Cheryl 13

I have come to love morning workouts...I feel so accomplished and ready to start my day afterwards. I get up before anyone else in the house to go ride the stationary bike and it's my own private time to dedicate to me and being healthy. I also workout after my kiddo goes to bed. 3 days a week I spin for 30-45 minutes in the morning and then run on treadmill for ~30 minutes in the evening. 3 other days a week I do a 1 hour Crossfit class in the morning and then do 30 minutes of yoga in the evening. 1 day per week I ride the bike and then do some kind of cross training (bootcamp class, rowing, whatever). But I have been told that I do *way* more than the average WLS patient. I do it because I enjoy it though not because I *have* to. This is the part of my life that was missing/unavailable at a higher weight!

Gatorade Zero make a Protein version that is 2 birds with one stone. Also, I plan out my entire day's food the night before using My Fitness Pal. That way I know what I'm going to have and that I met my protein/fat/carb goals for the day. Other than dinner, I will even get everything out and portioned and ready to go so that my breakfast, lunch, and snacks are all packed and ready to roll.

I usually find them in the Meijer refrigerator section. I think the Outer Aisle website lists stores that carry them. https://www.outeraislegourmet.com/pages/find-a-store

Loving this thread! These are the kinds of real world ideas that I love finding on here! Here's a few of my favorite items now: Bolthouse Farms yogurt based salad dressings are the best! Love classic ranch and cilantro lime on salads. From The Ground Up cauliflower crackers are just like Cheez-its! Amylu chicken sausage! They are individually packaged so you can freeze the rest. They also make breakfast sausage!!! Outer Aisle cauliflower bread is amazing! You can use it for tacos, sandwiches, pizza, anything and it freezes well if you want to buy online and stock up.

That would be the pre-op diet talking! The pre-op diet is truly a miserable experience - but temporary and necessary. Surgery changes not only the size of your stomach but also the hunger hormones generated there. Personally, at 3 months out I have not had any issues with drinking water or vomiting, dumping, swallowing meds, or GERD etc. These are all things that are possible but I'm not sure how common. The problem with a lot of online resources is that people often come here when there is a problem or a question and we don't think of all the success stories that don't necessarily write in. If you are uncomfortable in any way you can always write/call your doc and ask how likely these thing are in patients he has seen.

I can relate so hard to all of the above but the biggest NSV for me recently was that a few weeks ago we discovered that my 10 year old can actually put his arms all the way around me when I hug him now! Now he loves to "trap" me in a hug! Could not be sweeter!!!

You have to just take your water everywhere you go. It becomes part of your essential items and a habit to continuously sip. I have a 20 oz bottle that is nicely insulated and I drink at least 3 of them per day. There is no way I could mentally keep track of 8 small glasses.

fat free refried beans with low fat cheese and salsa makes a great bean dip. canned soups are great soft foods. cloud bread - yum! you can use it to make "pizza" or as a "bun" for soft proteins. deli turkey plus low fat cheese or Bolthouse yogurt sauces. sloppy joes (made with small amount of Manwich or sugar free ketchup) chili (use extra lean beef or ground turkey)

So I am only at Day 10 and don't start puree until next week but my dietician gave me a list of bariatric approved canned soups and I was going to throw them in the blender. That way you get protein and veggies etc and pureed.