I'm addicted....

Just trying to help here, so don't take offense.

But at this early out......THE LAST THING that should be on your mind is how to make brownies SF. You are so vunerable right now. Your main focus should be protein and water. Protein and water. Protein and water!!!!!

I know sooooo many people personally.... who have failed with the surgery because they tested waters early out with certain foods. YOU HAVE to change your mind set. It's hard. I KNOW.

But do yourself a favor and set yourself up with successful thoughts and you will get successful results! I promise!

Oh, no offense taken, and you're absolutely right.  Brownies are the absolute last thing that I should be thinking about.    I certainly don't want to sabotage myself..   I know that I need to be in this for the long haul especially with the band as I will lose slower then all of the other procedures... 

David,

Now is the time to recognize a very key thing:

Sugar free DOES NOT EQUAL "good for you"

Sugar-free items (particularly commercial SF items) can compensate for the lack of sugar with increased fat, lots of refined white carbs, and other additives that add up to lots of empty calories.  Empty calories are something that WLS patients really can't afford.... we need every calorie we take in to "mean" something nutritionally.

We tend to focus longer-term on low fat, high protein, low refined carbs, and free of added sugars. 

Maybe that will help?

Karen

I get what you're saying....  Essentially it's much like a slightly modified version of the Atkins Diet, focusing on high protein, low sugar and low (or no) carbs...   The only difference would be to avoid the high fat items that are okay on the Atkins Diet.

That's a good way to think of it.... South Beach is a lot closer (to me) to what a typical WLS patient eats (just not in quantity).  In fact, I find a lot of cooking ideas from south beach recipes.

Low carbs = low REFINED carbs (or white carbs).  No carbs is not an option - you'll be getting plenty of carbs from vegetables, fruits, etc. and should be looking to whole grains, seeds, etc., for your "starchy" carbs.  Avoiding things like refined/enriched flour, pastas, breads, etc., will help you maximize your longterm weight loss while stabilizing your blood sugar (which is what will control your hunger).

The other thing to reframe is the "diet" thinking - this is most definitely not a diet that we're on.  It's a lifetime change of nutritional habits.  Diets are things that you can break or go off of.  Not so here - failure is not an option  Lifestyle change is permanent and what we're looking at.

K.

Good job on putting the scale away because you can drive yourself loco-crazy by stepping on it constantly. For the first 9 months following my WLS (and the 3 months previous) I only weighed in at the doctor or nutritionists' offices. That way I didn't see the stalls (I know they were there) so I didn't get discouraged and went more by the way my clothing was falling off then the numbers on the scale.

One thing I didn't do early out was take measurements and now I wish I had, so if you haven't taken any measurements do that, too - it can really make you see the difference even when the scale doesn't show it. And pictures - lots and lots of pictures - no matter how self-conscious you are of getting them done, have someone close to you take them - front, back, sideways - you won't be sorry.

You're doing awesome!! Much continued success.

Kathy

I just took some measurements the other day, as a few people that I know had recommended that I do that.  They told me that it's sometimes possible not to lose any weight on the scale because of gaining muscle, but instead of losing weight I'd lose inches instead. 

Even with RNY we don't lose weight EVERY day - its physically impossible. Your body is going to go through a lot of adjustments along the way - for most RNY patients we come out of the hospital having gained weight, but it is water/fluid and goes away quickly. There will be times when you drop a lot, then it'll slow or stall, but then suddenly you'll drop again. Its an ongoing process - just give yourself time and patience, and it will come off.

And yes, muscle weighs more than fat and if you're working out that will definitely happen. Sadly, as fluffy people, we always measured a lot of our self-worth by the stinking scale...

I will admit, in the beginning I too was addicted to the scale.  About a month into my surgery, I started weighing the same for about two weeks.  I was getting very frustrated.  So I too decided, once a week was enough.  I still do it at home but I've put the scale away so I don't see it every day.

Your doing a great job.  Keep it up.

I would rather do it at home, but my scale keeps giving me different results.  I guess I should eventually buy a newer, fancier one that gives more info then just weight..  But I live about 5 mins from my surgeons office, so it won't be that hard getting there once a week to weigh myself.  That way I know that it is accurate.