If protein drinks are not required for the pre-op portion is there any way to avoid them all together through this process? I am not worried about getting my protein through foods down the road, I am just wondering about the time immediately after surgery?

Hmm..I don't think so. I hated drinking the shakes though. I have started drinking them again as I've decided to incorporate weightlifting into my exercise but nowadays I can add all sorts of stuff to them to make them taste much better.

Why exactly do you want to avoid drinking them?

Nope I dont believe you can avoid them all together unless you want to starve after surgery. If you dont get Protein and take your Vitamins your hair will start falling out trust me watched it happen to my cousin becuase she didnt drink Protein shakes after surgery becuase she didnt like them. I had a hard time at the beginning trying to find one I like but I did find one that taste just like chocolate milk and does not have the chalky texture to it.

Carnation Instant Breakfast - sugar free mix with 8oz of skim milk

comes in vanilla, chocolate, strawberry

I do not do well with bad tasting things at all and having tried a few sips of some protein drinks I also have this mental block to knowing it is a protein drink that I just cannot get past. I know it sounds odd but for me it is a just a thing.

If you haven't already try a few RTD Protein shakes. MM Light is not too bad and Myoplex is okay as well. I drink Labrada Lean Body chocolate Ice Cream and it's pretty good. I am not a protein drinker either so I feel your pain! The smell of the powders makes me nauseous LOL.

You may also want to look into buying Isopure Protein drinks. They come in glass bottles, 40g protein each, and they taste a bit better than most powders/RTDs. The flavors are more fruity though they are very sweet. They're good to dilute with Water. I found mine at the Vitamin Shoppe though I'm sure GNC sells them as well.

Thank you for your input on this subject, I really appreciate it! Is there such a thing as a protein drink or powder that is truly unflavored and blendable where I could make my own smoothies with a stick blender?

Thank you for your input on this subject, I really appreciate it! Is there such a thing as a Protein drink or powder that is truly unflavored and blendable where I could make my own smoothies with a stick blender?

They do sell unflavored Protein Powder but I think it has a taste to it. I mean it's "tasteless" but it's not like Water or anything. I don't know how to explain it. It's more of like a grainy taste. I didn't like the kind I bought. If you're making smoothies try to find a good vanilla powder to use. I'm not sure how unflavored would taste in a smoothy. I guess it depends what you're adding to it.

I couldn't do it...they just are nasty! My dr. suggested carnation instant breakfast. You mix it with milk, it's just like drinking chocolate milk. I drank a few for a week or two after my surgery but have not had one since. I have absolutely no problem getting in my protien. Almost everything has a little protien in it. I keep track of everything I eat on fit day. Supposed to get 60 g of protien a day, I'm usually well into the 70's.

I couldn't do it...they just are nasty! My dr. suggested carnation instant breakfast. You mix it with milk, it's just like drinking chocolate milk. I drank a few for a week or two after my surgery but have not had one since. I have absolutely no problem getting in my protien. Almost everything has a little protien in it. I keep track of everything I eat on fit day. Supposed to get 60 g of protien a day, I'm usually well into the 70's.

This sounds like the plan I will be using. Thank you for the pearls of wisdom!

I could not do the Protein shakes... they were just unbearable I didn't do well with the milky taste or the artificial sweeteners. When I had to have protein if I had not made the quota for the day I used Genesis 100 protein (got it from amazon.com), its a 1 oz serving that has 15 grams of protein for approx 60 calories. So much easier to get something down that's concentrated. It didn't taste great, very sweet and orangey but I made it work, now 3 weeks out I have not used it since probably the first or early second week.

Good Luck!

One question I have is you mentioned making you own smoothy. After surgery for the first couple weeks you can't have fruit so I'm not sure what you would really put in a smoothy other than water/fat free milk, maybe vanilla, and the unflavored Protein powder; and perhaps some of the items I'll mention below. I guess when I think of smoothy it conjures of stuff that you shouldn't be eating like ice cream.

I recommend looking for Protein shake recipes either on this site or using google. First find a whey isolate Protein powder that you like. They are not all created equal. If you buy at Vitamin Shoppe or a GNC they will usually let you return for store credit if you don't like the one you bought. Also ask the clerk for advice on flavors. They can tell you what people like and buy repeatedly. They are usually pretty candid comparing different brands that they carry.

Personally I like Gold Standard Double chocolate and Dymatize Gourmet Vanilla. Here are some options for making them taste better: make Milk cubes (you know freeze it in ice cube trays, 2 are about 1/3 cup milk), add sugar/fat free pudding powder, splendra, Davinchi sugar free syrups (found coffee isle), instant coffee, spices, fat free milk. Mix in a blender (I really like my Hamilton Beach personal blender, it mixes in a travel mug which you can take on the go. $15 at Walmart). The milk cubes give the shake a frosty texture.

Also some Ready to Drink brands are pretty good actually. I've tried Muscle Milk Light (make sure to get the light version the reqular is very high in calories and fat), and Premier Brand which can be found at costco (160 cal, 30 g protein).

I was in the same boat regarding Protein drinks. I tried a lot of them, hated nearly all of them. Ended with the 'unflavored' powder and developed quite an intimate relationship with my spice rack. Amazing what a little nutmeg, cinnamon, etc can do to make a cheery day. smoothies can have an astonishing variety of ingredients. And our tastes change as well over time. One I came to tolerate well, was the unflavored protein powder, a tiny spoon of Adams crunchy PB, 1/4 banana or berries (I garden and have fresh as well as frozen), a splash of skim milk, varying amounts of NF yogurt-plain of course- and at times a squirt of Stevia along with a wide range of spices sprinkled on top of a blenderized treat. That got me thru a LOT of weeks.

You can find a basic simple recipe that you like, or can tolerate at least. The HUGE range of differences between a few blueberries vs a few raspberries in what is otherwise the same recipe, is astounding. So too is a tiny bit of those spices we've all ignored for so long.....I've got about 2 dozen different spices that all work well depending on the taste I'm after.

Experiment....delight is just around the corner of Frustration and Can't Stand It Avenue......

The only Protein drinks I've ever had were simply out of curiosity to try them. All the one's I've tried are disgusting - they have a distinctive base note or taste that is in all of them, covered by an absolutely sickly artificial sweetener sweetness. I just refuse to believe that they are healthy - they're processed crap in my opinion. Mankind survived perfectly well before Protein shakes became fashionable, which lets face it has only been in the last several years - and where are all the lean, muscle bound people walking around as a result of drinking them? Probably hanging round with the millions of healthy thin people that did Atkins and the trillions of superslim low fat high carb devotees. They're simply one way of ingesting calories.

I've lost weight perfectly well, maintained it for years, and am now maintaining with my band unfilled, all without relying on protein shakes, I run, do bootcamp and body pump, all without protein shakes. I am fit and lean. Without protein shakes. I'd say if you dont like em, dont drink em.

After surgery, I made lots of smoothies - yogurt, milk and fruit. Fruit was allowed on my list. Personally, i dont eat manufactured things like syrups, pudding mixes and other artificially sweetned and flavoured alternatives. Another faveourite - a good old fashioned egg flip - egg, milk, vanilla and a teaspoon or so of sugar. I had blended up Soups that had protein like meat and beans/pulses/lentils in them too.

When I think smoothy I think milk, yogurt, ice, etc. I never think ice cream as that is a milk shake and this is the exact opposite of what this is all about. LOL

I drink the clear Isopure drinks, my favorite it fruit punch, but not everyone like them, but they are more like juice and not so heavy...40 grams of Protein, no carbs, 160 calories, low on sodium...I didn't care for the shakes because I don't like the chalky taste, but then people like the liquid isopure because some flavors will leave like a dry aftertaste...with one of those and a container of chobani vanilla greek yogurt and I'm good for my protein for the day.

trisha

p.s. GNC and Vitamin Shoppe sell the bottles of Isopure, but try to find someplace that sells the bottles individually so you can test them out first. A case is like 40 bucks, but it's just one bottle a day. But if you try a bottle and don't like it, at least you haven't shelled out much money.