Protien

I just got back from a support group meeting. My doctor requires that you attend at least one before surgery. The topic was protien. They allowed the owner of a local nutrition store to bring in many different products for us to sample since protien is such a big concern post-op. I HATED every last one. I am not a picky eater. I like most foods. I found the products left a horrible after taste or they were gritty. I tried the powder, a boxed drink, and a clear liquid in a bottle. I am not sure of the brands. The only thing I liked were the bars, but my doctor requires us to be on liquids for 6 weeks following surgery. I am really worried. I know we all have to get in at least 70 grams of protien a day after surgery. Have any of you had a similar problem or do you have any suggestions? I would really appreciate any advice. Thanks, Karen

HI Karen, I cant answer from experience yet.... but I have been reading about it. They say that there is one called unjury that is tasteless and you can put in most anything. You can get it from unjury.com . I think I am going to try that one. I did a search on google for sites that had free samples. I cant remember what they are now because I didnt write any of them down. As they sart coming in I will give my opinion of them... one person on here suggested adding some powdered milk to you milk to add protien. They say that your tastes change after surgery so it will just be trial and error... good luck on this journey... Sondra

Sondra, Thank you for your response. I did not realize that web sites would send free samples. I will do a google search for myself and try some other brands. Karen

Have you tried the Gladiator from Smoothie King, That is the only smoothie that I like. It has 45grams of protien and actually taste good. I have tried the strawberry and banana(gladiator) and did not care for it. Now I just order strawberry and papaya, and I like the taste. I was also told (by the dr's office) to eat Adkins Endulge bars, from what I understand they contain a lot of protien and taste good. Canned tuna fish also contain a lot of protien, if you add eggs you get even more. I will have surgery Thursday, so I am picking everyone's brain and experimenting. Good Luck, Robin

Robin, During the meeting, someone did bring up the gladiator. The lady who was speaking said that it was loaded with sugar and it had a very poor source of protien, and even though Smoothie King states that it has 45 grams, only approximately 5 grams are processed by your body. She also spoke of the bars. She said to make the bars they have to cook them and anytime you cook protien it denatures it. Sometimes on the bars they will explain that the protien is only 60% bioavailable. Which means that only 60% of the protien that is left over from the cooking process is utalized by the body. I realize that she was tring to sell her products, but she also sold bars and said that for post-ops bars should be a last resort. She went on to explain that we should all read labels and should only choose a protien supplement that is made from protien isolate and never protien concentrate. Sometimes I think too much information is detrimental. It just gives me something else to worry and obsess about.

I like smoothie king. But you have to be careful in how you order. No sugar , no honey, no turbinado (sp)...and if you order strawberry...ask them to rinse the berries first...packed in sugar. cherish

Karen, Try " unjury", its available in vanilla, chocolate and unflavored. I mix vanilla or chocolate with skim milk and use a blender, it comes out very fluffy as it is completely foamy and there is no gritty texture, it's light and it's got absolutely no aftertaste. You can get samples at Unjury.com, I've switched over from another brand that tasted good to me but the aftertaste got old pretty quick. Also, Walgreens offers a premixed protein drink, it's Optisource Caramel or Strawberry. I couldn't stomach the Strawberry but the Caramel was good over ice. You can also order some samples at vitalady.com, I hear "Fuzzy Navel Nectar" is very good. Hope you find something you like! Good luck Andrea

Thank you all for your responses. This is why I keep coming back to this site. Everyone is sooo helpful. All of you had some grat suggestions. I have ordered some samples. I should get them soon. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again, Karen