lgrey

OK, here's one I haven't seen addressed: what's with all this low fat, diety food??? I thought maybe it would make more sense after my surgery, but it still doesn't. I'm 4 weeks post op and can only eat about a quarter cup at a time. My nut says 3-4 quarter cup meals a day. How can you possibly gain weight on 1 CUP of food a day, even if you are eating full fat meals???? Better yet, how can you NOT lose weight on one cup of food a day? Before I started this process, I was actually eating pretty healthy. Healthy fats (avocado, coconut, EVO, even some clarified butter). I avoided simple sugars, grains and dairy; ate mostly meats, eggs, lots of vegies (with fats thank you) and some fruit. Some juicing too, mostly veggies with about 10% fruit to make them palatable. I was still overweight (portions and hormones?), but low bp and cholesterol. Healthy. Since starting this program and especially post surgery, I'm told to eat a TON of dairy (which I don't tolerate well), and lots of chemical laden sugar free fake foods like the protein shakes and jellos and puddings and protein bars, etc. And told to do low or no fat. Sites like the Bariatric Pal are constantly advocating diet food and low cal recipes. So I just don't get it. I'm not talking about eating high fat, high calorie food all day long, but I don't see why eating healthy food with moderate fat should be a problem. So you don't lose quite as fast. Wouldn't that be healthier and maybe less issues with sagging skin? I just don't get it. Input from veterans please...what am I missing?

I get the gurgling too, but mostly when I'm horizontal for some reason. I had something weird happen last night, couple hours after going to bed, several hours after eating. Major belly pain and violent dry heaves, then it would fade away, only to start up again about 10 minutes later. Thought I'd have diarrhea, but...nothing. Went through this FOUR times, then it stopped. Fine today. Anybody experience this and know what caused it? Something I sure want to avoid in the future!

Among other videos on this site, I watched this particular video (http://drmatthewweiner.com/lifelong-success-after-bariatric-surgery/) and it's totally changed how I decide what to eat now, even only 5 weeks post-op. The first two and half minutes are especially meaningful. Now before I eat anything, I'm thinking "is this how I'm planning to eat long term?". Having had WLS, we've been giving a clean slate. We get a do-over. How cool is that??? The first year when our normal cravings are obliterated, we can re-train our bodies and our minds to mirror that "ideal" lifestyle we wanted all along. I just had a small bowl of homemade pea soup with shredded ham hock, a dollop of (real) sour cream, and some pepitas (pumpkin seeds) sprinkled on top. Went down fine, and yes, this would be a healthy meal I'd eat long term. Still supplementing in between with highly processed protein supplements since I'm only 5 weeks post-op, but as I can eat more volume I'll be phasing those out. I can live with this. Again, thanks everybody for your valuable input and helping me get to this point. I say we give it a rest now, eh?

I just found Teras Whey (teraswhey.com), GRASS FED Organic Whey Protein unsweetened unflavored. Doesn't say anything about mixing in hot foods like Soup though. The Isopure says it does, has anyone actually tried this?

I appreciate you playing devil's advocate, Steve. I agree, nobody should be ignoring their weight loss team, but I do feel it's important to question authority if what they're asking you to do just doesn't feel right. In my case I've got a not-so-helpful NUT. I'm so glad to have everybody's input here (59 reponses!); I got some great information, most especially the referral to Dr. Matthew Weiner's website and all this videos. Another doctor; director of the bariatric program at his hospital and author of "A Pound of Cure". Because I realize I am by no means an expert, I ran Dr. Weiner's ideas by the director of the bariatric program at my hospital. This is his response: "My opinion has always been that there is no one "right" way to do things. I am certain there are patients out there who are miserable on Dr. Weiner's diet! Having said that, as long as you are meeting the macronutrient requirements I am fine with you getting your Protein mainly from plant sources. You know your body better than anyone and listening to your body is the best guide." Of course I'll have to focus on protein first these first few months as my stomach heals, since I can't possibly eat the volume I'd need for that from plant sources. But I am encouraged that I can safely start replacing my Protein shakes with better, healthier options, and begin eating more veggie and fruits. Dr. Weiner invests a lot into your post-operative and long term diet and has a ton of helpful videos on his site. I have the feeling this is the direction that future post operative diets will be taking. And as my contact says (as does Dr. Weiner): "listening to your body is your best guide." But listening to people who have been there done that provides a wealth of information to help you make wiser choices. So again everybody, thank you for your input.

OH thank goodness! This is EXACTLY what I was looking for! SO much healthier and the way I want to eat long term. I can't thank you enough for sharing.

Wow, great info BLERDgirl! I checked out the website the protein chart came from, TONS of good info on protein sources here! https://rebeldietitian.us/eat-clean/protein-101/.

Thank you and everybody for your input. Not only has my NUT not had WLS, she's a naturally thin person who I believe doesn't GET obesity and all the myriad of reasons for it. I'm going to talk to the director tomorrow about switching to one who's more supportive, and do a serious re-evaluation of my diet right now to see what healthy foods I can eat at 4 weeks out to get the protein I need. At only 1/4 cup a meal (all I can handle so far), pretty sure I'm going to have to supplement with gelatein20 until I can get my portions up a bit. But I can live with that, knowing that so many of you are eating "clean" and still losing or have lost all your weight. So thanks everybody!

What's stopping me is that the diet talk and fake foods is so prevalent that I keep thinking I must be missing something. Plus my NUT really pushes all this diet stuff too, tries to make me feel like I'm not serious about this if I'm not willing to get with the program.

unfortunately all the milk subs (and I can't tolerate soy) have FAR less protein.

were you able to eat like this right away, or more recently since you're 4 months out? My loss has slowed way down for the last week or so and I'm only 4 weeks, so thinking I'm not getting enough calories on this crap anyway.

I'm lactose intolerant AND mildly allergic to milk, soy and egg white. My NUT has been no help whatsover on alternatives; she didn't even tell me there's a difference between whey concentrate (has lactose) and why isolate (trace lactose). Found out about gelatein20 Protein Jello on this site which I can handle. Still eating some of these products just to get my protein in since I'm only 4 weeks out and can't tolerate much else right now, but feel like crap. Probably overdosing on foods I used to be "mildly" allergic to.

Yep, me too. 4 weeks out. My doc says he here's this even in summer. Rapid weight loss and low cal diet. Not sure how long this lasts.

I'm two weeks out from surgery and the shakes are killing me. UGH. I don't know if it's psychological or my body is rebelling, but every day it gets harder to swallow them down; getting nauseous from them. I'm lactose intollerent, and finally figured out that whey isolate barely has any lactose in it so switching from powders and drinks that are whey concentrate to isolate. However, I think the bigger culprit is the soy, which has always made me queasy. Seems like they all have soy. Found one powder brand RAW, doesn't list soy as an ingredient but also doesn't say soy-free, only dairy-free. Like drinking chalk, also nasty. Any other options? And is there an easier way to get your protien than all these awful shakes?