Justinh125

Barix Clinics makes a book you can buy for about $20 that has tons of answers, recipes, and good information.

I crave salt so bad that this morning, I sprinkled salt on a plate and licked it off. Really, how insane is that?!

Ooh, here's another good one: I was told to never chew gum again. But like 5 days after surgery, I totally got some gum and chewed it anyways. Oh yea, I was a rebel.

Sometimes I gulp instead of sip fluids. I'm a bad, bad man

I love stevia extract and I consider it natural as it is from the stevia leaf and minimally processed..

Funny how we care so much about such things now....

I'm sure we weren't quibbling over artificial when we were stuffing pizza and Oreos in our mouths

Most of the food we eat is artificial anyways. When I worked in the sciences, I was frequently shocked at things that could be called "natural" but were as synthetic as it gets. Another urban legend: "organic." It doesn't really mean anything. A good friend from college started an "organic" farm and makes a fortune by putting the right labeling on things, but it's no more organic than any other commercial farming operation.

I think when it fluffs up, that's just air and Water. So it's probably fine. But more importantly, I think it takes more food and more time to actually "stretch" your stomach out. I think it's very smart to measure your food, and you'll probably do very well as long as you keep making sure to have reasonable portions.

Have you tried Premier? It's about the only Protein Shake I can deal with.

My doc says use the strainer rule, but I accidentally had a few pieces of food and I don't think it caused any problems. You are probably fine...docs have to plan for the worst case scenario, so they want to error on the side of extreme caution.

Spices shouldn't hurt anything, but if you're concerned, try a little and see how it fits for you. I've been spicing everything--oddly the sleeve has made me crave salt really badly. So I salt the crap out of everything. I think maybe my blood pressure is actually getting too low and my body is trying to compensate or something.

Back when I was consuming copious amounts of various hallucinogens, I heard somewhere that aspartame caused hallucinations if you consumed enough of it. Some friends and I went to one of those bulk stores and purchased an enormous amount of it. We all took the equivalent of maybe a few hundred packets of the stuff each.

Unfortunately, nothing interesting happened at all. One of my friends got diarrhea. That was the most interesting thing that happened. No hallucinations at all. Not even an acid flashback.

Well, first of all, Stevia is made of steviol glycoside which is an artificial sweetner, just like sucralose or any of the others... Of course, 100% of artificial sweeteners are as "artificial" or "real" as you want them to be depending on how you define those terms (they aren't defined well by the FDA or anyone else.)

The article doesn't cite what research actually suggests there's any truth to that. It just says "research suggests." Often, these articles are supported by companies like Monsanto, which have lots of money invested in you using fructose instead of artificial sweetener.

I respectively disagree with you...

2. Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal, NatraSweet, Canderel, Spoonfuls, DiabetiSweet) is a common chemical sweetener with possible side effects that sound like they're out of a horror movie. From hallucinations to seizures to brain tumors, it is hardly worth consuming for the sake of saved calories.

3. Sucralose (Otherwise known as Splenda, my past-sweetener of choice), is scary. Recent research suggests that Splenda can enlarge both the liver and kidneys and shrink the thymus glands. Sucralose breaks down into small amounts of dichlorofructose, which has not been tested adequately tested in humans. Splenda reportedly can cause skin rashes, panic, diarrhea, headaches, bladder issues, stomach pain, and those side effects don't even sum it up.

Think this sounds bad? Do some further research. Most artificial sweeteners on store shelves are accompanied by numerous side-effect stories. (Some recent studies suggest they cause cancer. Should something as serious as cancer really be overlooked?) Research also suggests that they actually cause overeating among consumers.

In addition to all of this, consider the waste involved in the industry of artificially sweetening. Ever stepped into a coffee shop and noticed a mound of sugar substitute packets building on the counter or in the trash? We've been wasting one of our most precious resources for the sake of a sweetener that can harm our bodies and prevent weight loss. It sounds unfathomable, but true nonetheless.

What you can do instead to get your sugar fix:

Turn to natural sweeteners for your drinks and food alike. Honey, organic maple Syrup, molasses, date sugar, brown rice syrup, and stevia are just a few natural sweeteners you can turn to. Not only will they wreak less havoc on your body, but your support of these sweeteners instead will, eventually, help to slow the production of toxic artificial sweeteners--which are significantly less delicious in my opinion anyway.

I am not interested in a war over this..but I will post this information for consideration...thank you!

Hmm....let's round up a group and head over to (where?)....

Artificial sugar.....PLEASE..stay clear of that crap....Rats get tumors and die when they give them that stuff....i am not convinced that any artificial sugar on the planet is good for you...Try using agave and maple Syrup to sweeten your food....I use them.....K

I respectfully dissent. It is true that if you give a rodent about 100X the amount of artificial sweetener that any human could consume in their lifetime, it will cause tumors. But there is no evidence it can do that at the levels humans could reasonably consume in their lives.

Your body needs Protein to help keep your lean mass at a decent level. It can't do that with sugar and carbs. Fat is a higher-efficiency macronutrient at 9cal/gram. But starch will also mess with your blood glucose. It's another reason to avoid it. Finally, your liver will turn excess sugar into artery-clogging fat.

So we gonna play like spin the bottle or truth or dare or something?

It's my understanding that the incision that's giving you the most pain is the one they pulled your stomach through, then put it back through after reducing its size.

Actually, the part they remove is just pulled out...not put back in. They use a special type of staple gun, and they segment off most of the stomach, then pull that through the incision. The rest is your "sleeve."

It gets better. Many surgeons make the largest cut right there, so the muscle and other tissues are healing. Give it time. Remember, you basically got stabbed in the side by a very sharp tool.

If you are diabetic, I'd use them in moderation. They will make your blood sugar go up a bit, since it's basically starch which your body breaks down to sugar. I don't think they're going to hurt in a small portion, especially if you cook it healthy (i.e, not a french-fry.) I suppose it's like anything else, don't overdo it and I'm sure you'll be fine.

Though my portions are still much smaller than that of most people, I'm still surprised at how much I can eat in one sitting...sometimes seems like more than 4oz.

Yep. Fluid is fluid (unless it's a diuretic because then it makes you lose fluid.)

It still hurt 16 days after for me too. But it gradually got better. Now as long as I don't bump it, it feels fine.

So awesome to hear it...hope things go well for both of you!!

As an example, I went out with co-workers for lunch today. I had a relatively healthy wrap (well just part of one...not the whole thing.) Then I had 1/2 of one french fry. I got to enjoy it, but with that plus the portion of the wrap I was able to eat, I was completely full and satisfied.

I'd say have fun, take many opportunities to walk around the decks, and take the stairs instead of the elevator when you can. Since you'll have plenty of food options, I don't think it's the end of the world if you decide to treat yourself and have some unhealthy food from time to time. You'll have to keep your portion sizes small, but even french fries aren't that bad for you if you have them in small quantities.

I really don't think they're going to care about it. I would agree that you probably want to try and avoid it if you can, but I can't imagine they'd skip the surgery just because you had a few smokes.