Avoiding Protein Shakes

[JackieOMonroe 123]

I have yet to find a Protein shake that sits well with me. They're all so cloyingly sweet that they make me gag or they make my stomach feels off. I ordered an powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury sample kit, so I'll try their unflavored and "chicken" Soup flavored varieties when they get here, but otherwise how can I get my Protein in?

Just to make matters harder on myself, I've been a vegetarian for three years. I started incorporating fish back into my diet a few weeks before my surgery, but I just cannot bring myself to eat any other meat. I'm getting worried. I didn't think the Protein shakes would be so hard to take since I didn't have a problem with diet and Protein Shakes prior to my surgery. Help!

[meggiep 57]

I have yet to find a Protein shake that sits well with me. They're all so cloyingly sweet that they make me gag or they make my stomach feels off. I ordered an unjury sample kit, so I'll try their unflavored and "chicken" Soup flavored varieties when they get here, but otherwise how can I get my Protein in?

Just to make matters harder on myself, I've been a vegetarian for three years. I started incorporating fish back into my diet a few weeks before my surgery, but I just cannot bring myself to eat any other meat. I'm getting worried. I didn't think the protein shakes would be so hard to take since I didn't have a problem with diet and Protein Shakes prior to my surgery. Help!

Are you a coffee drinker? I am able to tolerate my chocolate Protein powder mixed with 8 ounces of Decaf and ice. I can hardly stand any others, though now that I can have things like banana and strawberries it can make some of the strawberry ones palatable.

If you really can't make them work, you will need to really work to get food sources. Tofu is a great one- as are some of the other legumes.

You are right to be concerned because getting the required amount is the lynchpin of making this surgery work for you and not losing muscle. My surgeon reiterated it again today at my 6 week appointment. The reason it is critical to find at least one drink you do like is that you don;t want to have to dedicate every bit of a meal to protein- you want to be able to get a variety of foods. I Have my coffee/choco protein in the morning and an Unjury chicken soup in the afternoon- with the 50 gams those provide i only need 20 from food and can have a few vegetables and fruits too.

You have a lot to figure out! Good luck to you.

[JackieOMonroe 123]

Are you a coffee drinker? I am able to tolerate my chocolate Protein powder mixed with 8 ounces of Decaf and ice. I can hardly stand any others, though now that I can have things like banana and strawberries it can make some of the strawberry ones palatable.

If you really can't make them work, you will need to really work to get food sources. Tofu is a great one- as are some of the other legumes.

You are right to be concerned because getting the required amount is the lynchpin of making this surgery work for you and not losing muscle. My surgeon reiterated it again today at my 6 week appointment. The reason it is critical to find at least one drink you do like is that you don;t want to have to dedicate every bit of a meal to protein- you want to be able to get a variety of foods. I Have my coffee/choco Protein in the morning and an unjury chicken Soup in the afternoon- with the 50 gams those provide i only need 20 from food and can have a few vegetables and fruits too.

You have a lot to figure out! Good luck to you.

Thanks for the advice. I don't drink coffee anymore, but I can experiment with mixing the shake powders with almond milk and things like that. I'll keep working on finding a Protein Drink or two that I like.

[SuperMom 33]

I feel your pain and am going through EXACTLY the same thing as you. Weight is coming off. Water intake is fine and sipping plain water is the easiest for me (guess my new tummy doesn't like sweet either go figure) Unjury chicken broth ...hahaha...no noodles goes down fine the only thing I find is it is a bit salty. There is a slight foam weirdness that occurs when you stir it up and I remove some of that (hopefully that is not all the Protein hahaha) I just tried the chocolate Unjury and it really is thinner and tastes to me anyway like choc milk (it has splenda in it and I like splenda in my coffee so maybe that is why it tastes fine to me?) Now that I can eat I am doing much better on protein (hard cheese, boiled eggs etc) but still having to MAKE myself eat is really weird! Cottage cheese & yogurt are repeated alot too.

Good luck and if you find any magic "protein" wands let me know!

[MegInNOLA 531]

Are you a vegan? If not, you might try whizzing up your own "protein" shakes using milk, milk powder (for extra protein), eggs or egg powder, and whatever flavoring and level of sweetness you prefer. Throw in some tofu or Peanut Butter and whiz it up thoroughly. OR zap up some Soup with milk powder and have something savory. I couldn't handle the Protein drinks, either (still can't), so I made do with "food" sources of Protein, mostly dairy, until I got to the mushies stage. Cottage cheese and yogurt and Peanut Butter are staples in my diet now, too--I am not a vegetarian, but my sleeve seems to prefer seafood and dairy protein to meat and chicken (don't get me started on how sleevie really dislikes chicken and eggs now!).

Best wishes to you!! Once you hit mushies, you're golden--Beans, tofu, nut butters, etc. If you can tolerate dairy, so much the easier.

Meg

[janinemaire 7]

I had one Protein Shake and never had it again, it made me so sick. I got unflavored Protein Powder and mixed it with yogurt, mashed potatoes, sugar free pudding anything smooth the first few weeks. Good luck?

[sasicas 194]

Ever since I was able to eat again string cheese has been my best friend I cannot drink the Protein Drinks, even the unflavored mixed into things made me feel ill so I stopped trying and just worked on Protein where I could. Beans are also a great thing to eat. I love refried beans with some cheese and sour cream on it YUM!

[GreginMI 76]

Like you, I was fine with Protein shakes on my pre-op diet. In fact, I was okay with them for about 3 weeks post-op. Then one day, they just disgusted me. I couldn't drink them anymore. And I am still trying to figure out ways to get the Protein in other ways. I did find this hot chocolate from mybariatricpantry and is it ever yummy! Instead of coffee every morning now I have this. It has 15g of protein. Give it a try!

http://www.mybariatricpantry.com/Pantry_Selections_Hot_Chocolate_Protein_Drinks_p/ps-ht_choc.htm

I have yet to find a Protein shake that sits well with me. They're all so cloyingly sweet that they make me gag or they make my stomach feels off. I ordered an unjury sample kit, so I'll try their unflavored and "chicken" Soup flavored varieties when they get here, but otherwise how can I get my protein in?

Just to make matters harder on myself, I've been a vegetarian for three years. I started incorporating fish back into my diet a few weeks before my surgery, but I just cannot bring myself to eat any other meat. I'm getting worried. I didn't think the Protein Shakes would be so hard to take since I didn't have a problem with diet and protein shakes prior to my surgery. Help!

[kellyw74 258]

I HATE Protein drinks. The smell the taste JUST AWFUL!! After surgery, they gave me the squirts too!!

I have found one that is fairly good. Pure Protein vanilla you can get it at Target and Walmart. They also have the RTD cans at Vitamin Shoppe and Amazon. The strawberry Creame is SOOOO GOOD! And 35g of protein to boot!

Kelly

[JackieOMonroe 123]

oh my gosh, thank you all so much for the advice!

SuperMom - Will do! haha

MegInNOLA - I'm not vegan (not even veg anymore since I started easting fish again), but I am lactose intolerant. I have been since before the surgery so that makes it tougher. I'm on mushies now though. I'll try to incorporate eggs into my diet.

jay9mal - mixing unflavored powder into other things is a really good idea. I hope my samples come soon.

sasicas - i've been slowly, slowly munching on refried Beans, but they don't sit super well with me yet. I think i'll try some eggs and see how I do with those.

GreginMI - Thanks for the link! I'll try it out. I love hot chocolate.

kellyw74 - At 35g of Protein, I might have to learn to love it even if I don't think it's good. That's a ton of protein!

[kids05 4]

I have the same issue. I basically "dump" whenever I try a Protein Shake. I can only do the Isopure Protein Water. (16 oz is I think 32g of protein, but $5 a bottle) I live on cottage cheese, and crabmeat, shrimp and greek yogurt. I can also do chicken though and even smashed up a well done pice of burger with pickles and ketchup...gosh I miss a cheeseburger...lol. I tried some reg ice cream last weekend while we were out for the day celebrating at Cold Stone...few bites in...cold sweat, trouble breathing, dizzy...I don't know if its milk or sugar or milk and sugar cause no other dairy has bothered me. Funny thing this sleeve is huh???

A few posts up there are peanutbutter balls that have protein in them...try that. Oh and in the beginning I would buy low sodium cream of mushroom Soup and mix in some unflavored protein powder. Hope any of this helps!

[gonnagetthere 2]

Jackie, I was sleeved the same day as you, and so far I'm only permitted to eat 1/2 egg each day and two Protein Shakes. I'm so tired of shakes too! At what point were you able to eat mushies? I can have them on July 5. Meanwhile, I'm looking for flavoring to add to my Bariatric Choice. I tried mixing the powder in the blender and didn't like it at all. I'd like to try adding a banana but can't have fruit for two more weeks. Good luck with this. You will do great.

I have yet to find a Protein shake that sits well with me. They're all so cloyingly sweet that they make me gag or they make my stomach feels off. I ordered an unjury sample kit, so I'll try their unflavored and "chicken" Soup flavored varieties when they get here, but otherwise how can I get my Protein in?

Just to make matters harder on myself, I've been a vegetarian for three years. I started incorporating fish back into my diet a few weeks before my surgery, but I just cannot bring myself to eat any other meat. I'm getting worried. I didn't think the Protein Shakes would be so hard to take since I didn't have a problem with diet and protein shakes prior to my surgery. Help!

[KathyM 14]

I never did the Protein Shakes, they all made me gag and I could never find one I could tolerate. I just had to make sure that when I was eating, I always ate Protein first, then everything else. Your problem is a little more unique being a vegetarian, and I don't know if you eat eggs or fish at all, but both are good sources of protein. I eat an egg every day, and I also like tuna quite a bit. I think 4 oz of tofu (I know that is a lot!) is 10 grams of protein. My son is vegetarian and I do know that there are several Proteins you can get at natural food stores, but I can't remember the names of them right now, I will ask him.

[KathyM 14]

Lol I just looked in my freezer - it's called Seitan - it's a meat substitute, but it is gluten so if you have issues with that it might be a problem. 100 grams of Seitan is 21 grams of protein! I am not a vegetarian, but I really do like this, because when you stir fry it or cook with it just like you would any meat it reeealllly picks up good flavor.

[JackieOMonroe 123]

I was allowed to start mushies/purees 2 weeks after my surgery. I can only have things that are blended to the consistency of applesauce. I can start trying to introduce regular food very slowly in 2 more weeks. I'll probably wait longer than that. I'm in no hurry to get back to regular food, I just want off these awful shakes.

Jackie, I was sleeved the same day as you, and so far I'm only permitted to eat 1/2 egg each day and two Protein Shakes. I'm so tired of shakes too! At what point were you able to eat mushies? I can have them on July 5. Meanwhile, I'm looking for flavoring to add to my Bariatric Choice. I tried mixing the powder in the blender and didn't like it at all. I'd like to try adding a banana but can't have fruit for two more weeks. Good luck with this. You will do great.