Things I remember from the support group tonight

I switched back to regular sugar about a year ago. it tastes better.

13 months out and I TRULY appreciate you guys sharing the knowledge from your support group meetings.  Truthfully, I stopped going to mine after November because I was DYING to scream outloud everytime I heard folks talk about finding ways to "trick" your sleeve.  So much of the conversation was about stopping at Starbucks for a sugarfree latte or one of their SF muffins if you are on the road and need something.....etc.  Seriously?  The comments were still in the "woe is me, there is nothing to eat when I go out" stage.  Last I checked virtually every fast food place has a CHICKEN BREAST. 

Anyway, we only have a physch doctor there for our meetings and not our surgeon.  I often wonder how he hears the same victim stuff over and over without losing it.  

I wish we had a "further down the road" support group here in Dallas. 

I love hearing what Cirangle has to say as he's one of the best, and it sounds like he's really keeping up with the stats, which will help us all long term.

THANKS!

This is such good info!  Dr. Cirangle was my surgeon and I'm almost 5 months out.  I only have about 15lbs to go, but I live in Georgia, and I can't attend these meetings.  Thanks so much for the info!

Here's what my notes say:

Walnuts & almonds have the most anti-oxidants. Plus they aren't as high in fat as some of the other nuts. They also suppress the appetite.

Ideal foods are dense and high in protein, lower in fat. Like chicken, fish (cold water is best), sashimi. Shellfish is high on cholesterol so be careful if cholesterol is an issue for you. Ostrich and bison are very lean, but also pricy.

Things like broccoli are good because they are dense and high in fiber, but they aren't high in protein and eating too much can keep you from getting enough protein so be careful. It's about balance.

For artificial sweeteners, the ones labeled as "natural" are all forms of sugar so even if it's in a form that's hard to absorb it can cause insulin reactions oe increase cravings for sweets.

Our stomachs do empty faster, but this can be a good thing. One of the satiety mechanisms is that when food hits your ileal branch, it sends a signal to our brain. So, if you eat something soft first, it shoots right down there and then you eat the dense stuff and it sits in your tummy and that helps with satiety too,

The pylorus valve is the size of a nickel when it's open and a pin point when it's "closed". Liquids run right through it. Everyone (except me) can drink as fast as before surgery.

He also said he can tell that people are going to regain fairly early and he'll see the signs of it on the scale as early as 18 months out when it's just "a few" pounds. But, yeah, the real regain happens around 2 years out.

He also said that, if we're doing something that isn't what he recommends (like using sucralose all day instead of sweet 'n low) but it is obviously is working for you, not to worry so much.

I have to say that I find it's worth trying Dr. C's suggestions even if what I am doing is working. Most of the time I end up in a better place and, if I don't, I just go back what I was doing before. The only two things I do that he advises against is eat protein bars and limiting meals. I find I can't get all my calories in unless I eat every couple of hours and that sometimes is way more than 4-5 times a day. Oh and I eat pistachios & cashews instead of almonds and walnuts. LOL

 

Thanks MacMadame.......

Yah know after that meeting I backed off my splenda intake....from like 12 packs a day to six (one per tea instead of two) also a cold drink that has splenda and I "think" it has made a difference on the scale as I hit my all time low of 151.00lbs. this morning. I'm just not going to start ingesting sweet 'n low.....just doesn't seem right! I'm not quiting splenda or the other sugar based sweeteners....just gonna back it off a bit.

I'm supposed to see Dr.C and I'm going to ask him to elaborate on the ileal branch thing...... I would like some examples of foods and timing.

He has never told me no protein bars..... I have about 3-5 per week (Pure Protein Brand) I must have missed that memo.

Thanks again!

frisco

He hates them. Says they are glorified candy bars. I have 1 a day on average! LOL

I mix up my sweeteners because they all have good and bad points. I use Sweet 'n Low in my tea because it has a tang that goes with tea. I use Equal in my plain yogurt (if I'm not adding fruit). Splenda is in a lot of foods so I get that there and I use Truvia when I run into it, which isn't very often.

Why do we have increased gastric emptying? I thought that the pylorus helped to regulate the emptying of the stomach? Is it faster, because we have less area to empty?

I understood that he meant that when food hits a certain level of the stomach, the stomach begins to empty, and since our stomach is so much smaller, that area it hit pretty fast.  So it is simply the result of our new physiology.

That makes sense. Our stomachs are smaller, so the point at which gastric emptying starts, is reached earlier.

The further i got out the more i noticed it especially with foods like yogurt, they no longer stay with me very long where as dense protein does. and any foods that turn into slider foods do not stay with me long, ie egg salad, even devilled eggs dont stay as long as a straight boiled egg for me.