Question...

I've started mixing 8oz. of Calorie Countdown chocolate milk (thank you Susan for that tip) with 8oz. of fat free white milk. The chocolate milk by itself is too chocolatey so I thought I'd mix it with the white and it tastes great! Just like regular choc. milk. And it gives me 17 grams of protein. My question is: Does it count as 8oz. of fluids, or 16 since I mix it together. Maybe I should just put it in a measuring cup and find out, huh? I feel so stupid What do y'all think? Denise

According to Carrie/dr Gibbs, liquid is liquid. Looks like 16 oz to me!!! Glad you like the calorie countdown. Great way to get your protein AND your calcium/vit D. Everything else going ok? Are you on soft foods yet? I can't remember how far out you are. keep on keeping on! Susan

Susan, I'm 3 wks. out today. I've been on soft foods since day 6 and so far I'm doing well. Eggs don't sit well, so I avoid those. Last night I made some homemade mac & cheese and had my first bout of nausea/vomiting. It only took a few bites to figure out I wasn't ready for that yet. I had read that a lot of people can't handle pasta after surgery. That won't be a problem for me, I'm not a pasta eater. I"m really sticking to potatoes with cheese, chili with cheese, tuna, applesauce (love it), apple slices with peanut butter, things like that. I need a good cookbook for WLS patients, I'm getting bored. I will move on to lean meats in a couple of weeks, looking forward to that. I'm really looking forward to being able to eat chicken again, I can do so many things with chicken breasts. But I've read that a lot of people have trouble with it, I'm hoping I'm not one of them. Anyway, things are going well. Been walking as much as possible, its been too cold to get outside but I have a treadmill indoors. Still working on getting all my fluids, I just run out of hours in the day, but its getting better. The scales are still not moving, but I'm not going to worry about it. I'm just gonna keep on keeping on and see what happens! Take care, Denise

Denise, I have never tried the calorie countdown. I use soymilk and mix the vanilla whey protein powder with it and add fruits or peanut butter or crystal light powder to give them different flavors. I am almost four months out and just started trying chicken and nope can't do it yet. I still have not had beef and was on fish for weeks and weeks. I lose about a pound to a pound and a half a day. I am still on soft vegetables, steamed, nothing raw, even though I take a bite here and there of salad. I still can only drink 3-4 ounces of fluid over 15-30 minutes time. I think as you get further post op, you will find you fill up and feel yourself filling up. I think that was why my surgeon and many others require measuring everything to get exactly one or two ounces immediately post op. Gosh, at three weeks, I was still eating clear soups and jello. But different doctors do it differently and mine really is a control freak about the foods and when you get certain foods. According to my plan, I am just now getting soft foods with, of course, chicken added. I am going to try the chicken again in a few days. Good luck and I'm going to try the calorie countdown, love chocolate.