wheat, carbs my dr said NO, NO!

[Wenniegirl 1]

Hey I'm 3 1/2 weeks post op down 24lbs. Went to see doc healing well expected to lose 20 more lbs my next Friday week visit. Ok so doc says I can no longer have ANY wheat anything nothing not to mention carbs with wheat out the door to like brown rice, wheat pasta...HUUUMP his words "if it doesn't grow that way its no good". Also he made mention no process food as in things you have to put together meat balls, turkey burgers etc what the Sam hill come on doc! He read a book called Brain Grain something like that and the author says grain is not good for you etc etc. Have anyone heard of this or have anyones doc told them they can't have any of the things mentioned above?

[planetheather 137]

I've never heard "no wheat" except from adherents to the "Paleolithic diet", which I'm not sold on. My surgeon and NUT told me no white stuff (no brainer) and no soft carbs (breads). I can have whole grains and whole grain hard breads (like crackers) but at 3 months out, I really can't fit any in yet after my Protein. If I have any capacity and I've had enough Protein, I try for cooked vegetables (like a nice vegetable curry) but don't manage more than a tablespoon of that. I don't see anything wrong with a high protein, low fat meatball or burger. I haven't been home long enough to cook, but I have a great recipe for a meatball that uses an egg and some cooked quinoa for binder. I'm a newbie though, so hopefully some of the vets will be online soon and can give you more feedback.

And congratulations on being 24 pounds down! That's fantastic! Are you saying your surgeon expected you to be 50 pounds down?

[Bufflehead 6,358]

My doctor isn't against grains for anyone at any time, but our plan does call for NO grains, starchy veg, or refined sugar until you reach your goal weight. I'm sticking to it. I want to maximize weight loss and Protein intake, and grain-based foods just don't have the nutrition I need right now.

[Arts137 1,811]

I've been reading, a lot! This book might explain it:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=why%20we%20get%20fat&sprefix=why+we+g%2Caps%2C181

I am avoiding simple carbs (processed), sugars and starches. For me, they seem to be addicting!!!

[Wenniegirl 1]

I've never heard "no wheat" except from adherents to the "Paleolithic diet", which I'm not sold on. My surgeon and NUT told me no white stuff (no brainer) and no soft carbs (breads). I can have whole grains and whole grain hard breads (like crackers) but at 3 months out, I really can't fit any in yet after my Protein. If I have any capacity and I've had enough Protein, I try for cooked vegetables (like a nice vegetable curry) but don't manage more than a tablespoon of that. I don't see anything wrong with a high protein, low fat meatball or burger. I haven't been home long enough to cook, but I have a great recipe for a meatball that uses an egg and some cooked quinoa for binder. I'm a newbie though, so hopefully some of the vets will be online soon and can give you more feedback.

And congratulations on being 24 pounds down! That's fantastic! Are you saying your surgeon expected you to be 50 pounds down?

Thanks for the feed back. My doc expect for me to be 20lbs lighter by my next 4 week appointment he said about 5lbs a week. So by 1/15/14 I should be about 20lbs lighter we will see.

[RJ'S/beginning 5,358]

I have just ordered that book Grain Brain....And I know that some doctors do not want us to eat grain, sugar, carbs or practically anything else...But that seems to me that if we were able to do it before we would not have needed this surgery....I believe in moderation with everything...I feel that the most important thing is to fix the brain and the body will fix as a result....

I eat as clean as I possibly can and keep Protein first.....

Your Doctor is a diet Nazi..He has made a goal for your body that you cannot continue to lose at that pace..He is setting you up to be disappointed..And if you lose say 12-15 lbs. What is he going to do about it?..Yell at you!... Or restrict you even more?

This is a journey a life long change, not a sprint.....Why not just eat lettuce and celery like the old diet days?....oh well life sucks sometimes I guess!

[planetheather 137]

I've never heard "no wheat" except from adherents to the "Paleolithic diet", which I'm not sold on. My surgeon and NUT told me no white stuff (no brainer) and no soft carbs (breads). I can have whole grains and whole grain hard breads (like crackers) but at 3 months out, I really can't fit any in yet after my Protein. If I have any capacity and I've had enough Protein, I try for cooked vegetables (like a nice vegetable curry) but don't manage more than a tablespoon of that. I don't see anything wrong with a high protein, low fat meatball or burger. I haven't been home long enough to cook, but I have a great recipe for a meatball that uses an egg and some cooked quinoa for binder. I'm a newbie though, so hopefully some of the vets will be online soon and can give you more feedback.

And congratulations on being 24 pounds down! That's fantastic! Are you saying your surgeon expected you to be 50 pounds down?

Thanks for the feed back. My doc expect for me to be 20lbs lighter by my next 4 week appointment he said about 5lbs a week. So by 1/15/14 I should be about 20lbs lighter we will see.

I agree with RJ's/Beginning. Your doctor sounds draconian and I don't think 5 pounds week over week is really a lot. My surgeon wanted me to lose a % of my EW. I forget how much and I missed my 3 month check because I'm in Africa. I'm seeing my PCP for bloodwork in 2 weeks and my surgeon told me I could come for the 6/9 month check as long as the labs are good. I'm ok with that because I think I'm on track with my loss. They do want me to see his NUT again at 6 months.

[Butterthebean 8,146]

I have just ordered that book Grain Brain....And I know that some doctors do not want us to eat grain, sugar, carbs or practically anything else...But that seems to me that if we were able to do it before we would not have needed this surgery....I believe in moderation with everything...I feel that the most important thing is to fix the brain and the body will fix as a result.... I eat as clean as I possibly can and keep Protein first..... Your Doctor is a diet Nazi..He has made a goal for your body that you cannot continue to lose at that pace..He is setting you up to be disappointed..And if you lose say 12-15 lbs. What is he going to do about it?..Yell at you!... Or restrict you even more? This is a journey a life long change, not a sprint.....Why not just eat lettuce and celery like the old diet days?....oh well life sucks sometimes I guess!

Well actually RJ the op is not even 4 weeks post op. So right now is not the time for her to eat a balanced diet. Right now is the time to focus on protein and hydration. The rest we can live without during those early stages. Muscle sparing protein is the goal. When you can't take in very much food you don't want to waste precious intake room on empty calories. And that's what whole wheat is.....empty calories. They may be better than white carbs, but by a very narrow margin. They still are not providing any valuable nutrition so why eat them in the early stages post op?

[moonlitestarbrite 902]

read the book. then make up your own mind. we eat mostly paleo here. my H is gluten free, cross reacts to a lot of what is in processed GF products and also suffers from terrible carbo cravings. so we eat mostly paleo. not entirely, but my H is much healthier without the grains and processed crap. he has a sugar problem too, so i try not to keep stuff in the house that he can binge on. but you need to feel positive about whatever post op eating plan you choose. otherwise you wont stick to it. if you read the book and it makes sense to you, go for it. if not, find some other healthy eating plan that does make sense to you.

[Arts137 1,811]

Moonlite, your H sounds like me! I just get terrible, painful, unrelenting cravings if I eat processed carbs or sugars. It's easier to avoid them.

[Butterthebean 8,146]

Moonlite, your H sounds like me! I just get terrible, painful, unrelenting cravings if I eat processed carbs or sugars. It's easier to avoid them.

Me too. All things in moderation just doesn't work for some of us. Breaking the bonds of addiction to those foods takes hard work and determination but once you detox from their terrible after effects you can feel much better.

After all, you wouldn't tell a cocaine addict to use it in moderation would you?

[Michellemo 161]

I eat very few carbs and I feel so much better mentally and physically.

[Arts137 1,811]

Many of us ARE junkies on this bis!

[moonlitestarbrite 902]

overheard my yoga teacher talking to one of my classmates earlier this week. i know she belongs to OA (a 12 step program for food addicts). "no thank you i cant have one cookie, i am addicted to sugar and cant have even the smallest amount. then i will eat all of them!" i felt bad this person was pressuring her so hard, telling her " all things in moderation" and "one wont hurt!" i remember people tell my mom similar things when i was a child. my mom has celiacs disease.

[NMJG 1,266]

To the OP: you trusted your doctor to get you this far and got great results, so continue to trust him and stop looking here for permission to eat differently. None of us are doctors. Stick with his plan and continue to lose well. He has a lot of patients and obviously has seen good results. Trust him!