The Diet

I'll be 31 this year and I can safely say that the number of diets I've tried rival the amount of years I've been around.

To name a few there was:
Richard Simmons (who to this day is my favorite)
Weight Watchers
OA (it's a way of life, not a diet)
The Lemonade Diet
Fen-Phen
Jenny Craig
Atkins
The Popsicle Diet (totally  made of by me and it was one of the best)
South Beach
and the Google Diets which consist of every combination of things I could find through Google including starvation. 

Writing all the means of torture I have put myself through is important. It helps to make it clear that WLS is not the easy way out.  Nor is it the Cure-All.  In order to get to this point in my life I needed to really try my hardest at everything else.  What I learned from those attempts is that I can easily lose the weight I need to be healthy, however keeping it off is another story.  I won't lie to you and tell you that these things are out of my control because they're not, I just need a little bit of help in that department.  To put it simply, I am unable to continue living the way I would need to stay at a healthy weight without some form of extreme intervention.  And that's what the DS is for me.  I will still need to "diet", but with my DS it will be different.  I will still need to watch what I eat, but with the DS I will have a tool that will assist me.

How will things be different?  I know your curious because frankly I was too.  At first I couldn't figure out why anyone would want to put themselves through major surgery willingly.  So here's the breakdown. 

First, absorption: 

Carbs, which are no good for us even with a normal stomach and intestinal track with can do more than make losing weight hard post DS.  Although eating simple carbs are not unheard of after my surgery they can make me gassy, bloated and plain uncomfortable if I over do it.  Complex carbs are normally tolerated. 

Fats, which are bad for you, will be good for me!  I will only absorb about 20% of fats.  Fats will be critical for my survival and healthy digestive system.  Constipated?  Try some bacon to lube things up!  As a matter of fact my diet will consist of a fat filled, high protein diet. I wouldn't suggest putting a straw in a bucket of bacon grease but just try to imagine if that cheesy, greasy hamburger was 80% fat free without taking away the taste? 

Protein, has always had a special place in my heart.  I would take a big juicy steak over a piece of chocolate cake any day!  Post-DS I will have to pack on the protein and diet won't be enough.  From what I've been able to learn from everyone who is already years out of surgery is that protein shakes will play a major role in my life for the rest of my life no matter how much protein I am already consuming.  Whey protein will help keep my energy up more so than all the protein I'll be able to get from food. 


Next Malnorishment:

Since I'll still have a portion of my stomach and I will still have my large intestines I will be able to absorb some things.  But just like I will be missing 80% of the fat I eat , the same thing holds true for other vitamins and nutrients.  Because I will be severely malnourished I will need a regimen of vitamins and supplements in order to survive.  The absorption rate varies per breakdown so the supplement list is pretty intense.  A full copy of supplements with more info can be found at  DSFacts.com and through Vitalady . As much as I would love to copy and paste what Vitaladys regimens are, I won't because she truly deserves the time it takes to click on her link.  Do check it out though.  It's pretty intense but following her regimens are critical to a healthy body.  There are also labs to be done every 3-6 months, following a strict vitamin regimen can help narrow down where you may need help if anything should ever fall low.


Ta Ta For Now as my favorite Tigger would say.  My Pre-op Class is on Wednesday and I have tons to prepare for!