Protein Drinks - Best Place to Buy?

. . I've been researching the various protein drinks and am trying to figure out the best place to buy them from, and which is the best. Seems like Isopure is a popular one, but I'd kind of like to try a sample before investing in a 3 lb. or 7 lb. tub. Are samples available anywhere? Checked Walmart this morning and they had a few brands of protein drinks, such as Advantage, and others, but it appeared that most had 20g protein at the highest. I saw a few sample pack things on bariatriceating.com that come with either a plastic or steel shaker, (Elite, Nectar, Matrix and Proplete Gold). Has anyone tried those? Looks like Elite is 22g, Nectar is 23g, Matrix is 40g, and Proplete Gold is 20g protein. Looks like Isopure and Matrix give you the most protein per serving. Bought some Equate Children's Chewable Vitamins (equal to Flintstone's) and will start on those, as I have been very bad about taking vitamins in the past and want to get into a regimen pre-surgery. If anyone has suggestions as to protein drinks, where to buy them (best price!!!), vitamins, and anything else a pre-op should be doing regarding preparing for surgery, I'd love to know. I know, from reading here, that it seems every doc has a different approach to vitamins, supplements, and even pre-surgery requirements, but I think hearing about other's experiences and what products they use help us newbies become better informed as to all the options out there! Thank you all so very much!!! Dayna 310/307/120 Surgery Date: 4/6/05

I'm not real sure on whats good and whats not as I am pre-surgery myself. BUT I did buy 2 - 2lb tubs of protein drink from Vitamin World last month.(Buy 1 get 1 free... got them both for 25.00) i got the vanilla and natural(for my soups,etc). They say that your taste changes soo much after surgery, that what you like now, you may not like after. So I've been a little afraid to try anything. I figure with the vanilla I can alway doctor it up with fruit,etc to make a smoothie out of it. Hopefully I'll like it, otherwise, I belong to a few freecycle groups, I'm sure I could get rid of it that way after I get another drink. I've had alot of people tell me that the Atkins protein drinks are really good, as well as the ISOPURE.. I sure hate to pay almost 50.00 for a tub of it though. (they have them on e-bay for like 25.00) so I may try that route. Also heard that the nectar drinks are really good. So it looks like its just going to be a bunch of trial and error periods for us. You can go to a few websites and order samples, like 8 for 10.00,etc. Which I'm also going to do. Best of luck with your surgery!!

I recently saw a great priced protein drink at Costco. Calories and carbs were low, as was the price. I haven't purchased it yet so I can't attest to the flavor but I know Costco will let you return anything you don't like.

Dayna, I went to Bariatriceating.com and got the samples ahead of time. I've also tried some from the grocery store and at Barix clinic. I ended up buying the 3 pound size of Isopure and the best price I've found is $25.39 at a1nutritionproducts.com I mix 1 scoop with 8 oz milk for 33 grams of protein. I was told by the nutritionist that our body doesn't absorb more than 35 grams of protein at a time, so I figure anything more than that is a waste. I use the vanilla and mix it with other flavors like Swiss Miss or coconut flavoring. Terry

Dayna, There is a new store that opened in Villa Park on Roosvelt and they have all kinds of samples you can buy, for a doller or two. I do like the zero carb isopure and used till I reached goal. I've put on a few rebound pounds and I just went back on the protein shakes and in 3 days I've lost 4lbs. of the 10 I gained. I now started to use the Nectar. And I'm going to try to mix some isopure with the cherry nectar for a chocolate cherry shake. When looking check for no sugar. Mix with water as juice and milk add calories and the less calories the better the weight loss. D

Hi! I saw the Nectar drinks at Nutrition Discounts Warehouse catalog for a really good price... $21.99 I believe. It is also the same store on Roosevelt in Villa Park...lots of samples and reasonable. I also bought Proscore 100 Chocalate from Vitalady to take before surgery... it is okay but I add some Almond extract and sweetener to it to give it more flavor. My surgery is next Monday the 14th so I have been sampling quite a few. I did like the MAtrix chocalate sample. I plan to get a few more samples to try after my surgery.. just in case my tastes do in deed change. Good luck with your surgery... I meet with my Doc Tuesday to get the last details before surgery. Peggy