New Nutritionist New Hope

Yesterday I met Nicole...she is one of my new angels. I met with her as way to figure out how to manage this RH and to stop gaining and start losing again. I wanted to be educated on where I am now at 21 post ops and how to figure out what I'm doing right and where I can improve. So what did I learn???? I learned a ton, but I was also very encouraged and feel supported.

What I learned is that I'm doing a ton of things rights:

1. portion control - check
2. protein consumption - check
3. liquid intake - check
4. not drinking with meals - check
5. taking all my vitamins - check
6. balancing drinking, eating, and vitamins - check
7. being active and staying active - check
8. eating every 2 to 3 hours - check
9. knowing what works with my pouch and what doesn't - check
10. making good decisions about my food - this includes washing off the liquid from canned fruits, if i'm eating full calorie foods eating less than the serving size, using good whole grains like quinoa and couscous, and shopping smart

So what does this mean - well it is all about about find tuning and making nutrition easier. Yesterday we threw out the calorie counting, number watching, tracking. Why? Because it is bringing me down and stressing me out to the max. Even my nutritionist said that concentrating and being so strict has me too confined. So here is our new tactic. First - I'm going to the plate method. At each meal I'm to concentrate on lean, light, and balanced. Lean meat or protein of 3 to 4 oz that makes up 1/4 of the plate. Eat a good whole grain on 1/4 of the plate. The other half of the plate should be good veggies or fruits. This is to make sure I've got a complex carb = whole wheats - to keep the sugar up. The protein is to power my body and stay at the my protein intake. Veggies and fruits will be to fill in and keep me on target. Now since I'm a WLS patient my plate can be split up - I usually take my meal and break it up into parts so that I'm eating every 2 to 3 hours. 

Second I'm going to focus on carb intake. 3 carbs per meal and 1 carb per snack. 1 carb = 15 g on a label so as I'm packing portions and purchasing things I can monitor my intake. This is actually similar to how I ate on the diabetic diet prior to surgery so this is easy to incorporate.

Finally, she gave me permission to breathe. I'm not doing anything wrong, I just need to relearn how to live with RH. She was super impressed with my knowledge of the basics, but I learned a ton about what has carbs, what doesn't , what I need to look for in regards to whole grains, and to learn to give myself grace. I have all the tools it is just reorganizing them! I came out of the appointment in happy tears and felt like I had hope. I can reach my goal weight and for that...I needed some pep.

She gave me the tools to learn how to manage my RH and exercise again - protein like a smoothie (natural no whey) before and half with some crackers or a grain afterwards 30 min. This will allow me to be active, change up my exercise again, and not fear of having fallen sugar.

Nicole heard what I had to say about what is actually bringing my sugar up versus what all I've tried. I was able to feel like I'm doing things right for me and for my pouch without failing, ruining my pouch, or feeling like a failure. I will see her in a month, but until then if I need her I can see her sooner.

Best part - my insurance covers this 100% - thank you loop hole for my new angel!

Now I know this is a different approach that you and your surgeon or nutritionist may be going over. This isn't medical advice, this is my journey that is very individualized. This is my path and prescribed for me. Please check with your doc or nutritionist if you have questions.