Pre-op Diet Question..Why only Bariatic Advantage?

My surgery is on May 9th. My doctor allows me Bariatic Advantage shakes 4-5 times a day with fruits blended in, sugarfree Popsicles & Jello.

I had to pick up 2 big packets of Bariatic Advantage from the office for my pre-op diet which I did.

I was able to follow the diet for 4-5 days but then started hating the taste of Vanilla & Chocolate BA. Since then, I have still followed all the rules but changed a couple of things:

- Changed BA to GNC unflavored. The nutrition is the same. If anything, GNC is lower on calories and carb.

- Also have one Unjury Chicken Flavored soup a day.

 Other than that I have followed all the rules and lost 13 lbs.

 This morning, I got a call from my doc's office to confirm that I was following my BA diet. I told them I was. But now I feel like I lied.

 The thing is that if I had continued the BA, I would not have been able to continue just because I hated the taste and felt like throwing up!

 Now the questions: Why is my doc office insisting that I use Bariatic Advantage? Did anyone else have that experience? Did I make a mistake by substituting? Should I be concerned?

Thanks!

I feel that you followed the nutritional guidelines and got the protein IN you with their desired result.  You wouldn't have done it with the BA because it was making you miserable.

In your shoes, I would have said the same thing.  You weren't drinking chocolate milkshakes with ice cream.  You found another option that met the requirements and is more palatable.  However, the office might consider this you being "non-compliant," so tread lightly.

No.  There is no specific reason at all.  The point of the pre-op diet is only to lose weight so that you shrink your liver and it doesn't need to moved as much during surgery.  My doctor told me I didn't even need to do this as I was a lightweight. I did it anyway, to get my head in the game.  There was never a specific requirement that a particular shake should be used.  I really like the GNC protein shakes myself...of course my doctor would never agree to me blending fruit in...but that's another story.  The only requirement that is really important, is the clear liquids right before surgery (like the last 24 hours or so).  You are fine, enjoy your shakes and don't worry about it.  

I assume they have a relationship with Bariatric Advantage and they get money back for using the product.  If you've substituted with similar products, I don't see a problem.  There's no particular magic about Bariatric Advantage.

Yep.  This is it.

One thing I know off the top of my head is that BA contains a decent amount of fiber, whereas other protein powders have less or no fiber.  It also provides a significant amount of protein per serving.

I'm with ya on not liking BA.  Never, ever again will I purchase their stuff. 

Sounds like your doctors office might get a little kickback from pushing BA.

My office pushed the Unjury and actually sold it in their office. the Unjury made me want to throw up. They did give me alternatives on a list, which I happily picked something else. Bariatric Advantage may just be what your nutritionist is most comfortable with and can generalize among all of their patients. You can 100% question them on their choice. Afterall its your process too! And, it's not like you are cheating on the diet. You are just using one protein shake in the place of the other, but still following plan right? I would just keep to the same nutritional guidelines that are in the bariatric advantage in anything you pick.

My surgeon only allowed Bariatric Advantage. The last 2 days before surgery I didn't even drink them. I ate low calorie food. I could not even take a scoop out of the container without gagging! Now after surgery I am struggling with getting my protein in and the Bariatric Advantage is all I have on hand and I can't drink it. I am heading to the city on Wednesday and hopefully going to find something better at GNC. 

I was on Ensure 5x per day plus clear liquids and was told it was because they needed to be sure of the amount of nutrients and calories I was getting. They did not want me taking in too few calories even if I met the protein needs. I had Syntrax Nectar and Unjury chicken ready to go but they told me to wait until after surgery.

Maybe its something like that?