Like weight loss before and after photos but of your new diet !

I'm especially interested in before and after meal photos (take a pic at the point you feel restriction) but it can be of recipe substitutions, your refrigerator/pantry/shopping cart/etc

VSG2017 HW 249 SW 238 CW 167

34 minutes ago, ms.sss said:

Ahh if u look carefully there are 3 mini pumpkin pies on the left of the bottom shelf, lol.

Here’s a close-up:

Those do not look like any pumpkin pies I have ever seen ???? YUM!!

2 hours ago, Chez Blackpool UK said:

Newbie so not sure how you click on other posts to talk about that particular bit...so doing it hard way so please forgive me if not doing it right....

Ms.sss: Fridges & Freezers over in the USA are so massive in comparison to ours and yours is well stocked. Makes ours look bland as it's mainly Water, milk and medication in there lol ?

GreenTealael: That burger looks super tasty ?.

Am still trying to find my way around the site & noticed after posting that I posted to I guess a dead forum as no-one posted since December 2020 in there, so will have to check dates before I post.

First: If you are on the desktop version, there is a button labelled "Quote" under a member's post that you can press to auto-insert said post into your reply. If you are on the iOS version, press and hold the post you want to quote in your reply and go from there.

Second: Not that it really matters, but I'm Canadian, LOL. Also, I think my fridge is a little bigger than a standard sized fridge? We too have medication in ours, you just can't see it in the pic, lolololzzz.

Third: Like @GreenTealael said above, we REALLLLLLLY like food. ?. This is probably the most active/longest running thread on here.

Fourth: Welcome to the forum! ❤️

34 minutes ago, Chez Blackpool UK said:

As for food...erm think that has been the problem that got me to here...but defo I love food.

Likely got us all in the same position ?but I was super curious about eating after WLS and wanted to see what realistic long term food would be like post op

11 hours ago, Chez Blackpool UK said:

As for food...erm think that has been the problem that got me to here...but defo I love food. Actually cos I love food I was feeling apprehensive about surgery until I joined this site. My first post was all about my fear of never being able to eat more than a bite after surgery cos of stories I read prior to coming on here. Our whole social life & family gatherings are food based. I don't mind cutting down to small portions but a mouthful to me ain't a portion it's deprivation ??‍♀️.

And thanks for pointers and welcome, I am starting to put my slippers on and feel at home ? xx

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.

@BigSue ! Looky what I made! Inspired by your batch, of course.

I totally forgot about them after i turned off the oven and accidentally left them sitting in there overnight. They are a little browner than I would like but the fam already scarfed 1/2 off them down for breakfast...and they didn’t even notice they were sugar-free (shhhh...don’t tell them!)

I didn’t have any myself as I normally ask the Kid if I would like something I haven’t tried before, and she said I wouldn’t like these cuz they were pretty sweet (i like sweet, but not too sweet...and i trust her judgment, she knows what I like lol)

16 minutes ago, ms.sss said:

@BigSue ! Looky what I made! Inspired by your batch, of course.

I totally forgot about them after i turned off the oven and accidentally left them sitting in there overnight. They are a little browner than I would like but the fam already scarfed 1/2 off them down for breakfast...and they didn’t even notice they were sugar-free (shhhh...don’t tell them!)

I didn’t have any myself as I normally ask the Kid if I would like something I haven’t tried before, and she said I wouldn’t like these cuz they were pretty sweet (i like sweet, but not too sweet...and i trust her judgment, she knows what I like lol)

Nice! Some recipes actually say that you should leave them in the oven overnight, but I usually just leave them for a few hours and I don't think it makes a difference. What sweetener did you use? I have found that the Great Value brand sucralose that I use is not very sweet, but I like things pretty sweet, so maybe I'm biased. I made a batch with cake batter flavoring yesterday and I love it! I make them at least once a week and some batches come out better than others.

25 minutes ago, BigSue said:

What sweetener did you use?

Swerve Icing Sugar. I transferred my stash into a jar, but here is a pic of the packaging:

Its marked up higher than granulated Erythritol, but I read I could make my own just by processing the granulated version so will likely do that when this batch runs out.

P.S. I generally only use Erythritol, stevia or Monk Fruit sweeteners, depending on the application.

16 minutes ago, ms.sss said:

P.S. I generally only use Erythritol, stevia or Monk Fruit sweeteners, depending on the application.

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.

59 minutes ago, ms.sss said:

Swerve Icing Sugar. I transferred my stash into a jar, but here is a pic of the packaging:

Its marked up higher than granulated Erythritol, but I read I could make my own just by processing the granulated version so will likely do that when this batch runs out.

P.S. I generally only use Erythritol, stevia or Monk Fruit sweeteners, depending on the application.

Now I'm curious: how was the texture of your cookies? I usually use just the Great Value granulated sucralose, but in the batch I made yesterday, I actually substituted 2 tablespoons of what you used (the Swerve icing sugar). My cookies usually come out dry and crunchy, but the ones I made yesterday came out soft and chewy, and I attributed that to the Swerve. The Swerve icing sugar has way more sweetness than the granulated sweetener per cup (which is why I tried it -- I was hoping to make my cookies a little sweeter, and they were, but also not quite right in texture).

2 hours ago, BigSue said:

Now I'm curious: how was the texture of your Cookies? I usually use just the Great Value granulated sucralose, but in the batch I made yesterday, I actually substituted 2 tablespoons of what you used (the Swerve icing sugar). My cookies usually come out dry and crunchy, but the ones I made yesterday came out soft and chewy, and I attributed that to the Swerve. The Swerve icing sugar has way more sweetness than the granulated sweetener per cup (which is why I tried it -- I was hoping to make my cookies a little sweeter, and they were, but also not quite right in texture).

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.

3 hours ago, ms.sss said:

Swerve Icing Sugar. I transferred my stash into a jar, but here is a pic of the packaging:

Its marked up higher than granulated Erythritol, but I read I could make my own just by processing the granulated version so will likely do that when this batch runs out.

P.S. I generally only use Erythritol, stevia or Monk Fruit sweeteners, depending on the application.

Ok. I did this (with another brand). And it does work, but be prepared for the giant sweetener cloud that may happen when you remove the lid of whatever appliance you use.

3 hours ago, ms.sss said:

Swerve Icing Sugar. I transferred my stash into a jar, but here is a pic of the packaging:

Its marked up higher than granulated Erythritol, but I read I could make my own just by processing the granulated version so will likely do that when this batch runs out.

P.S. I generally only use Erythritol, stevia or Monk Fruit sweeteners, depending on the application.

their brown sugar is good, too. It's the only brand I've seen so far whose brown sugar is 100% artificial (other brands I've seen are a blend of the real stuff and the fake stuff - so ...calories).

This one’s for you @ms.sss

I think this is the last time I’m making it since I’m out of bananas ?

I have been trying to combat my food waste lately by completely finishing items or not buying them at all ?

Edited April 1, 20215 yr by GreenTealael

3 hours ago, BigSue said:

Now I'm curious: how was the texture of your Cookies? I usually use just the Great Value granulated sucralose, but in the batch I made yesterday, I actually substituted 2 tablespoons of what you used (the Swerve icing sugar). My cookies usually come out dry and crunchy, but the ones I made yesterday came out soft and chewy, and I attributed that to the Swerve. The Swerve icing sugar has way more sweetness than the granulated sweetener per cup (which is why I tried it -- I was hoping to make my cookies a little sweeter, and they were, but also not quite right in texture).

Mine where crispy/crunchy all the way through. The kid did say though that they were a little on the "airy" side, but I attribute that to me over-beating the mixture prior to baking (i made the rookie mistake of leaving the kitchen and got distracted). Humidity may also play a factor?

Further to icing sugar vs. granulated sugar, like @lizonaplane alluded to, the texture/volume of the two kinds differ so 1 cup of icing sugar is not the same as 1 cup of granulated (1 cup granulated == 1.75 cup of icing, so yeah, its way sweeter if you do a direct substitute).

I may have to give myself a project and compare the diffs between icing vs granulated Swerve....

P.S. Unrelated, but another thing I do is to use weight for measurement when baking (well, except for liquids, where I use volume). I always have this URL in tab in my browser to look up conversions: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart.

Edited April 1, 20215 yr by ms.sss

3 minutes ago, GreenTealael said:

This one’s for you @ms.sss

I think this is the last time I’m making it since I’m out of bananas ?

I have been trying to combat my food waste lately by completely finishing items or not buying them at all ?

Yummmer! I will imagine eating it and be satisfied.

P.S. I too like to use up every last scrap of leftovers/food. It makes me sad when I throw out perfectly good food into the compost bin. It's difficult to do though living with these people who have an aversion to the concept of leftovers! But i like the challenge of re-purposing "old" stuff into something new (also, I don't tell them that's it leftovers, Mwah-hahahhaha)