Gagging on protien shakes

O.k. I am still pre-op I'm thinking surgery will happen late Oct. or Nov. In getting prepared for my new way of living I have made many changes in my eating, drinking and overall life in general and it's going great. Today was my first day trying a protein shake and WOW that stuff is nasty! I am gagging almost to the point of throwing up and now my stomach is upset and I was only able to get down 140 ml.. I have no doubts about having the surgery I want it SO badly, but now I'm worried I won't be able to do the Opti-fast or the protein shakes post-op. Has anyone else had this problem or any suggestions on how to deal with this? I feel like I'm failing before I really even get started.

I thought Optifast flavoured with various Da Vinci SF syrups was pretty bad - until I went to Popeye's and sampled some of the famous name brand flavoured shakes.  Even the body-building employee thought all the flavoured shakes tasted pretty rotten.

I settled for buying Allmax's Isonatural unflavoured whey isolate powder and putting in Da Vinci's peppermint syrup & skim milk. 

Good luck finding something that tastes good enough to get down - some people do like flavoured shakes.  Popeye's allows you to sample their powders before you spend a fortune on even the smallest bottle, so you might try going to one of their stores.

Jenn.  :)

Optifast will likely be the best tasting protein shake you will find.  All the others suck in comparison IMO.  You don't need protein shakes for life and it will just be for a short amount of time post op.  I know some still enjoy them years out but if you can get it from food then you don't need to worry about the shakes.  Allmax makes some of the best protein I have found.  Someone else mentioned they got the natural one, which is unflavoured but I but the Isoflex ones which come in a variety of flavours and never found one that was terrible tasting.  I bought some of the ones from iwindirect as well and they are good as well.  iwindirect.com has sample packets and they are free and you just pay the shipping so it's a good way to try the flavours from them.  Sometimes if you go into GNC, they will have individual pouches of Isoflex that you can buy so it's another good way to try flavours instead of buying a huge tub.  If you have a Popeye's nearby, they will mix up some powders and let you taste them so that is another option if you have one in your area.  We only have GNC up here so I was happy to buy a few of the individual ones to make sure I liked them and after that it was the one that I purchased the most.  I keep some protein powder on hand just to use for a quick breakfast when I am on the run but otherwise I eat all my food.

Don't worry about it until you get your Opti, worrying now about protein that doesn't taste the same is just going to make you worry needlessly. Opti is not like other protein shakes, or any that I have tasted before. And you will be able to do it, you said you wanted this badly.

Jazz it up with coffee, SF syrup, cocoa or whatever your centre allows.  Drink it with ice and really cold, there are a million tricks to getting it down. You just have to find what works for you, everyone is different.

After day 17 on Opti - I have had days with no issues, and days I have had to chug it down to be over with and other days I made a really good flavour and I enjoyed. 

Get a whole bunch of recipes together and wait for your Opti - it isn't THAT horrible.

there is NO such thing as good tasting protein powder...there are some brands that smell less...the trick is to find an unflavoured one and doctor it to suit what you like..if you buy an unflavoured one, you can add any type of SF syrup to change the flavour...trick is...put it in a sippy cup with a lid...so you CAN'T SMELL IT either.

ALmost 6 yrs ago when I had surgery in the USA..Carnation Sf breakfast drink is what our clinic had us on..it wasn't too bad...after surgery I tried at least a dozen different protein varities...I tried pre-mixed,, different brands and ended up on protein bullets for a bit.....also the Necter (sp?) brand is good is you would rather have fruit tasting than choco/vanilla etc.  I think Bariatric Clinics should provide alternatives to only (1) kind of suggested protein supplement..

 

I still use my  IsoPro low carb unflavoured from time to time and I add a small banana 3 ice cubes and 2 tablespoons orange juice..and it tastes pretty decent...look around online for Protein shake recipies...or look at the website of Opti-fast (they should provide alternative) recipies.

truly it is ALL nasty....you just need to know how to (doctor) it a bit and make it tolerable...it is a necessary part of your journey.

 

here are a couple links that may help

http://www.optifast.com/Pages/weight-loss-and-you/resources/recipes.aspx

http://nowisfinallythetime.blogspot.ca/p/about-optifast.html    (3/4 of the way down the page are recipies)

 

good luck