protein ???

Hi all. I would like input from you post-ops on what kind of protein drinks you like and don't like. My surgery date is 4-21-06

Hi Tracy, Pam here. I live in Vancouver. First of all, I started drinking protein drinks before surgery so I thought I knew exactly what to buy and went out and bought everything I liked. The problem? I didn't like any of it after surgery. I couldn't tolerate milk and I couldn't stand putting the protein powder in water or anything else for that matter. I finally hit on one that I like. I use Nectar. It is a powder and I buy Fuzzy Navel (tastes sort of like orange juice to me) and Strawberry Kiwi. I mix equal parts of those two together and it tastes like Hawaiian punch to me. I would seriously consider waiting to buy a lot of stuff until after your surgery. I wish I had. I spent a lot of money for nothing and ended up giving it away or throwing it away. Everyone reacts to the surgery differntly and I believe most of my intolerances was somehow connected to the anesthesia. I had a hard time getting my "thinking" back. It was a good month. I am an avid crossword puzzler and I regularly work the New York Times puzzle. I couldn't do that for over a month because my thoughts wouldn't stay connected. It was just weird. I had some intolerance for some foods, too. My doctor (Dr. Hong) said that your body can do just fine for up to two months without getting exactly everything you need. Of course, you need to try to get all the protein, vitamins, etc., but you also have to find something you like. Now I drink a protein drink for breakfast (about 30 grams) and the rest I try to get from food. If I don't get enough protein from food, I drink another protein drink. I am 19 months out and am at goal after losing 105 pounds. Good luck to you and if you want to talk, let me know and I'll be happy to give you my phone number. Pam

Hi Tracy, I take a SoBe Lean Mango/Melon and add a scoop and half of Nectar Fuzzy Navel Powder..... YUMMMMM nothing but good! 4.21 is just around the bend! Congrats! Hugs Angel J

I spent a lot of money on Protein drinks that I ended up dumping down the sink. I did drink a lot of atkin protein drinks, costco had the best price but they were too thick and I would often have to add milk to them. After a few months I could not even stand the smell of them . I finally trying the unjury protein that people on the board talk about, you find it at www.unjury.com I purchase the unflavored and add it to my coffee mug every morning with some vanilla creamer and it gives me 19 grams of protein. I have it auto shipped every other month - its worked great for me and even after 18 months I still have it every morning. Good luck, Gail

I think like most of us I dont really like the tast of any of em,but what I did is I tried 3 kinds due to finance I tried one from costco one from wallmart and one from freddy's.I found costco chocolate wasnt to bad and stuck with it but had to start drinking before surgery to get used to it.kinda like pam after I got out of surgery it just didnt tast good at all,so I decided to get some reduced fat peanut butter and some hershy's chocolate milk mix.I put a good tbls of peanut butter and a bit of syrup in it and it tast great like a reases pb cup.my nurse sais the syrup is fine as long as you use just enough to sweeten and its refined sugar you cant have.(note)this was only after i was out 2 weeks of my surgery.and thats for a 6 cup recepie of protein mix.now i cant go a day with out it lol.hope this givs ya and idea and good luck. mike

Hi Tracy, Like most people, I was set with what I thought I liked prior to surgery. After surgery it was just plain nasty! Luckily I had ordered from bariatriceating.com a sample pack. It includes many different brands and flavors to try and is really quite reasonably priced. I finally found that if I added skim milk to the vanilla flavor I had, it was palatable. Now I put it in a blender and add a few frozen strawberries, banana or peaches. Tastes like a fruit smoothie. Not everyone can tolerate milk. If you think it might be a problem for you try the Lactaid milk. Good luck on your surgery! Kathy

Hi Tracy, I had my surgery 11-21-05. I like many others on this site tolerated certain protein drinks before surgery that I couldn't stand afterwards. The ones I tolerate the best are: Prorated Bavarian Chocolate flavored (Costco), this one I liked before too, (the rest of the list I got from Bariatric Eating web site) Elite - gourmet vanilla (this was very sweet to me so I add unsweetened frozen strawberries and it mellows it out), Whey Fruity (grape flavor), Nectar Ice Tea (doesn't look like ice tea) and Anywhey protein (unflavored, add to other foods). These all range from 17 to 26 grams of protein. I think it is a good suggestion to get a sampler pack though.

You've gotten great input from the other folks about NOT purchasing a lifetime supply of ANYTHING as a pre-op for preparation for post-op life. Totally true! I'm a DS post-op - and have a long and varied history with various food allergies and intolerances - one of the reasons why I knew that I would have big problems as a RNY post-op and chose to pursue the DS. So I don't do protein products myself (allergic to egg whites, milk, lactose intolerant, allergic to soy, and whey). However, have you found Vitalady yet? She's very cool. One of the great things she does is offer samples for sale - so rather than sinking a fortune into a $50 tub of product, you can buy a $2 sample and see if it's something you want more of or not! Check her web site out at www.vitalady.com - it's a great site - I buy quite a few of my vitamins through her (and have for over 3 years) and am very pleased with the service I've gotten. Hope that helps some! Blessings, dina