honey031
My current health problem is that I have a history of childhood and adult obesity. I also have a family history of diabetics, high blood pressure, hypertension, and heart conditions on both my father and mother’s side of the family. My weight condition will undoubtedly cause me significant health problems, which will only get worse as time goes on. One such condition I already have is sleep apnea. Not to forget to mention that I am at risk of getting high blood pressure, blood sugar, hypertension, and an heart condition should I not change my eating habits and loose weight. My goals are to loose weight, change my eating habits, start working out daily, and not have sleep apnea. I have already taken an action to help me meet my goal and that was having the Gastric Bypass Surgery. The Gastric Bypass surgery makes it to where I can intake very little food and ensures that I will loose weight. The surgery also makes it to where I will get very sick if I consume over 8 grams of sugar at once. Sweets are my biggest problem.
My nutritional habits have changed drastically since the surgery. I was weighing in at 242 pounds at 5”0 tall with a BMI of 48. In accordance to my doctor, I had to be consuming around 3500 calories per day. I was consuming 1500 calories more then the average American with out any exercise.
My old eating habits gave me more nutrients then I need. My old diet was way too high in sugar, such as soft drinks; sweeten tea, coffee, candy, and cakes. None of these items provides many nutrients and led me to be morbidly obese. I had at-least four soft drinks a day: a cup of coffee, a cup of sweet tea, and at least three snacks a day. I then had breakfast. My breakfast had lots of nutrients. I had a bowl of whole grain cereal, a cup of coffee, a slice of wheat toast, juice, two eggs, and bacon. This gave a short energy surge. Before lunch, I had a soda and a snack. Next, for lunch I would have a huge helping of spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread, and a soda. Between lunch and dinner, I would have another snack and a soda. For dinner, I have two hamburgers, chips, and a soda. Before bed, I have an ice cream and cherry pie. This was my typical daily diet. When I was not eating, I was sleeping. My eating was out of control action had to be taken or I feared living a much-shorted life.
I had a family history of obesity illnesses such as high blood pressure, heart dieses, hypertension, and diabetes. Not to mention chronic depretion, was always tired, did not have the energy to stay up all day, play with my children, or walk up a flight of stairs. I had tried every diet known to humankind. I had lost 100 pounds two times in five years. I could not keep the weight off. Realizing that some of the weight had to do with emotional problems, I started counseling. Then I made the biggest step I have ever made to obtain a healthier me and obtain a healthy weight that is why I had Gastric Bypass surgery.
To better understand my current eating habits I will give you a brief description of what Gastric
Bypass surgery is. First, a small stomach pouch is created by stapling part of the stomach together . This limits how much food you can eat. Next, a Y-shaped section of the small intestine is attached to the pouch to allow food to bypass the duodenum as well as the first portion of the jejunum. This causes reduced calorie and nutrient absorption (WebMD (2005-2007). I am able to consume around 20cc of food or liquid at one time, which is a couple of sips or bites at a time.
My new stomach is roughly the size of an egg. It will stretch to the size of a cup in about a year. I am not able to follow the typical diet any more. I will need to eat small, frequent meals five to six times throughout the day. I cannot eat sweets; if I do, I will become sick. I currently have a protein shake for breakfast that provides me with 45 grams of protein. I drink water and propel in between meals trying to consume my 64 ounce of water. Which is impossible due to my stomach size? I generally have around 40 ounces of water. I then have a few bites of tuna for lunch and dinner. I have two crackers for snacks. I also take a daily multivitamin supplement. Though I don’t get my daily nutrients value from foods, I do get them from multivitamin and protein supplements. I am not able to consume the foods groups recommended by the food pyramid plan. My eating habits in the past gave me my daily value of nutrients and more which caused me to store fat and calories, which led to massive weight gain. I have learned how to make go food choices and through what I consider drastic intervention am not able to over eat as I was doing in the past. An anticipated problem I for see is that Gastric Bypass is truly just a tool to healthier eating and living. I have to make the right eating choices every day. Though I can only consume very small amounts of food, I still desire the raging sweets. In order to overcome my desire for sweets I have started buying no sugar, low fat products such as yogurt. I know what I should eat but it is up to me to stick to it or the surgery will not help me to loose the weight.
I created an exercise plan early on in this course. I started exercising three days after having gastric bypass surgery. I could not wait to put my body in motion. In order to increase the amount of energy expended in my day-to-day activities I have started working out for one hour each day. I have started going to my local park to walk with my two children for one hour each day, including weekends. The type of exercise that would work best for me is aerobic exercise and walking. Because, I have not worked out in years I have started with some low impact exercises such as pace walking and beginner aerobics in my home. I can workout at home everyday of the week doing aerobics but will have days that I cannot walk due to weather. I believe in cross training so that I do not get burned out. Should the weather not permit me to walk I can always do aerobics with the children at home. Staying active and working out is important to stay healthy. I have been measuring my success by weighing myself and noticing changes in how my clothes fit. I have already lost 25 pounds
Due to a lifetime of obesity I had to come up with an eating and exercise plan that will be life saving. As an obese woman I am at risk of a number illnesses should I not loose weight, learn to eat right, and exercise. I had gastric bypass that limited my food intake to less then a small egg at one time. I eat six small meals a day. My plan is always to start my day out with a protein shake of 45grams. A few ours later I have two ounces of tuna. A cracker for a snack. Some fat free sugar free yogurt and I then repeat this schedule until bedtime consuming less then 1000 calories a day. I am more aware of what it takes to having a healthy eating and exercise plan that ensures that I get all the nutrients I need to sustain good health. Food choices affect my health. My nutrient intake effects my over all, current, and future health. Nutrients are a substance in food that provide us with energy, structure and regulate the body processes. Nutrients that are found in foods help regulate the body’s processes to maintain life. All six nutrients: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, water, vitamins, and minerals have important regulatory roles. Water will help to maintain my body temperature. Lipids and protein are needed to control positive hormones that turn on or off various body processes. Proteins, vitamins, and mineral are needed to control the speed of chemical reaction throughout the body. I have devised an exercise plan that will allow me to put my body in motion to burn energy and keep my body in better shape through physical activity.
References
Grosvenor, M.B.& Smolin, L.A.(2006)Nutrition: Everday choices, New Jersey:John Wiley&Sons, Inc.
Medical Encyclopedia (2005-2007) Roux-en-Y stomach surgery for weight loss, December 9,2007, URL: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/19268.htm
WebMD (2005-2007) Gastric Bypass Surgery, December 9,2007, URL: http://www.webmd.com/diet/gastric-bypass-operations
