I really should apologise for the radio silence. My ambition has always been to post at least once a week, but since my sick leave has ended and I am back in the office it’s been difficult to find the time and energy to post. Work is work. I don’t see that situation changing very much unless I find a better place to spread my wings. Will try harder though.

So in case you’ve been wondering what I’ve been up to (besides writing at work): I’ve been trying to finish two novellas (will tell you more about those on my author website) and following my eating plan (as per nutritionist’s instructions, give or take a few tweaks) and exercising (as per my physiotherapist’s instructions, give or take a few tweaks). The weight is coming off at a slow, easy pace–which is exactly what my surgeon recommended. He said this would ultimately be better for long-term weight loss maintenance and would give my body time to adjust.

A typical day’s eating is something like this:

This is a typical breakfast for me. (Photo by Daria Nepriakhina on Unsplash)

Breakfast: a bowl of lactose-free yoghurt with fresh fruit or a bowl of oat milk/almond milk/lactose-free milk with some granola, followed by a cup of tea or a glass of water. Plus, I take my vitamins.

Mid-morning snack: I choose one of these: crisp bread with some cheese, some grapes,  protein peanut butter cookie, or cottage cheese with a dried fruits and nuts mix. A small coffee with a little oat milk or lactose-free milk.

Lunch: a small serving of a Chicken Burrito Bowl from Skinnytaste washed down with a glass of water.

Afternoon snack: a banana or 2 rice cakes, a glass of water and a small coffee with oat milk/lactose-free milk. Or a Barebells protein bar.

Dinner: a small serving of bolognese sauce with rice pasta (Biorì’s gluten-free tortiglioni made with rice is really good) and veggies, plus a glass of water. Sometimes I treat myself to a small glass of wine. This depends on my stomach. Sometimes it likes wine; sometimes it doesn’t.

Evening snack: a small cookie (baked by my gorgeous hubby, who adjusts the recipe to how I have to eat these days) and a cup of coffee with oat milk/almond milk/lactose-free milk.

I don’t drink protein shakes, diet soda or any diet drinks. I stick to water and unsweetened tea or coffee. As I said earlier, sometimes I have a glass of wine, depending on the whims of my stomach. I don’t use artificial sweeteners in anything. Instead, I choose to honey, maple syrup or a little brown sugar.

I haven’t had any problems with dumping syndrome other than when I ate a small piece of chocolate mousse cake during fika. I’ve tried other sweet things and my stomach seems okay with them–as long as I only have a small piece. But most of the time I don’t have cravings for sweets.

As for exercising, I have an exercise plan recommended by my physiotherapist, which includes doing 3 sets of tricep presses, crunches, leg lifts and planks. I do these every weekday morning as soon as I wake up. I’ve also added an at-home kettlebell workout to it, which I do twice a week.

So how am I doing, weight wise? According to my surgeon, I am right on track. 🙂

Have you had bariatric surgery? How’s it going for you?