Nutritionist...

[Quest4TheNewMe 225]

Don't feel like my nutritionist and I agree on some basics... I almost feel like she's taking it too easy on me... LOL!

I consider myself reasonably knowledgeable regarding nutrition (just because I know what I should do, done any mean I've been following it, obviously). Anyway, I had my first nutritionist appointment this last Tuesday. I'm a numbers geek and I asked her for total calorie/carb/protein goals to work towards. She told me to just use the recommendations from myfitnesspal app. The thing I don't like that by making just a couple of tweaks, it changes the goals a lot... I set it so that my goal weight is what I need to get to for surgery and said lose 2 lbs per week, which gives me a little buffer room before my target surgery date. I just wish she would have given me actual numbers... Also, she did give me a Protein goal, but it's a fair amount under what mfp suggests. I'm aiming for the mfp goal on protein.

Also, I asked for recommendations for Protein shakes and she suggested Boost, Ensure, or Atkins. So far, I like the Atkins, but it seems like there are better ones out there?

She's also saying that I should be doing three meals per day and no snacking in between. That seems to go against everything I've been told to date... I'd much rather have 4-5 meals at 200-300 calories, rather than three meals at 400-450 calories. I understand that with having more meals per day, it's easy to go over your calories. It just seems like after surgery, it would work better to have smaller, more frequent meals.

I'm sure I should just follow her recommendations, since I need her to sign off on me being ready for surgery, it's just confusing. My insurance also requires me to do a phone course with them, so I'm curious what they're going to recommend in comparison to the clinic's nutritionist's recommendations...

[Jessica.O 47]

It sounds like you are getting pretty anxious! I had to see my nutritionist for six monthly visits leading up to surgery and we didn't discuss grams of Protein, calories, fats, etc! The things we worked on together before surgery were how to start changing my habits on preparation for using my new pouch for example, I had to slow down my eating and take 20-25 minutes to eat each meal. I also had to make sure i was eating three meals a day with no snacking. We talked about what to buy before surgery, what Vitamins I'd need and why, what I could eat during the initial stages post op, etc. The calories and carbs and Proteins will come later. Just slow down.

We ALL think we know a few things about eating right because we've done every diet under the sun, read every article, measured our food. We've lost tons of weight! But we gained it back. None of us would be seeing bariatric surgeons if we didn't need the extra help. You need to put your trust in the professionals. It's such a foreign concept to actually practice what they are teaching, believe me I know, but I'm so glad I had those visits. It really gave me good preparation and I think using my pouch is coming to me more naturally than if I hadn't had those sessions. BTW my surgery was just on July 1 and I'm down from 270 to 247!!

I strongly recommend finding a surgeon and facility that are a bariatric center of excellence. This means they are held to higher standards. They have to provide comprehensive care and support for long term success. They typically have their own nutritionist with bariatric experience and host support group meetings. I attend one meeting before surgery which was really helpful to me (and my husband).

I hope I've helped!

[Quest4TheNewMe 225]

It sounds like you are getting pretty anxious! I had to see my nutritionist for six monthly visits leading up to surgery and we didn't discuss grams of Protein, calories, fats, etc! The things we worked on together before surgery were how to start changing my habits on preparation for using my new pouch for example, I had to slow down my eating and take 20-25 minutes to eat each meal. I also had to make sure i was eating three meals a day with no snacking. We talked about what to buy before surgery, what Vitamins I'd need and why, what I could eat during the initial stages post op, etc. The calories and carbs and Proteins will come later. Just slow down. We ALL think we know a few things about eating right because we've done every diet under the sun, read every article, measured our food. We've lost tons of weight! But we gained it back. None of us would be seeing bariatric surgeons if we didn't need the extra help. You need to put your trust in the professionals. It's such a foreign concept to actually practice what they are teaching, believe me I know, but I'm so glad I had those visits. It really gave me good preparation and I think using my pouch is coming to me more naturally than if I hadn't had those sessions. BTW my surgery was just on July 1 and I'm down from 270 to 247!! I strongly recommend finding a surgeon and facility that are a bariatric center of excellence. This means they are held to higher standards. They have to provide comprehensive care and support for long term success. They typically have their own nutritionist with bariatric experience and host support group meetings. I attend one meeting before surgery which was really helpful to me (and my husband). I hope I've helped!

My insurance only requires one meeting with the nutritionist and then their phone course. I do look forward to discussing what to buy, etc. We did discuss some new habits (dry meals, Protein first...). I guess I just want to hit the ground running with the new goals and she's trying to make a gradual change. I definitely know I have things to learn, I just want to know it all now and work on implementing the changes, rather than just a few at a time... I also thought she'd give me more info on how to work towards my required weight loss before surgery. Maybe this is just a "test."

It is a bariatric center of excellence, as required by my insurance.

Thanks for the insight!

[Jessica.O 47]

It sounds like you are going to be well prepared for your surgery and I admire your ambition! Do you have a date yet?

[Quest4TheNewMe 225]

It sounds like you are going to be well prepared for your surgery and I admire your ambition! Do you have a date yet?

Thanks! Let's hope I can keep the ambition going! Nope, no date yet. I've told them I'm hoping for late November or mid-December and they have said that is a very good goal. Once I get through my psych eval (8/8 ), I will meet with the surgeon, and then I think I'll get an actual date (I hope). I'm very much a planner, so I hope to have plenty of notice on the date...

Edited July 28, 2014 by Quest4TheNewMe

[NicoleSW 78]

Don't feel like my nutritionist and I agree on some basics... I almost feel like she's taking it too easy on me... LOL! I consider myself reasonably knowledgeable regarding nutrition (just because I know what I should do, done any mean I've been following it, obviously). Anyway, I had my first nutritionist appointment this last Tuesday. I'm a numbers geek and I asked her for total calorie/carb/protein goals to work towards. She told me to just use the recommendations from myfitnesspal app. The thing I don't like that by making just a couple of tweaks, it changes the goals a lot... I set it so that my goal weight is what I need to get to for surgery and said lose 2 lbs per week, which gives me a little buffer room before my target surgery date. I just wish she would have given me actual numbers... Also, she did give me a Protein goal, but it's a fair amount under what mfp suggests. I'm aiming for the mfp goal on protein. Also, I asked for recommendations for Protein Shakes and she suggested Boost, Ensure, or Atkins. So far, I like the Atkins, but it seems like there are better ones out there? She's also saying that I should be doing three meals per day and no snacking in between. That seems to go against everything I've been told to date... I'd much rather have 4-5 meals at 200-300 calories, rather than three meals at 400-450 calories. I understand that with having more meals per day, it's easy to go over your calories. It just seems like after surgery, it would work better to have smaller, more frequent meals. I'm sure I should just follow her recommendations, since I need her to sign off on me being ready for surgery, it's just confusing. My insurance also requires me to do a phone course with them, so I'm curious what they're going to recommend in comparison to the clinic's nutritionist's recommendations...

My program requires three nutritionist visits, even if insurance doesn't. All of our nutritionists only focus on bariatric surgery patients (as do all the other staff, physicians, psychologists, surgeons, etc.) I spoke with her for an hour my first visit just on the numbers that someone getting RNY needs to focus on after surgery and she is having me change little things now. I'd be more than happy to send you the numbers when I get home! They do not have us even look at calories which is weird because it has been pounded into my brain lol. I have to watch Fiber and protein and fats and sugars. Plus they give out a bariatric journal with all that info. I'd be more than happy to send you some of my notes if you'd like that I got from my nutritionist.

[Quest4TheNewMe 225]

My program requires three nutritionist visits, even if insurance doesn't. All of our nutritionists only focus on bariatric surgery patients (as do all the other staff, physicians, psychologists, surgeons, etc.) I spoke with her for an hour my first visit just on the numbers that someone getting RNY needs to focus on after surgery and she is having me change little things now. I'd be more than happy to send you the numbers when I get home! They do not have us even look at calories which is weird because it has been pounded into my brain lol. I have to watch fiber and Protein and fats and sugars. Plus they give out a bariatric journal with all that info. I'd be more than happy to send you some of my notes if you'd like that I got from my nutritionist.

Sure, that would be great! I'd be curious to at least see how it compares to what I am getting from mfp. Thank you!