I really wanted to attend...

I really wanted to attend the class on cooking with Splenda, but will be post op and not yet ready to drive so far. Does anyone have ideas to share? How much sugar is too much? Things have gone really fast for me - first doctor visit on 1/29 and surgery on 3/31 (if BC/BS approves). Thanks for tip on unjury shakes. Ordered a bunch and they arrived today.

Good Morning Vicki! I did not attend a class on cooking with Splenda ... sure wish I had!!! Perhaps someone else out here has and can fill you in. As far as how much sugar is too much ... truly it varies with each person. We had one of our meetings and the gal talked about a girl who was dumping on a stick of gum. I think that this is very unusual, but then on the opposite end ... some can eat all the sugar they want. I try my best to stick to Splenda for my sweetener, I don't really want to know if I don't dump on sugar, as it was my main weakness pre-surgery. I would talk with my nutritionist to see what she thinks would work for you. But from there it is all play it as it goes. It has just been trial and error for me. When adding anything new ... do it slowly! As far as your surgery goes ... wow ... that is fast!!! CONGRATULATIONS GIRL!!! Wishing you the very, very best! Hugs, Tammy

I was wondering about how much sugar because all the applesauce I could find (even unsweetened) had more than 6 grams of sugar. I had final pre-op visit today and asked Brett about it. He said sugar in fruit is not like sugar in all the goodies we love and that most people can tolerate fruit. How bad really is the anti-gall?

Vicki, Brent is right ... our bodies do process these sugars differently ... well at least most of us do ... I really have to watch the bananas. I can't have too much of one of them, but that is a small price to pay ... every other fruit I have tried so far I have been able to tolerate just fine in small quantities ... too chicken to try to over do any of them just yet. But I have been doing strawberries in some of my protein shakes from week two I believe. Again, it is simply trial and error. One thing you could try if you like, I am going to do it for my family is to cut up a bunch of apple and add a bit of water and cook them just like regular applesauce and then add the splenda after I cook the apples ... I am going to do that cause I like fresh applesauce so much better than bottled. Just a though. You can get the Splenda in the large bags at WalMart for just over 6.00. I usually purchase mine that way, cause I have the entire family on sugar free right now. As far as the Actigall goes ... I am the wrong person to ask about that ... I Hated the taste when I put in just about anything. My pharmacist told me to get some sugar free chocolate ... that chocolate covers the taste better than anything else. But I never got around to trying that cause I had a pretty severe allergic reaction to the drug and the docs pulled me off of it. I wish I could have continued it, would much rather do that than take the risk of gallbladder surgery, but there was nothing we could do. Just remember you only have to take it that way for the first month then they allow you to take the pill by swallowing it rather than opening it up and putting it in something. Hugs, Tammy

How quickly have you lost weight? I would really like to have a realistic goal for the first few months. I know everyone is different, but something to shoot for is nice. I did buy a couple of size 14 outfits at great clearance prices. They are my inspiration to be there. It's been a long time since I wore that size. I do work with some generously sized women who are looking forward to getting my wardrobe. I can't tell you how good it feels to have people you don't know support you. You get a mixed reaction from people when they hear about the surgery. Some very positive and some really negative. Should be interesting to see if their attitudes change once they see results. Hugs, Vicki

Wow vickie, that is fast! Congratulations. I have never been to a splenda cooking class but there are some recipies I beleive at Splenda.com. You use it cup for cup like sugar. As far as how much is too much the recommended abotu of sugar by PMRI is 6 grams per serving. That may be the amount of sugar in 1 cookie or a small pc of chocolate - etc. You just need to check the lables. You will find that as Tammy said, everyone is different. The type of sugar may also make a difference too. For examle straight sugar in Iced tea may effect you differntly then the sugar that has been through the baking process in a pc of cake or a cookie. For me I have found the surgery has been my key to control. You know how good fresh baked chocolate chip cookies are? Know how you could eat - like 10? Well I can still have a fresh baked cookie, but I can have 1 or maybe 2 and stop there. It is good for me, because that helps me feel "normal" finally. Some folks never even try something like a cookie after surgery & that works for them (all the better cause they are not nutricious anyway) but I used labels as my guide for sweet stuff - and when I pushed the envelope 1 time & ate 3 pieces of chocolate, I threw it up. So, I know I have a limit. I can "tolerate" sugar, just not alot. Take Care, Kathy V.

Hi Vicki, I didn't go to the Splenda class but I did attend the regular gastric bypass cooking class. It was great and I highly recommend their classes. I'd love to take another one when I can. As far as your dumping question, the cooking class I took, and the PMRI Support group meeting for... I think it was January ( topic was Sugar: How Much Is Too Much ) they gave us a general guideline of 6 grams per serving. I suppose just like anything else we will all have different sensitivity levels to things but 6 is a good base level to start with. Good luck and I hope you are approved soon! I had BCBS Of DE...Maryland POS ( Carefirst ) after some initial confusion about which state was to approve what, I was approved with no problems in about 2 weeks. Linda