I am supposed to start a clear liquid diet 7 days prior to my surgery. It's scheduled for 1/10/07. I know the doctor recommends between 30 and 50 grams of protein per day. I bought some IsoPure drinks that have 40 grams of protein. What happens if I consume more than 50 grams of protein? Is that bad? Will I gain weight?

Clear liquids 7 days prior? Holy smokes! Thats a tough one to do. I only had to do something special the day before. My surgery was set for a Monday so as of Saturday dinner I had to eat a light dinner, then Sunday simple breakfast like cream of wheat, lunch was soup and dinner was clear liquid nothing after 5pm for me. Wow....7 days is a long time to go on clear liquids only. I don't think it would matter if you had more proteins at this stage of the game but, it's always best to call your doctors office to double check you got the directions right. Good luck and welcome to Bandland.

I had surgery about 2 days ago and also had to do the 7 days liquid diet prior to surgery. There is a such thing as too much protein (protein poisoning) is rare but does happen (when people eat nothing but wild rabbits get protein poisoning) but as long as your still getting other nutrition such as a little bit of fat and little bit of sugars it shoudln't be a problem. Although you may consider saving that for after the surgery since serving sizes will be little, a high protein drink will give you more protein for the little servings. I think it's also important to note that the high protein liquid diet prior to surgery is to "shrink" your liver making the operation go more smoothly. Your liver stores glucose molecules in the form of glycogen. Glucose is used to fuel cells and provide energy for body processes. So what you're doing by cosuming high amounts of protein is allowing your body to use its stores of glucose and not from the food. (if that makes sense). But most importantly (since I'm not a doctor but I'm a cell and molecular biologist) I would always do what your doctor says for he knows your body and needs the best. Maybe you can just drink half the drink and mix with milk?

I didn't have to do a preop diet but my nutitionist said that if I consume more than the 30-50 gms of protein I will gain weight. So try and stay within the limit. Good luck with the surgery - it's so exciting!

I had to do a 10 day clear liquid pre-op diet. It was hell, but I'm so glad I had to do it. It really helped me make it through after surgery and adding in full liquids felt like a treat!

Short term it wont hurt you but long term its not very good for your kidneys etc, which is why Atkins is not a great lifestyle to follow. You need the balance of proteins, carbs and fats. But 7 days is not a worry.

What!? I've always been told (and heard) to get at least 60 grams a day in!

My doc recommends that we take in at least 90g of Protein per day to keep us from getting too hungry post-op and so that we don't lose lean muscle mass instead of fat. They also recommend this level of protein to avoid a huge drop in your energy level as well.

I have to say all is going well for me with this approach so far, and I can't say enough how grateful I am for my doctor and his staff. I've been having three 10 oz. shakes per day of Champion Nutrition whey Protein powder that provide 26 g of protein each and about three 4 oz. Dannon Light and Fit yogurts that have about 4g of protein per day. I round that out with Water, tomato soup or broth, and sugar and fat free Jello, puddings, and popsicles (not all of these every day, but some of each). I've been able to keep my liquid intake over 64 oz. which is pretty good for me. My energy level is fantastic and although I am starting to get hungry between shakes now that the swelling is going down, it's not unbearable.

Obviously, follow whatever your doctor told you--he or she knows what's best for your individual case!