joatsaint

I think I'm coming out ahead in the long run. I'm cheap and stick with the Sam's Club/Walmart brand Vitamins. I probably spend about $1 per day on supplements. If I drink a shake, that's about $1.50 - nowhere near what I was spending per meal. It was normal for me to eat 2 lbs of meat in the evenings and that's at least $6 bucks, when I can catch meat on sale. I was spending about $100 per week on food. Now it's around $45 or $50, including Protein drinks and vitamins. 2 lbs of ground turkey and 2 cans of refried Beans is enough for at least 2 days of meals - roughly $6. I figure the money I save on food will pay for my surgery in 3 - 4 years.

The EAS and Premier Protein shakes were on my approved food list - starting on the 2nd week. I found them a little thin but good, for my taste. But you should ask your doctor when you're allowed to drink them. I tried a sample of Spark last week - I'm 6 months post-op, and Frankensleeve did not like it at all. I drank about half a glass and had to stop. And it did not taste good - kinda bitter. I tried the fruit punch. But VSG'ers are told not to drink caffeine the first few weeks after surgery, as it is a stomach irritant.

I almost finished my first one without stopping, it was so good. The chocolate shakes deserve 2 thumbs up in a Z formation! Very good taste, no grittiness. I like them better than the EAS chocolate carb control shakes. Although I do wish both brands were a little thicker. I've tried Muscle Milk, EAS, Pure Soy and Premier Protein chocolate shakes and Premier Protein has been the best for flavor and smoothness. Very yummy, almost as good as chocolate milk. Price wise, they are a little more expensive than EAS. EAS are 4 for $5 at Walmart. Premier Protien was 12 for $19 at Sam's Club (my Walmart didn't carry Premier). But as good as Premier tastes, I will won't mind paying a little more. I only wish Sam's had the Premier Protein bars as well - but they were sold out. Maybe next trip.

I know where you're coming from. Being fat is easy. It's something I'm used to. Change is scary! I actually got scared and caught myself thinking - "What if I can't eat as much after surgery?" Then I had to roundhouse b*tch slap myself and say, "Dummy, this is WHY you're having the surgery." Then I thought about how people would start noticing my weight loss and complimenting me. - I'm used to being invisible. And then I thought about how I wouldn't have an excuse to stay out of social situations if I were thin. And God Forbid! Girls might notice me! And on and on ... I just said to myself "F it!" I'll take it as it comes and learn to deal with it.

I love that, I may have to steal it and tell to my friends. LMFAO

The thing I keep in mind with the Low Fat/Full Fat options is that sometimes the low fat option has sugars in it to make up for the flavor lost. So I tend to go with the option that has the fewest grams of sugar. When looking at LF/Full Fat I also look at the total calorie count. In the case of my refried Beans, the difference is only about 10 calories more a serving if I go with regular refried beans and I think they taste better than no fat refried beans. So it's a matter of taste sometimes. Overall, I'd rather go with a full fat option with few carbs than low fat with high carbs.

I can detect a faint vanilla smell when I open the HUGE barrel I have. I've tried putting some of the powder directly on my tongue - I can't taste anything. I have tried it in my Crystal Light lemonade - it made it very smooth and creamy. And I mix in a couple of scoops into my chicken/refried beans mixture. Refried beans hide the flavor of anything mixed in. :-P

Here's my review of the Premier Protein chocolate drinks. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/blog/2115/entry-6226-premier-protein-drinks-review-chocolate/

I take a sub-lingual b12 tablet that I get from Walmart. It tastes very good. Just pop it under the tongue and let it dissolve. http://www.walmart.c...g-45ct/17325185 I was taking a liquid sub-lingual from Walmart, but it just tasted too horrible. As for the rest of the B12 complex, I get those from my Multivitamin tablets - from Sam's Club. I've never had to take a liquid or chewable multivitamin. Starting about my 3rd week post-op, I swallowed a multivitamin table and had no trouble with them.

I eat spicy food almost weekly. The only issues I've had is with salsa - I think it's the tomatoes. But it doesn't last but a few minutes and then I'm fine.

I think I tried it about week 6 - when I was allowed solid foods. Steak is actually easier on my stomach than chicken breast - go figure???? But it wasn't a big amount of steak - probably 3 or 5 small bites. At 6 weeks, I was only eating about 4oz per meal. I just remember how chicken almost immediately made my stomach grumble and steak didn't.

"congress with a kid"????????????? Well, these bowls are no good for that but if you want something that "comes with a lid and is good for travel"..... I have the Gladware 1/2 cup plastic containers. They have lids and are microwavable. I think it was an 8 pack for $2.50 at Walmart.

I don't know about you, but the 2 most important work rules I know of are: 1. Don't take another man's tools without asking first. 2. Don't F with another man's food. Violating either rule can put you in dire jeopardy of losing blood, skin, hair or at the very least, finding a nasty surprise in your lunch kit the next day. But my current workplace is a bit looser about those rules - being that it's mainly ladies and has more of a community atmosphere compared to the construction sites I worked in the past. So it's not uncommon to find that your friends have raided the fridge and at least part of your lunch was donated to the cause. It was one of those serendipitous moments yesterday that I learned exactly how to protect my food in the community fridge. My director had stashed a piece of Italian Cream cake in the fridge - leftover from the previous day's birthday celebrations - in between two balloon print paper plates. The top plate had a simple message printed in bold black Sharpie on it, "Please do not eat me." "P.S. I already licked it!" - Kyle Pure genius! Have you any tips on how to protect your food/stuff/things from being "borrowed"?

Add me to the temporary weight gain club. Almost monthly, I'll pick up a few lbs for a week or so, then I'll lose it and a lb or two more. I don't know if it is a coincidence or not, but the weight gain is greater after I've eaten fruit - like strawberries, grapes, or watermelon.

We are lucky at having a very clean facility. We moved into a new building back in Feb. And our custodial staff is very vigilant about keeping the fridge clean and cleaned out.

That is so cool! LMFAO We've got too many health nuts here at work, so the broccoli thing wouldn't work for me. I've added a new one to my food protection arsenal. I'm going to start telling people that I'm randomly poisoning my food 1 day a week - they get to guess which day. :-)

After losing 65 lbs, I have noticed that my hands get cold very easily. Overall, I am now comfortable with the thermostat set 2 degrees higher during the Texas summer heat.

Just remember, you can tell anyone about it at anytime. BUT, you can't untell them! Anyone that asks me about my weight loss, I just tell them the truth. I have drastically cut back on the amount of food I'm eating and I try to walk 10,000 steps a day.

At week 2, I was only eating Cream of Mushroom soup. And only about 3/4 of a can a day. I just kept a supply in my desk drawer at work and ate it cold. So you might look at the soup list when you go out to eat. See if there's something you can mash up like potato soup - so it's creamy with no lumps.

Jubo sends his best jue jue your way.

I went through it as well. I even backed out on my first attempt to schedule a doc. appointment. I got lucky though. Once I decided to go through with it, I was scheduled and done within 3 weeks - start to finish. Don't know if I could have kept my nerve up for much longer. :-)

Are you giving me the finger? :-P

I didn't have the energy to do much exercise for the 1st 6 weeks. I only do power walking now at 6 months. I know from past experience that I won't go to the gym - it's 30 minutes to the nearest gym and I have to drive through some of the heaviest traffic in my area to get there. There are always places nearby to walk. I've even done laps around the parking lot at my Walmart before going in to shop. That's a damn BIG parking lot :-P I have a yellow stretchy thing with handles I got from Walmart to do bicep/tricep curls, delts and rows for toning my arms and shoulders. There are plenty of videos on Youtube that can show you how to workout at home using just your bodyweight. Just Google "bodyweight exercise" and lots of videos should pop up. Then, when you know how much you can do, you can transition to the gym if you want.

You are not alone. I was a newbie to surgery until VSG. I was in denial right up to being wheeled into the OR. I kept telling myself that I could just get up and walk out anytime I wanted. At least you are a surgery vet! :-) And I wouldn't use the phrase, "put to sleep." - too many negative connotations. :-P

You should really amp it up on Facebook. Post pics of your dip - photo shopped to look like you're eating it from a full 5 gallon bucket using a little garden shovel. :-P P.S. I love irking the trolls. :-)