Protein Bars & Shakes

In Class "A", I'm told to start drinking protein shakes and eating protein bars now. Am I do to that in addition to a regular meal, like have one for a snack or something? And what name brands/flavors of protein bars do you recommend? I don't want ones too pricey. Thanks for any advice you can give on this!

Hi Trisha, I am starting Protien tomorrow, as for starting right now I can't answer, But I too am looking for low cost I will let you know tomorrow what I find. I am sure other's will post their's.

I am almost one year post-op. I do shakes and do not do the bars. My favorite shake is the Champion Pure Whey Stack chocolate 1 scoop mixed with 1/2 scoop of Proplete Gold Double Chocolate. I added the shakes into my routine about a month pre-surgery and they were in addition to my regular meals. We only absorb about 30 grams of protein at a time so that is why I use 1 1/2 scoops. I purchase my protein online from vitalady.com and you will find good information at her site as well. She is a 10 year post-op so carries only what is good for WLS patients. She also offers samples of the various protein powders that she carries and that is an excellent way to start sorting out what you do and do not like. After surgery the protein shakes are an important part of your lifestyle and you will need to budget for them. I expect to have them in my life the rest of my life. I have watched my labs improve over the past year because of my being vigilant in my lab tests (quarterly and following a more comprehensive list than what my surgeon recommended), my supplements (I take more than what my surgeon recommended), drinking my water faithfully, and educating myself on vitamins/minerals and lab tests. I have a web site that you can access via my profile and the page that comes up has several links to some educational pages that you might find of interest. Take care and soon you will be on the losing side. Sandra

As a pre-op, I used the shakes and bars as a meal replacement. Worked great for me. It also helped me get use to the high protein life style of a post-op. Pre-op I lost 50 lbs. Now I use bars (1/2 of one) as a meal replacement but didn't do that until I was about 3 months out. Up until that point after surgery I only used shakes. Remember that if you are using shakes and bars in addition to your regular meals they will add calories etc to your diet. There are reviews of products: http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/nutritionforum.phtml My favorite protein bar is UTurn My favorite protein shake is Nectar Apple and ProComplex All are available at Vitamin Shoppe if you have one close by you. GNC carries them too. Mary

I am scheduled for surgery one week from today. The doctor sent me instructions to drink protein shakes only -- nothing else starting last Wednesday until my surgery on the 13th. (I need to get at least 60 g.). I found Carb Options at Fry's, which have 20 g of protein each. The shake is already mixed. Not too bad. I hope this helps.

I had a heck of a time finding a protein drink that didn't make me vomit instantly. But, with lots of trial and error, I found that Myoplex protein is the only kind I can stomach. My favorite is Myoplex Carb Sense in Cafe Caramel (very yummy). They can be pretty pricey, though, at $6.49 for 4 premade drinks at GNC. I also like Myoplex powders in chocolate fudge and French vanilla, which are much cheaper than the premade drinks serving for serving. I am spending SO much less on fast food and other food now, though, that it's not as difficult as I thought it would be to afford the protein. As for protein bars, I had a hard time finding one with a consistency I could handle and not vomit. I pretty much tried them all and my very favorite are the Zone Perfect Bars (some may argue that they have too many carbs, but I eat 1/2 at a time and do fine). My favorite flavors are chocolate caramel cluster, chocolate peanut butter, and fudge graham. They actually taste really good and have a great crunchy (not powdery and too chewy) consistency that I love. Fry's usually has them on sale 4 for $5. Good luck finding something that you like. Shannon