istytehcrawk

How long does it take you to drink a 20-ounce smoothie from there? I've only been to a Smoothie King once (right after my last pre-op appointment), but I'd be worried it would get all melted and gross before I could drink it all.

Stats first: HW 427.4 (Jan. 2) SW: 413 (Feb. 15) Last week: 371.6 Today: 369.2 (been there since Monday) So, down 2.4 since last week, 43.8 since surgery, and 58.2 overall. A little annoyed/frustrated that I've lost less than three pounds the last two weeks, when I had been doing much better than that before. Started using an elliptical this week. That, combined with doing laps around my town's civic center for half an hour on Monday while waiting for the city council to get out of executive session, has my right leg in particular very sore, so I'm going to skip the elliptical today and hope that clears up. My size 28 jeans are definitely getting loose, but I don't have any size 26s (only a few pairs of 24s that are still way too small -- it's astounding how much weight it takes to go between bigger sizes compared to smaller sizes), so I'm hoping these 28s will last me until I can switch to capris (hopefully just another few weeks), because I don't want to buy a pair I'll only wear a few times, even secondhand.

I did that occasionally before surgery. Some of the flavors definitely work better than others, but it's been long enough that I don't remember which ones were best, lol.

I've got a bag I bought a couple weeks ago and haven't tried yet. Will try to remember to try them tonight!

Those are some great ideas, @FluffyChix!

That's a good idea! I liked some of those before surgery, but they completely slipped my mind as a post-surgery option. Thanks!

I get what you mean about not bothering to change things up too much or making complex meals when we're eating such small amounts, but I've found that without variety, my brain starts craving things I definitely shouldn't have (like mac and cheese or pizza or a grilled cheese sandwich or brownies or a quesarito from Taco Bell), and I want to avoid that, because I know myself and that's a slippery slope.

I've bought a few still-in-good-shape items here and there at Goodwill, plus I have some hand-me-downs from relatives and friends and from when I wore slightly smaller sizes. I also plan on hitting up garage sales this spring/summer. Right now, I've got two trash bags full of pants/capris and two of shirts, all ranging in size from 18-30 (I started out as a 34 and right now am in a 28 for jeans -- some of the size 30 items are things that have shrunk or run small).

You can also order on the Walmart website, and there's actually a combo option (so you can order three packages) at a very slightly cheaper price than in-store or individually. https://www.walmart.com/co/Premier-Protein-Shake-Bundle-12-Count-Choice-of-Flavors/47222977

Do whatever works for you! Everyone has different comfort levels regarding how open they are about their surgery; no one way to do it is automatically better than any other. What works for me or anyone else may not be a good option for you (that holds true for a lot of things to do with bariatric surgery, actually.)

I've had the apple melon Isopure, and it was pretty yummy, though kind of intense and I will probably dilute it if I get it again. The green tea with lemon one was okay but not nearly as good, and had a much stronger aftertaste. The only problem with Isopure is the cost, to me. Haven't had the Premier clear.

I gurgled a LOT for the first few weeks, but it has slowed down considerably now (I'm 7 weeks out from RNY). Still happens, especially if I take too big a drink, but not nearly as much as it was. When it was at its worst, sometimes I would open my mouth to talk and would accidentally sing a little tune from the air bubbles.

Do you mean the strawberry Premier Protein RTD, or a powder? I've had good luck finding the RTD at Walmart (along with chocolate, vanilla, and sometimes caramel and banana).

I effectively told the entire county, and then some. I'm a reporter for the county newspaper, and once I got back to work, I wrote an editorial commentary about having the surgery. (You can read it here if you want: http://enquirerdemocrat.com/taking-big-step-forward)

I have a 15-serving tub of Celebrate's chicken soup flavor meal replacement that I opened to try but didn't end up liking (I'm picky, and I only tried a partial serving, so not even one full serving is missing out of it), so I figured I'd offer it up here to see if anyone wants to buy it. $15 plus $10 shipping*. Retail, it's $28.95 plus tax/shipping. Info about it is here: https://www.celebratevitamins.com/meal-replacement-tub.html * = Yes, that's the actual shipping cost. I originally bought the tomato soup flavor and didn't like it, so I exchanged it and had to pay $10 to ship it back to the company to get the chicken soup flavor. Even if I *can* exchange it again, I don't want to spend another $10 to get yet another flavor I may not like.

For me, it's a combination of that, the lower sweetness level, and the fact that it was specifically recommended by my program.

Lately I mostly use Premier Protein (caramel, banana, and strawberries & cream flavors, in order of preference). I also drink Protein2O sometimes (grape, mixed berry, or tropical coconut) and occasionally buy the Isopure waters if I really need a protein boost (they're expensive, but they're 40g of protein in 20oz of water). I also have a tub of Syntrax Nectar cappuccino flavor (before surgery, I liked a lot of their flavors, but this is the only one I can tolerate now because the rest are far too sweet) and a tub of Equate (AKA generic Walmart brand) chocolate, which is also too sweet. I've found the Premier isn't as cloyingly sweet, so I've been using that more than the powders, even though it works out to be more expensive. I mix the powders with either skim (usually) or unsweetened almond milk (when I have it).

And hopefully it will pass quickly! I am so lucky to have not had any real nausea outside of the couple times I've dumped.

Yep, I just bought some FlatOut Light wraps yesterday (loved them before surgery) and used half of one to make a chicken salad wrap. It was delicious, even though I couldn't finish it, and the wrap sat well in my stomach, thankfully.

I do exactly the same.

I take 2 Flintstones multivitamins (well, the generic) every morning. As for protein, I like the Premier Protein ready-to-drink shakes or the Syntrax Nectar powders. I also get the Protein2O protein water, which is 15g of protein in 17 oz of water.

Stats first: HW 427.4 (Jan. 2) SW: 413 (Feb. 15) Last week: 372.8 Today: 371.6 (been stalled there since Saturday) So, down 1.2 since last week, 41.4 since surgery, and 55.8 overall. Stats aren't as good this week as they were last week, but I'm okay with it because, as I noted yesterday with the pic, I'm finally starting to be able to see a difference. The size 28 jeans I only barely fit into a couple weeks ago are already getting a little baggy, too. Wish I'd thought to take measurements before so I could compare that aspect of it. Went shopping at Goodwill on Saturday and got a pair of jeans to shrink into (size 24!) and a handful of shirts to do the same with. Really ready for the weather to warm up so I can switch to capris and flipflops instead of jeans/socks/sneakers (I hate socks). Food is going somewhat more smoothly than it did last week. Made chicken salad last night and had it on a FlatOut Light wrap. Didn't eat much before I was full, but my stomach didn't give me issues with it otherwise, so I count that as a success and am glad to have something semi-bread-like to incorporate into my diet. (Still plan on making @Tealael's oat-based biscuit things at some point to try.) Had a bit of a problem with my stomach not liking grapes this week, though it did fine with them last week. Similarly, one day I ate half a chicken burger patty for lunch and it went down fine, then when I tried to eat the second half for supper, it came right back up. Not sure what that was about. Buying an elliptical tonight, if all goes according to plan. Haven't been motivated to go walking due to craptastic weather, so hopefully having that in the living room will help me actually start getting some consistent exercise. Still having issues with constipation off and on, which is annoying, but I think I'm starting to figure out the right combination of stool softeners/Benefiber/Miralax to keep things moving.