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Well, it wasn’t exactly an AI generated recommendation. It was an AI generated summary of all the articles that applied to the question I asked Google. So basically One of the articles them gave that recommendation is below and you can read the full article of course and determine whether it’s a reputable source and applies to you. I agree with not going by a cookie cutter approach regardless of where it came from. Especially the Internet, but it logically does make sense to me so it would definitely be worth talking to your doctor about and asking for a specific plan for you. I know for me, my body is fighting cancer and processing chemo right now which both increase metabolism. Currently I’m logging like 1000-1500 cal more a day and still losing (albeit a little slower to appease my doctors). It changes your metabolism when your body is fighting something and it does burn more calories during times like this. How many that would be something your surgeon may be able to help you with a refer you to someone who can. I am very fortunate that I am at a big fancy breast center and they have an oncology dietitian that is helping me throughout all of my different treatments that I have in store for me over the next year to keep me on track for both that and my bariatric journey. i think the most important part would be to just be mindful of the fact that healing does require adequate nutrition and not to be at too much of a calorie deficit because yes, we will heal like we did from our bariatric surgery but that doesn’t necessarily mean it was the ideal circumstance or that we we’re healing as fast as we could have. I know you are itching to get out and back to your activity asap as I would be and good nutrition is very important for faster healing. I’m not saying that means you need to eat as much as you were eating when you were working out like crazy, but if it was me, I would focus primarily on fueling my body to get better faster, without gaining of course, and really focus on the weight loss once I was back on track (it won’t be that long). I mean if you can lose a bit great but if your body is screaming out for nutritious food it’s probable that there is a reason. The nutritionist that I am working with would not give me a specific calorie amount instead she told me to still try to avoid cookies and chips, but to eat when my body was craving nutritious food and she checks in with me every week to see how I am doing and make tweaks Does your surgeon have a nurse practitioner that you could talk to if you give them a call? Or was your dietician from pre surgery very helpful (mine was worthless 😂). Maybe you would get a more in-depth response from them than your surgeon who’s always super busy.

@BigSue is right on the mark. I will also add that not everyone reaches their goal. And that’s okay. The win is you’ve lost weight and are healthier than you were. Remember that your goal weight is an arbitrary number you chose not the weight your body settles at & is happiest at as your new set point the surgery has gifted you. The point people’s weight stabilises at is different person to person. You do tend to lose the most in the first 6-12 months but people can lose for another year. Not everyone but some do. It took about 17months for my weight to finally stabilise. Though I reached goal at 6 months I kept losing for another 11months & at a very slow rate. (Took 6 months to lose 31kg then 11 months to lose the final 11kg.) Your rate of loss will get slower and slower as you near your final stabilised weight. It could be ounces a week or even a month near the end. So you may not have finished losing yet. But do check your calorie intake. If you’re maintaining at the calories you’re consuming now you’ll have to eat less to lose more. And you will have to eat fewer calories than you are now if you want to maintain at a lower weight than you are now. Another consideration is you’ve likely built up a lot of muscle with the activity you do. Muscle does way a little more than fat and it will change your physical shape somewhat too which may explain some of the clothing size discrepancies you’re noticed. There are lots of averages and generalisations around weight loss (how fast, how much, when things will happen, how many calories you need, how much activity, etc.). We’re too different for the sane hard and fast rules to apply to everyone, You just have to find what works and is right for you, your lifestyle and your body. PS: Another average, but exercise only accounts for about 10% of the weight you are to lose. Better to look at exercise for the benefits it brings to your cardiac health, muscle strength, flexibility, bone density, etc. & not so much for weight loss.

^ This. Post bariatric surgery eating is really hard! Never let anyone tell you that bariatric surgery is "the easy way out"! Regarding your protein intake, let's start with an understanding of why a protein-first diet is recommended post-surgery: Primarily, we are hoping to stave off something called muscle catabolism. This is when your body basically breaks down your own muscles. This happens mostly but not entirely to meet your daily essential amino acid needs. If we eat enough protein, this significantly reduces the amount of muscle mass your body will burn. That's important because the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism, meaning you'll burn more calories even at rest. Most scientific literature suggests that 60 grams per day of protein is sufficient to meet your essential amino acid needs and thus hold off the bulk of the muscle catabolism that happens while on a weight loss diet. Note that some muscle catabolism is inevitable and no amount of protein intake is going to prevent that. The second reason protein is important is because protein is filling and relatively slow to digest. Studies have shown that eating more protein than the 60 grams per day minimum can help you feel more full. That basically will result in reduced overall calorie consumption. For this, amounts between 1.6 grams to 2.2 grams per day per kilogram of ideal body weight have been shown to be effective. For example, if 60 kg was your ideal body weight. protein intake between 96 and 132 grams would be suggested. I'm not sure what your surgical team told you, but since you're already getting over the 60 grams per day minimum, I'd say you're doing fantastic! As you get further out from surgery, you'll probably want to consume more, but keep in mind that all it's really doing is keeping you full longer. It's not going to sabotage your weight loss due to excess muscle loss. TL;DR: You're going fine on protein, don't sweat it.

This sounds so frustrating. Could you track everything you eat, even for one week (on my fitness pal or similar) and get a handle on what you're actually taking in? Do be careful about drinking calories - so easy to do with sweet tea etc. Totally empty. I do that with alcohol sometimes 😟 NickelChip is absolutely right - it might be really helpful to eat more whole and freshly prepared foods. Protein first (it really honestly does fill your sleeve up), veg second and carbs (including coating on chicken, etc) a very long way behind.

This is good advice. Not everyone knows this, but calorie estimates in food, even prepackaged ones are not super accurate for a couple of reasons: The USDA allows manufactured foods a 10% variance. In other words, if a packaged food states the calorie content is 500 kcal, it can be anywhere between 450 and 550 and still be within the allowed variance. The USDA simply does not have the staff to check that every pre-packaged food even meets that 10% standard, so manufacturers are given wide latitude here. They can be a lot further off and it's extremely unlikely anyone would know. It's even less likely anything would be done about it. Setting aside processed foods for now (those with nutrition labels), it's not all roses for unprocessed or minimally processed foods. Even these calorie counts can be way off due to the simplistic way we estimate calories. I'm simplifying a bit here, but to get calorie counts, we traditionally use something called a bomb calorimeter. Basically we burn the food in an enclosed space and measure how much heat is given off. Obviously, this is not how our bodies process food, so saying a particular amount of a food has "200 calories" as measured by a bomb calorimeter does not equal how many calories our bodies actually get from that food. Obviously I'm being a little US specific here, but I'd guess most of the above applies to other countries as well. In short, don't get in the habit of thinking calorie counts are as accurate as they might seem. They just aren't. Use the calories as a tool if you need to, but don't get overly dependent on them.

Most people say the buzz hits them quick post surgery.but they sober up quicker as well. I can see how it is nice to have a drink with dinner for me it’s just a waste. I never did love the taste of alcohol so if I’m not gonna get a buzz and it doesn’t taste good Why pay the price and why waste the calories. I think I am a totally anomaly though. I’ve been on these boards for a few years now and I’ve never heard of anyone else that has that issue.

How long was your stall. Sorry I know this post is old. But I’m in that slump now. Eating 1000-1200 calories. Drinking enough water. And getting my protein. Exercising. Still stay the same right now. Almost for 2 weeks now.

I just checked and at 2 months, I was down 20.6 lbs from the day of surgery. There's really not a hard and fast rule for how much you'll lose. Everyone is different and it depends on your starting point and how much you lost pre-op, too. I had some months when I lost a lot and other months where I hardly lost anything, but overall it moved steadily downward. My weight loss has stalled for the past month or so, now that I am more than a year out. The only guidelines I was given was 60g minimum of protein per day and 64oz water. I am now almost 14 months post-op and I've gone from 225 lbs on surgery day (251 was my highest, which was 6 months pre-op) to anywhere from 162-165lbs. My exercise consists of walking and that's it. I'd like to lose another 10 lbs but I'm also pretty fine with where I am as long as I don't gain (which is why I do hope to lose a bit more). I've gone from a size 22 to a size 12. I think I could still lose a bit more if I focused on cutting out some bad habits that have crept in with sweets/simple carbs, and if I increased my daily exercise to something a little more challenging than a walk. I don't count calories and I don't really track macros at this point, either. I just try to eat reasonable meals that focus on protein and veggies, and not snack too much or eat junk food too often. A typical day is either spinach frittata, Kodiak protein oatmeal, or a Greek yogurt for breakfast, plus a serving of mixed fruit (strawberries, cantaloupe, blueberries, grapes. Lunch is a good size spinach salad with 3oz chicken and some black beans. Dinner might be a bowl of homemade chicken, bean, and veggie soup, chili, or maybe some grilled meat and veggies. Sometimes I eat chickpea pasta with marinara and meatballs but other types of pasta and breads don't settle well. For snacks, I like string cheese and an apple, or some mixed nuts or roasted edamame. I have to be careful of overindulging in things like popcorn, candy, and cookies because they are too easy to eat without getting full (and sadly I don't get dumping from them). Red meat fills me up very quickly. The hardest thing for me now is dealing with the head hunger that makes me want to reach for food if I am bored or stressed. Getting the stuff out of the house completely is the only strategy that really works for me with that. My only real advice is don't drive yourself crazy. Just do your best each day and pay attention to your body. That's more important than counting calories. You're not on a diet! You need to figure out what you can sustain for the rest of your life, while paying attention now to the basics (protein and water, plus vitamins) to keep up your health.

Pardon my ignorance! I had gastric Bypass on January 15th. I had mine done due to gastroparesis not for weight loss. I weighed on average 250lbs before surgery. As of now I'm at 220lbs. Yes I have lost nearly 30lbs. Most of my weight loss was right at first and have hit two major plateaus after surgery. I consume little amount of calories. I mainly have protein shakes which consist of Premier Protein or Redcon1 MRE. I eat ground proteins like lean beef or turkey. I am very strict on my diet. I work out daily and put in at least two hours. I would thought my progress would have been greater. I'm trying to lose weight before I return to work and build up my strength. I feel like I'm failing and I don't know what to do. Is this normal? I've been stuck at 220lbs for almost two weeks now. Please don't beat me up too badly in the comments.

My number one piece of advice would be not to compare yourself to others. I get it, it's comforting to know someone else went through the same thing as you, but when you factor in genetics, epigenetic, diet, exercise, starting weight, % lean mass, etc. any comparisons will fall short. This will become even more important after surgery when the process becomes really hard and you feel like it's not working like it should. We see multiple posts a month from people who are losing weight, but it's coming off slower than they expected and they want to know why. The response is always the same. Trust the process, we're all different and how we lose weight is going to be different. I think it's fantastic that you're losing so well right now. Keep in mind that the rate of loss WILL slow down some as you lose more. That's perfectly normal, so don't let that discourage you from continuing to eat well and exercising. I would caution you about fasting. There's no scientific evidence that it works any better than any other method of calorie restriction. Normally I'd say do what works for you, but fasting is not something you'll be able to do post-WLS (at least early on), so it might not be the best thing for you right now. Especially since your real goal at this point is to learn how to eat better, I'm not sure fasting is the best plan currently. I also think you need to include more cardio into your exercise routine. I love resistance training for lots of reasons, but cardiovascular endurance is the number one predictor of all cause mortality, so please don't skip it, even if you don't like it as much.

Oh my gosh I get this so much!! I get SO cold. My favorite Christmas gift is a heated blanket my Mom got me with two remotes as it is Queen sized - I set that thing on a toasty 118 degrees and will say pulling myself out of that warmth and into the days has been a real struggle! These cold temperatures are absolutely an obstacle for me to want to set foot outside and my joints are all achy. Makes me wish I gad scheduled my surgery for the Spring! I do have an exercise mat and an exercise bike but I have to work around the holiday clutter in the spare room still. Keeping up activity is a true challenge when the cold hurts my face. What warm comfort dishes have you have that are high protein? It's hard not to eyeball the calories vs protein content of things like soup and chilli these days for me.

Hi Sue, I’m eating about 1000-1200 calories a day on the days I am working out. I add a protein drink as my snack for the days I work out. If I am not working out, I eat around 900-1000 calories. I’m still following 3oz protein, 1oz veggie and 1oz carb rule. When I am more hungry I add more protein instead of 3oz protein I eat 5oz protein. You might be right about working out, it might not be the key to losing weight. That’s why my size is shrinking but not my weight. It definitely helps burn the fat though. I think this is also why I have so much excess skin. I have excess skin on my arms, tummy, thigh, back… basically everywhere, I know it will not bounce back just because how much hang I have. Even the weight didn’t change much, the excess skin is getting more wrinkly day by day.

I’m certainly not trying to be argumentative either. The reason that I went out of my way to state that it was from AI to begin with is so that the OP would be aware of that fact and take it as they may. Then I added that I was able to see the original articles and they could too if they did the research themselves and I suggested that they ask their doctor if it applies to them specifically. Also if you’re speaking specifically about the part that was talking about their rule of thumb for number of calories per pound, that was not from AI at all. That was from hss.edu and I referenced that above so that one can find and read the article for themselves and determine if it is applicable. It was all intended as food for thought and something to look into. Not medical advice as I am not a doctor Personally, if I have a question I gather data from a lot of sources to include chats and AI summaries as well as medical journal articles or friends and then I ask a professional to decipher the medical jargon, tell me what out of the chat and less reputable sites or word of mouth is true and what applies to my specific situation. In my opinion though, what it boils down to is that our metabolism while recovering from surgery or something else is going to be different than the same person when they were feeling fine just trying to lose weight and we should at least be aware of that and ask the right people the right questions if we care about weight, muscle loss, recovery time etc. I can only ever speak accurately about my personal opinion or experience and that experience is that the oncology dietitians’ advice worked for me and it was basically if you’re craving a cookie then no, don’t have it but if you’re craving fruit or vegetables or something otherwise nutritious then your body probably needs them and you should listen to that when your recovering from something. Basically don’t just be counting calories and starving yourself during recovery, nourish your healing body. Of course my situation is different so that’s why you should always consult with your doctor.

I am a tracker and I have ADHD so I have to meal prep and I track most my food (breakfast, lunch and snacks) for the week once I am done meal prepping. This is kinda crazy I know, I use mynetdiary, I have it on my phone and you can access it on a desktop which is important for me so I can look at it while at work. This leaves me my calories for the day so I know around what I can eat for dinner and a dessert if I want (which I always do like a sweet treat to end my night LOL) I am a little over a year out and I feel like tracking keeps me focused, I am not comfortable not tracking yet, its something that keeps me focused. I even track on the very high days. Like on my birthday, I tracked it was NOT pretty but I tracked it.

For breakfast it’s almost always an omolette or an egg and cheese wrap. Either one I use whatever leftover veggies are in fridge. Chicken Cesar salad with a low carb wrap is my favorite option right now. That and fajitas are two of my favorites. My hubby makes a couple chicken breasts on the grill every few days and starting with the cooked chicken they are both quick and go down easy. I also do steak fajitas or cauliflower crust pizza with chicken or I do taco meat and make tacos or taco salad with the taco lean beef or chicken on them mini low carb tortillas. I am pretty fine having the same things over and over as long as it’s stuff that I like. And I always have a whole variety of chopped and washed fruit in the fridge and I have that when the sugar cravings hit. Probably way too often in terms of calories but hey at least it’s not ice cream, right? I have been doing a lot of skinny pop which I know is not really in the bariatric diet but it’s not horrible for me nutrition wise at least. Other than that it’s mostly yogurt drinks and nuts or cheese sticks on the run. What are your go to’s? How is the activity? Are you still plugging along with your classes??

Late night snack- whole wheat toast with Vegemite, a white cheddar babybel cheese, and a microwaved apple with cinnamon and a packet of equal. 245 calories, 6g fiber, and 8.5g protein.

Ooh, I'm here too, and it's been very interesting. I've started drinking a protein decaf coffee again to add a cup of fairlife skim milk to my day. I know that some of us need to be very careful about carbs, I need more carbs to support my exercise which is basic strength, walking, and the 2x weekly run. I add an extra apple, gluten free pretzels, and popcorn (which is totally ok for me in my known portions). I also add a few days of cashews, easy to eat and high nutrient density. I would say if you aren't going to track calories (and why would you if that isn't your favorite) then it would be helpful to add a specific snack/food etc and have that extra every day for a few weeks and see where that gets you. If you continue to drop weight, increase it, if not, you have likely found your maintenance diet. The thing that has been most eye opening for me is the fact that I can occasionally go over and not see any consequences for one day of overdoing it. In the past that would have been hell to take off again, now it just seems to regulate like a normal person. I had surgery 1/24 and have been at my same weight since 11/24. I'm not fighting to stay here, I'm struggling with some head hunger vs real hunger, that was to be expected, but otherwise it's been such a different reality from presurgery.

Maybe check out Dr. Matthew Weiner’s pound of cure weight loss book. He goes over a handful of things that you can change and you can pick which one you want to start with. For me, the fruits and veggies was a good one because I actually like fruits and veggies. Replacing a lot of the process carbs with healthy carbs for me is the most important component to weight loss not just to cut calories in the short run but to stop cravings in the long run. For me processed carbs, make me crave sugar. One cookie and I want pasta I want cake. I want it all and I crave it for a week. Natural carbs do not do that to me and they can help reduce the cravings a little while I get through the week or so to detox from them. Once I am off of the processed carbs so long as I get my protein, I stay feeling full so it’s much easier to sustain a healthy diet. Keto never worked for me either and I have learned post surgery that is most likely because of not being able to eat hardly any carbs at or it was all the processed junk I was eating instead of natural food. They alter things by adding more fiber to cut the carbs and all of that and that may be reducing your calories to help you lose weight, but for me it wasn’t the same for my body as a veggie with fiber. It’s not sustainable because my body was still craving the carbs. I would lose weight in the beginning, but the cravings were horrible and eventually I would give in to them and then I just wanted even more. Anyways, you may not be able to replace every unhealthy carb with healthy carbs on your own before surgery, but if you can reduce some of them by trying out different recipes to find fruits and veggies that you like, it may cut enough to lose your 10% and be a good start to finding healthy carbs that you enjoy

I think I can count this as NSV! So I am pretty certain my body is done losing weight and I am going to stay at a healthy 165-170lbs, I am cleared to exercise again (i.e walking, hiking, stationary bike, lower body weights). I am back to working out 6 days a week with 3 of those days being strength training/cardio. I have never been in this spot where I am just maintaining, meal prepping is a thing that I do and I don't dread it, working out is just part of my day, not binging and just being able to eat sweets in moderation or if I go crazy then the next day I just get back on track and don't slip. Is this what regular, never been obese people live and feel?! I was reflecting on the past year and reflecting how much I yo-yo'd since I was 12yrs old. How I was killing myself putting junk in my body every single day, easily eating 5000 calories if not more a day, eating well and losing the water weight 10lbs then get discouraged and give up. The day I decided I was going to go through with the gastric sleeve and take my health back was the day I read this!

You are doing amazing but I do understand how you feel. In the very beginning I just wanted to lose the weight as quickly as possible but then I had an epiphany! I need to fix my relationship with food! I'm 10 weeks out so I'm still early days but I know that just losing weight is a sticking plaster for the real reason I used food as a coping mechanism. So I think I need to consider therapy! The food noise gets so bad for me sometimes its like torture! I will be so much more happier when I nail these obsessive food thoughts but it will take time, I've had them my whole life. Like many I have lost up to 6 stone and put it back on quite a few times before I took the plunge and had surgery so I guess I need to be kind to myself and learn to understand the parts of myself that I have ignored for so long. Are you counting calories? at the 5 week mark I was managing around 500 cals a day. I didn't have the protein drinks because I was fuller for longer eating minced chicken, tuna, eggs, lentils, cottage cheese and pureed foods for less calories, a quarter of a cup at a time. I still managed to get in my protein and at least 2 litres of fluids too. If I was a little under in my protein I would drink a clear whey isolate protein squash drink, they are around 100 cals and contain up to 22g of protein! I am on 800 cals a day now as my stomach has done a lot of healing since then. Everyone is different though and I know that some people still can't tolerate actual food at your stage, so listen to your body hun. Here's some ideas for purees for you, a quarter of a cup at a time is about right for the stage you are at but if you can't manage it all that's fine, its just a guide for you. Tuna and mayonnaise - 14 grams of protein Blended baked chicken. I would bake chicken in some tinned tomatoes and season with garlic and herbs then blend it. 50g of chicken has 16g protein Egg mayo - an egg has 6-7g protein Bolognese - use 5%fat minced beef and blend with a tomato based sauce or make your own - 11g protein Protein puddings available in all the supermarkets - 15-20g protein readybrek oats with some protein powder Fat free cottage cheese blended with peanut butter powder and some sweetener if you need it. Cottage cheese has 11g protein per 100g PB powder has 8g protein per serving Ricotta cheese bake - you can find the recipe on Pinterest and even on here! I wish you well on your journey my lovely. You are on a path of healing, mentally, physically and emotionally and you are doing amazing! Be kind to yourself the weight will come off and at 5 weeks you are still healing and probably holding extra fluid anyway. xx

I'm team both? My diet mantra is 80/20. What I mean is: I try to focus on getting ~80% of my calories from minimally processed foods. (AKA, I try to eat clean.) I don't really track this, I just focus on making good food choices when I can. I try to eat a wide variety of foods, so nothing's off limits. To me, there are no bad foods, there are just some that provide more nutritional value than others. Plus, the more variety i have in my diet, the better overall nutritional profile I'll have. I try to shoot for 80% of what I eat being things that have a bit more nutritional value. For example, most of the time, I might pick spinach or kale over lettuce. I eat carb centered. It's not quite 80%, so my mantra may be a bit off? I suppose between carbs and protein, it probably is 80%, so I'll settle for that. I know this one will be controversial here since the bariatric dietitians push protein so heavily (and don't misunderstand me, protein is critically important), but as endurance athlete at maintenance and 2.5 years out from surgery, I need more carbs than I did during the weight loss phase. Critical to the above is that I don't obsess over any of it. I guess my point in the above is that if you're trying to determine the "best" protein source, maybe the real right answer is there is no best. Once your body starts breaking down the protein you consume into the component amino acids, your body doesn't know where those amino acids came from. The advantage of not focusing on just one source of protein is that there are vastly different micronutrient profiles across foods. The more variety you eat, the better off you are nutritionally.

I went away for a long time, got diagnosed with ADHD (suddenly my life makes so much sense...), and over the last five months I began to lose my grip on my diet and regain. My lowest was 65kg, my "happy place" was 67kg, and I regained back into the 70s at 73kg. The culprit? I allowed sugar back into my life. Never let sugar back in! It has no manners, touches your stuff and doesn't want to leave. Problem is, thanks in great part to my ADHD, I get addicted easily and tend to eat the same thing every day. When that thing is chocolate, I have a problem. I also have impulse control problems and when the food noise is raging, that's bad news. Solution: GLP1s or Contrave. I have a great GP who understands me and didn't reject my request for help to get back to my "happy place" 67kg. We decided against GLP1s and went with Contave instead, which works on countering addiction. The food noise that was driving me crazy has stopped, I quit sugar week 1 and am back in control. I'm nearing the end of month 2 (of 4) and am just over 1kg away from being back to where I need to be. I've stopped being hard on myself for needing help, because even if I could control my impulses there's nothing wrong with medication that's designed to help. Oh and the other thing that's been a game-changer for me: my partner got me a Fitbit. I realise I'm so behind on this it's like screaming "cars have computers?!?!" at a dealership, but being able to track my calories and see the deficit has made a huge difference. So if you're neurodivergent and regaining, hopefully my experience with Contrave can help a little.

I am a little over 3 months post op sleeve. I have been stuck at the same weight for over a month now. I have tried everything the dr has recommended however I am unable to break the stall. My bloodwork came back and I noticed a trend that points toward iron deficiency. Has anyone ever been stalled like this started iron supplements and started losing again? I am concerned my body is broke and this is all I will be able to lose. I am hitting all of my goals protein calories water exercise and carbs. I just can’t lose anymore. Any help is appreciated!

Probably not a popular opinion here I suppose, but I'm not a fan of ankle weights for otherwise healthy individuals. I wanted to share my thoughts since I've seen these recommended a couple of times. There are some really niche areas where these may be beneficial (rehab for specific populations), but in general there is little scientific evidence that they do anything beneficial. Plus there is some evidence that they may actually cause more harm than good by changing your normal walking gait. Some of that is dependent on just how heavy the ankle weights are, but I don't want to go that deep here. It sort of make sense that you have to work harder when using them, but studies have shown that for the most part, people walk slower when wearing them, thus negating any potential effect. Now if you are walking on a treadmill and walk the same speed you'd otherwise use, then maybe they burn slightly more calories, but slightly is the operative word here. You could just as easily walk a few more minutes and get the exact same calorie burn. Since they do also potentially increase your risk of injury due to the altered gait, I just don't really recommend them. Now if you have some and you love them, more power to you. Feel free to keep doing what you're doing if it's working for you. I just wanted folks to know my thoughts on these. People should decide for themselves if they want to consider using them. Oh, and please don't say they help "tone" your muscles. I'm sure I'm opening another can of worms here, but there is no such thing as "toning" your muscles. Frankly that's a huge pet peeve of mine. Toning your muscles is a total and complete myth that was invented as a marketing term to try to get women to strength train that were afraid of becoming "bulky".

I had to do the liver shrinking diet pre-op for 2 weeks. 2 shakes a day then I ate a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables with 3 ounces of lean chicken or beef season fried in soy sauce for my evening meal. It was delish. I lost weight. High volume, low calorie. I'd enjoy the food while you can. JS