Whey Protein

4 days post op and having a really hard time trying to find sources of protein.  I have been trying the different whey isolates but cannot stand the smell of the whey.

Went to Bulk Barn and bought Whey Cooler, it is not to to bad, and the smell is not overpowering, but could see this becoming very tiresome in a short period of time.

So far have only be able to get in about 25 gr of protein per day that seems to be slowly growing but a constant struggle.  Are there other options besides the whey isolates or am I stuck with them?

I greatly appreciate everybody's input and suggestions.

HELP

Allyson

Have you tried the Weider's Fruit Splash available at Shoppers? It's like a fruit punch rather than a milk-like shake. Whey is the best, but I believe is soy and casein are also acceptable as they are also complete proteins, though I remember something about not absorbing them as well or them having more carbs or something that makes them lesser options for post-ops than the whey. Check with your nut about those options. Good luck!

Are you able to drink the pre-made premier protein shakes from Costco? They are pretty good and have 30g of protein.

Best of luck,

Laura

I came home from the hospital yesterday and aside from the premier shakes mentioned above, I am living off the Isopure I found at Food Basics. Tastes like mild grape kool-aid and is 15g per bottle. it goes down easily!

Have you tried any unfavored ones that you can mix with yogurt/soups/puddings? I'd recommend the unflavored one from NOW FOODS. It has no smell, no taste and no aftertaste, it's also very fine so there's no gritty texture when you add it to other foods. I bought mine from www.well.ca - not sure what grocers carry it.

ETA: PharmaPlus carries the Isopure juices too as mentioned in the above post.

Just FYI - the Whey Protein, along with the other vitamins and supplements made by NOW Foods, are currently on sale at www.well.ca for 20% off. The 1 lb jar of the unflavored Whey Protein Isolate Powder is on sale for $21.59.  Plus, shipping is free.

Deb

Hey Alli, so glad to here that you are feeling good. I still havn't herd anything yet.

I also added skim milk powder to anything I could. Pudding, soups, cream of wheat. I was able to get a bit more protein that way. 'Unflavoured' doesn't always mean no taste or smell. I am stuck with a tub of the stuff. I just couldn't use it.

It will get easier to get the protein in as you move through the phases. It is amazing how post op Optifast didn't seem so bad. Not much to worry about back then. You will do fine, just keep at it.

Kristie

Thank you everyone for your advice.  I will check out all the items mentioned and see if I can find something that will work.  I have been adding the skim milk powder to just about everything as suggested and I did try the unflavored stuff to add to soups and the such but still all I could taste and smell was the whey.

I did look at the isopure water but never tried it as it had 16gr of sugar and I wasn't sure if that was too high or not.  I think I will give it a try and in the mean time I will check out the others.

Thanks again everyone.

Allyson

Sorry if this sounds silly, but I found using a glass with a lid (like a travel mug or sippy cup) really helped with the odour issue, which bothered me as well. 

The other trick for me was to use unflavoured powder and stir it into unsweetened applesauce - it was my staple for the first 3 weeks because I couldn't handle too much in my pouch.  I used 5 scoops of Beneprotein powder (they are LITTLE scoops) in 1 individual serving container of applesauce.  Two of these a day gave me 60 g. of protein. 

Good luck.  It really does get much easier. 

Claire (sw 348, cw 227 - 5 months out)