Protein Drinks

Hi!
I have not had my RNY yet, but am pre-op.  I was told/given a grocery list for post op.  Any advice on which brand/flavor protein drinks to get?  What are the best ones?  Which ones are easiest to get down? 

Curious about drinking them too - do you ever actually finish the entire drink?  It seems like you wont get much in since your stomach pouch is actually SO small.  And how can you drink THAT much water if its that small too??

Thanks in advance!
I CANNOT wait!  :)

Hey Neb. I assume you are having rny?

If that's the case, you should definitely look for drinks with whey protein isolate, especially when you are early out from surgery and will be depending mostly on the protein drinks for your nutritional needs.

Whey protein isolate is absorbed better in post wls patients.   You want a good quality protein, because it will help your body heal more quickly and will help you keep up your stregnth. It also helps with  muscle tone, and thicker hair when you are further out.

This type of protein can be found in Unjury, Isopure, and Nectar brands. There are some other brands available at GNC and Vitamin Shop stores.

Be careful to read the labels because there are several different types of protein out there.   Normally the cheaper, the lower quality. You can get away with the discount brands like the ones at Walmart when you're a few months out and can get real protein in from real food.

Early out - the 1st week, you will only be able to take in clear liquids. Make sure the protein powder you purchase for this time period is clear, meaning light can shine through it. It won't be "clear" like water, but the light can shine through. A good choice is Unflavored unjury mixed with broth or crystal light (tastes kinda like jello), chicken flavored unjury,  roadside lemonade Nectar, and any of the isopure flavors. 

I found the unflavored Unjury mixed with egg drop soup which I had strained through a mesh strainer to be very satisfying my 1st week home.  I just didn't want anything sweet or cold.  Plus the egg drop soup tasted like normal food. 

I also liked the better than boullion with Unjury. It comes in a jar, and is so much better than the canned broth or boullion cubes.   I just could not make myself swallow canned broth.  Hint,  hint, don't buy a case of chicken broth. You won't use it :-)

A lot of those clear protein bullet drinks in the test tube like containers are collagen protein and are the least effective proteins, so make sure you read the labels!

Starting your 2nd  week, you can have full liquids, so you can add in the chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, etc. flavors. This will be a lot more tolerable, though not as appealing as a juicy Big Mac  and super sized fry :-)

by the 3rd week, you will be in soft foods.  You should be able to blend some fruit or soup in the blender with your protein powder at this stage. It will help mask the protein powder flavor.  It will also help break the monotony.

Try not to get to frustrated and depressed with yourself those 1st 3 weeks. Those will be some of the hardest times of your recovery.  You will be like a newborn baby trying to train yourself to eat again.  Most surgeons emphasize gettingg in the fluids more than being super strict about the 60-80 grams of protein your 1st couple of weeks. So don't beat yourself up if you can't get it all in your 1st day home.  Just make sure you get in the liquids 50-64 oz so you won't get dehydrated!  That should not be toyed with. I've been down that road, and it is not fun!

I suggest you contact a few companies and order samples. Don't buy a big container and waste your money.  10-15 sample packs should get you through the 1st week home.   If you attend a support group, ask some of your buddies to bring a scoop in a Ziploc bag.  Your nutritionist may have samples too.

The dietician at the hospital (Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, TN) sent me home with a case of Unjury. Don't be ashamed to ask for a few extra packs for the road. Also those unused packs on your tray every day, put in your suitcase to take home. There's no sense in wasting them. They can't serve them to another patient anyway.

Nectar had a special where they sent about 10-15 flavors for $9.95 call and see if they are still doing that promo.  I found it to be a good way to sample all their flavors.  It also saved me a ton of money because some of them are down right gross.


Has your surgery been scheduled? Who is your surgeon?

Ok, your other question..

Can you get all the liquids down?  No, not all at once.  You will have to sip it over several minutes, maybe even an hour.

You will CONSTANTLY be sipping.  Your sole mission in life the 1st 3 weeks post op will be to sip, sip, sip, and walk!

Your new tummy will be just too tiny to chug anything.  The exception seems to be DS patients, because our tummies are a little bigger and we still have a fully functioning tummy. We also are able to drink from a straw, while most rny-band surgeons don't recommend it.

A good tip to keep warm stuff appealing, is to buy a candle/mug warmer. They are about $5 at Walmart.  You can keep your soup, broth, coffee, etc on there.  Otherwise it's gonna be cold before you can get it down.

Now, as far as how to get in the 64oz, I took some advice from my mom, who has no interest in having wls btw, but was terrified I was gonna die from malnourishment because I was not drinking enough... lol.    

She suggested I get 8 little 8 oz disposable cups and set them out on the counter each morning.  As long as I had filled them with something and consumed all of them by the end of the day, I was on target.  I threw away the cup once I had used it. Every time I walked by the kitchen and saw 1 less cup, I felt like I had accomplished something! I Was so proud of me! 

This worked for me, because even tackling a bottled water was intimidating early out. 16 oz was just not happening! Plus after it sits a while, it is not fresh and satisfying.  This was probably the best post op advice I received.  It came from someone who is pretty much clueless about wls, but it worked!

If anybody tells you they could get all their fluids down without any struggle from the beginning, they are either lying or suffering from servere amnesia.  Ignore them and talk to somebody who can be real with you.

The 1st couple of weeks out suck. Period. You may feel like crap, stuff may taste funny, you may throw up, when you finally get some real food in you, it may get stuck, you may be gassy...

You are gonna wonder, "Why did I do this to myself? Why couldn't I have just had some self control and willpower and not put myself in this position to even need the wls in the first place?"

But when you slide into some size 14 jeans, it will be so worth it!!!!!

"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" is a big fat lie ,but skinny still feels pretty darned good anyway. :-)

examples of food that taste better than thin feels:

Copeland's dulce de leche cheesecake + extra pecans
10 piece wings with a side of fries
meat lover's pizza and a salad to be healthy of course
a juicy steak, baked potato and salad with ranch
red velvet cake
Bruster's butter pecan on a warm waffle cone
warm pralines from Savannah candy Company
the entire Golden Corral buffet!
mac n cheese still bubbling from the oven
the corner piece of dressing with cranberry sauce 
KFC original recipe
anything with whipped cream
anything with gravy
anything with butter
anything with mayonaise

                and last but not least .....

the old fashioned movie popcorn before they banned the good "bad butter"
              
                   Hee Hee Hee....
 

Hi Neb,
You can order all kinds of samples from www.vitalady.com.  I ordered samples of all of them and tried them.  Everyone's taste is so different and what you like pre-op, you may not like after surgery.  Taste changes for a lot of us.

Good luck on your surgery.

Linda

Every surgeon has a different pre and post-op diet.  Some require a week of clear liquids post-op some may require a full week of clear liquids.

For example mine was 2 days clear liquids (done in hospital) and then a week or 9 days of full liquids.

Remember when in you liquid phase everything counts towards your 64oz, even the popsicles.  I agree that Protein powders is one area that you get what you pay for both in quality and taste.  Is it worth going through a bunch of $10 proteins to only learn you will only tolerate a better brand one?

I use GNC as they are convient for me and reasonably priced.

Whey Isolate is going to be the best you can get but they typically are going to be the most expensive.  Your next best is going to be a Combined Whey Isolate Whey concentrate mix, which I use. 

Unfortuantely one of the effects of surgery is that your taste and tolerance for how things taste change after surgery so something you like today you may not like after surgery. Also do everything you can to max your protein per protein drink I use 1% milk which adds another 8 grams per ***  Sometimes on a bad day I may add another scoop of powder or another 8oz of milk. 

The way you are going to get your fluids is through a lot of effort but it will get easier as you heal.  Get a Timer and set it for every 10 minutes and make sure you do your 1oz drink.

As I said it gets easier with time.

The 2 main reasons to do this is to prevent dehydration, you get dehydrated you will need an IV, and to keep your kidneys flushed while in Keatosis.

Thank you all for your advice!  I am just waiting on a date at this point (approval from insurance and with it being Thanksgiving week, I think they are going a little slower!) 

Do you know the "official" website to the nectar or any others than the vitalady one??  Ones where I can request samples from??

Another question - is do you all take multivitamins (im SURE you all do) just curious which ones you tolerate better after the surgery?? 

Again, thank you so much!

Oh - my surgeons are Dr. Duncan/Dr. Hobson with Atlanta Medical.

You probably won't be up to vitamins for the first couple of weeks. Just concentrate on getting in the protein and water. 

Your surgeon should give you a list of vitamins you will need.  If he doesn't MAKE HIM!

A good sample site is www.mybariatricpantry.com    Unjury has a starter sample pack that includes a thermometer so you can add the unflavored whey isolate to hot liquids like soup, coffee, hot chocolate, ect. without curdeling it. A good number of the individual manufacturers will send you a free sample if you call their 800 #s and request one.  I would suggest getting as many samples as you can, but don't even try them until after surgery because your tastes will change.  I always encourage people to purchase a jug of one of the unflavored whey isolates to have on hand immediately post-op because you can change the flavor as often as you need to in order to find what works for you.  Good unflavored brands that I like are Unjury, Bi-Pro, and Any Whey.  There are many others to choose from though.

Hope that helps some!