lizonaplane

Sugar Free syrups are very sweet. They are made with artificial sweeteners. I agree that coffee and tea need sweetness!

That depends on your surgeon. I could have caffeine after four weeks. Some people get served coffee right after surgery. But some people believe that caffeine is dehydrating, even though more recent research shows that that's a myth. And some people have bad reactions to caffeine, for lots of reasons not at all related to surgery.

Saaameeee. I'm scared of heights and things that go fast. Strangely, I love flying, which is actually what I'm doing right now.

It really depends on where you're going to be traveling. In the US? You can probably stop at a Walgreens/CVS/Grocery store and buy some Fairlife Core Power drinks. Hummus and cheese from a grocery store if your hotel has a fridge or you're staying at someone's house. Refried beans from a Mexican restaurant. Flaky fish. Chili (no raw onions on top!). Low sugar Greek yogurt. I traveled for work most weeks starting at 5 weeks out from surgery. It can get boring and repetitive, but by six weeks out you're probably eating real food, just very little of it. Stay away from chicken breast and steak. Ground meet and flaky fish are your friends. Tofu would be good too. Don't try to be perfect in terms of avoiding sugar/fat in sauces; just make the best practical choices. I did a lot of butter and cheese sauces.

All of this! Plus when I pick up my US size 10 pants/medium I can't imagine they will possibly fit, but they DO!

Plans vary a huge amount in how many calories they want you to eat at what point. Ask your surgery center what they recommend, but it doesn't seem like a lot to me...

I'm 9.5 months out from sleeve and I haven't ever had the foamies that I know of. I do sometimes throw up from the multivitamin, but it's better if I eat a snack right before I take it or eat a large, late dinner.

I had surgery recommended to me a few times in my late 20s and early 30s but I was convinced I could lose weight the "old-fashioned" way, and did... but kept gaining it back each time. I don't think I was ready to do the work to have the surgery back then; I probably wasn't emotionally ready to change my eating permanently. I'm still not sure I'll be able to keep the weight off! ETA: I had surgery a few months before I turned 42

I'm going to have to create a workout play list. I usually listen to podcasts when on the bike or elliptical or treadmill or walking outside, but I do want music for my HIIT/weight training. I always put my iTunes on shuffle all but there's some really random stuff in there, mostly a lot of showtunes and folk music, none of which is great for a work out...🧟‍♂️

Personally, I think the food they sell on this website is just junk food. I try to eat real, unprocessed foods like meat, fish, veggies, fruit, dairy, etc. When I want snacks I go for dried fruit and nuts or snacks in small portions. Yes, I eat real or artificially sweetened treats sometimes too, but I try to limit it. Most of the things on this website have TONS of calories! But, I love the message boards 🙂

I think the reason my hair loss wasn't that noticeable is that I have VERY short hair. Hard to have handfulls falling out when the hair is only an inch or so long... get a haircut?

I was able to drink enough within 2-3 days, but that's not true for everyone. I had to drink flavored drinks (things like Crystal Light) because plain water didn't taste good to me after surgery. The only way I could drink enough after surgery was to have a bottle with fluid in my hand or right next to me on the couch ALL THE TIME. I just took small sips every few minutes. You won't be able to guzzle or gulp water, so you have to sip every few minutes if you want to really make any progress. Also, try different temps of water - for me it had to be ice cold so I rotated bottled in and out of the fridge. Other people like warmer liquids or room temp. It's very important to drink or you will likely be more nauseous, more constipated, and could end up back in the hospital.

My insurance doesn't pay for them. There are "diagnostic" quality DEXA scans like you would get for osteoporosis that insurance sometimes covers, but those can cost thousands. The DEXA scans you can get for "sports" purposes are much less expensive. The place I go charges $99. I have heard of them costing less in smaller cities or more like $150 sometimes. The body fat scales are totally worthless from what I've read.

Many people think they are a "slow loser" but in fact they just have unrealistic expectations from shows like My 600 Lb Life, which features people who lose "fast" because they are much bigger than your average WLS patient. You may still be a slow loser; I can't tell how much of your 33 lb weight loss was before surgery, but I lost about 9 lbs on average per month for the first 6 months after surgery, and my surgery center said I was doing great! Try to focus on things you can control, like eating and drinking and exercising the way your surgery center recommended, and don't worry about the scale. You might also focus on how your clothes fit or other "non-scale victories". You might also consider reaching out to your surgery center to make sure you're on track, and consider seeing a bariatric therapist. Good luck!

I just got a DEXA scan and my body fat % went from 51.6% a year ago to 35.9% today! I'm almost in a normal range (for my age, 23-33%). I just started working out with a trainer and he has given me body weight exercises, so hopefully that will help too.

I haven't tried those. I have to be careful because a lot of the zero sugar things are made with stevia and it tastes terrible if not mixed with other sweeteners. Also, I only like red/purple/blue flavors, so I would probably waste half the bag, not like that would be a bad thing! I tried the SmartSweets Swedish Fish and I didn't care for them, but I might try other flavors of those. I know I got the Welch's at LAX, and I'll be there in a few weeks, so hopefully I can stock up LOL.

If you are facing lots of constipation, it also helps to get more physical activity, which might mean just walking more if you've recently had surgery. I was told to use a laxative suppository since I hadn't gone 5 days after surgery. It worked easily in 15-20 minutes. I will occasionally do this if I haven't gone in four days or so. Good luck!

Yes, generally sugar alcohols are not included in net carbs, but it might give you tummy troubles. I haven't found that to be an issue for me, but I tend to keep my portions small when eating things with sugar alcohols (better anyway, since these aren't usually the healthiest foods). I haven't tried the doughnuts, but I did like the Welch's Zero Sugar Fruit Gummies. I haven't been able to find those again, not even on Amazon!

I have not had any issues with drinking large amounts of coffee since surgery. I actually drink more than I did before surgery because plain water doesn't taste good anymore and carbonation is not as appealing (I can drink it, but slowly). So, I drink a lot of iced coffee with milk and splenda. The milk gives me extra protein and calcium. I haven't had any issues with it upsetting my stomach, but that might be because it has lots of milk in it. I would stay I drink about the equivalent of 2-6 cups a day (the iced coffees are VERY BIG). I didn't have any caffeine for the first month after surgery, per the surgery center's recommendation.

I hadn't pooped for five days after surgery so they told me to use a suppository laxative. I had tried all the prescription stool softeners and Miralax, nothing. The suppository worked in 15 minutes. I do use this still RARELY when I haven't gone in four days or so. You don't want to do a laxative every day, but Miralax is usually fine

If it's only going to be a few weeks it really won't matter which vitamin you take - it really takes a while for any deficiencies to be an issue. Also, not sure what you mean by vitamins being "prescription". You can order pro-care health, celebrate, etc just online... you don't need a prescription! Maybe if you want insurance to pay for them you need a scrip? Pro-Care Health is cheaper if you order directly from them than Amazon. I also use Celebrate (smell less bad) and the generic one-a-day women's with iron, because the bariatric ones make me very nauseous and sometimes I throw up.

I would ask your surgery center because they may know. You could also ask your insurance company, but you'll likely get a different answer each time you call... I don't think the issue of weighing in person should matter, as none of my pre-surgery visits for my insurance were in person. But whether Found has been accepted by insurance is hard to know... Good luck!

You can make very healthy popcorn with an air popper. They're pretty cheap, and popping corn kernals are very cheap. Then you get to decide if you want to add butter and salt and how much.

It is slightly better without iron, but I've always been deficient in iron, so I need to take it with iron

I have dry mouth from meds too, but I haven't really been able to drink with my meals. I find that drinking before I eat and eating wet foods (like fruits and veggies, stews, etc) works just fine.