Before beginning her weight loss journey Natasha told us that she was ruled by her appetite and felt as though she had no control. “I would make healthy meals but always sought out snacks. I didn’t feel happy in myself and needed help in order to make lifelong change”.
Triggered by having lost and gained weight despite constant dieting, Natasha felt like she wasn’t making any progress towards her goal. She chose to go ahead with Healthier Weight and undergo surgery for a Gastric Band.
Natasha’s progress over the first 4 weeks is some of the best we have seen yet! So what better way to celebrate her achievement than by hearing about her progress week by week? Over to Natasha…
Week 1
As you would imagine, during the first week I was naturally sore especially around my port site and also found I suffered from some trapped wind. To ease any uncomfort I’d often sip on a peppermint tea, gripe water in some hot water and deflatine. For the first 5 days I took the pain killers which were provided to me by the hospital along with liquid paracetamol which kept me comfortable.
Eating-wise, each day during my first week, I would make a shake in the morning and slowly sip on it throughout the day along with other drinks such as tea, sugar free squash and vitamin juices. Sometimes, if my mouth was really dry, I found it really helpful to suck on ice cubes or sugar free ice lollies.
- Week 2
Around this time, I suffered from a tight band with some swelling due to being premenstrual. I felt as though there was a golf ball in my throat and whenever I tried to drink, or even tried a yogurt thinned down with skimmed milk, I would burp repeatedly.
This eventually became quite uncomfortable. So I called Healthier Weight’s aftercare team and spoke to a nurse who was very reassuring and helpful. She explained everything to me very clearly in a way that was easy to understand, and I was lucky enough to see a nurse in the clinic the same day.
At the clinic, the nurse decided that it was best to check how much fluid was in my band and subsequently came to a decision to reduce the amount via a defill. She removed 1ml, taking me down to 3ml in my band. Instantly I felt relief and the lump in my throat disappeared. It was a strange feeling, but I am glad I was in such good hands. A typical day of eating for my second week once I’d settled would be:
- Breakfast: Thinned down yogurt with skimmed milk
- Lunch: Shake
- Dinner: Thin soup
- Drinks: peppermint tea, black coffee, 1L squash.
My mother in law also showed me a Chinese soup recipe:
- 2 chillies,1 cube of ginger and garlic (fry until soft).
- Add chicken stock to 600ml of water.
- Add chopped up Chinese cabbage or spinach and boil until soft (20/30 minutes).
- During the liquid diet I would then sieve the veg and drink the clear soup.
This recipe has many additions to it such as egg noodles and tofu to make a ramen bowl for when you are able to eat more solid foods.
Weeks 3 & 4
This was about the time I started the puree phase. I was also able to start drinking more, so I started carrying a bottle with me around the house or if I went out. I would also take dissolvable vitamins each morning. A typical day would be:
- Breakfast: 1 weetabix or 3tbsp of porridge with plenty of milk.
- Lunch: soup tinned Heinz soup, krvag yogurts or a shake.
- Dinner: cheesy mash or carrot and swede mash with mashed chicken and gravy.
- Fluids: 2L of squash and 1 cup of black coffee.
I stayed at the puree stage for two weeks whilst I got used to eating slightly thicker food.
Week 5
My first week of solids! I decided to stick to Slimming World for some structure along with Healthier Weight’s advice of eating crunchy, textured foods. I made sure to follow the 20-20-20 rule and use the timer provided by Healthier Weight. During this week I really enjoyed:
- A bagel thin toasted with a poached egg.
- Fakeaway McDonalds breakfast (!!)
- Salad; ensuring I eat a protein first, such as smoked salmon.
- Steamed veg rather than boiled so that they have more crunchiness.
I did my best to avoid foods such as pasta and rice which are known to stick, as I didn’t want to risk being in any uncomfort at what was still a very early stage in my journey. But I never missed them and happily substituted them for vegetable alternatives instead!
For more recipes you can check out Healthier Weight’s ‘Lockdown Larder’ blog post by Van Patel.
What are the biggest changes you noticed after the first month?
My portion size is a now just tea plate sized! Which is very small compared to my pre-band portions. I rarely feel hunger like I did before and I’m often surprised how satisfied I am now after eating so little. I’m not even able to think about food in between meals! Which has cut down the amount I snack so much.
Since surgery I feel like I have more energy and free from the burden of my appetite, I’ve lost all impulse to snack. Being able to lose 2 stone so quickly is amazing, I’ve started to get positive comments about it too which is a massive confidence boost!