lizonaplane

Yes, I also use weight for baking and also cooking when possible. I wish more US recipes were developed that way. KAF is the best website! Their chocolate mousse cake with raspberries is AMAZING! I made it for Christmas Eve and then my brother requested it for his January birthday again. I use weight when measuring for tracking purposes too - like when I add milk to my iced coffee I'll weigh it, or I'll weigh how many green beans I'm roasting and the parmesan cheese I'm adding. (The 1 Tablespoon of olive oil is by volume and the salt and pepper are by eye). However, I just "guesstimate" what one third of it is each time I eat it, since eventually it all evens out if I'm the only one eating it.

Icing sugar is different than granulated sugar. Because icing sugar (called confectioners sugar in the US) is ground very fine, it's denser, so if you measure it by volume (cups/Tablespoons) you will be getting much more sugar/sweetener than if you measure by weight (grams or ounces). That's why your cookies came out too sweet, and why they came out softer too, because they would have had a different relationship in terms of liquid balance.

I have not heard a specific amount of weight, just "a few pounds". Actually, I couldn't get any information out of my insurance company and there did not seem to be any in my policy, so I'm just going by what the surgery center said.

I have like four more months and I'm getting so antsy. I just want to get to the "pounds melting off" stage! Welcome! I'm already feeling like I wish I had done this ten years ago but I know I wasn't ready. At the same time I'm still super nervous. Here's hoping these next few months are successful and quick for all of us!

Welcome. I have not had my surgery yet, but I have met with the surgeon, nutritionist, and psychologist. Each asked me a lot of questions about my history relevant to their particular specialty. In my case, the surgeon told me that it was my decision but he recommended the sleeve due to some medications I take (because they would absorb better). The information on the surgery was provided in an informational session with the Nurse Practitioner before I met with these specialists, and it was a group session over zoom. All of my appointments so far have been virtual. I have also had one of the four monthly nutrition classes that my insurance requires. They don't cover post-surgical eating, just general nutrition, which I think is kind of strange. It's exciting and I'm nervous too, but mostly I just want the surgery to hurry up so I can start dropping weight!

I have asked my surgeon what tests I will need before surgery and I have not gotten a reply (sent two messages through the secure system). I'm pretty frustrated but I'd rather he be good with his hands than good at replying to email. The problem is that my work schedule is usually set three months in advance, so scheduling tests that require a whole day can be a problem if I don't get them in my calendar.

Oh, the doctor made it clear that it was my choice. But after talking to him as well as my psychopharmacologist, it definitely seemed like the way to keep my mental health steady after surgery was to do the sleeve. That is more important, even though GERD is not a great outcome. The surgeon doesn't think what I have is really GERD, but we'll see.

I've never tried Swerve. I mostly use Sucralose (Splenda) in my iced coffee and yoghurt sometimes. I used to hate stevia but lately I've noticed I don't mind it as much in the protein shakes, so maybe I'm just getting used to it? I don't have much experience with Monk Fruit, but the few things I've had it in have been fine. I'm in a baking mood today and work is light... maybe I'll make cookies and see if I can have just one. I'm sure I have some neighbors who might appreciate some cookies on a rainy day.

I don't really remember what size a pencil eraser is, but I know some of them are definitely bigger than that, and I won't be able to stop at least 6 of them for even a day. 3 are for migraine prevention, so I would prefer not to stop those, but I could if I had to. I think splitting the ones I can't stop is probably an option. Thanks!

This is the combination I've been on for like 16 years and it really works for me. Not all are for bipolar, some are to prevent migraines, some are for nightmares (but I'm going to try stopping those since I'm not entirely sure they work), and one is for weight loss so I'll probably stop that. I'm glad I should be able to take them easily (I don't mind slowing down to 2-3 pills at once, but I've heard of people taking one pill every 20-30 minutes and that felt like a really bad situation. Thanks!

I thought about surgery many times over the years and the fear of complications plus worrying I'd never be able to eat "normally" made me shy away. Also worrying about having to take time off work (I love my job!). But this time is different. I got to the point where I wasn't even liking the way I was eating. I love food but I wasn't even enjoying it. And COVID changed my job and I wasn't loving it anymore. It's getting better, but it's still slow now. I'm still scared of complications, but I think I'll be okay. And I have changed my diet to more of a post-surgery diet (except I am still eating more than I would post-surgery - like 1200-1400 calories) and I'm fine with it. Now that I'm not eating a lot of sweets I don't crave them as much. I miss baking, but I don't miss the way I would feel after eating a bunch of baked goods. And maybe I'll get to the point where I can have 1 cookie instead of 6... but I'm not there yet.

Hi all! I take a lot of pills that I won't be able to stop after surgery. I'm wondering how hard it is to take pills right after surgery and how to do this. My surgeon hasn't been very responsive to my questions, just saying we'll get to this later, but I'm anxious because I can't miss a single day. I have bipolar disorder and missing any medication, especially when I have a major stressor in my life, could be a huge issue. None of my pills are extended release so I could crush them, but I've heard this can be really painful or unpleasant tasting. I take about 20 pills a day mostly right before bed. Right now I can take the 14 I take at night in one gulp with water. I don't want to spend all evening taking pills! Also, the medications is why my surgeon recommended the sleeve; I had wanted the RNY since I have GERD.

I think one thing is that you might be weighing yourself at the doctor's office after eating/drinking all day in the afternoon and with clothes and maybe even shoes on. I would see if you can get an early morning appointment and go before drinking/eating too much and dress very lightly, see if that makes a difference. I always weigh myself first thing in the morning at home naked and right after peeing and if I step on the scale in the afternoon or at night it's several pounds more - even on the same scale! I am pre-op too and I also have to lose a few pounds during my 4 months of nutrition classes. I'm freaking out because my starting weight was my home weight first thing in the morning at home, and I think my final weight will be at the doctor's office.

Yeah, I was using chrome. I tried again a few minutes later and it worked!

I got the site to work. It provided a similar estimate to what my surgeon predicted, except that I've lost almost 20 lbs since I first saw the surgeon. Still a few months out from my surgery; hopefully I can lose a few pounds more

Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss. You have a lot on your emotional plate, if not your literal plate. I wish you calm and strength for your recovery.

This is me. I have checked after falling back asleep too. But the fluctuations don't bother me as long as I am in a downward trend, so I weigh myself every day if I'm home or at my parents' house where I know the scale more or less matches mine. I would say that if you find yourself getting panicked and wanting to do something extreme because of a 0.5 lb weight gain on any given day, probably you shouldn't weigh every day. I expect my weight might go up 1-2 days in a row but still be down for a the week. I just don't want to go a whole week without being accountable. YMMV.

I was watching this show while on the treadmill every day for a while. Then I got bursitis in my hip from walking every day... (don't go from zero activity to the same exercise every day!) So, I stopped watching. But yes, I wanted to throttle Penny. I have posted on FB about having surgery and people were supportive, but when I told a few people at work (due to scheduling issues) it was all over the map. I mean, to be fair, most of the people I work with have never met me, because we live all over the country, so they don't know I'm overweight. Two people asked "Is this your choice?" Like someone could force you to have WLS! One person asked my weight LOL. I told her. Weird! I wonder if their ideas of WLS are 600 lb life?

I wasn't trying to sell anything. I used to make and sell jewelry ages ago but I'm a terrible salesperson. I just give stuff away. Even that is hard enough!

I was giving so many baked goods away! I joined my neighborhood Buy Nothing Project group on Facebook and posted bread, cookies, cakes etc everyday (work was really slow), but I was still eating too much of it. Then I switched to making soap, and now I'm drowning in soap, but at least I'm not eating it! However, I am bored with that, so now I'm just working on my weight, and work has finally picked up again, thankfully. I did receive some lovely succulents from my neighbors in the group as well! I'm a terrible plant parent, but I haven't killed them yet.

I was doing that! I joined my neighborhood buy nothing group on Facebook and gave away a lot but I still ate too much. Then I started making soap but I was drowning in it, even giving away as much as I could. My problem is I can't do anything in moderation lol.

I initially gave up coffee (I only drink iced) when I changed my diet in preparation for surgery, but then I realized most people still drink coffee except for maybe a month before/after surgery. So, after almost two months without iced coffee, I went back to it, but in a slightly smaller amount. It's so heavenly. I have to use milk (I use skim Fairlife protein milk now) and a good bit of Splenda, but I LOVE me some iced coffee.

I did switch from literally "pinching" to using a bench scraper to "figuratively" pinch small pieces of dough after watching some training videos on sourdough and I have to say that I never noticed a difference. So, YMMV. I can recommend that there is an excellent teacher who has classes on Udemy. I think her first name is Teresa or Theresa. She works with sourdough. Excellent explanations and videos. Usually you can get a course for like $15. I had to stop baking because I had gained 25lbs. This is how I got to the point where I decided I was ready for surgery, so I guess that's good.

I hate everything about exercise too. Being sweaty, exertion, etc. I have a treadmill now and I was using it every day while watching TV until I got an overuse injury (bursitis) in my hip. I would highly recommend getting an exercise bike/elliptical/treadmill you can use in front of the TV to distract yourself, but don't go from never to doing it every day like I did! Also, I was doing an incline so I could get my hr up. Yeah, should have paced myself lol! The other thing I like is hiking with family for vacation. I like hiking with my parents because they are 70 yrs old so they are as slow as me. I like hiking because I can just stop and take pictures, and every hike is beautiful (well, most of them!). We do easy hikes with not too much elevation because my dad and I are scared of heights. I could never do a class Like Peloton where you are competing with other people or a gym where the trainer is shouting motivational things at you. Let me just enjoy my tv or the pretty surroundings and I'll tolerate my body moving! (PS - you can get a regular exercise bike that's NOT a peloton!)

I was a chain-diet-soda drinker until I started preparing for surgery. It was the thing I was most afraid of stopping, but I've had two sodas in the past two months and I really didn't even like them. I drink a ton of water now. But I'm still having a hard time not drinking with meals and sipping it slowly. That bothers me more than giving up soda, honestly. I have completely changed my eating habits to prepare for surgery - more protein, much less sugar. I never was big on pasta, rice, potatoes (except french fries!!), etc. I just have a hard time getting myself to eat enough meat, so mostly right now I'm eating dairy, veggies, and fruit with beans, and some meat and fish. My surgery program won't really tell me anything about what they don't allow after surgery. They just want me to learn the basics of nutrition, which is dumb, because, hello, I've read nutrition textbooks, I know what's healthy, I just can't stick to it! I've lost and regained hundreds of pounds!