Getting all your protien in daily ????

Hi everyone, My surgery is coming a week from today !!!  DR. Huse @ St. Vincent's ( I can't hardly wait ).  I'm understanding that getting your protien in is one of the most important things. My Nut  book says 75-90 grams each day. I do like milk, so hopefully after surgery that does not change. I would like you to share some of  your routine in doing this. It seems like, you will need to carry a bottle around with you every where you go?? Do you mix milk with supplement , and do you mix the whole batch in the morning and take it with you??? How many oz. can you drink at a time and how long is the wait in between drinking ?? I saw that slimfast has a low carb drink, that has20 grams of protien in it . Are these even recommended to drink them?  they do have 1 gram of surgar in them.  All this reading labels is new to me, and I feel this is going to be the most overwhelming thing about this journey,  ( not to mention the vitamin scheduled also ). Well if you can shed some light on this subject, it will be appreciated            Thanks, Dave  

Dave, St. Vincent's has their own recipe for protein drinks. I really don't want to tell you wrong from memory but it has powder milk, skim milk and flavoring in it. Some people like the sf CIB...myself, I preferred sf jello mix (lemon or lime flavors). As you get further out, you can experiment more. Be sure when you are reading the labels that you aren't only looking at the number of grams of protein but also the grams of sugar and the number of calories. 20 g of protein isn't so good if it has 350 calories. I saw one that had 65 g of protein..but 560 calories!! You want to get the most protein for the least calories with as little sugar as possible. My drink of choice is AchievOne (I order it through BariatricEating.com). It has 20 g of protein, 0 g of sugar, and 120 calories. By comparison, this is very good nutritionally. It's been quite awhile since I checked Slimfast's labels. From what I remember of ~3 yrs ago, theirs was loaded with sugar & calories compared to others available. It sounds like they came up with a new one if the one you saw only has 1 gram of sugar. How's the calorie content? When I was first told I could do protein bars, I made an Excel sheet that included the product's name, protein, sugar, calorie, price, availability info. As I checked out new ones, I added their info to my chart..and then I would purchase ONE of the top 3-4 to try. Most, the taste was non-doable. Remember that when you are looking at the price. If you can't gag them down, it doesn't matter if they are 50 calories with 40 g of protein and only a buck each. So...although my AchievOne's cost a little more, they are well worth the money since I do enjoy the taste..and therefore, WILL drink them. Most of all...do NOT try ANY of these pre-op! People have a tendency to try them, love them, buy a hundred of them and be stuck with 99 of them after surgery because their taste buds changed. Our taste buds get real flakey from the moment we have this surgery. I hated peach flavored anything pre-RNY. Then I loved Crystal Light's Peach Flavor Tea..and boy, did I stock up!! Then I had my revision...and hated it once again. With my most recent bouts of surgeries, I can no longer handle my Starbucks or toast. Maybe someday I'll get them back. Once you are trying things other than St. V's recipe, BUY SMALL. Even with it, BUY SMALL. Get a SMALL box of powder milk. Get 1 of each flavor of sf jello. Get 1 pk of sf CIB. Otherwise, get a big bag ready to put stuff in to donate to other newbies. I gave away enough stuff that first few months that I could have bought me a few outfits for the $$ I spent. Keep in mind that stuff bought at GNC is returnable for a refund if you don't like it. VERY important...especially since Isopure is one thing that is usually recommended by the nuts if you can't handle St. V's recipe. People tend to either really love that...or REALLY hate it. I was of the latter. Once you are eating enough to get in your protein, most surgeons are happy with you getting your protein from food only...so within a year, you usually can do away with the protein drinks (unless you are unlucky enough to run into problems like me and are on them +3 yrs post-op...good thing I like the taste, huh?). The vitamins is the one thing I would stock up on. They, you will have to have the rest of your life. Good luck! Sherri

Post op I tried the St. V's recipe of milk and powder milk and put some SF choc flavoring in it...I hated it!  Then I went to Walmart and bought a tub of the Whey Protein by Body Fortress in the chocolate flavor that was ok enough to get me through my next 6 weeks.  They also have vanilla that you could mix a SF jello or pudding with that might not be bad.  It is pretty much just trying things until you find what you like.  I will tell you to that the Isopure from GNC isnt the best.  At first it isnt so bad, but it has a funky after taste.

Dave, Congratulations and best wishes on your surgery.  Be sure to keep in touch and let us know how you are doing.  I would highly recommend that you go to BariatricEating and purchase their sample pack of protein.  They will send you a pack of individual servings of several different kinds of protein.  As Sherri stated, I wouldn't recommend you try them before surgery.  Just have them on hand for after surgery and after a week or two start trying them one at a time.  Some you will like, some you will dislike but it gives you a wide choice.  I could handle the Isopure if I poured it over ice and sometimes mixed it with Crystal Light.  New Whey bullets are 3 oz drinks with 42 gm of protein.  Not my favorite but drinking it in Crystal Light or 1.5 oz at a time was doable.  The best way to use the bullets is to mix them into a box of prepared sugar free jello.  You can't taste the bullet and can easily eat the jello right after surgery and get protein in it.  The directions are again on the BariatricEating site.  Another good protein drink is Whey Up but it has caffeine in it and shouldn't be used by a new WLS patient until your doctor gives their OK due to the small amount of caffeine.  This drink is a thin consistency drink that is tart flavored.  Kind of nice to have something nonsweet.  Again this can be purchased from BE.  I really don't have stock in the company, it is just a great site with great protein choices.  Their vitamins are also great.  I use the Bariatric Advantage.  They are the best tasting ones I have found.  A little more expensive than vitamins you can find at Walmart, etc. but I hated the Flintstone and etc flavor so much I wasn't taking them every day like I should.  The BE vitamins are easy to chew and taste good.  Well enough of the advertisement.  Again, best wishes.  Peg

Definitely agree with all previous posts.....wait to try things until after surgery and do not stock up.  I just within the last month(and you see my surgery date!) found a protein that I look forward to!!!!  I did the CIB drink St. V's recommends...LOVED it.....but it did not like me and gave me horrible belly cramps.....I have tried the Bullets...and still use them when I am in a pinch....BUT what I drink everyday is EAS AdvantEDGE Carb Control....Cafe Caramel or Dark Chocolate.....110 calories...and 1g of sugar, 17 of protein...but what matters is that I can drink it and not want to .  Still don't have a favorite protein bar, but keep trying ones here and there.   Even at 10 months out I do not always get all my protein in.  But make it your first priority when you eat and you will be fine...can't say as I have heard from very many that get all protein, liquids, and vitamins IN EVERYDAY!!!!!!! This is life long, take it one day at a time and you will do superb!!!!! Hope this helps.....and post often....it makes a world of difference!!!!! Hugs, Holly

Have any of you tried Any Whey? Thats what my doc suggests it is 17g per serving. any they say it is tatseless you can mix with anything.  they do sell it online at http://thebanddoctorestore.com/?pagename=DisplayProducts&cat egory=Protein%20Supplements

Kevin, I had tried it...and didn't like it. It wasn't a taste thing, but a texture thing for me. So many things are anymore. We are all so different though that for you, it may work out just fine. Sherri

Hey I am 3 weeks out from surgery,  I have problems getting the protein drinks in, they make me gassy and i dont feel good after drinking them.  So I drink lots of milk, eating eggs daily, making sure I get my protein from the food as much as i can.  I might get one drink down a day. Looking for a new drink right now.  I liked the drink they gave us in the hospital so it was good.  I noticed I dont go to the bathroom as much since surgery.  I can go all day without going and that use to be an every 2 hour thing for me.  I also suffered constipation after my first week, so keep some mira lax  white bottle with purple lable around and its not bad to take,  I had to call the nurse and she told me to use that and it was a 2 day miserable but i got it all out.  I was happy to get past that.  But all and all I am happy with my 33 lbs weight loss in 3 weeks.  I went to vegas at 2 weeks and was back to work in 1 week but maybe should have taken the 2 weeks off but I was up walking right away and pushed myself to get up and move so i could get back to work and take the trip, have to much going on to lay around much.  Just remember the sooner you get out and walk to faster you will recover. I also have a time getting all my vitamins in but keep working at it.  Good luck and keep in touch.