Has anyone found cheaper ways to follow protein diet? I can't believe how expensive some of this stuff is. Can't you use shakes and purée regular food as long as it doesn't contain sugar?

I've never bought any bariatric foods from here or any other place. Doing just fine and my grocery bill is tiny even feeding two adults.

I don't eat much any pre-packaged/prepared foods after I realized they were part of the problem (most are crammed with fat/carbs/sodium). I cook from scratch with whole food sources about 75% of the time. Things like marinara sauce or turkey pepperoni I do buy prepared, but I get the lowest carb/highest Fiber versions, and avoid high sodium, and other questionable things.

I read nutrition labels of everything. It also works to help me put things back if I'm suddenly craving them and want to buy - one look at a package containing 50 grams of carbs per serving and I can't stick that sucker back on the shelf fast enough!

I buy lots of chicken and fish. We eat on a chicken drumsticks or thighs at least once a week, and I usually do them in the slow cooker so I can create broth from the fat/bones and then make a lovely Soup with it later in the week. We eat lots of veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, turnip greens and spinach, okra, brussel sprouts, (not so much of the carby veggies like carrots, potatoes, peas). eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese, Beans (kidney, black beans, pintos, great Northern), and brown rice. High fiber wheat bread on occasion. Pork rinds are a great snack substitute when I'm desperate for the crunch of chips (but eaten sparingly since they are so high in sodium).

I have a very large variety of awesome recipes that are low carb, high Protein and moderate fat.

The pre-packaged food can be expensive, but I think it can be beneficial early in the process. I want to focus on learning how to cook and eat better. That is a process. I'm barely 4 weeks out but have already learned the importance of food prep and cooking. I'm still on puree foods, but I love cooking the Ricotta Bake, that almost reminds me of pizza with around 14g of Protein. In a way, the price of some of the items can serve as motivation to learn how to prepare food at home.