wascott

@@azziew LOL! I appreciate the advice. I've got two boxes of GasX strip already in my suitcase along with blisstex. I'll have to look up the bari buddy.

I started just above a 40 bmi. I've dropped a little below that now. I'm having surgery on June-22. I'm self pay so don't know what insurance might require.

@@ValerieDee1975 Thanks for the tips. I'm having surgery in Tijuana at the Obesity Control Center. If all goes well I'll just spend one night there then a couple more nights at the hotel. I don't imagine I'll be roaming the city so want to be prepared. Trip home won't get me home until around 1am.

@@Miss Mac I'll add that to my list. Thanks!

@@Smye Congratulations on losing 100! Wow! I can't wait until I can say that. Looking forward to reading your new recipes. I plan to try bari bread and or cauliflower pizza next week.

@@VSGAnn2014 I need to post this in front of my treadmill.

@@LipstickLady Are you suggesting that I shouldn't enjoy a nice cocktail on the flight home from the hospital? Perhaps a vodka enema would be safer.

I'm still pre-op. When I first started my pre-op diet I felt really bad until my body became adjusted to running on ketones instead of glucose. Now I'm feeling good and exercising every day. Quitting smoking will take your body some time to adjust to. I stay away from my favorite watering holes so I won't be tempted to join in. This will take a lot of commitment on my part to be successful. Some day I'll be a lot lighter and healthier for the effort. Hang in there!

@@Jaymmie Hengle Thanks for sharing these recipes! I can't seem to find SF Carnation Instant Breakfast. Do you know if Sugar Free Carnation Instant Breakfast has changed its name to Breakfast Essentials No Sugar Added?

@@ShellMilliner Thank you. Give me a ping if you start that thread. I'd love to follow it.

@@Sunshine_Gal Thanks! Costco will be my first stop!

@@Smye Do you think a commercially available egg white based product like eggbeaters would work for the bari-bread recipe?

Welcome! I'm being sleeved in about 40 more days. I didn't like all the problems that I read about with the lap-band. The scar tissue left behind by the lap-band can cause complications if converting to sleeve. Good luck!

@@ShellMilliner Thanks for sharing these recipes. I'm doing 20g carbs during my pre-op phase. I'm looking forward to trying out various recipes once I recover from the post-op phases.

I like the Premier Protein shakes. I ordered the Unjury sample pack so I can try out their different flavors. As for vitamins, I ordered some chewable vitamins from Unjury. It's a once a day pill. Sorry I can't comment on the Unjury products as they haven't arrived yet. Others seems to like their products though.

I've been losing weight leading up to my 2 week liquid diet. I'm hoping my nutritionist relaxes the liquid phase a bit if I reach my pre-op weight goal. If not I'll be trying to think lf ways to entertain my tongue. If you're allowed sugar free liquids you can make some popsicles. Good luck!

Everyone is different so you might not lose as fast as your brother. Eat your proteins first, veggies second, fruits third. Hopefully you won't have any room left for high carb foods. Increase your physical activity. Not only will this help burn calories but it will increase your muscle mass and make you feel good. Some days I just don't want to go for a walk. I finally convince myself to just do a 10 minute walk then before I know it I've walked for 20 or 30 minutes. You can get back on track!

@@AussieSam Exactly. As long as I understand the ramifications behind my choices, I'll allow an occasional treat. I may have to adjust my caloric intake in other meals or increase my physical activity to burn off that choice. A single chip or slice of bacon won't likely derail my weight loss. But a routine pattern of eating "treats" would put me right back where I started. I don't want to go through this again.

Wonderful! I hope my weight loss journey goes that well.

Love your blog! I'm looking forward to trying some of your recipes out once I'm post-op and able to eat some solid foods again.

@@Smye I'm currently doing pre-op weight loss. I'm on the Atkins induction diet for about 5 weeks then a liquid diet for the two weeks prior to surgery. It's incredibly restrictive but combined with exercise, it is working. It's difficult to get creative when you're so limited on carbs. If I hit my weight target early maybe my nutritionist will relax it a tad.

@@Smye Thank you so much for the link. That sounds good too. I've tried mashed cauliflower a couple of times. Pretty tasty but I'm getting bored. Missing bread and crispy things. I'm currently limited to 20g of carbs a day.

That egg white bari bread sounds interesting. I'll have to try that one.

I like the idea of licking a dorito. I might try that technique with a pizza and a beer.

Great information. Thanks for sharing! The nutritionist only wants me to be on Atkins for about 5 weeks total. (The weeks before I go on a two week liquid diet prior to surgery). It was a little rough as my body switched over to ketosis mode. I believe I was exercising too much at the time. I took a two day break from exercise. Now I'm back to an hour plus a day on the treadmill and adding weights to my walking workouts. So far my weight has been dropping nicely. I've already lost the bare minimum required before surgery (5%). My goal is to lose the ideal amount of 10%. I don't expect to lose the next 15 pounds as easily but I'll do my best. If I meet this goal early I think I'll up my carbs a little bit per Atkins phase 2. The induction phase is very restricted on food choices. Good luck with your weight loss journey!