Pregnancy, Weight Loss Surgery & Staying Strong!

Nutrition

Recently, my life as a Gastric Bypass patient has taken a dramatic turn… I am now a PREGNANT Gastric Bypass Patient!

I have always wanted to be a mother but when I was 250 pounds this was not a reality. I had a hard time becoming pregnant and it was devastating for me. I dreamed of the day when I would be able to have a family and having Weight Loss Surgery was truly my answer to this. Not only was I able to become Healthy and Strong, it allowed me to finally achieve my dream of becoming a mom.  In October of 2011 I learned I was pregnant! I was excited beyond belief.

Then the fear set in.

With babies comes WEIGHT GAIN!!!!  This truly terrified me. I didn’t know how I was going to take it when I saw the numbers go up but my Nutritionist from my Bariatric Surgeons office came to the rescue.  I asked how do I eat like a Gastric Bypass Patient and grow a healthy Baby at the same time.  She told me to continue to focus on lots of protein and to add in some healthy carb choices.

Quest Bars have been my lifesaver, my go to Protein source.  Quest Bars helped me lose 120 pounds after Gastric Bypass. Now, they help me eat clean during pregnancy so that I don’t gain too much baby weight. I still eat them Daily! They are so good and are always a great part of my Prenatal Eating Plan as a Gastric Bypass Patient.  The 20 grams of protein keep me full and the low sugars/carbs have been great so that I do not go into the “Dumping Syndrome” that Gastric Bypass Patients get when they have Too Much SUGAR/CARBS.  In fact due to the fact that I have maintained a higher protein and now (for a short time only) a slightly higher carb diet, I can proudly say that I DO NOT have Gestational Diabetes despite being Pre- Diabetic before I had my Gastric Bypass surgery.  I most likely would have gotten the diabetes from my pregnancy if I did not eat as well as I have.

I am now 29 Weeks into my Pregnancy, only 11 more weeks to go before my New Lil” Baby GIRL makes her debut into this world. I have only gained 18 pounds at my last Doctors Visit!   My Doctor informs me that this is a good healthy weight gain and that the weight will come off  easy and quickly after the Baby is born.  My doctor is very proud that I have not gone over the 25-35 pound that they recommend for weight gain in a normal weight individual.  Granted, I have 11 weeks to go before Baby is born and this is the time when the the Baby will rapidly put on weight but, by eating a good healthy diet with the help of my Quest Bars, I am confident that I will do very well and the Gaining Weight does not scare me anymore!!

The Weight will come off with Healthy eating, QuestBars and Exercise.  I have done it before and I WILL Be Able To Do It AGAIN!!!! **