While i will ask my dietitian about this when I next see her (surgery day!!) I am in the process of testing out Protein shakes I have a number of samples I'm working through before I commit to bulk buying (I'm not in the states or Europe so product suggestions don't really mean anything to me sadly!)

Anyway they all say they can be made with milk or Water, water is disgusting but i could tolerate some flavors. With skim/trim/lowest fat milk (named differently depending on where you are from) some actually taste quite nice however I'm aware of the extra 80-100 cals that adds per glass (+12 grams of carbs and + 8 grams of protein).

What is it best to do - add water and not add the extra cals or add low fat milk and have extra carbs and protein?? i'm really unsure I'm asking this here as you will all know and it will help me make my choice on what flavors to order and have ready for when i get home from surgery.

Thanks in advance!

I don't know if this is an option for you, but I always use unsweetened almond milk in my Protein shakes. It actually adds a bit of flavor and substance, and has fewer calories than milk.

I always use Water. Cow milk is gross, it is for baby cows not humans.

Just remember you don't have to do Protein shakes, you can use unflavored protein in broth. If you can get a good bone broth you are really getting in extra protein.

I use milk with my Protein shakes. I'm not fond of Protein Shakes in general and took some time to find a good one for me. My surgeon and nutritionist also recommended that i use 2% milk for the 2 weeks while on liquids post surgery. I'm assuming for the extra calories as its hard to get enough of anything right after surgery. I have moved on to 1% milk now and only 1 shake a day as i'm able to get most of my daily protein from foods instead of shakes.

Not sure if this is an option for you but some people have mentioned Fairlife milk - www.fairlife.com - which has less carbs, calories, and more protein. I will try it as soon as i find some in a store near me.

I found the fairlife milk at Target but I was wondering since it has 19g of protein can you get to much protein when added to a protein shake?

I use either 1% or fat free and in a 12oz shaker bottle I have increased the amount of Water to 8oz and only 4oz of either 1% or FF milk. It gives it just enough milk to keep it from tasting like a chocolate drink. I am NOT a big milk drinker and I have found this gives it a better flavor than no water without all of the added calories, carbs, etc. Have you tired it with a FF greek yogurt and added ice the thin it out a bit?

Hope that helps!

Per my Dr, taking more than 30g of protein at one meal is the max absorption. Here is my morning go to:

4oz Fairlife 2%

Hazelnut Sugar free syrup

1/2 scoop of Cappuccino protein powder

1 tsp folgers decaf crystals

1/4 frozen banana (for texture)

This makes about 6-8 ounces of liquid which is easy to finish in 15 minutes. If I use 8oz of water or milk then the full scoop of protein adds volume and I take forever to finish it for the same protein. I figure if I get 25-30g protein in the morning in 15 minutes then after 30 minutes I can start getting my 64 ounces of water (which is like constant focus bw meals and wait time). I love reading what others do for protien!! Let's chat it up!

When I used milk, I used CarbMaster milk. I think Fair Life has about the same numbers. I didn't use regular dairy milk, too many calories and carbs. Now I use either unsweetened cashew milk (25 calories, 1 carb) or unsweetened vanilla almond milk (30 calories, 1 carb).

I use 2 oz of Fairlife and then 3 or 4 oz of water (or 2 oz water and 3 or 4 ice cubes).

I use Fairlife skim milk, tastes better to me than water.

I use Fairlife fat-free milk, or sometimes 1/2 Fairlife and 1/2 Water (plus I add a few ice cubes).

Edited to add: The first week after surgery, I used unsweetened almond milk, but I got sick of the flavor really quickly. I switched to light soymilk for a couple weeks, and then transitioned back to dairy milk.

Edited July 13, 201511 yr by lauraellen80

I tried water & it tasted terrible to me. I'm not a water drinker (thank goodness for Crystal Light) so I use soy milk that's unsweetened w/vanilla. I haven't tried the Fair Life.

Fair life milk is amazing (and I'm not a milk lover)! Walmart has it the cheapest & I'm not a huge protein shake lover, but Wegmans carries their own brand that is delicious!

I use soy milk. Then I make my protein shake into a smoothie by adding ice. It really thins down the protein shake and makes it easier to get down.