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Before you have gastric bypass they warn you of a few things. 1. You can gain the weight back 2. Alcoholism is a possible side effect after surgery 3. food that used to fill you up or make you sick won't do that as much after awhile 4. Smoking cigarettes causes ulcers post-op My mom always says no matter how much I'm warned - I've always had to learn every lesson the hard way. Gastric bypass was that way too. My story is just a warning for all you newbies out there - all the stuff they warn you about is real. Hey, I'm Kaylee and I had my surgery when I was 20 years old on June 11, 2012. I was 280lbs. In less than 8 months I got down to 150 lbs, 130lbs lost. For the first 9 months I was insanely strict. If it wasn't a lean Protein or a non-starchy vegetable I wouldn't eat it. Couldn't pay me to eat a carb. While this is good health wise and I'm sure made my surgical team sing - it was the start of my inevitable failure. I was so strict that after awhile all the foods I had denied myself even a nibble of became so enticing I felt ravenous. My first screw up was picking up smoking again almost a year after I quit. Pure stupidity, I was just bored and thought I could do it socially, wrong. Got ulcers and have had them for over a year and a half. Without acid reducer pills I'm in a lot of pain. Breaking that golden rule led me to break other rules because hey, I already screwed up right? I started having those forbidden foods I had not allowed myself to even look at for such a long time. Bites turned into mouth fulls turned into plate fulls. Then came introducing wine back into my life. I suffer from depression and when you don't have to put effort into getting drunk anymore it is so appealing. I fought depression with wine and started drinking every single night - going through a box of wine every 3 days or so. I then moved from sunny south Florida, away from all my friends, to cold Missouri in the middle of January 2014. I fell into a deep depression and my drinking got worse, and since I was waiting for all my stuff to arrive in the moving truck I lived off hot pockets, bagels, pretty much anything I could toss in a microwave or toaster. I ate crap, drank daily and smoked like a chimney for pretty much the entire year of 2014, all the while pretending my scale didn't exist and convincing myself my clothes were shrinking and I wasn't getting bigger. I was too ashamed and terrified to look at the scale. I finally got up the courage to face what I had done to myself the start of January 2015 and got on the scale. 204lbs. In the span of one year I had gained 54lbs. I felt disgusted with myself and cried for days and days and beat myself up emotionally. I failed everyone, especially myself. But nothing good comes from beating yourself up over what you cannot take back. I can't take back living on bagels and wine for an entire year. What I can do is fight to get back to 150lbs though. So on January 12 I quit smoking, quit drinking every day and have reduced it to just Saturday's with my boyfriend at home versus my downtown-bad-habit-factory, and have gotten close to back to basics but allow myself some freedom - for example for lunch on days I work out I let myself have my chicken and veggies inside a wrap [carbs are my crack] instead of depriving myself of anything I want. I want very badly to get back down to 150lbs... I'm terrified I never will and have somehow ruined this "one and only chance" I've made up in my head. Like I had this wonderful gift of being thin and now that I messed it up I'll never get it back, but I know that type of thinking won't help me. So I'm going to keep going and hopefully someday get back to it. If you've actually made it this far, thank you, I really needed to get this horrible guilt off my chest. I feel like an absolute failure but getting it out helps. So advice to all you n00bs: 1. Yes you can gain it back, I'm an example. 2. Becoming an alcoholic is a real risk you need to watch out for post op. 3. You will be surprised how much food you can get into your body if you really try 4. If you quit smoking never pick it up again, I didn't even have a desire to smoke and managed to become a pack a day smoker again within a month. Not even one after you quit. And most of all - NEVER EVER stop using your scale. I ignored what I was doing for so long and that's how I ended up gaining the amount I did. If I had just looked a couple months before and saw 175lbs I would've done what I'm doing now back then. I would have never let it get this bad if I had just swallowed my pride and looked. I'm lucky that I caught myself when I did because I was headed towards being morbidly obese again. Good luck to you all - try not to make all the mistakes I did. If my story can prevent one person from making one of my many mistakes I'd be happy.

Before you have gastric bypass they warn you of a few things. 1. You can gain the weight back 2. Alcoholism is a possible side effect after surgery 3. food that used to fill you up or make you sick won't do that as much after awhile 4. Smoking cigarettes causes ulcers post-op My mom always says no matter how much I'm warned - I've always had to learn every lesson the hard way. Gastric bypass was that way too. My story is just a warning for all you newbies out there - all the stuff they warn you about is real. Hey, I'm Kaylee and I had my surgery when I was 20 years old on June 11, 2012. I was 280lbs. In less than 8 months I got down to 150 lbs, 130lbs lost. For the first 9 months I was insanely strict. If it wasn't a lean Protein or a non-starchy vegetable I wouldn't eat it. Couldn't pay me to eat a carb. While this is good health wise and I'm sure made my surgical team sing - it was the start of my inevitable failure. I was so strict that after awhile all the foods I had denied myself even a nibble of became so enticing I felt ravenous. My first screw up was picking up smoking again almost a year after I quit. Pure stupidity, I was just bored and thought I could do it socially, wrong. Got ulcers and have had them for over a year and a half. Without acid reducer pills I'm in a lot of pain. Breaking that golden rule led me to break other rules because hey, I already screwed up right? I started having those forbidden foods I had not allowed myself to even look at for such a long time. Bites turned into mouth fulls turned into plate fulls. Then came introducing wine back into my life. I suffer from depression and when you don't have to put effort into getting drunk anymore it is so appealing. I fought depression with wine and started drinking every single night - going through a box of wine every 3 days or so. I then moved from sunny south Florida, away from all my friends, to cold Missouri in the middle of January 2014. I fell into a deep depression and my drinking got worse, and since I was waiting for all my stuff to arrive in the moving truck I lived off hot pockets, bagels, pretty much anything I could toss in a microwave or toaster. I ate crap, drank daily and smoked like a chimney for pretty much the entire year of 2014, all the while pretending my scale didn't exist and convincing myself my clothes were shrinking and I wasn't getting bigger. I was too ashamed and terrified to look at the scale. I finally got up the courage to face what I had done to myself the start of January 2015 and got on the scale. 204lbs. In the span of one year I had gained 54lbs. I felt disgusted with myself and cried for days and days and beat myself up emotionally. I failed everyone, especially myself. But nothing good comes from beating yourself up over what you cannot take back. I can't take back living on bagels and wine for an entire year. What I can do is fight to get back to 150lbs though. So on January 12 I quit smoking, quit drinking every day and have reduced it to just Saturday's with my boyfriend at home versus my downtown-bad-habit-factory, and have gotten close to back to basics but allow myself some freedom - for example for lunch on days I work out I let myself have my chicken and veggies inside a wrap [carbs are my crack] instead of depriving myself of anything I want. I want very badly to get back down to 150lbs... I'm terrified I never will and have somehow ruined this "one and only chance" I've made up in my head. Like I had this wonderful gift of being thin and now that I messed it up I'll never get it back, but I know that type of thinking won't help me. So I'm going to keep going and hopefully someday get back to it. If you've actually made it this far, thank you, I really needed to get this horrible guilt off my chest. I feel like an absolute failure but getting it out helps. So advice to all you n00bs: 1. Yes you can gain it back, I'm an example. 2. Becoming an alcoholic is a real risk you need to watch out for post op. 3. You will be surprised how much food you can get into your body if you really try 4. If you quit smoking never pick it up again, I didn't even have a desire to smoke and managed to become a pack a day smoker again within a month. Not even one after you quit. And most of all - NEVER EVER stop using your scale. I ignored what I was doing for so long and that's how I ended up gaining the amount I did. If I had just looked a couple months before and saw 175lbs I would've done what I'm doing now back then. I would have never let it get this bad if I had just swallowed my pride and looked. I'm lucky that I caught myself when I did because I was headed towards being morbidly obese again. Good luck to you all - try not to make all the mistakes I did. Here's to hoping I can look like this again

I already had my husband do the freak out only he lost his temper lol.Did it a couple of weeks ago where he was a pissed off man at everything lol. I fussed at him over not fixing something before it broke and he just lost it completely. He yelled about everything being wrong, tried to pull the pity card, etc, so while he was in his tantrum I left to run errands for a few hrs to give him time to cool off, came home and he started again....over jello. He had told me he wanted some lime jello to eat when I snacked on my sugar free stuff. Well the store didn't have lime so I grabbed cherry, oh boy that started the yelling anew lol. He stormed out and left, he needed to cool off and took a drive. Also stopped at a different store and got his lime jello! Took a few days but he finally admitted he's scared of losing me. Says he knows he shouldn't worry, but can't help it. Also not liking it that he has to leave me at the preop door because he's allergic to alcohol.

Check out the Jan. 26 issue of PEOPLE magazine, pgs 80-86. Deborah Voight once lost her gig due to her weight. Had GBS, lost 100 pounds, had skin removal, slipped into alcoholism but is now doing well. Just an FYI.

I don't think of carbs as "the enemy" the way some people seem to. My nutritionist never advised me to limit carbs to any specific number and carbs are the only form of fuel your brain can use, so you need some! I just focus on getting all of my Protein in and that usually means I don't get many carbs and I'm fine with that. If my protein source happens to have some carbs attached to it, then so be it. My calories are only coming from three macro-nutrients: protein, fat, and carbs. If I get the 100 gram upper range of my protein target every day, that's 400 calories from protein. That means to get 1000 calories a day, I'm getting 600 calories from fat or carbs. Why are would calories from carbs be any worse than calories from fat? That being said, the bulk of those other 600 calories are coming from fat for me, because most meat-based protein sources also include fat and fat has 9 calories per gram, versus only 4 calories per gram from carbs. In any case, even if I were overly concerned about carbs, QuestBars would still be a decent choice, because while they have 21 grams of carbs per bar, 17 of those are from "fiber". And most anyone who counts carbs actually counts "net carbs", which means subtracting out the Fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carb count. So the "net carbs" in a QuestBar are only 3 grams. Plus they only have 1 gram of sugar. Now you could make a whole case about Isomalto-Oligosaccharides not being real "fiber" in the way we tend to think about fiber. But the same could be said about the Polydextrose, Maltodextrin, Inulin, and Chicory Root Extract you see in all of the so-called "high fiber" foods on the market these days. Everything from yogurt, to cereal, to Breakfast bars, to ice cream is claiming to be "high fiber" now with those ingredients. If you are opposed to processed/packaged foods, then most Protein Bars probably aren't for you. But I don't think that has anything to do with the carb count, especially when the main carb you should be worried about (sugar) is barely even present in QuestBars at least.

at first I tried alcohol pads, which only moistened the glue and made it stickier. but baby oil def got it off!

Well it has been almost a month since my last update. I just had my 6 month surgiversary on this past Saturday, and I am still almost 75 lbs down. I weighed in this morning at 200.4, I weighed 201.8 yesterday. So I am paying for some bad choices I made, lol. I have been drinking my calories a bit too much these days in the form of full fat coffee/tea drinks or as my guys kid calls them...dessert coffee, and alcohol. The holidays set me off track with the parties that I was going to (even though I still lost almost 10 lbs over the holidays), and even just this past weekend I drank a lot. But I do have to remind myself that I had this surgery so that I could live my life happier and healthier, not like a prisoner to my weight and diet. Less drinking my calories and back to more strictly adhering to my better choices. I'm definitely not the best example of what to do post op, but I'm okay with that, and I am human, with limited self-discipline. Learn from me. My goal for January is still to enter Onederland, and I will. I am 0.4 lbs from 199 and I have 5-6 days to get there (My ultimate life goal is to be in the 165-175 range, though I would like to see what I look and feel like at 150). I will do it. I also wanted to update my pictures, I feel like I lose track of my progress a lot, because the scale doesn't move as fast as I'd like it to and I still have to fix that image in my head that I have of myself as the super obese young woman. So many years wasted being fat and unhappy. So here is my first side by side in months and it really has helped lift my spirits and put my choices into line better. Also, is anyone else finding that they get crazy hungry quicker this far out? I feel hungry just about every other hour! Sometimes I'm ravenous and can eat what feels like a lot, and other times a couple bites and I'm good.

The main reason the alcohol is limited in some fashion post-op is because there is an alarmingly high rate of alcoholism in post-bariatric patients. This is likely caused by something known as addiction transfer, where one addiction (food) gets swapped for another (alcohol). The first 2 months post-op are the most dangerous window, so it is common for surgeons to forbid alcohol during that time period, though some ban it for much longer. I had my first drink at 8 weeks post op (this evening actually), and it was a glass of Riesling. I am not likely to experience addiction transfer, because I did not have food addiction prior to my surgery, but my father experienced addiction transfer after his lap-band 12 years ago, becoming a functional alcoholic for ~5 years (fortunately substance addiction does not run in my family). I advise waiting at least 8 weeks after surgery before drinking, just in case. And my dietician stressed that you have your first drink at home, because you will metabolize alcohol differently with your new stomach - she has had more than one patient embarrass themselves because they got drunk unexpectedly after three sips of wine. (I didn't get drunk, but that glass of Riesling hit me harder than usual!).

food has been an integral part of my life for so long. A lot of my social life revolves around food (and a bit of alcohol to some extent). I am mentally trying to prepare myself to change that aspect of life, and there's a part of me that does not like it. However, I cannot continue down this path I'm on, so I definitely need to change my mindset. I'm also afraid of not making it through that pre and post op liquid diet when it's time...but I'll have to cross that bridge when I get to it. For now, the food = celebration part is the most important piece that I have to change.

I drink the occasional glass of white wine. Can't handle any alcohol with carbonation.

@@csg WLS does not operate on our brains. None of them do. Head hunger is real and doesn't go away. Binge eating disorder, whether diagnosed or not (as in my case, but let's face it, I binged daily for decades) is about using food to comfort/entertain/numb/get high/all of the above. Until we find a different, healthy REPLACEMENT for food to do those things for us, you bet your sweet bippy we will return to the food. Don't take my word for it. These boards are filled with WLS unhappy endings from LapBand, sleeve and RNY patients who found a way around the physical limitations of their WLS and gained their weight back. I'm not accusing. I've read the confessionals here. And for every "help me I want to start again" confessional, there are probably twice as many who just dropped off the boards, never to be heard from again. I go to OA and CODA to work on the issues that led me to overeat in the first place. Because not only do I not want to fail at WLS and return to overeating, I don't want to replace my food addiction with alcohol or pain pills. And without working on my head, guess where I'd be next?

I'm 13 months out and have never regretted it for a minute. I had a pain free recovery and although it took 3-4 months before I felt "normal", I was OK with that. After all, I was recovering from major surgery. Initially I had some lactose intolerance and plain Water and artificial sweeteners hurt my sleeve. But I figured out how to deal with it and after the 4 month mark, those issues disappeared. I found an answer to my constipation (insoluble fiber), I get in all my Protein and fluids, take 3 Vitamin supplements (multi, Vitamin D and B12) and get regular bloodwork to keep ahead of any deficiencies. Fortunately I have had no long term intolerance issues. I can eat anything, including all meats, veggies, fruit, sugar, carbs, and alcohol. I just can't overeat or drink anything carbonated. I don't have GERD but I do get a little gastritis if I eat too many sweets or alcohol, but I guess that's a good thing. And nothing a couple Rolaids or some Zantac can't fix. Seriously, the only difference between my pre and postop life is that I drink less alcohol, I eat less and I eat healthier. It's been very easy to get over the psychological barriers of my food addiction. Being thin and feeling great far outweighs the emotional bond I had with overeating and eating crap. I can eat anything ( in moderation), so there's nothing to miss. I am one of the many lucky ones, but there are a lot of people on here that have had serious complications. Despite their struggles, they continue to maintain a good attitude and don't regret their surgery. Everyone's journey is going to be different and only you can make this a good experience or a bad one.

Fat: 1 gram = 9 calories Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories Carbohydrates: 1 gram = 4 calories Alcohol: 1 gram = 7 calories ​I was thinking the same thing as well since I know they give the same printed sheets to individuals who have also had RNY. This is my concern with those numbers: 120-150 grams of protein=480-600 calories 100-200 grams of fat=900-1800 calories 50 carbohydrates=200 calories That would be 1580 calories on the low end and 2600 calories on the high end. I don't see how I could lose any weight eating that many calories. I also don't even know if I could eat that much food. I am going to present this to my nutritionist on February 6th at my next appointment. Thanks for all the advice! I am going to look at the Facebook groups right now

Everyone's journey is different. I know it is hard to find information out there about MGB. All I can do is share from my experience. I had a one night stay at the hospital. I followed surgeon's orders to the max. First two weeks I only had liquids (tomato juice, Gatorade, chicken broth,, yogurt). I was allowed some saltine crackers and watermelon with salt on it. The next two weeks, I was allowed mash food only. I tried potato, mashed tilapia, baked beans, mashed veggies. Everything I tried, I tested first by itself to see what kind of reaction I got to it. There are people who can not tolerate sugar, other dairy, etc...after surgery. I did not have heavy reactions to food. There were some I tried and did not go down well at the begining but weeks later, I tried again and it worked. An example of that were eggs. I could not get them down the first month to maybe two months after MGB. Now I have one for bfast daily. After , the first moth I started trying foods. Making sure I would have small bites and chew well. Testing like before, an item at a time to watch for reactions. Up to this day ( 7 mo out) I stay away from rice, pasta and most bread. I dont eat fried food anymore. I stay away from junk food/fast foods. I did try a bake potato from Wendys the other day and it settled well. I follow my Surgeons advise so I dont drink coffee, tea, alcohol and I dont smoke. I dont drink sodas or anything with gas in it. I dont use a straw. I dont drink while I eat. I dont take Ibuprofen or Naproxen anymore. I am following his directions to take care of my new stomach. So far, it is working well. Good luck with yours and let me know if you have any questions I can answer. You will be on this side of the journey before you know it.

I know I should be proud of what I accomplished, but I'm SO tired of all of the comments!! I'm not a fan of being the center of attention. I even had one of our facilities guys comment today (his daughter is one of my employees)... Though, he also asked if me losing weight was a good thing. First person to take that angle. I'm down about 78 lbs, so it's definitely noticeable (to everyone else). I'm also now less than 20 lbs from my surgeon's goal. We have a company party on Friday and there are a large number of people who work in a different building and they probably haven't seen me since about 50-60 lbs ago... I'm sure there will be LOTS of comments... And there will be alcohol involved, so I'm sure they'll be more free flowing. I kind of wish people would just ignore it....

Hi all So here we go About to start my 2 week optifast diet (I think is a bit silly as it's quite high in carbs) my Nut are all about the money and the up sell....but I think the 'detox' from carbs and eating bit meals will be helpful post op. Plus stopping drinking! I am actually looking forward to the 'detox' I have one night in the middle which is a good friends 40th...I do plan on eating dinner that day (not just shakes) but I am going to eat low carb and minimise alcohol...then back on the shakes for the week before surgery....I am worried it will be hard but am trying to convince myself it may be the last 'diet' I have to go on and focus on good food choices post op My BMI is 32 but I have prediebetes As most people are fairly judgmental at my lower BMI I have told everyone I am having my hiatus hernia repaired...a half truth that also explains the pre and post op diets I can not WAIT to loose some weight and am actually looking forward to 2 nights in hospital without the kids in my bed! Would love to hear from some recently sleeves people about recovery? As I am pretty nervous about that!

My surgeon asks that you not consume alcohol for the first year. I think some of it is that it is high in calories/sugar, and metabolizes differently with a smaller stomach. Also, there is research that is showing an increase in alcohol dependence after gastric surgery (cross addiction and liquids go through really easy :-). Not to say this would happen to you but something to certainly be aware of. I am actually an alcohol and drug counselor and have seen a number of clients recently who never had a problem with alcohol pre- surgery and now find themselves having problems. I know for me, genetics and now sleeved I'm not sure I want to take the chance anymore. So if you decide to have a glass....have one for me :-)

I was recommended to wait until 6 months to drink alcohol so idk every surgeon is different but be cautious as alcohol causes ulcer in plp with a regular stomach let alone us with our tiny pouches

To find out how to compare products to better understand added sugars, click on Natural vs. Added Sugars. Use the chart on the second page as a guide to compare products.The chart compares applesauce and Greek style yogurt. You will see the products with only naturally occurring sugars, products with added sugars and “light” versions of the product. You will also see that the product with the most amount of sugar has the most calories.The front part of the food label usually doesn’t have any clues that the product can have a lot of added sugars. You must be a detective and investigate the Nutrition Facts Label and the ingredients list. Start your sugar hunt by using foods and beverages in your pantry or fridge to discover where added sugars are lurking in your food choices. Like any hunting expedition, it will take some time and practice to find the healthiest products to use on your journey towards health. Sugar Comparison Chart We are born with a preference for sweet tastes. However, sugar carries calories without any fiber, vitamins or minerals. Sugar is basically empty calories. For bariatric patients, too much sugar can lead to dumping. Natural Sugars vs Added Sugars Naturally occurring sugars are in fruits (fructose) and milk and dairy (lactose). The current Nutrition Facts label doesn’t tell us the difference. A teaspoon of sugar = 4 grams of sugar. If you drink a 12 oz. can of regular pop or 12 ounces regular fruit juice, that means you’ve consumed 40 grams of sugar. This translates to 10 teaspoons of sugar. That’s almost 1/4 cup of sugar! Other names for sugar When you read the ingredient list, look for words like syrup (corn, high fructose, maple, pancake, maltose), corn syrup solids, agave, molasses, beet sugar, brown sugar, turbinado sugar, invert sugar, cane juice, fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate, nectar (peach, apricot, pear), powdered or confectioner’s sugar, raw sugar, maple sugar, date sugar, malted barley, honey and anything ending in “–ose” (maltose, dextrose, glucose, fructose). These are all types of sugar. When you see these words in the ingredient list, look for foods that have sugar listed after the 3rd or 4th ingredient. When you see several sugar ingredients, look at the total amount sugar. Decide if it’s worth it to eat that food. Sugar alcohols These have less impact on your blood sugars. They are more slowly digested than sugar. Sugar alcohols have anywhere from 2 to 4 calories per gram. If your weight loss stalls, check to see if your “sugar free” foods have high amounts of sugar alcohols. You may be getting more calories than you think. Caution…eating too many sugar alcohols can laxative effect! Alternative Sweeteners Artificial sweeteners include Splenda (sucralose), Sweet ‘N Low (saccharin), NutraSweet (aspartame), Sweet One (acesulfame potassium) and Neotame. Stevia is extracted from the stevia plant and is considered a natural sweetener. Monkfruit is extracted from the monkfruit and is considered a natural sweetener. Natural vs. Added Sugars: Comparison Chart How do I find the amount of added sugars in a food? One way to find out what the added sugars are is to compare similar products. Comparisons of applesauce and Greek yogurt are detailed below. The order of appearance is the unsweetened, sweetened and light or low sugar version. Use this chart to compare other products you might choose. Remember that natural sugars are in milk/dairy and fruit. Is all that sugar worth it?

Sugar Blues Part 1 highlighted the poor health consequences that can result from consuming too much sugar. A list of words that also mean “sugar” was provided. Remember that naturally occurring sugars are in fruit and milk/dairy foods. When you read the Nutrition Facts Label, the sugars will be listed under the carbohydrates. To find out how to compare products to better understand added sugars, click on Natural vs. Added Sugars. Use the chart on the second page as a guide to compare products.The chart compares applesauce and Greek style yogurt. You will see the products with only naturally occurring sugars, products with added sugars and “light” versions of the product. You will also see that the product with the most amount of sugar has the most calories.The front part of the food label usually doesn’t have any clues that the product can have a lot of added sugars. You must be a detective and investigate the Nutrition Facts Label and the ingredients list. Start your sugar hunt by using foods and beverages in your pantry or fridge to discover where added sugars are lurking in your food choices. Like any hunting expedition, it will take some time and practice to find the healthiest products to use on your journey towards health. Sugar Comparison Chart We are born with a preference for sweet tastes. However, sugar carries calories without any fiber, vitamins or minerals. Sugar is basically empty calories. For bariatric patients, too much sugar can lead to dumping. Natural Sugars vs Added Sugars Naturally occurring sugars are in fruits (fructose) and milk and dairy (lactose). The current Nutrition Facts label doesn’t tell us the difference. A teaspoon of sugar = 4 grams of sugar. If you drink a 12 oz. can of regular pop or 12 ounces regular fruit juice, that means you’ve consumed 40 grams of sugar. This translates to 10 teaspoons of sugar. That’s almost 1/4 cup of sugar! Other names for sugar When you read the ingredient list, look for words like syrup (corn, high fructose, maple, pancake, maltose), corn syrup solids, agave, molasses, beet sugar, brown sugar, turbinado sugar, invert sugar, cane juice, fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate, nectar (peach, apricot, pear), powdered or confectioner’s sugar, raw sugar, maple sugar, date sugar, malted barley, honey and anything ending in “–ose” (maltose, dextrose, glucose, fructose). These are all types of sugar. When you see these words in the ingredient list, look for foods that have sugar listed after the 3rd or 4th ingredient. When you see several sugar ingredients, look at the total amount sugar. Decide if it’s worth it to eat that food. Sugar alcohols These have less impact on your blood sugars. They are more slowly digested than sugar. Sugar alcohols have anywhere from 2 to 4 calories per gram. If your weight loss stalls, check to see if your “sugar free” foods have high amounts of sugar alcohols. You may be getting more calories than you think. Caution…eating too many sugar alcohols can laxative effect! Alternative Sweeteners Artificial sweeteners include Splenda (sucralose), Sweet ‘N Low (saccharin), NutraSweet (aspartame), Sweet One (acesulfame potassium) and Neotame. Stevia is extracted from the stevia plant and is considered a natural sweetener. Monkfruit is extracted from the monkfruit and is considered a natural sweetener. Natural vs. Added Sugars: Comparison Chart How do I find the amount of added sugars in a food? One way to find out what the added sugars are is to compare similar products. Comparisons of applesauce and Greek yogurt are detailed below. The order of appearance is the unsweetened, sweetened and light or low sugar version. Use this chart to compare other products you might choose. Remember that natural sugars are in milk/dairy and fruit. Is all that sugar worth it?

Keep in mind, “sugar free” doesn’t mean “carbohydrate free”. If the label says “sugar free,” that means that the product has less than ½ gram of sugar per serving. The product can still be high in carbohydrates. Sugar alcohols are often used as a sweetener because they don’t usually raise blood sugars. However, sugar alcohols can have 1.5 to 3 calories per gram. Evaluate you habits before adding in treat foods. Is your overall nutrition in the healthy range? Are you disciplined with your eating and supplements? Are you getting regular exercise? An occasional small treat might be reasonable based on evaluating your overall eating and exercise habits. Consider working with your bariatric program’s dietitian to see how these foods might be worked into your food plan.

<<I was trying to give everyone a full picture of what I'm going through, in my eyes/mind. My struggle is solely that its getting harder and harder for me to support this and be supportive to him, when he is quickly becoming cold and callous towards me. Like I said, this is not solely about his WLS as some started when he moved in and that I will deal with 1:1 with a therapist. I'm simply here to TRY to further understand what I can do, if anything, and how to do it.>> I think everyone here has given you a lot of good advice and you don't seem to want the answers. 1) this is HIS journey and you have no business trying to advise him what to do or what to eat. If he asks your advice on something, you can offer your opinion; otherwise, stay out of it. 2) Your weight loss and his have nothing to do with each other, except that you both possibly eat for emotional reasons and since you are not getting the emotional support from each other that you want, you may use food to blunt those feelings. You both probably need to be seeing a therapist to deal with that, alone. 3) Neither of you seem to be getting your emotional needs met; why would you want to marry and make this permanent? You do seem to want to control things. I'm not criticizing you; I have been through this for the last 24 years of a bad marriage. I ignored all the problems in my rush to get married. Now I'm getting divorced but it took gaining 100 lbs and 2 years of my own therapy to get to this point. I have many things from my childhood that impacted my relationships with others and I did not realize for a long time that I had subconsciously chosen a clone of my cold, distant alcoholic father. yeah, psychobabble but it's true. I tried to control so many things in my life b/c I could not control whether my husband (or my father before that) loved me. Food was my control item and also my anesthesia to numb those feelings. I think couples therapy is great, but only after both of you work on yourselves alone. My husband and I did some therapy together and it was great at first but it was a bandaid. As soon as we delved below the surface, he bailed and wouldn't work on anything serious. Now is the time to love yourself, before loving anyone else. Have him move out and get his own finances in order and his weight loss, work on yourself and then see if there is anything there besides food holding you together.

Yes absolutely they do I think people feel that food isn't really an addiction and there's always the why don't u just stop comments but once upon a time drugs and alcohol were viewed the same way that ppl could just stop if only they tried or tried harder etc etc if only it were that simple we would have no use for rehab clinics 12 step programs weight loss programs diet pills etc etc I don't think anyone can understand unless they live it's much the same with those of us that don't have drug or alcohol issues if u don't struggle with it it's hard to understand what it feels like plus it's so acceptable to shame ppl who are overwieght it's a thing that shows on the outside so the judgemental ppl can point and talk about others

My surgeon told me to stay away from "diet foods." No low fat or fat free. If I am to eat salad, he said to use regular dressing. His reasoning for this is that most low fat and fat free foods replace the fat with sugars or sugar alcohols and we are supposed to stay away from sugar. Makes sense to me.

One of the outcomes of RNY surgery is that some patients experience hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) after surgery. This even affects individual who are not diabetic prior to the operation. I was diabetic prior to the operation and it went into remission by the time I left the hospital. I avoid sugar and several other sweeteners. But I have a sweet tooth and use a variety of other sweeteners. The sugar in milk and fruits are natural sugars that do not affect my blood sugar levels. There are many different types of sugars. Some are bad and some are O.K. Because I underwent training in preparation for my Weight Loss Surgery, I have a better understanding of the difference. So if you are diabetic, it is important to know the difference. The sugars to avoid are: sucrose (table sugar), fructose (honey), Dextrose (glucose), Maltose (malt sugar), Xylose, Corn Syrup, Corn Solids, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), Cane juice, Molasses, Caramel, Corn Sweeteners, Evaporated Cane, Brown Sugar, Barley Malt, and Beet Sugar. I think a few more types of sugar also fall in this category but I don't know for sure. These are Agave, Pure Maple Sugar and Date Sugar. Sugar is integrated into so much of our food today, its hard to know what is an acceptable level. Generally if one of these sugars are listed in the first five ingredients on the food label of a product it should be avoided. Take for example Campbell's Tomato Soup - It contains 12 grams of sugar and the second ingredient on the food label is High Fructose Corn Syrup. So even innocent items can become a problem. I try to limit my intake to no more than 2 grams sugar for a product. So generally I don't eat Campbell's tomato soup anymore but I do use it when I make chili because it is cut to a minor portion. On the other side is sweeteners that a diabetic can probably consume safely. They include artificial sweeteners and some natural sweeteners. Generally the artificial sweeteners have zero calories, so they are easy to spot. These sweeteners include Acesulfame Potassium (Sunett and Sweet One), Aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet), Neotame, Rebiana (Truvia, Pure Via), Saccharin (Sweet N' Low), Sucralose (Splenda) and then natural sweeteners such as Stevia, Monk Fruit, whey Low, Coconut Sugar and Sugar Alcohol (Sorbitol, Xylitol, Mannitol, Erythritol). Many of these acceptable sweeteners are beginning to show up in more and more products in the grocery counter. In many cases if the product is listed as No Sugar Added it might be acceptable. But you need to analyze the food labeling. For example Nesquick makes a No Sugar Added Cocoa. It uses Sucralose (Splenda) as a sweetener. No sugar added ice creams are starting to show up in the store. Some brands of ice cream are using Aspartame (Nutrasweet) and Glycerine (sugar alcohol) as sweeteners. Another product it candy. Adkins makes a variety of candies that use sugar alcohol as their sweeteners. There are two other types of natural sugars that are O.K. These are the natural sugars found in fruits and milks. But some products are deceptive. You may have to read the food ingredient label because for example some fruit juice adds sugar to the juice and the product is primarily sugar.