Weight Loss Surgery and Weight Gain.

17/03/20 at 1.57pm   /   by Michael_lambert   /   0 Comment

So,

I had made a post today on my facebook, about really letting go over march break.   Making time for my girls, which resulted in no gym time… eating out as we where on the go alot and some pretty crappy food choices.  Which resulted in a 5 pound gain and really feeling it today.  NOW i don’t regret it…  We had an awesome time.

However i had someone message me and make the comment during our morning chit chat “You had weight loss surgery, how did you gain weight” and that comment reminds me that there are still allot of miss conceptions of the surgery.

So lets just break it down here,  I had what they call the Roux EN Y Surgery, This consisted of separating much of my “Stomach” and  leaving behind what we call a “Pouch”  reattaching the pouch to the Small intestines.  Now this does a number of things which result in the weight loss.

See the diagram below.

Surgerydiagram

• Leaves me a pouch (Stomach) about the size of a apple, Compared to non surgery which would be about the size of a football.   This FORCES me to each MUCH smaller portions, Eat healthy correct size portions which one could do with out surgery but this Assist with that.
• This does sever some nerve endings, so i don’t feel as hungry as often as pre surgery.
• The bypass also bypasses the “Duodenum” which breaks down and obsorbes much of your fat in your foods, so this reduces the weight gain from eating something fatty, but in return dumps the unprocessed fats into my small intestines, which the body then rejects and causes either vomiting, or uncontrolled episodes of loose bowel movements, which is why post surgery we are super restricted on the intake of sugars and fats, not because we can’t eat them, its because when we do well 9 out of 10 times our bodies reject it.
• Because we have the small pouch and not the digestive system we would before surgery we also run a high risk of malnutrition,  We are eating much less, We are absorbing much less which means the food we do put into our mouths need to be that much more nutritious for us, or we are just hurting ourselves, Due to the surgery its not uncommon to suffer from Low iron, Malnutrition,  Kidney and galstones are a frequent issue often the gulbladder needs to be removed.

Where the missconceptions come into play is, Yes i have a stomach the size of a apple, Yes i still absobe calories, and we all know calories equal weight gain…  its all about the Calories in vs Calories out.   With the surgery and with the much smaller pouch, it is much easier for myself to sit at lunch eat a 1 oz piece of fish with a side salad and walk away feeling FULL..  Now that mean filled my pouch and consisted of less than 120 calories.   HOWEVER that does not mean i could not fit that 12 inch Quiznos tuna melt ( One of my all time favorites from there ) into my stomach with a whopping 1700+ Calories..  That is double the caloric intake it is suggested i even consume post surgery!

So the point is..

Yes, i had weight loss surgery.  Yes, if i eat and take my vitamins and supplements as per the guide lines for the Bariatric clinics of Ontario I will do nothing but keep on losing weight.    However YES… If i have the surgery, and pick PISS POOR food choices… I am going to GAIN WEIGHT..  I am going to end up worse than i was before surgery and YES its happened and happens more often than you might think!

Now my challenges, are even more interesting, I have lost 195 pounds since i started my weight loss journey.   I am post surgery just about 17 months and at a point where I enjoy the gym.. Enjoy working out and want to GET FIT.   According to the program i need to consume no more than 900 calories a day.   1 hour of my Mauy Thai sparring classes burned almost 1100 calories..   Add on the fact i walk my kids to school, run a full time printing business,  we are running around 3000 calries burned in a day.  When one burns that much more calories than they take in from experience i can tell you it does not work…  I get weak, Tired, Fall asleep.. Hell how far do you think your going to drive when you have no fuel!  SO instead of eating my 3 200 calories meals, and 3 100 calorie snacks… I eat 5 200 calorie meals, 4 100 calorie snacks and 3 300 calorie shakes in a day.. Yes i consume around 2300-2500 calories a day, Which when i am burning 3000 works out to roughly  3500o more calories burned than consumed over a week which would put me in a ideal 1 pound a week loss.. Which is GREAT!    But look at last week where  my meals where closer to 600 calories per meal with unhealthy snacks, No gym or Mauy thia.. Yea i killed me intake to burning ratio and my body has showed it..  But i know better and my cheat fun week is done and back to the grind stone!

I do hope, this helps clear up any thoughts or questions,  Don’t think that surgery is the easy way..  As anyone who has had the surgery can tell you the restrictions, and the negative reinforcement that comes from not sticking to the restrictions is a far cry from easy 😀

So yes, Weight gain will happen,  Stretching the pouch WILL happen..  its a tool.. You can only abuse a tool so long before it breaks!    The surgery does not pick my food for me ( while it does restrict some options )   The Surgery does not get me out of bed in the morning to go spend an hour at the gym everyday,   It does not take my car keys away from me and force me to walk to get the kids from school..    Its a tool.  That when used right does assist with a easier chance at losing excess weight.   When abused.. Well back on death row i go 😀

Happy Monday Everyone!

Mental Strength

16/09/29 at 2.16pm   /   by Michael_lambert   /   0 Comment

I must say, in the last few years I have accomplished a lot.  Becoming a father, An Entrepreneur, major changes to my health.     I have gone from 420 pounds size 66 Suit… down to a 240 pounds size 44 pants.   I know I have a lot to be proud of and trust me it’s hard to be so.   I have my own daemons and battles I content with daily, some know, some suspect but reality is I struggle daily just to get out of bed, while the physical issues don’t hinder me as much but the metal does, and very few people are willing to talk about it.

Let’s face it I suffer from ADHD which is why I drive you nuts in the car changing the radio station every two seconds, which is why I will say yes to you now and 15 mins later still not do it because I got side tracked and forgot, Which is why I will pick up every little flaw in a movie, I am not just watching the TV… my brain is scanning each pixel, doing a million things all at once while just staring at the TV.  It is why people see me up till 3-4am working and then up again at 6-7 am getting the kids sorted.  Not that I don’t want to sleep but my brain does not have the off switch, Yes I have a bucket full of pills…  Some to get me awake and moving, some to keep me on track and some to shut me down at night.   Yes, I am stubborn and hate taking them.     People will often remark about my messages when I text or email in a rush as they come across as gibberish and 9 out of 10 times my brain is already telling my hands to type a world 6 words in the future before my hands can even catch up and things get jumbled, I laugh and tell people the way you read that, is the way my brain was working. lol Yes it can get interesting in the upstairs lounge of Casa De Lambert 😀

Then toss in the fact I have suffered from Manic Depression (newly discussed as BiPolar ) most of my adult life, now aint that the clusterfuck of life… who else has stood in line for the most terrifying ride at the biggest amusement park knowing its soo scary you are going to crap yourself and don’t want to do it.. Well that’s my brain 90% of the day… One second I could have enough pent up energy to send a rocket into space, but be too dam scared to leave the house…  Or laying on the couch laughing and wanting to play with the kids but just can’t work up the physical strength to get off the couch..  One minute I am like a kid in a candy store happier than a pig in shit, and the next that extra 10 seconds of commercials on tv sends me into a angry rant…. And lets not even get started when people have to say me “What was that” because my speech was trying to keep up with how fast the thoughts where racing through my brain.  I can assure you now looking back I am very thankful for whatever the reason my three attempts on my life failed, I have been down some REAL dark roads over the last 8-10 years… but for some reason there has always been a bright light bringing me back be it my loving wife or my kids.

But back to my first line, Through all this my family is still strong, I have been able with the support of them and our friends to keep on track, something that has not happened in a long time… But most of all, I think it hit hard Tuesday when liz came home with the kids, I was just getting back from the gym and we where chatting and the twins where asking about why I was at the gym.. and Abigail made a comment about how going to the gym is good and said something to the fact that “Daddy is going to the gym and doing really good”…  She is 8 years old, and while it sounds silly maybe its time for another dose of my meds as the water works are in full effect here… but for my daughter to recognize what I am doing, even if she does not understand why.. and to sit in her room talking with her about her classes starting next week she is excited to “Get fast and strong like daddy”..  We do a lot for our kids, and while I love to post everything I do, show ever result I can find in my transformations, and love to tag that I am doing it for me.. lets face it we do it for our kids…  the fact that Abigail and I ran part way home yesterday in  race and she wanted to do it again this morning, and the fact that hell not only can I actually walk to school with them and not have to drive them 2 mins to school which just hinders their well-being and fitness levels, I am able to RUN.. it’s just well plucking at the heart strings!!

My journey is going to be a long one, and be it physical pain or emotional,  I cannot imagine it any other way, It will be a life long journey with some pretty awesome people in my life and I know regardless of what obstacles get in my way… we will always find a way to overcome it.. some will be a piece of cake, some not so much…  But what fun would life be if we were not challenged right!

Till then… I say once again THANK YOU.. everyone…  Regardless of who you are,  good… bad or the ugly, every encounter with everyone has made this journey what it is and has assisted me one way or another in getting here and will continue to push me forward!

Work & Play

16/07/12 at 4.04pm   /   by Michael_lambert   /   0 Comment

One of the hardest things that was said to me by my oldest thus far this summer was “Daddy can you take some vacation, I want you to spend time with us”.  I said to Abigail “Hun i see you every day, its one of the good things about working from home is daddy is always home with you”.. and her reply of ” But you are home but you don’t spend time with us, you don’t play with us, we don’t go and do anything”..

So that hit hard of course, guess now the girls are getting older they are no longer just happy putting on a movie or being tossed in the back yard to play.. they are at a point now where more engagement is required.  Which is difficult, being a one man show for a very busy print shop is not easy to start with then add in three very active kids who just want to go and do things and play…  life gets very interesting to say the least.

 

So, this week i have decided its time to try and balance life a little better, previously working 18 hour days and sacrificing my sleep was just not cutting it, while i don’t want / can’t cut back the work load, i am a small business with a young family after all..  I have come to rely on some local talent in town to help offset some of my work load, leaving the time required to spend with the kids..  I mean if they are not happy.. Then i wont be happy.. and if we are not happy..  What is the point right!

 

So Today’s office is offsite, organizing, prepping and communicating with clients … essentially, giving the girls the day in the sun and play today, preparing tomorrows productions so tomorrow will be a production day and a indoor relaxing day for them.

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