Muscle Milk Light vs. Sugar Free Carnation Instant Breakfast

Today at my pre-surgery skills class the nutritionist went over the post discharge diet plan. For three weeks I will be on 48 ounces of liquids (minimum) and within that I need to get in  45-60 grams of protein. They recommend the Sugar Free Carnation Instant Breakfast. I am not a huge milk drinker (some stomach sensitivity). One of the other choices is Muscle Milk Light.  Anyone tried the Muscle Milk Light in Vanilla or Strawberries and Cream? I tried the chocolate one and can't imagine having to drink that everyday for 3 weeks.  I also like the idea that Muscle Milk Light can be bought in powder form and doesn't have to stay refrigerated.

 

 

 

Melissa

I suggest asking her exactly what the nutritional requirements are for your protein drinks, then researching from there.  I didn't like Muscle Milk light.  I find the using Syntrax unflavored in broths, or other liquids works well.  And so far, Syntrax double stuffed cookie or chocolate truffle, added either to unsweetened soy or almond milk  -- or added to greek yogurt (considered a full liquid on my plan) -- worked really well.

I will say that it is hard finding a Ready-to-Drink shake (like Muscle Milk) that is a protein isolate - most are some type of blends.  But some people just mix the powder the day before! 

Syntrax,  Unjury and JRobb are very popular here.  The best deal I've seen for syntrax samples is at www.BJsbariatrics.com -- they offer a sample set of syntrax where you pick your own flavors.  It's 11 packets with flat rate shipping.  For buying the tubs of syntrax, I use www.netrition.com (they also offer a sample set, but you can't choose the flavors).

Many of us try a few different things before we settle on something we like. I expect others will chime in on where they like to order samples of their faves!

Best of luck on your journey!

 

I lived on Carnation IB. The SF only comes in Choc at my store, i had to order vanilla off amazon. But had to add half scoop unflavored prot powder to it. I wound up adding whole scoop to get in my prot. The IB was much better for me than other drinks, not as sweet and much lighter. Oh, and i had to use Lactaid milk.

The Muscle Milk in powder form that I can get up here is also high in fibre, which had me pretty excited until I drank it. Or, let's say tried to drink it. It was really tasty - more so than many, but it was thick, and for some reason Fred didn't like that. After several attempts that came right back up I gave up and gave the rest away.

Looking back I should have just made pudding with it. I bet it would have been great if I'd mixed it into yogurt and called it pudding. (Fred has no issues with pudding)

Are the carb counts high in muscle milk or carnation?  You might want to look into the Unjury products.  Low cal, no carb, and 20 grams of protein.  The chicken soup powder is good.  Also, the synthrax products are good, too.  All of these  might be more expensive, but they are geared to the bariatric patient.  Another good one is Health Wise.  Their lemon razzy flavor is great.

The carnation instant breakfast (sugar free) is the #1 choice listed in the program. They only want patients using Unjury as a protein boost after using the low sugar complete nutritional supplement. I am definitely learning that every program for bariatric surgery is different.

Ah! They're wanting you to be drinking meal replacements rather than straight protein. That's fair. Start at the top of their list and start taste-testing.