Drop the wheat gluten and healthy fake food and experiment from the roots of the ground!

Having the lap band can be difficulty eating out. However, if you enjoy the adventure of cooking then you might not be so bad after all.  Cooking as I’ve mentioned before is therapeutic its my escape from the reality we all live in it’s an escape from the pain of yesterday to  the triumph  of tomorrow.

This is the approach we should all take when having lap band surgery.  We have to reinvent ourselves, reinvent how we eat, how we portion size and ultimately  how we live changes. It doesn’t mean  your life stops. Food is still salable in small portions,  it’s the seasonings which enhance our taste buds. Go and explore  stop using just pepper and salt and experiment!

Today I was craving  something delicious something different.  The trick with  band tightening is  the food has to be   soft and chewable. If its hard … forgettable!!! Dinner was chicken stew with sweet plantains and 2 corn arepas and piece of mango. You would think having the lap band you wouldn’t be able to eat this stuff. However, all of it  home made fresh and  some great spices. So go head drop that wheat gluten and experiment with some meat and viandas!

Make’s me drop the wonder bread and gasp and say….

I noticed on my  previous lap band post  a viewer from the Paleo Works a dietary Revolution, liked my post and I was intrigued to know what and who was a Paelo Works. The prehistoric man with the palo in his hand gained my interest fairly quickly. It took a bit  of digging to understand exactly what is the Paleo diet is. I couldn’t  believe it! All these years of fad diet trends,  pills and other forms of starvation,  there was a  collective amount of research  of  a  nutritional diet which resembled our ancestors diets, who thrived and lived relatively healthy lives during the paleolithic period.

I’ve often spoken about seeing others reach their epiphany moments, but this just makes me drop the wonder bread and gasp and say.. UnHuh this makes total sense.

The diet is quite basic. Stay away from grains and consume meat along with fruits and vegetables and nuts. Doesn’t seem so complicated. I think the vegan diet i tried about two years ago was stretching the ideal to unrealistic.   I read a few more blogs and I concluded well, if i look at my current   consumption of food and the ingredients used  I’m not that far off from a Paleo diet.  As you all all ready know, having the lap band put portion control into perspective, and there are certain foods which as a lap band patient should try to avoid and they are the following:

Surgery Food

Candy

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Basically, anything you would crave at night and when was just never enough, are the foods  you will need to stay away from. Along with that list came the carbs, you slowly reduced your carb intake and finally once you’ve managed  and understand food labels, you understand your goal is to eat high protein foods in small quantities. I will often find my self  chewing on almonds, cashew nuts and pistachios. The quantity reminds me if i were a nomad , I would collect what I could find  and perhaps back then they only ate 4-5  almonds or any of their nuts as they went along their merry way. As i began to think about my eat habits I’ve realized I’ve been following a diet I didn’t even know had a name. I guess it was pre-programmed into my conscience and tonight was my epiphany .

And what a phenomenal  Paleo dinner I had , Salmon ( about 4X1  inches), backed sweet potato fries( baked in coconut oil) and half an avocado.   Now I dunno , I’m not a Paleo Guru, however, this meal rocked! I’m full, content  and  happy I could share this post with others who are trying to eat healthy and make a difference in their lives. Remember, its a journey we all have to take one day. Some days its hard having the band because we become frustrated that we are unable to eat the foods we used to eat. However, if you prepare your own foods and learn certain techniques, you’ll learn how to eat healthy , and great portion size control.

 

 

 

 

 

9.5 cc 1 year Post Op..

A  very good friend of mine recommended  that when I had my surgery I should blog each day. I thought about it  and I wanted to, but I was too consumed with figuring out how to eat again. Roughly about two weeks ago marked my  one year post Realize Band Operation.  What a journey its has been!  I want to first thank my surgeon Dr. Bradley Schwack from the NYU Langone Weight Management Team and their phenomenal staff they have. Had it not been for their support and experience –not sure if I could have done it.  From their intake team to the medical assistant  to the office manager they have fostered   a truly remarkable operating team. KUDOS!!! to you guys !

The journey was not an easy one but a bearable one. One that  involved  monthly  follow up visits a true passion to trying to reinvent how we eat and lastly redefining you life as you see it. I mean,  hey 50 pounds less in over  a year. I have to say not bad.  It took some research and some getting used to, but  if you follow all the directions things should work out well for you.

I remember the day after surgery I was able to walk to  the car I had some discomfort but hey.. what do you expect after have a few incision and a device installed in you! Slowly my journal began, changing my eating habits, changing my portion habits and finally learning how to eat. I realized  we gulp our food down, we don’t chew we just swallow. However, soon after surgery you realize chewing is your  best friend.

It’s a process I encourage anyone having problems with weight loss to attempt.  If you’ve tried the Atkins diet, the south beach diet, grateful dead diet, the Acai diet, the cayenne pepper and syrup or any other  odd supplements to try to lose weight, if you’ve had a yo-yo effect  as did I this surgery will definitely help put things in place. But  as the  old adage goes  you have to do you part as well and really you do have to do your part. You have to be committed to learning to do without all those sugary foods, carbs(WHICH I USED TO ADORE especially bread believe or not I have maybe a piece of bread 1-2 a month. You have to be willing to drink more water,  be willing to try different styles of food. Trust me, I thought I was going to have to eat tofu to lose weight and I didn’t. I lost it  by cutting out the items above along with portion control and the right  support from my doctors and I’m happy to say I’m fifty pounds lighter, my blood pressure is down from 150-95 to 117-81.THANK YOU SO MUCH Dr. Bradley Schwack!

SO if you are committed and ready for the next challenge in your life I really encourage you to seek a bariatric doctor, heck come over and check out the doctors at NYU . They really are a caring staff.

Who knows maybe I’ll see some of you when I’m in the waiting room. Good Luck!!!!!! I’ll be posting more  soon–especially some recipes and things to do and not do..

OH one last  person I forgot to thank… Special thanks to that special someone  :)! and of course to my family for all their support and bendito no puede comer. LOL Love you guys.