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Hi all...I am almost 5 weeks post op! Wow the time has flown by! Sorry I have not been on here in a while giving an update or posting about something I have kinda been in what some people call a "stall" for the past two weeks. Kinda puts a damper on things. The first week I was really pretty ok with it. I had just lost 40lb in 2 months and was just stoked to start seeing the changes in my body and in my attitude/personality. Then by the 2nd week it just started to get depressing, I even gained 1 pound... I started getting a little mad and was trying to figure out how to amp up my loss again. I had just started adding solid foods back into my diet but I was not getting over 600-700 cal a day. (which I thought was good) I was having a little bit of a hard time with my protein and liquid intake. So I figured that must be the problem. Last Tuesday I had my first WLS support group meeting with my supper awesome friend Tina. By some amazing divine appointment God had them focusing on PROTEIN! She had a ton of samples to try from different products and gave us a bunch of ideas on how to add bits of protein to our diets through out the day. Apparently just about everyone in the group had been struggling with some kind of stall recently and so that was the topic of focus! How perfect for me And because I know how common it is for us new VSG'ers to have a hard time with proper protein levels I thought I would share what I learned, my new favorite products, and a few new ideas on how to use protein. First, my new best friend is "Big Train". I have always loved this brand but had no idea that they had a bariatric friendly line of protein powders. So now I can have my love of coffee and drink it too I do live in Seattle... Its almost against the law to not like coffee over here... lol Here is the link for the Big Train drinks. I love them! The cool thing is, I can not taste the protein in them at all! I have tried the vanilla and the espresso (both are fantastic) and have just ordered the sampler pac to try the rest before purchasing in bulk... http://www.bigtrain.com/coffee-protein-drink-mix-powder-fit-frappe-c-143.aspx My 2nd new brand of protein is Chike... I had never heard of this brand till my meeting this week. I tried the coffee flavor and again it was really good! I ordered the sample pac of this brand also. I really like being able to take a little packet of powder with me rather than mixing up a whole days worth at once. I need to find some kind of little container that holds one serving though, because it is so much cheaper to buy the tub rather than the packets... Anyway, here is the link for Chike. http://www.chikenutrition.com/buy-chike.html Third... I know most of you guys know about Unjury. But recently I have made a few friends who had never heard of it. For all of you newbies out there here is an awesome product! Unjury is said to be one of the best forms of protein. One of the best on the market. Its protein has really good absorption into the body. I have been told some of the cheaper proteins don't benefit the body as well as others. I totally get that, most food now a days dose not benefit the body at all so I am sure they cheat on this kind of stuff also... Anyway, Unjury makes a "non-flavored" powder that you can put in just about anything from soup to pudding, to drinks. I have been adding it to my Crystal Light or Mio drinks. When you add it to a fruity drink it kinda turns it into a cream cycle taste. Not bad when it is giving you 20+ grams of protein in each scoop... I also put some strawberry lemon-aid into a vanilla powder and it was pretty good too.. http://www.unjury.com/store/protein/ I also found this website http://www.bariatricchoice.com/bariatric-protein-shakes-smoothies-drinks-12.html It looks like it has a ton of different high protein options including Nectar (which I have ordered the sample pack but have not tried yet) It might be a cool place to get some extra ideas from. (And by the way I just started loosing weight again! I dropped 1 pound yesterday. I really believe its because I am drinking more and added more protein) So, to give you an idea on how I get my protein and liquids in... In the morning I start out with either a mixed fruit and veggie shake with a scoop of Unjury in it. Or, I have a coffee drink with either the Big Train or the Chike. Rite there in that morning drink I have just got 20 grams of protein in... As a snack I will have a cheese stick or cup of Greek yogurt. (6-12 g protein) Then for lunch I make sure to have some kind of meat, eggs or cheese. All of which are low in carbs. (remember we like low carbs During the day I will have a "snack" by putting one scoop of protein powder in with a beverage. There is another 20 grams. For dinner I have been trying to get in some veggies with my meat. So weather I have 1/2 a hamburger patty or a few ounces of fish, I try to get in either salad or another green vegetable. If I work it good like that, I am over 70 grams of protein. Plus the shakes alone have given me about 30 ounces of water so I only have to concentrate on another 30 through out the day. To tell you the truth, its the liquids I am still having trouble with. It is really hard to drink that much through out the day. But I am trying... I hope I was able to help some of you guys... I know I was really struggling with ideas on how to get enough every day... Good luck to you all! And let me know what you think of my ideas. Also, If any of you have some products or mix ideas for me please let me know! I am always looking for something new to try. Later all!!! "HUGS" Amber

Girl, It will be fine. I was banded in late Feb 2013. I am so happy w/the results! You can do it girl you just got to have faith in yourself:)

On 4/11 I walked into the hospital to begin my pre-op/ pre-admission testing. Just a quick one and a half hours later and I was walking out a bit perplexed. I know surgery is a very serious thing and of course understand that I have to explain my medical history to the hospital so they can properly treat me. However, do I have to repeat myself 2-4 different times?!?!? Is it wrong of me to have been annoyed by this fact? Now don't get me wrong EVERYONE was super nice and professional and great to talk to. I just wish we could have sped the process up and done one big gigantic group interview. I mean you guys are asking almost the same exact questions. Then filter out the questions no one else needs and you can come into the room by yourself and ask those. Otherwise, let's get this show on the road here people! Nothing beats the next part of my day - going to my surgeon's office for my pre-op appointment.There were times during this appointment when I wished I was a ninja :ph34r: so I could sneak out of there without him looking. He made me so nervous. I swore at times it felt as though I was being interrogated. "Remember Kristina, if there is anything you need us to know, now is the time to tell me." OMG what do I need to tell you. Do you want intimate details of my life?!?! Do you want to know that I stole a make-up compact when I was 14 years old? That I cut classes in high school and got caught. I mean I felt like this was SUPER over done here. "Ok well if anything comes up, if anything changes, you let us know right away." Maybe he was being this way because I am a fairly healthy person besides the fact that I have about 100 pounds of FAT sitting all over my body of course! Which in the long run does not make me very healthy at all. I have high cholesterol but it is not being treated bc my primary doctor didn't think it was necessary with the surgery in the works. What do you want me to tell you Doctor Chau??? Needless to say I walked out of the office feeling a little strange! Most importantly, I found out that I will need to be a participant in the wonderful Liver Shrinking diet for at least one week. I have already begun the diet in a small way and switched my breakfast for a protein shake. I am undecided as to when I will incorporate my lunch in the mix. I went food shopping over the weekend and bought a ton of fresh fruits and veggies to start using those as snacks as per the diet. I EVEN TRIED COTTAGE CHEESE FOR THE FIRST TIME! MIRACLES DO HAPPEN!!!! It really isn't that bad. All these years I was afraid of it due to it's appearance. And they say you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. SHEESH man am I guilty of that. I am sorry to have judged you Mr. Cheese.

You will only fail if you decide not to follow through and fall back into old habits. Once you are banded you will have an all new mindset.

Joatsaint, are you just having surgery or according to your stats you had it in December. Are you male or female? I am just full of questions. Best of luck either way.

I have read all these chats and You all have given me some good ideas. I am 4 weeks post op as of tomorrow and haven't lost a pound since i finished my two weeks of shakes post op. To be honest with you, I am extremely frustrarted and really don't know what to do. I am not sure what to eat and when. At this point I have lost 31 pounds and am extremely stuck! I really want to maximize my weight loss at this time but Have really no support medically and am completely lost. Help please if you have any advice. Thanks

Yes!! This is all about you and for you. You deserve this and the people in your life will benefit as well. Congrats....I look forward to hearing about all your successes!

These are all great ideas guys! Thank you. Sometimes when I am frustrated I can't think straight. yummm...avacados I could totally do that. I never thought of returning my shakes...what a great idea.