Repost from Nutrition: Protein Shake Feedback?

Hi All,
You have all been so helpful giving each other advice and feedback. I was hoping for some advice myself. I posted this a few days ago in the Nutrition forum, but there does not seem to be as many people there responding.  Hopefully it is OK that I post it here?

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Hello!

I only lost about 40-50 lb after having my Lap-Band surgery 4 years ago, and I attribute a lot of that to never getting into the protein shake habit.  Now that I am in the approval process for a RNY revision, I am trying my best to set myself up for success by changing a lot of my unhealthy habits and getting into the right habits BEFORE the surgery so it isn't such a shock after surgery.  I thought I was committed to having my Lap-Band, but that pales in comparison to how motivated I am for this RNY revision to be a success.

Anyway- one of my pitfalls in the prior surgery was the protein shakes. I couldn't stand them, and considered them a form of torture. Now, getting ready for my RNY, I found a protein powder I like (Gold Standard Whey) and have branched out to 4 flavors now, 3 of which I like (I can't stand their Cookies & Cream). They are OK just put in a shaker bottle with 8oz of water... I can stomach them... however, I discovered that I actually ENJOY them when mixed with milk! I'm mixing them with ice (and sometimes other ingredients) to make it milkshake consistency and have more flavor.

Here is today's breakfast:

Is this a good/sustainable ratio of calories to protein to sugars? I know something this thick (due to the oatmeal) will have to wait for the pureed foods stage, but if I can safely have this every morning for breakfast, this is totally within my reach!

Also, here are some of the other protein shakes I made so far-

1 Scoop Rocky Road Whey Protein Powder

1 tbsp Peanut Butter

3/4 c. Unsweetened Organic Soymilk

270 Calories | 9g Carbs | 12g Fat | 33g Protein | 3g Fiber | 4g Sugar

1 Scoop Extreme Milk Chocolate Whey Protein

1/2 c. Unsweetened Organic Soymilk

1/2 Large Banana

1/4 c. Light Vanilla Yougurt

268 Calories | 28g Carbs | 4g Fat | 30g Protein | 3g Fiber | 16g Sugar

Thanks all in advance for any help/advice!

Most of the chocolate, vanilla, etc flavored protein powders are disgusting with water, but tasty with milk, soymilk, etc. Syntrax Nectar Lemonade, Fruit Punch, Iced Tea and similar flavors are good with water.

I tried to avoid adding stuff like peanut butter or bananas to shakes. To me, it was adding unwanted calories, and very little extra nutrition.

While you are in weightloss mode, progressing through puree, soft food, and regular food stages, a good rule of thumb is at least one gram of protein per ten calories. So 300 calories should have a minimum of 30 grams of protein. 

Try to limit sugars, even the sugar found naturally in something like dairy. 4 or 5 grams of sugars per meal is a good limit. One of your recipes has 16 grams of sugar. It's a possibility that 16 grams of sugar could make you pretty sick. 

Thanks for that advice. I've found most of the sugars in these is coming from the banana and lite yougurt. I think removing the additions might help a bit!

Try Greek Yogurt. It is low in sugars and adds more protein than plain lowfat yogurt.

These do sound delicious but they may or may not work right after surgery... your pouch can be very finicky in the beginning and these may be too thick/rich with the banana and oatmeal. I found it is very trial and error after surgery with the protein shakes. Doesn't mean they won't agree with you later on... by week 5 I thought I was going to gag at any shake, then the coffee flavored ones came to the rescue Click and Fit Frappe, they held me over for awhile. For awhile I couldn't stomach the ready made Premier protein, now I drink them all the time... Being creative is good, it keeps you from boredom. I do agree with Grim though, the 16g sugar maybe too much. Might have to use less banana...

It was a long time before I could drink more than half of a protein shake at a time. Also, trying to drink a shake that was too thick almost made me throw up early out. The things that you are asking about are things that you probably won't be able to eat until at least several months after surgery. For the first few months it is hard enough getting in protein. You won't have room for things like oatmeal or bananas for a while. Even once you do, I still would not advise adding additional calories to your protein shakes because liquid calories pass through your pouch faster. One of the main rules of RNY is to avoid liquid calories. The only liquid calories I allow myself are skim milk, unsweetened almond milk, protein shakes, and maybe kefir. Consuming liquid calories is one of the top causes of regain after WLS.

Also, I would never eat Quaker oats unless they have a steel cut version. Check the label, if it says rolled oats, then they are processed worthless carbs. Only steel cut oats are whole grain.

Thank you for that advice! I am currently adding the oats to make them thicker since I am hungry so often. It's not steel cut oats though, so it's looking like I will throw them out! Thank you. :)

I had a lap band previously myself I got really burned out on protein shakes. What I found especially with protein powder is using Almond Milk helps so much with the taste. Plus I purchased a Nutri-Bullet, it really helps to get the powder properly mixed without feeling like you are drinking flavored sand. :P

I agree completely. I couldn't handle protein powder with water, but these with unsweetened soy milk seems to be pretty good. I have a bullet (not sure if Nutri-Bullet is the same thing?) and it makes them super frothy and nice!

A lot of calories for a drink JMHO. I never did shakes