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About this blog

Here I will periodically chronicle my weight loss journey, starting from my pre op.

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A Little About Myself

A Little About Myself                 I am an Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn, NY who has struggled with his weight for as long as he can remember.  I have been encouraged to lose weight by absolutely everyone anyone can imagine, including family, friends, rabbis, teachers, etc.  Last week, I had the adjustable gastric band procedure (known colloquially as "the band surgery," or "the lap band"), and feel great. But first, a little about how and why I got to this point.             After being in denial throughout high school and throughout my gap year which I spent in the Holy Land,  in my sophomore year of college I finally came to the realization that I need to do something about my weight and that this was getting ridiculous.  My rabbi and his wife referred me to a doctor that they were seeing that provided weight loss support as well as kosher food that they made that was to be purchased alongside the program.  I was able to follow this program for a year and lose over 100 pounds.  However, I feel that this program didn't adequately support me in the sense that the doctor did not carefully monitor my blood workup, and as such, some of my numbers were somewhat off, and the doctor told me the equivalent of "Don't worry, you'll be fine."  That didn't sit well with me.  Another problem with this diet is that it was essentially no carb, and when I finally hit a major plateau at 100 pounds, I was never given guidance as to how to overcome this newfound roadblock.  For these reasons, I left that diet program.           Even though I left that program, I turned to a dietitian for support.  It was at this time that I got into exercise and started walking 5k races to challenge myself.  In a period of about 2 years, I completed around 20 of these things, maxing out at a 5 mile run on Thanksgiving Day, which I finished in a respectable 20 minute/mile pace.  It is my most coveted medal, as it is my crowning athletic achievement.  (I've never been on a team or athletic enough to really be part of one.)               My family and friends were worried that I was maxing myself out, and pushing myself past my limits.  In one of those "what came first, the chicken or the egg?" deals, I got sick with ulcerative colitis, which had me stop exercising regularly, and took a year and a half, roughly speaking, to get under control.  Needless to say, during this time, I gained all the weight back that I had lost, and slightly more.             It was around a year after I got sick that I started looking into bariatric surgery, and the NYU-Langone Weight Management Program was recommended to me by a family friend who lost a lot of weight with the band. (I don't really know her all that well, so maybe it isn't saying much when I note that when I saw her in a restaurant recently, I had no clue who she was.)               It is my intention to briefly explain the pre op process in another post.  
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Pre op process

My Pre Op Process   As part of getting approval from my insurance company, I needed to do the following things: 6 months of going to a doctor that will supervise your "weight loss," which in my insurance's case, didn't actually require me to lose any weight, but to show that a doctor told you what to do. I went to my surgeon for 6 months in a row, once a month.
A letter of clearance from a psychologist, who needs to do a full evaluation. This was done by a therapist associated with NYU. They made me fill out a bunch of questionnaires, and asked me personal questions.
A letter of clearance and recommendation from your primary care doctor. (known in medical parlance as "your PCP,") He/she needs to write a letter with your information (such as your BMI, how long they've been your doctor, any diseases you may have (known in medical parlance as " comorbidities", (which sounds really, really scary for no reason) etc.)
A consultation with a nutritionist, which I did through NYU.
Now once, I got clearance through the insurance company, (in my case, Health Republic of New York/Magnacare) I needed "Medical Clearance," which is a whole new set of requirements.   Here's that fun list: A trip to the cardiologist (aka the heart doctor) which may include any of the following:
An EKG , essentially a bunch of waves which tells the doctor whether or not your heart rate is elevated.
An echocardiogram which is a sonogram of your heart (like the machine they use to look at the baby in a pregnant woman, except it's of your heart, and not the baby, and I'm a guy so...)
[*]A trip to the pulmonologist (aka the lung doctor) , who makes you do a breathing test to check for asthma or, more importantly, possible sleep apnea. (As an aside, my PCP made me do a sleep apnea test.) [*]Pre op testing , which includes the following: An esophogram , which is an X-ray of your lungs and stomach area. They're looking for signs of breathing problems.
A comprehensive blood test , to make sure that you're healthy. When I say comprehensive, I mean it. It looked for things I didn't even know existed.
An extensive interview , to make sure they didn't miss anything the 5 other times they already asked all these questions. This took more time than the blood test, esophogram and miscellaneous administrivia combined.
I hope that this helps people. Please post comments below.
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My Adventures on a Fast day and Eating Breakfast

<h1> <b>Fasting </b> </h1>     <div>        This Sunday was a Jewish fast day, and, without getting into unrelated details, it started before 4 AM and ended after 9 PM.  Because I often do things contrary to what anyone else would do, I decided to fast just 10 days post op. (Pretty stupid, huh?) Well, the fast went very well, (almost no dizziness, nausea, or tiredness) but the trying to eat after the fast didn't go so well. </div>   <div>       My family and I usually have a meal that is somewhat big after a fast, not as elaborate as some Iftar feasts (Ramadan Karim to anyone observing!), but there definitely is food.  I made the mistake of trying to eat a meal akin to a lunch immediately after the fast. (Bad habits die hard!)  Needless to say, I had to drink a lot of water just so that I felt ok enough to move on with my night. </div>   <div>       <i> Lesson learned:  Note to self: </i> <b> Make believe that right after a fast is breakfast!! </b> </div>   <div>       You might be saying, "Duh! It's called <i> break-fast </i> for a reason, idiot!" Well, I guess I'm not that smart. </div>   <div>      Which brings me to another point, I have had some trouble eating breakfast.  I've gotten a little too ambitious trying scrambled eggs, and I couldn't eat much of it.  But today, I had cream of wheat with Walden Farms sugar free pancake syrup and cinnamon. It was really good, and I was able to tolerate it. </div>   <div>       Anyone have similar experiences? Please comment below. </div>
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Two recipes that I made pre-op that helped me

Two recipes, (and a few techniques), that I found helpful Pre Op     Let me be clear, My pre op diet was a maximum of 1000 calories a day and went as follows: Up to 5 protein shakes, depending on the brand. I had trouble drinking any more than 1 most days!
Up to 2 cups of vegetables a day, as long as they aren't too starchy. Stuff like tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, broccoli, squash, and mushrooms.
A limited amount of vinegar, sugar substitutes, mustard, and salsa.
Lots of water, crystal lite, tea, coffee (with a splash of milk, so no lattes, which sucked for me), even seltzer and diet soda. The problem is that post op, you can't really drink diet soda for a while, so I tried to avoid it.
  "Honey Mustard" Dressing 3 or so tablespoons of mustard. (I used regular old spicy brown mustard, but you could probably use any kind of mustard you like.)
1 tablespoon of water. (I used this to thin out the mustard. If you don't like the way your tap water tastes, you should use bottled water of filtered water.)
2 teaspoons or so of Splenda™, or whatever sweetener you like. (adjust it based on how sweet you like it)
Refrigerate for a while, or overnight. Pour this over 2 cups of a mixture of diced tomatoes, diced cucumbers, and diced red onion. It was really, really good.     European-Style Sugar-Free Cucumber Salad 3 large American cucumbers, peeled and cut wafer thin with a knife (if you're a pro), a mandolin (always use the hand guard and be careful), or the slice blade of your food processor.
1 red onion, cut wafer thin also.
(Optional) 1 red pepper, sliced relatively thin (not diced; cut it like the onions and cucumbers)
2 teaspoons of Splenda™ or whatever sweetener you like.
2 tablespoons of white distilled vinegar.
Salt to taste. (I put in probably like 1/4 teaspoon or so.)
Refrigerate this at least overnight, (the longer it sits, the better it gets), and a serving is 2 cups. This recipe makes a lot.   I found that the most delicious way to make pretty much any veggie you want is to roast it in the oven at 425°F (220°C) for 35 to 40 minutes with a sprinkling of salt. If you're worried that it'll stick, put a little water in the bottom of the tray. (Note: This diet allowed no oil whatsoever, not even the cooking spray oil.)   Comment below!
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