Protein Intake At Goal

[lovex5 25]

I have a couple of questions for those at goal. Did you follow a high protein/low carb diet during weight loss? If so, do you eat the same amount of Protein now or have you lowered the amount?

[chitowngirl 884]

That's a great question. Hope we get some responses.

[PdxMan 4,292]

I think this is going to be one of those questions where the answer is going to be ... it depends.

I am 15 months out. I did not follow a low carb diet as I was very active during my weight loss phase getting into exercise. I ran, did classes at my local club and lifted about twice a week. I needed energy for this and carbs are the best source of energy, so ...

Training for races, I would actually consume over 200 grams a day of carbs and still lost weight, so, it will depend on your activity level. If you try to do high activity with low carbs, you are not going to be operating at your highest potential and your metabolism will reflect that.

Being active, I also had a higher Protein intake than most, I would guess. About 130 grams a day minimum. There is no way I could do this eating foods and still get the amount of carbs I needed, too, so, yes, I kept with the Protein shakes. I used Premier Protein RTD shakes from Costco/Sams and they totally work for me.

The past couple months, however, I have been plagued by knee issues and just recently diagnosed with spinal stenosis (pinched nerve in spine) with numbness in my foot. Needless to say, my activity has ground to a halt.

My Protein and carbs intake reflect this. Again, I don't do low carb, but I also don't go crazy. I probably get 120 grams a day. I occassionally have a Protein shake on days when I don't eat foods with Proteins naturally.

So, it depends. Sitting on your hiney all day? You are not going to need the protein and carbs you need if you were more active. A lot of sleevers discover their inner athlete and begin an exercise program. Others don't. It depends on your goals.

Bottom line, is I just eat a good healthy diet with a cheat item or two. The sleeve keeps my portions down, so I can't go crazy. I got the sleeve so I didn't have to diet and it has worked for me.

[Katnroyal 225]

Very good information...thanks!

[RickM 1,747]

First, we are not on a high Protein diet, rather we are having enough Protein to maintain ourselves, which is an amount that doesn't change much from what we should be doing pre-op, post-op, maintenance, surgery or no surgery. The 60-80 gm per day (sometimes up to 100gm for men) that we commonly see as the recommended amount is consistent with the govt. RDAs of 60 gm for basic maintenance of our lean body mass for the "average" person. Our tissues - muscles, skin, organs, etc. are continually regenerating themselves, and need protein to do it, and that's where these basic recommendations come from. The amount needed is roughly proportional to our lean body mass, so a lighter framed woman who may be 120 lb in "normal" or "ideal" weight may need around 60gm while a larger framed man of 180 lb normal weight may need 90-100gm. Men normally tend to be leaner than women, so a normal man would need a little more protein for maintenance than normal woman of the same weight ("normal" body fat % for men is in the mid teens, while for women it's in the mid twenties.) My lean mass in the mid 150lb range needs around 100-105gm of protein to maintain; if I were interested in seriously adding muscle mass, that could easily require 140-150gm.

Like Pdx, I never really did low carb during the loss phase (I'm 17 months out, maintaining for the past 10,) as it didn't make sense for my activity levels, though I added some complex carb part way through the process to better fuel some workouts as they got longer. My overall philosophy was to work to keep as reasonable a balance as possible with the remaining calories beyond my basic protein intake. Also like Pdx, I am on injured reserve status (shoulder surgery for me) so exercise intensity is down, though overall activity levels are up some (new puppy helps...), so I am keeping stable on the same 2000 calories that I was using before I got into this rehab mode.

Off to the pool, now, for some restricted workout....

[lovex5 25]

Thanks. I'm asking because I have kidney disease. The stage I'm at now allows me about 70 grams per day at this weight but it goes down according to weight and what stage I'm in. Once I hit goal, around 120lbs, I will bump down quite a bit. The calculator I used has me at around 35-45 grams per day, depending on disease progression. CDC website says 46 grams for women in my age group. I'm a little concerned how that potential 35 grams per day will affect me but all of my specialists are on board with me having the surgery so apparently it won't be an issue. Thanks again for the input guys!