A YEAR OF LOSS - NOW MAINTENANCE

I am now a year from the start of my weight loss.   Last year I was on my pre-op liquid only diet for the
week leading up to my BPD-DS weight loss surgery. I was asked to lose 20 pounds in the month between the time I scheduled my surgery and when it occurred - and I did it.  A lot of people said why did I need surgery if I could lose 20 pounds in a month?  Clearly people who were not aware of just how many times I had lost that 20 pounds (or 80 pounds) and gained it back!!

I reached my goal to lose 130 pounds last month.  I am working on a maintenance diet now - I lost a few pounds and gained a few - so I guess I am doing it right.  My latest labs are just coming back and I see I still need to work on my supplements and protein intake - that's why we keep up with the labs every 3 months.  Even though I can eat more, my body is still adjusting to these changes and I need to keep my awareness up with regard to what it needs to remain healthy.

I made a mistake in switching to a different potassium supplement - the quality must not have been good because my potassium really dropped down, even though I was taking it every day.  I went right out and got the one my doctor prescribed.

I am still struggling with my protein intake.  The same old song.  I feel like I eat all day long and still can't get enough grams of protein in.  I am going to have to get more creative.

If I get too heavy on the carb side of the food pyramid,  my body certainly reminds me.  No just the gassy kind of reminder, but I get diarrhea, too.  I don't mean to get gross, but simply to inform as I know there are people wanting to get the real picture of this whole life changing surgery.  While I can carefully and selectively eat carbs - there is a consequence of going too far!

 I am happy to say that I get to enjoy a few cocktails when we go out.  Wine is hard on my stomach and I can't drink enough of it to get tipsy - but a good martini goes down easily and has yet to give me grief!

I have been getting to the gym less which is not ideal.  I need to get back  to  weight workouts.  I know that building muscle is important and will make me feel and look better, too.

We ride bikes every weekend and I can tell I am stronger and faster as time goes by.  We also started taking dance lessons - Western Swing dancing to be specific.  Two nights a week we are dancing for a couple of hours.  Fun, good exercise and another great activity for us to do together.

So that's the physical side of things - more on the emotional side coming up.

LOTS TO CELEBRATE

I was reading around on the weight loss surgery sites over the weekend.  It is amazing how many people who have had surgery in the past 3 months and how differently they are doing.  Somehow I missed that when I was researching the process. 

One woman wrote about how much pain she still has after a month - I had none after a week.  Another wrote out her daily food log and after 3 weeks she is eating practically normally - including beef ribs.  A bite of beef puts my stomach into a knot and I am 8 weeks out.  I noticed a post from someone about how great brie cheese is - well, I loved it going down but the "back end" was anything but great!

I am just happy that I have made it through the holiday season - made wonderful meals for my family and ate at the table with them.  We dined out and I ate my little portions without it being a big deal.  I still made cookies and desserts and, my favorite,  "Monkey Bread" without eating any of it. 

I have lost 65 pounds since September, I am into some 1X  clothes and practically everything I was wearing in September has been taken in or donated away.  My body looks alarmingly different and I hope that exercise will help tighten and lift things.  I need to buy new Spanks because my current pair are too big.  And new bras because I can't fill in the ones I have!

While my husband considers it a waste to go out to celebrate New Years because I can't drink or eat much - I know there is a lot worth celebrating for my health and my looks and the benefits to both in the year ahead.

WEIL FOOD PYRAMID

I have been using the Dr. Weil Anti-Infammatory Food Pyramid as a guide for changing my diet.  I didn't manage to hit all the marks this week because this all requires a lot of planning and preparation. 

I can report that I only had 2 eggs, 1 serving of chicken and several servings of salmon.  I had 3 servings of whole wheat pasta, 2 servings of brown rice and, as I thought might be an issue, 6 pieces of whole wheat bread.   Now that I put the bread in the freezer, it will be easier to curb those grab and go visits to the bread drawer!

I bought soy milk but that was the extent of my soy so far, I'm working on it.  I am not a tofu fan but I am going to see if I can find ways to add it to my diet.  I was a bit over on the dairy protein and way under on the beans & legumes.  I am good on the fruits and veggies.

So the problem is that  it's more work to get the protein into the proper range.  I went to the library and got a couple of cookbooks, so I will start trying recipes, including some with tofu and many with beans.

I think the biggest change is that I am off sugar and that I have gone out twice and have been fine finding and making good choices.  Even at the fair on Monday I got a grilled fish taco on a corn tortilla.  I really prefer flour tortillas and use whole wheat at home, but I ate the corn tortilla and it was fine.  I asked for no sauce and some extra cabbage on the taco and they were very nice about it. 

I sniffed my son's garlic fries but didn't eat one.  I would have liked the frozen lemonade (it was hot!) but I brought a container of iced tea and stuck with that.  The next time we went out I had a blackened salmon sandwich on a whole wheat bun.  It was great though looking at the bun I am not sure it was really whole wheat - next time out  I'll try the "lettuce as bun" version!

So I made it through a week and now I am gearing up for the long run.