Hello everyone
New to this diet but keen to understand more.
I have purchased Michael’s book & will be reading it over the next couple of days.
Looking for some feedback from those in the same situation as myself…..
I have gastric stapling from about 25 years ago – lost lots of weight initially but eventually worked out how I could ‘cheat’ and so the ‘easy calories’ (totally addicted to chocolate – how does a human body remain sustained with that lifestyle ?) has meant that my weight is back on plus more (at age 58 years, now heavier than i have ever been).
I have had some advice re reversing the stapling but the risks of complications are very high & Im not keen to go there. I have a gastric stricture which means that on a regular occasion the muscle at my oesophageal opening will spasm resulting in extreme pain usually associated with vomiting (usually runs for about 12hrs then settles).
My problem : eating a healthy diet is in fact very difficult as its the foods which are high in nutrition which are actually the more difficult to swallow – even after much chewing.
Soups are a great choice but Im not sure if that is well suited to BSD.
Is there anyone else who is in the same situation that I can bounce some ideas off ?
TIA

Hi …. not in the same situation as yourself …. but i will say Hi!
I think your case is not that unusual though … i knew someone who had that surgery and gained the weight back. I was offered it but i know about complications. My coworker just had bariatric surgery and has lost a ton and is fine with it …. but that is only about 6 months in.

Soups are my staple on BSD …. i am not a cook so i use store bought stock …. and add any/all of : vegetables (especially like cauliflower, brocolli, a couple of mushroons, peas, onions, spinach, kale, celery, green onions), meat of some kind (i will just throw in some chicken drumsticks … like boneless skinless breasts but those are costly), lentils, beans. Any combination. If i use chickpeas i tend not to use meat because chickpeas are a complete protein. Love to throw in the spinach at the end just to wilt … but i love spinach!! I tend to throw in whatever i have for soups … i make a big batch and divide it up into plastic containers. Lentils and beans are high in carbs … good carbs but carbs so i usually don’t use both even though they are my favorites. Also these things are very very nutricious. You can also use one of those blender thingies to much up the soup … or a good potato masher!!

And … if you can’t do big chunks of meat …. cut them up into small bits before you put them in the pot … of fish them out of the soup pot and cut it up into whatever size you want.

P.S.

There is a search box at the top right of this site ….. enter just the word “gastric” and see if any of the posts might help you …. there are various procedures with the word “gastric” which might be similar enough to be of use.

Good luck

Christel

Thanks so much, Christie.
I have read Michaels book overnight & checked out the diet plan.
It seems to be based on foods very much available in the US. I am in Australia and am struggling a bit to find the alternatives without changing the nutrient content too much.
I love your soups idea – I’m not a great cook either.
How do you calculate protein, kj, etc when using a ‘ throw together soup’ ?
TIA
Deb

Soup ….. if the ingredients are in a package i use the calories and carbs information on the package. I actually bought some extra measuring cups (smaller sizes so i can easily measure Cups of Millileters) I also have a cheap weighing machine (a small scale)

And if it’s like cauliflower ….. i check MyFatSecret ….. or just google the internet … as in

cauliflower calories carbs …..
corn fried catfish calories carbs ….
I also have a paperback book Diabetes Counter

I only count calories and carbs …. because that’s as much work as i want to do

I just tally up the totals of each ingrediant …. and i divide the big batch of soup by the number of plastic containers it goes in … so i have an approximate count per serving

I normally eat very similar things …. so if i have 3 eggs and 3 strips of bacon …. i just write that down on an index card of my diet journal (i put down what i have, counts, blood sugar readings, stressors, etc. … usually 1 page per day). Then i don’t have to recount the things i usually have.

I count it if i have cream in my coffee, honey in my tea, drink of wine ….. everything.

I wouldn’t worry too much about being exact … because i don’t really think that’s possible. I also don’t have a scale at home to weigh myself… i weigh in at the gym … but i don’t go every day.

Drink as much liquid as you can.

If you slip up …. just correct at the next meal or next day … If you can’t sleep cause you are too hungry … eat a little something.

This morning i had some large flake oatmeal with boiling water … a bit of honey … a bit of cream because i was hungry and nauseous ,,, even just a quarter cup of this only takes a couple of minutes … add cinnamon if you like.

I recently noticed that if i am overeating …. that something is upsetting me … so i need to acknowlege the upset and deal with the upset without resorting to food.
I recently retired … which is lovely … but i’m often wondering what i want my retirement life to be like. I have to fill my life with joy and energy …. i’m not entirely sure how to do that. The journey should be interesting though. I can only go to so many Clay Aiken concerts!!!
When i get over my sinus problem i am going to take the free Mindfulness course in this section here …. it’s something i’ve always been interested in and now i have the time. http://palousemindfulness.com/selfguidedMBSR_week0.html

I wonder if you are like me …. it’s not that some of these foods aren’t available in Australia or Canada …. it’s that i have never used them or even looked for them.

Hey …. i used garlic for the first time last week.

When you’re single you just don’t cook that much …. i mean … i used to just have a steamed head of cauliflower with some browned butter and salt. If i wanted a baked potato … that was the whole meal. I usually just made 1 item.

I thought the recipes in the book somewhat exotic …. but they are just exotic to me.

I even didn’t really cook with beans and lentils …. and now i love them both too much.

Hi Siren

EasyDietDiary has been recommended by another Australian. Not sure if it’s an app or a PC program or both!

Good luck!

Hello all.Im an Aussie . I use S health app on my samsung phone to calculate everything. Michelle Bridges food scale from Big W is also very handy. I have stopped for the last week as I have lost focus and I have house guests and events and I really can’t manage to stick to BSD.Im not even following the basics so we will see how much I gain
next monday when Im determined to start again. good luck to you all

Siren5859

How is it going?