So, in the spirit of starting off on the right foot, I took the information that I'd gathered from books about protein powder and shakes to my local Vitamin Shoppe, in the hopes of being able to try a bunch of different things before surgery to know what I liked, and to have them ready for when I came home. The research I had done led me to believe that whey isolate protein is the protein supplement gold standard for bariatric patients, so that's what I went in search of. The folks at the Vitamin Shoppe were so helpful and supportive and showed me a bunch of different products, and let me sample some of them. I found a couple that I really liked, that had a huge 40 and 50 grams of protein per serving, but I noticed that as I was drinking them, I was getting thirstier and thirstier. And also itchy. And there were terrible, shooting pains running across my abdomen. It was actually pretty scary - I have a history of allergies, and anaphylaxis has always been a very real fear for me. Thankfully, I made it home, took some Zyrtec, and managed to hold on until my system got rid of the offending substance. Please understand, this reaction came from three sips of a Kool-Aid type drink with protein added to it. If I had actually made a shake, or finished one of the bottles of the juice, I'm not sure I'd be typing this right now, and perhaps my weight problem would no longer be an issue. Pretty sure crematories can cook big bodies as well as little ones!
Once I felt better, I started looking into what had happened. How could I be allergic to the purest form of the best protein on the market? Well, as it turns out, whey is code for milk. Whey and casein are the two proteins that make up cow's milk, and I - BIG SHOCKER - am allergic to milk. So what I had done to my poor, unhealthy body, is taken a substance that is essentially toxic to me, found the most pure and potent form of it, and then drank it voluntarily. I used to think I was reasonably intelligent. Perhaps, not so much.
So, back went the almost $200 of product I'd purchased, and back I went to the nice people at the Vitamin Shoppe. To say they were surprised to see me would be an understatement, but when I explained what happened, they once again were very helpful in suggesting alternatives. They told me that I was going to have to stick with Vegan products to ensure that whey didn't sneak into my system, and then showed me their vegan wall of stuff. As I started reading labels, more allergens started jumping out at me. Mango, rye, malt, barley...all of the ones that reacted terribly when I was skin-tested in June. In the whole of the Vitamin Shoppe, there were THREE products that might not kill me if I consume them. 3 Total. And God love the woman who was helping me...she warned me right off that they were going to be gross.
It was at that moment, staring at the shelf of my last hope that I had to ask myself, "How serious am I?" I knew I didn't want to waste any money on yucky protein I wouldn't use, and I really had to think about if the stuff was disgusting, but it was all I could have for a month straight, would I actually be able to go through with it. It was a wake up call, and in that moment, I think I finally got what this decision is. I am all in this time. There is no other way, and I'm willing to do what's required. I left the store with the one of the three that she told me was the most popular and said a prayer for disgusting to be a relative term.
The next day, I made a shake from a recipe I found in a bariatric cookbook that was called the Happy Elvis. It had peanut butter, protein powder, soy milk, and 1/4 of a banana in it. It wasn't bad. The flavor was actually pretty good. The texture, well, gritty and thick is the best I can say about it. But, I drank the whole thing, and felt amazing afterword. It was such a relief, and I'm still moving forward, heading towards June.
Guess I'm glad I still have the weight problem to worry about!
MR
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