Since I've already posted about my weight loss surgery this week, I thought I would stick with the theme and address another angle of gastric bypass surgery - compliance. Let me just say, that the further I get away from surgery, the harder it is to stick to the eating and drinking guidelines. I am breaking some of the rules of post-surgery.
Now, some people (and I won't name any names, in order to protect the guilty) believe that the bypass is the "easy way out" of obesity. Trust me, it's not. The life changes this surgery requires have definitely been a challenge, and at times, an all out major accomplishment. However, it is all very worth it and I would do it again tomorrow if I had to. It's been life altering.
Here are five rules I am breaking:
1. I drink with my meals.
2. I drink carbonated beverages.
3. I still skip breakfast. ( A no-no for anyone, not just bypassers)
4. I eat sugar. (Well, not sugar straight from the canister. But sugary foods).
5. I still love carbs more than my proteins, and I don't always eat my proteins first).
Here are five rules I am following:
1. I eat very slowly and chew, chew, chew my food.
2. I am (fairly) consistent about taking my vitamins and other supplements, along with my monthly B-12 injection that I do myself.
3. I attend support groups.
4. I try to get some decent exercise or at least walking in.
5. I try to fit more proteins into my diet.
Many people who believe the surgery is the easy way out fail to realize that there is more to the weight loss process than merely the surgery. Patients have to follow a pretty structured diet plan for life if they want to reach and maintain goal weight. Because of absorption and related malnutrition issues, patients must take vitamins and supplements for life. Because of the limited amount of digestion, patients must chew their food to mush before they swallow for life. And because of the tendency to wash food down with drinks, the patient cannot drink within 5 minutes before and 30 minutes after for life. Now, these guidelines are of course only that - guidelines. They can be broken, and as earlier stated, I do break the drinking while I eat rule. But they are guidelines for success, and breaking any and all of them can sabotage weight loss and weight maintenance. This surgery guarantees nothing, but it does give me an edge.
Many people have gained back all their weight and more after gastric bypass. Singer Carnie Wilson is most well-known for her gastric bypass weight loss and then regain. Some folks have had lapband surgery and then later gastric bypass surgery. Some people have had a second bypass after stretching their stomach by overeating. (Most good surgeons will not complete a second bypass for this reason because the problems are not solved through the surgery. Other action must be taken). Nothing promises success, but compliance helps. And it is hard! Anyone who says it's easy is either lying or hasn't experienced it.
I can still overeat. I can eat any sugary substance I dare to try, with the exception of my once beloved ice cream. I can eat greasy foods. I can eat pizza. Thankfully, my desire for these foods is minimal, and my stomach's capacity to hold them is also minimal. But the stomach is remarkable in its ability to expand, so another important part of post-bypass eating is to stop eating the instant I feel satiety. Learning to feel satiety can be an experience for patients if they ate for comfort before surgery. Comfort eaters often and usually eat well beyond the point that they are full. They ignore fullness. They don't feel it. Post-bypassers have to learn what satiety is, and learn to listen to their bodies and know when enough is enough.
It's weird, and I don't know if there is a medical explanation for it, but tastes change after surgery. I've experienced this and others in my support group have experienced it. Food doesn't taste as good and I don't crave the sugar the way I used to. Ice cream makes me sick, which is probably a blessing since ice cream used to be a major comfort food. I've never been big on cooking, but it especially seems senseless now to cook a meal because it takes so little to feel full. Eating out isn't much fun because I'm full after eight bites and I am not a fan of leftovers. In all honesty, eating has become a chore, and it isn't at all the pleasure it once was.
This is a good thing, really - because food no longer rules my life. I don't organize my life around my meals and I don't plan my meals in advance merely because I can't wait to taste them. I plan them now for how much protein - how much nutrition - they can give me, which is why we eat in the first place.
Food is a tough addiction, because unlike drugs or alcohol, I can't completely give up food. If I were an alcoholic or drug addict, I would be required to give them up in order to recover. I can't, however, give up food. I can give up certain kinds of food, obviously, but I still have to eat. It's a complicated part of recovery.
I don't drink sugary pop, but I still love my diet Sunkist. The carbonation doesn't kill me the way it does some bypassers, so I can't use pain as an incentive to quit. Studies show that diet pops cause obesity because they trigger sugar cravings, so I have to be aware that, although my pop may be sugar free, it's doing a number on my teeth and potentially sabotaging long term success. I acknowledge this, and it's a risk I take. It's hard to break all of one's habits.
Most insurance companies, mine included, required six months of monitored weight management. This means that once a month for six straight months I went to my surgeon's office, met with a nutritionist, weighed it, and met with a nurse practitioner who instructed me and made notes of any weight related health issues. For most people, this six months can be annoying, agonizing and seem pointless after a lifetime of diets, supplements and exercise programs. I believe that it is key to success. The six months allowed me a gradual progression through the various changes I had to make to my life. Changes that are for my lifetime, not just for the surgery. Going into surgery one day and coming out the next with all these guidelines would have been really overwhelming. Instead, I was able to incorporate a few changes at a time over six months so that my rate of success and my chance of maintaining those changes long term were higher. I'm so glad I had the six months!
So much negative attention is focused on weight loss surgery and the first few weeks and months afterward. And granted, they are hell. But there is so much positive, too! My life is so different now, and so different for the better! Simple things that many people take for granted, I revel in! Here is a list of my milestones, or "wow" moments so far:
*Crossing my legs.
*Clothes shopping in the "normal" person's section.
*Being able to sit in a booth at the restaurant instead of asking for a table.
*Jogging.
*Zip my jeans without performing acts of contortion.
*Wrap my arms around my husband.
*Allow my husband to wrap his arms around me.
* Perfect cholesterol, triglycerides and other bloodwork.
*Wear a swimsuit.
*Walk around a mall, zoo, or other large place without sitting to rest or being winded.
*No more joint pain.
*No more back pain.
*Wear heels.
*Fit in an airplane seat.
*Put on my seatbelt in an airplane.
*Fit in carnival/amusement park rides.
*Had people look at my picture ID and do a double take, ask if it's really me, or ask how come I look so different. (I'm thinking of hanging onto this photo ID for a looong time :)
*Completely replacing my wardrobe.
*Wearing colors I love because I love them, and not not wearing them because they make me look fat.
*Meeting people who haven't seen me in a few years.
*Letting other people take my picture - and not minding who might see it.
And many, many more!
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