Anybody have the way they got through these first couple of weeks? I'm having trouble trying to figure out how to get 55-65 grs of protein, the 64 oz of liquid and all the calcium required using a liquid diet? Also how do you stretch out a liquid meal of 2-4 oz of something over 45 minutes? and if you are only supposed to have 3 meals a day and not snack, how do you get in all that protein and calcium? I'm thinking that the only reality is a constant sipping every 2 hours of protein drinks like Isopure or ProStat64 and calcium supplements. Or maybe sipping the aformentioned protein drinks and then maybe the cottage cheese would be your 3 meals a day :tongue2:

I'm only 6 days out, but this is what I'm doing. I drink 2 Isopures a day, because the full liquids I'm on are just not providing enough Protein at this point. But, since Isopure is liquid, that's 40 ounces of my daily intake. That means after I'm only responsible to get 24 more ounces.

I'm not so concerned yet with how long it takes me to eat. If I have a drinkable yogurt, I'll drink half then wait 10 minutes and work on the other half. I had some Soup last night (probably a cup?) and just took smaller spoonfuls. It probably took me 15 minutes to eat it. I'll work more on spacing out my eating when I start mushies tomorrow and as I continue to eat more solid foods.

I think right now your focus should just be on healing and staying hydrated. You can worry about the protein when you get to the solid food stage. Of course you can try to get in some protein, but I wouldn't be stressing about getting the full amount this early. And just practice eating/drinking and taking breaks between each bite/sip. It is hard to do when you are just drinking your meals. Again... just focus on healing and feeling better. If your doctor told you that you need to be getting in 55-65 grams of protein now, you might ask him for suggestions on how to do it. Good luck to you!!!! Becky

I am also 8 days out. How does the Isopure taste? I tried mixing unflavored Unjury protein with some Crystal Light and it smelled so bad I could not drink it. I have been drinking the Atkins protein shakes, but really want some variety. I have to do clear liquids for another week, then full liquids for 2 weeks past that. I have been told to be sure to get 60 oz of fluid a day and 2 protein shakes.

My instructions for the first 3 weeks post-op were: 1) Drink a total of 6-8 cups of Fluid, 2 ounces every 15 minutes while awake, and 2) Drink 2 ounces of a high-Protein liquid every hour while awake, aiming to consume 45-60 grams of protein daily.

After the first week the 2 ounces every 15 minutes got to be kind of ridiculous, and I was having no trouble with liquids passing through the band. So, what I would usually do is pour myself 4 ounces and drink on that during a half-hour. It seldom lasted that long though. Actually, with Water and my hot broth in the evenings (that was my "meal") I would have 8 ounces at a time for the hour.

The protein drinks that I used were Muscle Milk, Lean Body by Labrada, and Protein Blitz by Designer whey (these are all ready-to-drink). My routine was to have 12 ounces of Muscle Milk, 12 ounces of Lean Body and 8 ounces of Protein Blitz each day, for a total of 32 fluid ounces, 64.2g of protein and 478 calories. I would get the rest of my fluids with water and beef or chicken broth.

I highly recommend the Protein Blitz drinks, especially if you are tired of "shakes". They are like Kool-Aid, in Grape, Orange Mango, and Punch flavors, with no funny protein taste.

I like Isopure for the most part. I'm not a big fan of drinking my Protein, but right now, that's all I can do.

I like the pineapple Orange banana, Mango Peach, Icy Orange, Grape Frost, and Passion Fruit. The Alpine Punch has this weird texture to it .... I just couldn't drink it. There are a couple other flavors I haven't tried. They have the texture more like Water, not a shake, which is nice. Downside is, they can get pricey. But it's worth it to me right now so I don't have to drink 3-4 protein shakes; I can drink 2 Isopures.

Where do u get these drinks u write of?

I found Protein Blitz, Lean Body and Muscle Milk at GNC and Vitamin Shoppe. I've also seen Muscle Milk at Kroger. But you should be able to find them at most vitamin/nutrition stores.

Thank you , Have a good evening