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I don't like sweets either. These were approved by my doctor for the liquid diet: plain Greek yogurt and sugar free pudding with protein powder in it. There were a bunch of others, but I can't remember them. Sorry.

I've been thinking about this. My local grocery store sells large and thin pita pockets that are 100 calories each. I'm thinking you could cut one up into quite a few little triangles (16-24) and the bake em with salt & pepper (maybe garlic or onion powder) in a Pam coated baking pan. Combine with a Greek yogurt dip and you'd have more than you possibly eat without going over 150 calories.

It may just be a stall. There really is no rhyme or reason to them. It's your body adjusting to the changes going on. Just keep working your program, you may even try upping your calories and/or protein. I know for me having protein before and after a workout produces good results so I make a large protein shake with greek yogurt and have half before and half after.

Thanks for the link up there - I am going to check that out! I completely understand the intolerance to eggs-me too! I have tried, and can do it, but it takes forever. It sounds like you are getting bored of the same food and want some variety and flavour. I also understand this and started hunting out curry recipies as they deliver nutrition, flavour, and you can make them low carb. Getting my veg in has been tough but this has definitely been the cure-slow cooking a huge mix of veg in a tasty sauce. I can eat about a quarter cup at a time, and use a cracker or two as my dip-it is delicious! You can definitely use fruit-I made yogurt parfaits for breakfast as well not too long ago! Use low fat, low sugar greek yogurt, with 2 tsp applesauce on top and a sprinkle of cinnamon and oats, almost tastes like the real deal Good luck!!!!

I struggled with this, too, until about 6 weeks out. It defiinitely gets better. In the meantime, my tips are the ones you hear so often - eat very, very, very slowly. "Full" takes some time to register, so if you're eating with any rapidity, you'll likely become over-full suddenly. I also measured based on the volume I was currently tolerating. Early on, 2 tablespoons was my standard measurement for mushies and about 1oz for solids. That increased little by little. I'm at 7 weeks now and can tolerate about 2-3 oz of meats, 6-8 oz of mushies like yogurt or Soup. But still only with a very careful watch on eating slowly and analyzing how I feel. And even tonight I mixed it up, with 1 oz of cheese, 1/2 cup of soup, and some Protein puffs and suddenly realized I had mindlessly taken two bites too many. It doesn't happen as often these day, but it can still happen if I'm not being mindful. Hope this helps. Here's wishing you much luck and patience and you adjust.

My Dr says no fruit or yogurt etc in the pre opp! It's very strict, water + protein powder + anything sugar free flavoring wise & then 4 oz of meats, cheeses or eggs.

You can do it. I was banded over two weeks ago and now in the mushy stage. I have to admit tonight I have been a little bad. I eat a cookie because we were baking for christmas. But other then that I have been sticking to it... I eat for liquids yogurt, protein shakes that I added everything to to make them taste yummy... sf puddings, sf jello.. I also made homemade custard that was yummy.. You can do it..

I am having a hard time getting in all my Protein shakes, I was suppose to get in 60 grams but now I get in about 30. I eat 1 serving of greek yogurt, sugar free Jello, and try and drink 60 ounces of Water a day. I have been on the liquid diet since the 12 and have surgery on 5/3 yay it is almost here. I has been a struggle for me too but I just think about the weight loss and how I will feel. Then it is all worth it.

Yes, it's pretty normal to have diarrhea early on. You're only taking in liquids, so most of what you eliminate will be liquid too. Also, you've likely also had massive doses of strong antibiotics which wipes out the naturally occurring bacteria in your digestive system. Without those little bugs to help regulate things, your system will be torn up. Try mixing in some probiotic containing yogurt (activia or another brand). It helped me out. Bryan

You can add ALL SORTS of stuff to cottage cheese and plain yogurt (greek works better for savory IMO) It's pretty easy really, just find a seasoning or mix or marinade mix that you enjoy, and mix a bit into the cottage cheese or yogurt. It's going to take some experimentation to get a flavor that you are happy with, but it's legit just as easy as mixing in some premixed powders. And you can add some unflavored protein as well to boost your protein intake. My pre-op was SF jello, watermelon, protein shakes and celery (I could eat as much of this as I wanted)... celery was my go to, since I could eat as much as I needed but it got old very quickly. So I started coating up pre-cut celery with seasonings like "Pub Burger" seasoning or "Maple Bacon" seasoning. And boy did that make things easier to deal with! So, go crazy, find yourself some seasonings you are interested in and start mixing them into your approved foods and just go wild! You never have to sacrifice flavor during this whole process, you just need to play around a bit.

I'm 2 1/2 weeks post op and started feeling nausea and vomiting about 4-5 days ago. Has been constant if I try to eat anything (yogurt, Water, tea, etc) Not from over-eating since it usually occurs after one or two small sips or bites.

When I make chicken salad, I use a small container of plain greek yogurt to replace part of the mayo. Not all of it.. too sour, but about 1/3 to 1/2 can be replaced with the greek. Add a package of Ranch dressing mix to plain greek yogurt for a high protein dip for your veggies. I make a smoothie in the mornings with 1 small carton of Dannon or Oikos greek yogurt, 16 oz crystal light, a scoop of syntrax Nectar, 4 strawberries and 4 ice cubes. This makes a big smoothie.. I drink about 2/3 of it in the Morning before my workout and the remainder when I get home 3 hours later. Good stuff and very versatile. I don't do the stuff with the fruit on the side except when I'm away from home and can't find a good alternative.. .. too many sugars.

Try adding a wedge of laughing cow flavored cheese wedges to your eggs when you cook them. I also enjoy turkey lunch meat and greek yogurt with fruit.

I was sleeved a week ago today. None of my post op dietary stages list the low fat cream soups. I'm getting in my fluids and protein no problem, but I feel hungry, like I need something with a little more substance. It's not even head hunger, as I have never eaten cream of chicken soup in my life. It never appealed to me. I'm getting a little cranky today. When I was discharged from the hospital, the nutritionist said that this coming Wednesday, I could start Stage 2, or "mushies," as she calls it. She mentioned Greek yogurt and unsweetened applesauce. That leaves one more day after today until I can have some form of food. I've been relying on broth, sugar free drinks, water, protein shakes, sf jello and sf popsicles. I should have called her today and asked about the cream soups.

I saw the clip with the 2 female patients on his website. One showed what she ate in a day. It consisted of several large spoons of yogurt and some other not identifable mushie stuff. If I had not already researched the band and what you can eat and the changing of eating habits I woud be completely turned off by it and would not even consider the band. . I cannot imagine eating unidentifiable food for the rest of my life. Foertunately I know that this is not necessary and it is possible to eat most regular foods in moderation. ns reach ny health goals.

Oatmeal is my go to because it is easy. Also, I bring an egg, some chopped ham, & a little cheese to work with me and microwave it. Sometimes I add some veggies too. It makes a nice little "omelet". I also make my own yogurt and my own granola (so I can control the sugar). That is sometimes breakfast too.

Happy Holidays everyone. Just wanted you all to know I did end up losing 7 pounds after 14 days of hellish torture LOL. My doctor said my liver shrank a little but not a lot. He said it will continue to shrink as I lose weight. I was on 19 medications and he said that can sometimes have an effect on the shrinking... so now we know. Surgery went well and other than feeling like I did 100 situps I wouldn't really know I had surgery. No real after effects. I threw up once in the hospital when I took too many of my 19 meds at once but other than that no other issues. I'm back to drinking normally with no problem. Still no food yet, I have 8 more days to go to get to puree but I get milk and yogurt on Wed and I'm really looking forward to it. I think it will settle okay but will do small amounts at first. Thanks, everyone for being so nice and supportive! Love this group!

Stay on a schedule, pre plan your meals and Snacks. You're probably not feeling hungry so staying on a schedule helps. Set your phone alarm, fit bit alarm or the like as a reminder to eat. Some of my snacks are: Sargento snack sticks, hard boiled eggs, lunch meat and yogurt. Keep anything that is in small portions ready to eat that is low fat, low carb with Protein on hand. What are your protein requirements? Mine is 90-100 My Calorie is min 600 max of 800 and I'm just about 6 months out. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Today I am 45 days out. I take my vitamins daily, get my fluids in with no problem and am tolerating food very well. I almost feel like I'm doing too well...reading some of the things on here have me perplexed. I have to remind myself that everyone is different, everyone heals differently. I'm down 38 pounds. Whenever I get the thought in my mind that I am not progressing fast enough I remind myself that this is the most weight I have lost in ages. I continue to gain and lose the same five pounds, then it finally falls off. Then I plateau and gain/lose the next 5 pounds. Like I said, its frustrating me to no end, but I am trying to be realistic with myself. Slow and steady wins the race, and I am giving my skin time to adjust to the loss as well. Observations and Weird sensations: Sometimes I can barely finish a yogurt while other times I can eat quite a bit more. (For example, a bean burrito from taco bell or a 6 inch sub on flatbread from Subway) I can feel the food shift in my stomach; I've never had that sensation before. Sadly, the sleeve doesn't get rid of PMS cravings. I still have to fight myself about eating crap. The difference is now I can talk myself out of it 95% of the time whereas before I was 95% sure I would eat it anyway. Since I am not consistently on sugar/carbs like I used to be I can actually feel myself crash from eating something carb/sugar rich. It's enough to make me not want to eat them. I've found if I've eaten a few bites too much, I can get rid of that feeling much faster by walking. Walking actually helps move my food. Before surgery, walking while I was stuffed was sheer torture. If I was overly full, I would feel that way for a long time. a couple hours even, before I would get any relief, I definitely feel restriction. I eat maybe a 1/4 to an 1/8 of what I used to. I can't throw up. I've had the sensation a few times and even tried to on one occasion that I overdid it by accident. I didn't feel the restriction til it was too late. I've since learned to slow down when I eat so I have time for my body to signal to me. But the point is, I used to be able to puke almost on command. Not so much anymore. Its not really worth going out to eat at a sit down restaurant. I cant eat like the rest of the folks. While that is a exhilarating feeling, I found myself sulking because I couldn't eat my favorite meal at Chuy's. I had to laugh at myself like really, Tracy? You have wanted to be thinner for years and now that you have the chance you are crying about a chimichanga? I still have to silence my inner fat kid on the daily. I'm hoping that becomes less and less. I didn't realize just how addicted i was to food and food routines. I'm slowly re-learning how to have fun without food or booze and how to incorporate exercise into daily life again.

I'm sore that true. By port incision is the sorest. I can tell that I still have gas, my tummy is extended. I did have a BM today though. I also had yogurt. It was good to have something other then jello, protein or water. I've also had about 15 fish crackers through out the day. I'm going to the movies w/Steph and her kids to get away. My kids have been just bored and bothering each other and I need out and DH sees this. He's the one that called her for me. Ok it's fucken hot and I need to get away from the computer.

I was banded on May 20, 2009 with the Realize-C Band. I researched through message boards when decided upon banding, but waited until after to join. I don't have to tell you how I got here, do I? Surely, you know. Low Calorie, Low fat, low carb, Weight Watchers...if it is out there, I have probably done it. The last thing I did was Medifast. I lost 70 pounds and found it all back and then some. (Drat) I was in Vegas with a friend in Febuary. With all the freakin' mirrors there, there was no way to deny what I had done...AGAIN. I got back home, had a good cry and decided it was time to do something permanent. I didn't want to go with the By-pass. I probably read too many on-line blogs where people had bad experiences. But, the band sounded like the right thing for me. I researched my area here in Bradenton, Florida. I decided on Sarasota Memorial's program. On with the program I went: 1. Seminar 2. Eat Healthy for Life Program 3. Psych evaluation 4. Nutritionist consultation 5. Meet with Primary care Doc for letter of necessity 6. Surgeon Consult 7. Barium Swallow (bleah), Chest x-ray 8. Blood work up 9. Pre-admission testing (EKG, more blood, pre-surgery discussion) 10. Dietician consultation Wednesday, my surgery was scheduled for 1 pm. That meant no food or drink after midnight. O-M-G!! Sooo hungry. Had to be a the hospital at 11. Talk about hurry up and wait. I had to get through 3 receptionists before going to the pre-pre-op waiting room. I had to give a urine sample for a pregnancy test! From there a nice man took me to the pre-op room. He gave me plastic bags for my clothes and the lovely hospital gown. So, I got changed and up on the bed. Waited for a few minutes and got my phone so I had something to do. My pre-op nurse came in and took my vitals and got the IV started. Got the heparin shot in the belly. (Lots of fun) Surgery was running an hour late. My anesthesiologist came in and had a follower. A very nice young man who went to the same school as my daughter. And yes, he did know her. Oh, and the anesthesiologist's son goes to the same school. Perrrrrfect. Then time went by for a while. My nurse came back and chatted for a while. This was nice as I was quite bored with the waiting. She left and I got the brilliant belated notion to turn on the TV. It took some manuvering to reach the remote with the IV in, but I prevailed! I found the end of "Sleeping with the Enemy." The anesthesiologist's techs came in and readied me for going to the OR. They were hilarious. They totally wanted to watch the end of the movie, too. We saw Julia shoot her abusive husband and then they gave me that pre-surgery shot. Things get blurry from there. I remember the bed going out of the room. I remember the brightness of the OR. I remember having the gas mask put over my face and nothing. Next thing is telling someone that I hurt and I was nauseous. I have no idea why or who. The person was saying calming things. My eyes flew open and I begged, "Please don't let me throw up!" Suddenly, I was in my hospital room. There may have been more that occurred with me interacting, but I have no memory of it. My throat was raw. My incisions really hurt. As I came the rest of the way out, my nurse came in. She was a doll. Wanted to make me as comfortable as possible. She got my computer and Sudoku book out for me. She brought me a cup of ice water. Small sips!! Finally, I realized that I needed to go to the bathroom. I called my nurse for some help. She was surprised that I hadn't gone already. I was surprised that if they wanted me to go they hadn't mentioned it. So, the put a urine catcher bowl on the toliet so they can measure your out put. Sitting down wasn't so bad as it was the upper abs that hurt, not the lower. With the IV going, There was a pretty full bowl. And not so surprisingly, I had a light period show as well. I was expecting that. I had an appendectomy when I was 15 and the same thing happened. They told me then that it isn't uncommon for that to happen when you have stomach surgery. I had the surgery as an in-patient. So, I was there for the rest of the night. I had to ask for the pain meds when I needed them. I wasn't shy about that! We found quickly that I needed the anti-nausea meds in place when I got my morphine. I was determined to stay awake that night to see who won American Idol, Kris or Adam. So I turned the TV on which was on a cool arm that swung to the bed. I was aware that the program was on and of the performances, but couldn't process more than that. I did hang on to see that Kris won. My kids texted me right away. I was out pretty much after that. That night was rough, because of the discomfort from the surgery and the need to get up to pee frequently. The night nurse came in when I needed her. I could get out of bed on my own. I was still taking small sips. She said I could suck on hard candy. My mouth was still so dry. I found later that there were lemon glycerin swabs in my "kit", but no one thought to offer me one. DH had left me a roll of his peppermints. They weren't great, but better than nothing. I broke them into small pieces and had a bit now and then. That morning, I got up and took a walk. Again, found it odd that no one had insisted that I do so. After that, I graduated from water to beef broth. It REALLY hit the spot. The day repeated itself. Meds, broth, Sleep. It was getting close to 5 and the doctor hadn't made it in yet. The nurses had warned me with out my asking that they did not know when the doc would be in. He came about 5:30. With that I got paperwork and wheelchaired out by 7. It seemed like a long day. My kids were thrilled I was home. DH left to get my prescriptions. He came back with pills. Lortab and Anti-nausea. I thought I was supposed to get elixirs, but what are you going to do at that point? Guh. Before bed, I used my pill crusher to crush the Lortab. I mixed it with a bit of yogurt. Bleah. The anti-nausea were small so I just downed that with water. Lortab wasn't as effective as the Morphine. It knocked me loopy and then out. It was not as good on the pain. I took it for 2 more days and then switched to liquid ibuprofen. Sue me. That night was rough. My neck and chest hurt, my throat still hurt and of course, my incisions hurt. It was hard to move in the bed at all. I wasn't expecting the neck pain. I assume it was gas, but no one had mentioned it going to the neck. Plus! I was in caffeine detox! That was really stupid of me not to give it up before. The headaches on day three were killer!! I was lucky to have Memorial Weekend to convalesce. DH and the kids waited on me. When taking the Lortab, I pretty much slept. I have Tivo in the bedroom and watched some shows in between naps. It is now Monday at 3:15 pm, I am feeling at about 75-80%. The incision where my port is still hurts when I move. I went to the grocery with DH and was TIRED when I got back. I feel over all pretty good. The neck, throat, and chest pain is gone. My port incision isn't hurting too much. And I am about at the end of the novel this first blog is! LOL My doctor has me on full liquids from day 2 to day 45. I have enjoyed pudding, yogurt, protein shakes, cream of tomato soup, jello, frozen, fruit juice bars, pureed cottage cheese, mashed potatoes and cream of wheat. Watching TV is awful. They had a hotdog segment on The View today that had me about ready to eat my pillow. I am one of the lucky -- who is hungry. I am looking forward to reading up on the other blogs and messages. :thumbup: I will try to not always have such diarrhea of the mouth, er, keyboard!!

I was banded on May 20, 2009 with the Realize-C Band. I researched through message boards when decided upon banding, but waited until after to join. I don't have to tell you how I got here, do I? Surely, you know. Low Calorie, Low fat, low carb, Weight Watchers...if it is out there, I have probably done it. The last thing I did was Medifast. I lost 70 pounds and found it all back and then some. (Drat) I was in Vegas with a friend in Febuary. With all the freakin' mirrors there, there was no way to deny what I had done...AGAIN. I got back home, had a good cry and decided it was time to do something permanent. I didn't want to go with the By-pass. I probably read too many on-line blogs where people had bad experiences. But, the band sounded like the right thing for me. I researched my area here in Bradenton, Florida. I decided on Sarasota Memorial's program. On with the program I went: 1. Seminar 2. Eat Healthy for Life Program 3. Psych evaluation 4. Nutritionist consultation 5. Meet with Primary care Doc for letter of necessity 6. Surgeon Consult 7. Barium Swallow (bleah), Chest x-ray 8. Blood work up 9. Pre-admission testing (EKG, more blood, pre-surgery discussion) 10. Dietician consultation Wednesday, my surgery was scheduled for 1 pm. That meant no food or drink after midnight. O-M-G!! Sooo hungry. Had to be a the hospital at 11. Talk about hurry up and wait. I had to get through 3 receptionists before going to the pre-pre-op waiting room. I had to give a urine sample for a pregnancy test! From there a nice man took me to the pre-op room. He gave me plastic bags for my clothes and the lovely hospital gown. So, I got changed and up on the bed. Waited for a few minutes and got my phone so I had something to do. My pre-op nurse came in and took my vitals and got the IV started. Got the heparin shot in the belly. (Lots of fun) Surgery was running an hour late. My anesthesiologist came in and had a follower. A very nice young man who went to the same school as my daughter. And yes, he did know her. Oh, and the anesthesiologist's son goes to the same school. Perrrrrfect. Then time went by for a while. My nurse came back and chatted for a while. This was nice as I was quite bored with the waiting. She left and I got the brilliant belated notion to turn on the TV. It took some manuvering to reach the remote with the IV in, but I prevailed! I found the end of "Sleeping with the Enemy." The anesthesiologist's techs came in and readied me for going to the OR. They were hilarious. They totally wanted to watch the end of the movie, too. We saw Julia shoot her abusive husband and then they gave me that pre-surgery shot. Things get blurry from there. I remember the bed going out of the room. I remember the brightness of the OR. I remember having the gas mask put over my face and nothing. Next thing is telling someone that I hurt and I was nauseous. I have no idea why or who. The person was saying calming things. My eyes flew open and I begged, "Please don't let me throw up!" Suddenly, I was in my hospital room. There may have been more that occurred with me interacting, but I have no memory of it. My throat was raw. My incisions really hurt. As I came the rest of the way out, my nurse came in. She was a doll. Wanted to make me as comfortable as possible. She got my computer and Sudoku book out for me. She brought me a cup of ice water. Small sips!! Finally, I realized that I needed to go to the bathroom. I called my nurse for some help. She was surprised that I hadn't gone already. I was surprised that if they wanted me to go they hadn't mentioned it. So, the put a urine catcher bowl on the toliet so they can measure your out put. Sitting down wasn't so bad as it was the upper abs that hurt, not the lower. With the IV going, There was a pretty full bowl. And not so surprisingly, I had a light period show as well. I was expecting that. I had an appendectomy when I was 15 and the same thing happened. They told me then that it isn't uncommon for that to happen when you have stomach surgery. I had the surgery as an in-patient. So, I was there for the rest of the night. I had to ask for the pain meds when I needed them. I wasn't shy about that! We found quickly that I needed the anti-nausea meds in place when I got my morphine. I was determined to stay awake that night to see who won American Idol, Kris or Adam. So I turned the TV on which was on a cool arm that swung to the bed. I was aware that the program was on and of the performances, but couldn't process more than that. I did hang on to see that Kris won. My kids texted me right away. I was out pretty much after that. That night was rough, because of the discomfort from the surgery and the need to get up to pee frequently. The night nurse came in when I needed her. I could get out of bed on my own. I was still taking small sips. She said I could suck on hard candy. My mouth was still so dry. I found later that there were lemon glycerin swabs in my "kit", but no one thought to offer me one. DH had left me a roll of his peppermints. They weren't great, but better than nothing. I broke them into small pieces and had a bit now and then. That morning, I got up and took a walk. Again, found it odd that no one had insisted that I do so. After that, I graduated from water to beef broth. It REALLY hit the spot. The day repeated itself. Meds, broth, Sleep. It was getting close to 5 and the doctor hadn't made it in yet. The nurses had warned me with out my asking that they did not know when the doc would be in. He came about 5:30. With that I got paperwork and wheelchaired out by 7. It seemed like a long day. My kids were thrilled I was home. DH left to get my prescriptions. He came back with pills. Lortab and Anti-nausea. I thought I was supposed to get elixirs, but what are you going to do at that point? Guh. Before bed, I used my pill crusher to crush the Lortab. I mixed it with a bit of yogurt. Bleah. The anti-nausea were small so I just downed that with water. Lortab wasn't as effective as the Morphine. It knocked me loopy and then out. It was not as good on the pain. I took it for 2 more days and then switched to liquid ibuprofen. Sue me. That night was rough. My neck and chest hurt, my throat still hurt and of course, my incisions hurt. It was hard to move in the bed at all. I wasn't expecting the neck pain. I assume it was gas, but no one had mentioned it going to the neck. Plus! I was in caffeine detox! That was really stupid of me not to give it up before. The headaches on day three were killer!! I was lucky to have Memorial Weekend to convalesce. DH and the kids waited on me. When taking the Lortab, I pretty much slept. I have Tivo in the bedroom and watched some shows in between naps. It is now Monday at 3:15 pm, I am feeling at about 75-80%. The incision where my port is still hurts when I move. I went to the grocery with DH and was TIRED when I got back. I feel over all pretty good. The neck, throat, and chest pain is gone. My port incision isn't hurting too much. And I am about at the end of the novel this first blog is! LOL My doctor has me on full liquids from day 2 to day 45. I have enjoyed pudding, yogurt, protein shakes, cream of tomato soup, jello, frozen, fruit juice bars, pureed cottage cheese, mashed potatoes and cream of wheat. Watching TV is awful. They had a hotdog segment on The View today that had me about ready to eat my pillow. I am one of the lucky -- who is hungry. I am looking forward to reading up on the other blogs and messages. :devil: I will try to not always have such diarrhea of the mouth, er, keyboard!!

:thumbup:I have lost 26.5 lbs total.... 20 of them came off right after surgery because of all the liquids... 1st fill: 4cc's 2nd fill: 1.5 cc's 3rd fill: (this week) .75 cc's Down to around 227 lbs, which means 27 more until I reach my first goal weight of 200. (Thats my doctors goal).... Ultimately I'd like to get down to around 170... We shall see. I continue to eat less and less, use much less insulin, I don't snore anymore according to my hubby, and all my clothes are getting way loose. I can't eat anything but oatmeal, yogurt, etc (slidy things) in the morning, which is fine because I'm not too much of a breakfast fan anyway. For whatever reason my band seems to become looser during the course of the day, and is loosest late at night which happens to be when I'm way more likely to pig out unfortunately. can't tolerate any white breads anymore, toasted or not, no rice, no cold chicken (random I know, but I found this out last night, yikes) Stuff getting stuck is the most painful thing ever. I absolutely hate it. This can happen when I havn't chewed sufficiently, or when I try something my band rejects... For instance I chewed the living daylights out of a bite of blueberry muffin the other day, was pratically liquid going down... couldn't tolerate it, came back up. I do tend to feel satisfied longer, on smaller portions, although not drinking anything during meals sucks. It's a strange, crazy trip. I hope I continue too lose, and hope the pace picks up a bit. I'de be more than happy with a pound or 2 a week but sometimes dont' budge one bit.

I was told by my nutritionist to start aiming for 100 grams of protein a day almost right out of the gate. Of course, it actually took me a few months to work my way up that high. I have two Protein Bars a day (one for Breakfast and one as an evening snack), a reduced fat string cheese for a morning snack, a greek yogurt with some kashi Cereal mixed in for an afternoon snack (only add the cereal on workout days), and then some sort of meat for lunch and dinner. Lunch is usually leftovers from a previous dinner and I try to always eat different meats for both meals (so never chicken twice in the same day or pork twice in the same day). My dinners are usually just the meat from whatever my husband makes. We usually split it in half, he eats his half along with his sides for dinner and I'll have half of my half for dinner and then package the other half of my half up for lunch another day. His sides are almost always grains or starches, though, so that doesn't help me with my vegetable predicament. So, to sum up, I get just over 65 grams of protein from the items I eat every day and then try to get 15-20 grams each from whatever my lunch and dinner are. On days I have my kashi cereal in my yogurt I get a little extra protein along with the carbs from the cereal to help fuel my workout.

Just had some yummy sugar free jello. Must say that being able to have popsicles, jello and broth kinda makes this easier. I am still not liking the taste of optifast, but I am pushing through that because I only have to put up with it for 10 more days! I like the ready made optifast shakes(vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry). They come packaged in what looks like a juice box, so its good for on the go. The optifast creamy soup is good as well and I add a little extra chicken bouillon to make it a little more palatable. The shakes that come like a powder and you have to mix is not that bad, although not my favorite. I have a little hand mixer(like the bullet), and that helps. I mix it with a little ice and ice cold water. I find it hard to make them taste as good as the alrady mixed ones. I also bought three different boxes of the optifast meal replacement bars. Chocolate (which is my favorite), Berry yogurt bar(yuck) and Chocolate peanut butter bar(double yuck). I It was pretty expensive so I kinda have to eat the disgusting ones at some point. I am going to save those for the last couple of days!! So, I have gone from 272 to 265.2 in these last four days. I feel a bit more energetic than I thought I would be. Have been cleaning my house like a mad women so everything is in its place and ready to go for post surgery. Every morning I get up, it is getting easier to get in the mind set that is needed for this diet. :thumbup: