Dear Noteblair,
It has been 4 months since I had a duodenal surgery & every single day has been different from the day before. I don’t know how to describe it but it has not been like anything I experienced, both mentally and physically.
If you don’t know what surgery I got and the general aspect of why I got it I will link my surgery experience for you guys here.
Let’s start off by saying how my diet is going…I almost now eat everything. I still have hard time digesting high carb or fried foods. I try to avoid rice, pasta & bread as much as I can. The grainy foods become a paste in my stomach & it is the most uncomfortable feeling when something heavy is sitting on your chest… I mainly eat eggs, fruits without the skin & non gassy veggies & fish! I don’t have an exact diet to tell you guys but I try to eat as much as protein that i can. My life changed in a way that I don’t eat food to enjoy anymore, I eat to survive!
One of the major issues with this surgery is the nutrition deficiency that comes with it. being vegetarian, it has been a struggle trying to get in my protein intake. Also after the surgery my taste changed so anything slightly sweet is too sweet for me now which made it more difficultly to drink protein shakes for me. Most good vegetables are very gasy & that brings lot of discomfort so I had to eliminate those as well.
I started noticing tons of hair loss, my energy level would change all the time. One minute I was okay and a minute later I would feel so weak and tired. I consulted with my doctors and the best decision was to start eating some sort of protein and to start off I started eating fish. I have been vegetarian for a very long time. It has been my lifestyle so it was very difficult for me to go back eating meat. I know there is a huge debate going on that fish is vegetarian friendly but to me it is not. you are still eating an animal meat… It has been only 10 days but I already can feel a huge difference. My energy level is so much higher, I feel better, I eat more protein that before. Truth be told since I didn’t like to eat anything before eating fish I would litterly starve for hours which is not good at all. because you already eat around 2-4 table spoons anyways & imagine even that getting cut off…Surprisingly when I started eating fish I noticed faster weight loss. My body was on starvation mode which makes your metabolism to slow down.
Question that I get asked a lot is that if I still would recommend the surgery. I will…but make sure you are doing to for right reasons & your doctors approve it. I don’t regret it a bit! It was the best decision I made for my body & my life. It is not only getting the surgery, your life forever is changed with this surgery & you have to be mentally ready to accept those changes. I know it sounds amazing that you lose weight fast, but you have to remember this is not a kind of surgery that you can go back…For the rest of your life you will have your bypass & that changes everything. from your eating habits to your social life. I can’t tell you how much I wanted this, so to me it was all worth it. I have lose skin, I have double amount of stretch marks I had before, I basically don’t have any muscle left & my arms are so jiggly….So don’t even think after surgery you will not have to deal with self love & acceptance. You can be the most beautiful and fit human but if your self acceptance is missing you will never feel comfortable in your own skin. My body has been so weak that I was not able to workout at all… I tried few times but that didn’t go well with my body. I’m hoping with the new diet I will have so much more energy & I will be able to exercise more to gain more strength. So 4 months in & 65 pounds down…I knew I will lose weight fast but I didn’t expect it to be this fast.
For me it is not only about looking good, it is about feeling good as well. That is why I had to make the decision to not be vegetarian anymore which was a very hard decision for me. I know tons of people who are doing an amazing job with being vegetarian & had the same surgery. Unfortunately not every body is the same & I had to accept it & do what is best for my body in long term.
Health always comes first, but some people forget about mental health as well. I always say style & beauty does not have a size & will always stand by this saying. This does not mean if you are unhappy just accept it and get over it. no this means if there is something you don’t like be willing to change it for you! because your mental health is so much more important than what others think of you or what is society’s expectation of beauty.
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