100plusGO

Focus on ‘the surgery’ is wrong. If you are one of those people eager for Bariatric surgery, waiting for ‘the call’, please hear me when I say I now know it is much more than jumping through all those hoops perfectly in order ‘to get the surgery’. The surgery is just the start. I jumped through all those hoops ‘to get the surgery’. My focus was on doing everything right ‘to get the surgery’. I was scared to gain incase I got put to the bottom of the list. That focus is wrong. The focus isn’t the surgery at all. The focus is your new lifestyle. And nope, right now you’ll totally disagree with me and that is totally normal. I heard it too from others who are now in my shoes. I was in your shoes, now I’m in their shoes. And because of that I know that you’ll remember me saying this 2-3 years from your own surgery day. This is not a diet like all the ones before. I did them all. Remember those diets? How long did you stay on them? I did so well on a couple of them. Then little by little I had ‘treat day’ or said “the heck with it” started snacking on ‘slider foods’ ... yes we are still able to eat chips, crackers, all the junk we did before...BUT this surgery is permanent!! So no you won’t be able to binge like you did. But you’ll be able to eat and then suffer dumping syndrome afterward, or foamies, and be on the sofa or bed saying “Oh God Oh God Take me now!” Then you’ll have diahrea. Don’t trust a fart I say. You’ll be all clammy. Your skin damp. Heart racing. We didn’t experience that when cheating on diets. However, there are some who don’t have ANY of what I just said as side effects. No punishment at all by their new stomachs. That my friend is a toughy. Then it is totally back to the same willpower we had to use on diets. Yup. Back to that. The first scenario I described was me in 2nd year. Even 3rd year. But 3rd year I was able to get away with onion rings or ice cream without my body reacting at all. So the focus is supposed to be life-long, mind-changing, learning-to-talk-nice-to-yourself, learning to forgive yourself, learning learning learning ... that is the focus. If you are a night time muncher, a binge eater, you will be so glad to have this tool. But Head Hunger is real. Tool or no tool. It thrives until you conquer it. Many do not. Notice all those selfie takers on the Bariatric pages ... they are non-stop during that first year, the new clothes, the new hair, we see their eyes now and we cheer them on... those days are SUPER and FUN but then notice their posts get fewer and fewer until you don’t see them at all? Ya. Regain. They are feeling horrible and like they failed the surgery. Oh I know all about it. But no you did not fail the surgery. I did not fail my surgery. The tool works. But like a hammer laying on a table, it won’t hammer a nail without somebody picking it up and using it. Our tool is the same. Our booklet is the same. Use it or Regain. There’s the ole revert to ole self ... those bad habits creep up ... we ignore the food police ... we hate them to be truthful... but we need them!!! Then we smarten up. Our pants get tight. The scale makes us cry. So the cycle restarts - 5-Day Pouch Resets... STOP!! The Resets screw up your metabolism!!! It screws up your bloodwork !!! Your ‘Reset’ is the Stage 3 of your booklet, the stage you stay on until you hit your goal weight. That is your reset. Get out your tiny bowls and plates again. Bring 1 cup with you everywhere you go. Eat but only what fills in that cup when you’re not at home. I am telling you from experience. Your booklet is your Bible in this. Bloodwork is your measuring stick. Feeling off? Tired all the time? Bloodwork. But where is the Team?

There is your tool and there is your Team. There MUST BE a team in place. Your team is Nutritionist + Social Worker or Counsellor or Psychologist (someone you regularly go to talk with and not only about weight or food). The Nutritionist should be a Bariatric trained dietician. If not, do not waste your time. We do not eat nor absorb like regular people any more. For example, we cannot have sugar. Duh!! Right? But non- bariatric dieticians do not know bread is sugar. They do not know juice is a no-no. They cannot fathom dumping system. They most certainly don’t understand foamies. They do not know that most first-year bariatric patients cannot eat raw vegetables like broccoli, celery or carrots. We cannot digest pork or steak. As a matter of fact, I’ve experienced being labelled “Non-Compliant” by non-Bariatric dieticians who just believed the Booklet. If at 4 months you were supposed to be eating lettuce or ham or turkey and you tried but either vomited it back up, gotten the foamies, etc ... they did not hear that but heard excuses. Most Canadian and American Food Guides list items we cannot have in the first year. Non-bariatric dieticians or nutritionists follow those Food Guides. So do some homework before you settle. The Social Worker/Counsellor/Psychologist (not psychiatrist, there is a difference) is there to talk with. The Bariatric journey affects our brain chemistry, our hormones, our moods, and often isolates us for the first year. It changes your s*x life. It might change your relationships. You’ll have frustration. You will have joys and new experiences that you just have to work though. You will need to talk to somebody. You will. Believe it or not, when you lose 100 pounds, you’ve lost a whole person. Happy dance right? Yes. You’ll celebrate that. But you’ll also feel weepy and cry at the drop of a hat. It is hormones, yes that is part of it. But it is also unresolved pains that got you big in the first place. Only you can fill in those blanks. Everyone has a situation (several to be precise) to resolve. Rapid weightloss wreaks havoc on our bodies until they re-adjust. In the timeline from surgery weight to the time of goal, those pounds coming off come off faster than any of our previous diets. The body will have to make several adjustments on this journey. We need the counsellor. Shop around until you get someone you feel comfortable with and that you feel heard when speaking. It is crucial.

“NO” is not a bad word. We MUST say ‘No!’ to our old habits or else we will find ourselves right back to where we started. Yup. REGAIN WILL OCCUR. It might be 10 pounds ... but it could be 50 pounds. REGAIN is a real possibility... and preventable!! Go back to stage 3 in your booklet and prepare for Head Hunger and learn that NO is not a bad word. Beware of those Bariatric social media groups that don’t judge. Gasp! Yes ... I deleted 11 groups I was in because people literally wanted permission or be told it was ok to slip now and then. Yes it happens. But no it is not ok. It is not ok. It is not ok. It is not ok .... hate the food police ... I do ... but we need them. That is tough. Bariatric Police (my term) ‘pull you over’ when you don’t follow the booklet. We NEED them because we WILL get off the bariatric track. We need REPROGRAMMING. Over and over and over and over ....This is not a diet. We can’t diet yo-yo now. This is forever. Follow your stage 3 booklet. Do your weekly weigh ins and monthly measuring (the scale is not the best way to measure progress)... and get your bloodwork done every 6 mos until you are showing a steady improvement and maintenance. Then bloodwork can be done annually and usually around your Bariatric Surgiversary. That’s it. You may or may not get skinny. BUT you will get healthy. You will fit pretty clothes. You will feel energetic. That is the focus.

Take your daily vitamins!!!

I take chewable vitamins every single day and multiple times throughout the day. It is especially key if you had RNY because there’s little to no absorption of key nutrients in foods. The longer your vitamin stays in your cheek the better the absorption too. Our calcium is CITRATE. Test your vitamins. Grab one of each, put them in a bowl and top with a mixture of 1/4 cup vinegar and 1 cup water. Check them in an hour. Vitamins that don’t dissolve are not getting fully absorbed into your body. Period.

** NO CHANGE = NO CHANGE**

So far I have lost over 100 pounds and kept that off. But I lost 160 and regained 60. Since that weigh in I have lost 30 of those regained pounds. Yayyy! I am still considered Morbidly Obese. BUT I am alive and realize that Metabolic Syndrome will always be part of my life. It really is freeing just knowing that. Just knowing ‘why’ I can’t lose qu**ky or ‘why’ I follow all the rules yet stay fat is freeing. To quote Lady Gaga ... “I was Born This Way”. So I downloaded that song and it plays in my headphones when I go for my walks and plays on my stereo when I exercise. I have Metabolic Syndrome. Period. Now I just have to do what needs to be done every single day to avoid regain and keep my physical independence.

No need for a gym!!! Well, maybe that is not true. Yes, I have stairs. I live in a 2-storey house. Some people NEED the gym. They NEED that schedule and someone expecting them to arrive at the gym. The gym creates a new sense of normalcy. The staff get used to your regular arrival time. Fellow gym users look forward to seeing each other arrive and work out. There is virtually no dialogue. Every person is there to get or stay healthy. But here in 2020, Covid removed the gym. You don’t need a gym. You need a routine. Will you exercise early morning? or early evening? Set your routine. Just know walking is in addition to your daily workout. Walking is a must regardless. Fast. Slow. It doesn’t matter. Walk for the brain and your heart. Workout for your metabolism. Walking is free. I use my walking poles. No joint pain. And helps with my stability. Use what you have. Need a walker? Use it. Just move. That’s the point. To get moving. Gotta start somewhere. Be happy with what you start with.

Sweep your house every day. I started sweeping my house after my 2nd iron infusion. EVERY day. That is how I started. Sweeping my floors. At first it took me all morning and all afternoon because it required several short sit-downs to catch my breath but at the end of the day the upstairs, staircase, and downstairs were all swept. I don’t have a dishwasher. Standing to do dishes was a struggle. But I do my dishes, AND sweep my floors. EVERY day. That is a victory. Enjoy your victories. Be happy with where you start.

No daytime naps. Over sleeping messes up the serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain. I slept all day, went to bed real late. Couldn’t sleep enough. I had no idea my thyroid was to blame. I had no idea that when I go to bed, to set my alarm for 7 hours later. Get up and go to the bathroom, wash my face. Over time, those two little buggars were back where they should be and I had energy. I ended up on antidepressants. I wasn’t clinically depressed though. My thyroid went unchecked. My vitamin D stores depleted. My iron and ferritin levels all dropped dangerously and it all went unchecked. I no longer sleep in the day time. When I go to bed at 11pm, I wake up exactly 7 hrs later. It is wonderful.

GET OUTSIDE everyday... regardless of the weather... regardless if you feel like it or not. I’ve had to MAKE myself get outdoors each day to putter around the yard. Eventually I was able to walk to the end of my driveway and back to my veranda. That was something worth celebrating. It grew to walking passed one house and back home again. Then 2 houses ... then 3 ...once I got to 5 houses I attempted a walk around the block. It's amazing what a little time out of the house can do for the mind. I now walk for mental clarity. For me it has nothing to do with burning calories. It is for my mental well-being. AND I get to say hello to neighbors. It feels great to get outdoors. Even if only a few minutes. PARK the car by the shopping carts. For about 5 years I stayed in the car while my husband went into the stores and got what we needed. I missed it but the stores are all so huge that it was too much for me. He still goes in the big stores without me, but I now go in the smaller ones and am thrilled that I am no longer stuck in the car. We park at the cart area. It’s easy to find our car by doing that too! Treat yourself better than you treat your car. Give yourself REAL food. Get hard boiled eggs, old cheddar cheese, fruit, etc. when you’re not home. Feed yourself real food. Don’t feed your body garbage and expect it to work well for you. WE are BETTER than garbage. Our cars won’t tolerate garbage gas. We don’t either. Right? Hug yourself. NO TURNING BACK WELCOME ABOARD Let's DO this!! We CAN do this!!