Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The Waiting Game and Protein Drinks

I have been doing some reading about others' experience with weight loss surgery (WLS) and musing about the many pros and cons of such an approach for myself. I'm still planning to go through with it, but it is a tough decision. Right now, I'm just focusing on taking care of myself: getting my blood work in order, taking vitamins, trying to get my body as it is now in its best condition. I am looking forward to another iron infusion tomorrow: will this one bring about noticeable changes in how I feel? I hope so! I can be reasonably patient, however, if I don't feel an improvement from this one, perhaps the next. I'm just glad to be on the road to feeling better!

I'm happy - I've started finding some blogs out there related to bariatric surgery. I *knew* they must be out there! It's why I started this blog: it's the sort of anecdotal information that I find helpful, and I figured others must be looking for it, as well. I've stumbled on a few that I really like and will link to here sometime, when I get my blog logistics worked out. I also found a couple non-surgery weight loss blogs that I am enjoying, as well.

Yesterday, I did a trial run of the protein shake diet I'll have to do for two weeks before surgery. Protein shakes all day (I had three) and a reasonable dinner. I was *hungry* during the day! Funny, because I will quite often skip lunch and not be so terribly put out about it as I was yesterday. It's mostly a mental game, I'm sure.

Today, I had a breakfast quesadilla from the cafe in my building. I am full. Too full, really. Actually, it feels better to be a little hungry than a little too full. What a revolutionary life lesson, haha.

This morning, I also had a Slim Fast protein drink. Hey - I just realized I doubled up!! No wonder I'm extra full! I bought this last night - Bartell's seems to have stopped selling Muscle Milk powder, so I picked up a can of this. They all taste the same to me, frankly.

The sundries shop in my building sells Atkins Advantage Milk Chocolate Delight Shakes. I was surprised to see it has 10 grams of fat in an 11-oz serving. No wonder it is my favorite pre-made shake to date! Only 15 grams of protein, as well.

A comparable shake that I've bought is the pre-made Muscle Milk Light, which has 4.5 grams of fat in a 14 oz serving, as well as 20 grams of protein. I like it in the larger bottles, but I have had the Muscle Milk Light in the aseptic boxes and did not like it at all.

Now, the Muscle Milk Light powder prepared with non-fat milk is yummy. I can really drink this without problem or complaint. Except, of course, that I can't seem to find it locally right now, haha. Bartell's sold it and had the best price, but they've stopped selling it. My local Super Supplements sells regular Muscle Milk in powder, but not light. I'll have to order some online.

The Slim Fast Protein Shake is okay - really, the powders taste the same to me and the pre-mades taste the same (although Atkins is noticeably yummiest). Four grams of fat, 15 grams of protein in an 8 oz serving made with non-fat milk.

The Muscle Milk Light powder is really the best way to go, it seems. It would be interesting to plug all these variables into a calculator: serving size, grams of fat, grams of protein. It says to mix the Muscle Milk Light powder with water, which I would never do. Ew!! With water, a 12-oz serving has six grams of fat and 25 grams of protein. Add in the non-fat milk and your protein intake is boosted considerably. What a difference over the Slim Fast with milk!

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