talkingmountain

A lot of people ask for Protein drink advice, and since I've had a really hard time find a Protein Drink that I could tolerate, I've tried a LOT of them. I thought I'd share my assessments here in case it helps someone else. Unless otherwise stated, all the items listed have at least 15 G protein and no more than 6 g carbs. "RTD" means ready-to-drink, I.e. drinks in bottles or cartons. Everything else is a powder. All powders are either whey-based or vegan/plant Proteins. All whey items state that they are lactose free. All powders were mixed with unsweetened almond milk and ice cubes in a shaker jar/ball. Ready-to-Drinks: Premier Protein, RTU, vanilla, from Walmart. Extremely sweet, with a strong artificial sweet taste from sucralose (Splenda) and aculfesame-K (ace-k). Very smooth texture. Medium body (I.e. Thickness, as in a milkshake vs juice). ATKINS ADVANTAGE, RTU, coffee flavor, from Harris Teeter grocery. Extremely sweet, although the coffee flavor cuts it a bit during the first few sips. Gave me a headache. Very smooth texture. Medium-thin body. GNC TOTAL LEAN 25 shake, RTU, strawberries & cream, from GNC. Very sweet, with a artificial sweet taste from sucralose (Splenda) and aculfesame-K (ace-k). Light strawberry flavor. Very smooth texture. Medium-thick body. Very filling but it does make me burp and feel a bit bloated for a while after drinking. NOTE - the powdered version of Total Lean 25 is MUCH higher in carbs. OH YEAH! NUTRITIONAL SHAKE, RTU, strawberries & cream, from Harris Teeter grocery. Very sweet, with a artificial sweet taste from sucralose (Splenda) and aculfesame-K (ace-k). Bright, full-bodied strawberry flavor. Very smooth texture. Thick body. Very filling but it does make me burp and feel a bit bloated for a while after drinking. This brand has recently started being carried in Harris Teeter grocery stores. Haven't seen it anywhere else. MUSCLE MILK, RTD, chocolate, from Walmart & Harris Teeter grocery. Very sweet, with a artificial sweet taste from sucralose (Splenda) and aculfesame-K (ace-k). Very smooth texture. Thick body. Very filling but it does make me burp and feel a bit bloated for a while after drinking. This brand has recently started being carried in Harr Powders: unjury, chocolate, from BariatricAdvantage.com Very sweet, artificial sweetened flavor. Very smooth texture, especially for a powder. Thin body. I found this not to be filling at all. NOW SPORTS PEA PROTEIN, unflavored, from GNC (vegan). Unsweetened. Tastes a lot like dirt. Might be good in Soups, or blended with fruit post-op, but would taste odd with sweeter drinks. Standard powdered protein texture (sort of chalky but not gritty) . Medium body. PERFORMANCE AMP WHEYBOLIC EXTREME ORIGINAL, unflavored, from GNC. Unsweetened. Mild whey flavor, would be fine with anything. Standard powdered protein texture (sort of chalky but not gritty) . Medium body. MUSCLE MILK NATURALS, chocolate, from GNC. *my favorite!* Perfect, mildly sweet, with no artificial sweetener flavor. Moderately chocolatey flavor. Sweeteners are fructose, stevia, & monk fruit. Least sweet of all items reviewed. Standard powdered protein texture (sort of chalky but not gritty) . Medium-thick body. Very filling. NOTE - this has 10 g carbs & 26 G protein per serving. It's more than the 6 carbs per serving my nut wants but less than the 11 g she said was the absolute max. To reduce carbs/protein ratio and keep the flavor, I sometimes mix it with protein-enriched almond milk and Water. Unlike Muscle Milk RTD, this does not make me bloated or gassy, so I think it's the sucralose. Mixture of milk-derived proteins, including whey isolates. Like all whey proteins on this list, claims to be lactose free. JAY ROBB WHEY PROTEIN, chocolate, from GNC. *my 2nd favorite!* Sweet, without artificial sweetener flavor. Lovely milk-chocolate flavor. Sweetener is stevia but this lacks the strong bitter aftertaste that many stevia-sweetened products have. Only 1 carb per serving. Smooth texture, especially for a powder. Nearly as smooth as Unjury (but more filling). Medium-thin body. Filling. 100% whey protein isolate. Like all whey proteins on this list, claims to be lactose free. VEGA ONE, chocolate, from GNC (vegan). Extremely-sweet, artificial sweetened flavor. Slight gritty/grainy texture. Thin body. GARDEN OF LIFE ORGANIC PLANT PROTEIN, chocolate, from health food store (vegan). Extremely sweet, artificial sweetened flavor. Slight gritty/grainy texture. Thin body. GARDEN OF LIFE RAW PROTEIN, chocolate, from GNC (vegan). VERY sweet w slightly bitter aftertaste (sweetener is stevia). Slight gritty/grainy texture. Thin body. RAW FIT, coffee flavor, from health food store (vegan). Sweet but missy taste, w slightly bitter aftertaste (sweetener is stevia). Extremely gritty texture. Tastes like you are eating ground up leaves & sticks. Thin body.

I'm getting surgery in a few weeks so am grateful to find these lists! Am curious why people want to bring the Biotene mouth moisturizer?

There is a free app called cronometer that you can use. Goal levels for macro- and micronutrients are set at standard defaults, but you can change them to whatever you want.

You can get over the counter rogaine to massage into your scalp. I think the generic name is minoxil.

I'm in the same boat! My liquid-only diet starts dec 17 and surgery is dec 28. I told my mom that I wasn't coming to Christmas dinner and she's not happy but she understands. I'll join them afterwards and am planning to have hot cocoa (sugar free and using high protein almond milk) so it will feel festive.

I'm allowed 1-2 cups of regular or decaf coffee in both pre and post op. No sugar though! My surgeon prohibits any tea -- says the tannins can irritate the pouch.

I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea about 15 years ago (stopped breathing 57 times a minute). At the time I only weighed about 215 lbs and the sleep technologist said I "had the breathing problems of a 500-lb man." It took several extremely frustrating months to find a mask that I would wear through the night (apparently I'd rip them off in my sleep) and get used to it. I was in tears of frustration, anger, & exhaustion numerous occasions. If it weren't for my incredibly helpful respiratory therapist -- who gave me mask after mask after mask to try -- I probably would have given up. But once I did, there was no going back! Once you know what it is like to really sleep, you will be amazed at how you have managed to function without true sleep all this time. Hopefully your transition to wearing a cpap will happen without any frustrations. But if you do run into any roadblocks, Please DONT GIVE UP! Once you experience regular sleep. You will be so glad you stuck with it!

Bellabloom - don't feel alone in having past eating disorders! I'd guess that many of us who seek WLS have binge eating disorder... It's just that the medical world cares if you get too thin, and jumps into action; but if you're too fat, well it's your fault and you just need to eat less. (I'm being sarcastic here). Since you seem to be losing weight while eating healthily, I'd personally like to know what your food/drink/exercise routine is so that I can learn from your success! If you don't feel comfortable posting details, I hope you'll be willing to pm me (I'm 5'6", 270lb, and scheduled for RNY on 12/28).

Protein drink reviews. Not just individual preferences, but what you liked and why (sweetness, texture, grittiness, artificial sweeteners, chemical aftertaste, lactose content, etc)

Have they checked you for lead, mercury, and other toxic metals? Several can cause most if not all of the symptoms you mentioned. Exposure to toxins is my professional area of expertise so that's why your symptoms sound so suspicious. It's admittedly unlikely, but not impossible; for example Consumerlabs.com has found lead contamination in many Calcium supplements, and heavy metals in some Protein drinks. You may want to ask your dr to run a heavy metals panel just to rule this out for sure. NOT some hokey test of your hair or nails -- a real blood test by a real MD (for example the correct test for lead is a ZPP or zinc protoporphyrin test).

I have to say that you are (were) a stunner even before your weight loss! You are just smaller now! Congrats on the health you have created for yourself and your family.

December 28 for me! The way Bugsy described it is exactly the way I'm feeling. Except that starting today I have moments of feeling utterly terrified!

Thanks! That's a much better way for me to think about it! Got my surgery date today -- Dec 28th! Pre-op is Dec 17. So, I have about a month to find a Protein drink that doesn't make me gag (my doc requires a 10-day liquid-only protein diet to shrink the liver & clean out the colon). So far everything I've tried has been sickeningly sweet.

I just got my date today! December 28th. Between now an pre-op date (dec 17) I am scrambling to find some kind of Protein drink that doesn't make me gag. My dr requires all patients to do 2 wks of low-carb liquid Protein to shrink the liver and clean out the intestines.

Just discovered another plant-based Bariatric surgeon! Dr. Matthew Weiner in Michigan. He has a lot of great videos on YouTube.

Did you use the Optifast 800 shakes or the Optifast HB?

What I'm looking for is NO STEVIA! I'll be starting a 10-day pre-op liquid only, high-Protein, low-carb diet soon. I've tried every vegan protein powder that I can find in sample packs. All of them make me gag. They are way too sweet and sweetened with stevia, which I just can't stand. All of them are pretty grainy, too, though I can actually handle that better than the flavor. My ideal flavored vegan protein supplement would contain: - Minimal ingredients (most have all kinds of veg & fruit additives, which affects flavor and increase the chances of allergies). - Sweetened with a mixture of fructose, xylitol or ertythritol, and monk fruit to get a natural low-glycemic sweetness without too much sugar alcohols. No stevia. - Not overly sweet! You can always add sweetener if desired, but once it's in there you can't take it out! - Available in chocolate, vanilla, & berry favors. - Dissolves well without a heavy grainy texture. - Has at least 15 g protein and no more than 8 carbs per serving

Thanks and please keep the suggestions coming. I'll try the ones suggested. The drinks have to have at least 15 g of Protein and less than 7 g carbohydrate so Optifast, which I like, isn't an option :-(

Decolonization and swimbikerun - is there a way to keep in touch with eachother thru this board? I'm planning to adopt a lowfat plantbased diet after WLS and since my surgeon is clueless about it, I'd really value you support & "expertise!"

A lot of vegetarian recipes use lots of dairy products. I've read that many people become lactose intolerant after WLS. If you are using recipes that use dairy products (cheese, yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese, milk, cream, etc), you are getting lactose, so your pain could be simple lactose intolerance. Since dairy products make my arthritis flare up, I've avoided them for years; so feel free to ask me if you want to try some of the excellent dairy alternatives out there (including a home-made nut-based "cheese" to die for!). The other culprit could be simple fats/oils. Many vegetarian recipes will replace the loss of flavor from meats with more fats (even the "leanest" meats are naturally very high in fat). You might try some low-fat flavorful recipes. My favorites are from the book "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" by dr. Caldwell Essestyn. Many people rave about free recipes from the happyherbivore.com and fatfreevegan.com, too. Best of luck!

Hi, l am pre-op and new to the board, but I too want to adopt the Forks Over Knives way of eating after my surgery! I ate this way about 7 yrs ago and the weight practically fell off, and I felt incredible! (Unfortunately my "sweet/fat" tooth got a foothold again and I gained the weight back). There is a Bariatric surgeon who advocates this way of eating -- google Garth Davis Facebook and you'll find his Facebook page/blog. He hasn't addressed how to eat during the liquid/purée/soft food stages and I really wish he would; I'm actually thinking of calling his office to ask! Because I'd like to eat homemade fruit/veg smoothies during this phase rather than sweet Protein drinks, but I'm worried the fruit could cause dumping. Mostly "Dr. Garth" says all the research shows that average women need at most 45 g of protein, and there's no evidence that WLS need any more than that. There is a terrific free tool called chronometer that could be used to figure the protein content of food. Wouldn't it be great if all of us ganged up together and shared the protein/carb/sugar/fat content of various vegan foods that we made?!

Have you tried any healthy Protein like fat free refried Beans, hummos, nut butters, o smoothies made with high-protein whole foods like oatmeal or cooked broccoli (yes they are high in protein too)? I haven't had my surgery yet but at the support meetings a number of people have said they can't tolerate meat and/or eggs and/or dairy, so these are some of the things they eat. I already can't stand the smell of cooking steak, eggs, or fish, so I'm definitely going to try their ideas! (One of the members turned us all on to Dr. Garth Davis's blog -- he's the bariatric surgeon that they made a reality tv show about -- he now recommends plant-based "real" foods to his patients).

Did I read your story right - your high bp went away within DAYS of having the surgery? If so, that's amazing (and I hope it happens to me)!

Anyone go to Frye Surgical Weight Loss in Hickory? Just wondering what you thought of post-surgical support in and out of hospital?