Hi all,

so I'm one month out of operation exactly and have seen some significant weight loss - 18 kilos, give or take. Not too shabby!

I am now starting to go back to the gym - mostly spinning, aerobics, the occasional muscle toning with some weight lifting, nothing major - and was thinking and hearing that, given my reduced Protein intake what with the itty bitty stomach and all (just now starting soft-food diet tomorrow) it would be beneficial for me to take some protein supplements in the form of bars / powders etc.

Problem is I have no idea about ANY of these things: could someone who knows point me in the right direction?

I am looking, of course, for low-fat and high-protein solutions, just to help me lose weight and build some healthy muscle. What do you recommend? Adding Protein powder to soft foods? Power bars? I'm really not that into shakes, or milk in general...

Anyway, thanks for any tips!

Love,

RB

I really like Optimum Nutrition products. Their website is geared toward bodybuilding/fitness, but their 100% whey Protein powder is excellent for anyone. I use their Gold Standard powder, with 24g protein per scoop. I typically have shakes but have also added the powder to Soup and oatmeal. You can add it to baked goods, too!

http://www.optimumnutrition.com/

I have trouble with shakes as well.

While I don't do bars regularly, the best Protein bars are probably Quest bars, they have the most protein/fiber and very little actual sugar, although they do have sugar alcohols. You can order these online or get them from GNC or the Vitamin Shoppe. My favorite is the double chocolate chunk which is their lowest calorie bar as far as I remember. All of their bars are good and range in calories from 160 - 200.

I like:

S'Mores

Apple Pie

Double Chocolate Chunk

Peanut Butter and Jelly

The Cookies & cream (oreo) one is good as well but I get tired of it easily. Everyone else loves the cookie dough flavor and it is pretty good but not my favorite! The new mint chocolate one tastes like eating a stick of gum to me, so definitely not loving it!

If you don't like milk-based or milkshake type shakes you might try Syntrax nectars protein powder. They have some fruit flavors (fuzzy navel, caribbean cooler) that you can mix with Water to make a juice-like drink or stir into some greek yogurt! They also have a Cappuccino flavor that I have yet to try.

One thing I really have liked that I tried recently was mixing some of my pre-made shakes (Premier Protein vanilla) into any flavor of fat free, sugar free instant pudding mix (2 cups of the shakes, and one small package of pudding mix, pistachio is a fav!). So you have your own protein pudding. You could portion the mixture into individual size containers that way you could take them on the go!

Hey all,

thanks for all this info!

So I found this awesome shop down the street, and this French chain make their own. It's a 30-grams-per-scoop

Protein powder and it's all from milk, and not from cheese, which the guy said was important to bring down fat levels.

He also said I should drink it with Water and not add milk if I want to lose weight. Do you think that's a good one?

Here's a link (might be in French, sorry):

http://www.fitnessboutique.fr/nutrition-sport/whey-proteine/fitnessboutique-harder-whey-harder/prod-fitwhey750cn.html

I'm an unjury fan....all flavors. You buy them online at Unjury.com. If you're not happy with the product, you can return it. The chicken soup is a nice change from sweet shakes although you have to watch the Water temperature otherwise the whey will clump - it doesn't change the taste, but the texture is weird in your mouth. I do add a pinch of chicken bouillon just to ramp up the flavor a bit. You can prepare the shakes a day in advance if you prefer. I've been known to drink one 2 days after making it. I create a mocha shake with 4 oz. coffee (usually leftover), 8 oz. skim milk, 1/2 serving of vanilla Protein powder and 1/2 serving of chocolate splendor; mix well, chill or serve over ice. Another favoriteis mixing a serving of vanilla with 8 oz. SF orange (or SF orange pineapple) drink. Also, another option is to add a couple of pumps of Torani SF Black Cherry syrup to a vanilla shake. Today I'm going to try a tablespoon or two of PB2 blended with a chocolate shake - have heard it's really good - kind of like a liquid Reese's cup.

Also, Syntrax protein is pretty good. You can order a sample pack to try. You must call to order the variety pack - see link for phone number. It's a good deal. The Fuzzy Navel flavor is really good. Some flavors you'll like better than others.

http://www.si03.com/reg_index.htm

You can also order a sample pack of Chike protein powders. They're a combination of protein isolate and protein concentrate.

I prefer the protein powders that are protein isolate because they have a lot fewer carbs, i.e. Unjury and Syntrax.

Also, I've been experimenting with several flavors of the Quest bars: S'mores is really good, even better when heated slightly; Cookies and cream is tasty as is the chocolate brown. Several BP buddies have written about their favorites. You could probably do a search on BP for protein and find all kinds of information.

Good luck on your journey!! You're off to a great start!!

@@punklandia according to the ingredient list that one is Protein isolate so it is the right kind of protein. I use unsweetened almond milk in my shakes for lower fat and less sugar.

I am looking, of course, for low-fat and high-Protein solutions, just to help me lose weight and build some healthy muscle.

I wouldn't worry about building muscle any time soon. All of your food is going to go towards repairing your body and energy levels. Once you get closer to your goal weight, then you will have the surplus protein that is used in building muscle. The best you can hope for at this time is lessen the muscle loss. I know I have lost a lot of muscle and strength since surgery. But I still do light weights everytime I go to the gym to keep as much muscle mass as I can.

I am looking, of course, for low-fat and high-Protein solutions, just to help me lose weight and build some healthy muscle.

I wouldn't worry about building muscle any time soon. All of your food is going to go towards repairing your body and energy levels. Once you get closer to your goal weight, then you will have the surplus protein that is used in building muscle. The best you can hope for at this time is lessen the muscle loss. I know I have lost a lot of muscle and strength since surgery. But I still do light weights everytime I go to the gym to keep as much muscle mass as I can.

Ok great, so do you recommend the powder just for better handling of muscle loss?

I recommend powder/shakes so that you can hit your Protein goals. You can only eat/drink so much in a day so it needs to be protein packed. Powders and shakes are the easiest way to do that. My favorite is UMP Vanilla:

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/beverly-international-ultimate-muscle-protein-vanilla-2-lb-powder/i3-1004#.VZ7iuPlViN0

Good texture and good flavor. It doesn't bother me to get a clump of powder in a drink with this stuff. It is really good. The lady at the store called it the Ferrari of protein powders!

My second favorite is any Java Pro:
http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/search?search=java+pro#

Same story with this one. The powder just tastes good. But it has caffeine so I limit it to just a few a week.