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Thanks! These and the other recipes on this site look great.

Found some Keto Cookies that look good. Basic choc chip. I think I would make them with Splenda.

https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/keto-cookies-recipe/

Swerve is one that measures cup for cup the same as sugar but I find it to be extremely sweet. Like to sweep in my opinion. It’s too sweet in my opinion. I am holding on to it hoping as I get a little further out it won’t be too sweet.

If you look in the candy isle at the grocery stores or Target you will see Russel Stover has a whole line of sugar free candy, as well as Hershey now has sugar free reeses Peanut Butter cups and other candy bars...

You can make meringues with powdered swerve (a sugar substitute). At their core it’s just the 2 ingredients- egg whites and sugar (or sugar substitute) but adding cream of tartar helps with stability.

2 egg whites
1/2-1 cup powdered sugar substitute
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2-1tsp extract (like vanilla, almond, or maple)
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a mixer until soft to medium peaks. Gradually add in sugar until smooth, glossy stiff peaks form (hold beaters or whisk attachment upside down and the mixture not slump over). Gently fold in extract. Bake on parchment paper or silicone mat at 225 for about 40 minutes until lightly browned. Either remove from oven and let cool completely or leave in oven to cool before trying to remove from parchment or mat. Out of the oven makes for a slightly chewier cookie whereas in the oven keeps the residual heat and makes a crispier cookie. Store in an air tight container away from heat or moisture.

If you don’t get an answer here. I would ask this cookie question on the food before and after page. Lots of bakers on there that know about swerve and almond flour and all that. In fact. I may ask it myself if COVID permits me to go to cookie day with my family this year.

I found that the zero sugar candies at Walmart like Hershey’s and twizzlers tastes almost exactly like the real thing and it is a little better for you. You still have to enjoy it in moderation but for a special occasion it’s a better alternative. Just try a very small portion the first time, and at home, because for Some people the sweetening ingredient (I think it’s malitol) acts like a laxative.

Oddly, i didn't have that problem my first year (I had surgery in the summer of 2015). I was so excited about my weight loss and so gung-ho about following my program that I didn't want any of that stuff. I remember on that first Thanksgiving post-op I had some turkey with gravy, about 2 T of sweet potato casserole, some vegetables - and a thing of pumpkin-flavored yogurt for dessert. I was fine with that (can't remember what I had on Christmas, but I was really good at staying away from the "goodies"). Subsequent years I've caved more - but I just try not to overdo it. One cookie. A small piece of cake. I'm not a big candy fan, so that one was easy. So I do allow myself treats on those holidays - but I just have small portions on the holiday itself and don't keep them around my house the whole season - too tempting.

So, I refuse to say that I will never have treats again. I’m just very, very, choosy about when and how much of a treat I’ll have. I’m pretty good about avoiding candy but I’m a big baker. Now when I bake Cookies I’ll give them all away save 1-2 and have no more than 1 cookie a day if I keep 2. I made a tiramisu when I was home at my parents this summer and I cut myself a piece that was maybe 2 inches long by 1 inch wide (about 1/4 of a slice of everyone else’s). My philosophy is that complete restrictions are bad and can actually make things worse, at least for me. I live alone so I don’t have to worry about others bringing treats in the house. But I’ve found some willpower - I have half a bag of Hershey kisses left from when I baked some Peanut Butter kiss cookies for a friend (of which I kept one for myself) - that was probably 2 months ago and I haven’t had a single Hershey kiss since - if I’m going to have a piece of chocolate on its own, it needs to be some good gourmet chocolate. Now I won’t be in the country for Thanksgiving but for Christmas I will definitely have a small dessert - this is not a diet, this is how I plan to live the rest of my life! And I make sure to get my Protein in to help balance anything I have (and I log everything so I know where I am on macros at all times).

I just remind myself that I'm choosing not to eat "junk" food.
I think sometimes we compare ourselves to alcoholics or drug addicts when we are food addicts. We say things like alcoholics or drug addicts never have to have alcohol or drugs ever again to break their addiction but we have to have food. I know in my case, my addiction was sugar and junk foods and that's probably what got me to my highest weight. Now I try my best to avoid those and so far it's working. I just remind myself I never want to go back there! Whenever someones asks me, "can you eat this on your diet?" I tell them, "I'm not on a diet. I can eat anything I choose to eat...I choose not to eat that."

I think of it like this. How does everything I eat fit into the plan. Am I getting Protein from it? Is it high in sugar or carbs? Am I getting any nutritional value from it? If not, it is simply too high a price to pay. Thinking from a money analogy, if a piece of cake cost $100, you would do without it, simply not worth it. The same logic is how I treat those foods high in fat, calories and carbs. Not worth the price my body pays. Need a snack? Find something that provides some benefit to you.

I'm four years into my surgery this month and here are the things that I've learned.
At the beginning most will feel mixed emotions. Euphoric due to rapid weight loss, concern due to stalls and minor setbacks and trepidation due to looking at how others are doing and you feeling you're not doing enough. The one feeling we all have will be a renewed confidence in ourselves due to the fastest weight reduction you might have ever experienced.
We attain our goal weight. We then transition into making wise food and lifestyle choices. No longer are we to eat the things that made us obese and unhealthy such as the three C's, Cookies, Cake and candy. We will get more exercise. Maybe we park further from the building, maybe we join a gym, maybe we walk, run or work out. We are feeling great and we love our new selves.
Next we work on maintaining the weight loss and our healthy lifestyle. One thing happens, we decide since we lost so much weight it couldn't hurt to visit our friends the three C's. If only for a short while and only in small amounts. Hey, why park so far? It's really cold/hot, I'll park closer. You're still feeling confident even if you gained only 10lbs of the 100 you lost. Hey, you're still down 90lbs. No problem, I can lose the 10lbs. I've lost far more than that after surgery.
Then we realize, we are no longer weight loss super beings. We are just mere mortals who now have to work hard to lose the weight. Our bodies after time (usually after the one year mark) will not give us that rapid weight loss we once depended on. Here is when your determination and or lack of it will affect you for the rest of your life. We will all get back on a diet or healthier eating plan to lose the weight we gained. The majority will not succeed because it is not as easy it was when we first had surgery. Some will become complacent and throw up their hands and surrender. The weight will come back and the thoughts of a revision will come to our heads. Unfortunately, most insurance companies do not allow for a do over. For a few they will overcome and work on shedding those pounds. They will succeed due to a variety of reasons such as a good support group, using the honeymoon period wisely and really making better lifestyle choices or simply losing one pound at a time instead of trying to lose all of it at one time.
Since my surgery four years ago I had five friends and family members undergo the surgery. We ALL gained back some of the weight. Some were able to lose it and regain their healthy lifestyle. Some never were able to lose the weight and went back into the habit of eating for gratification.
This is what I did. I originally got down on myself. How did I after three years let myself gain 10 lbs. I vowed to get it off. My 1st week I lost 1/2 a pound. I was devastated, how could this be? The next week I gained a pound. Why? I needed help!! My regular group meetings were cancelled due to covid so I lost valuable support there. I decided to call my family and friends who had the surgery. I spent hours talking to everyone, I told them about my struggles and they told me about theirs. We all came away with a few good ideas of what to do. First don't look to lose the WHOLE amount in one shot. It won't happen and it will derail you from succeeding. Set a goal of 1-2lbs per week. Don't worry that some friends or family might be losing more. We aren't in competition with them. Look at the little things. One friend said she stopped putting Crystal light or Mio in her Water. She only drank plain ice water. It seemed to help her jump start her weight loss. Another friend said he started taking the stairs instead of the elevator. He climbs seven flights at least once a day. Another told me her husband who did not have the surgery brought Snacks home and that she would eat them. She purged her home of the unhealthy snacks as she did right after her surgery. I started to implement these and other ideas and I have lost 5lbs in five weeks. I'm at the half way point to getting back to my goal weight.
We are not super humans we need help and we need encouragement in order to succeed. There are a few on here who have done a tremendous job on their own and they are to be commended and emulated. For me, I need and I will take all the help I can get. Everyday is a struggle to be healthy. I told my surgeon that all this is happening after only four years, how do people succeed at maintaining the weight loss? He said sadly, the majority won't.

there's no average. Most people seem to lose in the 15-25 range the first month, although I don't have any hardcore research to back that up - it's just what I've observed after spending the last seven years participating on this and other bariatric forums. So your loss is totally normal, and your surgeon is an idiot. I lost 16 lbs the first month, and I went on to lose over 200 lbs. Some people lose slower or faster than others depending on a lot of factors, some of which you have little to no control over (like genetics, age, gender, starting BMI, etc). You DO have control over your activity level and how closely you follow your program, so if you do well with those and your overall weight trend is down (even if slow), then you're fine.
P.S. that 15-25 range I mentioned - of course you'll always find people who fall on either side of that, but they're outliers. You are doing just fine!

What an ass you’re surgeon is! They’re being incredibly unsupportive. How much weight was your surgeon expecting you to lose?
21lbs in 4 weeks is a great loss. Everyone loses at their own rate. Your gender, age, staring weight, activity level, metabolic rate, etc. all impact the rate at which you lose. That’s why comparisons with others are not the best way to judge your progress.
Have you ever lost that much weight in a month before? I bet you haven’t - I certainly had never lost at my rate ever before. Celebrate every pound you lose.

Bariatric Pal 1-a-day capsules are great! I do iron-free, then take a separate slow-release Iron for less pouch upset.

Microwave boiled water works also, I’ve tried it! I honestly believe it just needs to be a certain temperature (what temp IDK so I go with boiling) to dissolve the cacao.
It is a little annoying to jump through so many hoops so I do t drink it often 😩

Yes it was for the clumps 😩
For pure cacao :
I stirred the paste of cacao, sugar substitute and a pinch of salt with a fork or whisk little at a time in boiling Water until they dissolved and then added the milk last.
However the exact opposite seemed to work for the SwissMiss, it needed cold water to dissolve.

Groan... it takes so long for my stove to heat up. I can't imagine having to wait for boiling water. Maybe if I just make a little water in the microwave it will be okay. I make the hot chocolate on the stove so it doesn't spill or burn.
I haven't tried adding salt. Sometimes I add a bit of vanilla extract.

I sometimes buy this but It’s a little tricky to mix as it likes to separate (so I started making sugar free hot cocoa from scratch)
I find if you mix it with a little cold Water, let it sit a minute then add hot water, it turns out better.

I was making sugar free hot cocoa from scratch (unsweetened cocoa powder, add splenda, mix in a bit of fairlife skim milk to make a paste, then add more milk and heat) but it was clumpy. What is your trick to make it not clumpy? I found it tasted a lot better than the sugar free swiss miss, but the clumps of cocoa powder weren't fun.

https://www.swissmiss.com/sensible-sweets/no-sugar-added-hot-cocoa-mix
Has anyone tried Swiss Miss, no sugar added hot cocoa mix? Is this a good product for WLS?

I used to make my chocolate Protein Shake on hot Water to convince myself it was hot chocolate. Didn’t always work though 😁.
Because sugar (incl a lot of artificial sweeteners) was cut out of my pre op diet & my changed taste buds post surgery, sweet things tasted terrible - horribly sweet & unpleasant. Don’t be surprised if you experience the same thing. It was great actually because I lost any desire I had for sweet.

I’m not a big fan of hot chocolate but a lot of people like it after surgery.

I bought it for after surgery.

I've had it before. It's kinda sweet and bland, like any other packaged hot chocolate mix. But it's fine. I bought some for after surgery too, I plan to mix it with fairlife high Protein skim milk.