kimbernada

I think it all depends one which Protein bars you are eating. As others have mentioned, the Quest bars are pretty dang awesome. They aren't full of crap fillers and you get a lot of Protein for the calories. I still have a shake for breakfast every morning (around 40 grams of protein) and may have a snack at some point during that day that involves a Quest protein bar (20 grams of protein). The cookie dough or brownie flavors are amazing when microwaved for about 12 seconds. I'd much rather have one of these than, say, a Dairy Queen ice cream cone or some other higher calorie treat. Just KNOWING that I'm getting all that protein goodness in a tasty treat..... yum!

But there are other protein bars out there that have almost as much calories and half the protein (Luna protein bars). They don't necessarily taste like candy bars, but since the protein isn't as good, I no longer get these unless I REALLY need a snack and that is the only thing available.

I also like the Pure Protein bars (some, anyhow, like the S'mores flavor). Higher in protein than the Luna and the calories aren't bad.

Detour protein bars taste more like a candy bar. They are okay in a pinch, but they have sort of a nasty "inhale" taste. You know, like when you breathe in through your mouth while eating one of these. (I think the Pure protein bars have this too.)

To be honest, I don't track sugar, carbs, or fat. Total daily calories and protein are what I care about. (I have never had diabetes.) I'm into the "keep it simple sweetie" mode of tracking. I do use My Fitness Pal and it DOES track those other things, but I don't consciously say "Whoa, nope, not going to eat that because it has xx carbs. I might say "Whoa, no protein and 200 calories? No... I don't think so."

I don't know if I'm the only one who gets EXTREMELY annoyed when reading complaints about alleged "stalls". *sigh* sometimes I feel empathy for folks but most times I feel extreme aggravation. Listen folks...we aren't gonna lose weight every day or every week for that matter. If that was the case we would lose 365 lbs in a year! This surgery was not intended to be a "quick fix". I personally don't believe in "stalls". Have I experienced weeks of no loss??? SURE! What did I do to "break my stall"? NOTHING!!! Im 8 month's out and still follow my doctors orders and exercise...REGULARLY. That's it...that's all! When the numbers don't move I don't give into fear...I simply "stay the course". I really get dissappointed when I read about folks being taking on an emotional roller coaster by the scale. If you are eating what you're suppose to be eating and exercising like you're suppose too...YOU WILL LOSE!!!! This is not a race...its a lifelong journey. Our main goal should be to optimize our health and live better lives..not chasing a number on a scale or a size. We have to have the mindsets of those who've lost weight and maintain healthy lifestyles without surgery! I hope I don't sound harsh or judgemental...that's not my intention. I just want to encourage those who are feeling down about the "sta lls" or "slow loss" not to give up! I send my "cyber love" to all of you!

^This.

That's always been my advice too. Just keep following the doctor's plan. Don't "up your protein" or "lower your carbs". Just follow the plan. Our body's need the stall to catch up.

Do I LIKE the stalls? No, but knowing they happen helps. I'm glad I read about the stall that usually happens around week 3. Mine lasted three weeks. Did I get upset? No, because I knew it would happen.

Ha!! Yep, a person would be totally stall proof.

OOooooh... I get my Big Train Fit Frappe Mocha Protein Shake powder there. I think it's about $28 for the 2 lb canister. The same size is $48 on Amazon.com. (I think it's 2 lbs... but it IS the same size on Amazon.) I mix one scoop of this with one scoop of either Syntrax Nectar's chocolate truffle or vanilla torte and 8 ounces of light soy milk. Get a little caffeine going and it tastes (to me) like an iced coffee from one of the good places.

I am SO not a veggie lover. I wasn't before surgery and I'm not now... The one veggie I do like is canned green Beans. (Boring.) Grilled asparagus is good - drizzled with some oil and sea salt.

I absolutely LOVE the Quest Protein bars. My favorites are the cookie dough and the chocolate brownie. I also like the berry, Peanut Butter supreme, and chocolate Peanut Butter (or are those two the same?). I didn't like the coconut one at all. The strawberry cheesecake and almond crunch were sort of "meh"..

I went to GNC and bought one of each flavor to see which I liked. (This was after I've had the cookie dough and chocolate brownie ones -- so I already knew I LOVE those.)

Mmmmmmmmm.... YUM! Not sure what kind of magic they use to make these without a ton of chemicals, etc. but they are awesome.

BTW, you can also put one in your pocket for awhile to heat it up if you don't have a microwave. (Keep it in the wrapper though.) Oh, and make sure you take it OUT of the wrapper if you plan to nuke it. Yeah, the wrapper shrivels up and gets weird if you don't.

I am on this site several times a day trying to prepare for my upcoming surgery. I am seeing a lot of people talking about buyers remorse and it frankly scares me. There is no going back so if you had/have even a trace of buyers remorse how are you working through it? What was the cause of your buyers remorse? Does this fade away after a month or two post-op or do you still have it after several months?

I can honestly say that I NEVER had any remorse about this surgery. I feel like I was well prepared prior to surgery. I had no gas pains and the only thing that stressed me out after the surgery was that the liquid pain med had no refills! I weaned myself off so that I was only taking it at night to sleep. I slept in my bed immediately after home from surgery. I also started on soft food the first full day home (two days after surgery) as per my doctor's plan. I took two weeks off from work but could have gone back after the first week - but I'm glad I didn't.

I can't even envision myself right NOW! LOL I think every time I look in the mirror it's like "Whoa.... who IS that?!"

Yep! My taste buds changed and I like some of the foods I didn't before. (Although I still don't like any kind of olive.) I could eat grilled fish every day. I don't care for bread or rice anymore. I still love the smell of freshly baked bread, but the flavor and consistency turns me off. I also really don't care for eggs anymore. (Except egg salad.)

How about eating raw veggies to help fill you up? Have a big lettuce salad with veggies and some sort of low-fat dressing between meals. Or try some of the Light Progressive Soups between meals? Or add an entire can of green Beans to your meal for filler. I think it would be pretty hard to gain weight from most raw or cooked non-starchy vegetables.

Just stay away from any calorie-laden food. If you are truly starving, then some baby carrots will take care of it. If the only thing that your brain tells that will fix the hunger is, say, chocolate cake, then it's a craving.

Your doctor has a food plan for a specific reason.

I've posted this before, but my plan called for starting on soft food the first day I was home (and I only stayed at the hospital one night). The day after surgery, in the hospital, I started with Clear Liquids in the morning (jello and broth) and full liquids (tomato Soup, yogurt) in the afternoon and then I went home. It was a horrible 40 minute ride home because I had really bad heartburn from the Tomato Soup and the Prevacid hadn't kicked in yet. Personally, I was scared to death to try soft foods the next day after reading how everyone else was on liquids for a few weeks - but it all worked out okay. Granted Protein shakes were still my main source of Protein, or Protein powder mixed into pudding.

At about six months out, I was at about 900 calories and now at almost 11 months out, I shoot for about 1100 calories. My Protein goal has almost always been at least 80 grams a day. I don't track specifically carbs or fat, but MyFitnessPal does count that - but I don't have any set goals for those.

I also work at getting 5000 steps.

I think it depends on your doctor's plan as well as your body. I'm almost 11 months out and bread really doesn't appeal to me much. I still follow the "protein first" rule, and by the time I done eating my Protein, there isn't much room left. (Except when we are talking about popcorn - and I try only eat the light stuff.) I still love the smell of fresh bread, but knowing that it will probably just sit in my sleeve as sludge keeps me from eating it. I do like the Special K Multigrain crackers. I can take 6-10 out of the box, put a little tuna salad on them and eat... but the box doesn't call out to me like, say, Wheat Thins. (I loved Wheat Thins pre-surgery.)

Hey... and congratulations on your weight loss!!!!

I think it's just something that maybe takes some time for the brain to catch up with the body. Did you take any "before" pictures? If so, I think you should have some "now" photos taken. I tell ya, that's what really helps me to see the changes in my body.

Jeepers, I held up a pair of Victoria's Secrets panties today and thought "Absolutely no way would these fit." Yeah, they fit. I think I say this with ALL of my clothes now. Jeans, shirts, etc. The hubs really liked the leopard print VS bra I have on.

Ditto to Cidmor, you should definitely get the sample pack. I found that I didn't care for any of the fruity flavors (except for strawberry Mousse). I guess I like the creamier flavors like chocolate Truffle, Vanilla Torte, Strawberry Mousse, and Cappucino. I also like the Cookies and Cream, but I didn't care for the little cookie pieces that settled at the bottom. (I never like that when eating oreos and milk too.)

I love the Syntrax Nectar shakes too. I still have one every morning for breakfast. Actually, I do one scoop of either the Vanilla Torte or chocolate Truffle plus one scoop of Big Train's Fit Frappe Mocha and blenderize this with 8 ounces light soy milk and four ice cubes. 39 grams of protein... and total yummy shake WITH caffeine.

I was regular soft foods the first day home from surgery (per my surgeon's plan). No liquid or pureed stage other than the day after surgery in the hospital. Seems to have worked for me.

Regardless, make a point of following YOUR doctor's plan.

I guess one reward is that I switched to Clinique skincare. That stuff is amazing. My chiropractor keeps telling me how amazed he is that I didn't "age" with the weight loss. I think it's the Clinique working.

I've had tons of fun buying clothes at the thrift stores. One of places is super organized by size and color. I can zip in and fill up a cart of stuff in about 10 minutes... pants, shirts, jeans, shorts. It's way too expensive to buy brand new stuff during the huge weight loss stage. (Specifically casual business clothes.) Shoes, however, I don't buy used. I dropped from a size 11 to a 9-1/2. My bra size dropped from 48C to 40C - still a C-cup but I'm sure that will eventually drop. For NOW, I'm enjoying the girls. LOL (I mean, they look HUGE now that the tummy is smaller.)

Best thing: #1 - Feeling healthier. Being able to go, go, go without getting tired. Going up and down stairs whenever without getting winded. My knees don't hurt anymore. Buying clothes at the thrift stores for super cheap. Someone at work had gastric bypass surgery about 15 years ago and had gained back some of her weight. She's brought me in all of her smaller clothes and I've given her all of my clothes that are too big for me. (Size 20-ish)

Worst thing: My pants are almost always baggy. Seriously, there is NOTHING else that qualifies... I have had no problems what-so-ever with the surgery, etc.

Me too. I *KNOW* I need to drink more Water. Period. That includes adding Crystal Light Pomtini liquid flavoring to the wa-wa... I just don't drink enough.

Is this your pre-op diet? Are you on shakes only or do you get to eat fresh veggies?

To add... I guess how I order food now is my normal. But I do wish I could eat a huge lettuce salad with Ranch dressing. I miss that. Lettuce fills me up too fast, so it's a waste of a Protein opportunity.

At 4.5 months out, I can order what looks like a normal meal (though it might be an appetizer), and eat it slow, take most of it home, or share it with my husband, and no one is the wiser. But as far as feeling different from other people, I felt like that before surgery because I could eat all of whatever it was. Now, I think I feel more like other people because I eat less.

^ This! 100%.

The past few times that we've gone out to eat, I've ordered a turkey or hamburger patty without the bun or other accompaniments and with a side of fruit. The waitstaff haven't blinked an eye at it. I know I'm getting a very healthy meal (definitely getting my protein!) and my hubs gets to finish off the fruit - I typically only have a couple of pieces of the fruit chunks before I hiccup. We ate at Carino's two weeks ago and I was able to eat about 1/3 of a lunch portion of baked tortelloni. It was tasty but then I had to work harder the rest of the day to get in my Protein. One of my co-workers, a guy, is almost always saying "You are so good at following 'the rules'... I wish I had that determination." Well, it's more like Veronica (the sleeve) back talks too much. Throwing up at work is NOT fun.