Okay, today is 7/9/09, and I will be going to Florida from the 11th until the 19th, with my daughters travel basketball team. At the same time I am trying to prepare myself for surgery on 7/31. I have read many postings and still do not know what I should drink, in regards to protein shakes. My doctor does not offer any, but he does want me to do the low carb diet for pre-op. Any suggestions? Remember, I will be on the go.. :thumbup:

Every doctor has different instructions and length of time for a pre-op diet. Mine was 2 weeks of high Protein liquids & up to 2 cups of veggies p/day. It seemed a lot stricter than many of the others posted. Your doctor may not have recommended a particular shake, but should give you instructions on the length of time for the pre-op diet, and what you can, and cannot eat. Many allow a low carb meal each day. I've even seen some postings that have no pre-op requirements.

I haven't seen any postings here that havce required more than 2 weeks, so if that is the case, you will not need to start anything till the last few days of your trip. So try to make healthy choices, but most important, check with your surgeon or nutritionist on more specifics on diet length and requirements.

As far as shakes, I like Designer whey & Trader Joe. I also really like unjury chicken broth Protein Powder and Isopure protein waters. There are lots of other recommendations on this site.

Good luck!

Joan

You have a lot of options for Protein Shakes. Pre-op, I used a whey Protein Shake powder I purchsed from my surgeon's office. I mixed it with skim milk (because with Water it was yucky but with skim milk wasn't bad at all). Since you will be on the road, so to speak, an RTD (ready to drink) produce would be best.

There are some who will tell you SlimFast is terrible but post-op, I have been drinking a SlimFast Low Carb Diet chocolate RTD for Breakfast every day. Chocolate is 190 calories, 20 grams of Protein and 2 grams of carbs. Other options are the Adkins RTDs and EAS. Those are the only ones I've tried. The SlimFast works for me and I like the taste. But we're all different. I've lost 70 pounds (surgery was 2/10/09) so I'm obviously not complaining.

I say read a few labels. Obviously, an RTD is the best choice while you're away from home because you wouldn't have to deal with milk, something to mix in, etc. just open a can, drink and toss.

At home, if you have a GNC near you, they have quite a few options and are usually pretty helpful. And, I've read on here and another forum I frequent where people were actually able to sample some shakes in the store.

Hope this helps.

I had a very strict preop diet (that worked like a charm!) and it included these shakes: EAS Carb Control AdvantEDGE. 2-3 a day. They are low cal, low fat, low carb. (Not the EAS Myoplex). Compare them to the others listed here and pick one that seems right for you.

Good luck and hang in there!

Thanks for all the advice, I will take them in consideration. My pre-op diet is for two weeks (beginning 7/17), and I have to see my surgeon on 7/24, for pre-op instruction and to pay my deductible. The nurtristionist said that it would really look good if I could lose weight between now and then