Protein shakes…

[MerryBrickHelper]

I have recently read that ideally you should take in 20g of protein for breakfast. I really struggle to eat in the mornings and have zero time or inclination to make a breakfast! (Obviously weekends are easier!) I researched and found a good protein powder so been drinking this every morning. Does not have whey and has been specially formulated for women. Due to start IVF in a month or so time, I’m taking a lot of the usual suspects but do not want to cause any issues with having a protein shake. Is it a bad idea to be getting my protein from a powder?

Hi @MerryBrickHelper - I'm not sure what the experts/science say, and I didn't substitute any meals with protein shakes, but with my successful round I did supplement with protein shakes every few days if I felt I hadn't had enough protein.

Good luck with your round of IVF!

Hi @MerryBrickHelper

my previous clinic advised me to drink some protein shakes during my stim cycle as I am pescatarian with only occasional fish intake, and they advised a high protein intake. Unfortunately none of my 3 transfers worked that cycle, but I really can’t point specifically at the shakes (or any particular reason!) for that.

i found some plant based protein powder which I had been stirring into porridge every morning for a few weeks but then the doctor at my new clinic point blank told me not to use it and to concentrate on getting my protein from real food 🤷🏼

i looked around for some research into it either way but couldn’t really find anything.

anyway, I took my current docs advice and instead invented my own proteiny smoothie which I’ve been having every morning and it’s a lot tastier than the powder so I thought I’d share the recipe in case you want to try it:

• 80g of frozen mixed berries
• handful of blueberries
• banana
• 40g oats
• 125g of Greek yoghurt
• 250ml soy milk

all whizzed in the nutribullet (which I admit at £70 was quite an investment, but I have been really enjoying it).

the nutrition breakdown of this when I put it through my app is 500 calories, of which it is 50% carbs, 30% fat and 20% protein, and it has about 23-24g of protein in it. It’s really easy to drink and because the berries are frozen it’s nice and cold and refreshing.

i go running 5-10km quite regularly and I’m quite tall, so I usually need to have something else with it, like half a tin of beans on a slice of toast, which adds another ~15g of protein to breakfast, and really does keep me going about 5-6 hours til my lunch break at work.

I’m not due to start my next cycle for another month or so, and certainly can’t claim any effectiveness of dietary changes on fertility. Sorry I didn’t have any more info on the protein powder issue particularly, but hope this is helpful!

@Quickdraw23 thank you so much for your recipe! Am definitely going to use it. There is not a lot of information out there regarding if it’s right or wrong? Also, huge gap in fertility market for a fertility protein shake! I am also a keen runner- how did you manage fertility treatments with running? Did you just stop running?

Yeah not a lot of info that I could find that conclusively says it’s right or wrong. Ultimately protein powder is a highly processed form of food that is marketed as healthy, and there is a discussion and further research that needs doing into them in my opinion.

I decided that as I weigh about 65kg, if I hit around 90-100g of protein a day that really should be enough for the level of activity I’m doing, given that recommended amounts seem to be around 0.75g - 2g per kg of body weight. Anything over 2g per kg of body weight is a bit of a waste if I understand correctly!

I didn’t run during my stims or TWWs. To be honest during the stim cycle when my ovaries were really enlarged it would have felt really uncomfortable to run anyway, and it’s not a good idea because the ovaries are heavy and the bobbing around inside you with the impact on the ground could cause torsion. I wasn’t running as much last year as I am now anyway as I was doing more gym and climbing. This time I won’t run during the stims but I do plan to ask about exercise etc in the TWW. It’s another area where there isn’t great evidence to advise either way and I think a lot of doctors play it safe by telling you to stick to walking. My mental health was definitely better during the TWW when j went climbing a couple of times. I don’t like being sedentary!

Add a full teaspoon of almond or peanut butter to smoothies and protein goes up and you get all the goodness too.

I’m veggie and know my protein intake could be better so also used protein shakes for breakfast throughout my IVF and into BFP. The thought makes me sick sadly now though but it didn’t have any negative effect

@Btowngirl thank you so much and congratulations on your BFN. What protein brand did you buy? How long did you take it into your pregnancy? Does the thought make you sick because you’re pregnant or because of something else?

@MerryBrickHelper thank you! I probably took them throughout the whole process and then 3-4 weeks post transfer (so to around 5/6 weeks preg). Completely not an issue with the protein itself I just went off all the healthy habits I’d been keeping during IVF and now have such nausea that carbs, sweets and juicy fruits are where it’s at 🥲 I also did a lot of protein overnight oats and chai puddings for grab and go breakfasts too! Protein wise I think it was bulk protein powders.