I've started two things - one, I'm taste-testing samples from a number of the Protein powders and Meal Replacements out there. Second, since I'm doing that, I'm pseudo practicing for the pre-op diet. Hey, if I'm drinking the Protein drinks anyhow, I might as well make it useful!

What does that mean, exactly? The diet is to use 3-4 Protein shakes during the day, plus one small meal for dinner. Total is not to exceed 870 calories, so while I can use skim milk to mix my drinks, it wouldn't leave a lot for dinner! I'll likely choose the protein powders I can tolerate well mixed with Water, and try to be satisfied with 3 of those during the day, so that I can have around 300-350 calories for dinner, since I'll be looking for dense protein to keep me satisfied overnight. I can, of course, have all the non-caloric liquids I would like during this diet.

What I am doing (as of today) is replacing Breakfast and lunch with 2-3 protein shakes during the day. At dinner time, I am not eating with the restricted calories I will be during the diet, but I am trying to keep my portion size to something equivalent to what I will eat in the pre-op diet and focusing as much as possible on protein. I am trying to keep the total day between 1000 and 1200 calories, but I'm not being obsessive about it. The reality is that if I'm only getting 3-500 calories during the day, that leaves me 700-900 for dinner - that's a pretty big amount of room. I've told myself that if I am positively starving during the afternoon, I will allow myself one more Protein shake, but I'm trying to work with just 3 shakes and lots and lots of water or tea during the day. Other than including a Protein Drink for breakfast so that I *do* have breakfast, I am not focused on dieting on the weekends, just trying to be mindful of what I am eating and keep carbs and calories in check.

What I'm expecting from this is three things. One, of course, is that I will spend the next few weeks trying out a lot of protein drinks and maybe some preparation methods. Two, I will get these reviews onto my blog (http://livebytes.net/blog/spacedust/ for anyone who's interested) to try and give others some ideas of nutritional values and what I thought of the stuff as I give it a try. Third, I suspect that it won't hurt in the usual battle to lose a few pounds, and certainly won't hurt for me to get used to what it's like from the perspective of if I get uncomfortably hungry or not.

Wish me luck!

Good luck! I did all of that prep work too. I'm glad I did, but I officially start my pre-op diet tomorrow and I'm SO SICK of these dang shakes already!! But it's still good practice for post-op livin.

I can't believe I'm 2 weeks away... eeek!

It def pays off and helped me alot! I also practiced sipping water all day and not drinking while I eat . That was a biggie for me!