Tag: <span>Food</span>

8 months after surgeryeight 3088896 1920
Published Tue, 27th Apr 2021

8 months after surgery

Today marks the 8-month anniversary since my gastric bypass surgery, so I thought I’d give a quick update.

Since surgery I’ve lost a total of 41 kg so far – that’s nearly 6 and a half stones, or 90 lbs. I’m delighted with the progress so far, and am continuing to lose weight – albeit more slowly than in the first 6 months.

My BMI has also dropped below 35, so I’m officially not ‘morbidly’ obese any more!

Food

I’m eating normally now, and there aren’t any foods that I can’t tolerate. I’ve also not experienced dumping at all. I asked the dietician about it, and she said that I’d definitely know if I had it. So I guess I’m lucky to avoid it.

My tolerance for all foods means that I have to be careful not to slip into old habits and buy lots of sugary and fatty treats. I physically can’t consume as much food as I used to – because of my smaller stomach – but I’m sure I could do a lot of damage to my weight loss if I’m not careful.

I’m currently not tracking what I eat, which is potentially risky, but I want to see if I can make my eating more normal – without the obsessive tracking of calories and protein. I want to get used to the ‘new normal’ of eating.

Clothes

My clothing sizes have definitely dropped. My jeans have gone down from a 42 inch waist to 36 inches, and my shirts have gone from 4XL to 2XL. So I’m finally able to dip into the half of the wardrobe that previously held the ‘too small’ clothes. I have some items that have never been worn and still have the tags on them, so it’s like going on a shopping trip, but everything is free!

Exercise

As I’ve talked about before, I’m trying to exercise at least once a day. Not just for my physical fitness, but for my mental health as well. I’ve found that a walk or cycle is a great way to clear the head, and earn some Active Zone Minutes on my Fitbit!

I also had an appointment a couple of weeks ago with an Exercise Physiologist at Medfit Proactive Healthcare to get assessed for some strength training to help with my upper body strength and condition. I wanted to work with a specialist who has good experience of obese people and bariatric patients in particular, as I’ve had a bad experience with a personal trainer in the past who didn’t make any allowance for my body size and weaknesses.

Anyway, I now have an exercise plan to do at home, until the gyms open at least. Although I’m having trouble finding somewhere that sells dumb-bells, as they seem to be sold out everywhere!

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Progress over Christmas and New YearAbundance 1868573 1920
Published Thu, 7th Jan 2021

Progress over Christmas and New Year

My weight loss progress over the last two weeks has not been great. I’ve only lost 0.4kg (about 1 pound) in weight over that time.

It’s not a massive surprise to me, as I know my diet hasn’t been very healthy. I guess it’s the first time since surgery that I’ve been pushing the boundaries with the food I’ve been eating. My diet has been a lot richer, and contained a lot more sugar and fat. I’ve eaten (and enjoyed) a lot of cheese, bread, crisps, chocolate and icecream.

I’ve also not been tracking my foods, so I have no idea what kind of calorie intake I’ve had. I’ve still lost weight over the time, so it can’t have been terrible, but the rate of loss is much slower than I’ve been used to.

I guess the main lesson I’ve learned is:

It is absolutely possible to sabotage weight loss after bariatric surgery!

  • Just because I’ve had a gastric bypass it does not guarantee a weight loss
  • I cannot eat whatever I want, and still expect to lose weight
  • To achieve my goals I still need to eat sensibly and healthily

So with that in mind, I’m going back to my healthy eating. And that also includes beginning to track everything I eat in the MyFitnessPal app.

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Christmas is going to be very different this yearChristmas Dinner 3846972 1920
Published Fri, 11th Dec 2020

Christmas is going to be very different this year

It’s only two weeks until Christmas, but this year it’s going to be very different. This year I’ll be 4 months post-surgery from my gastric bypass.

Every other Christmas in the past has involved me eating my own body weight in turkey, potatoes, christmas pudding, and chocolate! There would be a lots of rich and calorific food consumed, both at home and in restaurants and pubs at meals out and parties.

Christmas, like a lot of other celebrations, is inextricably linked to food, and often lots of it! Plates are usually piled high, and meals are often rich and decadent. And usually there’s a fair amount of drink flowing as well.

Christmas food

This year my Christmas dinner will be served on a side plate. There’s no point piling food up on a dinner plate, because there’s no way I’ll be able to eat that much, and it’ll be a waste of food. The portion sizes after my gastric bypass are considerably smaller than I’m used to, and I’m physically unable to eat large portions. Indeed, if I did attempt to overeat it would make me really uncomfortable or sick.

I’m also going to have to resist the urge to graze on food and treats during the day, because if I eat between meals then I’ll not be able to eat anything at the dinner. I’m also not going to be able to eat lots of fatty or sugary foods, as I know they’ll make me ill.

And so food this Christmas is going to be a different proposition for me.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m still going to enjoy my turkey dinner – but I need to get my head around the fact that I won’t be eating to excess. And I won’t have my face stuck in a tub of Quality Street for a week!

I guess I just need to get used to a Christmas that isn’t dominated by food.

Christmas drink

As for drink I’m undecided whether I’ll have any over Christmas.

The advice from bariatric surgeons seems to be that patients avoid all alcohol for the first 6 months after surgery. And for the last 4 months I’ve not touched a drop, and I haven’t really missed it.

I suppose the only reason why I’m considering it is to be social, and because (like food) drink is so heavily associated with Christmas celebrations. I don’t want to get drunk – I’m too old to be dealing with hangovers – but maybe one or two glasses might be ok?

But then again, I’m not meant to drink any fluids while I’m eating, so the glass of wine with dinner isn’t going to be a thing.

Argh! It’s no wonder I’m undecided.

COVID Christmas

In these COVID-19 pandemic times, Christmas this year is going to be very different for most people. We’re not meeting up with family and friends, we’re not having office Christmas parties, and (thankfully) there are no occasions when someone is trying to shove a plate of mince pies in my face.

Some people are also not going to have a happy Christmas at all, as they deal with grief from the loss of a loved one, or the hardship that comes from losing work, or with physical or mental health issues.

So although my Christmas will be very different this year, I still feel very lucky. I’m still in work, my friends and family are all well, and I was able to have surgery that will help me live a healthier, longer, and more fulfilled life. And so I feel very blessed!

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I visited my dietician todayVegetables 1085063 1920
Published Wed, 2nd Dec 2020

I visited my dietician today

I had an appointment this morning with my bariatric dietician. It was part of my follow-up plan for the 3 month point after surgery.

Weight loss progress

My first action was to jump on the scales, and they reflected what I already knew that I’ve lost around 25 kg since surgery. That puts my at around a 15% body weight loss, which apparently is what they would expect at this point.

Food and diet

We talked about a variety of things, including my current diet, what supplements I was taking, and if I had experienced any side-effects since surgery such as bloating, reflux or dumping syndrome.

She asked me to describe a typical day and what I ate for each meal – including snacks. Her main goal in that was to assess whether I was getting enough protein in my diet – and also to check I was eating a reasonable amount of fruit and vegetables.

I mentioned that I was eating protein bars – in particular Fulfil bars – and she seemed happy about that, as they contribute 20g of protein and are low sugar.

I do need to eat more fruit and veg, so that can be a goal for me.

Exercise

We also touched upon exercise, and the dietician suggested that I look at introducing some resistance or strength improving exercises.

I already walk the dogs every day and cycle a couple of time a week, but they are both cardio exercises. I should also be doing strength training, to help guard against muscle loss as I lose weight, and to also help speed up my metabolism.

She did say that I shouldn’t just launch into using weights if I haven’t done it before, as I could injure myself. So instead she said to get an assessment done by a physio or specialist trainer, and get them to put together a proper tailored strength training program for me.

Next visit

I’m due to back to see the dietician around about the 6 months mark – so that’ll be the end of February. I’ll get my bloods done again in advance of that, and they will also check again on my weight loss progress.

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I seem to have become obsessed with proteinBarbecue 1239146 1920
Published Wed, 21st Oct 2020

I seem to have become obsessed with protein

Whenever I’m planning any meal, it seems that my first thought is how much protein it contains. It’s become a bit of an obsession for me.

I’m conscious that I should by trying to have 60-80 grams of protein a day. And with small meal portions that’s actually quite difficult to achieve.

The bowl of porridge for breakfast, made with protein milk and added powdered skimmed milk, only gives my 19 gram of protein. The reduced fat paté and crackers at lunch only gives me 10 grams. Then a dinner of lasagne and salad gives me another 18 grams. And I end the day only having 47 grams, and I’m short of my 60-80 gram target.

I can help increase my protein intake by having snacks between meals, but if I do that then I can’t eat as much in my main meals. Or I could have protein drinks, but I’m not a fan of milky drinks.

So I’ve bought myself some protein bars, which are small enough not to fill me up, but will also give me 15 grams of protein each. And just maybe it’s enough to stop me obsessing about the amount of protein in each meal!

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Drinking enough water can be hard workBottle 166406 1920
Published Mon, 5th Oct 2020

Drinking enough water can be hard work

I had my gastric bypass 5 weeks ago, and I struggle every day to drink enough water. I’m meant to be drinking 2 litres of fluid every day, but that’s a lot of water to get through when I can only drink very very slowly.

It sometimes feels like the water drinking is a full-time job, because it needs to be a fairly constant activity through the day. If I forget to drink for an hour or two, then I often won’t get enough liquids in me, and I’ll end up dehydrated.

I can only take one or two sips at a time, and then I have to wait for a few minutes for it to pass through my system before I can have some more. And so the drinking has to spaced out over a long period of time. It used to be that I could finish my 800ml water bottle in a couple of minutes, but it now takes a couple of hours!

No drinking before or after meals

Then there’s the restrictions about not drinking for at least 30 minutes before or after meals, which further extends the amount of time taken to get the full 2 litres in me.

I’m not meant to drink for 30 minutes before a meal, because otherwise my stomach will still be full of liquid, and I’ll not be able to eat enough food. And likewise after a meal, I have to wait for the food to pass through my stomach and make room for the liquid. There’s also the danger that drinking straight after a meal might flush the food out of the stomach and straight into the intestines. And if that happens then the nutrients from the food may not be absorbed properly, and it could increase the chances of dumping syndrome.

Taking my water bottle with me everywhere

I’ve found that the only way to drink enough is to take my water bottle with me everywhere. So if I go for a walk with the dogs, or go shopping in the supermarket, then the water bottle goes with me. I also have it with my when I’m on my bicycle, and I use every red traffic light as a cue to take a couple of sips.

I have my water bottle on my desk with me all day as I work, and will frequently stop what I’m doing to take drinks from it, even when I’m in the middle of a video-conference call.

It gets to the point where I’m now getting a bit obsessive about having water with me all the time. If I leave the house without any water, I feel the need to stop in a shop and buy a drink. Otherwise it might mean a couple of hours without drinking, and then I’ll struggle to drink the full 2 litres.

I’m hoping that over time I will become easier to drink a little quicker, so I won’t need to think about it so much during the day!

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