Chocolate milk

Little tiny things can make, break, or just help get through a day sometimes. Grocery shopping today, I was cheered by the fact that Nestle Quik comes in sugar-free. I bought some and got to have a guilt-free glass of chocolate milk this afternoon. Protein is going to be increasingly important after surgery, so milk, string cheese, yogurt, and cottage cheese will remain my close companions. Adding up my protein grams every night as well as the calorie count has been crazy; most days I make it to the 60-80 gram range where they want me without a problem, but a "bad day" it hovers at maybe half that. The nutritionist said protein would help me heal after surgery, whatever that means--the inside of my stomach, I guess, since this is going to be laproscopic surgery.

There is something incredibly comforting about a glass of chocolate milk.

Sugar-free candy

Me and my sweet tooth have been investigating sugar-free candy lately, particularly chocolate. It is rather expensive; a small bag has maybe six pieces in it and costs $2-3. I think my favorite sugar-free chocolate brand thus far has been Russell Stover. They have some good coconut, caramel, nougat, and toffee varieties and some or all are carried by most drugstores, sometimes near the pharmacy and sometimes in with the regular candy. I found sugar-free Turtles at Target that weren't bad, and the Hershey brand Reese's peanut-butter cups are pretty good in sugar-free.

I think buying candy online might be cheaper, and am still going to look more into that. I have used http://www.candydirect.com/ in the past and they have a huge selection of sugar-free stuff.

You don't save that many calories avoiding sugar outright in chocolate, but if type II diabetes or pre-diabetes exists, they are a good choice. Sugar-free chocolate can have a laxative effect, so there is a built-in motivation not to overindulge!