Favorite protein powder?

Hello everyone!  I'm about a month and a half into the pre-op phase, which will hopefully only last 3 months.  At any rate, I've heard a lot of talk about protein powder and that I should be trying them to find one that I like.  I thought, what better place to start than here?  What is your favorite protein powder and where do you get it?  Do you know if samples are available, or a smaller package I can buy to try?  Thanks to all of you for your help!!!  I can't wait to get this process going!!!  :)

My favorites are Unjury, Chike, Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard, and Syntrax Matrix. Also used a lot of Syntrax Nectar right after surgery. Trying before surgery is great but make sure you get enough samples to try any flavor AFTER surgery as well. It'soften a mistake to commit to a big tub of protein before sampling it after surgery because your tastes may very well change.  Here are some places to get protein powder samples:

http://www.unjury.com/store/protein/unjury-starter-kit.html

http://www.chikenutrition.com/buy-chike.html

http://www.nashuanutrition.com/store/protein-powders/protein -powder-samples-1-serving.html -- many different brands & flavors

https://vitalady.com/protein-supplement/ - many different brands & flavors

http://www.mybariatricpantry.com/Bariatric_Protein_Samples_s /35.htm - different brands, also different themes (coffee lovers protein pack), different types of food - soup, pudding, etc.

https://www.jayrobb.com/protein/whey-protein-samples.asp

http://www.truscience.com/samples.html

http://tryabouttime.com/shop/ (choose "single serving pack" or "trial pack").

What a great post. Thank you for taking the time to list all of these link to samples

Great list - all the ones I would have listed, plus more.

After surgery, I used Unjury. Eventually I switched over to GNC Amplified Wheybolic Extreme 60 chocolate flavor and that's been my regular ever since.

WOW thank you so much for this!!!  I didn't even know where to begin, but you've truly saved me so much time.  THANK YOU!  I will keep this list and order some to see what I like!  Thank you SO very much!

I am 13 days post op and my only suggestion is to not buy alot of anything. I did buy the unjury for the first week out since I had it before and it is very mild...when I completed that package, I could not stand the taste of it, I then tried all different kinds, and kept returning to GNC or the Vitamin shoppe and swapping out flavors...I just recently had Syntrax Chocolate Truffle and it was GREAT, but it looks like I will have to order it online in my area.....the point I would like to make is that your taste my change dramatically in a short time and you don't want to be stuck with a bunch of protein powder you can't tolerate.

Good Luck

I got samples from a couple different companies for hubby and I to use during our preop diet and then postop. Hubby's tastes didn't change at all and he has always used the GNC Amplified~chocolate. I on the other hand liked a lot of the Nectar flavors preop and used those. But, postop I had a really hard time with all of the different protein powders, they were all too sweet. I also realized that I couldn't mix them with anything bu****er. Everything else made it too think for me and my tiny tummy. About 6wks after surgery I discovered Click decaf mocha and I have used that every since. I am a coffee lover and this was wonderful for me since it wasn't sweet. I typically drink it cold with a tbsp. of flavored creamer and I'm happy every morning. Good Luck!!

I have a few sort of dumb questions but I'm going to ask anyway :P 

Do you use the powders and mix them with water or milk or what?  Also, isn't one of these a lot for us to drink after surgery?   And...how long post-op do you typically use them for?

Not dumb questions at all. Some surgeon's plans specify what to mix the powder with in the weeks following surgery (like, only mix with water for the first week, or whatever). Other than that, go by your preferences and what your stomach tolerates. I find that protein shakes upset my stomach a little if they are too thick, so I mix mine into water. Plus I don't like the extra calories of whatever I am mixing it into (I'm 6 months out, so I am eating plenty of solid food). A lot of people do unsweetened almond milk because it's low in calories. Others do dairy milk or soy milk.

After surgery you may have to drink slowly, but it's important to get enough liquids so you don't become dehydrated. Some people don;t have much trouble drinking at all. I typically have one scoop of protein at a time. After surgery, I mixed one into about 8 ounces of water. Now I mix one scoop into 4 or 5 ounces of water. It goes does quickly that way.

As for how long you use them, it seems may of us still use them well after surgery. I am 6 months out and still generally have a shake a day. If I try to get all of my protein from food, I feel like I am stuffing myself. But there are some who stop the shakes (and even some doctors who advise their patients to get all their protein from food).

Most I mix with milk. The Syntrax Nectar fruit flavors are good mixed with ice water. Some people mix with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, or soy milk, whatever their preference is. I have two different kinds of milk I use - Hood Nonfat Calorie Countdown (35 cals/ 6 g protein / 4 g carbds) and Kroger Carbmaster Vanilla (60 cals / 11 g protein / 3 g carbs) compare to regular skim milk (90 calories / 8 g protein / 12 g carbs). Yeah, I couldn't drink a whole protein shake right after surgery. I would make a whole shake, stick half in the fridge for later, and work on sipping half over about 45 minutes, then switch to sipping something lighter (water, light juice) for 45 minutes, then switch back to protein shake. That stage passes pretty quickly though.