Two weeks ago I had my lap-band removed and had a gastric bypass done. Since then, I have had to switch from one brand of protein powder to premixed drinks. Now, after just about a week, my stomach is already turning at the thought of having to drink these. My question is, is there anything I can do to get the protein I need without having to drink it? I ask because I currently cannot afford to change to the unflavored powder until next week, but I don't want to do something that would impede my loss.
Also, has anyone else had problems drinking plain water? I was told by my surgeon that it was completely normal for some patients and it will pass, but in the meantime they want me to dilute the juice I am able to drink, use Crystal-Lite and continue eating sugar-free popcicles. All the sweetness is starting to make me a little nauseous. :/ Any other ideas, tips, tricks that you folks have used to get water in?
I'm getting a little frustrated with what's happening to my stomach at the moment. Can't reach a happy medium.
oh honey. it's a whole new world for you, isn't it??? here are a few ideas - hope something helps you!!!
about the protein drinks. is it the taste? the texture? i found that pouring them over ice helped a lot, especially if i 'ate' them with a spoon. Greek yougurt is higher in protein than regular yogurt, and you can make it yourself [put regular yogurt through a coffee filter/paper towel over a bowl for an hour or two - throw away the liquid that drains off]. but you might have to eat more than your new tiny tummy can hold. BUT if you mix some of the protein drink with this, and eat it sort of like pudding, maybe that'll help???
about water. sometimes it's the temperature. experiment with it. i had a TERRIBLE problem with cold water - but drinking it slightly warm worked for me. you might prefer just the opposite combination. i strongly suggest that you skip the juice - no matter how diluted it is. just too many carbs, IMO,
as for the crystal light, i found that it's just too strong for me - so i diluted it in MORE than half - just a little background flavoring. which brings me to - adding a couple of slices of citrus [lemon, lime, orange] to the water. quite refreshing, and it gives you a bit of vit C as well.
hope this gives you a couple of ideas - and hang in there!!!!
Water definitely made me nauseous after my surgery (not RNY, but still happened). I did Crystal Light (or other brands of sugar free drink mixes - store brands or Ocean Spray) or added some lemon juice to my water. Or, for warm water, I would drink chicken broth (just a cup of water with a boullion cube dissolved in it - be careful wit this one, though, if you're sensitive to sodium). Sometimes, I, too, had to even further water down the sugar free drinks.
jiffypop ~ I'm finding the bypass so different from the band. Both have their good and bad points for me. :/ I think it's a combination of both for the protein drinks. I started out with Designer Whey and once I was able to start moving to soft foods, my stomach revolted against those powders. Then I tried Isopure Zero Carbs (pre-mixed). At first the taste was fine, but after a couple of days, my stomach again started to revolt. I'm not sure why it is after a few days the idea of having to drink any more of those things really makes me want to be sick to my stomach.
I'm going to have to try the yogurt thing. I have seen people make Greek style yogurt using plain, just hadn't really given it a whole lot of thought to doing it myself, however, I will have to try it, as I said.
As far as the water, I have tried ice water and luke warm water. Haven't tried hot water, but I may have to. Thing is, for whatever reason, sometimes the ice water is fine, other times it's not, same for the luke warm water. I thought at first maybe it was whatever my city uses to clean the water, but when I continued having the same problem with bottled water, I got a little worried. I have found that diluting juice refridgerator cold water more than halfway is working. Just a hint of taste to the water without it being too sweet. I agree about the carbs though, 35g for the sugar free juice I have. I'll be giving the citrus in water a try as Crystal-Lite is really too sweet for me at the moment. :/
Thank you for the tips. I appreciate it so much.
jillybean720 ~ For whatever reason I didn't think that the sweetness thing would kick in so soon. Crystal-Lite was alright for awhile. I'll give watering it down more a try. Anything at this point to get my water in. I hadn't thought about the boullion cube in water, though it was one of the things that my surgeon's list of liquids was marked as well liked by most patients.
one tip about the bypass - for awhile [and i'm going to say three months here, but everyone is different], your tiny tummy will be TOUCHY. what works one day will not work for the next few, and what started off being ridiculously hard will end up being your best friend.
experiment, experiment, experiment. if cold water's not working one day, try a different temp. when that stops working, try the cold water again.
it took me nearly two years to be able to keep scrambled eggs down! but some folks do great with them right off the bat.
I had a horrible time with anything that tasted sweet, I ended up drinking alot of chicken broth and I moved myself to things like fat free refried beans and cottage cheese before my doc wanted me to, I just couldnt stand the protien drinks and sweet stuff. have you tried making caffiene free tea and drinking it with no sweetener? that was helpful for me when i had trouble with sweets and water.
I wanted to pop in and thank you all for the suggestions. I found that testing different temps of water worked to find one that agreed with my stomach. Plain refridgerator cold water will do it.
I was finally able to get the unflavored protein powder, however, I have yet to actually use it. I intend to beginning tomorrow morning. Thinking about mixing different sugar-free ingredients in it and see if something will work to get my stomach used to the drink again. Wish me luck?
Unjury makes a great chicken flavored protien drink. I find that anything for too long will make me sick eventually, I had to keep changing things around.
As for the water, the only way I could do it was to freeze a 1 liter bottle of water, keep it next to me, and sip it as it melted. The only way I would not get nauseated was to not drink too much at one time. That way I knew how much I had to drink by the end of the day.
The only protein I can drink after my gastric bypass is called Nectar, if you Google it you will find a lot of sites that sell it. They have a ton of flavors and a lot of places offer sample packs. It mixes with water and most of the flavors taste like fruit juice, with 23 g of protein per serving.
I can not stand the thick, sweet protein drinks, so finding Nectar has really helped me get my protein in daily.
Nectar......if I have too!!! LOL! I do like the Roadside Lemonade, Fuzzy Navel, and most of the fruity ones. I did try the tea with lemon and just couldn't do it.
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