores. I'm doing my best to drink LOTS of water to assist my body and organs.

Good luck and please post a follow-up if it is vsg related, it is useful information.

Thank you for the very thought-provoking reply.  I was eating less protein pre-surgery than I am now.  Something very important that the nutritionist, surgeon and I hadn't discussed and will need to think about now.

Post-op you are eating a typically very-low calorie diet and most people stick to super-low carbs too.  Which means that your body is going to go to your excess fat stores to get fuel.   Which is great, that's what we want!  

However, and here's the tricky part, your body MUST take in enough protein to use the excess fat stores efficiently.  If there isn't enough protein in your diet, your body will go to the muscles and organs to get the protein it needs to metabolize the fat for energy.  Without higher amounts of protein in your diet, your body will cannibalize the muscle/organs to get the fuel it needs.  

There's lots of links out there on the relationship between protein and fat metabolism.  I've posted one here but I'm sure you can find others that are more on point and can help answer your questions.  http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/metabolizing-proteins-vs-fat s-3453.html

Sounds like you have a good doctor and a good relationship with him.  Hope this whole "excess protein" thing clears up fast!  

Thanks so much for helping me understand the role protein plays in this process and for the link.  Hubby and I are reading it together now.  The support is truly appreciated!  Hopefully I'll be posting here that things are back to normal really soon. 

I agree with Tracy.