Do you bake for your family after surgery?

I committed not to eat anything with added sugar. I have a very strong will on this, and I believe it has helped my success greatly.

I made two baked goods for my family this weekend, and oh, was it difficult to take these warm delicacies out of the oven and smell them, then to see my family dig in to them. I had to leave the room! ? Although I went to my stash of sugar-free chocolates, it was not the same.

I am wondering if it would be selfish for me to stop preparing baked goods…what does everyone else do?

Or is there some sort of easy, WLS-friendly, baked good that could compete with warm brownies and banana bread?!

I don't even bake for me let alone anyone else a cook or baker I am not, not something I have ever enjoyed. That makes it easy on me when it comes to treats, cakes etc.

Does your family include children? How old are they? Old enough to be baking? Perhaps teach them to bake some of the family favourites and they can do the treat baking.

May be bake for your family with sugar wgile have a small portion for yourself baked with artificial/natural sweetners.

No that would be too much temptation for me to eat it all. I stay away from temptation. My husband is on a no-carb diet right now so he can't eat baked goods anyway.

8 hours ago, Esi said:

I am wondering if it would be selfish for me to stop preparing baked goods…what does everyone else do?  

Short answer, No, it is not selfish. At all. If an activity (or person, or situation, or whatever) is going to cause you anxiety then either deal while doing it or take a break from it until you can.

Longer answer: i loved/love to bake. I never stopped even after surgery. In didnt eat any of it, nor did i even taste test stuff during weight loss phase (which was challenging as i always needed someone around to do it for me).

BUT it was easy for me to do this because i was just not into actually wanting to eat it. i LOVED to smell it and look at it though, and watch others eat (and plate, decorate, take pictures, read menu descriptions, look up recipes, shop for baking equipment). Yes, i probably have issues lol…i am still the same way now at 3+ years out, but now I actually eat the stuff i bake, just at a fraction of the amounts i used to pre-wls.

I too tried baking with sugar substitutes for a while, but in the end, i just don’t eat enough desserts to justify making a whole separate batch, as my fam is anti-fake sugar (but ha, little do they know i make my ameretti cookies with 1/2 the sugar subbed with monk fruit! Lol).

but yeah, i love the idea above of teaching the fam to bake themselves ❤️

And if you see it as worth it, then make separate batches with sugar subs. Or just sub the sugar in all of it. Or…be ok with taking a baking hiatus for your own sake.

Good Luck! ❤️

Edited February 6, 20224 yr by ms.sss

I didn't bake for probably a year after surgery. My husband was on board because he really wanted to be as helpful as he could with helping me on my weight loss journey. If he wanted a baked good, he went out somewhere and bought it.

I do bake sometimes now (I'm almost seven years out) - but I use artificial sweeteners, use Greek yogurt or unsweetened applesauce to replace the fat, and use something like bran to replace part of the flour. And I usually add unflavored or vanilla protein powder, too.

I used to bake a fair bit but I haven't at all since my surgery - the temptation would just be too great. My partner doesn't eat a lot of carbs and my children are teens so they can get what they want elsewhere. I do buy some cookies and stuff. COULD NOT bake stuff myself and not eat it - yet, but I'm sure I'll get back to it eventually.

I bake regularly and I'd say two things.

1. Of course it's not selfish! You don't owe anyone baked goods.

2. I mainly bake various sorts of breads rather that sweet things anyway. Just yesterday I baked a rolled bread filled with olives, feta and rosemary and another with chopped dates and pecans.

Thank you for all of the ideas! Kids are too young to bake, but they help add ingredients.

Thanks for the delicious bread idea, that might work.

As I’ve not baked with artificial sweeteners, I don’t know the proper ratio from the amount of sugar in a recipe. Does anybody have a website for this?

My favorite site for low sugar baking is https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com.

On 02/07/2022 at 17:38, Esi said:

Thank you for all of the ideas! Kids are too young to bake, but they help add ingredients.

Thanks for the delicious bread idea, that might work.

As I’ve not baked with artificial sweeteners, I don’t know the proper ratio from the amount of sugar in a recipe. Does anybody have a website for this?

I know Splenda makes a “baking blend” that was a 1-1 conversion but since Splenda doesn’t caramelize or add as much mouthfeel and bulk as sugar, I’m not sure how well it works in practice

I would *love* to bake, but it's just two of us at home, and so I don't get any real opportunity. I can't be making whole foccacia and shoving them at my partner to eat solo! I have zero desire to eat it (grain based carbs don't agree with me anymore), but I love love love the whole ritual of baking, especially bread.

But it's totally not selfish to give baking a miss if it's tempting you or making your post-op life harder. Maybe keto baking might an interesting alternative.

Update: I found a recipe for no sugar added breakfast cookies. They have oatmeal, natural peanut butter, bananas, raisins or sugar-free chocolate chips, etc. With protein powder added, they are not too bad for 2 cookies. And they smell wonderful coming out of the oven, which I think is the emotional aspect being satisfied. If I don’t use artificial sweeteners, my Littles can eat them, too!

You know, I guess I'm the only dissenter in the group. Bake it, eat a bite or two, then wrap it up and send it away. Send it home with the kids. Take it to the neighbors, or to a shut in. Enjoy a little bit. I lost 50 pounds years ago by Slim fast during the week, and then hubby and I would go out, and I would enjoy a meal and a bite (just a bite!) of dessert. Took a long time, but I could be good during the week as long as the weekend was coming. Moderation in all things.

I eat desserts out (part of a dessert, mostly on vacations) but I don't bake at this stage (9 months out). I used to bake as a reaction to stress, which means that if I were stress baking, I'd likely be stress eating, too. I live alone but during the pandemic used to bake loads of bread and sweets for my town. I gained 20 lbs just from the amount that I didn't give away! Granted, this was before surgery, but I know that I can eat sweets too easily even now, and I don't want to have that stuff around even while I'm getting it ready to give away.

It's okay not to bake. There are plenty of ways to show your family your love that don't involve food, and this will set them up for better habits anyway.

Baking is like therapy for me, but I have never enjoyed eating it too much. So I still do bake for my family and office. It only was annoying once, but I ate a sugar free pudding while smelling the delicious cookies and moved on. I kept telling myself it's not worth getting sick over.