I should have posted this a long time ago when I was still drinking a lot of Protein powders, but it slipped my mind. I know that there was a thread around here somewhere on ratings of protein powders, but I often didn't share the same opinion, so here are some notes I made. I didn't try everything out there, so I missed out on tasting a lot of them. My surgeon asked me to be completely off of Protein drinks after 12 weeks, and I am for the most part.

First, though, I do want to share that I always mixed my Protein powder with Water. Only once did I use milk instead of water. I also went to smoothie King a few times and their mix was not in my control so there may be some variables there that I am not aware of.

Protein Supplement Ratings

nectar Fuzzy Navel

Sour taste that turned me off. Unfortunately I went by reviews from other tasters and bought a large container of it. Hated it.

Nectar strawberry Kiwi in blender - great taste, dissolved well, slight foam 100 cals

Nectar Crystal Sky in blender - light sky blue and sweet, pixie stick or kool aide taste, did not dissolve completely in blender 100 cals

Gladiator vanilla (Smoothie King) no fruit or additives - chalky taste, pedestrian flavor, expensive for product 180 cals for small

Gladiator Strawberry with fresh strawberries added, no additives - Wow! Intense strawberry milkshake type flavor. Very filling. I could not finish it in an hour.

Gladiator chocolate no add ins

Very rich chocolate malt flavor, which was delicious at first, but filled me up very quickly after consuming half. I threw the remainder away. Now I suspect it was the wrong powder and they may have substituted a higher calorie powder. It was just way too rich.

Nectar Green Apple Ecstasy

Strong, crisp apple like flavor with hints of tart and sweet. Delicious but does have a very slight after taste, though not enough to discourage trying again

Nectar Vanilla Torte

Rich vanilla flavor and smell with tiny flecks of vanilla just like you find in vanilla bean ice cream. A winner

Nectar Oreo

OMG good

Excellent Oreo flavor, milky ice cream taste

unjury Plain Powder

I know a lot of people love Unjury, but I am not the hugest fan. It really doesn't have much of a taste or texture unless you mix too much ratio wise into whatever you are putting it in. 1/4 of a scoop in sugar free pudding was fantastic. A whole scoop in a small ready made cup of sugar free pudding was nauseating.

Muscle Milk Regular Chocolate Ready Made

Tastes fantastic but more calories than I wanted to consume at one time. I could not finish one. 230 calories

Muscle Milk Light Chocolate or Vanilla

I prefer the chocolate to vanilla personally. The first few are pretty good but there is a particular taste that is specific to this ready made that either you can live with or not. I still grab one of these from time to time for a quick boost. 100 calories

EAS Avantage

These are a lower calorie version of their ready made shake. They have a distinct soyness (is that a word?) to them. The strawberry and chocolate are not horrible. I like the vanilla least. They remind me of drinking oily, flavored water. 100 calories

And my personal favorite?

Isopure banana Cream Powder

I like this one so much I can drink it from a shaker with just water and a bit of ice. It has a nice banana flavor. If you mix it with milk and you like banana flavor...oh wow!

You are welcome to add your own critiques if you like.

Thanks for taking the time to do this--very helpful.

What a great list. I am sure you will help a lot of people with this. I would like to add is use a regular blender they mix so much lighter. I also would put them in the freezer for about an hour. They get slushy and even easier to drink.

Nectar strawberry mousse is what I drink and on occasion nectar chocolate truffle. I dont use a blender I use my shaker cup and use 1/2 skim milk and 1/2 water. my hubby puts bananas and ice in his protein shakes. I didn't like the muscle milk at all and before sx I did. Im going to try the fuzzy navel bcuz I bought a packet.

Nectar strawberry mousse is what I drink and on occasion nectar chocolate truffle. I dont use a blender I use my shaker cup and use 1/2 skim milk and 1/2 water. my hubby puts bananas and ice in his protein shakes. I didn't like the muscle milk at all and before sx I did. Im going to try the fuzzy navel bcuz I bought a packet.

I often wonder why surgeons tell their patients they want them to eat all their protein and get off of the shakes. There is nothing at all wrong with them. They can be very beneficial, especially if you workout. Many healthy non WLS people have protein shakes as part of their daily life. It's just a supplement. And in our case, it makes so much sense because our ability to eat a lot of food is compromised due to the surgery. It's not much different than taking a vitamin supplement. For a person my size, there is no way I'm going to build muscle on just 60 grams of protein a day. I need more.

Ok, here are my reviews of the Protein powders that I've tried...

unjury Unflavored: I use this is Crystal Light, Mio and I can tolerate it pretty well. Sometimes I put a tablespoon in my coffee. It mixes well. It is mostly undetectable. I've also put it in broth.

nectar strawberry Mousse: I went with the Amazon reviews on this one and it was a mistake. For me it was just a little too fake and too sweet.

Nectar Strawberry Kiwi: I like this one. Good flavor and mixes easily. I mix a scoop in my 32oz bottle so I never get the full force protein powder flavor. I mix in Strawberry Mio.

Nectar Fuzzy Navel: This is my favorite powder for mixing with Water. Sometimes I mix in some Mandarin Orange Mio. I use one scoop in my 32oz bottle. Tastes sort of like an Orange Julius.

About Time Birthday Cake: One of my favorites. I use Hood Carb Countdown milk with a couple tablespoons of frozen cottage cheese and mix it in my little blender with ice cubes. Sometimes I put a few drops of almond extract in.

Nectar chocolate Truffle: MY FAVORITE. I make a shake with this everyday, sometimes 2 per day. Hood Carb Countdown milk, a couple tablespoons of frozen cottage cheese, ice cubes. Awesome!

Nectar Double Stuffed Cookie: Very good....

Unjury Chocolate Splendor: Very Good... there wasn't anything to dislike.

Unjury Vanilla: Pretty good but I'm not a much of a fan of plain vanilla shakes-- too plain.

There are more but these come to mind first....

~Dana

I often wonder why surgeons tell their patients they want them to eat all their Protein and get off of the shakes. There is nothing at all wrong with them. They can be very beneficial, especially if you workout. Many healthy non WLS people have protein shakes as part of their daily life. It's just a supplement. And in our case, it makes so much sense because our ability to eat a lot of food is compromised due to the surgery. It's not much different than taking a Vitamin supplement. For a person my size, there is no way I'm going to build muscle on just 60 grams of protein a day. I need more.

I don't really know why he is so opposed to protein supplements but my surgeon is a scary man ... meaning he is very no-nonsense and tough love. There are very few people on this planet that can intimidate me in any way because I am naturally very assertive, but my bariatric doctor has my attention. It may be respect, but I listen to him very carefully.

That doesn't mean I won't ever drink one again, but I won't be dependent on them again.

There also may be some research studies that they are aware of that have shown some measurable outcome with the continued use of protein supplements.

I don't really know why he is so opposed to Protein supplements but my surgeon is a scary man ... meaning he is very no-nonsense and tough love. There are very few people on this planet that can intimidate me in any way because I am naturally very assertive, but my bariatric doctor has my attention. It may be respect, but I listen to him very carefully.

That doesn't mean I won't ever drink one again, but I won't be dependent on them again.

There also may be some research studies that they are aware of that have shown some measurable outcome with the continued use of protein supplements.

I haven't started on solid food yet but I'm not sure I will be able to eat the amount of solid protein a day to get me to 80 grams. Maybe I'm missing something but the math doesn't add up. Lets say you have an egg or two for Breakfast, thats 12g. For lunch you have 2 or 3oz of chicken, that's 21g. For dinner you have 3oz of steak, that's another 21g. That is only 54g, which I don't believe is enough. Down the road I'm guessing I will HAVE to rely on at least one Protein shake a day to ensure that I get enough.

~Dana

I haven't started on solid food yet but I'm not sure I will be able to eat the amount of solid Protein a day to get me to 80 grams. Maybe I'm missing something but the math doesn't add up. Lets say you have an egg or two for breakfast' date=' thats 12g. For lunch you have 2 or 3oz of chicken, that's 21g. For dinner you have 3oz of steak, that's another 21g. That is only 54g, which I don't believe is enough. Down the road I'm guessing I will HAVE to rely on at least one protein shake a day to ensure that I get enough.

~Dana[/quote']

I struggle to get my protein but I always have 2 Snacks. Its usually greek yogurt I think it has 12 grams. I bought beneprotein and u can add it to food or drinks. I usually add it to swiss miss diet hot chocolate. If im still low on protein I will have a greek yogurt before bed. Thats with a shake in the morning. I dont think I could get close if it wasnt for the shake because im never hungry in the morning.

I haven't started on solid food yet but I'm not sure I will be able to eat the amount of solid Protein a day to get me to 80 grams. Maybe I'm missing something but the math doesn't add up. Lets say you have an egg or two for breakfast' date=' thats 12g. For lunch you have 2 or 3oz of chicken, that's 21g. For dinner you have 3oz of steak, that's another 21g. That is only 54g, which I don't believe is enough. Down the road I'm guessing I will HAVE to rely on at least one Protein shake a day to ensure that I get enough.

~Dana[/quote']

That's kinda how I feel about it too. I'd rather have the shake than be low on protein. As long as shakes are a supplement, and not your main protein source....JMHO.