Hi,

I'm still at least 3 months pre-op (I have 3 months to go to fulfill my insurance requirements) but I have been trying some Protein samples. Thought I'd share my opinions!

Atkins Daybreak Creamy Chocolate: This is my favorite prepared drink so far, but of course lowest in protein! Not much aftertaste and a good texture.

Atkins Advantage Milk chocolate Delight: Not as good as the daybreak version, but drinkable. A little "watery" tasting.

Atkins Advantage Strawberry: Chalky, tastes like medicine. Very artificial strawberry flavor. Not good.

Muscle Milk Chocolate (powder, not prepared): This, so far, is my very favorite of all of them. Least offensive smell, but a slightly gritty texture. It's better with milk than Water, and tastes a little like a melted Frosty from Wendy's. They sent me a sample of regular, not lite, but the stats on the regular one didn't seem too far off of most other Meal Replacement Protein shakes. I liked it enough to buy a whole jug of it to use pre-op. It's also good with PB2 added, and makes tolerable Cookies. Sets up like cement if you don't wash your glass immediately.

Muscle Milk vanilla Creme (powder, regular): I just don't like the taste of vanilla as much as I like chocolate, but it wasn't bad. Same gritty texture and a little too sweet, but I could drink it again. Also better with milk than water, and I'll bet it would taste good with crushed ice and a little McCormick's root beer concentrate. Maybe I'll try that with another brand of vanilla.

Syntrax nectar Strawberry Kiwi: I wish I'd known not to mix these when I'm already dressed for work - as soon as it hit water, it turned "Radiation Red". They all do that - turn shockingly bright colors. Anyway, it tasted like a cross between Hawaiian Punch and feet. Oddly enough, it was fine just eating the powder like a pixie stick. Can we do that after surgery? I know it wouldn't go towards our liquid requirements that way, but it wouldn't hurt anything if that's the only way to get it down, right? The Syntrax flavors I've tried so far seem to have the most offensive smell, and that's hard for me to get past. It could also be that I'm mentally psyched up to drink juice, and it just doesn't taste like juice.

Syntrax Nectar Fuzzy Navel: I really wanted to like this one. In fact, the first sip, I was in love. The second, I wasn't so sure. The third, I retched. It wound up going down the drain. I have no idea why I reacted this way, but I just couldn't force it down. Has anyone ever tried freezing these? For some reason I felt like I might be able to get it down if I froze it into cubes, then shaved it and ate it like a snowcone. I still have samples of other flavors left, I might try it just for giggles.

Syntrax Nectar Chocolate Truffle: Mixed this one with milk. Tasted kind of like chocolate milk - not as good as Muscle Milk, but tolerable. Lower in calories, for sure.

Chike Orange Creme: I've never really found anything orange creme / orange sherbet-y that I could get excited about. I mixed it with water, and it stayed a little lumpy but not gritty. Toothache sweet and had a strong smell (I wound up pouring it in a cup with a lid and straw), but the taste wasn't terrible. I wouldn't buy any quantity of this, but might not mind having a few packets around just to break things up later.

That's it for now, but I'm sure I'll have more later - I still have a bunch of Chike and Nectar samples at home, and just ordered the powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury starter pack.

I've also tried a few bars:

ThinkThin Chocolate Fudge (and caramel - my review wouldn't be different if I split up the flavors): These are the most disgusting things I think I've ever put in my mouth. Gritty, too sweet but not sweet enough at the same time and I'm not sure how that's possible, massive aftertaste - just gross. If you've been diabetic or ever spent time with one, you know that smell bottled insulin has? That's kind of what these taste like.

Oh! Also, tried Nectar Cappuccino over the weekend. No caffeine, which is probably a good thing, and I wanted to lick the cup. Very good, and a lot lower in calories than Chike. Didn't appear to be good for a meal replacement, but I haven't quite figured out what to use and when to use it yet. Can't set up my 1:1 nutritionist meeting until the end of the month.

Roundisashape, check out amazon for the syrups. They sell a few different variety packs for a great price or tons of different flavors single. Just read the reviews before you take the plunge and you should be safe. I'm actually surprised at how good the syrup tastes. I'm not a fan of artificially sweetened things because of that weird fake taste but I never would've guessed this stuff had no sugar! I want to try peach or orange next. I've read that some people mix with plain yogurt too to get Protein that way but can easily mix the flavors without adding calories

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I agree with not investing in protein powder pre-op.

One suggestion: order a variety of samples from BJ's Bariatrics, nasua nutrition, and/or Unjury.....then sample them post op and order what you like......

Thought I'd share......tried Pure Protein RTD shakes this morning (frosty chocolate)....found it at Walmart.....not bad......I tossed in a teaspoon of instant decaf coffee for a mocha drink, and I'm calling it good.

I have a couple "no brainer" options that I can grab and go that don't require mixing/refrigeration....just in case I have a longer day than planned, running late, or can't stop for a meal.

Just tried these by Syntrax nectar

Vanilla torte- too sweet for my taste. Smell was strong like Protein shake

Double chocolate- very good! Not at all Protein Shake tasting nor bad with the smell!

I'm going to be using these til January when I have my surgery. I'll probably pick up another variety pack for after surgery too once it gets closer

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For those of you that are pre-op just know the way the drinks taste WILL change. Drinks I liked before surgery I cant even tolerate now and they taste completely different. Its best to find one you like for your pre-op diet then try samples after surgery to see which ones you like best post-op chances are they will not be the same.

EXACTLY! I have been reading all of these pre op posts about the drinks and I was thinking to myself oh my all the wasted money! I did not like any of the ones I liked and loved before surgery. After surgery they made me gag and I could not force myself to get them down. If I was able to drink thru a straw I may be able to suck them down quickly but since a straw is out of the question, I have not found one protein drink that I actually like AND meets the guidelines that my dietician set for them except for the CVS brand whey protein powder. Does anyone else have the 5-10-15 Rule when drinking protein?

I'm not familiar with the 5-10-15 rule - what is that? Sounds interesting!

As far as trying things in advance, I've been taking in everything I've read here and expect my post op tastes to change - except for more samples I've been stockpiling for after surgery, I'm only buying in quantity what I think I can finish pre-op. This whole process is so regimented it seems like the one thing I have control over!

I haven't been put on an official diet yet, but at my first consultation the surgeon's assistant poked at my stomach and said, "Your liver shouldn't be all the way down here". It doesn't seem like a week or two of eating differently before surgery is enough to fix that, so I've been trying to incorporate new habits early on to try to get that under control. So exciting, but so much to think about!

When searching for a protein drink my dietician makes me use the 5-10-15 rule. no more then 5 grams of fat, no more then 10 grams of carbs, and at least 15 grams of protein. Let me just say there aren't to many choices that meet this! All the good ones have at least 20 or more carbs I have found.

Thanks! I'd never heard of it, but it sounds like a pretty good rule to keep in mind

The calorie/carb/protein ratios is why I keep coming back to Premier Protein from costco for the premade and the Syntrax nectar for powder. Both are VERY low carb and high protein.

The Premier actually fills me enough to be a Meal Replacement. i can only tolerate the chocolate and actually find it tastes pretty good. Here is the weird thing though... every few months it starts giving me diarrea and I need to stop drinking it for awhile and then I can start up again.

The Syntrax Nectar I can only drink as a shake when I blend it up with ice. I find it is so low calorie and low carb that it doesn't fill me up very well so a shake made from the syntrax is really just a supplement of protein. My favorite flavor for just drinking is the chocolate followed by the cappacino. I didn't bond with the fruity flavors, so highly recommend everyone ordering the single serving sample pack before getting too crazy with this stuff. It is an excellent protein, but some of the flavors are unusual. Flip side, you can do alot with it.

I also use the syntrax nectar vanilla bean torte but more as a recipe additive. For example, I make a low carb high protein pancake using a fake biscuit product called Carbquik. I modify the mixing directions and add a scoop of vanilla syntrax and use Water instead of cream, egg beaters instead of eggs. I get higher protien and reasonable carb pancakes and to me, they taste really good. A dash of cinnamon makes it even better.

Most protein powders do not mix well with hot water or coffee. If you want to use one of these powders as a coffee additive what you need to do is premix it with room temperature or warm (not hot) water. once the powder is dissolved, you can then add it to your coffee or other hot beverage.

I am a big believer in high protein not just for weight loss but for maintenance so i continue to use the drinks to supplement my protien even now. Side note, be careful of the bars, they tend to be high carb and have a certain candy bar like appeal to them... makes me prone to over eat on them.

After reading this post yesterday I ordered the syntrax double cookie I think its called. I really hope I like it! I did not like the premire shake at all.

CGJ picks them well. The nectar sweets are very good and mix well. They were my primary shakes for first 6 months. If you like nectar double cookie, you might also like Matrix Oreo. It is made by the same company, but is a different formula and designed to be extended release. The Matrix protein matrix will hold you for 4-5 hours instead of 2-3 as Nectar does and costs about 10 dollars more. I just recently discovered Costco premier protein drinks because my wife likes to drink them. I am not sure why I avoided these for so long, but they are tasty and actually satisfy as a meal (very surprised). I like to drink one right when I get up in the morning. If you like muscle milk lite,you might enjoy cake batter flavor. It is hard ( ok impossible) to find in a retail store so I order it off Amazon. It is so delicious. If you are looking for an evening or bed time shake, might I recommend Optimal Nutrition double chocolate casein. It will really help your muscles repair and aid in weight loss while you sleep.

I found the premier shakes at Sams Club. Bought 2 cases of them pre surgery and after surgery YUUUUUUUUUUUCK!

Tried 2 more today

Syntrax nectar- apple ecstasy. Oh my god, how disgusting was this! If you like apple flavored candies, you'd probably love it. I, however, do not!

Unjury- strawberry- pretty good! Mixed it with a container of cherry yogurt

I'm just about done trying my sample packs of unjury and syntrax . Thank god I bought the sample packs because so many I thought would be good, were soooo gross! I'll have to figure out how many tubs will get me til surgery in jan!

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I tried the nectar apple ecstasy tonight too - could not spit it out fast enough! Weird, though, it's another one that I could tolerate just fine eating the powder like a pixie stick.

Thanks for the CarbQuick info and tip about hot Water, Cowgirl! I might try some of the CarbQuick now.

Edited November 6, 201312 yr by roundisashape

Omg didn't even think of that!

Idowned half of it in one shot when I was at work and then my taste buds got it. Ewwwww. The color was pretty intense too

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