Fiddleman

We ended up having grilled ranch chicken breast with roasted red pepper!

No problem. 3 scoops is 60 g of Protein for the GNC shakes. It is definitely over kill to try and consume 60 g of protein as here is how it breaks down : 1. 15-20 g protein, average amount for average adult to consume. 2. 20-25 g protein, average amount for WLS adult to consume. 3. 25-30 g protein, average amount for athletic adult to consume Adults typically cannot process more then the upper values on these ranges above. Eating more will result in storage of protein or elimination, neither which are ideal.

A slider is any food eaten by a post op that you can eat a lot of because there is little to no restriction. A slider can be nutritional healthy or junk food. However, most slider cases I have seen so far revolve around junk food like chips, ice cream or cake. Not everyone has the same set of slider foods as it is highly individual. The best preemptive approach you can take as a post op is to be aware of all foods you consume and not to allow sliders to slip into your diet.

What do you guys think about eating Trader Joes Kale chips. [ATTACH]13359[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]13360[/ATTACH] I know you can bake them up and we have done this, but I specifically want your thoughts about this product and eating them as a light snack post op. I just tried some and OMG, they are so good and definitely a slider.

It might be 8 oz or 10 oz of water, whatever suits you. Adding gelled chia seeds really brings out the flavor and taste, even when using only 1 scoop.

That is friggin awesome Anne. Breaking through any major boundary is such an NSV.

I think it tastes fine with 1 scoop, but that is just me.

Yeah, the slider nature of these yummy kale chips concerns me a little.

Thank you!!

How? I think we are going to be grilling some steak tonight and have a side salad.

So we know chocolate is a slider, especoly the milk chocolate which is going to be lower in terms of cacao levels.. Would the health benefits of eating dark chocolate with 90% or higher cacao negate the slider quality a little? I do not eat chocolate yet, but munching on a square of very fine chocolate seems appealing, especially because of the released endorphins and antioxydent properties.

During first month, my diet was primarily protein powder shakes for first few weeks with some tomato protein soups. During last week I added canned salmon to munch on for 2 ounces at a time. The wild canned salmon from Trader Joe's was such a treat after eating protein shakes day after day after day. I lost 45 lbs first month on this type of diet. Did more of the same for second month and lost an additional 45 lbs. my calories ended up being between 100-300 for first 3 weeks and then advanced to 300-600 during second month.

Yes, I lost my hair for 3-4 months. It piled up on my iPad as I was reading and writing posts on VST. I did get a little concerned and my wife definitely noticed. I always had really thick hair for most of my life. It is now back to a good solid mane of hair. I did not take biotene, but consumed a lot of protein (120 oz at the time) and took my vitamins without fail daily.

I wish I could tell you that there is a way to magically avoid hair loss. No matter how much protein you eat, how much biotene you take, how much water you drink and how consistent you are with taking vitamins, you will still lose hair for 2-3 months. It is a bummer, I know, especially if you are blessed with beautiful hair before surgery. I can tell you it does stop though, usually after 3 months of loss. What you are losing during that 3 months is a lot of lower quality, not so healthy hair. The weakest hair strands will fall out. From what I have read, the loss hair is replaced by new stronger, longer and healthier hair before the 1 year post op. Hang in there and know we are all pulling for you. Believe that hair will come back stronger, longer and healthier soon.

I ground up my own almond nut butter from Safeway last night. It was fun! There were 3-4 different options to grind from: no salt, lightly salted and normal salted. Noticed that they have you grinding up just the Blanched part of the almond. That makes for a much light nut butter than, say, Justin's almond nut butter. Is anything nutritional being lost in the self-grind almond Blanched nut butter that might exist in the Justin's nut butter? I like the taste of the almond nut butter I made last night more then Justin's, even with no salt or sweetener added. It is yummy spread on a banana. Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks for letting me know!!

Hi folks - I bruised a vertabrae in the middle of my back a few days ago after doing some large reps of sit ups on a concrete like surface. Did not realize it was a problem until after the damage was done. I will not do that again. Good news is that it has no real impact on any physical activity except if I am on my back. I can still run, lift, etc during my workout. Bad news is it is very sore on one vertebrae, right in middle of back. Neither Tylenol or ibuprofen help much even though I tried some high doses. Heat from a therm a care pad helps the most, but I can't wear that most of the day ( in Hawaii doing beach and pool things). I also tried one of those medicated OTC pads that had menthol in it. Did not really help much, just hot and cold sensations. Your thoughts? Do you know how long it takes for something like this to heal? Any other advise ?

Great job Serendipity. I am so happy for you!!

It depends if you want 1 or 2 scoops. 2 scoops is 25 g of Protein and 210 calories. This is 2x the calories as, say, nectar protein which is about 100 calories for 23 g. For those whole can manage an extra 100 calories, this shake is very yummy. To me the extra 100 calories is something I actually need to put on the lean muscle. Full nutrition information: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/muscle-milk-light-protein-powder-cake-batter-58335617