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A friend of mine wrote this but I thought it might shed light on why some people stall when they eat things with artificial sweeteners, particularly the 'low carb' diet bars (e.g. Atkins & south Beach). You can also add Maltodextrin (found in powdered splenda - packet or bulk) to this. From what I read so far, glycerin is metabolised only when your liver glycogen is depleted, or in other words you are in keto. At what rate and at what GI I am unsure. Now in regards to maltitol. It is a scam. Maltitol is metabolised at 75% and provides 3 calories per gram as compared to sucrose which is metabolised at 100% and provides 4 calories per gram. Sure Maltitol metabolises "slower" than sugar, so it dosn't spike you insulin as much as sugar does at the same time but there are 2 aspects to consider: LC in terms of Ketosis: Brain needs 100g of glucose a day (25g after adaptation) regardless of insulin responses. If your brain gets that glucose from the 75% metabolisation of maltitol, then your ketone production can be halted, as well as all lypolisis that generally is caused by ketosis. LC in terms of Insulin Management: Regardless of whether you are in keto or not, insulin triggers are what store dietary fat, and keep it locked away in your fat cells. Even if Maltitol has lower GI value of 36 - 53 (depending on form) it is still not that much different that table sugar (sucrose) with a GI value of 60 - 65. .

I had a lot of difficulty getting it coordinated. The program finally started on day 2, so I missed the intro and all what was needed. I did not have any of the tools, like keto sticks, to do the program. I still get the daily hints and suggestios, but other than that, have not done the program. For about two weeks, I was extremely hungry, then my nutritionist suggested I up my calories a bit, and all of a sudden I was no longer really hungry. Let me know how it goes if you try it.

:thumbup: Well what can I say? I have to try to focus now as I am getting back to the basics! LOW CARB diets work for a person with the band. I want to lose about 15 lbs more before my daughters wedding in October. So I started on Low Carbs or almost NO Carbs yesterday for three days, that tends to work to get me into Ketosis. I checked my urine this morning after one day, and absolutely NO ketosis there! HA, what a waste of a Keto-strip. But just another day or two or after the weekend, I will try it again! I want to just burn fat really burn it up from now until 10-10-10. My daughter and I have to order our dresses for the wedding soon so they have time to arrive, I am going to get one size larger than I need and PRAY I have to take it in. The hardest part of getting back to the basics is sticking to the plan, but I will do it! My husband is working this weekend so that makes it easier for me cause I don't cook then. I am going to hit the Gym tomorrow too! Gonna be a good productive day! God Bless You all, have a great weekend!:thumbup:

the zone diet didn't work for me. I work in a library so i read alot!!! oh did i mention my dad a 3 x ex body builder champion SO we do talk alot about fitness. really what works for one does not work for another and no i don't have a personal tranier. i just read and force myself in the gym 6 days a week. as far as carbs/protein/fat i had to find a balance for me and the smaller i get the more this does change as well. like i know after weight loss surgery people swear by low carb but that does not actully work for me high fat diets and keto diets help me a lose a little but then i stop and feel crappy. and oregon that how i feel about my inner thighs at this point everything else is lifting and friming but the inside.

LOL. I went through the same thing. You'd think that with the 80+ grams of protein I was getting daily with clear liquids that "technically" I wouldn't have had an energy problem, but I really did. It wasn't until I started back on solids that my energy came back. And as long as I stick to the high protein/low carb diet, I even find myself waking up, refreshed and ready to go, an hour or so before my alarm goes off! That has never happened to me before! So, good luck to you -- I'm glad to hear that putting more veggies into your diet and worrying less about calories seems to be helping. Also, If you are committing to a high protein/low carb diet, you may want to pick up some keto sticks at your pharmacy. You use these sticks each morning to measure whether your body is going into ketosis -- fat burning mode. In ketosis, your body goes into a metabolic state in which it burns its own fat for fuel. The deeper into ketosis you are, the more quickly you are, theoretically at least, burning fat. Thus, even if you hit a weight loss plateau, just knowing that you are in full fat-burning mode seems to help with sticking to the diet plan. In my experience, if you can maintain your metabolism at the third or fourth level of ketosis, you should see sustained and significant weight loss -- although, as with any other diet, YMMV. As with anything else, check with your doctor before going on a strict Atkins-like high protein/low-carb diet that will cause ketosis and, again, good luck!

I thought I would share this with those of you that need Protein drinks and different options :crying: I had this emailed to me a long time ago, and while cleaning out my inbox of the 2000 emails I stumbled across it again. I do not know the original author/creator/inventor or I would give proper credit. pumpkin Protein shake This is a wonderfully decadent way to get in your protein! Spicy, creamy and icy-thick.?milkshakes never had it so good! 1/4 cup pumpkin puree 1 cup skim milk or soymilk 1 scoop vanilla Protein powder (such as Matrix Simply Vanilla) 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1/4 t. cinnamon, 1/8 t. cloves, 1/8 t. ginger) 2 tablespoons Splenda Granular 1/4 cup Cool Whip or NSA Vanilla yogurt 1 cup ice cubes Place pumpkin, milk, protein powder, spices, Splenda, cool whip or yogurt, and ice cubes in blender container; process until slushy. Makes one Meal Replacement serving. Per Serving: 230 Cal; 28 g Protein; 5 g Tot Fat; 13 g Carb; 1 g Fiber; 2 g Sugar; 115 mg Sodium banana PROTEIN NOG 1 scoop Matrix Simply Vanilla protein powder 1 cup skim milk A one inch chunk of banana 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Banana/Peanut Butter Shake (12 grams protein) 8 ounces fat-free milk 1 tablespoon creamy Peanut Butter 1/4 - 1/2 banana Blend until smooth in blender. Orange Dreamsicle (28 grams protein) 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (20 grams protein) 1 scoop (individual serving) sugar-free Sunrise Orange Crystal Lightâ powder 8 ounces skim milk Alternatives: substitute 4 ounces orange juice for 4 ounces milk; substitute 4 ounces yogurt for 4 ounces milk; add 1/2 tsp. orange zest to shake. Sunrise Smoothy 1 scoop vanilla protein powder 1 cup orange juice (or orange tang) ? banana (peeled) 1 carton Low Carb Vanilla Yogurt 1 tablespoon Splenda 4-5 frozen strawberries Mix in blender until smooth Cherry Vanilla 1 scoop vanilla protein powder 4-5 maraschino cherries 2 scoops low carb vanilla ice cream 1 cup cherry sugar free kool-aid Mix in blender until smooth Peach 1 scoop vanilla protein powder 1 cup Crystal Lite peach tea 4-6 frozen peach slices 4 ice cubes Mix in blender until smooth Strawberry-Lemonade 1 scoop vanilla protein powder 1 cup sugar free lemonade kool-aid 4-5 frozen strawberries 4-5 ice cubes Mix in blender until smooth Cherry Vanilla Coke Float 1 scoop vanilla protein powder 2 scoops low carb SF ice cream 1 cup diet coke 4-5 cherries Mix in blender until smooth Apple Pie Frosty 1 1/2 scoops HDT 5+1 vanilla protein powder 1 apple, peeled, cored, and sliced (or 1/2 C no-sugar-added applesauce) 2 packets Splenda 1/2 t cinnamon 1/4 t nutmeg 3/4 C Water 8-10 ice cubes Blend thoroughly and drink up Butterscotch Pecan liquid Pie 2 scoops ProScore 100 vanilla 8 oz cold water 2 T sugar free butterscotch pudding mix 4-5 ice cubes 1/4 C pecans Blend protein powder, water and pudding mix. (The pudding mix thickens the liquid considerably). Add ice cubes and blend till ice slivers. Add pecans and blend again for a few seconds. Pour into nice huge parfait glass and enjoy. (about 300 calories). Cherry Vanilla Protein Shake 1 scoop vanilla powder 1/2 cup SF cherry yogurt 4 ice cubes splash water vanilla extract (to taste) cherry extract (to taste) Put all of it in a blender and hit liquify! Enjoy Choco Mint Shake 1 1/2 scoops HDT 5+1 chocolate protein powder 1 packet sugar free hot chocolate mix 1 teaspoon mint flavoring 1/2 cup of soy milk 1/2 cup of water 6 large ice cubes Put all ingredients into blender And mix to desired consistency. Serve cold. Chocolate Almond Shake 2 scoops ProScore 100 chocolate 1 cup of soy milk 2 T Sweet N Low chocolate syrup 1 t almond flavoring 1/4 cup of almonds 6-8 ice cubes Blend all ingredients, Except almonds and ice cubes, Then add nuts and cubes and blend again Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter De-Lite 3/4 c. cold water 1/4 c. Toasted Marshmallow s/f syrup 2 scoops PS IOO Chocolate Protein Powder 4 packets. equal 1/2 small banana 1T. low sugar Peanut Butter 1T. s/f White Chocolate Instant Pudding Mix Put everything in blender And whirl till smooth. Scrape down sides if necessary And whirl some more. Chocolate Banana smoothie 1/2 cup banana Fat-Free NutraSweet Sweetened Yogurt 1/2 cup Non-fat Milk 1/2 cup ripe banana peeled and sliced Dash of Vanilla 1 Scoop Chocolate Protein Powder of Choice Put all ingredients except ice in blender, Blend until smooth. Add ice and blend To give it a frozen smoothie consistency. Chocolate Coconut Shake 2 oz Coconut Milk 6 oz Cold Water 2 scoops Chocolate protein powder 1 tsp Chocolate or Banana Sugar-Free pudding Hand Shake well. Chocolate Covered Banana 1 scoop Chocolate Isopure 1/2 c 1% milk splash of sugar-free chocolate syrup 1/2 banana 4 maraschino cherries 2 handfuls ice Blend Chocolate Covered Cherry Shake 1 1/2 scoops HDT 5+1 chocolate protein powder 1 cup soy milk 2T Sweet N Low chocolate syrup 10-12 cherries - (no pits please) 8-10 ice cubes Put all ingredients into blender And mix to desired consistency Chocolate Frosty Shake 1 rounded scoop Optimum Nutrition Pro Complex Chocolate Protein Powder 1 rounded tsp. fat free sugar free French Vanilla International coffee 1 rounded tsp. fat free Creamora (non-dairy coffee creamer powder) 10 ice cubes Use a blender to get a shake-like consistency Chocolate Fudge Shake 2 scoops ProScore 100 chocolate 2 T chocolate fudge sugar free pudding mix 8 oz water 5 large ice cubes, tiny silver spoon (optional) Blend ProScore, pudding and water, add ice cubes, Blend till crushed with ice slivers still un-melted, Pour into insulated cup (makes about 16 oz) And eat it with a tiny silver spoon. Chocolate OrangeSicle 1 1/2 scoops ProScore 100 chocolate 1/2 Scoop OrangeSicle protein powder 8 oz water Shake very well Chocolate Peanut Butter Death 2 scoops PS100 Chocolate Protein Powder 8 oz Cold Water 2 tsp Chocolate SF Pudding Mix 1 packets Splenda 1 Generous splash (probably 1 1/2 ounces) of SF DaVinci Peanut Butter Syrup 1 Generous splash (probably 1 1/2 ounces) of SF DaVinci Cookie Dough Syrup 1 Heaping Tablespoon (Daloop) of Fat Free Cool Whip Light 1 Heaping Teaspoon of Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter approx. 6 oz of crushed ice Mix until entirely smooth - pour - sit back and enjoy pure indulgence Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake 1 scoop chocolate protein powder 1 tbs. peanut butter 1 cup skim milk 2 handfuls ice Blend thoroughly Chocolate Raspberry Shake 2 scoops ProScore 100 chocolate 8 oz water (or skim, lactaid or soy milk) sugar free raspberry syrup Blend and enjoy Chocolate Vanilla Swirl 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder splash Vitamite splash water ice Blend thoroughly Chocolate-Banana Shake 1 scoop chocolate protein powder 1/2 banana 1 cup skim milk 2 handfuls ice Blend thoroughly. Hint: if you can't use a banana, Try banana extract...tastes good! Coco Loco 1 1/2 scoops 100%Whey Vanilla Protein powder 4 oz Vitamite 6 packets Splenda splash Luzianne Peach Mango Ice Tea flavoring 2 drops Coconut extract 2 drops pineapple extract 1 drop Rum extract (optional) 5 ice cubes Blend and chop ice thoroughly Cookies & Cream Splash of Cookies & Cream coffee Splash of Vitamite Splash of water 1 tsp. Sugar Free DaVinci Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Syrup (optional) 1/3 scoop ProBlend 55 Mocha/cappuccino 1/3 scoop Pro V60 Chocolate Thunder 1/3 scoop Pro V60 Vanilla Cr?me ice Blend Creamy Peach Melba 6-8 frozen peach slices 4-6 oz water 1 tbsp peach mango Luzianne Tea Flavor 1 tsp DaVinci Raspberry flavor 2 packets splenda 1 tbsp heavy cream 2 scoops Keto Peaches & Cream Protein Powder Blend peaches, Water, flavorings, & splenda until liquid. Add protein powder. Drizzle in cream last. Blend well. Donna's Delicious Protein Smoothie 6 to 8 oz sunrise orange crystal light (premade) 3 ice cubes 3 frozen raspberries 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder Optional: tablespoon of light cool whip Mix crystal light with the ice cubes and frozen raspberries, Add the scoop of vanilla protein powder And mix only for a few seconds (mixing the protein too much causes it to foam) Double Chocolate Fudge ? cup skim milk 1 packet, no sugar added hot cocoa mix 1 scoop Chocolate protein powder 4 ice cubes (or ? - 1 cup crushed ice) Mix in blender. Egg Nog 1 scoop of Vanilla HDT 5+1 vanilla 1 cup of soy milk 1 teaspoon of rum extract 1/2 teaspoon of all spice 4-6 large ice cubes Put all ingr

Thanks for your advise. I need all the help I can get. I do have the low carb slim fast for breakfast and save the rest of the 30 grams for hidden carbs and I use the keto stiks to make sure I am staying on target. I guess I am just getting in a hurry. lol like you said it didnt come on over night so its not coming off over night.

Someone shared this email with me. I haven't tried any of them yet as I still have about a month and half before finishing my 6 month hurdle. I thought they might help someone. Long... I know!! pumpkin Protein shake This is a wonderfully decadent way to get in your protein! Spicy, creamy and icy-thick.…milkshakes never had it so good! 1/4 cup pumpkin puree 1 cup skim milk or soymilk 1 scoop vanilla Protein powder (such as Matrix Simply Vanilla) 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or 1/4 t. cinnamon, 1/8 t. cloves, 1/8 t. ginger) 2 tablespoons Splenda Granular 1/4 cup Cool Whip or NSA Vanilla yogurt 1 cup ice cubes Place pumpkin, milk, protein powder, spices, Splenda, cool whip or yogurt, and ice cubes in blender container; process until slushy. Makes one Meal Replacement serving. Per Serving: 230 Cal; 28 g Protein; 5 g Tot Fat; 13 g Carb; 1 g Fiber; 2 g Sugar; 115 mg Sodium Mocha Liqueur Shake 3/4 cup light rum 1/4 cup coffee flavored liqueur 1 scoop Matrix Simply Vanilla protein powder 1 pint vanilla ice cream 4 cubes ice Maui Martini 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (20 grams protein) 1 (1.5 Fluid ounce) jigger best-quality vodka 2 (1.5 fluid ounce) jiggers coconut flavored rum 1 (1.5 fluid ounce) jigger banana liqueur ice cubes 1 fresh pineapple spear or ring for garnish BANANA PROTEIN NOG 1 scoop Matrix Simply Vanilla protein powder 1 cup skim milk A one inch chunk of banana 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Banana/Peanut Butter Shake (12 grams protein) 8 ounces fat-free milk 1 tablespoon creamy Peanut Butter 1/4 - 1/2 banana Blend until smooth in blender. Orange Dreamsicle (28 grams protein) 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (20 grams protein) 1 scoop (individual serving) sugar-free Sunrise Orange Crystal Lightâ powder 8 ounces skim milk Alternatives: substitute 4 ounces orange juice for 4 ounces milk; substitute 4 ounces yogurt for 4 ounces milk; add 1/2 tsp. orange zest to shake. Sunrise Smoothy 1 scoop vanilla protein powder 1 cup orange juice (or orange tang) ½ banana (peeled) 1 carton Low Carb Vanilla Yogurt 1 tablespoon Splenda 4-5 frozen strawberries Mix in blender until smooth Cherry Vanilla 1 scoop vanilla protein powder 4-5 maraschino cherries 2 scoops low carb vanilla ice cream 1 cup cherry sugar free kool-aid Mix in blender until smooth Peach 1 scoop vanilla protein powder 1 cup Crystal Lite peach tea 4-6 frozen peach slices 4 ice cubes Mix in blender until smooth Strawberry-Lemonade 1 scoop vanilla protein powder 1 cup sugar free lemonade kool-aid 4-5 frozen strawberries 4-5 ice cubes Mix in blender until smooth Cherry Vanilla Coke Float 1 scoop vanilla protein powder 2 scoops low carb SF ice cream 1 cup diet coke 4-5 cherries Mix in blender until smooth Apple Pie Frosty 1 1/2 scoops HDT 5+1 vanilla protein powder 1 apple, peeled, cored, and sliced (or 1/2 C no-sugar-added applesauce) 2 packets Splenda 1/2 t cinnamon 1/4 t nutmeg 3/4 C Water 8-10 ice cubes Blend thoroughly and drink up Butterscotch Pecan liquid Pie 2 scoops ProScore 100 vanilla 8 oz cold water 2 T sugar free butterscotch pudding mix 4-5 ice cubes 1/4 C pecans Blend protein powder, water and pudding mix. (The pudding mix thickens the liquid considerably). Add ice cubes and blend till ice slivers. Add pecans and blend again for a few seconds. Pour into nice huge parfait glass and enjoy. (about 300 calories). Cherry Vanilla Protein Shake 1 scoop vanilla powder 1/2 cup SF cherry yogurt 4 ice cubes splash water vanilla extract (to taste) cherry extract (to taste) Put all of it in a blender and hit liquify! Enjoy Choco Mint Shake 1 1/2 scoops HDT 5+1 chocolate protein powder 1 packet sugar free hot chocolate mix 1 teaspoon mint flavoring 1/2 cup of soy milk 1/2 cup of water 6 large ice cubes Put all ingredients into blender And mix to desired consistency. Serve cold. Chocolate Almond Shake 2 scoops ProScore 100 chocolate 1 cup of soy milk 2 T Sweet N Low chocolate syrup 1 t almond flavoring 1/4 cup of almonds 6-8 ice cubes Blend all ingredients, Except almonds and ice cubes, Then add nuts and cubes and blend again Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter De-Lite 3/4 c. cold water 1/4 c. Toasted Marshmallow s/f syrup 2 scoops PS IOO Chocolate Protein Powder 4 packets. equal 1/2 small banana 1T. low sugar Peanut Butter 1T. s/f White Chocolate Instant Pudding Mix Put everything in blender And whirl till smooth. Scrape down sides if necessary And whirl some more. Chocolate Banana smoothie 1/2 cup banana Fat-Free NutraSweet Sweetened Yogurt 1/2 cup Non-fat Milk 1/2 cup ripe banana peeled and sliced Dash of Vanilla 1 Scoop Chocolate Protein Powder of Choice Put all ingredients except ice in blender, Blend until smooth. Add ice and blend To give it a frozen smoothie consistency. Chocolate Coconut Shake 2 oz Coconut Milk 6 oz Cold Water 2 scoops Chocolate protein powder 1 tsp Chocolate or Banana Sugar-Free pudding Hand Shake well. Chocolate Covered Banana 1 scoop Chocolate Isopure 1/2 c 1% milk splash of sugar-free chocolate syrup 1/2 banana 4 maraschino cherries 2 handfuls ice Blend Chocolate Covered Cherry Shake 1 1/2 scoops HDT 5+1 chocolate protein powder 1 cup soy milk 2T Sweet N Low chocolate syrup 10-12 cherries - (no pits please) 8-10 ice cubes Put all ingredients into blender And mix to desired consistency Chocolate Frosty Shake 1 rounded scoop Optimum Nutrition Pro Complex Chocolate Protein Powder 1 rounded tsp. fat free sugar free French Vanilla International Coffee 1 rounded tsp. fat free Creamora (non-dairy coffee creamer powder) 10 ice cubes Use a blender to get a shake-like consistency Chocolate Fudge Shake 2 scoops ProScore 100 chocolate 2 T chocolate fudge sugar free pudding mix 8 oz water 5 large ice cubes, tiny silver spoon (optional) Blend ProScore, pudding and water, add ice cubes, Blend till crushed with ice slivers still un-melted, Pour into insulated cup (makes about 16 oz) And eat it with a tiny silver spoon. Chocolate OrangeSicle 1 1/2 scoops ProScore 100 chocolate 1/2 Scoop OrangeSicle protein powder 8 oz water Shake very well Chocolate Peanut Butter Death 2 scoops PS100 Chocolate Protein Powder 8 oz Cold Water 2 tsp Chocolate SF Pudding Mix 1 packets Splenda 1 Generous splash (probably 1 1/2 ounces) of SF DaVinci Peanut Butter Syrup 1 Generous splash (probably 1 1/2 ounces) of SF DaVinci Cookie Dough Syrup 1 Heaping Tablespoon (Daloop) of Fat Free Cool Whip Light 1 Heaping Teaspoon of Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter approx. 6 oz of crushed ice Mix until entirely smooth - pour - sit back and enjoy pure indulgence Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake 1 scoop chocolate protein powder 1 tbs. peanut butter 1 cup skim milk 2 handfuls ice Blend thoroughly Chocolate Raspberry Shake 2 scoops ProScore 100 chocolate 8 oz water (or skim, lactaid or soy milk) sugar free raspberry syrup Blend and enjoy Chocolate Vanilla Swirl 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder splash Vitamite splash water ice Blend thoroughly Chocolate-Banana Shake 1 scoop chocolate protein powder 1/2 banana 1 cup skim milk 2 handfuls ice Blend thoroughly. Hint: if you can't use a banana, Try banana extract...tastes good! Coco Loco 1 1/2 scoops 100%Whey Vanilla Protein powder 4 oz Vitamite 6 packets Splenda splash Luzianne Peach Mango Ice Tea flavoring 2 drops Coconut extract 2 drops Pineapple extract 1 drop Rum extract (optional) 5 ice cubes Blend and chop ice thoroughly Cookies & Cream Splash of Cookies & Cream coffee Splash of Vitamite Splash of water 1 tsp. Sugar Free DaVinci Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Syrup (optional) 1/3 scoop ProBlend 55 Mocha/cappuccino 1/3 scoop Pro V60 Chocolate Thunder 1/3 scoop Pro V60 Vanilla Crème ice Blend Creamy Peach Melba 6-8 frozen peach slices 4-6 oz water 1 tbsp peach mango Luzianne Tea Flavor 1 tsp DaVinci Raspberry flavor 2 packets splenda 1 tbsp heavy cream 2 scoops Keto Peaches & Cream Protein Powder Blend peaches, Water, flavorings, & splenda until liquid. Add protein powder. Drizzle in cream last. Blend well. Donna's Delicious Protein Smoothie 6 to 8 oz sunrise orange crystal light (premade) 3 ice cubes 3 frozen raspberries 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder Optional: tablespoon of light cool whip Mix crystal light with the ice cubes and frozen raspberries, Add the scoop of vanilla protein powder And mix only for a few seconds (mixing the protein too much causes it to foam) Double Chocolate Fudge ½ cup skim milk 1 packet, no sugar added hot cocoa mix 1 scoop Chocolate protein powder 4 ice cubes (or ½ - 1 cup crushed ice) Mix in blender. Egg Nog 1 scoop of Vanilla HDT 5+1 vanilla 1 cup of soy milk 1 teaspoon of rum extract 1/2 teaspoon of all spice 4-6 large ice cubes Put all ingredients into blender and mix to desired consistency. Serve cold. Elvis IS IN MY KITCHEN RIGHT NOW making a PB & J Milkshake 2 scoops ProScore Vanilla Protein Powder 1 Tbsp. vanilla sugar-free instant pudding 8 oz cold water 1 Tbsp or to taste berry, raspberry or peach (or other) sugar-free syrup 3-5 ice cubes 1 Tbsp. crunchy peanut butter Combine the protein powder, Pudding, and sugar-free syrup into blender And blend for 30 seconds. Add 3-5 ice cubes, blend until ice slivers, Add crunchy peanut butter, Blend for a few seconds. Pour into 16 oz glass. Eat with a small silver spoon, savoring each spoonful. Extra spicy ProScore Mocha Chai 2 oz of any strong (i.e. Starbucks) left-over cold coffee with half & half piece of fresh ginger 4-5 cloves few peppercorns 1 oz cold strong unsweetened Chai tea 4-5 ice cubes 2 scoops ProScore 100 Chocolate Protein Powder pinch nutmeg splash vanilla extract in a COLD blender, add cold coffee, ginger, cloves, peppercorns, cold Chai tea. Blend, adding 4-5 ice cubes one at a time until ice cubes are broken up. Add 2 scoops protein powder while blender is moving. Add cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract. Frappachino 1 tbs. instant coffee or a splash of cold coffee 1 scoop chocolate or vanilla protein powder 2 handfuls ice 1/2 cup skim milk blend thoroughly. Frappucchino On-the-Go 1/2 can Blue Luna light _mocha (or Starbuck's light Frappachino brand) 1 scoop chocolate protein powder Shake in Blue Luna can and pour over ice. Fruit Freeze ½ cup skim milk (substitute water if you don't do milk) 1 scoop unflavored protein powder 5 strawberries, frozen, no added sugar 2 peaches, frozen, no added sugar ¼ cup pineapple, canned, packed in juice (or Lite syrup) 4 ice cubes (or ½ - 1 cup crushed ice) Mix in blender. Fruit Smoothie 1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice 4 fresh strawberries frozen and sliced 1/2 fresh banana frozen and sliced 1 scoop Vanilla or strawberry protein powder of choice Put all ingredients except ice in blender And blend until smooth. Add ice and blend until frozen smoothie consistency. Fudgesicle 1 1/2 scoops chocolate protein powder 12 oz cold water 10 packets splenda 1 sugar free fudgesicle 1/2 oz DaVinci sugar free vanilla syrup 6 ice cubes put all ingredients except protein into blender- blend on high until no more pings from ice on blades- turn down blender until top of mixture is moving but not splashing-add protein-replace cover and whirl- but not too high or it will puff up to about 40 oz! Good Morning Smoothie 1 small banana 3/4 cup skim milk 1/2 cup non-fat sugar free strawberry yogurt 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice 1 scoop vanilla protein powder of choice Put all ingredients except ice in blender and blend until smooth. Add ice and blend until frozen fruit smoothie consistency. Iced Mocha Latte 2 scoops ProScore 100 chocolate, leftover cold coffee (decaf Hazelnut) 1 T fat free sugar free vanilla pudding mix a splash of sugar free hazelnut coffee syrup and a few ice cubes Blend Light and Dark Symphony 1 scoop ProBlend 55 _Mocha Cappuccino splash coffee splash water ice Blend thoroughly for light symphony; for dark symphony add 1 tbs. white chocolate SF syrup and blend Luscious Pina Colada 2 scoops ProScore 100 vanilla 2 T vanilla sugar free pudding mix dash of coconut flavoring dash of pineapple flavoring ice Blend and enjoy Mango Morning Smoothie Juice of 1/2 of a fresh lime 2oz cold water meat of 1 mango small piece fresh ginger 1 tsp vanilla extract (or almond extract) 7-8 ice cubes 2 scoops ProScore Vanilla Blend lime juice, cold water, meat of mango, ginger and vanilla extract until smooth. When blended, add 7-8 ice cubes, one at a time until blended. Add ProScore Vanilla protein powder one scoop at a time while blender is still moving. You can substitute soy milk instead of water and soy ice cubes instead of plain ice, but you will need to watch calories with those substitutions. Mocha, Ginger & Cinnamon 2 scoops ProScore 100 Chocolate 4 oz left-over coffee with half & half a few good sprinkles of cinnamon small piece FRESH ginger 6-8 ice cubes Blend on low, then on high. Add about 6-8 ice cubes, one at a time – chuck each one HARD into the blender while blending. Blend until creamy. Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream Shake 1 1/2 scoop GNC 100% Whey Vanilla Protein Powder 4-5 packets of Splenda 1 capful DaVinci's Sugar-Free Vanilla Syrup 5 oz Vitamite lots of ice cubes Blend syrup, Splenda, and Vitamite together. Add protein powder; blend until mixed. Add Ice and blend until chopped well. Orange & Cream Shake 8 ounces (or less if you wish) Stewart's Diet Orange & Cream Soda splash Vitamite 1 scoop ProV60 Vanilla Cream protein ice blend extra thoroughly to get rid of all of the carbonation Orange Banana Smoothie 1/2 cup cold water 1/2 cup pulp free OJ 1/2 banana sliced 1 rounded scoop Keto Shake Orange Crème protein powder 1 rounded scoop Keto Shake Banana Crème protein powder 1 cup ice Blend all ingredients except ice until smooth. Add ice, blend until smoothie consistency. Orange Julius 8 oz non-fat plain yogurt 1 can (6 oz) Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate 2 1/2 cup skim milk 1 Tsp vanilla extract 2 scoops Protein Powder of your choice Put ingredients in blender, blend until smooth, fruit smoothie consistency. Orange Julius Ain’t Got Nothing On Us Smoothie 2 Scoops ProScore 100 vanilla 6 oz water 1 T sugar free vanilla pudding mix 1/4 c real orange juice (preferably hand squeezed with pulp, or from store with pulp) 1 t good vanilla flavoring 3-4 ice cubes Blend all ingredients except ice cubes. Cold water will cause pudding mix to thicken. Add ice cubes and blend till ice slivers. Pour into tall glass and use straw to sip, dainty, a little at a time, really taste it. Don't guzzle (grin) Peach Creamsicle 6 oz Crystal Lite Peach Tea 2 tablespoon SF Instant Vanilla Pudding 1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder 6 packets Splenda ice cubes Blend thoroughly Peach and Strawberry Yummy 3 slices frozen peaches (or 1/2 frozen banana) 3 good sized frozen strawberries 1/4 - 1/2 cup water 1 packets Splenda 1 rounded Vanilla protein powder Blend Pina Colada Smoothie 8oz can refrigerated crushed pineapple in natural unsweetened juices 1 Tsp coconut flavoring 1/2 cup crushed ice 1 packet artificial sweetener 1 scoop vanilla protein powder of choice Combine in blender and blend for 2 minutes on high Pineapple Vanilla Ginger Shake Meat from 1/2 SMALL COLD pineapple enough cold water to blend small piece of fresh ginger 5-6 ice cubes 2 scoops ProScore 100 Vanilla Protein Powder cinnamon and fresh mint In a blender put meat from pineapple, enough COLD water to blend, and ginger. Blend until smooth. Add 5-6 ice cubes, 1 piece at a time and blend until creamy. Add 2 scoops of ProScore 100 Vanilla while blender is in motion (OK to substitute different brand). Pour into a brandy glass, sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on top and add a piece of fresh mint. Real Root Beer float 1.5 scoops of diet, sugar-free vanilla ice cream 1 scoop vanilla protein powder 3/4 can diet root beer Stir thoroughly Root Beer Float 1 scoop vanilla protein powder 1 can diet root beer Mix thoroughly and pour over ice Enen Better Root beer Float 2 scoops Vanilla Carb Solutions Protein Powder 1 12 ounce can Diet Root Beer (A&W is best) open and let soda go flat 4 or 5 ice cubes 2 envelopes Splenda Throw it all in a blender and enjoy! S'Mores splash coffee (optional, but really does taste better!) splash Vitamite splash water DaVinci Sugar-free Toasted Marshmallow syrup (to taste) Chocolate protein powder (something milk-chocolaty seems to taste best , like ProV60 Chocolate Thunder) Sans Sucre Cinnamon Sugar (to taste) ice blend thoroughly Snicker splash Snicker doodle coffee splash Vitamite splash water 1 scoop chocolate protein powder ice Blend thoroughly. Don't have Snicker doodle coffee? Substitute regular coffee, SF hazelnut syrup and the SF cinnamon sugar. This one is excellent!!!! Snickers Candy Bar splash chocolate caramel coffee splash Vitamite splash water 1 tsp peanut butter or SF peanut butter syrup chocolate protein powder ice Blend thoroughly. Don't have chocolate caramel coffee? You can substitute it with regular coffee, SF caramel syrup, SF chocolate syrup (optional) if you want even more of a chocolaty taste. Strawberry Berry Berry 1 scoop of Strawberry Pro Blend 55 4 strawberries (frozen or fresh) 1/4 cup of blueberries 1 cup of cranberry juice 1 cup ice or crushed ice Put all ingredients into blender and mix to desired consistency. Serve cold. Strawberry Chocolate Milk 2 Scoops Strawberry Carb Solutions 1 Scoop (use the Carb Solutions scoop) Carnation Fat Free Hot Cocoa 14 ounces water Mix in blender with ice for a "shake" or shake inshaker for a more milky consistency Strawberry for Protein Dummies 10 frozen strawberrys 1/2 small banana 1 scoop (23g) Biochem's Ultimate LO Carb Whey (Natural Flavor) 8 oz Water 1/3 cup Carnation Nonfat Dry Milk Splenda to taste *Note: I found the protein by going to a local health food store and asking for a whey protein with the LEAST taste and that mixed easily into water* Tropical Breakfast Smoothie 1 cup fresh cut-up strawberries 8 oz pineapple chunks in natural juice 1 fresh banana sliced 1/2 cup cholesterol free egg product 1 scoop vanilla protein powder of choice Put all ingredients except ice in blender, blend until smooth, add ice and blend to frozen smoothie consistency. This recipe yields more than one serving Two Berry Delight 1 cup frozen or fresh strawberries 1/2 cup raspberries 1/2 cup water 1 cup ice 1 packet of sweetener 1/2 cup milk 1 cup orange juice Vitamins or protein powder Put all ingredients except ice in blender and blend until smooth. Add ice and blend to give it a frozen smoothie consistency Vanilla Butterscotch 8 oz cold water 2 scoops vanilla ProScore 1T butterscotch sugar-free pudding 4 ice cubes 1 T vanilla sugar free pudding 4-5 ice cubes blend it all, and let it set up a little, and it tastes all custardy. Vanilla Chai Vanilla protein powder 8 oz iced Chai tea (made from tea bag and refrigerated) dash of cinnamon little Splenda splash of soy milk Blend and enjoy Vanilla Frosty 1 1/2 scoops HDT 5+1 vanilla protein powder 1/2 to 1 container Dannon Fit and Light yogurt (any flavor) 3/4 c water or soy milk 10-12 ice cubes Blend in blender until the consistency of a Wendy's frosty Vanilla PB Fruity 2 scoops ProScore 100 vanilla 1 T sugar free vanilla pudding mix 8 oz water, 1T or to taste berry or raspberry or peach or other sugar-free syrup (0 calories) 3-5 ice cubes 2 t peanut butter-crunchy kind Blend before adding peanut butter, add peanut butter and blend again till ice slivers. Note: (if you put in too many ice cubes, it will dilute the peanutty taste)... Vanilla Spice Freeze 2 scoops ProScore 100 vanilla 2 T vanilla Sugar Free pudding mix pinch of cinnamon pinch of cloves Blend, store in freezer until it gets thick. Yummmmm Vanilla vanilla citrus 2 oz of refrigerated water 1/4 lime, (including rind) cut up in about 4-6 pieces Piece of fresh ginger to taste About 1/2 t. vanilla Blend. 45 Chuck in about 6 cubes, one at a time, till dissolved, add 2 scoops of ProScore 100 Vanilla, swirl in a little cinnamon, while still blending. Add all except ice, ProScore and cinnamon. Blend. Add remaining ingredients and blend again. White Chocolate Mouse Mocha Frappachino splash Vitamite splash water 1 scoop PB55 Mocha Frappachino 1/2 tsp. SF Jell-O White Chocolate Mouse Pudding handful of ice Blend thoroughly, sweeten to taste (Optional) Peanut Brittle Protein Shake

I have been using Contractubex, I paid 60 at the Dr's office then came home and found it on ebay for 10, errrr. In the "scar stages" thread, there is a picture towards the end of the thread of a patient 14 days out. You can't even see her scars!! She used a product called Keto cote from skinstore.com and a homeopathic medicine called arnica montana (GNC). I have been taking the arnica and using the gel my doctor gave me and my scars look fabulous at this point. Don't waste your money on mederma or scarzone.

The gas pain was only for about an hour. I have some soreness in the area where the hernia was repaired, but that's not very bad. Nothing Tylenol can't keep at bay. I'm allowed to eat pureed foods, but I'm really not hungry. Ate some mashed potatoes & gravy yesterday, it tasted good, but I only ate it because I thought I should not because I really wanted it. Drinking 1/2 a low carb slim fast now. I guess knowing I can have other stuff makes it less desirable. LOL. I haven't really been hungry since I started the pre op Clear liquids. I think when the ketones kick in the hunger wanes. After my surgery I could actually smell my keto breath. Yuck!

It could be... people on certain kinds of diets (including strict atkins) are more prone to bad breath. If you want to know if you are in ketosis then you can test your urine with keto sticks. My brother was on the ketogenic diet for five years as a teen to help control his seizures and since then he has been on a strict version of the atkins. They are pretty similar, only the ketogenic is stricter.

Ok....everytime I try to lose weight, I become addicted to the scale. I hop on at least 3 times a day to see where I am....even though I KNOW it hasn't moved. LOL When I did Atkins, I used the keto-sticks every time I pee'd to make sure they still turned pink. Does anyone else get like this? I am getting next week, and don't want the scale to run my life. I might just have to throw it away and drive somewhere to weigh myself.

Dear Great-West Insurance: This letter is to provide you, Great-West Healthcare, with a bit of insight on the life of someone who is morbidly obese. Here I am 27 years old and I currently weigh 329 pounds. THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE pounds. It makes me want to cry just saying it. I’m supposed to be at my prime, these are supposed to be the best years of my life, and here I am struggling with each step I take, each breath I breathe. There has to be a change, and I am asking for your approval of Bariatric surgery, where the Lap Band would help me live the rest of my life to the fullest. So here I stand at 5’10” and weigh a whopping 329 pounds, that would put my BMI at 47.2! According to the National Institutes of Health I should weigh 170 pounds. I cant recall the last time I weighed 170. Infact, the lowest I can ever remember weighing is 185#. I remember it very clearly, I was in 7th grade, I was 12 years old. Id say the weight began pouring on me that summer. Since it seems I’ve nearly doubled that weight in just half of my life, I’d like to share with you in detail my struggle with being an obese child, obese teenager, obese young adult, and now, and a morbidly obese mother and wife. I was 11 years old, I went to visit my grandmother for a few weeks the summer before I began 7th grade. Me and a few kids were playing, and my grandmother after a little while brought ice cream sandwiches to all of the kids for a snack. Well, all the kids but me. She proceeded to call me “fat”, “you don’t need any ice cream”, “you should only eat fruit”. All of the kids there began laughing and pointing at me, and at that point, I began to feel not like the rest of kids, I felt I was “fat”. If my own grandmother would call me fat, what on earth does everyone else think of me?? That summer I began eating, and eating, and eating. It seems it just hasn’t stopped since. That fall I wanted to play sports, small schools let anyone be on the team, with a physical from the doctor saying you were healthy. I remember the doctor writing “overweight” on my physical exam. I was embarrassed to turn in the exam to my coach, with a weight of 185 and the word “overweight” in black and white, I was sure my peers would see this and I’d be labeled the “fat kid” all over again. My parents didn’t help matters at all. I went to my mom right about this time to help me diet, and get in shape. This only led to more issues with food, dieting and the yo-yo roller coaster ride that I’ve been on my entire life it seems. The first diet I ever remember being on is the Atkins diet. My mom would pack my lunches for me, to make sure that I ate only what I should. I also wasn’t given snack money like the rest of my peers, so that I wouldn’t be tempted to buy sodas, or chips at recess. Then at the end of each school day, my mom would break out the KETO Sticks, to see if I had cheated that day. If the stick turned purple, I was praised, and if it didn’t, Id get a long lecture about how overweight I was, and how the other kids make fun of me at school, etc. Which would always cause me to starting crying and sware Id get back on track. I lost a few pounds, give or take 10 or so…But the weight just came back on, with a few bad habits. While my mom was trying to “help” me lose weight, Id find her locking up the fridge and freezer, so that after school, I wouldn’t be able to eat anything until she got home from work. This was her way of supervising my diet while she was gone. This only led to me sneaking food behind my parents back. When using the KETO sticks each day, Id manage to find the purple ones in the trash from a few days prior, and urinate on it as if it were a new one. My KETO never failed me that way, and I never failed my mother. Until she found out what I was doing, and at that point, I had to use the KETO sticks in front of her. That diet soon left, and then came the low fat diet. Low fat cottage cheese, low fat this, low fat that. As a young kid its hard enough trying to fit in at school, much less if you’re on a different diet because you are the “fat kid”. Id say I was 199 or so my freshman year, I was 14 years old. I had been on so many diets in the past 2 years, that Id even find myself binging. My parents would send me to the store on my bike, and Id buy loads of candy, and junk food, something I could gobble up before I made it home. Id hide it where I parked my bike, and when they put me on the strict diet, or would put me to bed early so they could eat the ice cream and peach cobbler, Id sneak my own sweets. Being that I never had a boyfriend throughout high school, I devoted all my energy into sports. Like I said, all kids in a small school can be on the team, you just never get the chance to play. The only control I had on my weight when I was in high school was the activity I would get in sports. While all other young adults were experiencing their first kiss and double dating, I didn’t. It was as if I were cursed. Id go to bed many nights crying, and praying that Id be tall and slender like the rest of the girls my age. My mother again thought shed help me out. Shed post a favorite swimsuit I saw in a magazine on the fridge, the same fridge that she kept tightly locked. On the flip side, my dad would often bribe me with food. He was my escape. He ask me to go to town with him, and when I declined, he would say, “we will eat Chinese, or steaks” or whatever it was I was craving at that point. My father and I would also take many fishing trips together the next few years, and during that time he’d invest in a dozen hamburgers on the way to the lake. Id invest in extra weight. There reached a point where my father wanted to lose weight as well. So we joined Nutri System together. I had to be pre-approved by my doctor so I could join, since I was only a teen at the time. This diet among many others lead to short success. I managed to lose 30 pounds, and felt great. But it seemed no matter how great I did, nobody would notice, and so the short success lead to failure once again. The weight creeped back on, and would always seem to add 5 or 10 more pounds with it. When I graduated from high school at 17 years old, I weighed 230 pounds. I remember it very clearly. Wow, I just realized in only 10 years I have managed to gain 100 pounds. At this rate I will weigh 490 pounds by the time my 5 month old graduates from high school. If I live that long. College was no easier. With college though, came all exposure to eating disorders that I somehow missed in high school. I recall trying the laxatives, trying to startle my gag reflex to vomit, and starving myself until I even began to pass out from lack of food and water. I even went to the pharmacy in search of syrup of Ipecac since I wasn’t successful with purging with my finger. Diet pills were “the thing”. Oh, I failed to mention when I was around 14 or 15 my mom began giving me the world famous Phen-Fen, along with the 4 or 5 other pills that went along with it. So Diet Pills weren’t new to me. Around 2000 I topped the scales at 255 pounds or so, Metabolife and Ephedrine was the thing at the time. I found myself buying it in bulk, and then eating nothing but pretzels and water for weeks at a time. Again, the weight came off, I felt terrible, and would end up eating in excess and so more weight would just build back on. When I married my husband in 2002 I weighed 272 pounds. Since we have been married I have tried numerous times to drop the extra weight. We even invested in exercise equipment totaling $3500. We joined gyms, we have walked, even managed to jog for a few steps. But the minute I let my guard down, it never fails, I gain. Nursing school added another 15 or so pounds on me. I cant describe how difficult it is to explain to my diabetic patients the importance of healthy weight when here I sit at a plump 329. When I got pregnant with our son I weighed 290, when he was born, I had gained a whopping 60 pounds. The stress on my joints and body was unbearable. I began trying to lose weight once again, this January on a simple low calorie diet. I try to be more active, but it is very difficult to perform even the easiest tasks. I often get short of breath from doing simple things like bringing in the groceries, or doing laundry. Cleaning the house, doing yard work, picking up my child is all very difficult for me to do. I cant even enjoy going to a movie theater or riding roller coasters because I am to large for the seats. Pleasurable activities that I once enjoyed such as gardening, walking and riding a bike is a thing of the past, a mere memory. I am requesting your approval for the Lap Band so that I can have a 2nd chance at life. I’ve been happily married for almost 4 years now, and our 5 month old son deserves to see his mom another 40 or 50 years. Id love to one day ride a bike with him, ride roller coasters, play catch, and go to the beach. I don’t want to burden him with the weight I have been carrying my whole life. I don’t want to be the “fat mama”. My family has many co-morbidities: MY MATERNAL SIDE: My mother--has hip, knee and back pain. She is expected to have knee surgery at the end of this year. She is also obese, has hypertension, GERD and high cholesterol. She has also been advised she is borderline diabetic. My grandmother--she too had hip, knee and back pain. She had osteoporosis, high cholesterol, asthma, sleep apnea, GERD and heart disease. She had multiple diagnoses of Cancer including bladder, kidney and lung cancer. She was also obese. She passed at an early age of 67. My grandfather--he is still living after a quadruple bypass. He has a history of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, high cholesterol, osteoporosis and PVD. He is also obese. MY PATERNAL SIDE: My father--he has experienced a heart attack at a young age, CHF, COPD, diabetic, hypertension and is obese. My grandmother--history of diabetes, PAD, heart disease, GERD, cancer, osteoporosis and is also obese. My grandfather--died of a massive heart attack at the age of 55, he had a history of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, CHF, COPD, and high cholesterol. My health history--I suffer from chronic back and hip pain. I have been diagnosed with bursitis in the right hip. I have shortness of breath with light tasks. I experience daytime sleepiness, and I’m physically to tired to do anything. I experience reflux and heartburn. It took my husband and I three years to get pregnant with our son. I suffered from irregular periods due to my obesity. I also have issues with rashes under bilateral breasts, on my bottom and peri area. I also experience anxiety and am currently on anti-depressant medications due to my current health condition. I take pain medicine daily to help with hip and back pain. A few other issues that make life in general very difficult being morbidly obese. I have a hard time doing simple things like shaving my legs, not to mention getting out of the bathtub. My bra straps cut into my shoulders, causing everyday neck pain because of strain from my breasts. I also have a very hard time finding a bra that will even fit me. I also have a tendency to get a rash under both of my breasts--which at first breaks out and itches, then becomes a sore open area that hurts to even touch it. Its rather embarrassing but its hard to even clean myself properly after using the restroom. I also have a tendency to be overly sweaty and therefore my butt crack collects moisture and then it too cracks and is very painful just like my breasts. I also have incontinence of urine with the littlest tasks. I find this very embarrassing, and have began wearing panty liners at all time to prevent accidents in public. Standing for longer than 30 minutes plays a toll on my joints and back, and I must sit down. Many times just the weight on my lower back from sitting down causes pain, and therefore I have to lie down. Lets not even mention the fact about finding clothes for me. I am currently in size 32 shirt, and 28 jeans, and its nearly impossible to find these sizes at the local Walmart. I have to purchase most of my clothing at a plus size women’s store which is VERY expensive as you may know. Seat belts are nearly never large enough, I have my own seat belt extender which I carry with me while traveling anywhere. In a world were society labels morbidly obese as out of the ordinary I feel exactly that way when in public. I often get treated wrongly because I am obese. I have had waitresses purposely sit me at a booth at a restaurant knowing that I couldn’t fit, then giggle behind my back when seeing me try. Please, this is my last resort to eliminating the hurt and pain that I have gone through for so many years. Again, I feel this is my last resort to freedom from this weight and burden I have been carrying my entire life. The results from my MRI done on June 30th of this year revealed that I have a herniated disc to my lower back. This seems to be the cause of the back pain, and with the added weight on my back, it makes matters even worse. I have been referred to a pain specialist where they have plans on injecting my lower back with steroid injections from time to time, and assisting me with pain management. This was definitely devastating news, here I am 27 years old, and I am told my back has a herniated disc. I am also told my primary care physician that this condition only gets worse, that it can never heal on its own. I also have the understanding that losing weight will help the pain that I am experiencing at this time by relieving some of the pressure off of that area. The only other option is surgery. Please also take this into consideration when determining if the Lap Band is right for me. My weight loss history--Over the counter diet pills: Hydroxycut, Metabolife, TrimSpa, Xantrex 3, ENERGY, Lipo 6, Stacker 2. Prescription medications: Phen-Fen, Phentermine, Xenical, Meridia. Diets used in the past: Jenny Craig, Nutri System, Weight Watchers, South beach, cardiac, Atkins, Sugar Busters, Slim Fast, low fat, grapefruit. As you can see I have tried many many times to drop the weight. It seems every woman in my family is morbidly obese, this obviously is genetic in my family. I am not overweight because I haven’t put forth the effort to diet or exercise. I am overweight because I am the 5th generation of morbidly obese women. I am obese because I cant remain on a routine exercise plan because of back and joint pain. I am obese because I have tried so many diets in the past my metabolism has appeared to have completely shut down. I realize that this is a lot of information, and I do apologize. I simply wanted to give you a full history of my attempts to lose weight. I cant tell you how many times I have failed at weight loss. I am fearful that with the rate that I am going, I will not be able to live a happy, healthy life. I am fearful that I too will die of a massive heart attack at 55 or have to live as a bilateral amputee because diabetes got the best of me. Please consider me for this surgery, I feel this is my last chance at life. Thank you.

Dear Great-West Insurance: This letter is to provide you, Great-West Healthcare, with a bit of insight on the life of someone who is morbidly obese. Here I am 27 years old and I currently weigh 329 pounds. THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE pounds. It makes me want to cry just saying it. I’m supposed to be at my prime, these are supposed to be the best years of my life, and here I am struggling with each step I take, each breath I breathe. There has to be a change, and I am asking for your approval of Bariatric surgery, where the Lap Band would help me live the rest of my life to the fullest. So here I stand at 5’10” and weigh a whopping 329 pounds, that would put my BMI at 47.2! According to the National Institutes of Health I should weigh 170 pounds. I cant recall the last time I weighed 170. Infact, the lowest I can ever remember weighing is 185#. I remember it very clearly, I was in 7th grade, I was 12 years old. Id say the weight began pouring on me that summer. Since it seems I’ve nearly doubled that weight in just half of my life, I’d like to share with you in detail my struggle with being an obese child, obese teenager, obese young adult, and now, and a morbidly obese mother and wife. I was 11 years old, I went to visit my grandmother for a few weeks the summer before I began 7th grade. Me and a few kids were playing, and my grandmother after a little while brought ice cream sandwiches to all of the kids for a snack. Well, all the kids but me. She proceeded to call me “fat”, “you don’t need any ice cream”, “you should only eat fruit”. All of the kids there began laughing and pointing at me, and at that point, I began to feel not like the rest of kids, I felt I was “fat”. If my own grandmother would call me fat, what on earth does everyone else think of me?? That summer I began eating, and eating, and eating. It seems it just hasn’t stopped since. That fall I wanted to play sports, small schools let anyone be on the team, with a physical from the doctor saying you were healthy. I remember the doctor writing “overweight” on my physical exam. I was embarrassed to turn in the exam to my coach, with a weight of 185 and the word “overweight” in black and white, I was sure my peers would see this and I’d be labeled the “fat kid” all over again. My parents didn’t help matters at all. I went to my mom right about this time to help me diet, and get in shape. This only led to more issues with food, dieting and the yo-yo roller coaster ride that I’ve been on my entire life it seems. The first diet I ever remember being on is the Atkins diet. My mom would pack my lunches for me, to make sure that I ate only what I should. I also wasn’t given snack money like the rest of my peers, so that I wouldn’t be tempted to buy sodas, or chips at recess. Then at the end of each school day, my mom would break out the KETO Sticks, to see if I had cheated that day. If the stick turned purple, I was praised, and if it didn’t, Id get a long lecture about how overweight I was, and how the other kids make fun of me at school, etc. Which would always cause me to starting crying and sware Id get back on track. I lost a few pounds, give or take 10 or so…But the weight just came back on, with a few bad habits. While my mom was trying to “help” me lose weight, Id find her locking up the fridge and freezer, so that after school, I wouldn’t be able to eat anything until she got home from work. This was her way of supervising my diet while she was gone. This only led to me sneaking food behind my parents back. When using the KETO sticks each day, Id manage to find the purple ones in the trash from a few days prior, and urinate on it as if it were a new one. My KETO never failed me that way, and I never failed my mother. Until she found out what I was doing, and at that point, I had to use the KETO sticks in front of her. That diet soon left, and then came the low fat diet. Low fat cottage cheese, low fat this, low fat that. As a young kid its hard enough trying to fit in at school, much less if you’re on a different diet because you are the “fat kid”. Id say I was 199 or so my freshman year, I was 14 years old. I had been on so many diets in the past 2 years, that Id even find myself binging. My parents would send me to the store on my bike, and Id buy loads of candy, and junk food, something I could gobble up before I made it home. Id hide it where I parked my bike, and when they put me on the strict diet, or would put me to bed early so they could eat the ice cream and peach cobbler, Id sneak my own sweets. Being that I never had a boyfriend throughout high school, I devoted all my energy into sports. Like I said, all kids in a small school can be on the team, you just never get the chance to play. The only control I had on my weight when I was in high school was the activity I would get in sports. While all other young adults were experiencing their first kiss and double dating, I didn’t. It was as if I were cursed. Id go to bed many nights crying, and praying that Id be tall and slender like the rest of the girls my age. My mother again thought shed help me out. Shed post a favorite swimsuit I saw in a magazine on the fridge, the same fridge that she kept tightly locked. On the flip side, my dad would often bribe me with food. He was my escape. He ask me to go to town with him, and when I declined, he would say, “we will eat Chinese, or steaks” or whatever it was I was craving at that point. My father and I would also take many fishing trips together the next few years, and during that time he’d invest in a dozen hamburgers on the way to the lake. Id invest in extra weight. There reached a point where my father wanted to lose weight as well. So we joined Nutri System together. I had to be pre-approved by my doctor so I could join, since I was only a teen at the time. This diet among many others lead to short success. I managed to lose 30 pounds, and felt great. But it seemed no matter how great I did, nobody would notice, and so the short success lead to failure once again. The weight creeped back on, and would always seem to add 5 or 10 more pounds with it. When I graduated from high school at 17 years old, I weighed 230 pounds. I remember it very clearly. Wow, I just realized in only 10 years I have managed to gain 100 pounds. At this rate I will weigh 490 pounds by the time my 5 month old graduates from high school. If I live that long. College was no easier. With college though, came all exposure to eating disorders that I somehow missed in high school. I recall trying the laxatives, trying to startle my gag reflex to vomit, and starving myself until I even began to pass out from lack of food and water. I even went to the pharmacy in search of syrup of Ipecac since I wasn’t successful with purging with my finger. Diet pills were “the thing”. Oh, I failed to mention when I was around 14 or 15 my mom began giving me the world famous Phen-Fen, along with the 4 or 5 other pills that went along with it. So Diet Pills weren’t new to me. Around 2000 I topped the scales at 255 pounds or so, Metabolife and Ephedrine was the thing at the time. I found myself buying it in bulk, and then eating nothing but pretzels and water for weeks at a time. Again, the weight came off, I felt terrible, and would end up eating in excess and so more weight would just build back on. When I married my husband in 2002 I weighed 272 pounds. Since we have been married I have tried numerous times to drop the extra weight. We even invested in exercise equipment totaling $3500. We joined gyms, we have walked, even managed to jog for a few steps. But the minute I let my guard down, it never fails, I gain. Nursing school added another 15 or so pounds on me. I cant describe how difficult it is to explain to my diabetic patients the importance of healthy weight when here I sit at a plump 329. When I got pregnant with our son I weighed 290, when he was born, I had gained a whopping 60 pounds. The stress on my joints and body was unbearable. I began trying to lose weight once again, this January on a simple low calorie diet. I try to be more active, but it is very difficult to perform even the easiest tasks. I often get short of breath from doing simple things like bringing in the groceries, or doing laundry. Cleaning the house, doing yard work, picking up my child is all very difficult for me to do. I cant even enjoy going to a movie theater or riding roller coasters because I am to large for the seats. Pleasurable activities that I once enjoyed such as gardening, walking and riding a bike is a thing of the past, a mere memory. I am requesting your approval for the Lap Band so that I can have a 2nd chance at life. I’ve been happily married for almost 4 years now, and our 5 month old son deserves to see his mom another 40 or 50 years. Id love to one day ride a bike with him, ride roller coasters, play catch, and go to the beach. I don’t want to burden him with the weight I have been carrying my whole life. I don’t want to be the “fat mama”. My family has many co-morbidities: MY MATERNAL SIDE: My mother--has hip, knee and back pain. She is expected to have knee surgery at the end of this year. She is also obese, has hypertension, GERD and high cholesterol. She has also been advised she is borderline diabetic. My grandmother--she too had hip, knee and back pain. She had osteoporosis, high cholesterol, asthma, sleep apnea, GERD and heart disease. She had multiple diagnoses of Cancer including bladder, kidney and lung cancer. She was also obese. She passed at an early age of 67. My grandfather--he is still living after a quadruple bypass. He has a history of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, high cholesterol, osteoporosis and PVD. He is also obese. MY PATERNAL SIDE: My father--he has experienced a heart attack at a young age, CHF, COPD, diabetic, hypertension and is obese. My grandmother--history of diabetes, PAD, heart disease, GERD, cancer, osteoporosis and is also obese. My grandfather--died of a massive heart attack at the age of 55, he had a history of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, CHF, COPD, and high cholesterol. My health history--I suffer from chronic back and hip pain. I have been diagnosed with bursitis in the right hip. I have shortness of breath with light tasks. I experience daytime sleepiness, and I’m physically to tired to do anything. I experience reflux and heartburn. It took my husband and I three years to get pregnant with our son. I suffered from irregular periods due to my obesity. I also have issues with rashes under bilateral breasts, on my bottom and peri area. I also experience anxiety and am currently on anti-depressant medications due to my current health condition. I take pain medicine daily to help with hip and back pain. A few other issues that make life in general very difficult being morbidly obese. I have a hard time doing simple things like shaving my legs, not to mention getting out of the bathtub. My bra straps cut into my shoulders, causing everyday neck pain because of strain from my breasts. I also have a very hard time finding a bra that will even fit me. I also have a tendency to get a rash under both of my breasts--which at first breaks out and itches, then becomes a sore open area that hurts to even touch it. Its rather embarrassing but its hard to even clean myself properly after using the restroom. I also have a tendency to be overly sweaty and therefore my butt crack collects moisture and then it too cracks and is very painful just like my breasts. I also have incontinence of urine with the littlest tasks. I find this very embarrassing, and have began wearing panty liners at all time to prevent accidents in public. Standing for longer than 30 minutes plays a toll on my joints and back, and I must sit down. Many times just the weight on my lower back from sitting down causes pain, and therefore I have to lie down. Lets not even mention the fact about finding clothes for me. I am currently in size 32 shirt, and 28 jeans, and its nearly impossible to find these sizes at the local Walmart. I have to purchase most of my clothing at a plus size women’s store which is VERY expensive as you may know. Seat belts are nearly never large enough, I have my own seat belt extender which I carry with me while traveling anywhere. In a world were society labels morbidly obese as out of the ordinary I feel exactly that way when in public. I often get treated wrongly because I am obese. I have had waitresses purposely sit me at a booth at a restaurant knowing that I couldn’t fit, then giggle behind my back when seeing me try. Please, this is my last resort to eliminating the hurt and pain that I have gone through for so many years. Again, I feel this is my last resort to freedom from this weight and burden I have been carrying my entire life. The results from my MRI done on June 30th of this year revealed that I have a herniated disc to my lower back. This seems to be the cause of the back pain, and with the added weight on my back, it makes matters even worse. I have been referred to a pain specialist where they have plans on injecting my lower back with steroid injections from time to time, and assisting me with pain management. This was definitely devastating news, here I am 27 years old, and I am told my back has a herniated disc. I am also told my primary care physician that this condition only gets worse, that it can never heal on its own. I also have the understanding that losing weight will help the pain that I am experiencing at this time by relieving some of the pressure off of that area. The only other option is surgery. Please also take this into consideration when determining if the Lap Band is right for me. My weight loss history--Over the counter diet pills: Hydroxycut, Metabolife, TrimSpa, Xantrex 3, ENERGY, Lipo 6, Stacker 2. Prescription medications: Phen-Fen, Phentermine, Xenical, Meridia. Diets used in the past: Jenny Craig, Nutri System, Weight Watchers, South beach, cardiac, Atkins, Sugar Busters, Slim Fast, low fat, grapefruit. As you can see I have tried many many times to drop the weight. It seems every woman in my family is morbidly obese, this obviously is genetic in my family. I am not overweight because I haven’t put forth the effort to diet or exercise. I am overweight because I am the 5th generation of morbidly obese women. I am obese because I cant remain on a routine exercise plan because of back and joint pain. I am obese because I have tried so many diets in the past my metabolism has appeared to have completely shut down. I realize that this is a lot of information, and I do apologize. I simply wanted to give you a full history of my attempts to lose weight. I cant tell you how many times I have failed at weight loss. I am fearful that with the rate that I am going, I will not be able to live a happy, healthy life. I am fearful that I too will die of a massive heart attack at 55 or have to live as a bilateral amputee because diabetes got the best of me. Please consider me for this surgery, I feel this is my last chance at life. Thank you.

I have been reading on YahooBandsters & came across this diet that a Dr. tells all his patients to follow & apparently he has a very good success rate. I thought it was interesting. Dr. Foxkin's High Protein Diet for Gastric Banding patients. It is based on a baseball diamond working together. Home plate- is getting banded and then working on getting proper adjustment. First Base- Use an appetite suppressant to relieve hunger and carbohydrate cravings. Use Phentermine or Phendimetrazine. For a month worth it was $23 self-pay. Second Base - It is a high protein/almost no carb diet. He describes it as Atkins minus the salads. He recommends patients stay on the diet until they reach goal weight, which usually takes only 9-12 months. No milk, avoid fruits, veggies, and grains. Be careful of hidden carbs in sauces or breaded products. (Anyone who is commited to a high protein diet has to follow these rules to the letter. It takes 2 to 3 days for the body to switch to fat burning. Consume a lil' carbs and you are back to a glucose burning metabolism and can lose the effect of the 2 or 3 days of fat burning. If you eat good during the week and eat normal on weekends say bye-bye to the drastic results. You can use something like Keto-stics to make sure ketones are present in your urine.) Third Base -Exercise intervention on a daily basis. They recommend Curves, Curves look-alikes, or anything aerobic done for at least 30 minutes per day. No matter what level you are at it is important to just start moving even seated exercise videos can be a great place to start. Using all the above together the next step is Home plate! Home plate - Is reaching your goal. He considers a Home Run getting to a size 9 or smaller for women. (He is known for liking his patients very skinny. He wanted me to shoot for a size 6 but I haven't been that since third grade. I was very happy at a 10/12 when I lost to goal before but we agreed I'd shoot for a size 9. Hell I'd love to get to a 9 or smaller but I don't want to set myself up for disappointment.) He says most patients will lose at least 15 lbs a month with the band adjusted right and following the Foxkin plan. He says even non-bandsters have good luck with it. He also recommends maintaining adequate protein, Vitamin and mineral levels for optimum weight loss -90 or 120 grams protein supplement (unless your doctor thinks you need more) -Vitamin and mineral supplement like the pink bottle from Vita4Life. Although he thought the GNC orange liquid multi-vitamin and mineral supplement (I think I'm going to use the orange Centrum chewables next) -Calcium Citrate 3500-4500mg

They one thing I have loved for protien is cottage cheese and dont forget a glass of milk. I have found a really great protien powder that I love that is called keto protien, it tastes really good and has no sugar in it. I think it is like 25 grams per scoop.

I am a type 1 diabetic so I am not sure if this can happen type2's or not. Anyway, alot of type 1's that have had gastric bypass surgery(DS & RNY) have experienced this and it could happen w/ lapband as well I would guess. If you are still taking all your meds but are not getting any carbs or very little carbs you could actually be having DKA(diabetic keto acidosis). What happens is the liver thinks you are starving to death and as a way of keeping the body alive it will release stored glucose from the liver. This causes 2 problems. 1. that your blood sugar will skyrocket and 2. that when your liver does this it also produces a byproduct called keatones which can be harmful to your body,kind of like a posion. I would check your carb intake and if it is deed very low that maybe you can get some carbs. in liquid form(if you are still on liquids). Please call your doctor (not to scare you, just to keep you informed) because this can be a very serious condition which can result in hospital time(even ICU if not taken care of). Again I am not sure if this is what is going on. Please call your doctor and make it a issue! God luck and take care. God bless, Donna(Punkin')

Awesome Hi-Protein/Low-Carb/Hi-Fiber Foods/Site!!! I was in Walgreens a while back and picked up a lone can of KETO Hot Cereal - Old Fashioned oatmeal. The reason it caught my eye was because, not only does it have 3g of net carbs, it also has 9g of Fiber, and 17g of protein!!! In Diabetic Exchanges, one serving = 2 vegetables and 2 lean meat exchanges. And, best of all, it tastes great! Their website was shown on the package, and there are tons of products....and it also lists the nutritional information. There is probably a location near you!!! Check it out....you will love it!!! Great way to get in the extra Protein and fiber without the high carbs. www.keto.com Nancy* :banana