Protein Shake A Must?

[Estella 11]

Before the surgery I did the low-carb diet, and the dietician allowed me to drink 0% fat white yogurt instead of the Protein Shake. Is it okay if I drink this yogurt instead of the Protein shake? I read that Protein Shakes taste like hell, and they are quite costly too.

[FishingNurse 1,211]

I think the important thing is getting your 65+ grams of protien per day and if you can do this without having oodles of sugar and carbs you should be ok!

The premade protien drinks are nasty.

But if you buy powder (I buy from GNC- 20 grams per scoop, low carb) chocolate flavor and mix in a blender with milk, ice, Peanut Butter and half a banana it tatses like a shake from Dairy Queen. and its 50 grams of Protein. (the good whey kind)

[PdxMan 4,292]

Not all of the shakes taste bad and it is going to be different for everyone. Pre-op, I was doing a powder that I loved, but a week post, I couldn't stomach it. I went to The Vitamin Shop and they had several with smaller containers. I ended up spending $100 and not finding anything. I experimented around until I found one that worked for me. That would be the costco Premium. My costco sells chocolate and vanilla, but I understand there is also a strawberry. $24 for 18 of them. Pretty cheap, I'd say. They are 30g of Protein, too. I have at least one a day, sometimes more depending on my workout and the solid Protein I am able to get in.

Invest the $100 into finding what works for you. You will be eating less now, so your recovery of that investment will be quick and well worth it. You are post-op now, so try to find something.

[Estella 11]

I think the important thing is getting your 65+ grams of protien per day and if you can do this without having oodles of sugar and carbs you should be ok!

The premade protien drinks are nasty.

But if you buy powder (I buy from GNC- 20 grams per scoop, low carb) chocolate flavor and mix in a blender with milk, ice, Peanut Butter and half a banana it tatses like a shake from Dairy Queen. and its 50 grams of Protein. (the good whey kind)

Thanks for the lovely recipe! Is it really okay to eat PB and a banana a week after the surgery though?

[FishingNurse 1,211]

i would check with your doc. I blend mine up so well that there are no chunks and its very smooth. If you are on full liquids/ mushies then you should be fine!

[lml32937 65]

I also don't know why people cannot find pre-mixed drinks- I'm not going to say that I love them but I have only found a few that are absolutely un-tolerable.

I too mix powders (pre op- too soon post op) with Peanut Butter and bananna and it is delish I agree- I love the bananna cream muscle milk and the pure Protein frosty chocolate- they both are very tood and not too sweet- The Adkins mocha cappacino is good to and it is a great substitute for not being able to drink coffee now...

[RickM 1,753]

You shouldn't be letting other people decide what your tastes are - Protein shakes vary all over the map in taste and texture; what's yummy to you may be ghastly to someone else. The important thing is to get in the Protein that you need. To me, variety is a key, and I was lucky to be able to tolerate a variety of protein rich foods early on so that I wasn't overly dependent upon any one tiring source. Greek yogurts are a good protein source at around 10g per 4oz serving while standard yogurts are about half that - I would get awful tired of yogurt if it were my primary protein source, not to mention that I don't get along well with plain yogurt.

I have used Protein Shakes for years and have evolved blends that work for me in providing a good level of protein and a pleasing taste; likewise with yogurts I have evolved blends that work for me - I find that the commercially available no fat yogurts are also sugar free and have a lot of artificial sweetener taste to them, and I don't care for the level of sweetness added to most products. So, I have developed my own blend of plain and sweetened vanilla greek yogurts (about a 3 to 1 ratio now) that works for me, particularly with some added fruit and nuts. Likewise with the protein shakes, they can be blended with fruit or other flavors to enhance them - I often add a little unsweetened cocoa powder to enhance the chocolate flavor and cut the sweetness of the protein powders. I also blend the Protein Powder and greek yogurt into sugar free pudding mix to make a protein rich snack.< /p>

I haven't needed protein shakes to meet my protein goals since fairly early on but still use them at times for specific uses (usually strength training recovery, as they are a good source of rapidly absorbed protein) and because I like them (or at least my blends) and are part of the variety that I maintain.

Do some experimenting and see what works for you!

[BettyBoop 28]

Not all of the shakes taste bad and it is going to be different for everyone. Pre-op, I was doing a powder that I loved, but a week post, I couldn't stomach it. I went to The Vitamin Shop and they had several with smaller containers. I ended up spending $100 and not finding anything. I experimented around until I found one that worked for me. That would be the costco Premium. My costco sells chocolate and vanilla, but I understand there is also a strawberry. $24 for 18 of them. Pretty cheap, I'd say. They are 30g of Protein, too. I have at least one a day, sometimes more depending on my workout and the solid Protein I am able to get in.

Invest the $100 into finding what works for you. You will be eating less now, so your recovery of that investment will be quick and well worth it. You are post-op now, so try to find something.

Agree!

Not all the Protein drinks are bad. And the Premiere, to me tastes great!

Just remember you can live without Vitamins. But remember, the least that can happen with not enough protein is your hair will fall out. The worst is death. The body cannot live without protein! So I sure would find some sort of Protein Drink you like or can tolerate and I sure wouldn't worry about the cost. They aren't that much!

Good Luck!

[omamilam 11]

You can get about 20 grams of Protein in 2 cups of milk or soy milk. Its natural and inexpensive compared to Protein Drinks which have the exact amount of protein as milk does. I plan on getting my protein from the food I eat. You can easily do this buy checking out this website. http://www.howmuchprotein.com/foods/ I have this in my toolbar for instant access so I can keep up with my daily intake. I also use http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ which automatically keeps up with each meal I eat and how much exercise I do. It is also on my toolbar. It even has all the brand names and restaurants and portion sizes to make it easier to calculate.