Got Post Bariatric Experience with the Camino Frances?

[stevelm1]

So I am a year out from surgery and have gotten to my goal weight. I am exercising a lot more these days and am looking for a challenge. At 60 this hike sounds like exactly what I am looking for, no camping required (ha) but more than a casual walk. I am curious about how others with a lap sleeve have dealt with eating along the trail.

 

[Al the optimist]

Welcome and congratulations on your reaching your goal weight, I wish I could! The Camino can be a casual walk but it is physically demanding at times. But careful forethought can minimise this. I have no idea what what dietary conditions you have as with your lap sleeve so I will leave that advice to others. Enjoy your planning. May I be the first to wish you Buen Camino.

 

[Magwood]

I guess the amount of food you can eat has been restricted. Personally I ate loads more than I normally would but still lost about 7 kilos. You would have to be able to consume sufficient calories to counter all that energy used in walking every day. If you need a special diet it might be difficult to find, although there are many pharmacies along the way that would probably stock dietary supplements.

 

[t2andreo]

I have had a bariatric lap band since April 2005. Initially, it helped me lose about 90 pounds. I walked my first Camino in April-May 2013. While on each Camino, I lost a further 15 pounds, but afterwards the "lost" weight found me again...

For my first route, I chose the Camino Frances. This year, I did it again at the same time. The first year, I took 35 days. The second trek took me 34 days. Along the way, I preferred staying in hostals (1 star hotels) instead of albergues so I could prevent getting a respiratory illness. It worked.

Managing my special post-bariatric band diet was not difficult. However, obtaining suitable sources of high quality protein when and where you need it will be a problem. You cannot buy powdered protein along the way, so do not plan on it. Here is my solution:

At home, I use UNJURY brand (www.unjury.com) medical grade powdered protein. It is available in 18-serving plastic containers (heavy-ish) and individual serving packets. The powder mixes equally well in water or fat free milk. At home I use a Magic Bullet blender, as I add yogurt and fruit to my "super shakes", especially in the morning. The powder is available as unflavored, and in a variety of standard flavors, like Chocolate, Strawberry and Vanilla.

For travel, I use the individual packets at the rate of two per day. I pour the powder into a standard .5 liter water bottle using a collapsible silicone funnel I bought in Wegman's supermarket. Add some water, then the powder, then top off with water and roll between your two palms, before shaking vigorously to dissolve the powder. If you do not mix the powder by rolling first, it will cake in the top of the bottle.

For these two Caminos, I carried enough packets for 42 days (6 weeks). I placed 14-serving packets in a quart-size zip lock bag, along with 7-single serving instant coffee tubes, and 7-servings of Tang "Sport" powdered electrolyte replacement powders (in berry flavor). I mixed the coffee or electrolyte powder in two additional .5 liter bottles, for a total of four .5 liter water bottles. Two had the protein mixture and two were plain water.

Each one week "kit" (14 UNJURY pouches, 7-coffee and 7-electrolyte powder tubes) weighs about one pound. So, the handicap you have starting out is 6 extra pounds, or about 3 extra kilos of weight. Consider that, as you progress, your load does get lighter.

While I normally have three to four UNJURY helpings daily at home I had to make a weight tradeoff for the Camino. I found that you can readily supplement this protein source with tortilla (egg and potato pie) at most every cafe along the way. There are also other things to eat to increase the protein intake daily. It is a small challenge, but manageable if you think about it.

One thing you can do to manage the additional weight of protein powder is to mail it ahead to post offices. You send it to you, care of "Poste Restante" in a chosen town or city. My personal choice is to have the nutrition with me, as it is as important as prescription medication. You can research how to do that elsewhere in the forum.

I hope this helps.

 

[stevelm1]

I have had a bariatric lap band since April 2005. Initially, it helped me lose about 90 pounds. I walked my first Camino in April-May 2013. While on each Camino, I lost a further 15 pounds, but afterwards the "lost" weight found me again...

For my first route, I chose the Camino Frances. This year, I did it again at the same time. The first year, I took 35 days. The second trek took me 34 days. Along the way, I preferred staying in hostals (1 star hotels) instead of albergues so I could prevent getting a respiratory illness. It worked.

Managing my special post-bariatric band diet was not difficult. However, obtaining suitable sources of high quality protein when and where you need it will be a problem. You cannot buy powdered protein along the way, so do not plan on it. Here is my solution:

At home, I use UNJURY brand (www.unjury.com) medical grade powdered protein. It is available in 18-serving plastic containers (heavy-ish) and individual serving packets. The powder mixes equally well in water or fat free milk. At home I use a Magic Bullet blender, as I add yogurt and fruit to my "super shakes", especially in the morning. The powder is available as unflavored, and in a variety of standard flavors, like Chocolate, Strawberry and Vanilla.

For travel, I use the individual packets at the rate of two per day. I pour the powder into a standard .5 liter water bottle using a collapsible silicone funnel I bought in Wegman's supermarket. Add some water, then the powder, then top off with water and roll between your two palms, before shaking vigorously to dissolve the powder. If you do not mix the powder by rolling first, it will cake in the top of the bottle.

For these two Caminos, I carried enough packets for 42 days (6 weeks). I placed 14-serving packets in a quart-size zip lock bag, along with 7-single serving instant coffee tubes, and 7-servings of Tang "Sport" powdered electrolyte replacement powders (in berry flavor). I mixed the coffee or electrolyte powder in two additional .5 liter bottles, for a total of four .5 liter water bottles. Two had the protein mixture and two were plain water.

Each one week "kit" (14 UNJURY pouches, 7-coffee and 7-electrolyte powder tubes) weighs about one pound. So, the handicap you have starting out is 6 extra pounds, or about 3 extra kilos of weight. Consider that, as you progress, your load does get lighter.

While I normally have three to four UNJURY helpings daily at home I had to make a weight tradeoff for the Camino. I found that you can readily supplement this protein source with tortilla (egg and potato pie) at most every cafe along the way. There are also other things to eat to increase the protein intake daily. It is a small challenge, but manageable if you think about it.

One thing you can do to manage the additional weight of protein powder is to mail it ahead to post offices. You send it to you, care of "Poste Restante" in a chosen town or city. My personal choice is to have the nutrition with me, as it is as important as prescription medication. You can research how to do that elsewhere in the forum.

I hope this helps.

All excellent advice. I am using UNJURY protein powders here at home as well.

I was hoping to find protein bars on the way. Did you look for those at all? Just wondering if they are hard to find in Spain.

Steve

 

[t2andreo]

All excellent advice. I am using UNJURY protein powders here at home as well.

I was hoping to find protein bars on the way. Did you look for those at all? Just wondering if they are hard to find in Spain.

Steve

Fugggetaboutit! I was unable to locate comparable high protein replacement bars or protein powder along the Camino, on both my trips on the Frances. I usually ended up with several containers for Greek yogurt and my beloved spork. Greek yogurt is higher in protein generally than regular yogurt.

That is why I pack 2 unflavored UNJURY single-serve packets for each day, plus 2 methods to flavor same. Plain coffee works in a pinch as well. All in, we are talking about 3 extra kilos for a month.

You can ship a supply ahead to Ivar at Santiago to be there when you arrive, say two weeks worth of powder to two intervening places along the way. You can also send a small parcel to one or more intervening post offices care of Poste Restante to spread the load out. Research how to do either here on the forum.

I also put the unflavored UNJURY powder into the liquid yogurt drinks they sell in many supermercados and some smaller tiendas. The bottles are typically either 750 ml or 1 liter and typically come in Strawberry or Banana - Strawberry flavors. If you have a method for keeping the plastic bottle cool (a tile floor or window sill will do most of the year) you can drink a little then add two packets of protein powder. I have used that technique to augment dinner and as breakfast the following morning.

Unfortunately, UNJURY does not distribute outside the US. I had this problem several years ago when I lived in Belgium. There was, at that time, nothing comparable on the European market.

I am reasonably certain there must be medical grade protein replacement powder available in Europe as I have met others with bariatric lap bands and other bariatric surgeries. I just have not located it yet. If anyone on the forum DOES identify a brand and source in Spain or France, I would be very interested to know about it.

"Needs must" as they say. I hope this helps.