NCLisa

I drink tea and coffee every day. I stop at Starbucks once a day for a iced skinny surgar free vanilla latte. For Breakfast I have either Morning Thunder tea or Rasberry White Tea as I need caffeine in the morning to get going. The rest of the day I drink herbal teas without caffiene. I'm sure I keep Celestial Seasons in business. It hasn't hurt me at all. I love teas, and I love the fact that the herbal teas are a pleasantly flavored way to get Water without artificial sweetners!

I like the Isopure unflavored whey protein. It has 25 grams per scoop. I put it in my Starbucks latte every morning, it disolves easily. I'll put a partial scoop in yogurt or some foods, any more than that and the taste of the food changes.

I have a Starbucks Venti sugar free hazelnut latte with 2% milk everyday. I bring along my little baggie of Isopure unflavored protein powder, and add 1 scoop to my latte which is 25 grams of protein. I get my coffee and my protein for breakfast every morning. I can't eat foods until about 1pm, so this gets me going in the morning.

My Dr. said that I need at least 50 grams of protein a day, but he'd be happiest with 60. So that is my daily protein goal One week when I had the flu, I didn't get more than maybe 10 grams of protein a day for about 5 days, I lost a lot of hair about 2 weeks later.

I didn't lose much in the mushy stage either. The mushies tend to be higher in sugars and carbs. Once you get back to solids and have a larger selections of foods to eat, you will lose more.

Breakfast - Starbucks - Venti sugar free hazelnut latte with low fat milk and I add 25 grams of unflavored protein. Snack - organic mozzarella stick Lunch - scrambled egg Snack - organic mozzarella stick Dinner - Kung Pao stir fry (all organic) with asparagus, water chestnuts, mung bean sprouts, yellow pepper, green onion, garlic, broccoli and extra firm tofu over a small amount of organic brown rice.

I eat rice all the time, in very small portions, along with my indian food, thai food, or a stir fry. I can't eat a big mouthful of rice, but I can eat little bites, with the other foods. I can not eat most breads, except for some indian breads with are very thin. I can't eat most pasta's either. I still eat carbs, but not like I used to. I'm not going to cut things that I can still eat out, but I am going to eat them in smaller doses. Carbs in moderation are not bad for you. Tonight I will have a stir fry with tofu, asparagus, broccoli, red pepper, mushroom, mung bean sprouts, Water chestnuts and onion with terriaki sauce and brown rice (all organic).

Pilates, I've gone from a size 22 to 12 with doing nothing but pilates 2 to 4 x a week since July. I love it. I just bought an elliptical, and will add that in over Xmas.

I've lost 40 pounds and gone from a size 22 to a size 14 now. I'm doing pilates 4 days week, so I've lost lots of fat, and built a lot of good muscle in it's place.

I was wondering if it was the spices. I haven't had problems with Thai or Greek either.

I made my decision without talking to my primary care doctor. I went to see her for a blood pressure check at the end of February, told her my decision, and asked who she recommended as a surgeon. She gave me a name, and was very supportive, said my HBP could eventually go down to normal, the kidneys problems may stop, and I'd get healthier. But then, I have an awesome Doctor!

I do have problems with some foods, and some foods I can eat one day, but then can't the next. I've found though, that I never have a problem with Indian food with or without rice. So now I'm getting take out a couple times a week. One order of Saag Paneer and Chicken Tikka Masala feeds me for 3 to 4 days.

I do Pilates, and my Dr. is all for it. My surgery was May 8, and my first pilates class was July 21.