O.T.R. sleever

My opinion is salads are fine, but, you need to spend a bit of extra time preparing them. Make sure everything is cut into tiny pieces, literally everythin in my salads are cut to the size of raisins or it is shredded. Also make sure to add some protein to your salads. I love chopped chicken breast. At 5 weeks, probably 1/3 of your salad should be protein.

Hey Vicki, You have a forum full of friends here, and one heck of a support group. If you have any questions that you don't want public my PM is always open. Also I don't mind giving out my phone # via PM also.

Whoo hoo, cheers to a healthier life.

Jay Robb is good stuff, hopefully it agrees with you.

Not exactly a tool or utensil, but I wouldn't want to be without disposable deli containers. I use both 8 & 16 oz sizes. They're great for pre portioning everything, and cheap so you can take it with you and not worry about bringing them back. You can buy a pack of 50 containers for about 5 and 50 lids for 3. I got my last package of them at GFS, but most any resturaunt supply place will have them.

Ankle weights, and maybe a couple gold bars in your pockets

First off, how are you doing on your liquids? Are you getting all the Water you should? If not, don't even touch Protein. Once you can get 64oz of liquids in a day then you should start adding protein. But not until. Remember, protein is important, but dehydration will pit you back in the hospital fast. And for all technical purposes if you can't see through it, it is not a "clear liquid".

Um, yes it will be solid again. Then you'll wish it wasn't so solid. Enjoy this while you can.

So far, best I can tell, you've only had milk based Proteins, which are super high quality. I'd recommend trying another type, like hemp,egg, or even soy. They are not as high quality as whey is but they might be easier on your stomach.

Another thing that helped me is getting some of my Protein through hemp. It has a high Fiber content naturally, so it will help. http://www.amazon.com/Nutiva-Organic-Protein-ounce-canister/dp/B001JU81ZG That's a 1lb container , about 17 servings. I buy mine in 3lb bags now.

These are two of my favorites 24-32 oz Water 1 ocean spray cran-peach packet 1scoop Nectar® Fuzzy Navel Or 8oz Naked® Mighty Mango 8oz water 30g Nutiva "15g" hemp Protein 2tbsp chia seed (optional) 1tsp KyoGreen (optional) You can also add another 8oz of water to the second one & a cran-peach packet.

I'm 5'6" started @ 289 today I am 190. Still got another 35-40lbs to go, but if I never lost another pound I'd still be happy. I've gone from a tight fitting (and probably stretched out) 44" jean size to comfortably fitting into a brand new pair of 32". And an XXL shirt that couldn't be tucked in to a large, and I can comfortably wear a belt again.

What powder are you using?

Before Today Hope you like these I was really debating whether or not to take them in front of the tree, but wife said absolutly. I'm 7 months out now, and less than 1lb away from having lost 100lbs. Hope this brightens up your day a bit.

Great conversation. Just a reminder, check the ingredients. Make sure the do not contain the words collagen or Gelatin. Many of the "fruit juice" Protein drinks get their protein from these sources which are unusable by the human body. I know the Isopure , and the nectar lines are whey protein isolates, which are very good, but I've seen many on bariatric sites that are of no benefit to us.

Minnie, All I can say is, wow, you have been through the ringer this year. It's a real testament of your resolve to go hrough all of that and still come out on top. I have to say you impress me. As far as "should I do it?". I am of the opinion, if you can continue your journey as you have been without surgery you should do just that. On the other hand, if you find that you simply do not have the endurance to complete the journey or you relapse, then I absolutely do recommend acquiring this tool. Best of luck. And even if you choose not to pursue the surgery make yourself at home here.

Make sure you are drinking plenty of Water too.

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In all likelihood your weight fluctuation is being caused by elevated estrogen levels in your bloodstream. This is completely normal as we burn off fat all that stored estrogen is dumped into our blood & causes a spike which will trick your body into thinking that you are starting your ummmm, you know, and will start retaining Water. I'm 90% positive. That the above is the case, but, another hypothesis would be, looking at he foods listed in this thread, hormel chili, sandwich meats, etc. these are all super high in sodium. Excessive amounts of sodium will trigger your body to retain water as well. Not that this Is anything to be majorly concerned about. Your body can easily fluctuate 5lbs or more within 24hrs.

Yes, I do use a dressing, On this particular salad I use a sugar free raspberry vinegarette by Maple Grove Farms. It's only 5calories per 2tblsp serving. I'm also a Ranch junkie, so what I've done there is mix: 8oz plain no fat Greek yogurt Skim milk (to adjust consistency) 1packet powdered Ranch mix 1/2-1 scoop unjury unflavored Protein powder I will admit, it is a tad more bitter than the creamy buttermilk ranch I used before surgery, but it really was easy to adjust to. As far as serving size, I'm a truck driver, so I do a lot for convenience. I buy 16oz deli containers and loosely fill them with my salads. I've never weighed them, but if I had to guess its probably 6-8 oz by weight before adding dressing. As long as you are cleared for full foods, I don't see why you couldn't have this. One caveat being, go very heavy on the chicken. At your stage, your portion will likely be about 1/2 of what I can eat(I'm 7months out) and you need the protein more than anything else.