Do protein shakes make you gain weight????

[jdemzi 9]

I am sure there are other surgeons who don't encourage the use of supplementing with Protein shakes or adding Vitamins, but that is what mine does. My surgeon has been doing this a long time and knows the difference between gastric bypass and lapbanding, so I don't think anyone here needs to worry about that.

My nutrionist discourages the use of milk because many can't tolerate the lactose and because of the high sugar, so I take Calcium. Many lapbanders can't eat a lot of meat, esp. red, so I take Iron. You are generally not eating as much as most "normal" non-banded people, so I take multi-vitamins. I think the addition of B-12, stress B, Calcium, multi-vitamins, zinc, Iron, and Vitamin E is hardly a signal that a doctor doesn't know the difference between gastric bypass and the lapband. I think it shows that a doctor is extra cautious and wants his patients to be healthy and if he thinks taking Vitamins will make someone healthier, then God bless him. I don't think not encouraging the use of vits and Protein Shakes speaks otherwise, I just think different doctor's have different experiences, different educations, and different training that helps define how they practice.

[piercedqt78 658]

I take a liquid Vitamin everyday. (ok, most days) My doctor says that it is a good idea but he really has never pushed the issue. I have a total blood work-up every 3 months for the first year and then every 6 months thereafter. At my last fill I was told liquids for the next 24 hours and then mushies, and then soft food, then regular food. I asked if I could have Protein Shake that same day, he said you can always have a low calorie Protein shake. I am like many other bandsters, I can't eat solids before 11:30 or so but a protein shake makes a great Breakfast. I will take a vanilla Atkins shake and toss in a few ice cubes and some banana sugar free Syrup and voila breakfast. I have a collection of sugar free syrups and make several shakes that my family loves, I have everyone drinking them now. I am not saying that my doctor is right or that anyones doctor is wrong, but I have lost 52 pounds in 5 months, I am not going to change what I am doing now. ~Mandy

[Victoriana 10]

I have always had a Protein Shake once in a while as I find them very satisfies and fulfilling. I have used them when I'm in a hurry and must get something down, carry out. It helps me avoid fast foods. I don't like getting hungry as I don't have a lot of will power, and I end up overeating in the long run. I also use meds and need to have something on my stomach to keep them down, or else it feels like they are sticking to my esophagus. There are a lot of reasons to use them once in a while, its just that our diets need to be varied to get in all of the kinds of nutrition, not just Protein.< img src="https://s.bariatricpal.com/uploads/emoticons/default_wink.gif" alt=";-)" />

[ELEEBANA2 0]

Please will someone give me some advice on portion size, this is really a desperate call for help. i keep worrying that i am eating portions that are too big and that I've ruined the whole thing. I don.t see the dr until this coming May. The reason that i joined this site was the hope that somone could give me some advice. Thanks, Anne

[casinocat74 0]

Please will someone give me some advice on portion size, this is really a desperate call for help. i keep worrying that i am eating portions that are too big and that I've ruined the whole thing. I don.t see the dr until this coming May. The reason that i joined this site was the hope that somone could give me some advice. Thanks, Anne

If you are asking about portion size on Protein shakes, it's 1 cup. But when you blend it with ice it looks huge.

[piercedqt78 658]

I can eat enough food to almost cover a small saucer. A normal meal for me is 3 or 4 oz of meat (about the size of a deck of cards) and a few bites of veggies. It is about 6 or 8 oz total. I can eat an order of pintos and cheese and the inside of a steak taco from taco bell. Tonight I had 6 shrimp and 3 bites of fish and I was full. I usually order a kids meal and have veggies instead of fries, I eat about half of it. I can eat about the same as my 4 year old daughter does. Does that help at all? ~Mandy

[vinesqueen 2]

Please will someone give me some advice on portion size, this is really a desperate call for help. i keep worrying that i am eating portions that are too big and that I've ruined the whole thing. I don.t see the dr until this coming May. The reason that i joined this site was the hope that somone could give me some advice. Thanks, Anne

Wow, several different things going on in your post there Eleebana2. Why are you not seeing the doc for 5 -6 months? That's an awefuly long time to go without seeing him or her. Can you call and get support that way? I usually live a state away from my clinic, but they are always available to talk to me via phone or e-mail.

Also, we don't know what sort of fill you are at, or even if you have been filled. If you are a normal person, and losing between a pound to two pounds a week (or very close to that) then you are doing fine. What is your loss like, or are you a turtle?

Without knowing how big your portions are, I don't know that we can really help. I was way too restricted for about a month, and I was only able to get in about 700 calories a day, not nearly enough, and plus, I only lost 1.5 pounds that entire month. talk about your major disapointments. Anyway, because I spent so much time measuring my food by the tablespoons, when I was able to get an unfil and eat like a "normal person" I was appaled at how much food I was eating. I couldn't belive I was stuffing myself, gorging myself. You know how much food? Less than the full child's meal. I couldn't even finish a child's size portion, but I felt like I was binging.

It's all about perspective.

[ELEEBANA2 0]

Hi! Thank you for answering my post. I have had one fill of 2ml, last September 15th. I fly back to Hungary this coming May. My doctor here has written a letter to the local NHS surgeon who does lap-banding, but I haven't heared anything yet. I think that I will have to go private and have more fills.Hungary is a thousand miles from here and my own doctor doesn't know much about lap-banding. He told me that all he really knew was that the results were very mixed, but was very pleased about how well I looked when I returned to see him.

The trouble is that everytime I eat a meal I panic and drink Water or cofee because I think that I've eaten too much and stretched my stomach pouch or something. I think that if I drink, it will help the food to leave the space quicker. I know that this may sound strange to you but I just don't know if I'm right.

[KDuckster 0]

Casino Cat - you wrote "Hey people! I have noticed that since I started to drink my Protein shakes, I havenot lost any weight. I am able to drink a whole glass too. I am concerned that it is messing with with my weight loss. Anybody else experience this?

Then KT199 replied, "This question really bothers me because it implies so little knowledge of the real battle. I say this with much love, but the only thing that makes you gain weight is daily consuming more calories than you burn. "Shakes" are irrelevant in general, but the calories they contain contribute to your daily intake."

Then you replied, "I already know that...trying to make some converstaion and get other peoples takes on the Protein shake. Much love, but no thanks"

I'm a bit confused, because if you already knew some information and were just "trying to make some conversation", then why did you attack KT?

I agree KT's replies to you were a bit direct (sorry KT!) but the purpose of the LBT board is to help and support people, not just make conversation.

If you really had questions on why you were not losing weight, you already knew the answer - you are taking in too many calories.

The purpose of the the Lap-Band is for us to be able to eat normal, healthy foods but in smaller quantities, and therefore lose weight. Protein Shakes are not a 'normal, healthy food'. They're not even food - they're liquid calories. Hopefully in your research of the band before your surgery you came across many references to the fact that to have success with the band, you have to rely on solid food for your nutrition, not liquid calories. There is only ONE exception, and that's in the few weeks following surgery when we're unable to eat solid food. After we can start to eat solid foods, we need to drop things like Soups and protein shakes from our menu.

The other thing you hopefully learned in your research is that we do not have the same nutrition deficiency problems as RNY patients. Yes, an RNY patient needs to consume large amounts of protein a day, but that's because they aren't absorbing food normally - we are. We should have no more concern about our protein intake than the normal person. The only difference is that with the smaller amount of food we can eat, we should concentrate on eating our protein first, then fruits and vegetables, then consume our carbohydrates last. Again, pretty normal consumption.

I am concerned about some bandster's feelings that they need to supplement their protein intake each day, and that the only way to do so is with protein shakes.

Being only three days out of surgery, I will probably rely on some kind of shake (like Carnation Instant Breakfast) to get me through my "full liquids" week before I progress to mushies the next week. But I intend to abandon them at that point so I don't begin to rely on them for nutrition. I recommend anyone else who wants to be successful as a bandster does the same.

[casinocat74 0]

Casino Cat - you wrote "Hey people! I have noticed that since I started to drink my Protein shakes, I havenot lost any weight. I am able to drink a whole glass too. I am concerned that it is messing with with my weight loss. Anybody else experience this?

Then KT199 replied, "This question really bothers me because it implies so little knowledge of the real battle. I say this with much love, but the only thing that makes you gain weight is daily consuming more calories than you burn. "Shakes" are irrelevant in general, but the calories they contain contribute to your daily intake."

Then you replied, "I already know that...trying to make some converstaion and get other peoples takes on the Protein shake. Much love, but no thanks"

I'm a bit confused, because if you already knew some information and were just "trying to make some conversation", then why did you attack KT?

I agree KT's replies to you were a bit direct (sorry KT!) but the purpose of the LBT board is to help and support people, not just make conversation.

If you really had questions on why you were not losing weight, you already knew the answer - you are taking in too many calories.

The purpose of the the Lap-Band is for us to be able to eat normal, healthy foods but in smaller quantities, and therefore lose weight. Protein Shakes are not a 'normal, healthy food'. They're not even food - they're liquid calories. Hopefully in your research of the band before your surgery you came across many references to the fact that to have success with the band, you have to rely on solid food for your nutrition, not liquid calories. There is only ONE exception, and that's in the few weeks following surgery when we're unable to eat solid food. After we can start to eat solid foods, we need to drop things like Soups and protein shakes from our menu.

The other thing you hopefully learned in your research is that we do not have the same nutrition deficiency problems as RNY patients. Yes, an RNY patient needs to consume large amounts of protein a day, but that's because they aren't absorbing food normally - we are. We should have no more concern about our protein intake than the normal person. The only difference is that with the smaller amount of food we can eat, we should concentrate on eating our protein first, then fruits and vegetables, then consume our carbohydrates last. Again, pretty normal consumption.

I am concerned about some bandster's feelings that they need to supplement their protein intake each day, and that the only way to do so is with protein shakes.

Being only three days out of surgery, I will probably rely on some kind of shake (like Carnation Instant Breakfast) to get me through my "full liquids" week before I progress to mushies the next week. But I intend to abandon them at that point so I don't begin to rely on them for nutrition. I recommend anyone else who wants to be successful as a bandster does the same.

I will explain myself 1 more time...I wanted to get other people's experiences with protein shakes. I wanted to know if people had the same issue and moved to something else. It's harder to explain things in writing, but I wasn't just trying to make stupid converstaion. I was honestly trying to get some positive feedback.

I am not trying to be mean but, is it really that big of a deal to want some feedback?? I just don't understand all the drama in this thread!!!!

[Anwyn 0]

Casinocat, I was also surprised that this thread turned so controversial. I had no idea that Protein consumption was such a hot button topic, lol. I'd like to thank you for starting this thread because anytime there are differing opinions it's a good idea to open up a dialogue for those of us already banded and those of us researching the band.

I consider myself a very successful bandster, and I often have a Protein shake for Breakfast because I am too restricted in the mornings to eat solid food. They're great! They fill me up, give me a Vitamin boost, and they're easy. As far as the liquid calorie thing goes, anything that's 200 calories and fills me up for 3 or 4 hours is a great thing. We're not talking about juice or pop here...

I am having great results with following what my nutritionist and surgeon recommended. They told me to concentrate on Protein so that's what I'm doing. I can get the Vitamins from fruits and vegetables with a daily Multivitamin (which everybody banded or not should be taking anyways). I still try to eat at least one serving of fruit and one serving of veggies a day because you can't beat the real thing, but I like the back up of a Multivitamin. For some of us, we just can't eat enough to get in everything a body needs so you have to prioritize.

[casinocat74 0]

THANKYOU Anwyn!!!!!!! I think you are the only one who actually understood why I started this thread!!!

[ELEEBANA2 0]

What are Protein Shakes? Are they like Slim Fast meal drinks? or something else and would I find them in a health shop? Has anyone found Slim Fast or the equivilent useful? Anne

[Anwyn 0]

Hi Anne,

There are tons of Protein shakes out there (yes, Slim Fast is one). Carnation Instant Breakfast is another readily available at the grocery store. At health stores (like GNC) you can find a million different kinds. If you do a search under "Food" you will find a bunch of recipes for Protein Shakes too.

[NeenBand 7]

From what I have learned from a nutrionist (learned a lot about nutrition, but I'm still fat. :-p)

Is that if your body has been starving for protien or is prone to build muscles it will take this protien like a starving person and you will begin to gain muscle. This is a GOOD thing. I know people who are 160 lbs, but look 120 because they are packed full of muscle and look really, really good.