Why different diets from different doctors?

[Normandagle 8]

Hello,

I am almost 2 weeks Post Op and about to start the pureed food stage. I have noticed that the recommendations from my doctor/ office differ from other dieta i see onlune. One example: refried Beans.

Just curious if anyone knows why?

Edited November 23, 2020 by Normandagle

[NovaLuna 710]

Every surgeon has their own theories about what works for maximum weight loss so they differ depending on who you go to. My surgeon doesn't allow Beans or potatoes at all until you've lost 70% of your excess weight. I haven't touched potatoes at all even though technically speaking I'm at like 75% excess weight loss, but I did add beans into my diet.

[Mr Alley Gator 263]

Nova Nailed it they all have plans they designed. My doctor never really focused on diet he recommended i get a Dietician to set my plan. However i ate a ton of Beans and hummus during the journey down Now i eat whatever i want including potatoes.

[GradyCat 3,695]

All doctors have different thoughts and ascribe to different plans. For example, my doctor won't talk calories at all but defers to the nutritionist to tell me what I should and shouldn't be eating.

[Starwarsandcupcakes 2,053]

There are as many plans as there are surgeons and patients. My surgeon has a dietitian in house that I see. They worked together on recommended items for their post surgery guidelines, which is what they call it instead of a plan.

These are the pages for the purée stage including recipes from my guidelines.

[ichabodny 59]

2 hours ago, GradyCat said:

All doctors have different thoughts and ascribe to different plans. For example, my doctor won't talk calories at all but defers to the nutritionist to tell me what I should and shouldn't be eating.

My surgeon did the very same with me. Our NUT is in house and works as part of the team but I do have a Dr in the team besides my surgeon. My Dr is more strict with my diet while my NUT is a bit more easy-going. At this point (close to 3 months post op now) my NUT has always answered me by saying to not worry about calories right now.

They just want me to get my Proteins met first and foremost and then add anything I can else that is on the list (it does include potatoes, Beans, fruits, Keto ice-cream, etc) and she says to add some potato if it's easier to eat with chicken to get down. However, I read about a lot of different Protein level preferences (always the same lowest but some require much, much higher) and even Vitamin differences.

Just follow what your Dr says. A lot also can depend on specific health problems, ages, prior history, etc.

[Normandagle 8]

Just seems weird that some of the plans vary so much. You would think there would be a standard. Next questions i guess is, did you atrixtly adhere to what your apecific doctor/ NUT said or did you add something to one of the stages because you saw other's programs allowed it?

[ichabodny 59]

4 minutes ago, Normandagle said:

Just seems weird that some of the plans vary so much. You would think there would be a standard. Next questions i guess is, did you atrixtly adhere to what your apecific doctor/ NUT said or did you add something to one of the stages because you saw other's programs allowed it?

Stayed to the letter to what they wanted-particularly my NUT. She seemed to know me and what can be easiest but healthiest. Every surgeon does their own way with the entire program and they know you best; it's really best to just go strictly with what they want.

[Normandagle 8]

Agreed, but was just curious what othera did. This is all because i really want some refried Beans HAHHAHHA

[ichabodny 59]

Just now, Normandagle said:

Agreed, but was just curious what othera did. This is all because i really want some refried Beans HAHHAHHA

lol. It's rare I heard limits on beans-ask your NUT specifically about it and what they suggest. I have eaten a bit of them but slowly and chewed but it's still a bit painful to have after a few bites-my NUT said at my two month appt to just try things on the list (of which there was pretty much almost everything minus bad foods like Snacks and junk). I wouldn't stress about that really.

[Normandagle 8]

They have refried Beans listed in the next stage, soft foods, so i suppose i should just be a good boy and do as im told

[GivinItMyALL 169]

Mine seems to be a lot more lenient than others... I was having stuff like refried Beans, scrambled eggs, fish, etc... during week 2. I am 3 weeks out now, and I have been having things like chili (ground beef, Tomato sauce, beans and spices), chicken chile relleno Soup, wheat thins or triscuits, and so forth. It's all listed on my sheet from my dietician...

I have been tolerating everything well (except the Calcium I had... I will have to get something different).

[Normandagle 8]

Wow, that does seem lenient. I would kill for a cracker right abouy now. Im not hungry everyday, but today is one of those days

[Arabesque 7,259]

I strictly kept to the plan I was given. It didn’t have refried Beans nor potatoes (no root vegetables) but did have scrambled eggs & rolled oats which still had to be blended. It defined purée as being sloppy, no lumps or coarse or fibrous textures. It also recommended avoiding herbs & spices. I presumed because herbs can be fibrous & spices could irritate the healing tummy.

Had my first taste of potato, mashed, a couple of months ago & it sat like a lump in my tummy. (My father, a former potato grower, is rolling in his grave.)

[BigSue 1,373]

My plan allowed refried Beans in the puréed stage, but they said to purée the beans before eating them (even though they’re already mashed, there are still some lumps). I don’t see why you couldn’t do that unless they’re concerned about the carbs or the Fiber or something. I ate a lot of refried beans with GENEPRO during my puréed stage!

i think the reasons plans differ so much is that everybody responds slightly differently to the surgery, so there’s no one single plan that works for every patient. I think most surgeons do their best to come up with a plan that will work for most patients, and this is probably based on their own patients’ experiences. There are definitely similarities among almost all plans, but I’m guessing each surgeon tweaks the plan a bit as they go. Maybe yours noticed that a lot of patients had problems with beans during the puréed stage. It would be easiest to use the strictest rules for everyone, but they also try to balance it with compliance, because they realize that a lot of patients won’t stick with a plan that is excessively restrictive.

I’ve adhered pretty closely to my surgeon’s plan, except that I stayed on puréed foods for a few weeks longer than required because I was afraid to try soft foods at two weeks and didn’t want to take any chances. I’m also not eating as many calories as they say I should because I’ve found it’s practically impossible to get 800-1000 calories within the guidelines they gave (3 meals per day, no more than 4 ounces per meal, no Snacks other than Protein Drinks between meals), and I’m not hungry, so I don’t really want to eat any more than 500-600. The only thing I’ve added that they said not to but I’ve seen others eat is low-carb tortillas. A lot of people here love the 1 net carb tortillas from Mr. Tortilla, so I bought some even though my plan says no tortillas for the first year (I’m pretty sure they mean regular tortillas, and they might be ok with the 1 net carb tortillas, but I haven’t asked).