There is a great trick to dealing with chocolate cravings that is also a healthy way for you to get calcium. Go get Viactiv- it will be in the drugstore section or in vitamins- costs a few dollars more but yummy, sweet, chocolatey, good for you. A definite home run.

Hi Misindy,

Bugger about the chocolate cravings. Sometimes when I need soemthing sweet a hot chocolate does the trick- not always though but maybe you could try that sometimes.

Disclaimer: I do not work for the company nor have any vested interest other than as a very satisfied consumer of the product, where I also made a post further down in this very thread.

I found the PureProtein bars and shakes satisfy my occasional chocolate cravings. I get them at Trader Joes, so if you have one near you, you might want to try them. They are a little pricey, but to be honest, the savings in the overall food budget (we're eating less now) more than makes up for the price and the quality.

The bars have 20g and 32g protein "weights" so they serve very well when you're trying to get that daily protein in as a supplement and satisfy the craving at the same time.

The shakes also come in two sizes: 21g and 32g and are also in a variety of flavors.

For me personally, they taste precisely like what the packaging states and I'm particularly partial to the S'mores bars (maybe it's the Boy Scout in me) and the Strawberry flavor shake.

Hope this helps.

great to hear that your trying to get all your liquids in
not an easy task I know
as I say just keep on sipping away
keep us up to date with your progress

Glad you are feeling so much better and moving more Dusty. Well done!
Just keep trying with the water and protien and you will get there.
Awesome news about the fat "melting away"!

Glad to see your pain has gone Dusty.
You'll probably need to work your way up to the 90 grams over a few weeks. You're only early days yet :)

Take it easy and enjoy your walking!

Thanks alot everyone for the great suggestions. THE PAIN IS GONE and im feeling better everyday. Im on a few diffrent proteing drinks and powders , most are no more then 20 grams per pack or can , i can only get down about 6 oz's a hour , so im battling to get near 90 grams a day . Also with the water im only getting about 18 oz in a day max. I feel great , no complaints but im not getting near the doctors goal of 64 oz of water and 90 grams of protein a day , but hey im trying . I go in for my two week check-up on thursday and see what they say. I lost 20lbs the 3 days i was in the hospital i cant wait to see what ive lost in 2 weeks. Being that im in the 500lb range the weight seems to be melting right off , im walking more then i have in the last 7 years !! . t HANKS AGAIN GUYS

Welcome, Dusty. Glad to have you "aboard."

Don't worry too much about the protein this soon after surgery. In about another week, you'll feel better and will be able to do more about the protein. Right now, you need to spend your time and energy healing. As to the gas, you should consult with your surgeon and his staff if you're feeling pain. Are you on any sort of antacid? If not, I should think you should be for your first 60 days. That's what has been prescribed when I had started out, though I actually found that I didn't need them after day 30.

If you haven't been introduced to protein shakes during the liquid phase (and even after) there are many options available to you. The majority is powdered base that may be whey-based. Personally I found these hard to swallow (no pun intended!). I found that I personally liked the "Pure Protein" canned shakes for meal supplements. These are available from Trader Joe's and are found both in 20g protein and 35g protein varieties. Given that your target is 80-100g of protein per day, the 35g may be the way to go in the short term but downsize to the 20g version when you start with "real" food around week 6-8 depending on your specific program.

As always, you need to consult with your surgical team as part of the weight loss program.

Hope this helps.

We're here for you as you continue along your journey. It may seem hard now, but it *will* get better and you *will* feel better in time.

You can all definitely do it- the Aussies are way ahead of us so we Americans had better get cracking. the sleeve is definitely the best way to go - hands down - simply the best... no other method works as well or is safer. You can pass that on from me.

antigas tablets will take the gas pains away almost immediately
start to take your vitamins
now
start to take vitamins
chat soon

Hello! I'm in Orlando! Two weeks out. I didn't have any of those pains you mention, but do have a hard time getting all my protein in. Good luck and keep us posted!

Hi Dusty,

Nice to meet you :) be a sweety and turn your caps lock off, ;)

The gas pain will go in its own good time, try a heat pack on it, that tends to give a bit of relief.
Protien powder is a god-send for newies like your good self. Otherwise its just impossible to get enough in. Try mixing it up as an egg flip or with runny youghurt then you get even more protien.

Loooooove your, what are they called? Fan Boat? I could use one of those at the moment with all the rain we've had! Mind you the husband and son would probably knick off with it and do some mental motor thing to it! Can't take them anywhere, heheh!

Howdy! I've been at it about 6 months, and it gets even better!!!!

NEW SLEEVER OUT OF PALM BEACH FLORIDA . IM 8 DAYS OUT AND FEELING BETTER EVERY DAY.. HAVING TROUBLE MEETING MY PROTEIN ON THE LIQUIDS AND THE GASSY CHEST PAINS ARE A KILLER..