Life After Weight Loss Surgery

2009 the WLS weight management program, diet, diet pills

Yup. It’s that time of year. January 2009. Diet, health, life, happyness, anticipation – all for one cause…. ME! I’m looking forward to a great new year. As I write this, as fast as my fingers can keep up with my brain, I want to disclose the new plan…

#1. Eat Right. Well, for me. That means small meals, every 2 hours, no 6″ footlongs (4″ inches fits), no all carb plans, no hot chocolate and Harry and David’s Mints… only… the boring, tasty bland ole natural food for me. Can you see the excitement in my writing? Uh…. well… if I were a foodie, I’d probably write about the decadent flavors of some exotic fruit and healthy cheese temptation, or some garlic sauce that goes on my fish salad or who knows… yup… no…. i’m reverting to a PLAN B – that only a FT working mom, suburban legand, and marketing goddess can love… All Natural Protein Shakes - Yes of course DYMATIZE!, Fresh Fruit & Bread for breakfast, Lean Cuisine for 10AM lunch, 12:30 Meal Replacement shake (gotta love a strawberry protein shake)… 2:30 snack of vegetables that crunch, 5:30-7:30 Dinner with family.. FREE FOR ALL… This is my one meal with my family.. YES! i’m going to eat a whole wheat pasta, or Natural Pizza from Pizza Hut… and for that evening meal to satisfy the tastebuds… SOUP…. Not just any soup – DINTY MOORE BEEF STEW….

#2. Exercise. Yes. I will take the stairs not the lift (we only have fork lifts at my office… don’t tell my bosses!)

#3. Diet Pills. Normally… I wouldn’t condone the usage of diet pills. But let’s get real here. I put on 7 lbs over the holidays… i got a turkey ball for a gut… fortunetly it’s only 7lbs…. but frankly…. it’s enough… that only a few lucky people will ever experience…. being proud they gained – only 7lbs…. I used to swing 30 lbs during the holidays…. you heard of the freshman 15? Mine was the freshman 150… Get my drift… So… I’m going to supplement… we have been testing a new product at the office… WOW…. um…. VIPER energy pills.. I used to think I knew what fat burners/weight loss diet pills were…. then I moved to the sports nutrition industry – where everyone has to 1 up the other – just before the product ingredients are illegal…. well… for once… Dymatize doesn’t just have a cool flavor… we’ve a KICK ASS energy pill. 1 pill last all day… and if you are lucky enough… you’ll be up all night rocking and rolling too… it’s enough to make you heart flutter, your hormones rage, and well…. i don’t recommend taking with alcohol (you won’t know you’re drunk – until your puking!)….. Screw all those diet aides or pills that cost hundreds of dollars… we’ve got one for $60 that will show you the moon… Sun… and world of energy… I don’t know… you try it… http://www.viperhardcore.com tell me what you think.

#4. Another thing to add to my 2009 new me program… for those of you who’ve read about my adventures of 2008 – I transformed… but this year… i’m going to TRANSMORPH into 2010…. it will be a blazing year… a triumphant challange…. and oh… OMG… excitement around every corner.. only because i’m AVERAGE…. I’m AVERAGE! I’m AVERAGE SUPER MOM! HEAR ME ROAR!

PS. Please follow the advice of your doctor, the warning labels on any products you may supplement with, and when you have burnt off 10 lbs… give me a holla!

Add comment January 13, 2009 siotha

Dymaburn… Feel the Burn or the Energy?

I started a diet suppressent, fat burners + energy pill today. Funny – it’s advertising TM says Feel the burn. Today. I felt the – Get R Done – oh where’d the time go – i missed lunch and didn’t even notice it…. not a bad thing!

Add comment August 5, 2008 siotha

Protein? Could it be part of the new me? or my diet even 6 years after my gastric bypass?

Changing to a protein enriched diet: One Post-op gastric bypass girl’s life of being an average woman!

Continue Reading Add comment August 1, 2008 siotha

The food list for WLS lifers: What you can eat, can’t eat.. and how to eat!

This post is for anyone who’s learning about life after this major operation. You see the biggest mistake I see are people not following their diet… or getting used to the “blah” feelings, to say the least, of eating certain foods…. So I’m writing a couple of top 10 lists of food related edible items…

Good Foods

Chicken, fish, soy foods – MEAT! Meat is good for you. After this surgery – red meats will be hard to digest, but you must eat them. Without them – you don’t have balance in your diet.
Water. Not Coolaid, not propel, not gatoraide, not tea, not coffee (these are ok, but minimal!) Water is more important than ever!
Veggies. Get plenty of GREEN, ORANGE, RED, purple… some yellow, some white – carbs aren’t your best friend but you should eat more veggies.
Fruits. Fresh only please! Get any – go for it, they’re good for you… yes they’re loaded in sugar. (Trust me – do a test – eat an orange and see how you feel as apposed to a slice of cake – it’s a different sugar) I use fruits for snacks, and desert… and often breakfast.
Cheese. Um. There are plenty of dairy items to go here, but I prefer cheese. It keeps ya um, clogged when your tummy wants to be runny… it gives you small amounts of calcium, and tastes great on just about anything… mmm… grapes & cheese, meat & cheese…. Mac & cheese… yum!
Vitamins. I consider this a food group. You must Must MUST take vitamins. Or you’ll endup like me – malnourished and under a doctor’s care until you can prove that you’re going to eat healthy enough to stay out of the hospital.
Soups. Red, brown, go for em. They are necessary to tame the tummy when you’ve been having a rough go… or just over stressed it… soup is default….you can always eat it.
Granola bars are good too- filling crunchy and snackable!
Yogurt & Cottage Cheese. I put these two together (but don’t eat them together) because there are ways to eat them that will blow your sugars, and others to be just right and healthy for you. You know your sugar limits, don’t blow em. I like cottage cheese with fruit coctail or peaches in light syrup. Yum.
If it ain’t on the list the rule of thumb is – try a bite – then say thank you to the cook, and go on about your meal.

How to Eat after WLS

This is the order of food pecking orders… that I live by.. just because I didn’t mention whole grains or organics or whatever doesn’t mean I don’t take them into consideration when eating. For example, if I’m going to eat a sandwich I choose whole wheat bread, extra meat, tomatoes, light mayo – as in a light coating – extra cheese… etc.

Water
Meat
Green Veggies
Orange Veggies
Yellow/White Veggies
Bread
Fruit – dessert item
Sample items – a taste of the fried items, cakes, sweetened foods
Red Wine (trust me after WLS if you go for the wine first, you’ll be drunk before the meal!)
Desserts – eat these 1-2 hours after your main meal – remember – don’t over do it…

What/How not to EAT

Fried FOOD
Breads
80/20 hamburger or fatty meat
MAYO
Over processed foods – this includes speghettios, lean cuisines, etc…
Drink between meals, not at meals, or you get less food in da tummy
CAKES, COOKIES, SWEETS, POTATO CHIPS – are a big fat DONT DO IT!
Gassy food. There’s nothing like cucumber or onions to give you heartburn or indigestion… it ain’t anymore fun when you’re tummy’s smaller!
COKES, SODAS, SUGAR WATER – COOL AIDE – GATORAIDE – SUGAR TEA – this is the #1 hardest thing to give up. I know. I’ve been there. I have been known to go through about 3 cases of cokes a week – you know why? i take a sip, set it down, forget about it, 2 hours later its warm or flat, and i open another to take 2 sips, then set it down forget about it. I can’t even drink a tiny coke – you know the mini looking ones… I also only drink Sprite or Sierra mist… brown cokes taste like… carbonated maple syrup running down my throat… yuk…
CHEW YOUR FOOD. Even if your are 6-10 yrs post op… get something hung or worse too big to process it’s like having a knot in your stomach and bowels for the rest of the afternoon – you’ll be able to feel it move through your digestive track…. ick.

1 comment July 8, 2008 siotha

Celebrations! Update from the last few weeks… 4th of July and Are you Smarter than a 5th grader?!

For the last few months, I’ve been unemployed. Well. I thought I had picked up project, then got punked. Seriously punked. Then…. with life still happening… things started moving and shaking… and going…. Today I’m blogging about some neat things that have happend over the last 2 weeks and the next 2 -3 weeks….

First, a recap of my health. I’ve been sluggish. 3 Weeks ago I called my doctor’s office for my iron results from my test. They read it to me as very high – 90s…. I thought – for once – a little RR is doing me some good. I went for my checkup last week – only to find out that my hemoglobin had dropped. Hrm. That’s interesting. I’ve been sluggish, tired, tingling, blah, feel like i’m coming down with the crud, but not… and generally irritable…. Oh, but all of the symptoms are normal… Um. NOT. My iron had dropped in half, and the test results hadn’t been recorded on my chart – or i would have had a treatment sooner… ok no big deal the worked me in… i got a treatment, and checked to see how low my numbers where… and surprisingly… they weren’t so low – but i’ve been travelling, and very active – and TIRED this holiday week. Oh man – i’m tired… My iron is low… I feel it…. Ok – enough about my iron… it’s treatable… like every other week for the rest of the year – if not my life… I just hoped that it had stablized while I am on mini – stressful – work free time. Oh well. Ok – so i said this blog is celebrating right? Well here’s the cool stuff that happend:

I’m up for 2 major interviews this upcoming week! I’m excited! i also have a hair appointment – you know that always trumps a job – kidding!

On Holiday we went to San Antonio, broke as anything, but had a blast! We had more fun broke – than we’ve had with luxurious vacations – it seems odd – but – we did! Then I got the call from the casting crew of Are you smarter than a 5th grader – i went for my audition, I won’t get to prove my brains, but I got to a casting call that wasn’t 10k people – heck there weren’t even 50 people! I’d given my right arm to meet Jeff Foxworthy, but I guess the next time he does a comedy tour that’s as close as I’ll get!

What else? We’ve had an awesome 2 days of fireworks. First in Addison. We had front row parking it felt like – and only a 30 minute getaway (traffic is usually 2hrs plus to leave a 3 mile radius)… Then we went to the Frisco show last night.. It was awesome we got to see huge displays… and again as we tried to get away fast – we got out of their in 5 minutes, got up on the tollway and saw 360 degrees of major shows! It was SOOOOO COOL!!!

Additionally, I’ll find out more soon, but we’re thinking about starting a support group, that’s stand alone – and not a doctor’s/surgeons group to support Life after WLS! I think I’d be so excited to be the Rona Scott of Dallas (She used to be a huge WLS support person in Birmingham)… just need to figure out how to make some money off this venture… But alas… money is not the priority, should one of these here jobs comes through!

Anyway… as for celebrating – we’re celebrating this family time that we’ve had the last week. I figure there won’t be many more summers of our daughter being so young, funny, cute, and ice skating!

Add comment July 5, 2008 siotha

holiday eating tips for wls folks

This summer is going to be a hot one – well, at least in Texas it is! One of the things that WLS has made me very aware of is, holiday eating. Holiday parties, I was taught it is rude not to sample what other people have made or brought to a party. But I also don’t want to spend 25% of the party explaining – i’d love to try it but no, it WILL make me sick. So now I have devised a minimal plan that so far…. has worked…. 1 Bite. That’s all I need of anything… if small plates are available get one, that way people don’t ask as many questions. 1 spoonful, 1 peice, one sample. That way I can say yes I tried it, but had to make room to try everything else!

If it’s cake and desserts, I pass, unless there has been a time lapse between eating. I try to eat dessert 2 hours after the main meal. Usually, one glass of wine or beer after i eat, and start chatting…. 2hours goes by pretty quick.

Enjoy your summer outings!

Add comment June 28, 2008 siotha

Short update… Keep taking those damn vitamins!

I don’t care what your excuse is, iron is a must. Calcium is a must. b-12/folic acid is required for childbearing aged women.

My iron tanked again. 6 months of iv therapy, and we try a few weeks without it. Well…. it tanked in 2 weeks, then my chart was misread to me, and i just thought well it’s my luck i’ll live with these oddball symptoms all my life now. Turns out, my iron tanked. I simply don’t absorb it. i’ve tried numurous pills, geltabs, you name it with iron, after my bypass i slowly quit absorbing it, and now i live with symptoms that suck.

Anemia is a serious condition. When my iron tanks, so does my blood count. Please. Take your vitamins. If you want to hear more bout my iron deficiency… email me! I can scare the crap out of you. HAH

If you’re new to the WLS world. This is the most over looked, simple advice. Take your vitamins. Get your checkups regularly. I prided myself not needing to see a doctor except for “the crud”. They kept telling me (as an upsell of course – i thought) to get a complete physical. Heck now my numbers are so freaked up i’m afraid to get a physical cus every time i go in for something “simple” it’s worse than expected. But – ultimately – nothing too serious other than i will live with the iron problem the rest of my life. My hematologist sees me more than many of my family members!

1 comment June 27, 2008 siotha

Drinking and Driving after Weight Loss Surgery….

HAh! I got your attention! Seriously. This post is about liquids of all forms not just Alcoholic. Here is a list of To DO’s after surgery… 2 months, 2 years, 10 years, and in general!

Do Drink plenty of WATER! me personally, I like to add a little propel into the mix and call it even
Don’t drink liquids with your meals… it fills up your stomach pre-maturely, when you should be getting your proteins and vegetables in
If you’re not getting enough protein or fiber, drink it. Or you’ll be up shit creek – Litteraly. They have new flavors of metamucil, i’m really looking forward to trying them instead of the classic orange crap.
Don’t drink too much alcohol. It’s bad for you, its goes through your bowels and out the other end like beer shits, and frankly… you’ll be the first one drunk, and the first one sober – no matter how much you’ve had.
Yes. in the early months, you can drink too much liquids (at one time) and puke them up.
Cokes. Yuck. Who drinks them? Not you! No diet no regular. Don’t do it. There are dozens of reasons to stop drinking soda.
Juice is good – sugar is not. You’ll think you’ve turned into a diabetic the way sugar will make you sick. It’s like….. that funky feeling after you’ve ate toooo much again at thanksgiving…. but….stops in bout an hour, instead of 4 hours
Don’t get dehydrated. you may have a small tummy, and have to learn to juggle your drinking and eating habits significantly to get food and 64 ounces of water in. Deal with it. It’s a small price to pay for loosing – How much weight?

Now get out there and DRINK!

1 comment May 27, 2008 siotha

Getting Pregnant after WLS

So let me just put this out there before going on…. Getting preggers after this surgery (especially in the first 2 years is unbelievably EASY!) Heck – I have 1 daughter, and 1 miscarriage. (the miscarriage wasn’t planned)…. There’s something about having less weight to move as your getting your grind on… there’s more breathing room, a little less sweat, body parts – knees, elbows, tailbones, backbones, stomach muscles seem to hurt less… and somehow the ovaries… they just seem to be a little more fertile than usual. Remember if you’re doing the baby dance – you gotta get ALLLLLL your vitamins +! and as a WLS Girl – you gotta take vitamins through out the day because I assure you – you won’t absorb them all (see some my post about my anemia and non-iron absorbtion – don’t end up like me with IV treatments every week – and i’m not even preggers right now!!!!) So. Here’s my list of things to do to get that baby dancing more flowing.

Know your menstral cycle.
Party hard, get drunk (remember 1/2 margarita is all it takes)
Buy yourself some sensual lingerie, this is your bedroom time – be beautiful!
(Yes, i know you’re already beautiful, but unless you’ve had your excess skin taken off, cover it up with some lace and you’ll enjoy it for the evening)
Don’t be doing any drugs that could harm you or the baby. (there’s my anti-drug promo there)
Get Naughty. They say – the more fun you’re having – the more likely the activities to knock you up.
GET it ON! You go girl. Sex after WLS is way more fun. Go GO and Get some more… you know he wants too!

1 comment May 24, 2008 siotha

Is it a bug, or is it BM’s after WLS? The real Poop Story…

This last couple of weeks has been a big change for myself and my family. I’ve strictly been working at home and trying to get a grip on my health, mood, and “what do I want to do when I grow up,” because of a job change.

Anyway, I’m writing this entry to talk about Poop. Yes. It’s not a favorite topic, however as a WLS patient it must be discussed because well…. let’s face it, life after WLS – is all about eating, drinking and pooping. We won’t go into gory details, but let me set you straight. Depending on the particular location of the RNY re-attachment, will affect your long term small bowel’s behavior. This is good, bad, and well poopy at times. They say that the small intestine is what initially abosorbs the food after it’s broken down from the tummy. Well, there are sections of the small intestine that absorb different types of food. (kinda like the tongue has different tastebud regions…. ) because of the surgery the leisurely absorbtion area is skipped and food goes directly to the – greasy, carbs, non-healthy items… this seems strange at first but what it does is gives that extra – OOOOH don’t eat that — or stop eating that cus it doesn’t feel good going in — and the your full woman commander signal — AND well, that grease isn’t absorbed the same way and causes (in my opinion) it to be fast tracked through your full bowel system for an immediate departure. Within an hour you could have a loose BM just because the small intestine disagreed with what you ate. That being said…. you could be going going and going 3-6 times a day – right? No, not necessarily. But, possible.

So this is where this blog covers my problem. Over 5 years I’ve had ups and downs with my small intestine, some weeks, months, quarters are great, no upset stomach, or hit you so fast you go on yourself if you’re not careful – problems. Then other days, weeks, months it could be the – time leaving the house, office or nearest restroom or it will be trouble…

Yes. Right now is the latter of the two. But there are a couple of variables. #1 i spent 2 weekends in mexico, rural mexico…. #2 i’m craving red meat – my small intestine does not like red meat – still. So. Take your pick… i’ve no idea why i’m crapping out like this lately but… i’ve lost 10 lbs this month… my blood counts are normal…(WBC is a little elevated, but not enough for an antibiotic). And No Imodium, Pepto Bismal, or Milk of Magnesium have not curbed my problem. (they don’t work so well after WLS, on me).

This makes life a little bit more tricky. As you never know really – when is the time to see a doctor and when is the time to change your diet for a few days, weeks, months….. Most of the time you need to exercise a decent amount of recollection of what you’ve ate, and if anyone else around you has similar problem.

At this time there are 2 clues in this post to tell you that it may not just be WLS for me…. Let me give you a third hint… My husband is also poopy these day….Yeah, you guessed it… La Tourista…. EEK! So if we’re not feeling better over this weekend… it will be time to visit our doc!

Add comment May 23, 2008 siotha