Ronjohn

B-12 (sublingual) from Amazon, Calcium Citrate and a good multi from Costco/Sam's. The first 30 days, or more, you'll be on all chewables, at least I was. I got a 30 day kit from my surgeon, which they gladly overcharged me for compared to Amazon, but it was required.

I still like all the crap food I did before, so maybe you'll be luckier. The surgery doesn't fix your head, as I'm sure you've read, so be careful. I've had to rethink how I think about food. Deriving enjoyment from food is a daily struggle. I tell everyone I meet that's getting surgery to remember, it's only a tool, you still have to "man up" and follow the diet.

You'll have more amazing meals in your life, but only smaller portions!!!

I've always focused on calories and protein. If you eat enough protein and stay under 1,200 calories you will find there isn't a lot of room for carbs. Especially if you're eating refined carbs.

Amen to that!!!

They have them on Amazon. They have 12 packs. I see a variety pack on there. I might have to give that a try.

Did you try them? Most of the fruit based protein drinks I've tried made me wanna gag... LOL Hope they're good!

There's a lot of truth to this... After a couple months you can do just about anything you want, but you better keep it in moderation if you want to continue weight loss... Most of us don't do well with moderation, as evidenced by our need for this surgery.

I had a mixed drink at 6 weeks out and a beer at 8 weeks. I'm sure everyone's doctor will tell them something different. My nutritionist has never advocated beer, as it's pretty much dead calories. I'm right at 2 years out, and can't drink more than a 6 pack in about 4 hours. Not advocating this, but it might have happened at a football game. It's very easy to drink calories, so be very mindful of this.... It's also very easy to eat garbage after a few drinks...

My NUT recommended that I try and get some Cottage cheese into my diet as an alternative, as I am getting bored with the same ole stuff. I have never eaten cottage cheese in my life, so I wasn't real sure. I ate some today straight up and it was ok. I am looking for some ideas on what to do with it. Any suggestions out there?

I wasn't allowed to chew gum for like the first 4 weeks, but they said it was due to swallowing air and causing gas. I do chew gum now, almost daily, but I am very cautious to never swallow. I have no idea if it will cause an issue, but for some reason it freak me out... LOL If you woke up this morning alive you should be OK... :0

We are heading out for Spring Break vacation and planned going to various park across Central Florida. This will be the first time in years that I might actually fit on some rides (I'm at 280 now), so I am excited about that. My concern is what to eat and bring with me into the parks for food. I don't want to sabotage my hard work by eating garbage in there. I wanted to see if you guys had any idea on what to eat in there. I was going to pack some beef Jerky and maybe nuts, but I couldn't really thing of anything. Everything I eat now for the most part requires refrigeration. I know in some of the parks I will be able to get salads, but I want to be prepared in situations where I can't.

RonJon - where did you find the Mr. Cheese O's in your target? I walked around and found $70 of other stuff I probably didn't need but I couldn't find those -- help? Thanks so much in advance! I never found them in Target. Actually, I have never even tried them. I was saying that I needed to...

Do they have chicken in packages like the tuna? That might be a good idea. Not sure I can eat tuna warm. I struggle with it cold...

I will probably do the burger minus the bun in a few parks. Last time I low carb'd it at Disney I would get a burger that had a toppings bar. I would then just eat the patty with some salad fixins. We are only going to be at Disney one day, so that will work then. I bought a big bag of jerky that I am going to break up and weigh before we leave. I suspect I will be able to find some fruit if I get in a bind. I need to find me some of those Mr. cheese O's. Those look yummy...

I have a smoothie every morning. It contains greek yogurt, fairlife milk, 6 frozen strawberries and four packets of splenda. It has 18 grams of Protein, 18 grams of carbs, 0 grams of fat and 142 calories. I moved to this when I got off the Protein shakes. I am actually debating going back to the protein shakes as I seemed to lose more weight on them even though they had more calories. May have just been a coincidence...

Does anybody have any research on the Vitamin C effectiveness? My mother in law tried to get me on it a few years back, so I did some research on it. The research at the time indicated that a placebo had almost the same effect as the pill. I would be curious to know if this has changed.

Good info, as I am coming up on 3 months. I met with my dietician yesterday, and she prepared me for the stall that is coming. Congrats on 123 points ds in 4 months. That is pretty impressive. That's pretty much a pound a day...

Giving up beer was probably the thing for me. A typical night for me would involve some takeout and a six pack of beer. I know I could change the diet, but was unsure on the beer. I stopped drinking the day I start my pre-op diet. I have had a couple beers since then, but they are rare they don't come home. I think having the surgery is a line in the sand moment for me. I keep saying to myself "How can you gut yourself open and have all the risks involved with surgery and not commit to this". May not be the best logic, but it works for me. I keep looking at beer as just dead calories between me an my goal. I am also stubborn, so once I decided to do this, there was no going back...

Thanks, I was not aware of that. I didn't research this option when I was looking at WLS. I guess that means you need to eat 100+ grams of protein everyday to hit your protein goals?

I am only 90 days out from a sleeve, so I am not the person to answer this. This may seem like a silly question, but aren't all calories absorbed?

Start using MFP and track your caloric intake. I bet you are somewhere around 1,500 calories a day. Wheat thins and Peanut Butter could easily be 300+ calories as a snack. Switch this to PB2 and celery and you are at 100 calories. That's a 200 calorie shift... You have to find healthy snack replacements. I tell my wife all the time "the little things add up". One donught won't kill your diet, but when you follow it with a Mountain Dew with fries you have problems...

This recipe calls for whole fat ricotta. You think you could use fat free for this?

I have never heard this, but I think there is some truth to this. Pre surgery I was somewhat of a heavy drinker. When I drank I would sleep around 8:30 a night. Most nights now I sleep around 6:30. Once since surgery (after the first two weeks) have I slept more than 8 hours. I would love to sleep 12 hours every once in a while...

Try mixing your shakes with milk to help get your calories up. I was supposed to be at 700 calories and that seemed to be the only way I could get there. I also put milk in cream Soups to help get more calories. It's a struggle, but it is doable. I stalled for four days myself, so I know how you fee. I actually went to the NUT on the fourth day and moaned about it. She laughed and said four days was hardly a stall. I weigh everyday, but I don't really freak out about it. I just do my plan and it will all work out. I stress more about remembering my supplements and eating on time. If I'm not careful I can go 6 hours without eating.