Hi guys,

I wondered if any of you have decided to completely given up conventional food and have protein / meal replacement shakes instead post op.

I have heard that this is absolutely fine to do as long as you are taking your supplements and drinking plenty of water.

What's your thoughts/experiences?

No and no doctor would support this without extenuating medical circumstances. Even then it would be a nutritional/total meal replacement drink.

On this site we don’t support dangerous behaviors.

Absolutely not. Not enough calories, carbs, nutrients. That's basically a starvation diet, and we don't support that here. You need food. For various reasons. The protein shakes are supplements, not complete meal replacements.

Thanks for your input, that's why I am asking these questions before I have the operation. I was told this and wanted to check with people who know what they are talking about. It's all about researching the dos and don't in preparation at the moment for me.

4 hours ago, Bessieboop1981 said:

Thanks for your input, that's why I am asking these questions before I have the operation. I was told this and wanted to check with people who know what they are talking about. It's all about researching the dos and don't in preparation at the moment for me.

It’s possible whoever told you this meant short term as in the immediate preop and early post op period. Or meant you can supplement/augment protein needs with shakes in addition to food but your bariatric team will move you through food stages and require you eat actual foods.

Edited November 1, 20241 yr by GreenTealael

As others have said, absolutely not. Fruit, veg, and lean protein is essential to good health. I had protein shakes for the two weeks before surgery to shrink my liver, and for the first few weeks after as my insides healed. I would never want to rely on them beyond that. I can't even imagine how horrible and unfulfilling that would be.

I've continued to have maybe one shake a day as a supplement when it's difficult to hit my protein goals. Tonight I'm having a protein hot chocolate from Premier Protein because it's chilly outside and a nice treat. But mostly I eat real, minimally processed foods.

It's important to remember that supplements and vitamins and minerals are only able to provide the nutrients we know about, the ones scientists have discovered are directly responsible for diseases and disorders if you don't get them. But there are countless thousands of compounds in natural foods that we need and that are absent from shakes and supplements because they haven't been studied. The only way to get that is to eat a wide variety of real whole foods.

No! No! No! Besides why would you? Let’s be honest. We enjoy eating. The smell, the textures, the flavours, the look and sometimes the sound of food ( like the crunch of an apple) is appealing & gives us pleasure. We celebrate with food. We share food with loved ones. We give thanks with food. Why would you sacrifice that to drink a protein shake for every meal?

Yes, you may be prescribed shakes in your pre surgical diet and you will be prescribed them for usually 2 weeks after surgery. The pre surgery shakes are to increase your weight loss to improve your surgical success odds & to shrink your liver so the surgeon can see the surgical field more easily. Post surgery it’s to support your healing & not strain your digestive system (remember all those sutures & stables holding it together). Short term reliance on shakes.

The goals of the surgery include you changing your relationship with food and establishing a healthy, nutritionally dense, sustainable way of eating. Drinking shakes for any extended period of time is simply not sustainable. It’s not nutritionally sound, only gives more power to cravings, creates new bad relationships with food and will highly likely result in weight regain & poor health.

Key word here is supplement. If you are struggling to get your protein in via the real food you eat, sure a protein shake can be beneficial as a supplement to your earring. Same with any vitamin or supplement. If your body is lacking in specific vitamin or minerals, sure take a supplement but they should never be what you totally rely on to get the nutrients your body needs to function unless you have a specific medical condition that means you can not eat real, solid food.

I never touched another shake after I began purées (start of week 3). My goal was always to get all the nutrients I needed through real food. And I do. I don’t even take vitamins now (except in winter when I have a dip in my vitamin D - I feel the cold so hibernate in winter & rug up if I have to go out so little sunlight for me then).

Ask your nutritionalist, surgeon & GP. I bet they agree with all of us.

I must admit, I am one of those people who is addicted to protein shakes and even eight years after surgery, they make up the majority of my diet.

Do I think this is wise and good? Absolutely not.

However, my blood work continues to turn out fine every year

The human body is amazing and the amount of abuse it can take

Thank you so much for your replies, especially arabesque and nickelchip! As I mentioned earlier in the thread I am researching and learning as much as I can before my sleeve in January, I am a newbie afterall!

Just to be clear to Greentealael asking a question does not mean I am actually considering doing this and I am not promoting or seeking support for dangerous behaviours. I have found this forum a real godsend to hear people's experiences and ask questions, but to be honest, your reply was not helpful and only made me feel bad.

Edited November 2, 20241 yr by Bessieboop1981

On the flip side....

I have to chuckle at the responses here. Most are from those that openly admitted to hating protein shakes and wanting "real" food. To each his own. Hahaha!

I may be in the minority here along with @waterwoman I'm 1 1/2 years out and still drink protein shakes. In fact just last night. I made one that tastes just like a strawberry shake. Way healthier than eating ice cream.

I think if you struggle with eating real foods early on like I did and still do on occasion, the shakes are a godsend. When I have a day where food does not agree with me I go to my shake to get my protein in for the day. Forcing food to meet a daily quota is bad if you can't keep it down or you end up making yourself sick.

As for total meal replacements? It has it's place in this journey. For a time. Although I have drank my fair share of them, I have always tried the foods suggested for each phase. You will find that some days the food goes well and another not so much. And if not, I will revisit that food later on down the line and drink my shake.

It's a long slow process but I've come to a place that most foods are tolerable for me now but I still have those days where my protein drink is my best friend. LOL

Edited November 2, 20241 yr by BabySpoons

20 minutes ago, BabySpoons said:

On the flip side....

I have to chuckle at the responses here. Most are from those that openly admitted to hating Protein Shakes and wanting "real" food. To each his own. Hahaha!

I may be in the minority here along with @waterwoman I'm 1 1/2 years out and still drink Protein shakes. In fact just last night. I made one that tastes just like a strawberry shake. Way healthier than eating ice cream.

I think if you struggle with eating real foods early on like I did and still do on occasion, the shakes are a godsend. When I have a day where food does not agree with me I go to my shake to get my protein in for the day. Forcing food to meet a daily quota is bad if you can't keep it down or you end up making yourself sick.

As for total meal replacements? It has it's place in this journey. For a time. Although I have drank my fair share of them, I have always tried the foods suggested for each phase. You will find that some days the food goes well and another not so much. And if not, I will revisit that food later on down the line and drink my shake.

It's a long slow process but I've come to a place that most foods are tolerable for me now but I still have those days where my protein drink is my best friend. LOL

I agree with this. I'm about 4 weeks post op. According to my plan, I can start soft foods on Monday. But I've struggled with purees and eating too fast so I've gone back to liquids and protein shakes. I'm honestly kind of scared of moving to soft foods and even more scared of moving to solid foods. I think if you're going to use shakes and things to supplement your diet, Meal Replacement shakes are a better alternative to protein shakes as they also have more vitamins.

While on my LSD, I would mix the chocolate slimfast with some chocolate protein powder and little skimmed milk to disguise the taste of the slimfast, but also to give it a little more protein. I would not WANT to live on those long term, but occasionally, I think can still have a place in the diet if you're in a rush or not feeling well enough to cook.

50 minutes ago, NeonRaven8919 said:

I'm honestly kind of scared of moving to soft foods and even more scared of moving to solid foods.

I was too but don't be. Just practice mindful eating. I learned rather quickly after just a few bites how that meal was going to go. I would stop and push the plate away if need be. If you don't, you will pay for it. I had to learn that lesson a few times. I thought because the nutritionist OK'd a food for a particular phase, it would be OK. But it wasn't for me. Certain textures are my problem. Not from eating too much or too fast. YMMV

I still struggle with stir fry (semi cooked) and raw vegetables which is sad for me because I love veggies and salads. Also heavy meats like steak and chicken unless it is cooked to the point of falling apart. In a soup cooked soft is best so I lived on stews etc. for quite awhile and still enjoy them.

Find the foods within your program that you enjoy and go well with you and your sensitive tummy. In the beginning, I made the mistake of trying everything allowed to me at the different phases but a lot just made me sick. I knew at some point I would enjoy those foods again in the future. Some I may never. But I like to concentrate on the healthy things I can have as opposed to what I can't.

GL.. you will do fine. And don't be scared. {{hugs}}

I drink them often! I found a Mocha flavored protein powder from PeScience and with 1/2C of unsweetened almond milk, hot water and my collagen. I top with FF whipped cream and cinnamon and bam! I got me a mocha with 30g of protein! I eat Ice Cream every night- I make protein ice cream in my ninja and eat half a pint EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT! I make it with protein powder. In the summer I made an iced profee everyday too. For me it works for me, they are delicious, decent amount of protein and I feel like its a sweet treat!