delta_girl

I estimated that my shakes cost about $1 per serving when I get the large containers, so if I spend $38-$45 on one large container, then I know that will be $1 for every breakfast, $1 for every lunch, $1 for every snack I have from that purchase. That is actually pretty economical if you only mix them with water. If you decide to add soy milk or Crystal Light, etc. then the price goes up per serving.

She sounds like a person who has no class, no manners and is not very smart.

You will absolutely have to get this addressed before surgery. ONE bottle of wine has approximately 500-700 calories (depending on the type). That is as much as most of us eat in food in one day for the first 6 months or more! (Some do eat a little bit more.) I don't see how you could possibly do what is necessary to succeed by drinking 1-2 bottles of wine a day post surgery. It has virtually no Protein at all. Alcohol also has 7 calories per gram, protein and carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram. Most of the nutritional plans that I have seen say alcohol after 1 year (after most of the weight has probably been lost).

The second photo shows a lady who has 10 lbs of difference between the photo on the left and right. She weighs less in the photo on the left, but looks much more fit and in shape in the photo on the right. The lady shown in the grocery store is holding a model representing 5 lbs of fat. The last photo illustrates the difference between fat and muscle mass. Helps put a few things in perspective.

That is my trouble spot too. A zillion years ago when I was in college and got down to 115 for the first time in my life since I was a probably 10 years old, I still had a belly. Keep up the exercise. Over time it will continue to firm things up and tone the muscles underneath that skin. I don't know what your goal weight is, but that may be the last thing to go?

It isn't just exercising, it is doing so with enough intensity to get your heart rate into your target zone for 30 minutes or more. If you aren't doing that, then your exercise is not very effective and your benefits will be minimal. The Mayo Clinic has a nice calculator you can use> http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/target-heart-rate/SM00083 You also want to make sure that you get in enough Protein, otherwise your body will burn muscle for fuel and you will be a lot flabbier as you lose weight.

Your body is probably setting off alarms that something is not right here at all! All hands on deck. Emergency. You are ultimately in control, though (believe it or not). What is going to happen if you are hungry? Nothing. Add chia seeds to your food. Work in more Fiber. Double up your PPI to morning and evening. Exercise more. Not that I know what will work, but there is something that will do the trick, its just finding out what.

I have to take Exlax multiple days in a row to get any response at all. To some degree, most of us have a problem with this, though how we intervene is different.

When I start to feel like this I remind myself of how long it took to put it on.

You have a very mentally healthy approach now. I'm a slave. It isn't fun most of the time.

There is probably a stall right before your period too (sorry guys). Water retention.

Open the capsule and put the beads on applesauce. Do not swallow the pill whole. If it gets lodged or even worse, it wasn't worth the price. Also ask about the liquid version of Prilosec. My surgeon suggested it.

I've read all kinds of stuff on this and I've tried several things and I'm pretty frustrated too. Eating 500-600 calories a day does not even cover you BMR. I've been almost at a dead standstill for weeks.

coffee is not on my program at all, much to my frustration, so I started to ponder why. I didn't think it was the ulcer thing because we are taking PPIs. I questioned the diuretic thing because we are drinking a lot of fluids. Or it could be that caffeine is a stimulant, thereby causing some to be stimulated into eating by it (a stretch?) My next question was what if caffeine had an impact on blood sugar/glucose, which appears to make more sense. So I looked at some studies. http://care.diabetes...27/12/2990.full http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC1464218/ It seems from those studies that the only real impact is to those with Type 2 diabetes or those that ingest extremely large quantities. Then there is this double blind study which finds caffeine intake reduces insulin sensitivity; the effect persists for at least a week and is evident up to 12 hours after administration." http://www.sciencedi...026049507002752 That pretty much says (insulin resistance) that there is an impact resulting in metabolic syndrome, which is part of our problem. "In simple terms, this combination of insulin-resistance and insulin over-production leads to two common outcomes: diabetes, or obesity combined with high cholesterol and increased rates of heart disease." I would love to see another interpretation of these studies.

Bananas have such a minimal amount of protein as to not really even count. They are also a high glycemic food, which means that they digest quickly and almost immediately turn to glucose in your body. That means a quick spike in energy, but a quick loss of the benefits. You should also be taking a PPI. You can get a prescription like Protonix, or you can go to a drug store and get Prevacid or a similar substitute. This is not the same as a standard acid reducer as it acts on a different mechanism. I take a PPI 2x daily, though many only take them 1x. Do you know how many grams of protein you are getting daily? Depending on your doctor or nutritionist, he/she may recommend between 40-80 grams per day. If you are getting below 40, you are losing muscle and probably literally starving to death.

Get a little, very soft pillow. It is perfect to tuck next to a spot that needs extra support. It also feels good on your tummy, like a buffer. Mine came from Walgreens.

I was always secretly jealous of women who could "invest" in a few "signature" pieces of clothing. That high end jacket, or a really great skirt that goes with everything. Of course, they are the same size all of the time, which makes spending a little extra possible sine it will fit from year to year. Instead I have just bought clothes to "get by" on. That makes up almost my entire wardrobe, even my nicer work clothes. Less expensive, sometimes cheap, lots of black, different sizes, some not very flattering but they fit at the time. Marquel - You are going to have so much fun when you get ready to shop! What do you think your new favorite colors are going to be? iegal - Exactly! Ann Taylor and White House, Black Market.

Stalls are so frustrating! I've been on one for what feels like 2+weeks now. I upped my calories but that didn't work. I'm thinking it may be the exercise now. Last week I worked late almost every night and didn't exercise even once. I know intellectually that, over time, the weight must continue to drop (anorexics who eat 500 cals a day eventually look like concentration camp victims and are hospitalized). Emotionally there is some tendency to feel defeated by a stupid scale.

That made me smile. I have a large bag full of clothes to take to a consignment shop but I can't pull the trigger. The old me is still hovering around thinking, yeah, dream on girlfriend, you'll need these sizes again.

This made me really curious since I know sizes then are not comparable to sizes today. http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/mmdress.asp I know I'm probably being a stick in the mud, but I like digging for facts.

You will be surprised at the changes you undergo with food no longer being the focus of your every waking moment. You will find that some things you liked before, you don't care about. You will discover that you can't and don't want to eat the volumes of food you ate before. You will find yourself naturally making better choices. That doesn't mean you will always be perfect, but it will be a lot easier.

Some of it depends on how much you want it. My boss's wife did a 9 month medically supervised diet and lost 150 lbs. She has kept it off for several years now. That is 9 months of nothing but liquid.

I still find myself wanting something that has a crunchy texture with a bit of salt. Too often I work in some crackers. A few weeks ago I had a some potato chips, but I think that craving has passed. My local Kroger grocery has a whole section of dehydrated vegetables, but they have a lot of sodium and are oily/greasy. (Actually, they may be deep fried instead of dehydrated now that I think about it. Not sure.) So I was thinking that if I could dehydrate some vegetables I could make my own veggie chips with sweet potatoes, squash, zucchini, carrots, beets, etc, and add a touch of salt to satisfy that craving for crunchy, salty. I know that there is a brand of this type of thing you can buy at the grocery, but they are expensive. Has anyone tried this out and if so how did it work out for you? Is there an economical, non-commercial dehydrator that does a good enough job?

I like the Optisource chewables. They taste pretty good, but you have to take them 4x daily. I ordered some Opurity from the website where you can buy unjury. I don't remember what I paid for them but they are the worst torture ever. I keep trying to force myself to take them since I paid for them and I don't want to waste money.

Are they bitter? I've had raw kale and it has quite a bite.