Sleeve_Me_Alone

It shouldn't be counted as part of your MINIMUM grams of Protein because it is missing some amino acids that are essential for your body. That is why vegetarians need to be sure they are getting a variety of foods in combination to ensure their diet does not leave them lacking in essential amino acids. The 60 g that you need as a bare minimum to reduce the amount of muscle mass lost due to the rapid weight lost after surgery should be from complete Protein sources. Anything above that, go ahead and use collagen if it floats your boat, but there's no evidence that it will help you. It's a fad. The collagen that you read about in your body can't be absorbed from food because when you ingest it, it's digested and broken down into separate amino acids.

Actually, for skin/hair/nail/joint support, the studies are pretty encouraging and the emerging science wholly supports collagen as a viable supplement. There is less data around collagen for muscle building/repair, but that's not my goal in taking it, so not a concern. I understand it's not a complete protein and therefore not a suitable sole source. Just wondering if, generally speaking, it should count towards overall protein goal. I don't want to short change myself, but also don't want to constantly be striving to hit a goal that I might already be achieving.

Sent from my SM-A205U using BariatricPal mobile app

I am ~90 days pre-op and trying to establish solid habits before surgery including taking my Vitamins, hitting my Protein goal, moving more, etc. One of the things I've decided to do is to take a collagen peptide supplement (Vital Proteins powder), and have started incorporating it into my daily routine. I've read here in the forums and elsewhere online that collagen is NOT a complete protein and therefore should not be a sole source of protein intake, which I completely understand. What I'm wondering is, should it count towards my protein goal at all? If my goal is 70g and the collagen peptides provide 20g, is it appropriate to count towards my goal if the other 50g are coming from complete protein sources -or- should I not count it at all and considered it truly a "supplement" not a protein source?