Bufflehead

Check out Body Fortress Super Advanced (online or at Walmart) or Pure Protein for high quality, low cost whey protein powders. http://www.pureprotein.com/where-to-buy/ http://www.bodyfortress.com/where-to-buy/ They are both blends of whey isolate and whey concentrate. If you must have 100% whey isolate, Body Fortress Whey Isolate is pretty cheap (comparatively speaking) as is Isopure Zero Carb: http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/nb/lowcarb.html I've never seen samples of Pure Protein or Body Fortress but you can get samples of Isopure Zero Carb/Low Carb at Nashua Nutrition: http://www.nashuanutrition.com/store/protein-powders/protein-powder- samples-1-serving.html (scroll down on the drop-down arrow box and look for Nature's Best - Isopure).

@@Antonia_megan I am postop but my requirements for preop and postop shakes were the same, so I didn't do anything different.

I was thrilled about the permanence of the surgery. I need a permanent tool, not a temporary fix!

Depends on what I am in the mood for but I like Jay Robb (especially the chocolate and the tropical dreamsicle) and Chike (iced coffee, banana magic, and chocolate bliss) a lot.

This is my favorite: http://goldenvalleynatural.com/ All the flavors are good but I am particularly fond of the Sweet n Spicy. Lately I've been eating more fish jerky than beef, turkey, or ostrich jerky . . . more protein for the calories!

I use Wellesse liquid iron supplement.

I stay under 850 unless I have a huge exercise day, then I might go up to 900-1000. I am 10 months out though. At three months out I was more in the 550-650 range.

Right after surgery it might hurt because of where the incisions are. It all depends on your surgeon's technique. I brought an all-cotton, fasten-in-front leisure/sports type bra to the hospital (NO underwire!) and was glad I did -- a regular bra would have rested right against my top incision and hurt badly.

I don't know if this will make you feel better or worse but I am not a vegetarian and got in well over 100% of my recommended protein starting from day 2 after surgery . . . and still had major hair loss. I don't think protein intake has jack to do with hair loss and my surgeon agrees -- says if there were a way to avoid hair loss by eating right, then no one would lose hair. He believes its basic shock from the surgery and there really is no way to prevent it. Google "telogen effluvium weight loss surgery" and you'll see what he's talking about. With respect to protein and vegetarianism, even though I am not a vegetarian, I have no doubt I could get my protein in from vegetarian sources if I needed to. Dairy, beans, pulses, tofu, etc. are all regular parts of my diet and help with my protein intake a lot. And of course protein shakes! You'll do just fine as long as you are committed to eating protein-rich foods first and drinking shakes if needed to supplement. Good luck!

It took me about a week to be able to sleep however I wanted. I found that propping myself with lots of pillows helped. Gurgling is normal. And yes, the pain on swallowing does get better. Do you have a two week follow up scheduled? If so, if the pain isn't better by then, definitely discuss it with your team but for 2nd day post op it is totally normal as far as I can see (I am not a medical professional -- just going by what I see other people here post). It does get better and easier but you just had major surgery on your digestive tract -- it is going to take a while! Be patient and gentle with yourself. Good luck!

I would tell my co-workers that I am trying to eat more healthfully and would they mind if I put the snacks somewhere a little less visible? Chances are they will say that's fine. Then I would move the snacks into a cupboard (with a closed door!) and put a little sign on the table saying "snacks in the cupboard thanks to [name of co-worker who brought them in]." I was just reading about this in the Beck Diet Solution -- she says it works! You have to stick up for yourself.

Protein is great but pre-op you can get what you need from real food like chicken breast or a broiled fish filet. No need to drink stuff that is made from chemicals and artificial crap like there is after surgery when you can't get what you need from whole foods. IMO.

I did liquid vitamins for the first 4 weeks after surgery, then switched to Trader Joe's High Potency chewables. I take a double dose to meet ASMBS guidelines. Even with a double dose they are much cheaper than specialized bariatric vitamins. They are very low calorie and low carb. I have my labs drawn regularly and they are always great.

She said that to you? I think you and I must have different definitions of "friend"! I would have told her to eff off, and yes I did say that to the one person who had a negative judgment about MY medical decision.

sounds like ketosis

you might ask your nut for specific guidance on the brand if not provided. I've heard of unflavored Protein powder but not an unflavored shake. Do the numbers (calories, carbs, protein etc.) meet or beat what you were supposed to buy?

Bad breath most likely is coming from ketosis, many people get this after surgery because their carb intake has gone way down. http://www.bariatricpal.com/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=search&fromMainBar=1 "your search for the term 'bad breath' returned 403 results" so yeah, it happens My surgeon said sex was fine as soon as you felt up to it.

I didn't have a "mushy" stage -- I had Stage II Purees and Stage III Soft Foods. On Purees, I had shrimp pureed with cocktail sauce, remoulade, etc. and it was delicious! I could have pureed scallops, but to me the texture of scallops is a big part of what makes them so enjoyable so I didn't even consider it. Soft foods -- I could have any meat I could cut with a fork. You can cut both shrimp and scallops with a fork and I ate them both frequently! Is your "mushy" stage more like purees or soft foods? I wasn't allowed crackers (no grains) so I can't help you out there.

@@kk6903 you get them from Amazon or http://www.ilikechike.com I love Chike and drink it a lot (every day in fact) -- but only use a half serving of the Protein powder and then bump up the flavor with instant coffee granules, Torani sugar free syrups, unsweetened cocoa powder -- stuff like that. Otherwise it is just too high in calories and carbs for my plan.

My standard shake is either Jay Robb or Unjury -- I mix with Carb Master milk. Using Unjury, numbers for 8 oz are: 160 calories, 32 grams protein, 7 carbs. Jay Robb: 170 calories, 36 grams protein, 4 carbs.

If your ability to tolerate the same sort of food is getting worse rather than better, you need to check in with your surgical team.

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/177893-a-huge-list-of-protein-drink-recipes/

I'm lazy so I am just going to copy and paste an earlier post I made: I was on full liquids for four weeks after surgery (and true liquids, not this "yogurt is a liquid, pudding is a liquid" stuff). So after four weeks of that, pureed meat tasted great to me! The trick for me was to puree it with a flavorful sauce, NOT broth, stock, or water -- then heat it up in the microwave with some cheese melted on top. It tasted just like a casserole type dish. I mostly used canned meats, or the meat you can buy in the little single serving pouches. The flavored ones were especially good. Some of my favorites: thai spicy tuna pureed with sriracha sauce and pepper jack cheese melted on top chicken pureed with bbq sauce with cheddar cheese melted on top lemon dill salmon pureed with tartar sauce shrimp pureed with remoulade and pecorino cheese melted on top turkey pureed with peanut satay sauce and jack cheese melted on top chicken pureed with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese melted on top turkey pureed with light chipotle mayo and sugar free pickle relish and Laughing Cow chipotle fresco cheese wedge melted on top teriyaki salmon pureed with teriyaki sauce (I don't recommend cheese with this but if I had to, I might try some blue cheese) Good luck! you might also want to check out the dedicated thread for pureed recipes, which you can find pinned here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/1055-pur%C3%A9e-stage-2/ You might also give the search box in the upper right a whirl -- try searching for stuff like pureed recipes, pureed ideas, or pureed suggestions. This is a pretty frequent topic!

I'm lazy so I am just going to copy and paste an earlier post I made: I was on full liquids for four weeks after surgery (and true liquids, not this "yogurt is a liquid, pudding is a liquid" stuff). So after four weeks of that, pureed meat tasted great to me! The trick for me was to puree it with a flavorful sauce, NOT broth, stock, or Water -- then heat it up in the microwave with some cheese melted on top. It tasted just like a casserole type dish. I mostly used canned meats, or the meat you can buy in the little single serving pouches. The flavored ones were especially good. Some of my favorites: thai spicy tuna pureed with sriracha sauce and pepper jack cheese melted on top chicken pureed with bbq sauce with cheddar cheese melted on top lemon dill salmon pureed with tartar sauce shrimp pureed with remoulade and pecorino cheese melted on top turkey pureed with peanut satay sauce and jack cheese melted on top chicken pureed with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese melted on top turkey pureed with light chipotle mayo and sugar free pickle relish and Laughing Cow chipotle fresco cheese wedge melted on top teriyaki salmon pureed with teriyaki sauce (I don't recommend cheese with this but if I had to, I might try some blue cheese) Good luck! you might also want to check out the dedicated thread for pureed recipes, which you can find pinned here: http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/1055-pur%C3%A9e-stage-2/ You might also give the search box in the upper right a whirl -- try searching for stuff like pureed recipes, pureed ideas, or pureed suggestions. This is a pretty frequent topic!

I use the Trader Joe's High Potency chewables. Taste just fine, low calories, low carbs, low cost. I have my labs drawn regularly and they are always excellent.