Protein/Carb powders and changes in skin condition?
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » EDS Lounge

Sat Jul 02, 2005 5:45 am

I have recently started drinking a nutritional supplement powder in order to get a grip on my seemingly unstoppable weight loss. I've been drinking it for over a week now, two serves a day and have noticed a difference in my skin - not a good difference though!

I seem to be having quite a few blemishes or bumps under the skin that just don't want to go away (even with the use of glycolics and exfoliation). Other than that I don't see any change. They're not really pimples I don't think, just red pimple-sized bumps on my forehead and chin only. Intuitively, it seems like something hormonal but it definitely coincides with me starting to drink the shake. I am a complete dummy when it comes to stuff like carbs, protein etc and what their effects might be and why. I know that this powder gives me an additional 26g of protein a day and also 150g of carbs (http://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/www/html/1810-endura-optimizer-formula.asp). Could someone who is nutrition-savvy please let me know if this seems excessive? My appt with the nutritionist is two weeks away Sad

In the meantime I think I might cut down to one serve a day.

TIA

free skin care · Sat Jul 02, 2005 6:29 am

God! the ingredients make my skin crawl just to read them! Poor you having to drink that stuff!

I'm guessing that you are already on a high calorie diet anyway? Could you bump up the calories still further by snacking on unsalted nuts and seeds? sunflower, pumpkin sesame seeds are all high fat, but also good for you and nuts have loads of calories, with brazil, almond and walnuts being seen as healthy. Peanut butter is a really high calorie food and if it isn't made with palm oil, it's pretty healthy as well being mostly monounsaturated fat.

Wash those down with a coulple of pints of guiness and you should have more than replaced the calories lost by the shake with more pleasure!

I don't know much about the ratio bit, but generally adult women need about 40g of protein a day and 70g of fat as a maximum (British Heart Foundation). I think as long as it is for a short period and it is poly or mono unsaturated, you could probably up your fat intake a bit.

As for carbs, if they are unprocessed and complex (rice, wholemeal/grain bread, vegetables etc as opposed to sugar and processd foods) then eat as much as you can till you get the weight back up. Your shake gives you less than the equivalent of one cup of boiled rice in terms of carbohydrates.

HTH helps and doesn't confuse Smile

free skin care · Sat Jul 02, 2005 6:44 am

Hmmm I wouldn't trust these things, what always works for me when I need to ut weight on is potatoes, have potatoes with your meals and lots of wholegrain carbs.
Oh yes I just remembered Zinc supplements wil help you reach your normal weight. Last year I was a stone under weight and read about a study carried out on anorexics, they gave them high Zinc supplements every day and they all put weight on so I thought why not!!!!
I took 50mg a day to start with, then reduced to 25mg and yes I am a stone heavier, my sex drive has gone through the roof and everyone tells me how well I look. I now have 15mg a day.

Sat Jul 02, 2005 11:25 am

Too much supplement zinc - over 100mg can increase mens risk for prostate cancer. But I'm sure under 50mg is fine. Thanks for the tip. I'll tell my husband that. I know he gets too little zinc in his diet and he needs to gain weight too.

I've heard good things about this meal replacement. It has zinc in it too. And a lot more protein per serving then the one you're taking - 16g.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/B00013YYR6/ref=cm_cr_dp_2_1/104-9143806-7540761?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=hpc

http://www.ultimatelife.com/CatalogMealBenefits.htm

Sat Jul 02, 2005 6:37 pm

Thank you ladies. I'd rather NOT drink this (it ain't tasty let me tell you!) but I don't really have a choice - I can't possibly eat more than I already do, my body burns it all up but there is only so much food I can handle.

Rosebud - I'll try the zinc. Thanks for the tip. I'm a little bit concerned because it seems there is conflicting info on the net about its effects. On the one hand zinc is used in the creation of thyroid hormones meaning that it could increase thyroid operation (meaning weight loss) on the other I also found the studies about weight gain in anorexics. Thing is though that I would assume that the anorexics are defficient whereas my Dr tells me all my levels are "textbook perfect". I'll try it anyway and see what happens.

sexy28 - That looks like a really good product! Not surprisingly, I just checked and it doesn't seem to be available in Australia. I'll try to look for other meal replacement shakes though and see what I can find.

Thank you! Smile

free skin care · Sat Jul 02, 2005 7:53 pm

Quote:

I seem to be having quite a few blemishes or bumps under the skin that just don't want to go away (even with the use of glycolics and exfoliation). Other than that I don't see any change. They're not really pimples I don't think, just red pimple-sized bumps on my forehead and chin only.

Mabsy,

I really don't know much about nutritional supplement powder's. Could the blemishes be do to any new skin care products you are using? Just a thought. Hope you work everything out. Pray

Sat Jul 02, 2005 11:44 pm

Hi Winnie - I don't think it's skincare related. Granted, I have been trying the LRP lotion but the fact that the blemishes are on my forehead and chin makes me suspect hormonal issues - especially since I don't usually break out with skincare (particularly not one this basic and light). Either way, it might be a good idea to revert back to the previous moisturiser - problem is that it was the $$$ Valmont High Performance serum that I had just finished Laughing

Maybe my skin is trying to tell me something... something expensive Rolling Eyes

free skin care · Sun Jul 03, 2005 7:32 pm

I've been on a low glycemic index diet for 2 years and it has done wonderful things for me (weight loss, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol and better skin). I do not think the drinks are causing your problem but I like to go with unprocessed foods.

You should go immediately to a doctor. Trouble with weight loss can be signaling a serious medical problem (cancer, problems blood sugar control and other things). Good fats like nuts and fish are good for you and your skin; the nuts have calories and good fats. Please go to a doctor NOW many of the causes for inability to gain weight can be treated but some of the possibilities can cause serious damage if left (is the inability to gain weight recent or a problem you've had forever?).

Sun Jul 03, 2005 10:18 pm

Well as long as there is not another underlying condition causing this as sharky mentioned, I would start juicing to gain weight. You can only process so much food because of the fiber to digest. But if you juice them then you can be ingesting an incredible high caloric load each day plus a lot of easily absorbed nutrition. Sometimes people have a problem with absorption of the nutrients in their food and juicing helps. Blending is good too for being able to condense down a lot of volume of food. But juicing is the best. My husband even gained weight and muscle that way before very quickly. But he's too lazy to do it now.

Mon Jul 04, 2005 2:00 am

Thank you for the tips! This is an ongoing problem that has already been very thoroughly checked out (read: I've had every related medical test under the sun). Apparently I just have a very fast metabolism and it kicks in even more if I'm stressed at work and get less sleep as well. So my only problem is basically not being able to keep up with my body in terms of what it needs.

sexy28 - By "juicing" do you mean fruit & veg right? Sorry, I'm a little confused 'coz I can't quite imagine juicing anything else Embarassed

I'd love to find out more though!

free skin care · Mon Jul 04, 2005 4:33 am

you know, I am having a hard job having tooooo much sympathy for you. I keep thinking of all the cornish pasties and guiness that I am having to forego because MY metabolism is slowing right down Laughing

Seriously, hope you get it back on soon. I had lost loads of weight when we were rebuilding the house. No matter what I ate or drank, I just lost weight. Unfortunatly when the building work stopped, the builders diet didn't and put on 2 stone (28lbs) Shock

Liz

free skin care · Mon Jul 04, 2005 7:19 am

Mabsy if you want a better tasting meal replacement shake I recommend those from EAS. If you like chocolate flavours they do a chocmint with chocolate chips in it Drool

if you want you can lessen the amount of milk/water you add and have it like whipped dessert.

I know there was some concern over long term high protein diets and your kidneys but I'm not convinced, plenty of people take MRP's. Is there anything else you have done/not done that has thrown your skin out of whack?

Mon Jul 04, 2005 10:37 pm

eve just a note on eas, they were great back in 97'98 when Bill Philips ran the show, but he sold the company and became a motivational speaker and what not, the company once it hit its peak, starting using a LOT of acesulfame potassium as well as sugar sweetner.

for good protein powders, id recommend anything by ultimate nutrition as well as optimumnutrition(.com).

the "whey" they make their "whey" is without heat...in an ion exchange process, basically, the protein isn't broken down and it's good protein, not damaged stuff Smile

free skin care · Tue Jul 05, 2005 1:30 am

Hi jacob, I know several people have mentioned that the taste has altered..but still after trying lots of brands it still comes top on my taste test.

Tue Jul 05, 2005 5:04 am

Thank you for the info on EAS Eve and Jacob. I just checked and these are available in Australia! Wow, so many falovours! Cookies and cream!!!! Price tag is rather impressive - $240 for 36 servings! If it's easier to stomach than what I'm currently drinking then it's worth it though... Rolling Eyes

free skin care · Tue Jul 05, 2005 5:41 am

not sure what the exchange rate is but that sounds a lot. Shock

Tue Jul 05, 2005 5:47 am

That might be about US$170. We get stuffed around though because of our import duties and shipping prices etc I also looked at the Deluxe "model" Smile

The "normal" was about $60 cheaper.

Laughing

I'm slow - I just now got Jacob's joke, didn't even think about it before... Rolling Eyes

free skin care · Tue Jul 05, 2005 7:53 am

I drink EAS Myopro Whey. I mix it with soy milk, flaxseed meal and frozen berries. I'm not trying to gain weight though. I exercise a lot and read that I should feed my body protein after a run. I didn't realize that acesulfame potassium was a problem. I wish they'd just leave out the artificial sweeteners and let us sweeten the drinks ourselves. I've never noticed any change in my skin due to this drink.

free skin care · Tue Jul 05, 2005 8:23 am

I do not think there is any problem with high protein. When you are older it is probably better for you (makes high HgH). Because I am on a relatively high protein/low glycemic diet I have researched the literature on the "bad" effects of protein (I also am a chemical researcher who does work with medical researchers). Most of the research on bad effects of protein has to do with calcium excretion on loading the body with protein. The trouble with these studies is that they were very short term (not steady state). It turns out that ANY abrupt change in diet
even from heavy meat to vegetarian causes these kinds of effects. Why? Because your body is used to dealing with what you eat and abrupt changes cause temporary problems. For example people who do not drink get tipsy on a little alcohol but people who drink heavily take a lot more to feel anything. This is a real chemical effect having to do with enzyme production.

Also long term studies show heavy meat eaters do not have more bone loss than vegetarians (the opposite is true in fact). Also the greater calcium in the urine goes away with time.

Good to hear it is not a acute problem. I do use protein shakes from
a number of makers for a snack at work especially when the donuts are being passed around. I like the chocolate flavors best. I also make a cereal for breakfast that is a hot cereal made of whey powder, flaxseed meal and my homemade nut granola. I mix it with water zap for a minute and then put cream and cinnamon on top. It should be really good for you. Nuts have good oils and are dense in calories. The juicing suggestion sounds good but only if you're using relatively low sugar fruits and vegatables. My dad like you had real trouble gaining weight when he was younger he has low cholesterol in general but had high triglycerides (leads to diabetes). Sugary things lead to diabetes. It is estimated that half the country (US) has some blood sugar control problem (precursor to diabetes) and weight loss is a symptom.

Good luck.

Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:18 pm

Eve wrote:

Hi jacob, I know several people have mentioned that the taste has altered..but still after trying lots of brands it still comes top on my taste test.

Hey Eve, well it's not really the taste that concerned me, it's the quality of the protein.
They really built themself a great brand name and now apparenlty the quality has gone done, hence it tastes so great...if any of you subscribe to newsgroups through your internet provider, join misc.fitness.weights or there's an author from Canada who is INCREDIBLY knowledgeable when it comes to fitness and products...www.brinkzone.com
Very unbiased.
But after years of trying various protein supplements, the one i mentioned earlier ultimatenutrtion i believe?...hands down the best one, mixes easily and with a couple of scoops of ice cream with milk, blended, you won't taste it at all...always get vanilla, mixes with almost everything. Smile

optimumnutrition.com that's the one. Smile

Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:24 pm

Mabsy wrote:

Thank you for the info on EAS Eve and Jacob. I just checked and these are available in Australia! Wow, so many falovours! Cookies and cream!!!! Price tag is rather impressive - $240 for 36 servings! If it's easier to stomach than what I'm currently drinking then it's worth it though... Rolling Eyes

Mabsy, do some research on optimum nutrtions whey protein...here in canada it's $45Canadian 80servings
per serving
110calories (10 from fat)
total fat 1g (saturated fat 0.5g)
cholesterol 10mg
total carbs. 2g
sugars 1g
protein 23g
calcium 160mg
sodium40mg
potassium 140

that's per one scoop
had to get my jug out
trust me, this is a great protein, ive done my homework on this as im trying to gain weight and asked so many people, in and out of the gym and even Will Brinkwww.brinkzone.com

free skin care · Wed Jul 06, 2005 2:05 am

jacob, have you heard of the UK brand Maximuscle? what do you think of their protein?

free skin care · Wed Jul 06, 2005 5:33 am

Jacob: I did not see a list of good whey brands. Is there a WEB sites that lists the production methods for the large brands. It
is so much more expensive to buy these on the WEB due to shipping costs. The Champion brand I have lists both ion exchange and microfiltration.

Wed Jul 06, 2005 4:48 pm

Eve wrote:

jacob, have you heard of the UK brand Maximuscle? what do you think of their protein?

Hi Eve, no I haven't, however, if you check the label on the protein, look carefully as to the process, whether it's ion exchange or micro filtered, you can gauge for yourself as to whether or not it's for you...
brinkzone.com
" o The pros of ion exchange isolates are extremely low fat and lactose levels, with the highest protein levels (on a gram-for-gram basis). The con-which outweighs the pros in my view-is the loss of important subfractions in favor of higher amounts of Beta-Lac.
o The pros of well-made micro filtered isolates are a high protein content (90% or above), low lactose and fat levels, very low levels of undenatured proteins, and the retention of important subfractions in their natural ratios. There really are no cons per se, unless the person wants the additional compounds discussed in the next section.
"
http://www.brinkzone.com/wheyitis.html
Quote is from above link, it really helped me a lot to understand the differences.
But as you can see, the micro-filtered is the way to go, since none of the protein is denurtured in the process of making it.
Hence, more pure, valuable protein.

Apparently there's a new protein in town called Bioactive Whey Protein....I've been out of the loop for a year or longer and look what happens...like i said though...for me my protein has been great and has helped me tons...the newest hottest stuff might be great, but the price will be as well.
I'll look into Maximuscle for you Eve...I'll get back to you by the weekend.
As I'm busy starting up my anti-virus/spyware/malware removal business, and i currently have one heck of a computer to fix Smile

Wed Jul 06, 2005 4:58 pm

sharky wrote:

Jacob: I did not see a list of good whey brands. Is there a WEB sites that lists the production methods for the large brands. It
is so much more expensive to buy these on the WEB due to shipping costs. The Champion brand I have lists both ion exchange and microfiltration.

sharky, actually ya there is, lemme dig it up and TRY to get it for you tonight, if not, ill have it by tomorrow. Smile

DONT GO TO GNC!!! Garbage'N'Crap
they are very overpriced, and sell garbage, although they do have the occasional good product, but STILL very overpriced
don't fall for those "gold card" savings Wink

Automatic Message

If this is your first visit to the EDS Forums please take the time to register. Registration is required for you to post on the forums. Registration will also give you the ability to track messages of interest, send private messages to other users, participate in Gift Certificates draws and enjoy automatic discounts for shopping at our online store. Registration is free and takes just a few seconds to complete.

Click Here to join our community.

If you are already a registered member on the forums, please login to gain full access to the site.