Last week, I attended my first weight loss surgery support group. It was one of the requirements I had to complete in order to have the surgery. I'm glad it's a requirement because it was really helpful! And, since I have to travel 45 minutes to get to it, I needed the motivation. Now that I know how wonderful the group is, I'll be more likely to go.
I invited my mom to come with me. I felt like I need her more than anyone else to know what I'm going to be going through. We got into a little fight on the way down (we're too alike), but we cleared it up quickly and got along fine the rest of the time. We both learned a lot about what to expect and I know she'll be a lot of help to me after the surgery.
Here are some of the things I learned:
1. 4 oz = 1/2 cup NOT 1/4 cup. This was the best news! There was a girl my age sitting by Mom and me and I decided to become friends with her, so we did. When the group leaders mentioned that 4 oz is roughly 1/2 cup, Heather (my new friend) almost choked because she had just started to consider surgery and was appalled at how little food she'd be able to eat. I was THRILLED though! After a month or so of thinking I'll only be able to eat 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup seems almost like a feast! Woohoo!
2. One bite of vegetable/carb for every 3 bites of protein (mainly meat). I expressed my concern that all I'd be eating was protein and wasn't that kind of not good? What about fruits and vegetables (which I love)??? This is what I was told. They also said that the maintenance diet allows for fruit and more veggies. That's better, I guess.
3. Small bites (pea-sized) and chew each bite 20 times. I heard about the consequences for not following this and they are NOT pleasant! So, I've begun to practice. It's harder than you might think.
4. Tracking exercise and food intake helps you be more successful at weight loss. I've heard this so many times it makes me want to scream. I guess it makes sense, I just hate having to do it. To that end, I'm borrowing this idea and will have weekly updates on my exercise progress. I haven't figured out how I'm going to work the food intake part.
5. If you don't eat enough protein after the surgery, you'll lose hair! It's not like you go bald, your hair just gets thinner. And, they said that it comes back after awhile, but I'm not going to take any chances. I like my hair. I guess I'll be following that 3 bites protein, 1 bite carb rule after all!
6. To get rid of gas, walk! I guess gas is a bit of a problem after the surgery. Oh goodie! One lady felt it in her shoulder and chest! So much so that she went to the hospital thinking she was having a heart attack. Boy, the good news just keeps coming, doesn't it??? :)
7. My "ideal weight" is 135 lbs. There's a formula that supposedly tells what you should ideally weigh. The nutritionist said it isn't foolproof, nothing is. Yeah, I'm not aiming for 135; it may be a little extreme. I'd love to get to 170, maybe 165. 135???
It was really interesting to listen to people talk about their experiences and to get their advice for adjusting to post-surgery life. It was also really motivational! One woman had gastric bypass on Jan 2, this year, and has lost 105 lbs! She looked like a skinny person! I would never have guessed that she hadn't been skinny all her life. Another woman had Lap Band surgery a couple months ago and had already lost more than 30 lbs. One has lost almost 60 lbs in 4 months! Wow! It was good to see the positive results! None of them regretted having the surgery (maybe those people don't go to support groups) and all of them said they wished they'd had it done sooner.
Maybe next month I'll invite Dad and Paula to go with me.
7 comments:
Hi Julie,
Interesting post. Cyndi & I have a friend who is also getting this surgery done. (Cyndi or I may have already mentioned this elsewhere). She's having to lose a certain amount of weight before she gets the surgery and had to wait like 6 months or something.
I've found google to be very helpful for converting measurements. There's a calculator built right into the search box. For example, put the following into the search box and hit the search button:
4oz in cups
You get this above the search results:
4 US fluid ounces = 0.5 US cups
On tracking food & exercise: I've found fitday.com to be very helpful with this. It has a huge list of foods to select from and you can add in your own custom foods and set the amounts you eat. It also has a huge list of exercises and other activities to help you track carbs burned. Recently, they've added several new tools including a weight-loss goal & tracking system.
On target weight: My supposed ideal weight is between 140 & 175. When I was a roofer & in the best shape of my life, I was 185. Sometimes those ideal weights are a little off. I'm shooting for 190 or so these days.
Ben
Do you like jerky? If so I'll have Ryan make some of his teriyaki beef jerky for you. He made some for his best friends now ex-wife when she had GB. Anyway, it helped her get the protein and it took a lot of chewing so it was satisfying.
Ben, what a cool calculator! I can't stress enough how happy I am that 4oz is 1/2 cup instead of 1/4 cup! I'll check out fitday.com, thanks for the info. It sounds like just what I need to help me keep track of things. And yeah, that ideal weight thing is not always perfect. Like I said, I'm definitely not shooting for my "ideal" weight. Heck, anything is better than where I am! Thanks for your comments!
Lori, I love jerky! Thank you so much! I can see that it would be a really good source of protein and would be easy to eat small bites of and chew for awhile. Thank you!
Interesting meeting. I'm learning about healthy weight in my nutrition class right now. I learned that most people set their "ideal" weight too low, and then when they have trouble attaining that weight they get discouraged. So good job on realizing that just because that's what your meeting people said (and I'm sure they know what they're talking about), it doesn't mean that's what you HAVE TO weigh.
Hey, I just read about tracking in a health newsletter I get at work:
"If writing down everything you eat after a meal or snack is too tedious or boring, try a 'reverse' diary. Map out a food plan ahead of time and try to stick to it. Then find ways to acknowledge your success, by putting a gold star by every successful day."
I've tried this 'reverse' idea. It's way easier, because you're writing everything down in one sitting, essentially. And when it comes time to eat, you don't have to think very hard. :)
Sarah, thanks! What a good suggestion! I'll have to try it. I really should start practicing so it's easier after the surgery. And, maybe it would help me now, too! Unlike Ben's friend, I don't have to lose weight before the surgery (her insurance may require it), but it certainly wouldn't hurt!
Sounds like a good group.
Hooray for the good news about 4oz of food!
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