Any suggestions?

Does anyone know of a good protein drink that isn't too expensive? I know I've heard of some, but I can't remember the names. My hair is falling out and my doctor says I need to consistently have at least 80 grams a day to stop it.

Barb: I have use Body Fortress Protein Powder from Walmart. It is only about $12.00 a cannister. I use 8 oz. skim milk, 1 scoop of protein powder and 1 package of Carnation Instant Breakfast (Low Carb type) and that makes 33 gms. of protein. I have two of those minimum every day. I love it. You can buy the Instant Breakfast in a 12 serving cannister, too, which is more affordable. I just keep a can of the protein powder and Instant Breakfast at work and one at home and just take fresh milk every week. I know everyone's tastes are different but I couldn't tolerate the taste of all the others that I tried. Hope this helps. Jan Marie

Jan, In your profile you said soemthing about being "on schedule" to meet your goal by 1 year? Is there some sort of chart for this or is it a calulation?? I would like more info on this if you could. You can either respond here or email me at [email protected]. Thanks so much!!!

Hey Darcy! There is a weight loss estimator graph on the website. If you click on my Homepage and then there is a box that says "About Obesity". The 4th item is the weight loss estimator. Just enter your height, starting weight and how much you want to lose and it shows you a graph of what your monthly loss should look like.

I'm pretty sure everyone has some hair loss. Have you tried double milk? 1 cup milk with 1/3 cup powdered milk. Can't remember exactly how much protein is in it, but quite a bit. I have added the powdered milk to lots of things like cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, SF pudding, etc. What stage are you at now? Softs or regular foods? What types of foods are easier for you to get down? One thing I liked was the canned corned beef. Mix it with some sour cream and a little onion or onion soup mix, eat chilled or heated. Also the thin sliced meats like the Carl Buddig. I don't know what your salt restrictions are either. Guess I should check that first huh? LOL I will check your profile and see if I have any brain storms. Elizabeth

If you are near a Sam's Club, they have a wonderful whey protein powder. According to my nutritionalist, whey protein isolate is the best, and she has approved this protein powder as meeting the requirements. It comes in vanilla or chocolate. The big white 5lb container is $18.88. It's located in with the health products, by the Slim Fast. It's the cheapest I've found and it is delicious. I prefer mine mixed with water instead of skim milk. Just pour in the cold liquid and stir. There is no clumping or lumps. I tried mixing it with an appliance, but it gets too frothy. I bought it at Sam's Club in Davenport, but when I stopped in the Waterloo Sam's Club they did not have it. Hope you can fnd it because it's great. I only get the chocolate. I have not tried the vanilla. I did see the same product at Walmart in a much smaller container. It think it was 2 or 3 lbs. The best buy however was Sam's Club. Wendy

Barb: I have also taken 600mcg of Biotin daily since surgery. I am just hitting my 3 month anniversary on the 20th and my hair is thicker and healthier than before surgery. I know I still have time to get in that hair loss period so I am holding my breath. I get in 100-120 gms of protein a day with the two shakes I mentioned and my food intake. I eat a lot of string cheese and yogurt and meat about 1-2 times a day. The meat is harder as I cannot do chicken or eggs and I got kind of burned out on Tuna after the first month. Jan Marie

Thanks for all the suggestions. I went out and bought some powdered milk and am going to check out the protein mix at Sam's Club over here and see if they carry it. My Walmart here in Council Bluffs only has the "Six Star Body Fuel" which has 20 gm of protein in a scoop. You only have to mix it with 4 oz of water which is easier to drink than 8 oz. I had my surgery in Jan. so I can eat pretty much everything now and I'm not on any salt restrictions. It took my hair about 4 months to start falling out. It's thick so it doesn't look bad yet, but now I think it needs to stop....LOL. Jan, if you're getting 100 to 120 gms of protein everyday, then you probably won't have to worry about your hair falling out. My doctor did say though that your body can only absorb about 20 gms of protein in a 2 hour period.

Geeze it's been a while (I'm 2+ yrs out now), but I used to drink the Nectar flavors and would mix them in the blender with ice and make smoothies. Those were really good. Another favorite was to use a strawberry flavored protein, mixed with milk and a carton of s/f strawberry yogurt and put all in the blender for a smoothy. You can also add a handful of fresh or frozen strawberries for a little extra oomph. You can do these with any flavor if you switch to the vanilla protein (peach was good with peach yogurt and frozen s/f peaches). Just use your imagination.... Hope this helps. Also everyone is different as far as hair loss. I lost a little around 4 mos out, but it didn't last and I never really lost much at all. Janie

Sometimes there is nothing you can do about hair loss.....it happens to the best of us....usually starts around 4-5months and can last a month or two or LOTS more....it is hard to tell who will lose hair and who will not. I have had many surgeries and each time I have been under anesthia I have the same affect....4-5months later I get a little hair loss....I think I am lucky with the lack oif hairloss but I know it can be major for some NO MATTER WHAT you do. The gal who posted right above this one Andrea D....she and I had our surgery the very same day, became great friends, did the same vitamins (except she did an extra hair & nail one that I did NOT do) same protein drinks, almost everything the same......she LOST a lot of hair no matter what she did and we supplemented the same with protein.....if anything she even did better than me.....so A LOT of times it doesn't matter, if your prone to losing hair your gonna lose it. BUt it is important to get your protien in and if you can't do it with food alone there are A LOT of great tasting drinks out there.....I always ordered samples from places like bariatriceating.com or vitalady.com or wherever and tried them first before getting the big ole' jugs full. Best of luck to you ....Take Care jesi