Best products from r/wls

My "go to" bar is Thinkthin Brownie Crunch bar. I love the taste and texture but do not buy at Amazon. It is regularly on sale in Kroger stores. Sometimes for $1 but most of the time for $1.50

I have one every morning for breakfast and I don't feel hungry for a long time.

Then I love the One bars. I tried all of them and wrote down my reviews. So why mot share, right. My favorite is the Almond Bliss. The prices at Walmart are very good for those.

Here are the reviews for all the ONE bars:

Maple glazed Doughnut
Very sweet. Tastes like an old fashion doughnut.
Verdict: OK to Meh

***

Cookies and Cream
Not too sweet
Verdict: Good. Enjoyed it.

***

Almond bliss
Verdict: very good. Really enjoyed it.
230 calories though

***

Birthday Cake
Tastes like cheap sheet cake you get in the office
Verdict: sweet, not great. Meh

***

Blueberry Cobbler
Blueberries can be tasted but very sweet.
Verdict: sweet, meh.

***

Chocolate Brownie
Bar is chewy and not too sweet.
Tastes like brownies but not intensely.
Verdict: good. Not great though

***

Salted Caramel
Chewy and kind of solid. Not too sweet.
Taste is OK. I thought I would be better.
Verdict: Good. Would eat again if I did not have any better.

***

Peanut Butter Pie
Chewy. Not too sweet.
Taste is great. Tastes like Reese’s.
Verdict: Very good. Enjoyed it.

***

Cinnamon Roll
Nice. Taste is good but of course sweet
Verdict: Good.

Okay... incoming wall of text (you've triggered "verbose Amy mode"):

I am an utter newb at this, so I'm still learning myself. So far, I'm just working on my own, although I just got the name of a promising-sounding personal trainer from my physical therapist, so when my current round is over, I might try that out. I'd like to. But since I was starting from zero, I figured anything is better than nothing, so as long as I learned enough to keep from hurting myself, it would lead to progress.

Here's my current plan:

I split my routines up by parts: Sundays are legs, shoulders, back; Tuesdays are biceps, core, chest; Thursdays are legs, core, triceps. So legs and core get worked twice a week, everything else once.

Each workout is built around one of the big, compound movements: squats, pushups, pull-ups (which I can't actually do yet), and deadlifts (which I don't have the equipment for right now.) I do one of those every session; then the rest is made of accessory exercises focusing on more specific movements. They're usually 9-12 exercises total, and typically 3 sets of 10 reps, or however many it takes to fatigue the muscle. Then stretch, and done.

The only equipment I'm working with is one 15-lb dumbbell, one 8-lb dumbbell, a physio ball (I love mine), an array of resistance bands (most of which are too easy for me now) and body weight. This selection is a bit limiting, but since I started from fat middle-aged woman status, I've been able to make some initial progress with just this.

The really hard part, I've found, is finding books on strength training that are suitable for people in our situation -- it's like, everything is either pitched for 80-year-olds or people not really interested in actual strength training, or else for already-fit athletes. The books that I've found the most useful are Delavier's Women's Strength Training Anatomy Workouts, because it shows you very specifically what muscle group you're focusing on, and it does a good job of explaining the pros and cons of variations and modifications; and The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises because it's just got a million variants of major exercises included, which can be helpful for modifying and keeping boredom at bay. There are some better-respected books out there, too, but they tend to lean heavily on a pretty fit starting state, and access to really extensive collections of equipment. YouTube is also super helpful to find videos on correct form and further modifications for stuff that's still a little too hard.

Again, this is just my limited understanding from a novice perspective. I feel like I'm getting to the point where I won't be able to make consistent progress for much longer without investing in a lot more equipment (or finally dragging myself into the beautiful, state of the art fitness center to which I have access through my job), and some expert advice would probably do me a lot of good. So over the summer, I'm hoping to transition to a gym-based workout with some help from a personal trainer. So far, though, it's been all me, making it up as I go (with some research to back it up.)

As someone who's had the surgery. I remember when I got completely disgusted with the shakes. I could barely keep them down.

1. You will never meet your protein goal within the first 6 months. Nobody tells you that, but they don't want you to lower your goals. I've never met a single person who's had surgery who hit their protein goals. Cut back on the shakes so you don't make yourself so sick. I got less than 10% of my protein goal until about 7 months. It just wasn't possible.
   
   
2. Stop hurting yourself with food. One size does not fit all for weight loss. Even if your doctor tells you what you need to hit, everyone is different. Eat until you are comfortable.
   
   
3. Sugar Free Popsicles. I cannot tell you enough how much this changed my life. I still eat them a 1.3 years out. I'd have them to take away my grouchy hunger, and the cold eased my throat and stomach.
   
   
4. Again, stop forcing the protein. Yes you need protein but your body is telling you something. It needs you to go easier.
   
   
5. I still don't enjoy cottage cheese or hummus anymore from having to eat so much of them. Try to vary your foods, and Wendy's Chill is AMAZING (i never ate there before surgery) and it goes down easy in the first few months. It lifted my spirits and gave made me happy. Lots of protein too.
   
   
6. Consider stopping the Zofran, and Reglan for a few days while cutting your entire protein shake for the day down to 8 oz. I'm not a doctor, so you need to do your own research. I can tell you this is EXACTLY what I did when I was so sick on protein and miserable, and it solved almost everything. The meds were actually making it worse. I stayed off them a week and never went back on. I stopped taking large protein shakes completely after 3months. I switched to 1 tablespoon of Genepro which was 30 grams of protein. It truly had no taste. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K6OSDYA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1
   
   
7. Just don't be so strict or hard on yourself. You'll do fine, but you need to listen to your body
   
   
8. Good Luck, keep your spirits up. When I lost 40lbs I thought it was Amazing, then when I lost 80lbs i felt 100x better. Then 5000x better with the last 20lbs. It's amazing. You are gonna be health, and fit and most importantly happy to be alive.

A water bottle is a great idea, a food scale and food measuring cups as well if you don't already have them. My team told me no straws so check in with her surgeon before going that route. I'll link to the water bottle that I ended up loving the most post op (tried a few). I like this one because of the mouth of it, makes sipping easy but also works later when you're able to drink a little more at a time. Don't let the reasonable price fool you, they're really good quality and hold the perfect amount of water to make the individual sugar free flavor packs taste great imo.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N49JCHR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_bPvTAbMKFREVN

The biggest thing pre-op to realize is that you will still be able to enjoy many of the same foods that you do now, but maybe cooked slightly different and smaller portions. A good example for a pre-op dinner for me was 6 oz of marinated salmon, 100 g of grilled asparagus, 160 g of green beans cooked in low fat butter, and 90 g of roasted red potatoes. It is actually quite alot of food, but a good chunk of the volume comes from the vegetables, which have few calories. Typical breakfast was 169 g of low fat/low sugar greek yogurt, 105 g mixed berries, and 39 g of Kind brand granola. For lunch, I would do a 2 slices of no sugar added bread toasted, ~100 g of turkey with a slathering of spicy mayo, served with 3 veggies of my choice. I would get two snacks as well. One was typically more of the greek yogurt and berries. The other was the granola and ~20 g of cashews...I would mix those snacks together. My fiance and I would eat the same things pre-op, and honestly it wasn't bad and felt like I was still eating alot. As for your husband eating unhealthy things in front of you, it will be hard pre-op, but you don't have to be perfect pre-op either. Some surgeons have weight loss goals before they approve you for surgery; mine did not. After surgery though, you won't feel hungry at all...ever. You will have cravings or so-called "head hunger," but I can at least easily ignore it. I can watch my fiance eat take-out Chinese food in front of me and be fine.

Post-op our diets haven't coordinated quite yet since I am still fairly restricted on what I can eat. We found a great book called "Eating well after weight loss surgery" (http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Well-After-Weight-Surgery/dp/1569244537/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462453288&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=how+to+eat+well+after+weight+loss+surgery). The recipes are designed so that you can use them at almost any point after surgery and tells you what modifications if any you will need to make. Each recipe is prepared by default for someone who hasn't had the surgery so it would work for your husband.

For going out to eat, you will be able to find things that you can have just a few weeks out of surgery. For example, we went out to a Chinese place less than 2 weeks after surgery. I got the wonton soup and didn't eat the wonton (I also only was able to get down half of it and took the other half home). I was a cheap date at $2.25 + tip. Even longer after surgery, you will be able to go pretty much anywhere and find something to eat, but you probably won't finish it.

The alcohol for me wasn't a dealbreaker, because I rarely drank as it was. It can be especially dangerous in the first year, because you are rapidly losing the weight. I do know several people that have drank after surgery and typically a beer or half a glass of wine is where they feel like it may have been too much. To go by your program's guidelines though, it is one year to make you much healthier to live a longer and more fulfilling life. You will be able to do more than you ever imagined.

I have tried every popular protein powder and I couldn't stomach any because of the taste and/or texture. I ended up getting BlueBonnet original flavor, it's unsweetened and unflavored but tastes/smells like milk powder and it's GREAT. I usually add in a scoop with a cup of 2% milk and half a banana. This gets me 35 grams of protein. It tastes like mild banana milk.

Maybe if you have a couch, that would work? Could maybe try pairing it with a pillow like this for added comfort: https://www.amazon.com/Linenspa-Shredded-Foam-Reading-Pillow/dp/B073DJFYB1/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1549470769&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=sitting+pillow+with+arms&dpPl=1&dpID=41RdKFjB0XL&ref=plSrch

Either way, good luck and I hope you feel better soon! The first week is tough but it will get better soon. :)

For my multivitamin I use MultiVites Gummy Vitamins, which are delicious and cheap. I also use Celebrate Calcium Plus 500 for my calcium which aren't as delicious, but there are plenty of different flavors to try. I don't require an iron supplement, so no help there, sorry. It's easy to get a B-12 shot once a month if you ask your PCP, and for Vitamin D, I use NatureMade. Good luck.

Hello! I hope this does not go against any rule but I had a revision to my RnY on January 30th 2018. Eight years ago I lost SO much hair the first time around. This time I am taking Biotin. I'm not a medical professional but it does work if you take it on a regular basis. I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004H7GB9G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1

Hope that helps!

Cheers!

EDIT: I just saw that this is the better deal: https://www.amazon.com/Natrol-Biotin-Maximum-Strength-Tablets/dp/B0185PXU3K/ref=sr_1_4_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1519830762&sr=8-4&keywords=Natrol%2BBiotin%2BMaximum%2BStrength%2BTablets%2C%2B10%2C000mcg&th=1

Not OP, but I just did a quick search on Amazon and they have a listing for a variety pack like this. A lot of the reviews say that while the listing is for 17 packs, many people only received 12. I'd love to get a variety pack like this but only if it's a sure thing I'll get all that I pay for, hehe.

First of all, congrats on taking this awesome step towards yours health!

To address your issue, my doctor advised me to not worry TOO much about protein in the beginning since you're still healing and adjusting. Once you're out of the mushy stage you can focus on slowly (SLOWLY) adding a little more protein each week until you reach your minimums. Focus on healing for now.

PS I ate quite a bit of plain yogurt with protein powder and sweetener during this stage, my favorites were caramel and cookies n' cream. I also could not tolerate the protein shakes as they're usually made, but for some reason with the yogurt I could tolerate them just fine.

Also look into the protein water (like these ) I personally had to dilute mine because they were both too strong and too sweet for me.

I think it’s sweet that you want to give her a gift. That’s really special. If you want to get her a water bottle, I suggest a LifeFactory bottle. They’re glass with a silicone sleeve. I have a toddler and dogs and they knock it onto my hardwood floor all the time and it’s never broken, so don’t let the glass idea fool you. I like it because water and crystal light taste so pure and good from it. And it’s pretty. I got mine from amazon. Here’s the one I have: Lifefactory 22-Ounce BPA-Free Glass Water Bottle with Flip Cap and Silicone Sleeve, Turquoise https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B9DJWTM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_GSxTAbFKRFXTA

Edit: I was mistaken the name of the company.

Thank you!!!

It’s this one and it’s fucking amazing. Holds everything in and doesn’t make my boobs look flat or like they are making a run for my bellybutton. 🤣

Yomoko Women's Plus Size High Waist Bandage Bikini Sets Chic Swimsuit Retro Bathing Suit XL Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D9JLYH5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_t51jDb8Y3J1P7

I tried several different multi-vitamins before I landed on one that I like. I started with the orange chewable Centrum vitamins, but right after I had my procedure they literally made me gag.

I have been taking Centrum Vitamints since a month or two out and my levels have been great every time I've had them checked (just had my 1 year visit last month).

https://www.amazon.com/Centrum-VitaMints-Multivitamin-Multimineral-Supplement/dp/B01BUF692G/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1474764473&sr=8-1&keywords=vitamints&th=1

One downside to these is that they don't have iron (none of the gummies actually have iron either). To deal with that, I take these twice a day, but I have naturally low iron even from before my VSG, so most people would only need one a day:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QFQIL0E/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1

It was recommended by my surgeon that I add a vitamin D3 5000 (which I think is common for WLS patients). For that, I take these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BD1IRXW/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Good luck!

basically I eat almost the same thing every day. 2-4oz lean protein and 1/2 cup veggies is hard to go wrong... and average ~1100 calories and AT LEAST ~500 calories of exercise daily

I eat: 7am - 1egg, 1/2 avocado, 1 campari tomato and more protein (examples: 1-2 slice bacon, 2oz salmon lox, 2oz lean ground beef, etc) - topped with salsa and balsalmic glaze on tomato

10am - 1/2 cup Danon light & fit vanilla yogurt with fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, 1/6 cup dry roasted edemame

1pm - 3.5 oz boneless skinless, 1/2 cup frozen veggies, 1/4 cup sauce (examples: kroger vindaloo, kroger tikka misala, teriyaki, etc)

4pm - 1 string cheese, 1 turkey snack stick (like a slim jim - https://www.amazon.com/WISCONSIN-Sticks-Turkey-Resealable-Package/dp/B007K689MI)

7pm - 2-4 oz protein (salmon, chicken, steak, pork, shrimp, tuna steaks, etc.) and a half cup veggies... of which i change up.

Other veggie sides I make: Brussel Sprouts grilled with honey siracha glaze Baba Ganoush Fajita vegetables Cauliflower rice

Other tips: I use the fuck out of salsa and hot sauces... changes up the flavors with ZERO calories! Kroger brand private selection is the JAM! - https://www.kroger.com/pl/all/00?brandName=Private%20Selection&query=salsa&searchType=natural

I love these protein bars - https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Valley-Peanut-Butter-Dark/dp/B005VOOOR0

Use seasonings to church things up. i mostly use these - https://www.chefmerito.com/Home/Page/combos?intCat=-600003&strCat=PACK04

Love these as well! - https://www.fioruccifoods.com/products/prosciutto-mozzerella-panino/ (whole foods)

I purchased this one from Amazon! It’s like $25 and I’ve loved it so far!