We both need regular tune-ups to run at our best performance

Health is a journey as well as a destination.  Success after Lap Band surgery is also a journey.  It’s a lifetime commitment to change, just as health is a lifetime commitment to good habits (of course having good genes always helps too).  It’s somewhat like taking a new car for a drive on a new road.  You are not familiar with either the road or the car, so you head out in awe of that new car smell and feel, and as you hit the first curve you wonder - “Do I have to slow down or will it really make it around the curve at this speed?” You speed around the curve with ease and then you hit a level straightaway and sail on through, loving everything about the car and the road, nice, new paving, new car smell, full tank of gas, what could possibly go wrong?  Uh oh, there are Red Lights up ahead and it looks like everyone is stopping in the right lane.  That’s okay you think, I’ll sail right on through in the left lane and off you go until…..screech…tires squealing, brakes applied HARD and you find yourself stopped along with the rest of the traffic.  Now what?  That new car and that new road no longer seem so awesome.  So, at the first opportunity you turn the car around and head back the way you came, dejected, head down, even the new car smell seems to be fading fast.  This car is just not what you expected, and you wonder if you made a bad choice.

What does this all have to do with weight loss surgery?  Everything!  You make the decision to have weight loss surgery, you go through all of the pre-testing and do everything both your doctor and/or your insurance company require(if you are fortunate enough to have insurance for the procedure).  This time, this is the last time you will finally shed those pounds that have been holding you back from life.  You will get healthy, you will be happy; all will be right with the world.  So you have the surgery, you start shedding those pounds, you start feeling good, you get back into the game of life and then suddenly there are red lights ahead and traffic is dead stopped.  You can’t shed another ounce; you may have even gained a pound or so.  Then you think about it and tell yourself, “I’m doing everything the same as I did all along, why am I not losing weight?” The “new car smell” of your surgery is gone.  The road isn’t new any longer and the paving is rough in spots.  Wow you are thinking that maybe you should trade in this surgery for a new surgery to reclaim that “new car smell” and smooth sailing. 

Well, maybe you should.  If you do my thoughts are that you will find issues, stalls, plateaus and bumpy roads when the “new car smell” wears off your new surgery.  I have a remarkably simple idea.  It’s worked for me time and time again over the past ….here I go again…almost 10 years.  Believe in yourself, believe in the surgery you chose, and go ALL the way back to square one and remember what you were doing at the very beginning to shed those pounds, breeze around the corners, and sail through the straight-aways.  I can guarantee it wasn’t grabbing a handful of chips, 3 or 4 cookies, fancy coffee drinks, or any other drinks with calories, every day.  It wasn’t nibbling on crackers out of boredom, or having a bowl of ice cream or three because you bought it for the kids.  I am not judging anyone here, nor is anyone “guilty” of anything.  This is just what happens when our focus shifts…when we decide to just live life “like a normal person”.  Hello, if I were truly a “normal” person I never would have pushed the scale to 424 pounds.  Food and I have a BAD long term relationship.  The only time I have any power over food is when I mindfully choose and plan everything that goes into my mouth, and that includes weighing and measuring it.  I eat like a queen on most days, I do not deprive myself of flavors and taste and texture, however to keep myself in my maintenance weight range there are a few habits around food that I have incorporated into my life.  Consider them the new normal.  Here are a few of them and if your lap band, or weight loss surgery is “not working” you may want to take a look and see if any of these resonate with you as possible ways to reclaim that “new car smell” and sail through a life of health as you journey on this path of weight loss surgery:

• Eat firm protein sources with as many meals as possible (this means shrimp, pork, beef, chicken, eggs, as opposed to yogurt, cottage cheese, protein drinks and other slider type sources).  If you are vegetarian beans, legumes and some of the ancient grains will provide protein as well as enough fiber to keep you satisfied.  - My big learning here was cottage cheese or yogurt for lunch has zero staying power for me, but early in the morning firm protein is impossible.
• Eat breakfast - why would you expect your body to wake up and start running like a well oiled machine if you haven’t fueled it?  Will your car start on an empty tank?
• Hungry between meals and not sure if it’s “real” or “emotional” hunger?  Try eating roasted veggies as a snack to remind your weight loss surgery it exists and let your brain in on the secret too.  My current favorites are roasted cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.  I can eat ½ of a Brussels sprout and perhaps 2 florets of well roasted cauliflower before I am reminded that I have had weight loss surgery.  It’s wonderful.  I have my soft stop back that way.
• DRINK WATER between meals.  Remember the 64 ounces?  I go for about 80.  Between the veggies and the water, even my high protein diet works its way smoothly through my digestive processes, if you get my drift.
• Weigh and measure everything possible and be in full awareness of what you are putting in your body.  Remember what you were consuming when you were shedding pounds easily and return to that level of eating.  For me it was a maximum of 1200 calories a day with a minimum of 80 grams protein.
• Keep emergency food and water with you at all times.  Back in 2004 and 2005 when I didn’t know any better, along with my bottle of water I always had one of those tuna kits with me.  Now it is a bottle of water, a package of jerky and a Quest bar.
• Protein bars/protein drinks…..folks, they are not intended as meal substitutes regularly…learn to eat REAL FOOD and use them when you must only, otherwise you may suddenly find yourself having a 200 calorie snack 1-2 times a day and approving of it because it’s healthy.  Use them sparingly and mindfully is all I suggest.
• Move your body.  For some this means walking 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, then up to 30 minutes a day…all at once or in pieces, for others this can mean training for a marathon.  Whatever it means, JUST DO IT!  Find something you like, even better if you can find someone you like to do it with.  It’s like taking your car up on the highway after it’s been driven around town for a long time.  My car loves me putting my foot to the pedal on the highway and letting it fly along.  So does my body.  It took a long time, but I promise you now, my body craves movement.
• Take your vitamins/supplements as prescribed for you by your doctor.  There are risks associated with any surgery and rapid weight loss and remember that most of us who are obese are also somewhat malnourished because of our food choices.  Sorry, I didn’t get to weigh 424 pounds eating bushels of bell peppers to stay healthy.  More like truckloads of Cheetos……

Most of Sandi’s RX for a smooth ride on this journey of long term weight loss surgery success is what we all did right after our surgeries until we got “tired” of it and fell back into our old ways.  When your car stalls all the time you have a mechanic look at it to see what it needs, you bring it in for a tune up.  Be your own weight loss surgery mechanic.  Give yourself regular tune-ups.

How can you expect anything to change if you are not willing to make any changes?