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I was clueless before surgery. That's why my weight and health were crappy.It's eye opening to go through this process and learn how to fuel your body correctly. Nutrition is key to health. If people ask I will discuss weight loss. Many people don't want weight loss advice from a bariatric patient. The main reason is they don't think anything we say applies to them. Their mind is set that our weight loss is only successful due to surgery. Most want a quick fix. They don't want to know it takes work.

Here's what my surgeon required, beyond what my insurance required (which was only 6 months of nutrition classes): 3 surgeon appts, extensive lab tests, psych eval, stress test & echo, sleep study x 2, xray/sonogram/bariumCTscan (all in one day), endoscopy, pre-surg PCP exam. Bariatric Optimization Program with PT (BOP) -- optional, before and after surgery.

You are getting off easy -- I have 6 months nutrition classes, 3 surgeon appts, lab tests, psych, stress test & echo, sleep study x 2, xray/sonogram/bariumCTscan (all in one day), endoscopy, pre-surg PCP exam. I feel like I am forgetting something... I remember! Bariatric Optimization Program with PT (BOP) -- optional, before and after surgery.

Does anyone read these? Because I feel like this is more of a diary than anything else. Which is okay. It helps me have a place to pour things out and organize my thoughts. Today I went and got my Upper GI with double contrast. First time I've had that test, and hopefully, the last. Actually, it wasn't THAT bad. But barium isn't exactly pleasant stuff to drink. But the results were good - everything was fine. That's my LAST test for pre-qualifying. I have to meet with my primary care doc for surgical clearance, and then my bariatric surgeon can turn everything over to the insurance company for review/approval. Today brought a new wave of feelings as I sat in the little waiting room with my gown on for 40 minutes, alone. All this time since I've had my conversation with my bariatric surgeon the very first time, this surgery has been more of a fantasy. I've had eight surgeries of various types so far between the ages of 21 and 46, and I know that I handle them well. I'm less afraid of surgery than anyone I know, and unafraid to take risks to make huge, quality of life decisions for myself. I'm proud of that. That doesn't mean, however, that I'm just hunkey-dorey about surgeries - they still scare me a tad bit - mostly for the pain associated with them. When I think of the downside of having a surgery done, it always starts with thinking about the morning of surgery, and checking in to get prepped for surgery. GOD I HATE that. I hate the millions of questions, the constant verifying that yes, I am who I say I am, the cold room, the stupid garb, my husband looking kind of scared and yet bored, and most of all, GETTING THE IV PUT IN. GOD I hate that part! Like,.... I think I hate the IV placement worse than surgery. I also hate the dry, dry mouth that comes after I wake up. Usually they're encouraging me to drink, drink, drink. Not sure that this time will be the same. This time though, it's a bit different. You see, all the other surgeries I've had were also elective. And like this one, they gave the promise of a better life. Some were little - clean-up of my knee, a bladder sling, and a tubal sterilization procedure. I say little because there wasn't THAT much pain associated with it. Two of those practically felt like I never had anything done. A few others were really large surgeries - a knee reconstruction, a complete knee replacement, and a tummy tuck/breast reduction. The knees HAD to be done - I couldn't walk anymore. So I wasn't worried about making a decision that I'd regret in any way. The tummy tuck / breast reduction was long anticipated, and I trusted my surgeon exquisitely - I wasn't worried that the job would be botched. I did have large complications from that which made healing much more challenging, but I got over it. THIS surgery though - this surgery is different than all of those. Those made me look better, function better, be in less pain. This can also do all those things. But this is the only one that requires me to make a lifestyle commitment. And I am trying to get my head around that. I mean, if I'm just fine with committing to a low carb, low fat, high protein diet with portion control, I don't need a surgery to do that, right? So,... what's going to change just because I can't put much in my stomach? I know the portion control will pretty much handle itself. So that's good. But craving the foods won't change ONE.BIT, with this surgery. So, what, exactly, am I committing to? I think it's a fresh start. It's a forced way of staying committed. It's almost like saying, "I swear I'm so committed to not using my right arm that you may as well cut it off - because I don't plan on ever using it again. It being gone will only help me stay committed to that." I have made no lifestyle changes this entire time that I've jumped through all the pre-surgery hurdles. Not.One.Iota. Because I feel like I'm holding onto the right to eat the way I want right now - because that'll be gone soon. That thought both scares and excites me. Excites me because I don't want this big body as my shell anymore. But scares me because I already know I'm no good at eating the way I should in order to lose weight. So this isn't a magic bullet - I'm still going to WANT to eat the way I do now. But I won't have the luxury of ever doing so again. Maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way. I'm sure tomorrow will bring new realizations.

If you type "obesity" and "malnutrition" into a search engine, it will return over a million results. The first few articles that show up are pretty much saying, hey! Obese people are actually malnourished! Who would have thought?! Then you read the articles, and they start blaming the modern agricultural methods and processed foods, soda pop and high fructose corn syrup. They could be right. But I'm interested in following this in a different direction.. or perhaps just further along the same lines. So, we'll take a person (we'll call her Cindy) that is eating the typical flour and shortening diet. She is gonna be short on vitamin C. (And D, and chromium, and iron.. etc. etc but we'll pick on C). So, now the body says, HEY, we're missing something, yo!! But, it can only say it with a nagging hunger that sends Cindy searching through her cupboards. Her eye lands on some ice cream (in the cupboard.. I know, right?).. and she digs it out and starts eating. But since there isn't vit. C in the ice cream, a couple spoonfuls doesn't quell her hunger, so she eats until she's ready to pop. Now she puts on some weight. 5'1 Cindy, who should weigh maybe 120lbs, now weighs 140. With the increase in weight, her body now has to work harder just to exist (the muscles have to carry the extra load, etc), so she needs MORE nutrients.. more vitamin C, and calcium, calories, etc. etc. But, does Cindy increase her consumption? No, of course not! She sees her pants don't fit, the scale has the wrong number, and so what does she do? She goes on a diet! Slashes her calories. But if she just eats less of the same nutrient-poor food that caused her to gain weight in the first place, then she's eating fewer nutrients too! (Imagine she was eating a big plate of spaghetti that had 2 cups of tomato sauce on it, and changes to a small plate of spaghetti with 1/2 cup sauce. The majority of the vitamins in that spaghetti are in the sauce, and now she is eating 25% of the vit C. that she had been). The pounds drop off, but so does her basic nutrition level. Eventually her body rebels and she can't keep to her diet anymore. She starts eating again, and her body is screaming for nutrients, but keeps getting fed junk, so the pounds just pile on. Now she's heavier than she was before! People that are carrying too much weight need to be FED, not starved. But WHAT they are fed MUST CHANGE! We have all the energy we need (and more).. but it's the missing nutrients that we must find and replenish. Bariatric surgery works because we are able to decrease our calories. The postop diet is designed to keep our protein levels up, and we are to take vitamins to replace those we don't get from our food. But not every vitamin comes in pill form, and not every nutrient has a blood test. We HAVE to continue working to improve our food choices so that we can fill all those needs. I have people at home that are trying to lose weight, and I'm watching my MIL grab about 1oz of pork loin to eat for dinner (with some corn). I'm like, what the *expletive* do you think you are doing? She's sooo.... clueless... when it comes to nutrition. But she won't let me formulate a plan for her.

Thank you for noticing this. (Kinda the reason I posted the video). He eats, oh.. I don't know.. 20 times the amount that we bariatric folk can. Of course he can meet his nutritional needs! (Should still take a B-12 supplement though).

As soon as me and my doctor started discussing the possibility of having bariatric surgery I knew my family would be dead set against it! Although I knew they wouldn’t agree I also knew it would be impossible to keep it from my husband. So, I told him and my best friend. I explained to them why I didn’t want to tell my parents, sisters and kids and swore them to secrecy. Now, I’m am two weeks away from surgery so the idea of telling the rest of my family has become a huge burden. But I’m okay. Some may see it as a cowards way out, but last weekend i took the time to write each of them a letter; I wrote one to my parents, my sisters then my children, which I forwarded to my best friend and on the day of surgery as I’m going into the OR she will send them out. Imagine your family is filled with some very strong willed and opinionated folks like mine LOL! I can understand why you wouldn’t want to share with them but I think you should find at least one person I found a lot of support from a coworker (she’s even doing the liquid diet with me, she’s the best) - u need that someone in your corner because this process is very stressful and having someone there alongside you will be very beneficial.

That would make me pretty angry. I would feel so betrayed. I have decided to go the other route and tell everyone. One reason is that there is way too much stigma and misinformation surrounding it and I don't mind educating people. Also, I know a lady here who had it and didn't tell anyone. She lost weight and people gossiped. They never thought about bariatric surgery, they all assumed she had cancer. What did they do? Well, out of the goodness of their hearts, thinking that she was just being brave and not telling anyone, they started a gofundme and she finally told them the truth when it hit over $3000 and they presented it to her in the office. So yeah, I'd rather correct the derpy folks who think this is the easy way out etc. than have people think I'm dying. Totally get that you want to be private. Hubby should have respected that.

Sure thing! That's the stage I'm most worried about too, so I'll definitely be taking my own advice lol I'm thinking I'll also try some recipes I've found on various bariatric sites for the pureed/blended stage. I"ll attach a file with the ones I've found so far (also include some protein pudding recipes that I want to try) Blended_Pureed Recipes.pdf

I am in the same boat you guys! I had my band removed 7/16 and sleeve at the same time. Things have been not so great since and I’m having painful GERD since my sleeving. I had Cigna and all was approved for revision, but my husband got a new job and we now have BCBSLA and bariatric surgery is not covered under his new employer 😔. I’m working with my Dr to file an appeal and pray it is accepted!

What do we do when we fall from grace? The research on relapse (with any addiction; food, drugs, alcohol) is that recidivism is the rule not the exception. So why do we get so down on ourselves when we fall short of our goals? Why is it so hard to get back on the horse with the same vigor we had when we started? And how do we give ourselves a renewed sense of hope and motivation for change once we've fallen? “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” - Socrates Everyone does well out of the gates. We all impress ourselves when we start, what we believe to be, a new lifestyle change. However, "out of the gates," can mean different things for different people; for some it is two months, for others (usually depending on how strong the addiction or habit is) it can be two minutes. But what do we do when we fall from grace? The research on relapse (with any addiction; food, drugs, alcohol) is that recidivism is the rule not the exception. So why do we get so down on ourselves when we fall short of our goals? Why is it so hard to get back on the horse with the same vigor we had when we started? And how do we give ourselves a renewed sense of hope and motivation for change once we've fallen? One magical ingredient in the secret sauce (and one of many concepts I talk about in my book and my wls courses) that is lifestyle change is the novelty effect. The new plan to quit something or change a bad habit is something unlike we have ever done before, so we hope that we can achieve something we have never done before. The problem is that the moment we slip, that novelty loses its magic - and each time we start over, it loses its power to give us hope. So the solution is to cultivate more novelty. Our ability to continually grow and change is largely limited by our creativity. The more creative we become, the easier it is to take a different approach to change. To open a window when life seems to shut the door. In other words- what I am telling you, is that the only secret to long term weight loss maintenance is the knowledge that there isn't only one secret. There is no ONE diet that will forever change someone. Eventually people get tired of eating bacon and eggs every meal on Atkins, or grapefruit, or cabbage soup- but the thread they all share is their novelty. This is why all of them can work initially. Even as powerful as weight loss surgery is- people still find that they start to plateau or even gain the weight back if they aren't simultaneously addressing the behavioral and psychological factors that got them there in the first place. They too, must also continuously be creative about renewing one self throughout their lifetime. So the following is for all of you who are struggling today. Those that feel they have lost their way and perhaps feel disenchanted or disappointed. Below is a recovery "map" I created a long time ago for my clients, some struggling with substance abuse, others with food. It all works the same. Print it out, or copy and paste it in the notes section of your phone and take 20 minutes to fill it out with the things that are personally meaningful for you. This is not THE answer to long term recovery from addiction, but it is a fresh approach for many who feel stale at the moment: Baptism - Some ceremony to signal a renewed sense of hope and a fresh start. One client trying to recover from substance abuse, buried all of his wine and liquor bottles in his yard. Another client had a "garbage party" with her kiddos, and they loved smashing all the processed foods they had in their pantry and throwing them in the trash. Associations/triggers list all of the things that get you into trouble (being at a bbq, wanting to celebrate something, holidays, 7-10pm at night, date night, etc) Coping Skills (what gets you through the crave waves) These are the behaviors that you do INSTEAD of the addictive behavior. Extra credit if you are able to make a coping skill for each trigger listed above. Higher Desires/Vision of Self when you let go of your attachment to food and all the self loathing, mental, and physical heaviness it brings- what are you freeing your life up for? will you write a book? will you do more outdoor activities with your kids? do you want to resume an activity you once loved as a child? Is there a role model that inspires you that has done what you want to do? Cons Why are you doing this in the first place? These are the things that are hard to keep in mind when our reptilian mid brain (see last article) is at the wheel. What is personally meaningful? Does it age you? Does it make you feel out of control? Do you dread going on airplanes because you know you'll need an extender? does it prevent you from going to amusement parks with your kiddos? Spirituality (religion gets us into heaven, spirituality gets us out of hell) All addiction is what disconnects us from our deeper self and edges us further and further away from God (or whatever you like to call it) and our deeper spirituality. Spirituality is what allows us to move into the unknown, be comfortable with discomfort, and have faith that everything will be ok. It can include a gratitude practice, volunteering, play, aligning one self with nature, connecting with a spiritual e newsletter (mind body green, daily om, etc), generosity, etc. Daily Recovery Ritual (symbolic gesture to self every day that we are consciously devoting time to our recovery) What are the things you can do daily to symbolize to yourself that today is a new day? Keep it realistic or you won't do it. Vitamins, meditation, lemon water, supplements, self care, reaching out to a loved one, exercise, etc. Reward System What will you do for yourself if there is a certain period of time reached where you meet your goals? Will you get a massage at the end of every month? Will you plan a vacation after three months of solid goal hitting? Will you reward yourself with one day per week of going to the movies in the middle of the day and playing hooky if you're on the straight and narrow for five days? Strategy This is your "what." What are you doing daily to ensure that you are in alignment with your goals? Are you reading something fresh all the time? Do you make a timeline of your addiction and how it has affected your life? Do you go to local support meetings each week? Do you keep in touch with an online community? Do you make sure to give yourself small breaks while with the kids every day? Do you have a self care space set up in your house? Do you talk to a partner about how to change behaviors of theirs that might be hindering your efforts? can they get a mini fridge? Do you do acupuncture to balance your chi? Do you do yoga to manage your depression? Do you find a therapist? Recovery Resources (try to hit one each morning) what resources are in your pocket when you are feeling weak? bariatricpal.com? WLS journeys on Instagram? The Fix, Reddit, unique blogs documenting their weight loss journey, wls and vsg searches on Pinterest, etc. Good luck on your fresh start!

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” - Socrates Everyone does well out of the gates. We all impress ourselves when we start, what we believe to be, a new lifestyle change. However, "out of the gates," can mean different things for different people; for some it is two months, for others (usually depending on how strong the addiction or habit is) it can be two minutes. But what do we do when we fall from grace? The research on relapse (with any addiction; food, drugs, alcohol) is that recidivism is the rule not the exception. So why do we get so down on ourselves when we fall short of our goals? Why is it so hard to get back on the horse with the same vigor we had when we started? And how do we give ourselves a renewed sense of hope and motivation for change once we've fallen? One magical ingredient in the secret sauce (and one of many concepts I talk about in my book and my wls courses) that is lifestyle change is the novelty effect. The new plan to quit something or change a bad habit is something unlike we have ever done before, so we hope that we can achieve something we have never done before. The problem is that the moment we slip, that novelty loses its magic - and each time we start over, it loses its power to give us hope. So the solution is to cultivate more novelty. Our ability to continually grow and change is largely limited by our creativity. The more creative we become, the easier it is to take a different approach to change. To open a window when life seems to shut the door. In other words- what I am telling you, is that the only secret to long term weight loss maintenance is the knowledge that there isn't only one secret. There is no ONE diet that will forever change someone. Eventually people get tired of eating bacon and eggs every meal on Atkins, or grapefruit, or cabbage soup- but the thread they all share is their novelty. This is why all of them can work initially. Even as powerful as weight loss surgery is- people still find that they start to plateau or even gain the weight back if they aren't simultaneously addressing the behavioral and psychological factors that got them there in the first place. They too, must also continuously be creative about renewing one self throughout their lifetime. So the following is for all of you who are struggling today. Those that feel they have lost their way and perhaps feel disenchanted or disappointed. Below is a recovery "map" I created a long time ago for my clients, some struggling with substance abuse, others with food. It all works the same. Print it out, or copy and paste it in the notes section of your phone and take 20 minutes to fill it out with the things that are personally meaningful for you. This is not THE answer to long term recovery from addiction, but it is a fresh approach for many who feel stale at the moment: Baptism - Some ceremony to signal a renewed sense of hope and a fresh start. One client trying to recover from substance abuse, buried all of his wine and liquor bottles in his yard. Another client had a "garbage party" with her kiddos, and they loved smashing all the processed foods they had in their pantry and throwing them in the trash. Associations/triggers list all of the things that get you into trouble (being at a bbq, wanting to celebrate something, holidays, 7-10pm at night, date night, etc) Coping Skills (what gets you through the crave waves) These are the behaviors that you do INSTEAD of the addictive behavior. Extra credit if you are able to make a coping skill for each trigger listed above. Higher Desires/Vision of Self when you let go of your attachment to food and all the self loathing, mental, and physical heaviness it brings- what are you freeing your life up for? will you write a book? will you do more outdoor activities with your kids? do you want to resume an activity you once loved as a child? Is there a role model that inspires you that has done what you want to do? Cons Why are you doing this in the first place? These are the things that are hard to keep in mind when our reptilian mid brain (see last article) is at the wheel. What is personally meaningful? Does it age you? Does it make you feel out of control? Do you dread going on airplanes because you know you'll need an extender? does it prevent you from going to amusement parks with your kiddos? Spirituality (religion gets us into heaven, spirituality gets us out of hell) All addiction is what disconnects us from our deeper self and edges us further and further away from God (or whatever you like to call it) and our deeper spirituality. Spirituality is what allows us to move into the unknown, be comfortable with discomfort, and have faith that everything will be ok. It can include a gratitude practice, volunteering, play, aligning one self with nature, connecting with a spiritual e newsletter (mind body green, daily om, etc), generosity, etc. Daily Recovery Ritual (symbolic gesture to self every day that we are consciously devoting time to our recovery) What are the things you can do daily to symbolize to yourself that today is a new day? Keep it realistic or you won't do it. Vitamins, meditation, lemon water, supplements, self care, reaching out to a loved one, exercise, etc. Reward System What will you do for yourself if there is a certain period of time reached where you meet your goals? Will you get a massage at the end of every month? Will you plan a vacation after three months of solid goal hitting? Will you reward yourself with one day per week of going to the movies in the middle of the day and playing hooky if you're on the straight and narrow for five days? Strategy This is your "what." What are you doing daily to ensure that you are in alignment with your goals? Are you reading something fresh all the time? Do you make a timeline of your addiction and how it has affected your life? Do you go to local support meetings each week? Do you keep in touch with an online community? Do you make sure to give yourself small breaks while with the kids every day? Do you have a self care space set up in your house? Do you talk to a partner about how to change behaviors of theirs that might be hindering your efforts? can they get a mini fridge? Do you do acupuncture to balance your chi? Do you do yoga to manage your depression? Do you find a therapist? Recovery Resources (try to hit one each morning) what resources are in your pocket when you are feeling weak? bariatricpal.com? WLS journeys on Instagram? The Fix, Reddit, unique blogs documenting their weight loss journey, wls and vsg searches on Pinterest, etc. Good luck on your fresh start!

So after talking to my therapist, doctors office and insurance company the first thing is my therapist that did my evaluation is going to do a peer to peer and explain how he miscommunicated information. Tomorrow I am scheduling a new psych evaluation with a non biased doc that specializes in bariatric psych evaluations and my docs office will use it to appeal. My therapist just did terrible. He was very apologetic today and ever and told me he was so sorry for the miscommunication. So I am sensing no him an email in the morning so he can fix this. I only get 2 appeals so the peer to peer doesn't count as one. I was trying to get everything done quickly to get it submitted to insurance and my gut told me to just go to the psychologist my doctors office recommended. When will I start listening to my gut!!! Uughh Best wishes! Dotty Cole

I feel like an advertisement with as often as I mention this but....have you checked into Tespo? There is a link on the home page. I love mine. It's like a Keurig for Vitamins. It's a little machine that you put a pod pack in (they come in bariatrics for women and men plus others - one for sleep is nice). You push a little button and it dispenses a small amount of water - like an ounce - into a cup after popping one of the pod capsules and then goes about mixing the two together for you. I'm not a fan of vitamins either. They make me feel yucky BUT this works for me. The vitamins taste kind of like old school Tang and it's only an ounce. I also take them at night on my way to bed - that helps a lot also.

Can your Bariatric center advise? Have you asked the insurance if you can resubmit with a new eval? Good luck

So Glad you posted I used yourself and many others on so many occasions pre sleeve and after I had my sleeve for advice. Then I went back and read as much as possible about your plastics. I had plastics about 14 months ago but researched for a year prior to that. I also went overseas to have it done but went to Bangkok. Yourself and many others are surely missed. Your right we do get on with our lives but sometimes maintenance can be a b***h and unfortunately we are now in a position where there are only a small handful of people to get meaningful advice from. It’s a shame because by the time I went to see my Bariatric team pre-sleeve I was so so prepared because of everything that I had read and learned from here. I really hope I can find somewhere that will offer the same this far out in maintenance.

They exist. Go to the search bar at the top-right of this page and type in recipe(s) and you'll get heaps of choices. I have a pic of it for you. 16000+ threads on BARIATRIC PAL. Do a bit of weeding and sifting and you're bound to be pleased.

Hi, my surgeon & nutritionist recommended Bariatric Advantage products, Multi EA Chewable, Calcium Citrate Chew 500s & Biotin, each 2x's daily. The cost is $71/mo w shipping & tax. I'm on a fixed income disability & these aren't covered by Medicare/Medicaid. Any suggestions? I appreciate you input. I'm 5 mos post-VGS & have lost almost 75 lbs. Thank you. MT

I'm confused & need help/advice. My questions are about vitamins: my surgeon & nutritionist recommended Bariatric Advantage Multi EA Chewables & Calcium Citrate Chewy Bites 500s, each 2x's daily. The cost: $71/mo! I'm on a fixed disability income & Medicare/Medicaid doesn't cover them. What does everyone else take? I can't afford the $71/mo, but I understand we need help due to not getting enough nutritional support to meet common standards. My surgery was 05/24/17, down almost 75 lbs. Thanks.

I take the Fusion bariatric vitamins with no problems.

They are called Bariatric Fusion. Sold as an all in one for Bariatric patients....4 pills a day.

I know quite a bit about the different bariatric surgeries - the healing, the side-effects, the challenges, the upside. As is usual, sometimes the things with the most upside also has the biggest side effects. And vice versa - the thing with the least side effect sometimes doesn't have the biggest bang when it comes to results. It's all about what you can handle and what you can't/don't want to. Yesterday I was chatting with an online friend of 20 years. I mentioned that I'm currently clearing hurdles for my Lap-Band surgery. She responded by telling me that this past June, she'd gotten a bypass. That the only Lap-Band surgery anyone in her area will perform is removal of the band. She claims it's from complications - slippage, mostly. And that people just don't experience the same amount of weight loss with the band as they do with the sleeve or the bypass. Well, of course not - it's not as big of a surgery. But the Lap-Band also doesn't tend to have dumping syndrome, or the big struggle with getting enough protein every day. But of course.... no one wants to go through a drastic life change of any sort without some good-sized results. It was my doctor who recommended the Lap-Band. And he's done thousands of bariatric surgeries. He still says that Lap-Band is his preferred surgery of choice for bariatric weigh loss surgery. And for the very reasons as I've mentioned above - less issues with healing, dumping, etc,. other complications. How's it possible that in different parts of the same country, one doctor is recommending it, and others are supposedly only taking them out? I did look up some statistics last night, and found a study where they compared recipients of the Lap-Band vs. the bypass - all completed by the same surgeon. And yes - the people who got the bypass had better results - especially short-term. But it also says that Lap-Band recipients experience fewer complications - especially after the 2-year mark. How do I know I'm listening to the right information???

Thank you all for sharing your experience. The bariatric surgeon and nutritionist had conflicting information on the topic. My baby is 6 month old and has started to eat pureed solids which has reduce his intake of breast milk. I started to supplement with formula just incase breast feeding became an issue afterwards. However, after reading rachelzf post I feel more at ease. My main reason for going down this path is to be an example for my little one. I want him to have a more healthy relationship with food than me. My husband and I make it a point to make all of own baby food from fresh ingredient. Which will be convenient since it looks like we will be eating a lot of the same things after post-op.

@EmmyJ, I’m in the same boat here at 5 months post. I’ve switched to who knows how many vitamins (and losing money too!) because of the nausea factor. Celebrate were the worse for me. Bariatric vitamins are right behind them. Tried liquid, disgusting!!! Currently, I’m trying to not throw away money and use the rest of the Bariatric advantage pills. I take mine right before bed time, so that I’m hopes I’m asleep before the nausea hits. Seems to work this way unless I can’t sleep and it hits. Ugh. Oh, and I take half the dose of now...I don’t do the full one. Seems better this way too.

I would stay away from gummy vitamins, and just take regular vitamins. They just contain too much sugar, and don't have enough vitamins and minerals to make them worth it. I can't stand chewable vitamins either. I had to throw all of mine away as soon as I could swallow regular vitamins (one week out). It felt like I was chewing on two or three Tums a few times per day. There are some good bariatric vitamins out there though. Look for the 100%s. I overlook any vitamin that doesn't have a lot of them.