Follow up to Smoothies

Hey Lyn and Diana ... I'm so glad you're here with me ::smile:: and thank you both for asking the obvious question, I should have mentioned this in the original post.

The first few weeks after GBS surgery you are at the mercy of protein drinks, so trust me I have tried most of them. What I think is the best one out there is Whey Isolate 28. I get it at GNC. I joined they membership thingie because this stuff ain't cheap and with the membership you get great savings the first week of every month. Another thing I really like is GNC will take back any product, even if you have opened it and tried it. Like I said I have tried almost all of them - powders with even more protein - and a variety of flavors, I returned most of them and they never gave me a problem. So instead of having to buy the tiny bags to "just try" a flavor, I buy the big tub of something which is much cheaper ... if I love it, great - if not, I take it back and try something else.

For ME I am stuck on the chocolate because I'm not allowed to have real chocolate and this particular one is good enough (and can be "doctored" to be even better) that I feel like I am getting a treat. Vanilla was pretty good too. I hated the strawberry ... caramel was gross ... and malt made me gag, lol.

They have other liquid protein drinks in flavors like fruit punch, melon etc that you can buy in single servings ... to be honest they are nasty, BUT I keep a tiny ice cube tray full of them in the freezer and when I come inside from taking a walk or gardening and I am so hot, I pop one in my mouth and *bam* 3-10 grams of protein down within seconds. And like I mentioned yesterday you can mix them with frozen fruit and use even more of the liquid.

Let me know if you give it a try. And please let me know of any new smoothie ideas that you come up with that you think are yummy.

Today's tip ....

I'm not trying to act like I reinvented the wheel with this ... trust me I know everyone has been doing it forever. But just like it took this surgery for me to finally comprehend that PROTEIN is the key to weight loss, it also took me a year post op to discover the wonderful world of protein smoothies. What can I say, I'm a very slow learner aka hard headed as hell. ::grin::

So last night (on day 15 of Ambien withdraw and no sleep) I was forced to watch infomercials .... the Magic Bullet to be exact. Now truth be told I bought the Magic Bullet about 5 years ago and made homemade salsa once and put it in the back of the cabinet never to be seen again. Long story short after watching the obnoxiously annoying couple make everything from 3 second nachos to Alfredo sauce in my sleep deprived haze, I got worked up into a Bullet frenzy. First thing this morning I went in search of the silver genius and got started making a breakfast smoothie.

In my Bullet cup I put:

1 cup of coffee

1 scoop Whey Isolate 28 protein powder (28 grams protein)

hand full of ice

.5 cup milk (4 grams protein)

1 Tbsp of Peanut Butter (3.5 grams of protein)

It was SO freak'n good! I mean almost "treat worthy" good. Now don't get me wrong, the calorie count on this very well may not be worth it to most people. But if you are exercising ... and you eat very little like I do (most GBS patients), the benefit of the protein in this far out weighs the calories. Also, you can tweak this anyway you like ... don't add the peanut butter and limit the amount of milk and the calories drop by a huge amount and it is still very yummy.

You can also use other liquid protein drinks (which can be a little yucky) and make a smoothie with frozen fruit to cover up the taste.

Even if you haven't had GBS or Lapband you can benefit by getting added protein in their diet. Let me know if give one a try. ::smile::

Below 170

This mornings weigh in: 168.8 - I haven't been under 170 my entire adult life. I love these numbers ... I weigh 168.8 and I have lost 163.2 - isn't that wild? ::happy dance::

Well I'm back ....

As much as I hated Blogger I have to admit that I'm a paste eater and just could not find another Blog that I could figure out. ::sigh:: So almost a year post op from my Gastric Bypass Surgery, I'm backkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. ::grin::

I've been speaking to pre op patients at the hospital and need a place to share tips and tricks with them (or anyone else who is interested) that I have learned along the way ... and let's be honest, anyone that knows me knows I seriously tried Facebook but I can't say ANYthing in 142 characters. ::Big Grin::

Pre-Op ... Weight 332 pounds

The day before surgery. There is actually a bruise the size of a football on my stomach from trying to squeeze into a booth at the Outback just a few days before.

Please feel free to write to me at stacy.stiles.francis@gmail.com with ANY questions, comments or just say "hi". I LOVE talking about the surgery, my progress, strategy on how to get through it ... anything and everything. It is not uncommon in the beginning to feel like you made a huge mistake ... I promise you that feeling will pass. If you need someone to talk to I'm here. ::smile::

I'm Outta Here

Hey Kids ...

I'm outta here. Blogger is on my last nerve, the last straw being when I somehow "hid" my comments and now can't get them back! I'm over it. I REALLY hope to keep in touch with some of you so please come follow me on Twitter (OhSoStacy) and/or write to me at FatBeGoneStacy@aol.com and I will give you my blackberry address so we can stay in touch while I'm in the hospital etc. I hope to find a blog source that fits with me eventually because I will really miss this. But until then I guess I am back to just emails, phone calls and text messages.

Talk to you soon.

12 days and counting!!!

Counting down and stuff

Well we are 2 weeks, 2 days and a night away from surgery. If I knew what time my surgery was I would be giving you the hours and minutes too. ::vbg::

It's kind of funny but my mind is in two places right now. On one hand I can't help but think of things in terms of "last time I'll have this" and it makes me want to pig out ... but I guess that is where what little common sense I have left kicks in. Yea I am eating some of my favorite foods, but I honestly and truly want to stop there. Meaning I haven't finished anything that I have started eating and I certainly haven't gone back for seconds or raided the frig at night etc. I'm feeling really good about this and I get more and more excited about the surgery every day.

I have an appointment with my regular doctor on Tuesday to talk about switching some of my meds over to liquid form after the surgery. But also I have to be really honest ... I thank God that I have been on the Cymbalta (which was actually an anti depressant first) for the Fibro these past months because I have been so sad about Simba that I didn't know if I would ever stop crying. On top of that, my youngest has broken my heart again. No not even close to like before. And no I don't want or need to talk about it (but thank you). But I know how great I am at sabotaging myself and I could see me using these two "excuses" to eat through every fast food joint in town for the next two weeks and having the surgeon refuse to operate on me! On top of that I have my period AGAIN - a week after the last one! Anyway my point is that I'm glad I'm "on" something to balance things out because I have about a million emotions bouncing around right now and I feel like I could jump out of my skin, lol.


BTW I was watching Big Medicine and I saw a patient with the liver problem that the doctor is doing the biopsy for. First of all ... EWwwwwww ... secondly double Ewwwwww Ewwwwww.

Oh I keep meaning to ask - does anyone take the liquid (or is it powder) vitamins that you mix in water? I think it's "One a Day" that had them first. Has anyone tried them?

18 Days Left to Eat

Well I confess, I had a Whopper today, it was freak'n awesome . .. and I'm not even embarrassed. ::vbeg:: Did you know that those sons of bitches have made cheese filled tatter tots? Lord give me strength. And no I did not have pie or a shake or noth'n .... ya know besides my 1,200 calorie burger ... and a handful of fries. ::G::

Do any of you drink suppliment protein drinks during the day? Anything from Carnation Breakfast, Slim Fast, New Wey, Special K? If you do and there is a line or flavor that you really like, please let me know about it.

I have been doing "Madonna's arm rolls" while I'm sitting, and trying to firm up that lower arm wiggle. Those puppies hurt. I started by doing only 5, then everyday increased by 5 until I got to 75 ... now I do a set of 75 twice a day. I'm also making slow progress on the treadmill and am digging out my Wii fit this weekend! The doctor says I am high risk because of being so immobile and I really need to push it and the blood going in my legs - especially after the surgery.

Do any of you watch "Big Medicine" with the father and son surgeons who do a lot of GBS? I am SOO addicted to this show but it now dropped down to only airing once a week so I had to buy the boxed set - you know if it gets here tomorrow I will watch the entire season and will actually be insane enough to watch it as I am stuffing my Fourth of July wennies and goodies into my mouth. I'm wack like that.

19 days til surgery. ::sigh ... nervous giggle::

HEY does anyone talk to Kristina? Her surgery is on Tuesday isn't it? I would love to hear how she is doing and if she is nervous.

Have a happy, safe, wonderful Fourth of July weekend.