Yeah - I know: You would rather read about alcohol.

The questions:

1. My wife recently got us some diet soda stream concentrate to mix with Water. Are these same, better or worse then drinking water with a typical enhancer like Dasani, Mio, crystal light, etc. no aspartame in these and I am primarily thinking about the non soda flavors pink grape fruit or watermelon. We got them primarily to save on the cost of buying Dasani water enhancers all the time.

2. We picked up some Isopure RTD bottles last night. Awesome that they have 40 g 100% whey isolate. Would these make a good Meal Replacement option? I am wondering because of the optimal amount of Protein in them. My only concern is that they would leave you hungry as the liquid passes through you. I can see how these would work great post workout. It is funny; I am almost 1 year post op and I have never seen these before. I also picked up some Isopure powder to try post workout instead of usual amplified Wheybolic 60. First time using that product too.

Thanks for your perspective on these two questions.

2. We picked up some Isopure RTD bottles last night. Awesome that they have 40 g 100% whey isolate. Would these make a good meal replacement option? I am wondering because of the optimal amount of Protein in them. My only concern is that they would leave you hungry as the liquid passes through you. I can see how these would work great post workout. It is funny; I am almost 1 year post op and I have never seen these before. I also picked up some Isopure powder to try post workout instead of usual amplified Wheybolic 60. First time using that product too.

Thanks for your perspective on these two questions.

I used Isopure RTD during my clear liquid phase - it was also one of the two drinks they gave me at the hospital. Remember to only drink half the bottle as 40g of protein is more than our bodies can take in at one time. I would continue to use it as a meal replacement but not for every meal every day.

You're right about it not being very filling tho, never thought of that.

I used to think we could not consume more then 20 g of protein at first when a post op, but now have been convinced men can consume up to 40 g and women up to 30 g at a time. For men, anything over 40 and less then 50 g is questionable as the protein will get stored as fat, used as energy or discarded as waste. In practice, consuming 40 g a meal has worked out very well. I do not always hit 40 g for every snack, but do try.

I used to think we could not consume more then 20 g of Protein at first when a post op, but now have been convinced men can consume up to 40 g and women up to 30 g at a time. For men, anything over 40 and less then 50 g is questionable as the protein will get stored as fat, used as energy or discarded as waste. In practice, consuming 40 g a meal has worked out very well. I do not always hit 40 g for every snack, but do try.

Somehow I thought you'd say something like this and I'm glad you did. I'll keep what you said in mind.

What did you encounter that made you believe the numbers above for men?

I talked to several reps at vitamin shoppe and also some online research about optimal protein consumption. It must be working as dropped another 2 lb last night to land @ 180 lb. As you may recall from my transformation thread, I started the challenge at 188 lb about 1 month ago and in the last 2 weeks have been pushing as close to 40 g a meal in order to hit close to 170 g a day as possible. Much faster, stronger and leaner in my training at cross fit also. I am passing on what has worked well for me given about an average of 30 min hard core workouts 5 days a week (mostly cross fit and body weight exercises). May not work for everyone as I have conditioned my body to want a lot of protein by consistently eating every 2 hours or so.