Sandi

It's just called Nectar. It's by a company called Syntrax. You can find it on the net. They have many falvors. The two that I like best are Caribbean cooler and Vanilla Bean. I mix the caribbean cooler with 4 ounces of water or orange juice and it tastes like a pina colada. I mix the vanilla bean with some sugar free hazelnut coffee mate and 4 ounces of coffee, and it tastes like a latte. They have lots of other flavors. You can buy a sample pack and try them all. It's a life saver when it comes to protein, bc you can get 24 grams in only 4 ounces of liquid (which is all your stomach will hold) and it tastes really good.

I personally, don't worry about sodium or fat. I look at the calories. The bottom line is that you can eat only fat and still lose weight as long as you burn more calories than you take in. Not the best option from a health standpoint, but as far as losing weight, I don't think it's good to get too caught up in the sodium/fat/carbs thing. I found the hardest part to be the mushy stage. I hated that. Once you get past that stage, it is pretty much clear sailing. Good luck.

Try the Vanilla Bean with coffee. It's yummy. I mix it with some sugar free coffee mate hazelnut first, then add the coffee. It mixes really well, and it tastes great.

It's good. I like the caribbean cooler flavor. It says to mix it in 8-16 ounces of water, but I mix it in only 4 ounces, and it tastes good -- like a pina colada.

Go read about it on the net. My doctor told me that hair loss would occur at month three if we didn't take in enough protein. I also read about that on the internet, and even saw a video of a woman who saved all the hair that she lost and she had a huge bag of it. I didn't lose any hair bc all of that scared me so much that I made sure I got in 50 grams of protein a day. And, it was very hard at first, bc all the Protein drinks were 8-16 ounces, and my stomach would only hold 4 ounces AT THE MOST. So, I spent a fortune trying different Proteins until I finally found one that I could mix in 4 ounces of Water that didn't taste like crap and didn't make me nauseated. I gave the info about that above. It was a life-saver for me. Also, on the nausea, be sure you get in some carbs, bc too much protein without any carbs to buffer it will cause you to be nauseated. Good luck. You can do it. We've all been through it. I have now gone from a size 2X to a size XS in less than a year. It's worth it, and with time you will get used to and be satisfied with smaller portions. It takes a while to get your head around it, and I am still working on the sadness of not being able to sit down and eat a whole platter of mac and cheese. You eat a little bit and it tastes so good you want more, and that is why I gained weight in the first place. But now, no matter how good it is, I can only eat a few bites, and it takes a while to get your head around that and not be sad about it -- not feel deprived. But, it is coming. I am getting there. It just takes time.

Try the protein I suggested above. You can get 24 grams of protein in just 4 ounces. Have one in the morning and one at night. You'll never be able to get enough protein drinking shakes which are 8-16 ounces. You just don't have enough room to hold that much. Why doctors don't tell patients about how to get enough protein in 4 ounces, I will never know. Didn't your doctor tell you about the hair issue if you don't get enough protein? It is very important.

You can do ANYTHING for a short period of time. Hang in there. At the four-month mark, you will be able eat anything you want -- just not very much of it. For right now, try some refried beans and the Lipton chicken soup in a box that you make with boiling water. The worst part is the part you are going through right now. You can still go out with your friends and have fun. Order a brothy soup. You don't need to eat to have fun. Order water with lime instead of an alcholic drink. As to the protein, try Nectar by Syntrax. I like the Caribbean Cooler flavor. You can mix it in 4 ounces of water and get 24 grams of protein in that very small amount. You can get it on-line. It tastes kind of like a pina colada. I also like the Vanilla Bean flavor. Put it in a cup, add 3 tsp sugar free hazelnut coffee mate (the liquid, found in the dairy section with a green top), mix it up, then add 4 ounces of hot decaf coffee. Good way to get your protein in the morning with your coffee. If you don't eat enough protein (50 grams per day) you will start losing your hair about three months out. To stop the nausea, be sure you take in some carbs. If you eat only protein, you will put your body into a state of ketosis and a byproduct of that is nausea. Eat some applesauce or baby food fruit or yogurt, but get some carbs down, and that will help with the nausea.

lol Pickle juice snow cone. That's one I hadn't heard. I am literally rotflmao

Try to find something you don't hate to do. For me, it's low impact step aerobics. Then, I also found something I LOVE to do, which is ballroom dancing. For you, it could be racquetball, badminton, square dancing. I don't know. Think about it, and when you figure it out, then look on the internet for places where you can take lessons, and that will get you started and get you in touch with other people who like the same thing. You will start hanging out with people who are more focused on that activity than they are on food, and that is a good thing.

Look at the food they are all eating, and think of it as poison, bc for you it is. Instead, embrace the healthy yogurt and soup you are eating. Eventually, you WILL be able to eat anything, but the key to your success will be that you will only be able to eat a few bites of everything, and then you will be full. That is the point of your surgery, right. It is the hardest thing to get your brain around -- not being able to eat all the food you used to be able to shovel in. You brain still wants more of the taste. Just talk to yourself every day. You don't need it, you don't want it. Eventually, it will start to sink in.

You will be. Running four miles in a week is awesome. Sounds really good to me, since I HATE to run. But, I can tell you, I haven't seen many fat runners, so if you love to run, keep it up, and you will see those pounds melt away. Good luck to you.

You have found the key to success!!! Easier said than done, but it CAN be done. It's a matter of retraining the brain.

You can't get away from the smells. Try to associate something bad with them. Like, for fast food, I imagine rancid grease and stale french fries. For pizza, I imagine cardboard crust and too much of the red sauce. You get the idea. Pretty soon, the smells won't affect you. It's kind of like quitting smoking. When I smoked, the smell of smoke didn't bother me. Now, it makes me gag. Same idea.

There is a program you can buy called Weight By Date. There is a nominal cost, if I recall right. There, you can keep track of your measurements and your weight. There is also a scale you can buy called the Omron scale. It keeps track of weight, muscle percentage, fat percentage and BMI, as well as body age. My actual age is 62. My body age when I started was 69. Now, it's 45. I keep track of as many stats as I can so that I am never relying ONLY on weight. So many things change with your body when you are on this journey, and it is kind of exciting to see all the changes that are taking place that you might not otherwise notice.

And, remember, you don't have to get to goal to start looking a lot better. Every time you lose 10-15 pounds, you will go down a size. I took pictures of myself every time I lost 15 pounds. It gave me little bite-size goals. I posted them on FB and my friends got so they were rooting me on bc they wanted to see the next pic. lol You can do it. Once you get through the mush phase and can eat what you want, believe me, it gets a lot easier. Until I got there, I was asking myself every day what in the world I had gotten myself into. Try to drink water so you don't get dehydrated, and try to get in the protein so you don't lose your hair. A great protein drink that you can mix in 4 ounces of water that actually tastes good is Nectar by Syntrax. The caribbean cooler flavor tastes like a pina colada. Not bad, and you get 24 grams of protein in 4 ounces, which is all your stomach will be able to hold. I mix the vanilla bean flavor in 4 ounces of coffee in the morning. It is good. First I mix the powder in a cup with about 3 tsp of sugar-free Hazelnut coffee mate. It is in the dairy section in liquid form, and has a green band around the top. After you mix that up, then add the coffee. If you add the coffee first, it doesn't turn out right for some reason. That is what I usually have as my breakfast even now. Another really good liquid that I virtually lived on was the Lipton chicken soup that comes in a box, and you boil it in some water. I would just eat the liquid part, and it is yummy. And, of course, Crystal Light. I'm sure your doctor has told you about that.