Why do we have to diet?

[Ghada 6]

I had my surgery three weeks ago and this might seem like basic knowledge for everyone here but i didn't go threw any preoperative classes and had no education about this but the the things i read here or what i google online, my surgeon assumed that I understand everything since I'm a nurse but I'm a pediatric nurse and have no experience with bariatric surgeries.

I mainly have 2 questions I can't understand. first, why do we have to force ourselves to drink the Proteins? What happens if i just eat whatever i can. And why do have to care about calorie intake and avoid carbs and sugars in the beginning while we only can fit so little. If i eat a high calorie spoon of anything it should balance my intake since I barely eat anything else. I do take my Vitamins but im not taking much Protein and im just grabbing whatever i can eat and make me satisfied. Im eating chocolates and ice creams and mashed potatoes and i know its wrong but why is it so wrong? Why do i have to follow a diet?

[Waler 330]

Well at the expense of sounding condescending, (I am in health care as well) You should already understand that due to the nature of your surgery, you now are able to absorb less from what you are now in taking for food. That being said when you body is trying to heal and maintain muscle your body needs the extra Protein. If you choose to eat whatever you like that is up to you, but you basically have wasted yours and your surgeons time. If you choose to go down the road still of high calorie, fat, and sugar junk that is up to you ultimately, but it will come at the cost of your weight loss be less than successful. Part of this process is to get you to understand that you were not doing things the right way in the past, that I you got to the surgery option. This is not a quick fix, for VGS surgery to work and maintain weight loss it requires you to make a life style change. If that is not something you were willing to do, why did you have the surgery to begin with? most of the people in here will tell you they had a problem with their diets, in one form or another, being it binge eaters, stress eaters, or people who just made bad choices. The point is you got overweight and you viewed this as a solution, and not the tool that it is. This is just a tool to help you, how you choose to use that tool is now up to you. just ask yourself how successful you want to be.

[twinhappy 79]

A part of me thinks this is not a serious post? Are you truly serious? If so, you are really compromising your health.

Protein - if you don't get a good amount in you will feel tired, run-down and will eventually cause you to loose your hair. Protein intake is probably the most important part of the process.

Carbs - the way my doctor explained it to me is that eating carbs - whether it is one bite or a whole serving - causes everything you eat after it to be stored as fat for about 12+ hours. He is okay with "good carbs" such as vegetables (other than potatoes). No bread, Pasta, Cereal, oatmeal, potatoes,sugars etc. You really shouldn't even crave these things after the surgery anyway.

You should keep researching, reading, find a support group and ask all these questions at your next appointment.

Good luck!

[Ghada 6]

I'm sorry for the way i sounded. But i was thinking at this early stage, and as long as I'm barely getting a spoon or two, the calories won't really matter since there will be a calorie deficit anyway no matter what type of food i eat. And if I'm taking all my Vitamins i should be fine.

But i really want this to work and don't want to ruin my chances.

Thank you for responding

[OKCPirate 5,323]

@@Ghada - The Protein fixation we all have is an important mantra. I have seen the people who have lost many pounds because of the restriction in intake, but they look like sacks of skin. Why? They lost their muscle because they were using their limited space to eat crackers and chips. You need the Protein to maintain you muscle, and actually help have healthier skin. As you start exercising more, it becomes even more important.

Please do yourself a favor and really take some time and look up post-surgery diet info. I've seen too many causalities who didn't. BTW, thanks for having the guts to ask such a question at a place where you could have gotten flamed on the boards. If you notice, you didn't. There is occasionally some tough love, but this is a great place to learn stuff and be encouraged.

[FrankyG 1,450]

Because Protein is the body's building materials. It makes strong muscles, healthy skin, hair and nails. Without it, our body breaks down its own muscles and we get weaker and sicker looking.

Protein for maintaining a healthy body and building muscle

Healthy carbs for stamina and fuel

Healthy fats (Omega-3, mono and polyunsaturated fats) lastly to improve blood cholesterol levels, decrease your risk of heart disease, decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes

All the junk food and simple carbs should be gone from your diet and maybe a year or two from now a very occasional treat.

[Babbs 14,681]

It's a great question! And also a very common misconception with WLS. The ol' "I can eat whatever I want and still lose weight!" concept.

And you can....at first. As someone so eloquently put it, "You can eat blended Twinkies and still lose weight". During the honeymoon phase, restriction is good and hunger is low. But long term, the anything goes mentality just won't work because your body adjusts to the low calories and will put the brakes on the weight loss, and even cause re gain.

You have very little room in your tummy. Make nutritious choices that will maximize weight loss and keep your all important muscle that will be lost. And think long term. Will my eating habits and lifestyle help me keep the weight off once I lose it? Or will this all be for nothing?

[jmw1982 59]

As others have said, the Protein is needed to maintain muscle and prevent hair loss. Protein is required to help the body heal after surgery.

Concerning empty calories and sugars, it was explained to me that sugar craves sugar. Additionally, your body digests simple carbs faster than protein. So if you eat empty carbs, your body will crave more, and you will continue to eat, so even with the smaller amounts, you still still be taking in too many calories.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Did your surgeon provide any post-op nutrition guidelines? Do you have a NUT?

This is how I understand the reasoning.

First, we have post-op stages (clear liquid, liquid, soft foods, etc.), because the texture of what we intake is very important to help us heal.

Second, we require three macronutrients: Protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Our bodies are very good at storing energy (carbohydrates and fats), the reason we had surgery in the first place, but cannot store Protein.< /p>

Protein is critical for healing, maintaining our muscles (which includes our organs, skin, and hair), and losing weight. If we do not get enough protein our body thinks it's a time of famine and stores every bit of energy it can (even if we already have hundreds of pounds of fat stored) and consumes protein from those organs and muscles.

Vitamin supplements are important because we cannot eat the volume of food required initially to get all the micronutrients.

Lastly, but most important, we need to have enough Water to make everything work.

I hope this helps.

Please see if you can find a good bariatric NUT. Even if your surgeon thinks you don't need it, I would make sure he or she gives you the post-op support you need. I am surprised you weren't provided with at least a post-op eating plan.

[Dub 9,922]

Wow.

I can't believe that any type of bariatric surgeon wouldn't be ensuring his patients were knowledge on the crucial basics.

This could be dangerous.

The kind folks here can get you on target.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Adding: were you at least given a Protein and Water goal?

Mine is at least 100 grams Protein and 64 oz. water/liquid.

[OKCPirate 5,323]

@@Babbs - dead on right, plus when you don't get enough of the right stuff you really feel like crap. No energy, can't think straight and you get really moody. You get about 100g of Protein in and that's not a problem. (well at least for me, your experience may vary).

[BairwithMe 144]

Thank you for posting this. So many of us are on different *plans* here. I am having surgery on Oct 19th. I didnt have to do a post op diet. I just have to not eat anything after 8pm the night before my surgery. so it is interesting. I don't have to have all that Protein before either. And they gave me a binder to read about all the rules and Vitamins. We had one group meeting with a nutritionist. We get a follow up phone call 3 weeks after surgery from the nutritionist. So I am learning as well. I do get that we have to eat Protein first. Always get that in to keep our bodies strong. Also we don't want to eat empty calories. We want to eat healthy. and make good habits that last. We are changing for the better. But i have honestly learned more from the great people here than I have from any visits. But I keep learning and comparing information. Making sure it makes sense.

The more we know ..the better we will do. Best of luck to you. God bless.

R.

[Ghada 6]

I understand now the importance of Protein and i feel really ashamed that I didn't care much about it for the past three weeks.

My surgeon did give me a small 2 pages pamphlet about the stages but I didn't even follow that because it said that I'm supposed to do three weeks of full liquids and three weeks of pureed then four weeks of soft food. And i only did 10 days of liquids then i started playing around and trying pureed eggs and chicken, then someone offered me a chocolate and after i had it and found my weight is still dropping i start just grabbing whatever in front of my eyes.

I thought as long as I'm in this early stage calories and carbs shouldn't really matter but i was planning to catch up and behave in 2 months or three.

Unfortunately, i do have a nutritionist and i met her once 2 weeks post op. She wasn't a big help, she just told me the appropriate consistency of pureed food and told me to drink a Protein shake but she didn't give me a target number and she didn't explain to me the importance of following the program. I usually don't follow instructions if I'm not convinced.

How do you guys calculate the Protein target? Isn't 100 grams are too much and difficult to achieve? Do they mostly come from Protein shakes?

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

My surgeon gave a Protein target of 100 grams to everyone who started with a BMI of over 50 and all men. I THINK the lower BMI women have a target of 80 grams.