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Nicola Harris Gallagher • Feb 12, 2024
Following weight loss surgery there is going to be change. By this I am not only referring to your ever diminishing silhouette but actually everything about you and life as you know it, will have some sort of change impact following your surgery.
It may have been that getting out and about, having plenty of socials was your thing, meals and drinks out regular. Date night might have been your favourite Indian restaurant, or your Fridays may of included drinks after work with your colleagues. Weekends may of been family time, cinema, Sunday lunch out and a bouts. This doesn’t have to stop, but to accommodate your new surgery you will have to make some changes, adapting and adjusting old habits to be able to manage your new way of life.
It may have been the opposite, you might not of been big on socials, but you might find that this starts to change along your weight loss journey. Which is great, life really is for living.
Until you find your feet following surgery, it’s good to keep things familiar. You can still eat at your favourite restaurants and enjoy your social mingling, you just have to be mindful of your new limitations and the amounts you can eat and drink especially. Being around people who know about your surgery makes life a little easier as they can understand more than others that don’t. But this is a personal decision on your behalf to share this information should you wish.
Eating and drinking together can be a challenge and is not advised to do both following surgery. So it is just about planning ahead to accommodate this. Eat before you go out, meet up after the meal just for drinks. Or have the meal and take the drinking real slow later on. Continue on with your family fun too, just make sure any snacks you take with you to the cinema are ones you can tolerate.
You might even find that you start to move out of your old comfortable routines and do other things as you start to lose weight. You might find that you have more energy and confidence and want to try something different and this is great and completely normal. Get your friends and family involved too, this may open up a whole new meaning to social fun!
So yes there will be changes but this doesn’t mean you cannot still enjoy fun times and quality time with your friends or family. It’s just that things will be a little different to before, and as long as you are prepared to change and have the knowledge to help you adapt to different situations you will be just fine.
Life is a journey, weight loss is a journey. Mix up the destination you might actually surprise yourself and have fun along the way!
A little word of warning as we see our temperatures rising. The band can tighten up as things warm up so just beware of this. This can be a combination of a few things, here's why... The heat can make the body swell, which doesn't help - try to keep up and active, stretch your limbs throughout the day and if need be stay out of the sun and keep cool as much as possible Eat a healthy fresh diet - and go easy on the salty products and keep away from processed foods Stay hydrated - plenty of water, try infused fruit water if you fancy a little flavour - stay away from drinks loaded with caffeine and alcohol - Sorry! If your band does tighten - go to a soft or liquid diet till things calm down Try sucking on ice or have a refreshing ice lolly to try and cool any swelling around the band If fluids become problematic, call your provider or give me a shout - as you might require a small defill to allow things to settle down temporarily And lastly, enjoy the sunny times while you can!
Time to mix up your diet now the nice weather is here! Ingredients: 150g cooked quinoa/bulgur wheat/brown rice- any grain of choice. 75g pomegranate seeds/ raspberries Fresh mint (a large handful) salad onion Half a cucumber Sun dried tomatoes 1 lemon 80g feta cheese (crumbled) good quality extra virgin olive oil 2tbsp mixed seeds (flax seeds, pumpkin and sunflower) Bunch of parsley Tin of beans/lentils eg butter beans or borlotti beans. Optional: avocado Salad prep: Cook your grain of choice and allow to cool. Dice the cucumber (remove the seeds, this stops the salad from going soggy and keeps it crisp and fresh). Mix with the spring onion, sun-dried tomatoes, raspberries/ pomegranate seeds, chopped herbs (parsley + mint). Crumble the feta. Drain the tin of lentils/beans of choice and add to salad. Sprinkle seeds on top for crunch, texture and healthy fats protein and fibre. Next, dress the salad with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Grate the zest of the lemon and add to the salad for a zingy fresh twist. This salad is a perfect addition to a BBQ, or as a light lunch and keeps fresh for 2 -3 days. Top- Tip - batch cook your grains (quinoa or brown rice) they keep in the fridge for about 5 days and make it super easy to add to salads.
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Meet Katy, an amazing young lady on her Gastric Band Reset Plan - Feeling physically and mentally ready to make her dreams a reality You've got this!
Meet the lovely Katy 35 years old had band fitted 18/10/21 after hitting her highest weight and admitting that she needed help Had Nic as her nurse originally - lost 5 stone - great progress! A few personal bereavements early on in Katy’s journey set her off track regaining 2 stone Back feeling mentally and physically fit, well and stronger than ever, seen Nic advertised on Facebook and reached out COME BACK MISSION IS ON ! 1st Assessment Full ‘RESET PLAN’ and Fluid check completed, band functioning no issues - 1ml of saline added to help with portions and hunger Band total 6.5ml Weight 175.2kg Katy was advised to work on : Planning and prepping Increasing textured food Upping hydration Observing Protein Challenge late night snacking and skipping meals Encourage movement Review in 1 month planned 2nd Assessment No issues since our last assessment. Great to see band now helping with portions and hunger more. Katy was glowing and feels like she has regained control again, almost like when she had the band - accepted mentally that she has to work with it and not against it Taken on board all what was discussed and excited by the possibilities that the future holds Weight today 170kg Portions, less that what there were but still over side plate, hunger variable Great to see the efforts in challenging snacking, being consistent with meals and batch cooking Reporting more energy, up earlier, restarted gardening again, walks Small adjustment today advised 0.5ml added taking band to 7ml Fluids observed - 2 days fluids then soft diet before weaning back to textures To continue to work and progress with 20+ rule, monitoring portions and hunger, to continue to set realistic goals, take small steps and enjoy the ride Review in 1 month planned - keep up great work ! Keep tuned in to see next months progress :-D
🤔 Are your meals textured enough to challenge your band? 🤔OK so what exactly are textured foods? They are foods that you have to work a bit harder with to get them through the band. Ones that require the oesophagus to really squeeze them through the band, not ones that just slip straight through with not much effort. These foods should be: Solid/ Hard – not soft and sloppy Chewy – lots of chewing required Dry – harder to get through the band Crunchy – a bit of a crunch can make them harder to manage Look at your meal overall, at least one item should be of the above. 🤔But why? Surely you want to have foods that go through the band and not cause you any problems? Well the second part is true – you don’t want foods that cause you problems but textured foods shouldn’t be a problem if you follow the 20+ rule properly. If you still can’t manage them then your band is likely to be too tight - seek advice ! 🤔So why have textured foods? Basically you need to have the textured foods to get the most out of your band. There are nerve endings in your stomach wall and as food passes through the band these nerve endings are stimulated. This then sends a message to your brain to say you are full. The harder something is and the more you have to bite and chew it the more “ squeezes” it takes your oesophagus to get it through the band. The the more times these nerve endings are stimulated the fuller you will feel. So TEXTURED FOODS = FEELING FULL! If you carry on just having soft, sloppy foods or liquids then there w asn’t much point in having the band put in the first place.
Nobody likes bland, boring food but adding salt isn’t good for your heart and blood pressure. Adding lots of sauces can liven up meals but unfortunately they are no good with the band. So what’s the answer? Something as simple as adding fresh herbs to meals can really make a difference to the taste often transforming a meal from bland to fabulous!! The trick is knowing which herb to add to which type of food can make all the difference. Try our guide below to get you started: Basil – great for adding to tomato based dishes or those with garlic, olive oil and lemon – Mediterranean style cooking!! Chives – Goes lovely with onions. You can add them to cheese or egg dishes. Try sprinkling them over soup or chop finely and add them to salads Dill – Excellent with fish especially salmon. It is also fabulous chopped over scrambled eggs. Again add at the last minute to keep the flavour Mint – Good with fish, lamb and fruit. This has a strong, fresh flavour and you really can’t beat it with a roast leg o f lamb Parsley – Mostly used as a garnish and can be added to most things – soup, salads, fish....... Rosemary – Good with lamb, pork, oily fish and tomatoes. This herb has an aromatic flavour This is also lovely with roast beef or lamb Coriander – Compliments chicken and fish very well. They are also super tasty with roast vegetables. Add at the last moment to keep in the flavour Tarragon – B est with chicken. This has a strong flavour (often an acquired taste) Its flavour develops over time when cooking. It is lovely mixed in with a little low fat mayonnaise and added to chicken. Try in a pitta with the chicken and salad
When it comes to reaching your goals and starting to think about making some healthy changes to your diet, 'Consistency is Key' Give yourself realistic goals, small steps if consistent get you to the finish line! Don't forget y our diet , over time , is more important than aiming for that ‘perfect’ diet every single day. No diet is perfect. Our bodies are designed to cope with the odd takeaway or dessert. A reminder as we are stepping into Spring, maybe some people have set some new year resolutions and trying very hard to stick to them - Don't forget 'Consistency is Key'. Completely restricting yourself of your favourite foods probably wont stop you from eating them ever again but it will stop you from enjoying the moment when you do. Having a celebratory meal or the odd treat will not impact your overall health or weight loss as long as you’re eating well most of the time.  Use your band/tool to it potential and enjoy everything in moderation
Gastric Band CliNIC - now offering mobile adjustments and urgent defills - within a 30 mile radius of LIVERPOOL Message me to check availability info@gastricbandclinic.co.uk Nic, Bariatric Nurse 10+ years experience, supporting and adjusting bands for 1000,s of patients on their weight loss journeys
F ollowing your gastric band surgery you will have several incisions on your abdomen. They will vary in size and around w here your port-site is positioned will be the largest of the incisions. Your wounds can be closed using different methods – these include steri strips, surgical glue and sutures. You can be discharged with or without dressings depending on the status of your wounds and your surgeon. A clean dry wound generally is a good sign that your wound is healing well. It is very important to look after your wounds after your surgery to minimise the risk of infection , s o following the advice your provider has instructed is paramount Initially, more often than not, you will have been advised to keep the area clean and dry, then normally around day 3-5 if your wounds remain dry you can have a quick shower. Do not apply soap direct to your wounds, you should apply the soap to your shoulder area and let the soapy water cascade over your abdomen, this will be enough to clean your wounds. Ideally you should use an antibacterial soap to minimise the risks of irritating your wounds also. Pat dry with a nice clean towel and redress if required. If you have scabs in-situ or some scratchy surgical glue it maybe wise to cover these incisions over with a dressing to avoid them catching on your clothing and dislodging the scab or glue prematurely. Wounds should not be fully submerged until you are scab free and your scar line is smooth. You don't want to risk the chances of any micro-organisms burrowing and infecting the site. So it is important to o bserve your wounds everyday, the status of a wound can change at anytime and it is so important that any concerning symptoms are treated swiftly and in the correct manor. Observe for any changes I.e Additional swelling/redness/pain to the s ite You might start to feel generally unwell Develop a raised temperature – above 38*c You develop a discharge/pus/smell from your wound At the first sign of any of these symptoms you need to get into see your nurse urgently for an assessment – if there is an infection to the site it is best to be treated as early as possible , especially if it is your port site wound as you don't want to run the risk of any infection spreading to your band. Some health conditions can impact on the healing process, these include diabetes , lymphedema, heart disease and high cholesterol – something to bare in mind. Also if you are a smoker you will have been advised to stop prior to your surgery due to the increased risks of infection and blood flow. It is important that you refrain from smoking after your surgery also as the harmful chemicals in cigarettes can effect the healing process and the nicotine may decrease the blood flow that can also compromise the healing. Good nutrition is essential for healing. After your surgery you will be on fluids only, so it is essential that you make sure your fluids are high in vitamins and minerals, and that your are taking in sufficient amounts of protein , approximately 50-60g minimal daily Happy Healthy Healing to you all