Matt Z

See, I still try all sorts of spices, just only when I'm home "Just in case" The condiments are specifically listed as for WLS, but they are low cal, low/no sugar, low/no carb, etc options. Just following the nutritional guidelines etc. The yogurt dressings I find with the other health food veggies in the market. The natural honey sweetened ketchup is by Heinz... etc etc. Just label surfing for the best options.

Also, to change your op status, click the drop down next to your avatar at the top right, select "My Surgery", you can adjust your surgery status there. If you click on "Progress" on the left from the "My Surgery" screen you'll be able to add / adjust your weight measurements there. Then if you go back to the drop down, select "Account Settings" then "Signature" on the left you can adjust your signature (what shows up under your posts)

Get to walking! The sooner you start exercising, the sooner you'll feel even better!

WLS lowers A1C... That said, there has been research that shows that A1C over 8 can lead to problems post-op. http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/37/3/611 Still might be worth talking to your surgeon about it to verify his/her concerns with the elevated A1C.

So much added sugar, in like EVERYTHING! For the homemade, I guess it depends on what you are going for, I typically don't add sugar to my pasts sauce, but, I'm not using sub par ingredients that need flavor balancing / correction to be palatable like the mass produced stuff does. I guess if we aren't careful or don't purchase condiments/sauces specifically for our WLS then it could be an issue... or like most, people don't bother to calculate the proper amount of each and just slather it on.

More than likely you'll be fine. My D was low (It's reported that the majority of people have low Vitamin D levels) And since WLS lowers A1C, I don't see that as a stopping point either. My Homocysteine was high, My D was low, Everything else was "in range", Wasn't even an issue with my surgery.

We were told that Sauces were our friends for dry meats. LIke, my nutritionists advise it LOL. I use yogurt dressings, balsamics, or some naturally sweetened with honey ketchup, much smaller amounts that pre-op though.

I wish I could narrow it down... I assumed it was the added sugars. I've eaten some items with higher sodium and not had an issue. Could be a combination of the sugar, sodium and acids from the tomatoes... Going to be one of those "experiments" that needs to happen... I love Tomato soup!

@Arizona25 to change your op status, click the drop down next to your avatar at the top right, select "My Surgery", you can adjust your surgery status there. If you click on "Progress" on the left from the "My Surgery" screen you'll be able to add / adjust your weight measurements there. Then if you go back to the drop down, select "Account Settings" then "Signature" on the left you can adjust your signature (what shows up under your posts) Hope that helps! For your issue, Are you in an area where medical cannabis is allowed? If not you can check out Marinol/Dronobinal (both federally legal, and covered by pretty much all insurances, you buy it at your local Pharmacy) both Cannabis and the Federally available THC pills (Marinol / Dronobinal) will help with nausea.

Oh and Oceanlove if you don't have one, and are looking for a scale, drop the extra coin and save yourself some sanity and get a scale that tracks body fat % as well. Trust me, this extra metric has really quelled my frustrations during stalls... seeing the weight not move sucks, knowing body fat % is dropping even though the weight isn't as really saved me from going crazy!

This is quite an awesome thing to be doing. I hope someone in need sees this and takes you up on your offer.

@Ppdunn22192 The pre-op sucks. But it sounds like you need it to prevent any potential issues for your surgery. Cheating once is understandable... but fast food, 3 days in a row... that's scary. What's going to happen post surgery? Things are pretty close to being just as hard as the pre-op for a little while. You'd be better off eating celery (which was allowed on my pre-op) You *DO NOT* want to be adding high levels of fat and carbs to your system right now, it's going to make it that much harder to get back from. Keep asking yourself why you decided to go with WLS. And please understand it's not an instant cure all fix. It's **ONLY** a tool, and the sleeve, has it's own downfalls that you are going to need to be well aware of and actively avoiding! The struggle sucks, but it *IS* worth it! Stay Strong, Stay Focused, Stay on Target... You got this!

I've got issues with certain levels of sugar and fats. Some foods I can eat, don't cause dumping but make me feel crappy afterwards. Some foods cause dumping that I never expected (Tomato soup)... but for the most part, I can eat small amounts of foods, I stay away from anything that has added sugars /fats if those totals are over 5 grams per serving. I don't worry about natural sugars and fats. It's amazing, I would eat 2 sandwiches, packed full, with chips and a drink and be hungry within an hour, now, I eat 1 low cal/low carb/ wrap with 2-3 slices of low fat, low sodium luncheon meat with 1 piece of cheese and That's it... and I'm more than good.

I can also confirm that the pre-op diet isn't always "liquid only" I was allowed watermelon and celery as well on my pre-op.

For directly after surgery and during the recovery stay, initially it was the lip balm and dry mouth spray, and my sweatpants. I was thankful I brought a pillow from home. My cell phone and charger. Everything else, I really didn't use. Never read my book, didn't bother with anything else other than my cell and the lip balm and dry mouth spray. At home, my Ninja food processor (picked up the 2 horsepower version), I use it several times a day *STILL* more than 2 months out of surgery.

Thanks Alex!

If you need to make sure you add that "Family History" line to your reasoning/justification speech. I wouldn't expect them to deny you, but I can empathize with the fear, I had my revision denied at first by my insurance for some bogus reasons... took me 6 months longer than it should to finally get my surgery approved. Fingers crossed for you!

So no sleep apnea, pre-or actual diabetic, knee / hip issues etc? Co-morbidities make it easier, but at 49.7, there really shouldn't be any reason to deny you.

Congrats @Down South Aussie Welcome to the Losers Bench!

@wjgo you are ready to start jogging now. And yes, Compression gear is a must! Buy a size smaller than your current size though. Sadly, it's entirely possible that your excess skin will never go away on it's own. Check out "Obese to Beast" on YouTube, this kid went from 370 to 200 (and lower for a fitness contest), he did it all naturally and it took him 5+ years and even with the slow weight loss, he's got a fair amount of excess skin that causes issues with his running. You can get some good compression gear cheap on Amazon (The Superman Compression Shirt in my Avatar was $19... By Red Plume, they can take a little bit to ship, but for the cost... it's well worth it, beats paying $50+ for Under Armour! (which I have as well and love, just not the price)

Why would they say no? You are morbidly obese, do you have co-morbidities?

Lip Balm and Dry Mouth Spray. I didn't personally need the Gas-X. I brought a book I never read. I did make good use of my phone and charger. As well as a pillow I brought from home. Ear plugs, blindfold (these are so very helpful, wards typically *ARE NOT* quiet.) A comfy pair of sweats or pj bottoms. I put mine on very shortly after waking up after surgery!

The Gym has been a big one. Gaming, although this was more a great distraction POST op. I like Poker... I mean Poke Her... that's a great stress reliever Pretty much anything that will occupy your time and take your mind off your stresses is going to be good.

Yup, nothing has really changed since I joined back in 2011 LOL

And I was clearly joking...