Predisposed to gluttony

There was an interesting item on the One Show on BBC this evening. They are taking a look at the seven deadly sins - one each day - and it was gluttony's turn today. First the question was asked, why are we so gluttonous? Is this something we are predisposed to from an evolutionary point of view? Well, apparently yes. In ancient times food was relatively scarce, particularly in the winter months. Therefore we would eat what we could find and hunt in the summer months of relative plenty and gain weight. This extra fat would have seen us through the relatively lean days of the winter. The difficulty for modern (western) people is that food is never in shortage and therefore we simply gain weight and become obese.

The programme makers then asked if there was anything we can do to overcome this - so they performed a simple experiment. They got four people to fast for 24 hours. They were then allowed to eat as much as they wanted. Blood samples were taken during the fasting, during the eating and afterwards. They tested two groups of hormones, those that relate to hunger (ghelin) and several others that indicate satiety - or fullness. They found that, as expected, the ghelin was very high before eating - because they were hungry from their 24h fast. Ghelin levels then fell during eating and again afterwards. However, it took 30 minutes for this hormone to fall. At the same time, the levels of satiety hormones increased during and after eating - but again there was a delay of about 30 minutes before any change took place.

The problem with delay this was illustrated superbly by one of the participants, who, in less than 30 minutes, ate a substantial meal of steak, chips and peas, and no less than FIVE desserts!! This totalled more than 3,000 calories - far higher than the recommended total daily intake for a man of his height and weight! Adrian Chiles, one of the programme presenters joked that he usually tried to eat his food as quickly as possible so that he could eat it all before that 'full' feeling had time to kick in!!

So, the moral of this tale, is EAT SLOWLY! This is what our band providers tell us all the time and here is the reason why. So, message to self: Eat slowly, eat with small utensils to facilitate this, put the knife and fork down between mouthfuls, chew everything a lot to slow it down even further and finally, don't get distracted while eating because this tends to make us eat even faster!

Good veggies for restriction

Over the past weeks I've been keeping a mental note of what foods, and veggies in particular, make me feel full and work best with my band. I eat quite a wide range of vegetables and have noticed that while some slip down relatively easily, others rake a lot more chewing and leave me feeling full. The best ones include sprouts, mushrooms, spinach (raw or lightly steamed), chunky and lightly cooked broccoli and cauliflower. The vegetables that slip down more easily include onions, soft courgettes, aubergine (unless with skin on - then it can be quite tough), tomatoes, and anything that can be mashed - like butternut squash.

In terms of other foods, bearing in mind I don't eat meat, the main tricks to ensure foods don't slip down too easily are (a) don't overcook food - keep it crunchy and solid and chewy, (b) avoid washing food down by using gravy, sauces or accompaniments that are high in fat. This evening, for example, I couldn't eat all my dinner because it just filled me up. Here's what I had:

Wholegrain (brown) rice
Olive tofu
Mixed broccoli, shitake and oyster mushrooms, and courgettes

I added a little light soy sauce and loads of black pepper for extra flavour and a hint of moistness - otherwise this was a fairly dry meal.

Other good foods are lightly cooked unpeeled baby new potatoes, pasta al dente, any fish that isn't too oily and doesn't come in a sauce, quorn in most forms, various types of beans (e.g. adzuki, black-eye). Sometimes a meal just needs some moisture - a good way to get this without loading on lots of calories is to add some Philadelphia Extra Light (very low fat soft cheese).

I'm getting younger!

I reported a few months ago that my scales gave my metabolic age as 48 - three years older than I actually am, but two years younger than they had been reading ever since I got banded. Well, this morning I weighed myself again, and my metabolic age has dropped to 44 - a year younger than my real age!! That's fantastic - I'm delighted!

However, what I am even more pleased about is that my muscle mass is now classified as 5. I looked this up in the manual and it means 'Standard' - average muscle mass and average body fat!!! Whoopee!!

Snacking works for me

I've tried eating three meals per day but I find that smaller meals with healthy snacks in between works better for me. Today, for example, here's what I've eaten:

Breakfast: Mixed All Bran and Alpen muesli, half a glass of orange juice and Actimel drink.
Lunch: Low fat cheese and baked beans on one slice of wholemeal toast.
Snacks: Pear, low fat Alpen Light cereal bar, ricecake with Philadelphia cream cheese (extra light)
Dinner: Salmon, brown rice, mushrooms and green beans.
Snack: Sliced mango. I might have a small, low fat yoghurt before I go to bed.

I often get hungry between lunch and evening meal, so having some healthy snacks mid to late afternoon works well for me. Most dieticians advise against 'snacking' but I think this is to stop people eating biscuits, crisps and other high sugar, high fat foods.

Craving anonymity

I never imagined I'd have this problem.......not in a million years! Here goes. In the past, particularly when I was a child living at home, whenever I went on a diet I got loads of stick from my Dad. Every time I put anything near my mouth I got quizzed about whether I really should be eating that...? - you know the kind of thing. I truly hated that kind of intrusion. Despite being a regular blogger, I'm actually a relatively private person and like to just 'get on with things' without too much fuss - especially where my weight is concerned.

It's one of the main reasons why I didn't tell any of my family or friends about my band early on - because I feared people would poke their nose in and make comments about what I was eating, when I was eating, how much I was eating etc. However, time has moved on and I'm much more comfortable about telling selected people about my band now. All of my immediate family know and I have told quite a few people at work. Last night I told a lady in my swimming club and it was quite nice chatting to someone about it freely and openly. Having said that, I tend to tell people who I am unlikely to find myself eating with!

And that brings me to the point of this post. Up till now, all my life I am sure many people have known me or regarded me as 'the fat woman'. There was nowhere to hide because I was so fat - it was obvious. I got into bad habits of eating in secret - even eating away from my husband at times. I went to great lengths to avoid any situation where people might say anything about my weight or what I was eating. I felt, because of my size, that I was 'on show' all of the time and I craved the anonymity of being thin. So, having lost seven-and-a-half stones now, how has this aspect of my life changed?

Well, it's not good. I'm longer known as 'the fat woman'. Now I'm known as 'the woman who's lost loads of weight'! I can't go anywhere without someone commenting on it. People who I don't really even know comment on it. There are some people I know quite well who now never seem to have anything to say to me that doesn't, in some way, revolve around my weight. What's a bit scary is that some people even seem to think I've discovered the Holy Grail of weight loss and I can somehow solve all of their weight problems too!!

I must confess, if it wasn't already obvious, I'm getting a bit cheesed off with all of this attention. I want to go back into hiding. I want to erase people's memories of me being fat so they just accept me as I am, now. When will people stop seeing me as someone who is fat, thin, lost weight, gained weight, whatever, and start to see me just as a normal, everyday human being? When will people just forget about my weight and just treat me normally. Ask me how I am, or where I'm going on holiday, or what I'm doing for Christmas, or how work is going or what I did at the weekend. But please stop talking about my weight and please stop seeing me as a 'weight issue'.

Am a misery guts or what?!

Plodding on

Work is still a nightmare. I'm still working silly hours and it's still having an adverse effect on my eating and exercise. I know from past experience that when I don't exercise I don't feel fit - I feel fat - and that makes me feel low - so I eat to make myself feel better......... Oh dear, it sounds bloomin' silly even as I write it - but that's how my head is!

I bought a book to help me overcome emotional eating but I haven't found time to get past page one! I've browsed on the web looking for ideas and all I get are distraction techniques. This is the idea that when you feel like grabbing a bar of chocolate - for emotional reasons - do something to distract ourself. Activities include taking a hot bubble bath or going for a walk.

Well that's fine - but I haven't got time to go for a walk and a quik shower at 5.30am is about all I can manage - no way is there time to have a long soak!!! I tried putting some chocolate in the bread bin so I could have small amounts of it when I needed - that's beter than going out and buying six bars and scoffing the lot in my book. But I haven't been as restrained as I thought I might be.

I just read on the UKGastricBand forum about a lady who's got really good restriction at last - and I can still eat a lot more than her. Tonight, I'm thinking I should phone in the morning and book myself another fill. If you read my blog regularly though, you'l know that I may change my mind again tomorrow!! I really think I might go for it this time though - and settle for much tighter restriction than I have at present. It's got to be better than trying desperately to cling onto an ounce of willpower, hasn't it?

Quorny but true

Today I decided to go out and buy some Quorn-based products. I've been getting a little fed up with eating the same things over and over and I've also been feeling for a while that I don't quite get enough protein - that may partly explain why I still keep getting hungry. I browsed around the shelves in Tesco and found a surprising array of different Quorn-based foods. Some of them are coated in breadcrumbs, stuffed with cheese and all sorts - and are pretty high in calories. But there are also some other varieties that are much better. I was really surprised at just how low in fat Quorn products actually are. They are also loaded with protein - the peppered steaks are only 107 calories, have about 4g of fat and about 12g of protein! So, I returned home with a box of two peppered steaks, some fajita-like Quorn strips and some Quorn bites on skewers. The latter will be great for snacking on!!

Anyway, I had one of the peppered steasks for dinner this evening - along with a little boiled potato and some frozen mixed veg. Despite the fact that I got distracted while cooking and the steak was rather over-done (!), it still tasted really lovely. But what has cheered me up no end, and amazed, me, is just how filling the Quorn is. I had my dinner ages ago now and I'm still stuffed. I'll be experimenting with all sorts of Quorn products over the next few weeks and I'll let you know whether it turns out to be the Holy Grail that I'm thinking it is at the moment!

A mincing experience

Last night I cooked up some soya mince with brown rice and some mixed frozen vegetables. It seemed like a balanced meal, with the mince being low in fat but rich in protein. I've had the mince many times before but not since my last fill. While the mince was cooking I'd added a little original Bisto gravy to provide a little flavour. I tucked into my meal - but only got as far as about three small forkfuls. I was just really struggling to get it down. It wasn't that it had made me full - I was still hungry! But I couldn't manage any more so put it to one side.

About an hour later I thought I'd have another go. Then I had a brainwave! I made up some vegetable gravy from Bisto gravy granules (I don't normally use this because it is relatively fatty). I poured this on top of the heated up meal and added some melted cheese. For good measure I added loads of black pepper and a little salt. I tucked in again - this time it went down much more easily! It was also much nicer! I finished the whole lot and was nicely full by the end.

It just goes to prove that drier textured food is more difficult to get down than food that is more fatty. On this occasion though, I appear to have begun by getting the balance wrong and making it too dry. You live and learn!

Why carbs are good

Dr Ashton, Director of Healthier Weight, has written on the HW web site about the dangers of ketosis (click on the title link). This is essentially when the body obtains its energy, not from glucose stores, but by burning stored fat. Now you might think this is a good thing, and indeed fat-burning is not a bad thing in itself. However, when taken to extremes and for long periods of time, it can result in changes in blood chemistry that can be dangerous. A recent case was reported where a lady died as a result of ketosis brought on by following an 'extreme' diet.

Some ketosis is inevitable when we reduce our total calorie intake and carbohydrates. However, fat burning can be taken to serious levels on very low carbohydrate and / or low calorie diets. My observation from looking at some American web sites and reading weight loss books that come out of the US is that they appear to be much more keen on carb-free diets than us in the UK. Nevertheless, there are an increasing range of carb-free diets available and they are DANGEROUS!! How come people don't realise that our bodies need a balanced diet, with elements of proteins, carbs, fats (yes, they're not called 'essential' fats for nothing!), vitamins, minerals and fibre. If any one of these is missing the body will suffer.

Of course, some carbs are better than others. Simple carbs (sugars like chocolate, sweets) are the bad ones. The middling ones are potatoes, white bread, rice and pasta. These are complex carbs that are refined. The best carbs are complex and unrefined, like wholemeal bread, pasta and rice. These should form a component of every meal and make up about one quarter.

So there you have it. Carbs are very bad if you don't have them, they can be bad if you have the wrong ones, but if you have the right ones they're very good for you!

I'm getting younger!!

Two years younger to be exact! Several months ago I purchased a Tanita Innerscan body composition monitor (click on the link to purchase!). As well as telling me my weight, it also tells me my body fat %, total body water %, visceral fat level, muscle mass, physique rating, bone mass, basal metabolic rate and metabolic age. I've been keeping a vague check on my readings for several months and Ive noticed quite a few slow changes:

1. Body fat %: This started off around 45% but is now 34%. This is just outside of the 'normal' range.


2. Total body water %: This is usually inverse to body fat, so when I started taking readings it was quite low - about 32%. It's now just inside the 'normal' range at 45%.


3. Visceral fat level: This is a measure of how much fat there is internally around the abdominal cavity - and is a good indicator of susceptibility to nasties like heart disease. If you're in the range 1 to 12 then you're OK. Fortunately, I tend to collect fat around my bum and hips rather than around my stomach, so I've always been inside the OK range (well since February when I bought this machine). Recently my level has improved from level 9 to level 6.


4. Muscle mass: This is given as a weight - and mine has actually fallen a little from eight stone something to seven stone something. I presume this is because even though I have increased my proportion of muscle, the actual weight of it has dropped as I've lost weight overall.


5. Physique rating: This is a subjective measure of physique according to the ratio of fat to muscle. There's a complex scale in the manual they provided with the monitor - but basically, my rating has improved from 3 (large frame obese) to 2 (medium frame obese). I long for a rating of 6 (standard muscular) which represents a person with average body fat and a high % muscle!


6. Bone mass: To be honest, I've only really taken notice of whether this has been above 6.5lb or not because below this level there is increased risk of bone diseases like osteoporosis. I've always been above that level.


7. Basal metabolic rate: When I started recording BMR it was about 2200 calories, but as I've lost weight this has fallen steadily to around 1550. This is normal because as we lose weight our body needs less energy to 'keep it going'. The downside of your BMR going down is that it means you can consume less calories to maintain your current weight. However, in the last few days, for the very first time, my BMR has started to increase again - it's now 1590! Given that I am still losing weight, this is a good indication that I am starting to develop more muscle (which needs more energy to keep it going).


8. Metabolic age: The monitor indicates the average age associated with your measured level of metabolism. The maximum reading it gives is 50 years - and I have to confess that I have been 50 years old ever since I started taking readings..... that is, until this morning! Today I'm only 48!!! Yippeee!!! I'm actually only 45 years old so I clearly still have some way to go in losing weight and building up muscle mass before my BMR reflects my actual age - but it's nice to get started along the road to youthfulness!

Cracks are beginning to appear...!

Make sure you're not eating or drinking anything as you read this.......

About ten days ago I was standing in the shower, with my back to the shower head. The lovely warm water was flowing nicely down my back - when I suddenly felt a very strange sensation going on behind. Something was 'getting at' the crack in my bum!! The same thing kept happening over the next few days and it took me a whole week to work out what it was.

It turns out that it was simply warm water flowing down the crack in my bum - between my cheeks! Now while this might be a normal, everyday occurrence for Mr and Mrs Slim, my bum crack has spent the last twenty years of its life in a suffocating hell, abyssmally squashed between two great fat bum cheeks!! Only now that my bum cheeks (are they what people now call 'buns'?) are somewhat smaller than they were, is there actually space for water to trickle between them.

As I lost weight, I was delighted to be able to cross my legs once again, wear smaller clothes, run upstairs and experience all sorts of other things that 'normal' experience. But feeling warm water trickle down the crack in my bum between my cheeks was never on my what to expect list!! What next - I can't wait!!

Strategies for emotional eating

As you have probably gathered if you read my blog regularly, I'm a self-confessed emotional eater. I have a few strategies that help - not all of the time but some of the time. However, sometimes I think it's OK to just let go - even thin people eat [i]some[/i] chocolate and crisps!

1. Keep a packet of soft mints and have one or two when needed (about 10 calories each). I know it's not the same as eating chocolate but it puts a nice sweet taste in your mouth which often does the trick for me. Because you can chew and suck these they can be eaten while on the puree stage or after a fill.

2. Keep a bar of chocolate in the house - under lock and key by your other half! When you're in need, get him/her to bring you a couple of squares.

3. Have a low fat hot chocolate (40 calories) - or something similar.

4. Have a 'healthy' naughty snack - such as dark chocolate which has less calories, less fat and is less addictive. Or get some low fat crisps, or make up a great big fat sandwich mainly filled with salad but with the tinest slither of cheese.

5. Get some low fat biscuits that you don't like very much - they'll provide a sugar boost and some 'comfort' when you need it - but since you don't really like them you won't be picking them through the day! I use Rich Tea.....

6. Some of the high protein drinks that you can have while on purees or post-fill are very filling and although not fatty, they can trick your mind into thinking you're drinking a nice McD shake or something like ice cream....

Hope that helps someone out there!

Dry is best?

The day before yesterday we ate out and I demolished a reasonable sized pasta dish without any trouble. It was tagliatelle with salmon and a creamy sauce. Then last night I cooked a pasta dish. It was penne with tinned tuna, a little Red Leicester cheese, and chopped red onion, aubergine and mushroom. There was no sauce as such, just the natural juices from the vegetables. It was delicious, and slightly smaller than the pasta salmon dish I'd had the night before. Yet I could only just about manage half of it. How come?

Well, of course I know that the band has a mind of it's own and behaves differently on different days, but as a scientist I was looking for a more rational explanation! The only thing that comes to mind is the fact that my pasta dish was much drier in consistency so perhaps wouldn't have slipped through my band constriction so easily. The salmon dish, on the other hand, being quite creamy, would have turned into what was effectively a 'slider' food - and passed straight through.

This is only my conjecture, based on lots of things I've read and heard, but it does seem to make sense. Certainly my provider's advice centres on the type and texture of food we eat to get the most out of the band. I find that while 'good' textured foods are obvious (e.g. crunchy vegetables) and 'bad' textured foods are equally obvious (e.g. chocolate, ice cream, anything really fatty) - everything in between is still a bit of a mystery to me! I think it's just a matter of trial and error - but of course food that works well on one day might not work so well on another!! Cor, I'm making meself depressed again!!

Anyway, the end note to this tale is that I ate the other half of my pasta meal for breakfast this morning - and it was just as luvverly!!

Going on the run?

Once upon a time, there was a slim woman who was very fit, ran 5 to 10 miles a day, did triathlons and trained twice a day. Then one day, she woke up and twenty years had passed by. Now, she was fat and totally unfit and could just about manage to walk, never mind run! But that was before she was kissed by a prince and got a gastric band. Eight months later, she found she wasn't so fat anymore, she could walk quite fast - and her head was telling her she might be able to run again. But deep in her heart, she doubted whether she would be able to because of all the damage that her obese years had done to her knees and hips. So, she had to find the magic wizard and ask him if she could run again......

........the story hasn't ended yet because I haven't found the magic wizard! I don't know if I will be able to run again or indeed whether this story has a happy ending or not. But, in case you missed it, my mind is eager, I think even desperate for my body to run again - and I just don't know if I can. "Well why not just try!", I hear you cry, yes, I guess I should. The thing is though, last time I ran, I looked like a runner and I was twenty-something. Now, I just look like a middle-aged, overweight fuddy duddy trying to re-live her youth! Maybe I am! Basically I am very self conscious about my body and the thought of anyone seeing me struggling to jog along the street fills me with fear!

I think I will plot and plan ahead and try to get in my first attempt under cover of darkness!

Extra virgin olive oil

One of the topics that came up at the Support Group on Sunday (and I cannot remember what prompted it!), was the use of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) for cooking. One of the ladies there, who I think may have some sort of medical or science background, said that EVOO should never be used for cooking purposes. She said this was because when it is heated it turns into a saturated fat. Now, I use EVOO all the time for cooking and have done for a number of years - so this was not only news to me, it was also a little alarming. So, I've looked it into a little on the Internet (click on the link above for one web site with some more information).

Now, I don't understand all the chemistry behind this (and there's a lot!) so I'll keep it as simple as my own brain can cope with! Basically, EVOO is an unrefined variety of olive oil - meaning that it has only been pressed from the original olives once. EVOO has very little saturated fat in and a high level of monounsaturated fats - from a healthy eating perspective, both these things are very good, and this makes it one of the best, healthiest oils to use with food. However, the unrefined nature of this oil also makes it one of the most fragile, both chemically and nutritonally. This means that when heated, it is more likely to alter, chemically-speaking, than other more refined oils.

Oils have what is known as a smoke point - the temperature at which the oil starts to vapourise. Because of its relatiely fragile nature, EVOO has a lower smoke point than most other oils. At its smoke point, EVOO (and other oils) may (a) produce saturated fats, (b) lose nutritional value, and (c) develop carcinogenic (cancer-forming) compounds. Now, the advice I have seen on the Internet is rather variable. Some web sites (mainly those trying to flog EVOO), seem to be saying it's fine to cook with EVOO - and it's just a myth that it develops saturated fats etc. These sites seem to suggest that for any damaging effects to occur from cooking with EVOO, you would have to cook at very high temperatures - such as those used in commercial cooking (e.g. deep fat frying where there is also repeated heating of the oil). They suggest temperatures up to about 400 deg F might be OK. However, there are other web sites that advise caution and suggest that EVOO is 'at risk' at temperatures as low as 200 deg F - temperatures much more likely to be encountered during normal domestic cooking. They suggest EVOO should only be used for 'cold' uses such as salads and dressings. Some say it's OK to use for 'normal' home cooking purposes such as making sauces - but not for the sort of temperatures that might be used in baking.

My fairly rapid Internet research clearly does not reveal any definitive answer - so, the choice is yours. Personally, I think I will cautiously finish off the bottle of EVOO I am currently using and from then on, use olive oil, rather than the extra virgin variety (everyone seems to be agreed that this is OK and has a much higher smoke point).

Out of control

Oh dear, I seem to be eating out of control again. I don't know what it is but I don't seem to be able to resist the urge to eat sweet, fatty, 'nice' things. I'm just hungry all the time - though I suspect a lot of it is head hunger rather than real hunger. What has happened to that goody two shoes who obeyed every rule and wrote everything down, ate everything off a small plate and generally got used to seeing the scales going down, down, down? She seems to have turned into this person who is intent on breaking every rule in the book, ignoring all the lessons learned from valuable experience and generally going bananas as far as food is concerned. I'm not entirely sure why this is happening. I could say it's partly down to insufficient restriction (still), it might be that 'time of month', it might simply be getting into bad habits because I've been doing a lot of eating out and sort-of holidaying lately. But a general malaise seems to have set in too.

We are off on our travels again today - heading up to Scotland for a week's walking - and there's no doubt I will get lots of exercise. If I was eating in a more controlled fashion, the calorie burning would inevitably mean good progress on my weight loss - but I am 'eating for England' at present so am staying static - even putting on a little weight. I can only hope that some time over the next few days my brain will sort itself out enough to get back on track and turn me into Miss goody two shoes again!

Ten things about weight loss: Part 8

Nearly done with these now!!

9. Exercise goes on burning fat - even while you sleep

According to the programme, new research shows that we burn fat while we asleep..... Michael, our TV doctor, takes part in an experiment. He does a fairly exhausting treadmill exercise. After a full 90 minutes, he has burned off a mere 19 grammes of fat. Not surprisingly, after all that effort, he is a little disappointed! However, the next day, he takes part in a second series of tests.

First, he has to lie down on a couch and rest for about 45 minutes, while breathing into a large bag-thing. This enables another doctor to measure Michael's Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Now, remember that since the previous days treadmill exercise, Michael has had no activity. I am not entirely clear about how this was done, but from the BMR, they were able to determine that since the previous day, Michael had burned off an additional 49 grammes of fat (i.e. in addition to the 19 grammes burned the previous day). This is known as 'afterburn'.

In fact, it would appear that more fat is burned after a period of activity than during. Why is this? Well, because during exercise, our muscles mainly get their energy from using readily-available carbohydrates - these are easier for the body to burn. Once the store of carbohydrates is used up, it takes the body some 22 hours to replace it. The use of carbohydrates during exercise in this way, is why marathon runners use 'carbo-loading' before a race - to try and boost the amount of carbs available in the body. Now, if the body takes 22 hours to replace the used carbohydrate, how is it going to get energy in the meantime? Simple, it feeds on the body's fat stores. This will keep the basic bodily functions going (digesting, sleeping, heart beating etc). This is the so-called 'afterburn' effect. Calories burned from fat in the afterburn phase are considerably more important than calories lost through carbohydrate usage (not least beause there are more than twice as many calories in a gramme of fat than in a gramme of carbohydate).

There, simple!

Ten things about weight loss: Part 4

Here's the next installment of the lessons to be learned from the programme about weight loss.

5. Protein staves off hnger pangs

At any one time in the UK, some 10 million people are on a diet! However, what people don't recognise is that some foods are much better than others at staving off hunger and making us feel full for longer. When the stomach is empty, it sends a hormone to the brain and tells the brain that the stomach needs more food. The brain then tells the rest of the body to provide more food. Now, it has been known for some time that proteins keep us feeling fuller for longer. However, until recently, no-one really understood wy this is. In fact, just adding 10% more protein in breakfast cereal can make you feel full for longer.

In the programme, they conducted an experiment with three men who were busy painting the Forth bridge!! Each man was given a comparable breakfast to eat with an identical number of calories. However, man A had a carbohydrate-rich breakfast (he was given more muesli); man B had a fat-rich breakfast (he was given a double cream smoothie and bacon); and man C had a protein-rich breakfast (he had added baked beans and lean ham). Each man was given a pocket computer and asked to rate how hungry they felt - every hour, on the hour - until their next meal. After 4 hours of work they returned their computers and the data was analysed. The results showed that despite only having 10% extra protein, C felt fuller for much longer. This man was also more likely to eat less at lunch time than A or B.

So, why does protein have this effect? Protein releases a hormone called "PYY" that suppresses hunger pangs in the brain. Of all food types, protein triggers more of this hormone than any other food type. So, although it is true to some extent that calories are calories - regardless of where they come from - protein switches off hunger much more effectively than any other type of food.

I posted ages ago about the apparent emphasiss on proteins on some of the American web sites about gastric band surgery. I was curious as to why this was, since they also seem to frown upon carbohydrates in the diet to a degree that is not evident in the UK. I asked around to see if anyone knew why this was and learned that the emphasis on protein was probably aimed at ensuring bandits got enough protein to support the healthy growth of bones, nails, teeth and hair. I had also heard that proteins keep you feeling full for longer but nobody seemed to be shouting this out very loudly. So, I am very interested in this particular lesson because I don't think I do eat enough protein in many of my meals. My provider says our plates should be filled with one quarter protein, one quarter carbs and half veg. However, I bought an American post-gastric banding recipe book where all of the meals in it are primarily protein-based with some veg and fat, and have very little carbohydrate.

I have to work at reducing my carbohydrate intake because many years ago I was a runner, and regularly did carbo-loading before races. My brain is conditioned to think that carbohydrate = energy. In reality, calories are calories - and calories are energy. So energy gained from proteins is just as good as energy obtained from carbs. I need to re-learn this!!

Channel 4: The Hospital

As you may have seen, last night there was a channel four documentary that purported to be about how the rising demand for gastric banding is creating financial difficulties for the NHS. The preview of the programme indicated that the rising demand for gastric banding by teenagers was of particular concern. In practice, only one of the three people that the programme focussed on was a teenager - and she was 19!

There is a lot I could say about the programme,mainly negative, but I will only summarise here. It was largely crass, shallow, supposedly 'entertaining' nonsense. It explained very little to the general populace what gastric banding is really all about and perpetuated the myth that it is a 'quick fix' and an 'easy option'. The attitude of the surgeon at the centre of the programme, Mr Paul Super, was appalling, rude, arrogant and downright unprofessional at times. In one scene, he plucks at the fatty tissue of an anaesthetised patient and makes jokes, to which the theatre team holler with laughter. It was insensitive, bullying and just horrible.

The programme portrayed gastric band patients as stupid, lazy, irresponsible and entirely at fault for their condition. Nothing was said about restriction, band adjustments, aftercare or the months of to-ing and fro-ing while trying to get restriction levels right. It also said very little about the healthy eating and exercise that band patients are expected to live by post-surgery.

In short, the programme was extremely disappointing. I am not entirely surprised at channel four for this, but was appalled that a top surgeon should choose to behave so. I am not alone in this. The UKgastricBand.co.uk forum has been alive today with three separate active threads, filled with irate messages of banded people, at best disappointed, and at worst, depressed and cancelling appointments. Rather than attempt to reproduce that anger and frustration here, I urge you to read these threads yourself (see at the bottom of this message) and make up your own mind. I have added a new poll asking you, if you watched the programme, what did you think of it? Please vote!

Here are the links to the three threads:

1. Feeling very depressed after tonight's channel four documentary http://www.ukgastricband.co.uk/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=2317

2. Channel four 21st April 9pm http://www.ukgastricband.co.uk/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=2311

3. Mr Paul Super (not) and channel four: http://www.ukgastricband.co.uk/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=2324 - this one was started by me!

Hair falling out

Don't panic, I'm not going bald... but I have noticed an increasing amount of hair in the bath after I have taken a shower in the morning. At first, I thought I must just be imagining things, so I decided to just keep an eye on it for a while. But a couple of weeks on, now I am sure. I did a Google search and found quite a lot of stuff about hair loss in relation to dieting and weight loss. However, there was mixed information. In general, the web sites I looked at suggested that the hair loss is a temporary effect of weight loss, and in some cases, relates to a deficiency of certain minerals. Most commonly, lack of vitamin B, B12 and zinc were cited. Other sites said a lack of water was to blame and others said hair loss was common on low fat diets.

Anxious to get some more definite information, I telephoned my dietician when I got home from work today. He said that some hair loss occurs in about 40% of gastric band patients and is only a short term phenomenon. He assured me that I won't go bald (which was a relief)!! He said it commonly occurs about three months or so into the weight loss process - which is about where I am at now. He also said that it can sometimes indicate a slight lack of vitamin B and folic acids. Now, both these are included in the daily multivitamin that I have. However, he said that if I was worried about it I could get a vitamin B supplement as well. I don't think I will bother with an extra supplement, but I will make extra sure that I take my daily vitamins - I do sometimes forget.

While reading about hair loss on the web, I also came across quite a bit of information about other side effects of weight loss - including dry and flaky skin - something I am definitely suffering from. I apply E45 cream all over every morning and have started to use Bio Oil on the stretch marks on my tummy and under my chin (which is starting to get wrinkly - awful!).

So, the only problem I have now is to try and find the 'sucker' thing for the bath so I can get the water flowing down the plug hole a bit better than it has been doing! I do have very thick hair anyway, so losing a bit of it seems to clogging up the outflow in the bath...