All my vitamins are in tablet form since day 1 and I'm almost 2 years out.

Bariatric Self Support Group

Meets the 2^nd Tuesday of the month

7 pm to 9 pm.

at CMHA*Community Room

*Canadian Mental Health Association, Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge Branch

415 Water St, Peterborough, Ontario K9H 3R7

Lots of parking in the back.

We'll have coffee, tea and water available.

Please lug-a-mug!

I highly suggest losing 5-10 more lbs to give yourself a buffer for bounceback.

Almost at goal - 1 more pound (although I'm aiming to maintain between 155 - 159, with 160 being the red flag to get back to basics if I get there.

I have my 1 year appointment at hospital next week - I'm happy with my progress, hope the team agrees!

My food for today:

B: 1 hard boiled egg, sugar free source yogurt with a few strawberries added; decaf coffee with Fairlife milk (love this stuff - the protein low cal is so great!)

L: 1 baked chicken thigh with coleslaw mix, 1 sugar free jello pudding

Snack: 1 gala apple; 5 almonds

D: 4 oz crockpot pork tenderloin, with a few sugar snap peas, celery & 1 tbsp. roasted red pepper dip

Snack: Vega Sport Protein with water

Before bed: probably cheese string or babybel with 2 crackers (find I need to eat something just before bed or my sugars drop too much during the night)

Not sure what carbs people eat and stay successful - I've been experimenting and so far find the following working for me:

Carbquick (made amazing raisin scones with Brown Sugar Splena); ww whole wheat bread, Dimpilmeir Power Slice (15 g protein, so great with peanut butter and sugar free jam) Blue Menu Protein pancakes; Hold the Carbs Muffin mix (added blueberries, great!)

Anyone have suggestions?

Thanks, Sunny

I'm not sure in Canada, but in US it is "prescription type nutrition" and can only be sold by a type of prescription.

In my center, many years ago we were given a list of alternative protein shakes we could use instead of optifast. Can you ask the center what substitute they allow?

I had to be on "a pre-op diet" for 4 weeks, and I bought only one week worth of optifast and use substitute for the rest. I spread the optifast over the whole 4 weeks. And since optifast had a lot if natural sugars (as far as I remember) it is not recommended to use it after the surgery. But the other shakes or powder I was allowed to use were low sugar and I used that even after the surgery.

I was honest and told my center that I simply couldn't afford the optifast for 4 weeks. That stuff is expensive. Plus because it had relatively high sugar content - it did not really reduced cravings for sweets. The low sugar substitute shakes (I think muscle milk light) after just few days on it de-carbing reduced my cravings significantly.