I have never used protein powders EVER since my surgery in 1985. It was never suggested. My protein intake is very low and I hate water. Guess that could be the reason for my plateau for the past 10 years.

I am looking for your suggestions. What is your favorite brand? How does it taste? Where do you get it?

And, I don't like chocolate.

Looking forward to your replies.

Paula in Phx

Hi, Paula. Glad you asked. I love love love this protein drink... Here is what I do...

I steam up some Labrada Lean Body Vanilla RTD (ready to drink)... the ready to drink shakes are better to steam or heat up... if you do it with powder, it "cooks" the protein and causes awful lumps! You can get this for 3.49 from Vitamin Shoppe if you want local with no shipping charges... sometimes i do a mixture of 5 oz Labrada, 3 oz of Hood Calorie Countdown, a little bit of water or Half & Half depending on if I want richer or not... you just do whatever works for you... just make sure there are 10 oz of liquid... then i add 1 tblsp of Gosh That's Good No Sugar Added Mocha or White Velvet... you can get that from Baristaproshop.com... half off the website of the maker! If you want the stats, go to goshthatsgood.com. Anyway, it makes the best, creamiest, thickest mocha or white mocha that I have ever had as a wls postop.

You can also just steam up your Labrada (heats up great in the microwave!) and add an oz of your favorite sugar free davinci syrup... 17 oz of the labrada is 40 g protein. My tummy loves me for it... I love hot drinks in the morning as I drive to work, then again later in the afternoon, then again at night.

And then there's the Body Fortress protein supplement at Wal-Mart...
Available in Vanilla.. yummy... and only $13 per 3lb. canister.
Also, when you can swing it... Buy a Magic Bullet! The perfect blender
to make the most delicious shakes! Is perfect with ice... powerful little devils!

Hi Paula!

I love the Designer Whey proteins that come in several flavors. I am sure they have it at GNC, but here is their webpage Designer Whey this seems to agree with my tummy the best. I like the Vanilla Praline, Starwberry, French Vanilla and they also have a natural non-flavored that I add to all sorts of food. It mixes without clumps and it isn't overly sweet. Most times I can mix it with my coffee and add a little bit more sweetener (Splenda, Stevia). I usually pay about $9 for a 12.7 oz can.

For prepared shakes I like EAS low carb shakes AdvantEdge. I can handle the tast and it doesn''t bother my tummy.

Protein is really the key...

Melinda, That sounds so yummy. I love coffee drinks but haven't figured how not to get the lumps of protein out. So just go buy the RTD protein shakes steam em and add flavoring If I want? What is Hood Calorie countdown?

Colleen, I have coffee every morning. Here is what I do. I fill my coffee cup (regular mug, not one of the giant commuter mugs) about half (little less) with COLD water. I add my davinci sugar free syrup flavor of the day and a scoop of protein. I whisk with a mini whisk from Pampered Chef. Add coffee and microwave for about 30 seconds. Whisk again. I have never had a problem with protein floaties.

We're not so much into calories here, Colleen...
You can have a low calorie day and sabotage your
progress if your calories were carb heavy...........
remember
Protein First!
minimize carbs (so keep those way low)
and watch out for added sugars.
Worry more about carbs than fats...
Fat can be our friend
refined carbs are addictive empty calories
even the complex carbs in fruits and veggies can get us into WL trouble if they limit our protein intake.
Am I RIGHT, campers???? Comments?

Thank you Jana I am going to get some SF syrup. Where do you get yours at??

our version of Costco carries them. I believe Sams Club carries some as well. I have about 9 different flavors on hand at any one time, sometimes more. My collection includes...

Caramel
Creme de Menthe
Irish Cream
Vanilla
Blueberry
Strawberry
Raspberry
Amaretto
Toasted Marshmallow
Peanut Butter

And a bottle of Starbucks SF Cinnamon Dolce syrup.

They really help mask any proteiny taste in my shakes.

I love Hood milk. Not just cause its low calorie. That has nothing to do with it really. I was lactose intolerant after surgery. Not so with the Hood... also did you know that per cup, even skim milk has 12 sugars? Yes! Hard to believe that 1, 2 and whole also has 12 sugars per cup.

Hood has only 3. Its good. I buy the fat free... they also have chocolate thats kind of thick but you can add a little bit of water to it. Some like it very thick though. I do not...

And, it has 8 proteins per cup.

Thanks guys, I am going out in a bit to grocery shop:)

Paula,

I'm not big on plain water either. I drink crystal light for the most part. Peach Tea, Raspberry Lemonade, White tea Blueberry and Green tea Raspberry are some of my favorites. And for me, my water has to be ice cold.

I also use the DaVinci SF syrups in my shakes! Yum. You can get a variety of flavors at the local Walmart here. I couldn't live w/o my protein shakes -- 2 to 3 a day usually.

Also, in my water, I love, love , love the Lipton Tea SF Mango/Mandarin tea --- add it to a 20 oz bottle of water, and it's lovely!

Jana,

I'm with you on the water thing. Even almost 4 years post-op, I cannot handle straight water. I just tried crystal light wild strawberry, and it rocks! It's CL "Energy" - they went and added some caffeine (60 mg per 8 oz serving according to the label) but they also added B vitamins, so one a day is a treat for me.

Congrats on your weight loss... you're doing great!

Hugz,
Gina F.

What protein powders are all of you using. I am using Met-RX but it is expensive. I love chocolate and this one is good. Any other cheaper but good tasting protein powders?

Paula,

I love the AnyWhey brand of protein. I think the best price is to order is from allstarhealth.com. I can't taste it at all. You can use it for cold stuff or hot stuff and you can add it to just about any recipe for extra protein. The only effect it has is it will sometimes change the consistency of what it's added to. It's the best out there as far as I'm concerned.

Good luck,
Gina F.

AchievOne is good... they are like Starbucks Frappuccinos only with 3 g sugar and Starbucks has 30.

I like Chocolate Matrix. You can make a paste out of the protein and then add water ran through your coffee maker, top with whip cream, splenda & cinnamon. Yummy

I also like to steam up some RTD vanilla of some kind, or you can use some Hood milk in it, and a little half & half, or water, whatever combo you like, and then add 1 oz davinci syrup to it. Maybe I already said that? But that's called a steamer.

I tried 1/2 oz caramel and 1/2 cinnamon dolce... it was cinnamon bun. BUT it was too sweet and made me gag. I guess I don't like cinnamon bun flavor as a postop...

My favorite davinci though is the caramel. Tiramisu is good. I also have white chocolate, amaretto, raspberry, french vanilla, pomegranate which I dont use, Irish cream which I have never tried... I have several more that I cant think of cause I'm stuck on caramel! lol

You can also do your own version of Starbucks Cafe' Americana...
I use about 6 oz HOT water in a cup...
brew up 2 shots espresso, add espresso when its done to the water
add 5 pumps SF davinci caramel
steam up a little half & half (breve') OR protein RTD vanilla

You're a little barista! Who needs "the bucks"... I have MelindaBux at home every day!

Melinda you should submit your coffee recipes for the next cookbook. I can't wait to try out your tricks

Ok here are links to the brands i like. I have ordered from this site and am very happy with them, I always do a back up check on prices, Free shipping here on orders over 75.00 is great!!!

http://www.affordablesupplements.com/elite_whey_protein.asp
I have had the chocolate Mint, berry,Butter Cream and cafe mocha. These i enjoyed alot. Chocholate mint is like a girl scout thin mint and is also good hot

http://www.affordablesupplements.com/100purewhey.asp
Ok i have the Cinnamon oatmeal of this, I find if i add a couple frozen strawberries it remind me of strawberry's an cream oatmeal, this is a thicker shake also fills you up well.

http://www.affordablesupplements.com/any_whey_protein.asp
This stuff is GREAT i add a scoup to my other flavors to kick it up a notch, this is also a great alternative add some fresh or frozen fruit and this powder to create your own mix. it is also great in the SF pudding i add 3 scoups to 1 box of pudding so i get some Protein and desert!!

Hope this helps.
Adam

One of the above makes a vanilla Cinnimon thats very good in hot tea the cinnimon is rather dominating.

For a plain simple vanilla protein powder, I like Elite brand. You can get it at Vitamin Shoppe in a 2 lb or 5 lb container.

My chocolate is always Matrix by Syntrax.

But for my steamers, lattes', it has to be Labrada Lean Body Vanilla. Be careful when you go to buy these though... this company has several out and not are all low carb, kinda like the EAS drinks... its easy to get the wrong one at first glance... check the stats for low sugar, high protein and low carb.

Vitamin Shoppe sells these too... GNC's are a dollar higher! But I searched around online and wasn't ready to spend out enough to save on shipping. That time is coming very soon, however! My flex spending account reimburses me for protein supplements, shakes, powders, etc. So I am just going to purchase several cases online, save on shipping... but need more investigation into the cheapest site.

Thanks, it sounds delish, but I am lactose intolerant (because of surgery). so I have to be so careful.

Paula

The link took me to Williams Sonoma. Sigh.....

Why don't you try Hood Calorie Countdown fat free milk? It's in a green container. Sugars, carbs are low. It does contain milk. However, I had lactose intolerance too but this did not make me sick... Its better than using water... try this:

1 scoop of your favorite vanilla protein powder
6 oz of liquid (your choice, perhaps the Hood if you are brave enough to try)
lots of ice.

As the ice melts later, after you have blended it all up, it will gradually put more liquid into your drink... doesnt appear like "2 oz of water" cause its constantly melting, being drank, etc.

You can add 2 strawberries. That makes a great shake

OR here's one I did...

for your 6 oz of liquid, use strawberry melon Fuze slenderize. That is good too.

I just discovered that www.supplementwarehouse.com will price match and give 5% off of competitors prices. I am going to try elite whey. fingers crossed

Paula

I have two protein drinks per day. I started this before surgery. I've never found any protein supplements that I can say I truly love, but I think of them as medicine so put up with them. I use IDS cinnamon-vanilla and Champion Pure Whey Stack vanilla, chocolate & cocoa-mochaccino. I mix them in my decaf coffee or with warm water and they go down pretty well. I have to be careful not to drink them too quickly, though, as I will sometimes dump slightly if I do. A big thing is just trying them out until you find one you can handle. Vitalady sells one-serving samples of many protein powders so you can try them out without having to buy a whole container only to discover that you hate it. The website is www.vitalady.com.

Vivian

Have you tried BariatricEating.com

They sell a lot of protein products, only the GOOD ones... and they make sure they are good for US, bariatric patients. They also have a recipes section. I have learned a lot from them.

Also, there is a proteinj powder out called "Whey Gourmet" and they sell it. I love the Rasberry smoothie flavor. I add 8 oz of diet ocean spray cranberry, give it a shake up, and its really good...

BariatricEating.com is a great spot for information. I use to order from them but the prices were a we bit high.

Adam where do you order your protein powders from??

I looked at a couple of the sites in this thread and to be honest the selection of protein powders is quite limited. There are a quite a few high quality protein powder supplements available and can be purchased at discount nutrition and supplement outlets. The one I use is lactose free and available in 29 flavors and mixes well with any liquid. Learn to read the labels they will tell you so much.