Do I drink smoothies or protein drinks?

REDGIRL · April 22, 2008

:confused:Please help me, is there a difference in a Protein Drink and a smoothie with Protein? My Dr. does not want me to drink any type of smoothie or protein drinks, but I 'm to tight in the morning to eat anything and I'm starving until I'm able to eat. So does anyone have any suggestions.

TheGh0st · April 22, 2008

OK in general smoothies will probably have more calories than a Protein drink so in that regard I'd fall on the drink side. smoothies are also thicker so if you are unable to eat solids they may be difficult to keep down as well.

My doc was dead set against Protein drinks/smoothies as well for the first several years of his doing this procedure. He considered it nothing more than liquid calories. However, after watching his patients, several of which were also employees of his, he slowly changed his mind and now believes it better to drink some form of protein in the morning if you are too tight to eat than to go with no food until lunch.

Again in an ideal world we would all get our protein from solid sources and I applaud those who do. But I'm also one of those that in order not to be able to eat a horse at night I need a fill tight enough that I can usually only manage a drink in the morning.

For the first year plus I usually made my own drink in the blender with skim milk, chocolate whey protein and a spoonfull of Peanut Butter to cut the edge off that fake chocolate taste. But my current personal favorite at the moment is Low-Carb Slimfast for a couple reasons, it tastes good to me, it requires no mixing, and not only does it have 190 calories, 20 grams of protein to 2 grams of net carbs (6 total minus 4 fiber) it also has about 30% or more of many Vitamins and minerals unlike many of the other protein supplement drinks.

Frustrated · April 22, 2008

:confused:Please help me, is there a difference in a Protein drink and a smoothie with Protein? My Dr. does not want me to drink any type of smoothie or protein drinks, but I 'm to tight in the morning to eat anything and I'm starving until I'm able to eat. So does anyone have any suggestions.

Has he mentioned why he doesn't want you to have these things? The answer will give you an idea as to his reasoning behind it.

I'm with Gh0st in that I feel you do need something in the morning to get your metabolism kick started, otherwise it'll lay dormant until your hunger kicks in and perhaps in doing so, cause you to overeat.

For me personally after my most recent fill, I couldn't get any protein or smoothies down because of the texture. The bubbles were just too much. Also, the temperature of the liquids suddenly became an issue and I could only drink hot liquids in the morning. Hot smoothies/shakes just aren't appealing. :glare:

You need to find what works for you. Protein is important. If the only way you're going to get it into your system is via the drinks, I don't see how your doctor could tell you that was bad. But of course, his opinion trumps mine, so you really should get his input. Make a call to his office. You don't have to go in for a visit each time you have a question, I'm sure his staff should be able to answer any queries and concerns you may have.