Exercise, Nutrition, WLS & Cooking Q&A
There are a number of low carb catsups on the market just google low carb catsup, I believe even Heinz makes one. As for lower sugar tomato based you can buy tomato and spaghetti sauces from Trader Joes as well as other places that are lower carbs. I typically just use tomato paste and dilute it. At the amounts we can eat, you really will not be getting that many carbs if you use regular old tomato sauce. You also always have the option of making them from tomatos and not adding the sugar.
YES! I do!! how perfect in your timing! I am meeting with a surgeon on January 10th, have already been approved by insurance. I have had a mammogram, doing my annual next week etc etc. Since November I have been working out a few times a week at the gym, including a twice/weekly lighter boot camp. My plan to to have VSG and I want it soon....but how soon after that can one on average expect to return to lighter workouts? I know I will need to walk and walk and walk. But how soon were you ready to get to a more substantial workout?
Thank you so much (and no worries, I know your experience is yours and mine will be mine but just some idea of how things went for you will help)
Mary
H/W: 312 S/W: 280 C/W: 196 Surgery date: 3/18/2014
You will be walking right away and you will want to do it as much and as often as you can. Your doctor will clear you for light exercise after 3 or 4 weeks and probably full exercise after about 6 weeks, but I encourage you to wait until 8 weeks before you do anything strenuous and the reason is you don't want to herniate your incision points.
However I have a way you can minimize your muscle loss. There is a product called Scivation Xtend, that is a post-workout recovery formula, but it is being used by chemo therapy doctors to preserve muscle mass in their patients. This will fit into clear liquid and hydration requirements. There are other similar products from other manufacturers so any one like it will do. But the results in the chemo patients are really promising. I would suggest you start taking this now and continue all the way through well after you start working out again. I wish I had known about this because I lost a lot of muscle from pre-op diet through post-op return to exercise. Your weight loss may not show up as significantly as you see some reporting, but know you are not losing muscle like everyone else and be happy about it because more muscle burns more calories.
You posted a recipe recently and I can not find it! You said it was your go to food for when you are craving something and your normal foods just aren't doing it. It wasn't the Protein Reeses Cups, but it was something along those lines though. I think you even said you just mix it up in a bowl sometimes and eat it.
Also, I am in week 5 post op. I feel so unhealthy right now. Despite the fact that I am down 30 pounds since surgery, and my blood pressure is lower, I feel kind of tired and sickly all the time. I'm following a high protein/very low carb plan, I'm taking all the vitamins I am supposed to, and I am getting adequate water. BUT, I don't know if my body likes this. Are there any health repercussions to just eating meat everyday? I wonder if not having the balance of fruits and vegetables can affect vital body functions, hormones, or moods. Any thoughts? Thanks so much!
A lot of things are happening right now and you touched on a lot of them. Hormones are changing, you blood pressure is down, you are going to get dizzy spells, but the reason you feel crappy is that your body is adjusting to burning body fat instead of carbs for fuel. You are close to being used to it and it's like a light switch. You will all of a sudden feel great, you will have tons of energy and you will feel great. You didn't mention if you are exercising but despite being tired you should be walking 60 mins per day. Doesn't matter if you split it 30/30 or 15/15/15/15 or do the whole 60 at once but you need to be walking. If you force your body to get used to burning fat quicker you will feel better sooner.
Here is the recipe. Just keep in mind this is very calorie dense and I did not start eating this until I was a year post op.
Here you go: � This is a little concoction I make when I feel like I need a cookie or some sort of desert. The carbs in it are slow digesting so even though the carb count might be higher then you would normally eat I think you will find it will not have a big impact on the carb monster: 1-2 tbsp of natural or fresh ground peanut butter or almond butter (try not to use regular PB as it will have added sugars) 1/2 scoop of chocolate protein powder (I used Optimum Nutrition Toffee and its really tasty, last night I used vanilla protein powder with cinnamon and that was pretty good too) 1/4 cup plain old fashion rolled oats (not the instant kind) 1 tbsp of ground flax seed 1 packet of stevia 1/2-1 tbsp�unsweetened cocoa powder sometimes I add in cacao nibs or unsweetened organic shredded coconut depending on how much exercise I have done that day mix in a small bowl until all combined and eat it with a spoon. Its basically a quick and dirty protein ball.� This is a very statisfying�little treat. The PB has fats that satiate, the flax and cocoa powder and oat meal provide fiber that satiates, its a sweet and chocolatey�"treat" so it sort feels like you are eating a soft cookie or crumble and its relatively high in protein. Whenever I have a hunger that I can't satisfy this is my go to and it satisfies me every time. I have tested this with a glucose meter and it has almost no effect on my blood sugar, certainly not like a cookie or desert would have.
I haven't really figured out if it is psychological or physiological but for some people it does seem to have that effect. For me personally it does not but then again if it does I probably just eat something with artificial sweetener in it. I try to use mostly stevia or monk fruit or xylitol/erithritrol. Splenda is the only artificial sweetener I use.
