I just had my first appointment with my surgeon, and then my nutritionist. I like my doc pretty well and I feel confident having him as my surgeon. After the visit with the doc I met w/ the nut.. Per my ins. I have to have a 3 month supervised diet and as part of that she told me that we would start with replacing 2 meals a week with meal replacement shake and work our way up. Then she goes on to hard sell me this stuff that's $60! "Specially formulated for bariatric patients." Whatever! She told me I would have to be on this for the REST OF MY LIFE if I had the surgery. I told her I thought that you worked towards getting what you need from actual food and she said that's not what she recommends..... WHAT???!?! so after a little back and forth she pulls a magic list of other options that can be purchased from gnc or whatever. It really pissed me off that she was hard core hard selling that crap! I bought it because I will not let this disagreement delay anything, but after surgery I will find a different nutritionist and do what I feel is best for me. I want to experiment and find a brand that I like and am willing to work with I don't want her shoving one or two options down my throat and saying that's my only option, because I know that's not true. There are tons of meal replacements out there to choose from!

Reading your post, I know I would react the same way! I can't stand pushy sales people in any venue, and I don't think it's appropriate in the dr.'s office! It sounds like you've got a good head on your shoulders though and have learned enough about the surgery to know what your options are. I'm still pre-op, but my understanding is that for most people protein shakes/drinks ARE a big part of our lives after surgery, tho I don't think they're mandatory. I *think* some people taper off from them completely, and some people continue to drink them years after. I know of course you have to go through a liquid diet phase immediately after surgery while you're healing.

However, so long as the nutrition is comparable, if you find a more cost effective brand elsewhere you shouldn't be bullied into buying from your NUT.

My nut gave me a page lists of healthy options. Sounds like yours is making a profit from supplements.

Good on you for knowing her tripe was bs! There are hundreds of really great alternatives! In fact, what I did was went on this forum, under protein shakes and nutrition, there is a list of sites that you can order 'samples' of the various shakes from. I did exactly that. I ordered almost 200 samples. Each sample is one shake. I then graphed each shake when I drank it. I graphed flavor, cost, calories, protein content etc. I loved doing it because if I had a gross one, I was thankful I didn't have a 5 lb tub of gross protein that was a waste of money but I also knew I wouldn't have to drink it again. It definately kept my taste buds from getting bored those dreaded first weeks/month after surgery. After I got through all the samples, I went through and pisked the ones I liked the best. I was lucky and able to avoid being stuck spending $60+ for tubs of stuff I didn't like. I am a little over 3 months post-op, and I don't have a shake everyday, because I don't feel like I have to, some people love the shakes and do them for life. Everyone is different, loses different etc, so keep in mind as you go through this process that you will be your own best bench mark! Congrats and good luck!

REALLY??? She told you that you would need to drink protein shakes for the rest of your life? I wouldn't be able to trust anything she said after that. Perhaps if you were getting duadenal switch, you MAY need protein supplements for the rest of your life due to malabsorption, but EVERY reputable program that I've researched recommends that after about a year, VSG patients should be getting all the recommended protein from foods.

Good on you for knowing her tripe was bs! There are hundreds of really great alternatives! In fact' date=' what I did was went on this forum, under Protein shakes and nutrition, there is a list of sites that you can order 'samples' of the various shakes from. I did exactly that. I ordered almost 200 samples. Each sample is one shake. I then graphed each shake when I drank it. I graphed flavor, cost, calories, protein content etc. I loved doing it because if I had a gross one, I was thankful I didn't have a 5 lb tub of gross protein that was a waste of money but I also knew I wouldn't have to drink it again. It definately kept my taste buds from getting bored those dreaded first weeks/month after surgery. After I got through all the samples, I went through and pisked the ones I liked the best. I was lucky and able to avoid being stuck spending 60+ for tubs of stuff I didn't like. I am a little over 3 months post-op, and I don't have a shake everyday, because I don't feel like I have to, some people love the shakes and do them for life. Everyone is different, loses different etc, so keep in mind as you go through this process that you will be your own best bench mark! Congrats and good luck![/quote']

What were your favorite and least favorite brands?

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Thanks for making me feel like I'm not crazy everyone! She told me I would need these for the rest of my life and that no protein shake or ensure or blah blah blah would be an adequate substitute. She said maybe I should think about the surgery more because a lifetime of shakes would be my reality. Now don't get me wrong I don't hate all I those things I like the Atkins shakes and EAS low carb (can't remember the name exactly) I am not against them I am against her pushing their over priced for-profit supplements. It made me feel like she was out to get a buck and not there to help me achieve my goals... Which I thought was her job...?

my drs office did the same thing... drove me flipping NUTS!!!

Good on you for knowing her tripe was bs! There are hundreds of really great alternatives! In fact, what I did was went on this forum, under protein shakes and nutrition, there is a list of sites that you can order 'samples' of the various shakes from. I did exactly that. I ordered almost 200 samples. Each sample is one shake. I then graphed each shake when I drank it. I graphed flavor, cost, calories, protein content etc. I loved doing it because if I had a gross one, I was thankful I didn't have a 5 lb tub of gross protein that was a waste of money but I also knew I wouldn't have to drink it again. It definately kept my taste buds from getting bored those dreaded first weeks/month after surgery. After I got through all the samples, I went through and pisked the ones I liked the best. I was lucky and able to avoid being stuck spending $60+ for tubs of stuff I didn't like. I am a little over 3 months post-op, and I don't have a shake everyday, because I don't feel like I have to, some people love the shakes and do them for life. Everyone is different, loses different etc, so keep in mind as you go through this process that you will be your own best bench mark! Congrats and good luck!

Brilliant!

What a great strategy! I'm going to do this too!!!

thanks for sharing

Which protien powder did you like the best?

I don't like my nut either. At least I only had to see him once. He kept trying to talk me out of surgery, and tried to sell me medifast. Is there anyway you can switch?

I agree I wasn't a fan of my nut from the surgeon office. If they try setting me up with her again I'm going to ask if there's another one in the clinic.

There is a list under the protein drink section somewhere, where people rated their protein drinks. There is also another list that someone made that had tried a lot, and he rated them from excellent to lousy..

No this doc uses specific NUT.... I also was a little put off because they don't accept insurance... My ins pays for 6 nut. visits/year so that was a bummer too

Personally, I found the Chike, and Syntrax Nectars to be the most delicious. I also ended up ordering a tub of BSN Lean Dessert chocolate fudge pudding. I think everyone is a little different, but the Chike I like because they have the basic flavors and a really good mocha one, and the Syntrax Nectars are really like a juice but with protien, I think fuzzy navel is my favorite.

Thanks Amy