@Lizakabibbis for me, some of the shake flavors are bland - the chocolate definitely fell short since I didn’t get a strong sense of flavor - I prefer Eat The Bear chocolate and chocolate pb. I did try the Banana Nut Bread and last week made it with 2% Fair Life milk but it was bland. I made it again today but this time with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, a dash of cinnamon and a half a frozen banana and it was AWESOME. The Inspire Diet is very restrictive - no fruit at all, and seems like no dairy though the package suggests using skim milk for their shakes. From the past I liked Cafe Bella and ordered it as part of my kit so hoping it hasn’t changed and I also like the Mexican Hot Chocolate..that one is vegan so you may need to get accustomed to the grittiness of the pea protein. I still have blueberry cheesecake which they don’t sell and that too is bland but probably can benefit from added fruit, and the pumpkin one I also still have and that one is good, just gotta be in the mood for some fall like flavors.

The Bariatric Eating site has a crappy return policy so if you don’t like something you are stuck with it. Their recipes are good. Made the manicotti several times and love it but still need to master crespelle making. I am having their cheeseburger pie for lunch and it’s awesome!

Check out Eat The Bear (I can give you a referral code for $20 off), also Syntrax Nectar and Quest. If you like coffee flavors, Chike and Click are both awesome.

@garber6th I also bought Lakanto protein pancakes which are good and they make a bunch of different products. These products use mostly monkfruit for sweetener. As someone who suffers from migraines I prefer to eat more naturally. I almost gagged on sugar free syrup with pancakes. Honestly, I would rather have a couple of teaspoons of real maple syrup vs tablespoons or more of the sf chemical laden stuff.

There’s another brand in the grocery store which I can’t recall the name (not Kodiak) that someone I know who follows keto uses and loves. I don’t eat a ton of pancakes but is good to switch it up. In fact, Damn Delicious has a healthy protein waffle recipe which is amazing (and my daughter likes which is a huge deal) and it’s all real food - ground oats, eggs, cottage cheese and cinnamon.

@fit_chickx As for my eating plan, I don’t try to follow a plan per se but just needed something to sort of anchor to mentally to help my head because right now I am so stressed and depressed so the idea of following the Inspire Diet was one way for me to control what o put in my mouth since right now it is so easy to just say screw it and eat whatever. What I am glad is that since I so badly wanted to follow “something” I had to be even more thoughtful about what I ate and have everything planned out. It made me plan 4-5 more meals which means I had to think about it and plan. Now this week should be relatively effortless.

I have leftovers from this week so I will have lunches prepared for the week. I am going to look for dinners that interest me and are healthy though I don’t plan just to use Bariatric Eating recipes only. There’s lots of great websites with healthy options.

My biggest issue is that I really don’t like vegetables. Never ate them as a kid, my family never prepared them. Salad to us was iceberg lettuce drowned in French dressing. Now I like spring mix, and will eat sugar snap peas, green beans of prepared how I like them, zucchini mixed into stuff (like the BE Italian chicken poppers). For me, unless it is salad I can only eat a couple of bites - I used to love carrots but now they upset my stomach, and years ago I tried red peppers but again, just a few bites. I need to try to incorporate more but after 40-something years of not really eating veggies it isn’t something I can automatically like. If anyone has any good recipes with veggies maybe I can try it...

Sorry for the long winded post - so much on my mind. Haven’t been able to get out of bed at my usual 4 am to go to the gym - been very depressed, so it’s hard. Really excited for my Peloton and can’t wait to get on it which I plan to when it’s delivered. Like MFP, Peloton has an amazing and supportive community. Need to get my spark back!

Thank you for letting me vent - I know there are a few people going through the same thing and this is a super supportive group!

@loveshoe - me too!! Will let you guys know what I think once I get on it! Saturday can’t come fast enough!

@clsumrall1 LOVE the Peloton - even my husband is using it which is great. I have been battling migraines daily since last Saturday but still managed to get 5 rides down