Well, I gained one pound back. Sigh.
This is probably due to me trying to figure out how to eat out and still follow the gastroparesis guidelines without busting a gut with too many carbs. My work schedule forces me to eat out at least twice a week - no easy feat for someone with a very restricted diet to begin with. According to most nutritionists, a good diet should fall within these parameters:
Carbohydrates: 45%-65% of your diet
Fat 20%-35% of your diet
Protein 10% to 35% of your diet
My carbohydrates tend to range from 50%-65% by default. I have managed to lower my carbs closer to 50%, but my fat intake has gone up to the 30% range. Oddly enough, the extra fat hasn't hurt my stomach "as much as it is supposed to," but it definitely isn't helping my diet. In order to get the extra protein the doctor says I need, I have to eat more meat, and even lean meat has fat in it. Ditto for soy products. Don't get me started on the dairy problem; let's just say I have always been a bit lactose-intolerant. I don't think I am going to win this one. I did not tolerate meat products very well to begin with - no juicy steaks for me!
I have started weight training again; this has had both positive and negative results. The positive is that, as far as weight and reps are concerned, I have been able to pick up where I left off FIVE YEARS AGO in the computer system at the YMCA. Yea! The bad news is I have had to reduce my days at the gym from 4 days to 3 days a week. My body aches constantly, and my bum knee is getting too "chatty" with my other knee - now both of them hurt! I tried reducing my weight levels, but then I did no real work because the weights were too light for me.
The Fitlinxx computer system hooked up to the weight machines has bells and whistles to nag you about form, speed, and full reps, which can be both annoying and helpful at the same time (it is controlled by sensors embedded in the weight equipment). I really hate the noise that goes with "You have reached the top of your range!!!!!" Doo-be-doo-DA--da DA! I keep expecting the baseball organ music to chime in....So I block the noise with my earphones.
Yes, I go to the Y. I used to go to a regular gym and work with a trainer out in Milpitas, but my scheduled tutoring appointments are located across Silicon Valley in Cupertino. The 24 Hour Fitness nearest to me (the only gym near my house, in fact) is full of very scary lurkers and weirdos. I prefer to go to the Y, where even the old ladies are comfortable; I time my workouts to coincide with their mass geriatric appearances in the late morning so I don't feel like such a blubber butt. I also try to finish my workouts before the beefy "cut" San Jose Firefighters arrive wearing their adorable dark blue muscle Ts with the names of their units emblazoned across their backs; I also avoid the skinny-Asian-girl wave that seems to accompany the firefighters' arrival (hmmmm....coincidence?). I know I can't compete.
I cry "bullshit" at your percentages above. I say that your carbs should be around 35% TOPS, and 100% of those carbs should come from vegetables and real-life living plants (and yes, potatoes are a vegetable. Bread is not.)
ReplyDeleteI would personally recommend upping your protein slightly to 40-60%. The fats you are consuming should come largely from seafood, but also from almonds, olives, avocados, and some moderate amounts of cheese and milk.
Carbs are the devil. Cut them out as much as you can.
Forget the other gym-goers as much as you possibly can. Focus on getting sweaty, not on the skinny beotches or hottie firemen. You're at the gym for YOU, so forget everyone else!
No, on my restricted gastroparesis diet, I'm afraid the percentages are pretty accurate.
ReplyDeleteRemember that I cannot digest vegetables well(some fruit is ok, but in very limited quantities). If I tried to eat a full day's serving of vegetables, there is a pretty good chance that I could end up in the hospital and have to have them surgically removed from my stomach. I am also on a "low residue" diet (low fat, low fiber). The fat I do take in IS from avocados (a rare vegetable I CAN digest) and limited dairy products.
NOTE: I have always hated seafood with a passion that knows no bounds. The smell of it absolutely turns my stomach and kills my appetite (it was great fun living down the street from a small fish market in Seoul...especially on humid summer days). I am not keen on meat to begin with, but I will eat it when I have to (about once or twice a day in small quantities).
How does one become a vegetarian when one cannot tolerate vegetables?!! I would KILL for a tossed green salad right now...sigh...
http://gicare.com/Diets/Gastroparesis.aspx
ReplyDeleteI have posted a link to the gastroparesis diet(I am holding steady at Step 3); as you can see, there is very little wiggle room.
Can you do smoothies? You can blend all kind of vegetables up in a blender to drink them. You can also juice them, or have a V8. That gets you a lot of the veggies you need without getting them stuck in your stomach. I have a really hard time with vegetables too -- not as hard as you, I don't think, but certain ones really give me problems. I find that blending them up in broth-like soups and stuff is very helpful!
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