I have been experimenting with food lately. I really enjoy combining foods to get different flavors. Tonight at a friend's house, we had bbq chicken and my husband bought Doritos to share (Tapatio and Sweet Spicy Chili flavors). I had the genius idea to combine the chicken and the Doritos to add flavor to the chicken. I also added corn and I have to say it was very tasty. My friend even thought it was good. She said it smelled so good she had to try it. :)
When you can't eat very much, you have to try to make what you eat desirable. Also, when you only eat 1/2 a cup of food at a time, you need to make sure at least half of that cup is protein. Protein helps control my hunger.
It's very odd to feel full on 1/2 a cup of food. Sometimes I even feel guilty for feeling full, because back before surgery when I was full it meant I had eaten too much. It's amazing how the body will adapt, but the mind is far behind in adapting. There are rules I am required to follow in order to be successful and they say to start incorporating them in slowly and one at a time. The changes in my behavior I am making are not easy as they are behaviors I have had for a long time. I am finding though, that I am already doing most everything that they have asked me to do. I was offered juice tonight at dinner and I politely declined even though I could have splurged because it was a holiday. I know that drinking liquid calories will only sabotage my progress in the long run. My counselor was right when she said that I would do well after surgery. It was the motivation and help that I needed. I know that no matter what happens as long as I follow the rules I will be successful. Before surgery I knew that if I stopped eating well that I would gain all the weight back and then some, so why even try? Well now I know that it's all up to me, so I have to try! Mind over matter! Even if no one else understands, it's okay because the surgery was worth it and all I needed to help me to be successful!
Friday, July 5, 2013
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Addicted fo Food
I am a food addict. I don't mind admitting it. I eat when I am happy, sad, lonely, bored and any other emotion you could think of. The hardest part about being a food addict is you can't take food away like drugs or alcohol. Your body has to eat to survive. Sometimes I really wish that my body didn't require food to stay alive. It's a never ending battle. That battle will never be over for me, even after surgery. I have to constantly think about when to eat, what to eat, how much to eat and is it the right thing to eat. Before surgery was almost easier, because I could just shut the thinking off and enjoy eating. Although that is kind of a lie, because I was always thinking about food before too, just in different ways. That is why the surgery was a must for me. I knew that if I just got a little bit of help I could be successful.
Since surgery, I have been consuming under 1000 calories a day. For the first two weeks under 500 calories a day. I seriously thought I would feel deprived, but I don't. That has been really nice! I started eating pureed foods on Monday the 24th of June. It's been really nice to eat pasta and meat again! I can't even describe how nice! lol
After gastric bypass some people have difficulties with nausea and vomiting and food intolerances. I was really hoping not to have issues like this and so far, I've had no issues other than lactose intolerance which I already knew I had. I did eat too many grits the other day at a restaurant and felt uncomfortable for about an hour, but that was it. And by too many I mean I took a couple bites more than I should have. You see, I can only eat 4 ounces or 1/2 a cup of food at one time. To a normal person that may seem like a tiny bird portion, but to me it's just right. In the mornings after not eating all night during sleep, my stomach/pouch is smaller and holds less food, so if I overdo it in the morning it can get uncomfortable. The rest of the day I can eat the full 1/2 cup amount which is the perfect amount of food to satisfy me.
I feel so blessed to have gotten this surgery! It's an amazing feeling to be able to survive on so little food. Occasionally I do miss the sweets and fatty foods, but I know the longer I go without them the less I'll crave them. Since my body no longer tolerates those foods, I won't be able to poison my body with them any longer. I feel hopeful for the future. I know my body will have plateaus and losing the amount I weight I have to lose will be difficult at times, but I feel that I've prepared really well and I have lots of support.
To those who are thinking about doing weight loss surgery, make sure you think about why you eat and if you could handle the changes you would have to make before and after surgery. This is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, however I know the rewards will be great, and that is what keeps me going and gets me up in the mornings!
Since surgery, I have been consuming under 1000 calories a day. For the first two weeks under 500 calories a day. I seriously thought I would feel deprived, but I don't. That has been really nice! I started eating pureed foods on Monday the 24th of June. It's been really nice to eat pasta and meat again! I can't even describe how nice! lol
After gastric bypass some people have difficulties with nausea and vomiting and food intolerances. I was really hoping not to have issues like this and so far, I've had no issues other than lactose intolerance which I already knew I had. I did eat too many grits the other day at a restaurant and felt uncomfortable for about an hour, but that was it. And by too many I mean I took a couple bites more than I should have. You see, I can only eat 4 ounces or 1/2 a cup of food at one time. To a normal person that may seem like a tiny bird portion, but to me it's just right. In the mornings after not eating all night during sleep, my stomach/pouch is smaller and holds less food, so if I overdo it in the morning it can get uncomfortable. The rest of the day I can eat the full 1/2 cup amount which is the perfect amount of food to satisfy me.
I feel so blessed to have gotten this surgery! It's an amazing feeling to be able to survive on so little food. Occasionally I do miss the sweets and fatty foods, but I know the longer I go without them the less I'll crave them. Since my body no longer tolerates those foods, I won't be able to poison my body with them any longer. I feel hopeful for the future. I know my body will have plateaus and losing the amount I weight I have to lose will be difficult at times, but I feel that I've prepared really well and I have lots of support.
To those who are thinking about doing weight loss surgery, make sure you think about why you eat and if you could handle the changes you would have to make before and after surgery. This is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, however I know the rewards will be great, and that is what keeps me going and gets me up in the mornings!
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Surgery and beyond
Have you ever had surgery before? Have you ever wanted to have surgery? If you've had surgery before I bet you never want to have it again, but that wasn't the case for me. I had three surgeries before my gastric bypass, but despite having those three surgeries, I wanted my gastric bypass surgery so bad! Obviously no one wants to be in pain, however I wanted to feel the feeling of being satisfied with less food. I wanted to get rid of my weight for good so I could live healthier and get my breast surgery.
So far, it's working and I am so happy! I didn't lose weight the first few days after surgery because of fluid build up and swelling, but almost a week after surgery I finally saw some weight loss on the scale. It was like a small miracle! I'd been eating less than 500 calories a day and to not lose weight was weird. I'm glad to see it happen finally! The weight loss isn't important while I heal of course, but it's still nice to see.
Here is my daily diet: Two ounces or 1/4th a cup of light vanilla yogurt for breakfast, a snack of 2 oz of sugar free pudding or jello, for lunch 2 oz of strained cream of mushroom soup, another snack of 2 oz of pureed fruit, for dinner 2 oz of V8 Juice and then a last snack of sugar free jello or pudding. Throughout the day I am also sipping on a protein shake and have to drink 48-64 oz of water. It's been hard getting the water down now, because I am instantly full on 2 ounces, so I have to sip on an ounce at a time.
If you are thinking that you want to do this surgery, don't jump into it without a lot of thought. If you are just looking to lose a little weight, then you don't need this surgery. This surgery is for those individuals who are able to committ to a life long change, who need to lose a large amount of weight and who have tried to lose weight unsuccessfully in the past. I didn't decide to do this surgery lightly and without a great deal of thinking. Once I had cancer I knew that time was of the escence. I needed to get it off quickly because my fat cells were producing estrogen which can feed cancer cells. More to come later!
So far, it's working and I am so happy! I didn't lose weight the first few days after surgery because of fluid build up and swelling, but almost a week after surgery I finally saw some weight loss on the scale. It was like a small miracle! I'd been eating less than 500 calories a day and to not lose weight was weird. I'm glad to see it happen finally! The weight loss isn't important while I heal of course, but it's still nice to see.
Here is my daily diet: Two ounces or 1/4th a cup of light vanilla yogurt for breakfast, a snack of 2 oz of sugar free pudding or jello, for lunch 2 oz of strained cream of mushroom soup, another snack of 2 oz of pureed fruit, for dinner 2 oz of V8 Juice and then a last snack of sugar free jello or pudding. Throughout the day I am also sipping on a protein shake and have to drink 48-64 oz of water. It's been hard getting the water down now, because I am instantly full on 2 ounces, so I have to sip on an ounce at a time.
If you are thinking that you want to do this surgery, don't jump into it without a lot of thought. If you are just looking to lose a little weight, then you don't need this surgery. This surgery is for those individuals who are able to committ to a life long change, who need to lose a large amount of weight and who have tried to lose weight unsuccessfully in the past. I didn't decide to do this surgery lightly and without a great deal of thinking. Once I had cancer I knew that time was of the escence. I needed to get it off quickly because my fat cells were producing estrogen which can feed cancer cells. More to come later!
Saturday, June 15, 2013
The Process...
Once my surgery consult was done, the process started. And boy was it a process.
I was required by insurance to do doctor monitored weight loss for 3 months. At each appointment the doctor had to check for specific things to make sure that I was able to follow a weight loss program. This was to ensure that I would be successful after the surgery. Each month I checked in with my primary doctor who checked on my behavioral changes. Each month I changed something different and talked about any difficulties I was having. I had a check list of things to start changing, so it was good that I had time to do them all. I had to cut out carbonated drinks, caffeine, alcohol, all liquid calories and I had to start drinking 64 oz of water and slow my pace of eating.
I also had some prerequisites to do in order to be medically released for the surgery. They required I do an EKG to test my heart rhythm, a CBC which is a complete blood count to check my levels to make sure I was in adequate range for surgery, a chest x-ray to make sure my lungs were in good shape, and a psychological evaluation to make sure I didn't have any unresolved issues before I underwent a major surgery.
All in all the three months went by pretty quickly and I had done all that I needed to do, but for some reason my doctors office was taking forever to get my paperwork faxed over to the clinic and it ended up holding up my surgery for about a month. During that time, the company that I worked for actually changed insurance providers and I ended up needing an additional 3 months of doctor monitoring. It was a good thing that while I was waiting for insurance to approve me I kept going to the doctor to make sure I didn't have a lapse in visits. So, I only needed one more visit with the doctor and would be done.
As soon as I heard that the insurance approved me, I was ecstatic!! The surgery was set for June 10th and I was ready to start my pre-op diet as soon as I saw the dietitian! Because my BMI was 59 I feel into the category of needing two extra weeks of pre-op dieting to help shrink my liver so the doctor could see my gastrointestinal tract better during surgery. The first two weeks consisted of one solid meal of lean protein and a vegetable and the rest of my meals had to be a protein shake. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The third and fourth weeks were the rough ones. I could only drink liquids. 5-6 protein shakes a day and I could snack on sugar free jello and popsicles. It was torture, especially when my husband cooked his meals. I wanted to wring his little neck every time he sat down to eat his macaroni and cheese with hotdogs (even when I don't like it) because it smelled so good!
Well, I ended up losing 25 pounds during the 4 week pre-op diet. And all by myself! I was very proud! The surgery was the end of the process, but just the beginning of the journey.
I was required by insurance to do doctor monitored weight loss for 3 months. At each appointment the doctor had to check for specific things to make sure that I was able to follow a weight loss program. This was to ensure that I would be successful after the surgery. Each month I checked in with my primary doctor who checked on my behavioral changes. Each month I changed something different and talked about any difficulties I was having. I had a check list of things to start changing, so it was good that I had time to do them all. I had to cut out carbonated drinks, caffeine, alcohol, all liquid calories and I had to start drinking 64 oz of water and slow my pace of eating.
I also had some prerequisites to do in order to be medically released for the surgery. They required I do an EKG to test my heart rhythm, a CBC which is a complete blood count to check my levels to make sure I was in adequate range for surgery, a chest x-ray to make sure my lungs were in good shape, and a psychological evaluation to make sure I didn't have any unresolved issues before I underwent a major surgery.
All in all the three months went by pretty quickly and I had done all that I needed to do, but for some reason my doctors office was taking forever to get my paperwork faxed over to the clinic and it ended up holding up my surgery for about a month. During that time, the company that I worked for actually changed insurance providers and I ended up needing an additional 3 months of doctor monitoring. It was a good thing that while I was waiting for insurance to approve me I kept going to the doctor to make sure I didn't have a lapse in visits. So, I only needed one more visit with the doctor and would be done.
As soon as I heard that the insurance approved me, I was ecstatic!! The surgery was set for June 10th and I was ready to start my pre-op diet as soon as I saw the dietitian! Because my BMI was 59 I feel into the category of needing two extra weeks of pre-op dieting to help shrink my liver so the doctor could see my gastrointestinal tract better during surgery. The first two weeks consisted of one solid meal of lean protein and a vegetable and the rest of my meals had to be a protein shake. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The third and fourth weeks were the rough ones. I could only drink liquids. 5-6 protein shakes a day and I could snack on sugar free jello and popsicles. It was torture, especially when my husband cooked his meals. I wanted to wring his little neck every time he sat down to eat his macaroni and cheese with hotdogs (even when I don't like it) because it smelled so good!
Well, I ended up losing 25 pounds during the 4 week pre-op diet. And all by myself! I was very proud! The surgery was the end of the process, but just the beginning of the journey.
Friday, June 14, 2013
One last ditch effort
So, after the informational session at Rockwood clinic, Chad and I talked about trying to lose weight together one more time before I did the surgery. So, we decided to try Advocare together. It involves a 10 day cleanse and vitamin regimen. I ended up losing 20 pounds and Chad lost 24 pounds. We really liked the products and it was pretty easy, however once we stopped using the products the weight came right back. We tried to sell the products and did pretty well for awhile, but it got to be too expensive and it wasn't sustainable. I did this diet to show myself and Chad that diets don't work for me. I needed permanent change.
Once it was determined that we weren't going to do Advocare, I decided to do as much research as I could on the Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass. Once I talked with some friends that had it done and found out that it was the right surgery for me, I got my consult scheduled with my surgeon. Dr. Bright met with me and we discussed the surgery and the next steps I needed to take. He was happy to see how young I was and that I had done lots of research before meeting with him. He said with the surgery that I could expect to lose 65-75% percent of my body weight. We calculated my BMI at 59 which meant that I would need 4 weeks of pre-operative dieting before surgery, instead of 2 weeks. I was so excited to get started!
Once it was determined that we weren't going to do Advocare, I decided to do as much research as I could on the Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass. Once I talked with some friends that had it done and found out that it was the right surgery for me, I got my consult scheduled with my surgeon. Dr. Bright met with me and we discussed the surgery and the next steps I needed to take. He was happy to see how young I was and that I had done lots of research before meeting with him. He said with the surgery that I could expect to lose 65-75% percent of my body weight. We calculated my BMI at 59 which meant that I would need 4 weeks of pre-operative dieting before surgery, instead of 2 weeks. I was so excited to get started!
Menepause and weight loss...yeah right!
My weight was always something that was out of control, but after I went through uterine cancer and a hysterectomy it became something that I no longer had control of. I would eat healthy and still gain weight. Losing weight was something that was impossible because of the hormones. Not only was I depressed because of the hormones, now I was depressed because I couldn't lose weight. I found out my thyroid was acting up as well, so I felt like my whole body was against me! It was terrible!
I finally had enough! I was going to take control and do something about this! I decided to look into weight loss surgery. My counselor had gastric bypass surgery in 1999 and had a great experience with it. She said it was life changing and she wished that she would have done it sooner.
I found out that to get started I needed to go to an informational session at Rockwood clinic in Spokane. Once I did this session, I made up my mind that I wanted to get the gastric bypass. It offered me the best option to lose the greatest amount of weight. My intention was to get the weight off so I could get preventative breast surgery to reduce my risks of getting breast cancer. See my Previvor's blog for more details on this.
The process of getting approved for weight loss surgery is a complicated one. Most insurance companies require 3-6 months of monitored weight loss before surgery can be approved. Also, Rockwood clinic suggests to get started on behavioral changes before surgery to make sure you're prepared for the drastic changes after surgery. Since this was such a long process, I will post separately about it.
Once I had decided what type of surgery I wanted to get, I had to talk to Chad, my husband, about it. He was very unsure of the surgery at first, but I know now that he wanted to be absolutely sure it was the right thing for me.
I finally had enough! I was going to take control and do something about this! I decided to look into weight loss surgery. My counselor had gastric bypass surgery in 1999 and had a great experience with it. She said it was life changing and she wished that she would have done it sooner.
I found out that to get started I needed to go to an informational session at Rockwood clinic in Spokane. Once I did this session, I made up my mind that I wanted to get the gastric bypass. It offered me the best option to lose the greatest amount of weight. My intention was to get the weight off so I could get preventative breast surgery to reduce my risks of getting breast cancer. See my Previvor's blog for more details on this.
The process of getting approved for weight loss surgery is a complicated one. Most insurance companies require 3-6 months of monitored weight loss before surgery can be approved. Also, Rockwood clinic suggests to get started on behavioral changes before surgery to make sure you're prepared for the drastic changes after surgery. Since this was such a long process, I will post separately about it.
Once I had decided what type of surgery I wanted to get, I had to talk to Chad, my husband, about it. He was very unsure of the surgery at first, but I know now that he wanted to be absolutely sure it was the right thing for me.
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