One of the first things that I realized was my diet was going to change drastically. And I have some major issues with what my Surgeon was going to require of me. I eat healthy, organic, all natural foods along with being Gluten-Free and 90% Vegetarian. My Surgeon wanted me to switch to diet, artificial ingredients with no real understanding of what Gluten-Free actually meant. So my challenge was to find low calorie, high quality, high protein, Gluten-Free products that I could eat and my Surgeon would approve of.
Two weeks prior to Surgery you'll be expected to go on a torturous diet, supposedly to reduce the size of a fatty liver. I'm convinced it's to prove your determination to lose weight. I was told I had to lose 6lbs or my Surgery would be cancelled...I lost 2lbs...my Surgery was not cancelled. The diet is indeed torture!! Two High Protein Shakes a day...and ONE meat and vegetable meal :-( After the very first week I was ready to murder anyone who got in my way. Just out of desperation I added a High Protein Bar midday...I desperately needed something to chew on.
Even if you're not looking at Surgery...if you have Celiac Disease or Gluten-Intolerance issues you should be taking a daily Multi-Vitamin & Multi-Mineral...one that you're certain is Gluten-Free. I'm a big advocate of liquid supplements...and my current favorite is Nature's Plus, Source of Life Red, Multi-Vitamin & Mineral Liquid, Mixed Berry. http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Plus-Source-Multi-Vitamin-Mineral I've been taking this stuff for years...and I love it. Two weeks prior to my surgery I started taking a double dose, one in the morning, and one in the evening. After surgery I'm back to my daily dose every morning...right in my morning Protein Shake. I'm also deficient in Iodine & Potassium so those go into my morning Shake as well.
You'll also be expected to find a good low calorie, High Protein Shake. And you'd better find one that you actually enjoy because you'll be taking it for a loooooong time if not the rest of your life. For me, I prefered BioChem 100% Whey Protein both the Greens & Whey and the Mixed Berry. http://www.biochem-fitness.com/pages/powders_main.html Two scoops in every Shake so I used one of each. I liked this because I could make it up the night before or two seconds before and it desolved easily without needing a blender.
My Protein Bar of choice is ThinkThin. http://www.thinkproducts.com I prefer any of the non-chocolate versions. These little babies have 0% sugar...but still manage to taste pretty decent. Even after Surgery I'll continue to keep these on my shopping list.
One thing that didn’t get discussed was the fact that such a High Protein Diet was also a great binder. OMG After spending most of my life with Diarrhea I was totally unprepared for that one!! So I quickly added SunSweet PlumSmart http://www.plumsmart.net to my daily diet!! Every day, I mixed 10oz of juice and 10oz of water in my water bottle.
You'll also be expected to maintain a VERY strict diet for an additional four weeks after Surgery…two weeks of liquids, followed by two weeks of soft, mushy foods. This is when your stomach is healing and you really don't want to be forcing your tummy to digest difficult foods.
Yogurt is also going to become your best friend...and I just love Chobani http://www.chobani.com This became another staple in my diet. My Surgeon preferred the 0% fat...I'm afraid I went with the 2% in a variety of flavors. I just loved the creamy texture and don't even notice the extra protein :-) I stocked up on these prior to my surgery. I also added diet puddings & Jell-O’s as well as popsicles in a variety of flavors. And yes, I did decide to go with the diet ones only because I knew it would be short term and not something I would be doing forever.
Carolanne Le Blanc
FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/glutenfree.inflorida
Meeting: 4th Saturday of every month except December
Imperial Palms, East Clubhouse, 101 Imperial Palm Drive, Largo, Florida 33771
Meeting: 4th Saturday of every month except December
Imperial Palms, East Clubhouse, 101 Imperial Palm Drive, Largo, Florida 33771
No comments:
Post a Comment