I had to get into work super early this morning so I had the pleasure of visiting with MS while getting ready instead of snoozin. He's about a day behind me with the cold so he was still feeling pretty bad. But ...........that didn't stop us from doing the skinny dance! As of today, 18 days post op, MS has lost 36 lbs. and I have lost 27 Big Ones!!!
Can you believe it?! I can't! Now that we've slowly worked our way up to eating about 4 oz with every meal I feel like the weight is really coming off :)
I can't wait to celebrate with a little time at the gym or a walk outside tonight!
Friday, January 6, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Special Delivery
I'm so excited!!!! Remember how I was saying I was sick of chocolate protein powder? The other day at the store I saw 2 lb jars of a brand of protein powder called Nectar but it was close to $40! Now i don't know about you, but I'm a sucker for packaging. This is what the description says on the back of the jar:
Are you kidding me? Is that not the best sales pitch for protein powder you've ever heard in your life? I wanted to buy one so bad but my inner cheap skate kept telling me it was a rip off. So instead I bought something I didn't want for less. boo. (that's getting returned of course)
I've come to realize that you should price shop protein powder. Like I said in an earlier post, we paid $26 for the same 2lb container of body fortress powder at kroger that was $14.99 at wal mart.
When I got home I searched for Nectar online and not only found 2 lb jars for $26 but I found this fab little variety pack for $16!!!! Reviews on a few Bariatric websites were all excellent, so I ordered my variety pack.
The package arrived today and it was like christmas all over again. I can't wait to try them
Look at all these flavors!
"Gone are the days of low quality whey protein. Gone are the days of those blah-tasting protein drinks that promise much but deliver little. Nectar once-and-for-all breaks the mold by combining Promina, the highest quality whey protein isolate ever developed, with a flavoring system that is so fruitilicious that you will never drink another whey protein shake ever again. If you like the refreshing taste of fruit juice, you'll love Nectar! With its mouthwatering fruit juice flavors, Nectar is truly a protein drink you will look forward to drinking each and every day. Whether it be Chocolate Truffle, Roadside Lemonade, Caribbean Cooler, Strawberry Kiwi, Lemon Tea, Fuzzy Navel, Strawberry Mousse, Vanilla Bean Torte, Twisted Cherry, Apple Ecstasy, or Cappuccino Latte. Nectar will keep you coming back for more. What's more? Well, Syntrax did something totally amazing by engineering Nectar to be so delicious that you can eat it right out of the container. Imagine putting a protein powder in your mouth and it tasting like candy. Imagine this protein powder having zero carbs and zero fat."
Are you kidding me? Is that not the best sales pitch for protein powder you've ever heard in your life? I wanted to buy one so bad but my inner cheap skate kept telling me it was a rip off. So instead I bought something I didn't want for less. boo. (that's getting returned of course)
I've come to realize that you should price shop protein powder. Like I said in an earlier post, we paid $26 for the same 2lb container of body fortress powder at kroger that was $14.99 at wal mart.
When I got home I searched for Nectar online and not only found 2 lb jars for $26 but I found this fab little variety pack for $16!!!! Reviews on a few Bariatric websites were all excellent, so I ordered my variety pack.
The package arrived today and it was like christmas all over again. I can't wait to try them
Look at all these flavors!
Just as I was typing this, I searched for that packaging message, and found this sample pack for $3 less than what I paid. Go figure! Here's the cheaper link:
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Check In!
Hi! I've been a little quiet the past two day, MS and I are still doing good, we just got slapped in the faces with some bug that's going around. Have been taking the work outs easy because we're feeling so crappy. Hopeful we'll be back on track in a day or two.
I had my first panic feeling today. I cut a Tylenol in half so it wouldn't get stuck so I had four small pieces. I took 3 of them a little fast and I felt like i was going to projectile vomit those things right back out. I stood up and walked around my office just kind of dealing with that weird feeling that everyone talks about on forums and blogs. Nothing came up, it ended up settling after a few minutes. Close call :)
Also wanted to let anyone who is interested know that there is a coupon out there right now for slimfast premixed low carb shakes Buy One Get One Free!!! Brings the cost down to less than 75 cents a shake!
There are also $1.00 off Atkins shake coupons as well. If you don't get the Sunday paper you can get them online just look up printable coupons!
I had my first panic feeling today. I cut a Tylenol in half so it wouldn't get stuck so I had four small pieces. I took 3 of them a little fast and I felt like i was going to projectile vomit those things right back out. I stood up and walked around my office just kind of dealing with that weird feeling that everyone talks about on forums and blogs. Nothing came up, it ended up settling after a few minutes. Close call :)
Also wanted to let anyone who is interested know that there is a coupon out there right now for slimfast premixed low carb shakes Buy One Get One Free!!! Brings the cost down to less than 75 cents a shake!
There are also $1.00 off Atkins shake coupons as well. If you don't get the Sunday paper you can get them online just look up printable coupons!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
2 More Protein Ideas
As a follow up to yesterday's post I have some good news. This morning I mixed 2 packets of the Designer Whey 2 Go with 12 oz of milk in my little GE blender. I was pretty pleased with the results.
Although the Designer Whey has a funny smell. If you can just kind of stop your self from smelling as you drink it, the taste is actually quite good. I drank all of the liquid but there was quite a bit of foamy texture left on top of the liquid. I didn't want to waste the protein, so I grabbed a spoon and to my surprise the foamy stuff was quite satisfying. It's like a mousse lemon dessert.
I'm not going to go out and by a bunch of Designer Whey because of it. But drinking/eating it this way was much better than drinking it with water.
Also - one of my fab followers, Bandedwithfavor left me a great tip that I wanted to share:
bandedwithfavor said...
I found this drink at GNC...it is called Isopure it is a liquid drink in a
bottle 20fl oz with 40 grams of protein...many flavors and they are good...I
figure after surgery this Friday those 20 oz bottles are going to be a good
friend to me...will probably take all day to sip but at 40 grams of protein I am
ok with that!! I would post a picture but I have no clue how to do that..sorry
Although the Designer Whey has a funny smell. If you can just kind of stop your self from smelling as you drink it, the taste is actually quite good. I drank all of the liquid but there was quite a bit of foamy texture left on top of the liquid. I didn't want to waste the protein, so I grabbed a spoon and to my surprise the foamy stuff was quite satisfying. It's like a mousse lemon dessert.
I'm not going to go out and by a bunch of Designer Whey because of it. But drinking/eating it this way was much better than drinking it with water.
Also - one of my fab followers, Bandedwithfavor left me a great tip that I wanted to share:
bandedwithfavor said...
I saw this too - it ran about $4.00 a bottle and all of the flavors sounded good. You can also buy this online. The link is below the picture. I wish I could be one of those people who drinks and eats the same thing day in and day out, but I'm just not. I need variety in my life! Now that I have a few followers that have been banded for a while, please let me know any of your tips. I'll take any advice I can get!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Meat Head
We all know at least one crazy meat head who can't seem to talk about anything other than body building. Bless your heart if you have to deal with more than one at any given time.
I happen to work with one of the most annoying meat heads that I have ever met in my life. He's terrible at his job, but man he'll tell you how much more he knows than you if eye contact is made. He also assumes you want to hear about his diet and body building competitions without even asking.
This commercial kind of reminds me of him, actually:
If only the guy I work with was as lovable! Anyways. This post is more for some laughs, but trust me, I'm spending my time blogging about this idiot because I'm a little stressed.
A long time ago this guy left a diet plan in my office. Unsolicited of course. I didn't know who left it there, and I thought, "Wow that's kind of a mean thing to do" but I had no idea who did it.
Low and behold, 2 days later he comes by and says "Did you see the diet plan I left for you?"
I said, "Oh that was you. I was wondering who would leave that in here."
So he responds, "Oh yeah, it's great it talks about good fats and bad fats, and I LOVE FATS!"
I just half smiled and nodded thinking "GET THE F$*% OUT OF MY OFFICE"
Then he just walked away. What a weirdo.
Honestly, people all over tend to be pretty mean to fat people. Its like this strange hatred. A lot of people will just wait for someone who is overweight to walk by to spew poison on. I'll never forget walking into a bar when I was 25 and being called a fat bitch by some random as I walked by.
To be completely honest with you, I'm kind of immune to it at my age. I've been fat for the past 10 years. I've heard it all. So this meat head didn't necessarily hurt my feelings per se. I mean I already couldn't stand him because he's worthless at his job and has zero social skills.
Anyway - fast forward to today. I had the day off, MS went to work and I was looking forward to just spending a day running errands and doing a little shopping. My last stop was the Vitamin Shoppe. I was amazed by all of the protein powders and being kind of a novice, I got lost in all the labels. And then I heard his voice.
I just stood there frozen, as he talked to the guy at the counter about how much more he knows about supplements. I wanted to clear out a shelf and actually climb into it. As soon as he was about to leave he yelled bye to me and I knew I was caught. Damnit Damnit Damnit. He must have seen my car. I turned around and acted as though I didn't even realize that it was him spewing useless information at the cashier.
Since I made eye contact with him, he must have thought i needed help me selecting my protein powder. He grabbed mine out of my hands and started asking what I was trying to buy. I said that I was sick of chocolate flavor, that is why I was shopping for a new flavor so he went straight to the chocolate fudge powder and said, "This is great. I get the craziest chocolate cravings, you know that's why I'm always looking for sweets around the office."
I stared blankly at him. This dude is a sales person. Did he not just hear what I said? Nope. So I said it again. Don't want chocolate. Thank goodness the VS employee came over and started talking to him again. I quietly slipped away as he started questioning the guy's knowledge again.
UGGGHHHH!!! This event doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but what stresses me out is the onslaught of unsolicited advice he's going to spew on me over the next few weeks. Diet advice. Work out advice. Sick.
I happen to work with one of the most annoying meat heads that I have ever met in my life. He's terrible at his job, but man he'll tell you how much more he knows than you if eye contact is made. He also assumes you want to hear about his diet and body building competitions without even asking.
This commercial kind of reminds me of him, actually:
If only the guy I work with was as lovable! Anyways. This post is more for some laughs, but trust me, I'm spending my time blogging about this idiot because I'm a little stressed.
A long time ago this guy left a diet plan in my office. Unsolicited of course. I didn't know who left it there, and I thought, "Wow that's kind of a mean thing to do" but I had no idea who did it.
Low and behold, 2 days later he comes by and says "Did you see the diet plan I left for you?"
I said, "Oh that was you. I was wondering who would leave that in here."
So he responds, "Oh yeah, it's great it talks about good fats and bad fats, and I LOVE FATS!"
I just half smiled and nodded thinking "GET THE F$*% OUT OF MY OFFICE"
Then he just walked away. What a weirdo.
Honestly, people all over tend to be pretty mean to fat people. Its like this strange hatred. A lot of people will just wait for someone who is overweight to walk by to spew poison on. I'll never forget walking into a bar when I was 25 and being called a fat bitch by some random as I walked by.
To be completely honest with you, I'm kind of immune to it at my age. I've been fat for the past 10 years. I've heard it all. So this meat head didn't necessarily hurt my feelings per se. I mean I already couldn't stand him because he's worthless at his job and has zero social skills.
Anyway - fast forward to today. I had the day off, MS went to work and I was looking forward to just spending a day running errands and doing a little shopping. My last stop was the Vitamin Shoppe. I was amazed by all of the protein powders and being kind of a novice, I got lost in all the labels. And then I heard his voice.
I just stood there frozen, as he talked to the guy at the counter about how much more he knows about supplements. I wanted to clear out a shelf and actually climb into it. As soon as he was about to leave he yelled bye to me and I knew I was caught. Damnit Damnit Damnit. He must have seen my car. I turned around and acted as though I didn't even realize that it was him spewing useless information at the cashier.
Since I made eye contact with him, he must have thought i needed help me selecting my protein powder. He grabbed mine out of my hands and started asking what I was trying to buy. I said that I was sick of chocolate flavor, that is why I was shopping for a new flavor so he went straight to the chocolate fudge powder and said, "This is great. I get the craziest chocolate cravings, you know that's why I'm always looking for sweets around the office."
I stared blankly at him. This dude is a sales person. Did he not just hear what I said? Nope. So I said it again. Don't want chocolate. Thank goodness the VS employee came over and started talking to him again. I quietly slipped away as he started questioning the guy's knowledge again.
UGGGHHHH!!! This event doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but what stresses me out is the onslaught of unsolicited advice he's going to spew on me over the next few weeks. Diet advice. Work out advice. Sick.
2 Weeks Post Op! - Another Protein Option
Well, today is officially our 2 week bandiversary! I lost a little more today - but I can't remember the number. I think it was about 1/2 or 3/4 of a pound. This whole weighing myself everyday will probably stop soon, but it's fun to see it drop!
This morning I woke up and I actually dreaded the thought of having another chocolate protein shake. But I made one anyway. Man did it go down slow and hard. So after running a few errands I went to the Vitamin Shoppe, because I think that's the only place we haven't looked. let me tell you, Protein powder is expensive! I'm definitely sticking with the body fortress brand because it doesn't break the bank and it is doing the trick.
I did find a cool new product though! Designer Whey makes individual drink mix packets that you can mix with water. Each packet has 10 grams of protein and 50 calories. It's a little pricey, I think the regular price was $9.99 for 5 packets. But I bought it on sale for 50% off. I bought the lemonade flavor and I think they had a mixed berry flavor as well. I mixed it up in a bottle as directed and it took quite a long time to dissolve. It's pretty good it doesn't taste like refreshing lemonade by any means, but it is tolerable for me. If I could explain it, I think i would say it taste more like a milky lemonade. In fact I might even try mixing it with skim milk to see if it gives me more a dessert like taste. My recommendation is to only buy this if it's on sale! Here's a pic, (please excuse my ugly nail polish testing):
This morning I woke up and I actually dreaded the thought of having another chocolate protein shake. But I made one anyway. Man did it go down slow and hard. So after running a few errands I went to the Vitamin Shoppe, because I think that's the only place we haven't looked. let me tell you, Protein powder is expensive! I'm definitely sticking with the body fortress brand because it doesn't break the bank and it is doing the trick.
I did find a cool new product though! Designer Whey makes individual drink mix packets that you can mix with water. Each packet has 10 grams of protein and 50 calories. It's a little pricey, I think the regular price was $9.99 for 5 packets. But I bought it on sale for 50% off. I bought the lemonade flavor and I think they had a mixed berry flavor as well. I mixed it up in a bottle as directed and it took quite a long time to dissolve. It's pretty good it doesn't taste like refreshing lemonade by any means, but it is tolerable for me. If I could explain it, I think i would say it taste more like a milky lemonade. In fact I might even try mixing it with skim milk to see if it gives me more a dessert like taste. My recommendation is to only buy this if it's on sale! Here's a pic, (please excuse my ugly nail polish testing):
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Listening to My Body - Protein
At our pre-op appointment on December 8th, the nurse went over how we were to drink our protein and hydration fluids after the surgery. She explained to us that Protein was the most important thing for us to get down post-op because it would be the only thing giving us energy and helping us heal.
Since the surgery, each of us has consumed the proper amount of protein we were told to and some days we've had more. This past week I settled into a nice routine. Every day I'll drink about 58 grams of protein in my morning shake. I'll go for a 1.5 - 2 mile walk at 11:30 and I don't even feel hungry until about 3:00 pm. I'll eat something then (with more protein, because I don't want a repeat of that super hungry day) and then I'll eat dinner around 6:00 with another walk somewhere in there.
Well, yesterday I deviated from that routine and I paid for it dearly. Since we are transitioning to soft foods now, MS and decided to just have a slim fast shake (20 grams of protein) and then go to the gym. I felt pretty tired after the gym and decided to eat some salmon salad for lunch. I mixed 2 oz of salmon with a touch of mayo, dill and lemon. I started by eating too fast, and I knew it was happening. I told myself to slow down and when i didn't, I just got up and walked away from the table for a while. That really screwed me up because I was full and had only eaten less than 1 oz of salmon which is only 8.5 grams of protein. It was close to 1:00 at that point and I had only consumed 28.5 grams of protein and 178 calories for the whole day. Needless to say, I started to feel pretty icky.
We went on a little shopping trip until about 5:00 or so. It felt like 8:00. Just as I was about to say, "I think I'm going to go to bed." I asked MS what time it was, and he said 6:00. What the heck? I continued to feel worse. As I sat there I started to get agitated and actually a little angry. I didn't have the brain power to read anything let alone blog about anything. I knew that wasn't like me at all. That scene from Steel Magnolias where Julia Roberts flips shit because of her blood sugar flashed in my head and I definitely knew I needed to do something. MS got up and made me a full protein shake and very quickly after I drank that I started to feel a lot better. Within an hour I felt good enough to write 3 or 4 posts and we stayed up past midnight. How crazy!
When you only have so much room in that little pouch above your stomach you have to put the right things in your body and you have to eat very slowly. I can see why people have issues with this surgery if they are not getting enough protein. I don't want to feel the way I did yesterday ever again. So if you are getting banded and you take anything from this blog, please let it be that you get enough protein every single day!
Since the surgery, each of us has consumed the proper amount of protein we were told to and some days we've had more. This past week I settled into a nice routine. Every day I'll drink about 58 grams of protein in my morning shake. I'll go for a 1.5 - 2 mile walk at 11:30 and I don't even feel hungry until about 3:00 pm. I'll eat something then (with more protein, because I don't want a repeat of that super hungry day) and then I'll eat dinner around 6:00 with another walk somewhere in there.
Well, yesterday I deviated from that routine and I paid for it dearly. Since we are transitioning to soft foods now, MS and decided to just have a slim fast shake (20 grams of protein) and then go to the gym. I felt pretty tired after the gym and decided to eat some salmon salad for lunch. I mixed 2 oz of salmon with a touch of mayo, dill and lemon. I started by eating too fast, and I knew it was happening. I told myself to slow down and when i didn't, I just got up and walked away from the table for a while. That really screwed me up because I was full and had only eaten less than 1 oz of salmon which is only 8.5 grams of protein. It was close to 1:00 at that point and I had only consumed 28.5 grams of protein and 178 calories for the whole day. Needless to say, I started to feel pretty icky.
We went on a little shopping trip until about 5:00 or so. It felt like 8:00. Just as I was about to say, "I think I'm going to go to bed." I asked MS what time it was, and he said 6:00. What the heck? I continued to feel worse. As I sat there I started to get agitated and actually a little angry. I didn't have the brain power to read anything let alone blog about anything. I knew that wasn't like me at all. That scene from Steel Magnolias where Julia Roberts flips shit because of her blood sugar flashed in my head and I definitely knew I needed to do something. MS got up and made me a full protein shake and very quickly after I drank that I started to feel a lot better. Within an hour I felt good enough to write 3 or 4 posts and we stayed up past midnight. How crazy!
When you only have so much room in that little pouch above your stomach you have to put the right things in your body and you have to eat very slowly. I can see why people have issues with this surgery if they are not getting enough protein. I don't want to feel the way I did yesterday ever again. So if you are getting banded and you take anything from this blog, please let it be that you get enough protein every single day!
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