My pureed diet starts tomorrow, I'm excited. My post op I was down from 281 day of surgery *7.11* and as of 7.19 I was 256. I feel great, no nausea or anything normally, but this week I have been on protein and I have not been able to get more than 2-3 oz of a protein shake down a day. I talked to my dietician so I have some more things to try but I wanted to ask suggestions. I have been drinking the body fortress whey protein (tried all flavors) loved them before surgery, now I can barely stomach them. Bought one of those 42g protein shots and the smell of it made me dry heave, when I took a tiny taste I instantly felt like I was going to throw up. Ive tried mixing with both skim milk and water and a combination of the two. Still nothing. Anyone have any suggestions?

First of all let me start by giving you the same guidelines for picking a protein mix that I received from my nutritionist ...

1) Whey Protein Isolate (not the concentrate.  The Isolate is more utilized by our bodies partly because it is more quickly digested)  Also even if you weren't lactose intolerant pre op doesn't mean that you won't develop it as a result of VSG post op.  Whey Protein Isolate is lactose free in some cases and listed as 99% lactose free in others.  Also you should be mixing these with a unsweetened almond milk if you did develop a lactose intolerance.  I like the unsweetened vanilla almond milks.  

2) 5 grams or less of carbs per 8-10 oz serving

3) 5 grams or less of fat per 8-10 oz serving

4) About 24 grams of protein per serving.  This is because anything more than about 30 grams is just wasted ... goes through the system undigested and therefore unused.

The Body Fortress Whey Protein you used is the Whey Protein Concentrate and not the Whey Protein Isolate.  I know this as Body Fortress does make a Isolate but it is only available as a Vanilla Creme.  Also the Concentrate sells at Walmart for about $16 while the Isolate sells for about $22.  

I noticed that post op plain bottled water made me nauseated.  I could taste the minerals added to it for what they claim is flavoring.  Makes me want to puke.  For this reason I mix my protein with the almond milk as mentioned.  So Delicious even makes a Protein Plus Almond Milk with 5 grams of protein per serving.  

The other thing that you generally find is that the Whey Protein Concentrates tend to have more calories per serving due to more fat and more carbohydrates. 

Now there are several possible reasons you don't like these shakes post op.  The first and foremost is that almost everyone will tell you that they experienced that their taste buds have changed post op.  With me it is as if flavors are enhanced post op. Like with fish ... I love mild tasting fish such as tilapia.  Post op it became a much stronger tasting fish.  As I mentioned before I can taste the minerals added to water and it makes me sick.  Your taste buds could be picking up on artificial flavorings added to the protein powder ... enhancing those to a point that they don't taste good any longer.  

Another possibility is that the artificial sweetener used has now become a stronger sweetener ... almost as if it is too sweet for you to handle any longer.  You could test that by adding some Hershey's Special Dark Unsweetened Cocoa to the shake. This will give you only 10 calories per tbsp with 1 gram of protein, 3 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber, (only 1 net carb) and since it is unsweetened it will lessen the sweetness of the shake overall while making it chocolate flavored.  Another thing that works is adding cinnamon (not cinnamon sugar).  Again you are using the sweetness of the shake and the spice to lower the overall sweetness.

Another possibility is that the shake is too cold.  Post op many people have trouble drinking things that are too cold.  If you let it get to room temp prior to drinking it perhaps that would help out.

Another possibility is that it is too thick.  The only way to thin it would be to add more unsweetened almond milk or whatever you choose to use as a liquid.  

Also it could be any combination of these things.  

It will be interesting to see if you have issues with the pureed foods.  If not then we can rule out the shake being too thick.  If you do have issues with the pureed food then you should contact your surgeon.  Not that this is happening to you and I have no reason to believe that it is ... but when people early on have trouble getting down things or keeping things down then that could be a sign of a stricture which is a narrowing at the top part of the stomach.  I don't believe this is your case ... I think it really is an issue of one of the above things.

By the way About Time (gnc.com) has several good flavors and is made 100% all natural with only 4 ingredients (Whey Protein Isolate, Xanthan Gum (thickener), Natural Flavor, Stevia).  Whey protein isolates do tend to be more subtle in their flavorings than are the Concentrates but that is part of the fun sometimes.  Figuring out new recipes to add flavors to what already exists.  There are sugar free syrups available and the Hershey's Cocoa as I mentioned above.  Also you can add in some cinnamon and splenda/stevia.  Also there are fruits you could add as well down the road.  Some people even add in various sugar free pudding mixes.  

Hope some of these thoughts will help.

Have you tried chicken broth with unflavored protein Powder?  Its the only thing that worked for me.  My tummy did not like the sweet protein shakes.  I was also able to eat jello with protein powder mixed in. (mix jello in ho****er, 2 scoops of protein powder in cold water, and combine.)   Also sugar-free, fat-free pudding mixed with protein powder worked for me.

Good luck.  Its tough at first.  But you'll get there.  Over time, the tummy gets less fussy, and we find things that work.  But it really is a big change.

Carol

A pkt of instant breakfast SF, with half or more scoop of unjury unflavored went down better than annything in the early days. Isopure makes non milky RTD but i hated them. Some ppl love them though! I agree that the whey isolate is better...and Unjury tastes better and seems lighter to me than the giant tub stuff. If it's the sweetness that's bothering you, try mixing unflavored into any of your pureed food. Just be careful because it clumps if too hot. Example..cream of wheat..make it, let it cool quite a bit, mix in powder, then re heat.

Where would I find unflavored protein powder? So far pureeds have not been an issue. I had half of a scrambled egg with no problems for breakfast, and I just ate about 2oz of pureed melon mix (watermelon, cantelope, honeydew) and it went down fine. The shakes do seem overly sweet to me, I think it is more in the taste of it than anything but so far I haven't found one that settles right. I haven't had any signs of lactose intolerance yet. My chewable multivitamin goes down great (i actually kinda like the taste of it haha) its just these shakes giving me a hard time and I know I need the protein. 

I purchased my unflavored protein from Unjury.com.

Cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, tuna or egg or salmon salad, pinto beans cooked until mushy and topped with a bit of cheese. You can also add dry milk powder to some things to boost the protein.

Kaizen unflavoured whey powder is pretty inoffensive when mixed into anything with milk in, like coffee, pudding, cottage cheese, cream soups, yogurt, oatmeal, mashed potato. (I thought it was awful in broth though) If you can't find Kaizen, maybe get Syntrax medical unflavoured as your basic add-in. Flavoured shakes can be great, but most are very, very sweet.

Do I make the tuna salad as normal? Tuna mayo mustard boiled egg and pickle relish? I will order some unflavored protein. Ive been eating scrambled eggs for the most part, some greek non fat yogurt, and anything I think I can stomach that has protein. Ive just been nervous to do any meats. The thought of pureed meats scares me lol. I bought one of those 3.3 oz shots that have 42g of protein but as soon as I took a tiny taste I was dry heaving so that was a no go. I am doing my best to get my protein in I am hoping I find a shake or powder that I can easily stomach. So I will definitely be trying some unflavored powder. 

I make tuna salad just like you mentioned, however, to start, I left out the mustard and boiled egg and used low fat mayo, just to make sure I could tolerate it, I think at 6 weeks out I could now safely add a boiled egg, not really missing the mustard much...I also really like the Isopure Zero Carb Creamy Vanilla protein powder...it is yummy! 2 scoops gives you 50 grams of protein...which most days I don't need that much so I just use 1 scoop to balance out my protein for the day.

Your tuna salad sounds a lot different than mine, but delicious. Other than making sure the eggs are cut up small (I grate mine when I make egg salad) and chewing it super well I don't see any problem with your usual version.

Usual rules apply: never eat anything new away from home, small servings, tiny bites, chew each bite into submission, pause between bites.

Something we had for supper that you might like is mashed potatoes topped with baked beans. Not the ultimate gourmet meal, but tasty and very easy on the tummy. (My hubby is just over a month out, our daughter almost 2 weeks out. she just had the mashed spuds) I confess we cheat and use instant spuds - so simple to make just a tiny portion when you use those, and it's easy to slip in a bit of unflavoured protein powder.

Remember that with mushies you may not feel "restriction" so keep your portions very small, so as to not put pressure on your new, wee tummy. 1/4 cup is a good place to start. Your goal shouldn't be to feel full, anyway, but rather to learn to eat small portions in a sane, relaxed way.

If you're eating with someone put down your spoon and visit every couple of bites. If you're alone stop every 2-3 bites and just enjoy the flavours and textures of your tiny meal.