Need Advice On Protein Supplements

Hi All, Thanks to all *****sponded on my 'what to bring to the hospital post.' You guys are great! Anyway, I have all my vitamins except I haven't tried any protein supplements. Can you all tell me what brands and flavors you like, where to get them and how you use them? Is the "plain" any good in soups or broth? Or do you prefer them with milk? I have a few packs that I am going to try this weekend. My surgery is coming up on 12/1 so I want to stock up. My surgeon recommended that you get at least 8g of protein per 4 oz serving, hopefully without it being too thick and chunky. Any suggestions are appreciated, and thanks in advance! Colleen

Hi Colleen. I am getting banded in 5 days and have had to be on protein for a couple weeks now. First of all, 8g per 4 oz. will not be bad at all. I have to consume 30g. at a time in about 6 oz.- it's kind of thick but if you mix it really well, it's fine. I've never had the plain, but would be willing to try it- never even thought about it really. My favorite protein is Cocoa Mochacino and I believe that's a Stacker protein. I just hand mix it with cold water but if you don't like that, you can blend it with ice and put in some coffee and it's like a frappacino. You have to remember that your taste may change after surgery. Don't stock up too much on something you like today, you may hate it after surgery. I would suggest going to Vitalady or Enjoy Health- you can taste as many as you want for free before buying. Good luck!

Hi Colleen! I would suggest contacting Vitalady. She will send you a whole bunch of sample packets to try. I did that and found that I didn't really like ANY of them that well but some of them were tolerable. The AchievOne drinks are realllllly good! But boy are they expensive! And I agree with the other poster, don't stock up on something you like before surgery because there is a very strong chance that you won't like it after surgery! I made that mistake. If you have several different kinds, samples or even just one can/bottle of certain kinds, you might find something you can tolerate. Don't worry about having stock on hand.. you won't be eating much in the first weeks anyway. My surgeon is against protein supplements. He wants us to get our protein from actual food. My staples were instant potatoes w/cheese, refried beans w/cheese, cottage cheese, non-fat sugarfree yogurts, sugarfree jello, sugarfree applesauce, and sugarfree popsicles. You need to concentrate more on your fluids those first few days too. I wasn't diligent enough with my fluids and didn't poop for 9 days! You aren't going to starve or throw your body out of whack by not eating. It will come eventually. And don't be surprised if you can eat a bit more than you thought you would be able to (even though I didn't because I was scared to death that I was going to tear the staples open!). Early out your pouch is still numb and you won't get that full feeling for the first few weeks. I think it was about week 3 before the sensation came back to mine. And that is when I started having issues with eating. Everything felt like rocks in my pouch except refried beans! I think I lived on them the first few weeks! But first and foremost, DO WHAT YOUR SURGEON TELLS YOU TO DO! I am just giving you some suggestions. Take care and GOOD LUCK!!! Lori

Colleen, I did vitalady samples post surgery also. I think I ordered 10 individual ones in a variety of flavors. I found that I get the best prices on the one I like from allstarhealth.com I get a 5lb container (70 drinks) for about $25.00 plus $4.95 shipping. I order 2 containers at a time (same $4.95 shipping for BOTH) I love Champion Pure Whey Chocolate! I still drink a protein drink each morning with my vitamins before going to exercise. Each 6 oz drink has about 30 grams of protein. Best wishes to you and remember your taste will really change after surgery. At least mine sure did so I would wait on getting very much of a supply! Karen C

okay, before surgery, i LOVED all the protein samples i had tried. they were all like fruity milkshakes or something. but when i got home from the hospital, they reminded me of garbage. at almost 3 months out, the onlyt ones i can even remotely swallow are muscle milk (which comes in a bunch of flavors, and i get mine from the gym) and the premixed atkins chocolate (which is what i like to take to work becuase its easy). your tastes will definately change. good luck.

Good luck on your upcoming surgery! It's an amazing journey. I have WorldWide Pure Protein drinks on hand at all times. They come in a soda can pre-mix size at Trader Joes and GNC. There are 21 g and 35 gr protein choices. I travel a lot, so I take these in case I can't figure out what to eat. Good luck.