I can't get it all in!

Dahlings, First off, whew! I got my drain out Friday -- three days early! I was in sooo much pain from that bugger... Here's my situation now: I can't seem to get all of my protein and liquids in. I will be on a full liquid diet until at least 5/3/04, and my surgeon recommends that we drink Carnation Instant Breakfast mixed with powdered skim milk and 1% milk. If you drink 4-8oz. glasses a day, it's 65 grams of protein. If this is all I do and not eat anything, I can get the CIB in, but no time for water, and this is if only I'm awake all day (I'm still very tired -- I've been taking a nap every afternoon). Now here's my question: I've read here that several of you use an unflavored protein powder that has like 30 grams in one serving. Is this something that can be stirred into decaf iced tea? What is the best way to get your protein every day? TIA for any and all advice! Hugs, -Marcie

Marcie - I can't get all my water in either, but I just concentrate on liquids. IMO drinking things mixed in water isn't any different than eating the powder and drinking the water. I know many people disagree with me, but I guess the proof is in the pudding. I haven't become dehydrated and I just don't do but a few sips of water a day. It probably depends on the person and how they feel either way. Dina

My doc said skim milk counts as liquid. So with CIB you are getting protein and liquid. Here is a web site that tells you lots of things you can do with different kinds of protein powder. (I think it would not be good in tea--needs more flavor to mix with). Some of these are not "full liquid" so pick and choose what you can have. www.geocities.com/proteinpervs/recipe_by_powder_type.html The vanilla flavored powder works well with crystal lite or SF tang. Mary D on the Feb board did liquids for a long time. You might post there and ask her--she is very helpful. This will get easier--keep working at it. Joy

Naps were my hobby the first 2 weeks!! I was reminded that it takes about 6 weeks to get the anesthesia out of your system. That means I still have about 2 weeks of tired to work through. I use Any-Whey protien powder and add it to Crystal Light. I cannot tolerate a full scoop of powder in my drink but have worked up to 3/4 of a scoop. There are loads of flavors of Crystal Light all sugar free and recommended by my surgeon. I have a hard time with the water. It hits my stomach like alead balloon. Pre-Op I loved water and drank about a gallon a day. I just drank about 2 oz now and it is killing my gut. The crystal light stays down and does not bother me. The Any-Whey dissolves pretty smoothly and does not have much of a taste (slightly vanilla to me). Hang in there. It does get better.

Just another option to consider (although you have gotten a lot of great ones already). I drink the Isopure protein drinks that you can get from GNC vs. the Carnation Instant Breakfast. It has around 54 grams of protein in 12 oz. I drink it with skim milk which adds a little more protein to it. I drink the 12 oz. daily and this leaves room for other liquids and I get the protein in.

Hi, Marcie! I use an odorless/tasteless protein powder called Beneprotein, and I throw that in everything. The first 2 weeks I was on clear fluids, and yes, I even put it into my flavored waters and KoolAid. It fogged the fluids up just a teeny bit, so they weren't "crystal clear" anymore, but it didn't matter to me 'cuz it dissolved perfectly and I got my proteins in, no problem! You can only get it from Walgreen's website - walgreens.com. It's called "Resource Beneprotein". ALSO...if you're on fluids, did you make jello? Put it in there, too. Each half cup of jello (which counts as a fluid) with Beneprotein in it gave me 8 grams of protein. Can't beat that at all...and during my fluids stage, I ATE some jello (pre-op I made over 40 Glad half-cup containers for when I got home, and they're gone!): it just felt good to have something solid in my mouth, even if the solid only lasted a few minutes! I now have CIB every morning with skimmed milk, one scoop of Beneprotein and one scoop of my protein "shake" (MetRx Protein Plus Vanilla Buttercream flavor). This is my breakfast and it gives me 31 grams of protein in an 8 oz serving (and the milk counts as a fluid...don't forget that!). That's HALF my protein requirement in one serving. I'm getting a bit tired of it, but will KEEP using it: it's just too easy to get my protein in like that! Gonna start playing with it to create new flavors! Hope that helps ya out a bit. Kimmer Queen of the Niners, Instigator to All Marchers, High Priestess of Giggles

Thanks, one and all for your replies! I think I'm going to Walgreens tomorrow to pick up some stuff that Kimmer mentioned. Hugs, -Marcie