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So, I'm now 9 days post op and have been home from the hospital for nearly a week.  The one thing that is a constant struggle at this phase is getting in the amount of protein suggested by my centre.  Before surgery I bought a ton of tubs of Syntrax Nectar protein powder and boy am I glad i did!  This protein, unlike most whey isolate powders, mixes up like juice so it's a bit easier to drink more like water than a milky protein shake is.  I've been swapping in Syntrax for some of my water and I'm getting closer to meeting my protein goals every day!  In the early post-op days it's really hard to get much volume in, given how slowly you have to eat and drink.  Thankfully I like the Syntrax now as much as I did pre-op (some people have palate changes that lead to aversions to sweet flavours, etc.).  

I'm a HUGE gadget fan -- nothing makes me happier than a new gadget.  So of course, once I began using a Fitbit Flex, the next thing I wanted was the wifi scale to go with it, the Fitbit Aria.  I was tempted to wait for a boxing day sale, but I also didn't want to miss recording my weight losses once I started Optifast, so I bit the bullet and ordered it from Amazon.  Holy cripes did it ever ship quickly!  I ordered it on a Wednesday and it arrived by Thursday evening.

Once out of the box, it took virtually no time to set up.  The first time you get ready to use it, you need to download some helper software on your computer in order to allow the scale to have access to your wifi.  It's a virtually foolproof process.  Once that was done, the scale was ready to go.  It weighed me, measured my body composition and then sent it wirelessly (using my wifi) to Fitbit.com to add to my dashboard.  What's nice about the Aria is that you can weigh yourself, choose not to look at your weight, and it will still record it so that you can look at it later as part of a trend.  I've started making it a habit to weigh myself first thing in the morning before my shower.  Once I start tracking food, it will be useful to be able to correlate the weight data with the diet data.  Hours of fun and enjoyment   But seriously, although I've only been using the scale for less than a week, I've already found it really useful and it's a fun addition to my day.  I would imagine it will be even more useful once I'm post-op, especially once I reach maintenance, in fine-tuning my diet to ensure long-lasting success.  I would highly recommend the Aria to anyone who is looking for a digital wifi scale -- especially if you use another Fitbit tracker product.

I tried two more Celebrate products today.  I'm still pre-op, but I'm trying to plan my supplement schedule in advance so I bought some samples to see what options I have.  From a previous blog entry, you'll notice that I tried the Celebrate 4-in-1 shakes.  These are a great option for the immediate post-op period because it's a combo of multivitamins, fibre, calcium, and protein.  But using one of these means that you need to take iron separately, so I also purchased Celebrate Chewable Iron + C in Grape flavour.  These pills have 30 mg of Iron in the form of ferrous fumarate, a form of iron that is easy to absorb.  This absorption is aided by the addition of Vitamin C (60 mg).  So, I tried one and surprisingly, it wasn't awful.  Generally, I find chewable supplements of any kind to be putrid, but this one not only tasted good, but dissolved really quickly after it was chewed.  At first I was a bit surprised by the size of the pill (it's quite big) but it wasn't difficult to chew up quickly and it didn't leave an aftertaste either.  So I'm thrilled to report that my initial plan to use the 4-in-1 shakes with these chewables (taken hours apart of course) will hopefully work for me.  Two thumbs up on this supplement.

As part of my shipment, I also ordered three packs of Celebrate's Calcium Citrate Chews in Caramel, Chocolate, and Berry flavours.  So far, I've only tried the caramel, which I will review below.  Most of the calcium chews I've seen in the drug store are actually calcium carbonate, a form of calcium that gastric bypass patients are not able to absorb as well because the duodenum (the place where calcium is primarily absorbed) is bypassed.  Scientific studies have proven that calcium citrate has much better bioavailability for RNY patients.  So, I stocked up on the Celebrate Chews because they are 100% calcium citrate (500 mg each, plus 500 IU of Vitamin D).  Other commonly available chews are either 100% carbonate or a mixture of different types of calcium.  In any case, let's get down to business:  how did it taste?!  Well, I've got to say that the caramel chew wasn't as tasty as the Jamieson calcium chews that are made with calcium carbonate (I'm pre-op so I can still take those and get some benefit from them).  But, aside from being a bit chalky, they tasted ok.  Certainly good enough to take twice daily (my third dose is covered by the 4-in-1 shake).  I'm hoping that the chocolate tastes better, but I certainly wouldn't refuse to purchase them in caramel.  I'd say one thumb up on this one, but given that they are specifically designed for better absorption by RNYers, I certainly think they are worth it.

One last word about Celebrate -- apart from the epic difficulties that I had with the ordering process, the sample pack they offer for $3 (and you get that $3 off on the next order) is a great way to give their products a spin without too big of an investment.  It contains a sample of nearly all of their products.  Their shipping to Canada was also really fast, and their customer service is good.

That's it for now!  T-minus 56 until my surgery date!   I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.  

PS:  An early victory for me -- I visited my GP last week and when they weighed me, I was already down 6 lbs!  That was a surprise bonus to my week.  Must be partly a result of starting to exercise with my trainer and making progress on cleaning up my diet prior to surgery.  In any case, I'm not going to question it!

About a month ago I ordered a variety pack of Syntrax Nectar samples -- 12 in total -- from Netrition.com.  This was a cost effective way to see which of these flavours I liked enough to invest in a full sized tub.  

Overall comments:  Syntrax Nectar Whey Protein Isolate provides 23g of protein per serving and many flavours are intended to taste like a non-dairy drink -- more like juice than milk.  This was one of the things that attracted me to this brand.  I usually use Isoflex whey protein powder but I generally mix it with milk as a base.  After surgery, there is the potential for some RNY patients to become lactose intolerant so I wanted a protein powder that could be mixed with water and still taste really good.   Nearly all of the 12 samples were pleasant, with the exception of the Apple Ecstasy, which had a horrible flavour to it, in addition to being fluorescent green in colour.  It was almost undrinkable.  The Twisted Cherry was also a bit disappointing, although better than the apple.

The good news, however, was that four of the flavours that I tried were simply outstanding.  Very tasty and not too sweet.  Those flavours were:  Pink Grapefruit; Strawberry-Kiwi; Lemon Ice Tea; and Roadside Lemonade.  Many of the other flavours were good too, just not as spectacularly good as the four I just mentioned.  The pink grapefruit was pleasantly tart.  The strawberry-kiwi was delicious, almost like a punch.  The Lemon Ice Tea was like not even drinking a protein shake -- it tastes exactly like conventional iced tea!  The Roadside Lemonade was also pleasantly tart and not too sweet.  In all cases, I prepared the sample per the packet instructions, with about 8oz of water.  I also added about 4 ice cubes and whizzed it up in a Magic Bullet blender cup.  The only downside to whey protein isolate is that it froths when you blend it, but the froth isn't terribly unpleasant and if you let your shake sit for awhile, the froth will be reduced.

The other flavours that I sampled (nearly all were good and I'd drink again) were:  Caribbean Cooler (like a pina colada); Fuzzy Navel; Strawberry Mousse; Vanilla Bean Torte; Cappuccino; and Chocolate Truffle.

Syntrax Nectar is not that widely available online in Canada.  I ordered a couple of tubs from the LowCarb Grocery -- they are very prompt with delivery and I received my package within 2 days.  Their selection of Syntrax flavours isn't that wide though, so I had to order a couple of my favourites from Netrition instead.  As far as I'm aware, only Netrition.com (an American company) offers a 12 pack of samplers (for $21.95 USD).  I paid no duty on the Netrition order and it was delivered within a week.  Yesterday I noticed that Vitalady also sells Syntrax Nectar, but again for those of you who are Canadian, she is based in the United States.  She too offers samples but they are sold individually.

Syntrax also offers a medical grade unflavoured whey protein isolate -- I bought a small tub to mix with soups but have not yet tried it.

As part of preparing for RNY (scheduled for Jan 5, 2015 - or as I've begun to say, T-minus 65 days), I've started to collect products for the post-surgery period.   Based on other people's experiences, tastes change in the immediate period after surgery, so I was determined to have lots of different protein and supplement options for my recovery period to ensure that I would be able to get all the recommended doses of vitamins, minerals and protein right from the start.  Having lots of options also makes me feel a lot better about the unknown that surrounds the post-surgery period for me.  That said, I caution readers that my review below is based on my pre-surgery palate (I will make an effort to update this after surgery too).  

I recently ordered a few sample products from Celebrate Vitamins, a company based in the United States that sells supplement products designed specifically for bariatric patients. Although I did have some significant difficulty placing an order with them online due to their point of sale tech, once I was finally able to place the order, delivery was swift (within a week) and I paid no duty on the products I ordered in this shipment.  I live in Toronto, so delivery times may vary for Canadians that live outside the GTA.

CELEBRATE ENS + PROTEIN SHAKE (ORANGE CREAM):

Truthfully, I dreaded tasting this shake.  I truly thought it would be disgusting.  I prepared it per the instructions on the package, with 8oz of water.  I also added 4 ice cubes and blended it in a Nutribullet cup.  First impressions:  surprisingly tasty!  It's vaguely reminiscent of a creamsicle.  A bit like an Orange Julius Shake.  With the added ice, it was also not too sweet.  The best part?  It contains 25g of protein, 500mg of calcium citrate, a high potency multivitamin, and 5g of fiber in each serving.  Talk about a multi-tasker!  Of course this does mean that post-surgery I would need to take an iron supplement separately.  Celebrate also offers chewable Iron + C in two flavours (I'll review those in future posts).  

CELEBRATE B-12 SUBLINGUAL (CHERRY QUICK-MELT):

This tablet defied the description of "quick melt" - it was anything but!  I expected it to dissolve instantly, but instead it just got pasty and mushy and took forever to break down.  The taste wasn't great - kinda like cherry cough syrup.  What was worse was the texture: chalky and gummy at the same time.  Overall a bit yuck.  Not completely unbearable but I will be exploring other options (like the Jamieson sublingual B-12 strips) before I would order these.  It's not worth paying for shipping from the U.S. since in this case there are likely similar, if not better, options from the local drugstore.

So, 1 out of 2 on this outing.  Stay tuned as I work my way through my stash of products.  To come: reviews of the Syntrax Whey Protein Isolate samples that I ordered from Netrition.com.  I liked some of them so much that I've bought full sized tubs!

I'm still in the pre-op phase, but I'm so amazed at how far I've come in my head if not my body since the process to WLS started for me about a year ago.  I really fought against it for the longest time. I came up with all sorts of reasons for not having surgery.  Some of these may sound familiar:  I love to cook and bake, what if I can never do that again?  What if I end up with horrible complications or vitamin deficiencies?  Why can't i do this myself without carving up my body?  What if the zombie apocalypse comes and I run out of supplements? (Joking on that last one, but on second thought...).

I was BRUTALLY honest with the nurse, the social worker and all of the medical personnel that we had to meet throughout the process because I didn't want to have this surgery unless they thought I was ready and unless I thought I was ready. And now that I AM ready, it's an amazing feeling.  At points during this process I was still having trouble with binge eating. I was honest about it throughout.  Most of the binges were a result of me still feeling like I wasn't sure that this was the right thing and being over the top stressed about it. But slowly I worked through this and the binges have stopped for the past month.  I'm two months away from surgery, and I've started "getting down to business" about my new life.

I know that the urge to binge won't go away because of the surgery, so I've hired a personal trainer who also has a Masters in Social Work to work with me throughout this process, to help me fix my body and help fix my mind.  We've already come far together in our sessions - we've outlined short and long term goals for me, and developed a pre and post surgery exercise plan together that will help me preserve my lean muscle mass as I lose weight rapidly following my operation.  She is behind me 110% and it's nice to know that we share a project: developing a new ME!

As part of my commitment to a new life, I've also made a significant investment in things that I hope will support my goals. I purchased a treadmill so that the weather poses no excuses for me not to walk on a daily basis.  I bought a FitBit Flex to keep me honest about my activity (and lately I've been using it to make sure I'm getting at least my 10,000 steps in per day).  I've purchased all my post-op supplements (just seeing them makes me feel like I'm able to do this). And I'm starting to organize my life around making a healthy and fit me a number 1 priority.

Right now I feel like a caterpillar in a chrysalis - I've only told a few of my closest friends about the surgery.  I've told work that I'm having surgery, just not what kind.  Everyone will figure it out when I start dropping pounds like Eminem drops sick rhymes, but until then it's like a delicious secret that I'm treasuring.  A whole internal process is happening that only a few people are aware of.  I'm not embarrassed about getting surgery, that's not why I'm not telling everyone, instead it's like a painter working on a painting and not wanting to reveal it until it's finished.

So that's my story so far.  I've really enjoyed the support and wealth of information that I find in the OH Forums.  I'm glad that I found this wonderful, safe place.  I've learned so much and I look forward to learning and sharing more of this journey with the friends I've met and will meet.