Starting Over.. Week 1 Results

Here it is… the moment of truth. When I started this a week ago, I had some questions.   Exactly how healthy are my current eating habits? Where can I make changes? Was water retention an issue and could I tie it to food? Did I answer any of these questions this week? Well, yes and no. This is what I have learned this week:

YoYo Dieting is more than just a weight loss phenomenon; it seems to be a way of life. Too few calories one day lead to too many calories the next. Even worse, too few calories lead to too many calories in the form of the wrong foods. Consistency is a key. 

I have to be on a schedule. If left to my own devices, I will eat what I want, when I want.  I was concerned that weekends would derail what I did during the week and of course it has. I had reached my calorie limit by 4:00 yesterday afternoon. I started to get hungry and my brain just said “screw it; you might as well enjoy it.” Chinese style pork ribs and sushi rice for dinner was amazing. This was actually the first time I've cooked white rice in over a year. Of course that was followed a few hours later by a peanut butter and banana sandwich on low carb whole grain bread. I am paying for it today though. I woke up swollen, sore, and 6.5 lbs heavier. 12 hours later and I’m still swollen. Of course I haven’t been very good today either. I’m almost afraid to plug it in to see just how bad it is.

Carbs are not my friends. Not that this is breaking news. I have always been aware of subsequent pain caused by a diet of too many carbs, it's the bloating and associated weight gain that is surprising. The more I read about low carb diets, the more excited I am about making some serious changes.

Keeping a food diary really works. To be honest, I had no intention of dieting this week. I wanted to look at what I was eating and determine where I could do better. Keeping a diary and actually being honest about it made me self conscious about what I ate. I became obsessed with writing down everything, figuring out how many calories I had left to eat, and what I could eat with the few calories that were left. So do I know how healthy I was eating last week or last month? No, not really. I can only guess I would find too many calories and too many carbohydrates.

I still don’t know if my pain level is associated with diet, weight loss, malnutrition, the weather, or just because. That question may never be answered but I will continue to search. Here are my final stats for the week:

Open RNY Gastric Bypass: 10/22/2002

Highest Weight: 356

Weight at Surgery: 306

Lowest Weight: 156

Highest Recorded Weight Gain: 238

Weight on 05/29/2011: 224

Weight on 05/30/2011: 221.8

Weight on 05/31/2011: 221.4

Weight on 06/01/2011:  219.8

Weight on 06/02/2011:  219.8

Weight on 06/03/2011:  213.8

Weight on 06/04/2011: 212.8                              Total Weight Loss = 4.7 lbs

Weight on 06/05/2011: 219.3                             

Personal                  Actual 06/04                  Weekly Average

Calories:                    1301                        1858                                  1503

Protein:                     >80 grams                 107.8 grams                       98.2 grams

Total Carbs:              <100 grams               156.5 grams                     115.3 grams

Net Carbs:                 <70 grams                 122.5 grams                      96.4 grams

Sugars:                      20 grams                   35.9 grams                        26.7 grams

I loved being able to say that I had lost 11.2 lbs yesterday  but am happy with the final tally of 4.7 lbs.  This week has been an eye opener and I’ve learned more about myself and my habits than I thought I would.  I am fighting with my brain today. My brain knew I was starting this as a one week project and now that we are wrapping up Week 1, my brain thinks were done. Little does it know it has a fight on its hand. :-)  I will slip up. I will eat too many carbohydrates or not enough protein. I will not give up and take it one meal/snack at a time.

This week has proven to me that with a little tweaking and dedication, I can get back to a weight that I am comfortable with, that will keep me healthy, and hopefully reduce my daily pain level.  I am going to continue to log what I eat and keep up with daily results. I will also continue to weigh myself daily, at least for awhile anyway.  The next step is to take pictures and measurements. It’s interesting to see the inches drop as well as the weight, even sometimes in spite of the weight.  I will move the stats to the sidebar and update them weekly.

The fight with obesity is a lifelong battle, even with the help of weight loss surgery. Whether you have had surgery, are thinking about surgery, or are just trying to shed a few pounds, NEVER GIVE UP! Obesity is a medical condition that can be managed; the trick is finding what works for you. Keep searching. We all deserve to be healthy.

Thank you for spending the last week with me. Check back for further updates…

Angie

Starting Over... Days 5 and 6

Yes, I’m a slacker. Well if feels that way sometimes. Thursday and Friday were good days. I was able to keep somewhat of a schedule and learned that late at night is my worst time for grazing or even binging. I average 3-5 hours of sleep most nights which means I’m up and fighting the urge to eat something for 20 hours a day. Breaking up the day into 3 meals and 3 snacks is the easy part; it’s getting the right nutrients within the set parameters that I’ve set that is proving to be a challenge.

Open RNY Gastric Bypass: 10/22/2002

Highest Weight: 356

Weight at Surgery: 306

Lowest Weight: 156

Highest Recorded Weight Gain: 238

Weight on 05/29/2011: 224

Weight on 05/30/2011: 221.8

Weight on 05/31/2011: 221.4

Weight on 06/01/2011:  219.8

Weight on 06/02/2011:  219.8

Weight on 06/03/2011:  213.8

Weight on 06/04/2011: 212.8

Personal              Actual 06/02                       Actual 06/03

Calories:              1301                       1389                                    1231

Protein:               >80 grams            109.1 grams                       76.4 grams

Total Carbs:        <100 grams         100.3 grams                        102.9 grams

Net Carbs:           <70 grams           85 grams                             81.8 grams

Sugars:                 20 grams             30.2 grams                           30.9 grams

Let’s talk about nutrition for a second. If you’ve been following along, you should notice a slight change; my goals have been evolving through this short process. I’m trying to listen to my body and make decisions based on how I feel.

 In 2004 I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Since then, as many of us post-ops have experienced, my blood work started showing deficiencies, mostly in Iron and Vitamin D.  Many of the symptoms of Iron and Vitamin D deficiencies actually mimic the widespread pain and fatigue, the basic flu-like symptoms of Fibromyalgia. Too many carbohydrates also cause extreme pain, especially in my hips and legs. Even though I have lost 11.2 lbs since Sunday instead of feeling better, I am actually feeling worse. I realize that 11 lbs is a lot and I expect that to level off soon, maybe even plateau for a few days. I’m hoping my body is just reacting to the weight loss and the pain will subside soon as well. My fear is that I am eating too much or too little of something that is causing the pain. Having a nutritionist familiar with Weight Loss Surgery would be fabulous right about now. Unfortunately that is not available to me yet so I have to rely on The Interweb for research and information. No two theories are the same and it’s hard to know which theory to take to heart. I have a Multivitamin, Calcium, Iron, B-12 sublingual, and Vitamin D that I should be taking daily but I rarely do.

Of course, this could just be a normal Fibromyalgia Flare-up and not related to the food changes and weight loss. How do I know? All I know to do is to find an eating plan that allows me to continue to lose weight and reduce my pain level. That is the ultimate goal in this; healthy and pain free. There are many situations in my life that I cannot control, what I eat is not one of them.

Stay tuned to tomorrow for a Week 1 Roundup. Oh and by the way… I’VE LOST 11.2 LBS SO FAR!!!  :-)

Happy Saturday

Angie

Starting Over... Day 4

Today’s entry is late. That seems to be the story of my life, I’m late for everything. I’ve been thinking all day about what I would write about and here’s what I came up with…

When I woke up this morning, I was disgusted with myself. My night last night did not end well. My dinner plans were derailed when I couldn’t get the vinegar I wanted to make sushi rice. You see, I found a fabulous recipe for black sesame crusted salmon and wanted to serve rice and a raw asparagus salad on the side. When those plans were scrapped, I spent the night grazing on Memorial Day leftovers then topped it off with a salad and a few lemon poppy seed muffins. 1666 calories total for the day and I felt like I had failed before I really got started. I jumped on the scale first thing this morning knowing that my mini binge had caused me to gain. I was surprised to find that I actually stayed the same. So here is where I am now…

Open RNY Gastric Bypass: 10/22/2002

Highest Weight: 356

Weight at Surgery: 306

Lowest Weight: 156

Highest Recorded Weight Gain: 238

Weight on 05/29/2011: 224

Weight on 05/30/2011: 221.8

Weight on 05/31/2011: 221.4

Weight on 06/01/2011:  219.8

Weight on 06/02/2011:  219.8

Since I’ve been thinking about this all idea, I had an idea. This is actually my normal eating pattern, not very hungry one day, starving the next. So the answer is to eat consistently. Don’t hate me because I have always cringed when I’d hear other people say it but… some days I forget to eat. I don’t get hungry and at 11:00 I’ll realize my egg scramble is still sitting there. Lunch is at 12:00 or so. The trick is going to be to put myself on an eating schedule and forcing myself to eat. I’ve done it before and it really does work. It takes a few days but I can only guess it normalizes my metabolism. After about a week, I’ll start getting hungry again, and at fairly regular intervals. And that’s where the problem starts. If I’m hungry, I eat, and more often than not I eat too much. How do I control that? Or better yet, how do I keep what little control I have now and build on it? If anyone has the answer, please shout it from the rooftops. One of the first changes I’m going to make is in my daily goals. My calorie goal of 1200, while quite achievable, is too low for me for the moment. I’m going to adjust it to 1301 as recommended by WebMD and lower my Protein goal to 80 grams per day. I’m not going to change the Total Carbs or Sugars just yet.  

WebMD                      Personal                    Actual

Calories:          1301                           1301                        1666 (Not happy)

Protein:            46 grams                    100 grams                 109 grams (Now that’s what I’m talking about)

Total Carbs:    130 grams                  50 grams                    133 grams (Holy crap!)

Sugars:              25 grams              20 grams                      29.3 grams (Ok, wasn’t expecting that.                                                                                                          Stupid banana)

While I’m still a bit disappointed in myself, I have a better understanding of my eating habits and am aware that a change needs to be made. Awareness is the first step towards change… or something like that.

Stay tuned for the next weigh-in, just a few hours away.

Angie

Starting Over... Day 3

Wow... what a difference a day makes. We were outside, digging up grass, for several hours on Monday. This probably explains the phenomenon I experienced on Tuesday. Monday I consumed 1608 calories and 94 grams of protein. Tuesday was a normal work day, back to a schedule, most of the day sitting at a desk, and I only ate 1138 calories (Ok make that 1254 – it’s midnight at the time of this writing and a mini sugar free lemon poppy seed muffin was calling me) and 81 grams of protein. Water is a major factor. I use Kroger In an Instant Light Sugar Free Peach Tea drink mix in my water. I realize that it’s not as good as plain water but by using these I can drink (8-10) 16.9 oz bottles of water per day. As I type that, I am aware how crazy it sounds. Starting today, I will substitute every other bottle with plain water.

So here are Tuesday’s stats:

Open RNY Gastric Bypass: 10/22/2002

Highest Weight: 356

Weight at Surgery: 306

Lowest Weight: 156

Highest Recorded Weight Gain: 238

Weight on 05/29/2011: 224

Weight on 05/30/2011: 221.8

Weight on 05/31/2011: 221.4

Weight on 06/01/2011:  219.8

WebMD                 Personal                 Actual

Calories:          1301                    1200                        1254 (Now that’s a happy medium. Go me!)

Protein:            46 grams             100 grams                81 grams (This needs to be a little better)

Total Carbs:    130 grams           50 grams                    87.7 grams (A little lower would be great)

Sugars:             25 grams             20 grams                 13.6 grams (Love that number)

A much better day that included a 1.6 lb drop for the day. I have a tendency to be a bit ADD so I like schedules.  I have learned how to fit breakfast, lunch, two snacks, and 4-5 bottles of water into an 8 hour day. I take my lunch every day so I have a lot more control over what I eat. Being at home I am more apt to graze and eat at odd times. I feed my cravings for both creating something new or different and consuming the final art piece (or flop. The odds are 50/50). I’ve tried off and on for years to schedule myself on the weekends but it has never worked.  My fear is that my days off in chaos are derailing everything I accomplish during the week.  I guess we’ll find out on Saturday.

Tuesday afternoon I started looking at what I had logged so far and what I had planned for dinner.  I’m getting a bit obsessive about it but not so much that I’m concerned. Not yet anyway. What I noticed was that I wasn’t eating any “Free” foods. If you’ve ever been to Weight Watchers in the last 30 years, you know that “Free” foods are food with little or no calories. This includes a few fresh vegetables, salad vegetables, herbs, spices… so with my leftover pork chop, I had a beautiful salad with baby greens, red onion, alfalfa sprouts, sugar snap peas, tomato slices, and shredded parmesan. It was just enough to keep me full without adding too many additional calories.

I did something to pamper myself after work Tuesday. I NEVER pamper myself and while this sounds like an every day event I got my hair cut. I received a style that I really didn't like last July. I have been letting it grow out and just never stopped to get it trimmed. Now that it’s falling out, it was starting to look unhealthy and I was no longer proud of what I consider my best asset. It looks and feels so much better and I’m amazed at how much better I feel about myself. A new do for a new me.

I’m really excited to see the 1.6 lb loss this morning. During my initial weight loss period in 2002 – 2003, I averaged losing a pound a day for the first 70 lbs and then it backed off to a pound every other day or so. I’m interested to see if I can stick to this and if I’ll consistently average a pound per day again. I'm not expecting those kinds of results the second time around though it would be nice. It’s really hot again today but I intend to add some activity to my day; taking stairs instead of elevator, walking around the block a few times, and maybe even a walk after work with my husband. 

I’m having fun with this and can’t wait to see what today brings.

Thanks for coming along.

Angie

Starting Over... Day 2

Monday was a good day. I wish all Mondays were like this one. It was Memorial Day and we had the day off. We started the morning with our daily turkey, egg, and four cheese Mexican blend scramble.

Turkey, Egg, 4 Cheese Scramble for One

           You can save calories by using Pam instead of butter. If you have a digital kitchen scale, use it for this until you can recognize an ounce of each on sight.

1 small pat unsalted butter (less than ¼” thick)

1 oz lean thin sliced deli turkey breast (I use Hillshire Farm oven baked), roughly chopped

1 oz shredded 4 cheese Mexican blend

1 large egg

Melt the butter in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Toss in the turkey breast and cook, stirring occasionally just until the edges start to turn a light golden brown, about 5 minutes. Crack the egg directly in the pan and begin stirring immediately. Stir constantly until the egg is cooked through but not dry. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Allow scramble to sit in the pan, off the heat, until the cheese is completely melted. Serve immediately or pack to stay warm. (I increase the eggs to 3 and the turkey to 2 oz during the week and we split it between us. We pack this every morning and eat them when we get to work.)

Nutrition:

Calories:  240

Total Fat:  16.3 g

Saturated Fat:  8.6 g

Cholesterol:  241 mg

Carbohydrates: 3.1 g

Sodium:  840 mg

Sugars:  1.4 g

Protein: 19.8 g

I know it’s a lot of fat, cholesterol, and sodium. I’m looking for a good quality reduced sodium turkey and cheese but I can only find reduced fat. We’ve been eating 2 eggs every morning for several years and our cholesterol hovers around 140. I’m ok with the nutritional information here.

After breakfast we went outside, worked in one of the flower/herb beds, mowed the yard, and grilled enough meat for a few days.  This stupor that I’ve been stuck in has kept us inside the past couple of summers.  It felt great to be in the sun, digging in the dirt, and working together to actually accomplish a goal. It was a really good day.

We finally grilled for the first time this season. We grilled (4) Hebrew National Jumbo Beef Franks, (2) Hamburgers made out fresh ground chuck from a local butcher, Guinness Extra Stout, and Low Sodium Worcestershire, (4) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and (4) boneless pork loin chops, both marinated in Lowry’s Tuscan Sundried Tomato 30 minute marinade, over night of course, and both also from our local butcher. Throw in a pound of asparagus tossed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, a head of garlic, and white onion wedges. I go into that much detail because quality has become a major factor in our food choices. One of the early post op habits that we continue today is chewing each bite until it’s mush. You become very aware of and develop an appreciation for texture. If food has random crunchy or rubbery bits, you know like bone, cartilage, silver skin, fibrous tissue, egg shells, unidentifiable debris, we notice it immediately and it completely ruins the meal.  After trying multiple brands we found that higher quality, fresher foods have little if any grit to destroy a beautiful dish. I admit it is more expensive but we don’t throw away near as much food as we did on lesser quality products. Watch for sales, coupons, and The Choppin Block, our local butcher who only sells All Natural meats in Choice grade or higher, runs specials on Tuesdays. The final price ends up being close to that of cheaper quality meats at the grocery.

(Disclaimer: I notice I’m using “we” a lot when this blog is supposed to be about me. My husband is my best friend.  And even though I am the only one experiencing excessive weight gain, our surgeries were only 14 months apart and we still share every aspect of our lives, including this adventure.)

We snacked on hot dogs (1 for each of us) while the other meat cooked and we continued to clean out the flower/herb bed. Dinner was a burger, 1/2 cup asparagus, a few cloves of garlic, and a TBSP of roasted onions.  Throw in a couple of South Beach Meal Replacement Bars throughout the day and a handful of berries and I was 83 calories over where WebMD wants me to be. That’s when the day went downhill.

A few weeks ago we discovered mini cupcakes made with Pillsbury Sugar Free Yellow Cake Mix. My darling husband has been asking me for Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins for months so I made them tonight. It was really simple;   just add a small packet of Sugar Free Lemon Instant Pudding and 1/4 cup poppy seeds to the cake mix before adding the ingredients on the box. Even though it’s sugar free, each mini muffin is 62.5 calories. Before I was done, I had popped 3 in my mouth, along with a handful of blueberries and blackberries tossed with Splenda and Sumner Crest Tennessee Blackberry wine. I overestimated the amount of berries to account for the tablespoon of wine but WebMD now has my calories for the day at 1625, 324 calories above their goal of 1301 and a whopping 425 calories above my personal goal of 1200. That’s 128 calories more than I ate yesterday. The goal was to reduce my calories while maintaining the protein, not the other way around. I’m only 2 days into this but that 1200 calories is being elusive.

So here are my stats for today:

Open RNY Gastric Bypass: 10/22/2002

Highest Weight: 356

Weight at Surgery: 306

Lowest Weight: 156

Highest Recorded Weight Gain: 238

Weight on 05/29/2011: 224

Weight on 05/30/2011: 221.8

Weight on 05/31/2011: 221.4 (Total loss since 05/29/11 - 2.6 lbs)

WebMD                     Personal                   Actual

Calories:         1301                          1200                        1625 (Are you kidding me?)

Protein:           46 grams                  100 grams                95.2 grams (Less than Sunday)

Total Carbs:    130 grams                 50 grams                 111.3 grams (A little less than Sunday)

Sugars:           25 grams                   20 grams                  27 grams (Almost the same as Sunday)

So with less protein and less carbs, where are the calories coming from? I still lost .4 lb which is good for one day but it also tells me that 1625 is too high. The Hebrew National Beef Frank is 275 calories and the hamburger is 345 calories. Those two items also account for 43 grams of protein. The South Beach bars add 12 grams of protein and 180 calories each. With protein comes additional calories. Interesting…

So what have I learned so far after day 2?

-      Protein = calories. If I’m going to watch my calories, I need to find alternative, lower calorie sources of protein.

-        I now understand what the disclaimer “not a reduced calorie food” really means.

-       Making a treat for the husband is not always the best idea

-      Be conscious of the food on my plate, concentrate on what I’m eating, and chew gum while cooking. Grazing is always a bad idea.

I’m really getting excited about what the week has in store. “Information is the mortar that builds and destroys empires” (Tobsha Learner, The Witch of Cologne) The same could be said about any aspect of our lives. The information I am gathering about what I eat and how food alone affects my weight can either help me succeed or give me an excuse to give up. I am reaching for success.

Until tomorrow...

Angie

Starting Over.. Again

I apologize for being MIA the past several months. I lost sight of the purpose of this blog and almost abandoned it but as is typical, life caught up to me. It’s been a very stressful year and a half with the worst of it being the last 8 or 9 months. It was easy to fall back to old eating habits. I was eating what I wanted, when I wanted, dumping and vomiting be damned. I was on food and lifestyle autopilot. Then a series of events in April woke me from my stupor. A personal situation came to a head and had to be confronted and I’m not sure which was worse but over the course of two days, a coworker snapped some pictures of me. I cried. To be honest, I saw some pictures of myself from my high school reunion last July and even though I was embarrassed by how much weight I had gained, autopilot was too well engaged and it wasn’t enough to snap me out of it. The timing on these pictures was perfect because the fog was already starting to lift. Moral: Don’t stop taking pictures. They keep you honest and give you a visual confirmation of how you’re really doing.

The first clue that something was amiss was my hair started falling out in late Winter. I admit I have been letting it grow out and haven’t gotten it cut in way too long.  I wanted the hair loss to be normal seasonal shedding but it just kept falling out. Thankfully I have really thick curly hair and losing it just makes it behave better but I have honestly gotten scared. Then when the pictures came out, it was the punch in the gut that I needed. I immediately came home and threw away anything that I thought was derailing me. What I love about having this surgery is that it only takes a few diet and lifestyle changes to get the weight loss going again. In a matter of 30 days I lost 22 lbs and even more hair. (I honestly let my guard down last week and found that I gained back 6 of the 22 lbs. Another eye-opener)

Side Bar: I have to say that probably the most important catalyst of clearing the fog was confronting my personal demons, both physically and psychologically. I know that the original weight gain the first 30 years of my life was in response to an abusive childhood and the regain was my brain’s way of dealing with similar situation with a coworker. When an unrelated situation came to head and I had to actually deal with it, it finally clicked that I am now strong enough to deal with anything that comes my way and my health doesn’t need to be the casualty. I couldn’t say the same thing just 5 years ago. I also had 10 years of therapy as a foundation. If your brain is keeping you from success, please seek professional help. You deserve to be the healthiest person possible, both physically and emotionally.

So I started doing research on the hair loss. I was able to control the hair loss the first time around and while I remembered it had something to do with protein, I couldn’t remember all the details. I also started looking for other WLS patients that are more than 5 years post op. I’m almost 9 years post op and while support groups for new patients are fabulous, they helped me through my first year, they don’t answer some of the questions I have now about long term effects. This is when I found the WebMD Healthy Eating and Diet Section, the WebMD Diet Community, and the WebMD Food and Fitness Planner. I know there are other communities and food trackers out there but this one is easy to use and it tracks the nutritional information I need like Calories, Protein, Carbohydrates, and Sugars. The Diet Community is not very active but there is good information there if you take the time to look for it. I’m still searching for a more active community so if anyone has any suggestions please post them in the comments.

So my brain is in the right place and I’m motivated. Motivation is really hard for me to maintain; if it weren’t, I wouldn’t be suffering from morbid obesity… again…. As embarrassing as they are, here are my stats:

Open RNY Gastric Bypass: 10/22/2002

Highest Weight: 356

Weight at Surgery: 306

Lowest Weight: 156

Highest Recorded Weight Gain: 238

Weight on 05/29/2011: 224

Weight on 05/30/2011: 221.8

Based on a suggestion from the WebMD Diet Community expert, I logged every bite I took yesterday. I can never stick to a food log so I’m only obligating myself to 1 week. The goal is to see just how healthy my current eating habits are and where I can make changes. I also read a suggestion that said to weigh yourself every day so you can see how eating and activity the day before effects your weight and how you feel. I deal with a lot of water retention and don’t know if it’s diet or medication. I hope to find a pattern. It’s hard to find nutritional guidelines online for those of us this far post op so here is what WebMD says I should be eating, what my personal goals are based on a combination of first year post op diets and familiarity with my own body, and how I did after day 1 of logging my food.

WebMD                      Personal                    Actual

Calories:          1301                           1200                         1497 (YIKES)

Protein:            46 grams                    100 grams               108.7 grams (WOOHOO)

Total Carbs:    130 grams                  50 grams                 115.2 grams (HOLY CRAP)

Sugars:             25 grams                    20 grams                 26.3 grams (Could be better)

So as you can see, I have some things to work on. Since this blog is supposed to be my journey living with Weight Loss Surgery, what better way to use this space than to document my struggle and eventual success?  I plan to come in every day for at least the next week and talk about this learning experience I am embarking on. I am tired of feeling “fat”, of having little or no energy, of living with the pain of fibromyalgia (another post for another time), and of this “autopilot” that has taken over. I made the decision 10 years ago to completely change my life and it’s time to let this tool do its job. I hope you decide to join me on this journey and I look forward to your comments and suggestions.


Here we go! Are you coming along?


Angie

                

What exactly is WLS and Roux en Y and what does it have to do with this blog?

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this, WLS is the common abbreviation for Weight Loss Surgery and Roux en Y Gastric Bypass is the type of Weight Loss Surgery my husband and I had.  I had my surgery in October 2002 and he had his in December 2003.  At the time of surgery, I was 180 lbs overweight and my husband was 150 lbs overweight.  The average adult stomach will hold an average of 1 quart of food, or 32 oz.  The surgeon reduced our stomachs to only hold a volume of 1 oz. This new stomach is referred to as a gastric pouch or "pouch".  The surgeon also performed a Roux-en-Y gastrojejunostomy.  This procedure removes a portion of the intestine and the duodenum, preventing absorption of fat and sugar, then the new pouch is attached to the small intestine.  So not only does the volume of food we are able to eat decrease to a minimum, but there is also an issue with malabsorption. The diet immediately after surgery consists of only liquids.  The solidity and types of foods allowed gradually evolves over the first 6-8 weeks.

Having this procedure has changed the way we choose which foods to eat.  Because of the malabsorption, our diets should be high in protein, low in simple carbohydrates, low in fat, and minimal sugar.  Too many carbohydrates, fats, and/or sugars at once causing "dumping syndrome" where our bodies essentially reject the food and we are left nauseated, breaking out in sweats until the offending food moves through the intestines.  It's not fun to go through and takes about an hour before we are feeling normal again.  The size of the pouch dictates that we need as many nutrients as we can get in as little food as possible.  The size of the pouch causes pain when the wrong foods are eaten as well.  Carbonated beverages, rice, pasta, breads (anything that expands when wet), medications, too much sugar, can all be extremely painful and if the food bites are too big, it can actually get stuck in the stomach, preventing other foods or beverages from being consumed.

Don't get me wrong, even with these limitations, I would do again today.  We both lost approximately 150 lbs in the first year after surgery.  I no longer have to take medications to regulate my blood sugar and his blood pressure is normal for the first time in a decade.  Unfortunately, our bodies are very resilient and over the past 6-7 years, our pouches have expanded to 8 oz.  While that's a far cry from 32 oz, it is enough that when combined with other factors, it has caused us to gain back 50% of what we lost.  This is normal for most RNY patients and is still considered a successful procedure.

So what have we discovered in this process?  We feel better when we are eating lean, good quality meats, fresh fruits and vegetable, and drinking lots of water.  We read labels now before we buy a new product.  Sometimes we have to take another look at the nutritional labels on products we've always used.  We've become amazed at how many additives are in processed foods, how much sugar is in the most savory products, and fats that really do not need to be there.  We buy All Natural and Organic as much as we can afford and have learned some fabulous ways to prepare our meals.  But this isn't just for WLS patients.. everyone.. whether you are obese, overweight, needing to add an exercise program, or physically fit and running marathons, the recipes and tips that will be covered by this blog will fit your lifestyle.

For more information on Weight Loss Surgery and Roux en Y, please visit these and other sites available online.  The RNY is not the only Weight Loss Surgery option available and information on those procedures is available as well.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/weight-loss-surgery/gastric-bypass

http://fatblog.org/index.php

http://www.gastricbypass.com/

Thank you

Angie