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.

LABS ARE BACK!

I got my labs back already and all but one thing is in the normal range. My potassium is very low and he doc has prescribed an additional supplement for me.

So what does it mean to have a potassium deficiency or Hypokalemia?  I looked it up:

 A medical condition in which our body fails to retain the amount of potassium required for its day-to-day functioning is called potassium deficiency or hypokalemia. This deficiency of potassium in body can be fatal considering it has a crucial role to play in various body functions - all of which are bound to be affected by the lack of this mineral in the body.

Fortunately my levels, while low, have not persisted long enough for me to have most of the possible symptoms or side-effects, which include:

• Myalgia (muscle pain), muscular weakness and cramps.
• Cardiac arrhythmia i.e. abnormal rate of muscle contractions in the heart.
• Unexplained fatigue and weakness
• Hyponatremia, which may or may not be accompanied by anxiety.
• Impairs nerve transmission and deteriorated nervous system, which, in turn, results in confusion and delirium.
• Skin related problems such as blistering, skin eruptions, dryness of skin, acne, etc.
• Temporary memory loss or other problems like weak memory, difficulty in concentration, etc.
• Sleeplessness and irritability
• Intestinal or lung paralysis
• Heart related problems, such as heart deterioration.
• Increase the risk of high blood pressure
• Ringing noise in the ear at times

I have had very dry skin since the surgery, other than that, some sleepless nights and irritability but nothing I haven't experienced before!  No unusual muscle pain but I do think I have been slow to recover from my new work-outs. I am off BP meds but my blood pressure is down to the high/normal range.  So this should protect my heart health, too.

 One of the great fears of making this great change to my physiology has been that I would loose not only weight but my health. I am thrilled that all the other areas tested were in normal ranges and that an additional supplement will help with this issue.