regain and visit with surgeon/dietician (cross-posted)
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carpsm1
Posts: 11 Member
Hi, everyone. I have been getting back on track since 7/29. I had my surgery in 2002, and I have been struggling with the balance of what to eat since I can not remember half of what I was taught back then, and also I feel like I can eat A LOT now, like what might break down to 2 cups of food in my stomach after chewing. I have been happy to see that I have been losing weight focusing on high protein (mostly plant protein and eggs/dairy) and lower carbs (mostly from veg and whole grains). I have been not too worried about fats, especially healthier fats. I have been hungry a lot of the time, but figured that is how it is going to be for me since I am 12 years out and probably have a bigger stomach.
I also had an appt. with a very respected bariatric surgeon in my area who used to work with my surgeon who has since retired. He had me do bloodwork and an upper GI and I just had my follow-up Thursday. I was sure my stomach had stretched, or my stoma had stretched and my small intestine it empties into had stretched to become like a new stomach or something bizarre like that. He said my stomach had not stretched (it is the size of a thumb ?!?! hard to believe)and he doesn't know the size of my stoma but that studies have shown the size of the stoma doesn't affect success with wls (I was shocked by that--still disbelieving a little!) as long as you follow the rules.
So, then he had me meet with his RD to help re-educate me and newly-educate me since they have learned so many new things since 2002 about what works and doesn't work. This is what she told me:
1. Eat 3-4 meals a day 5 hours apart with no snacks. Each meal should be min. 20gr of non-plant protein, with some carbs (fruit/veg and whole grain) and very little fat. She said plant protein is incomplete, and even after combining it still also includes carbs which make food go through faster, so animal protein is what I should go for (I really balked at this since I don't eat much meat, but what she says seems to make sense. Any comments?). She also said to look for fat free cheese and I looked in the grocery store and saw a lot of reduced fat but not fat free. Does anyone know of any fat free cheese?
2. Eat each meal in under 30 minutes, but closer to 15 min. is ideal, so the stomach can fill up faster than it empties. This causes a feeling of satiety because the stomach fills up and stretches before emptying. If we eat slowly food just trickles through an empties so the stomach doesn't get the benefit of stretching and we don't feel satisfied and could go on eating indefinitely. in 2002 we had been told to eat slowly and chew each bite 30 times, so this surprised me!
3. Don't drink 15 min. before or 1 hour after eating. I had been taught the 1 hr after rule and have been adhering to it, but was surprised to hear the 15 min before rule. Since liquid seems to go right through, I am unclear as to the reason for this.
4. No liquid calories! I had been having a protein shake every morning thinking I was doing something healthy. In 2002 they recommended liquid protein, but maybe I misunderstood and it was only for people who were still healing because they could not fit in enough solid protein??? I HAVE been very hungry after the shake, because of course it went right through me, but again I thought I would just have to deal with it. I ate greek yogurt yesterday and today instead and felt satisfied all morning! It was so nice. However, I think she considers olive oil and salad dressing to be liquid calories because she warned me about them. I guess I will have to watch and cut down if I can...
I left feeling overwhelmed, mostly about the 20gr of non-plant protein per meal, because a lot of my stand-by foods are plant protein combined to be complete. I was doubtful when she said I would probably be stuffed trying to eat it all, and I have definitely been satisfied but not exactly "stuffed" or "full." It is still hard to believe my stomach is still the size of a thumb after 12 years! I now know how I gained weight (drinking with meals, grazing and LOTS of simple carbs), and I learned some significant things, so I am glad I went. My imagination can be put to rest about what has happened to my anatomy since I got checked out and am supposedly fine.
I appreciate any feedback on this, including good ways to get 20gr of animal protein into a meal, and info about reduced-fat and fat-free cheeses! I also hope my sharing has helped someone else.
Susan
I also had an appt. with a very respected bariatric surgeon in my area who used to work with my surgeon who has since retired. He had me do bloodwork and an upper GI and I just had my follow-up Thursday. I was sure my stomach had stretched, or my stoma had stretched and my small intestine it empties into had stretched to become like a new stomach or something bizarre like that. He said my stomach had not stretched (it is the size of a thumb ?!?! hard to believe)and he doesn't know the size of my stoma but that studies have shown the size of the stoma doesn't affect success with wls (I was shocked by that--still disbelieving a little!) as long as you follow the rules.
So, then he had me meet with his RD to help re-educate me and newly-educate me since they have learned so many new things since 2002 about what works and doesn't work. This is what she told me:
1. Eat 3-4 meals a day 5 hours apart with no snacks. Each meal should be min. 20gr of non-plant protein, with some carbs (fruit/veg and whole grain) and very little fat. She said plant protein is incomplete, and even after combining it still also includes carbs which make food go through faster, so animal protein is what I should go for (I really balked at this since I don't eat much meat, but what she says seems to make sense. Any comments?). She also said to look for fat free cheese and I looked in the grocery store and saw a lot of reduced fat but not fat free. Does anyone know of any fat free cheese?
2. Eat each meal in under 30 minutes, but closer to 15 min. is ideal, so the stomach can fill up faster than it empties. This causes a feeling of satiety because the stomach fills up and stretches before emptying. If we eat slowly food just trickles through an empties so the stomach doesn't get the benefit of stretching and we don't feel satisfied and could go on eating indefinitely. in 2002 we had been told to eat slowly and chew each bite 30 times, so this surprised me!
3. Don't drink 15 min. before or 1 hour after eating. I had been taught the 1 hr after rule and have been adhering to it, but was surprised to hear the 15 min before rule. Since liquid seems to go right through, I am unclear as to the reason for this.
4. No liquid calories! I had been having a protein shake every morning thinking I was doing something healthy. In 2002 they recommended liquid protein, but maybe I misunderstood and it was only for people who were still healing because they could not fit in enough solid protein??? I HAVE been very hungry after the shake, because of course it went right through me, but again I thought I would just have to deal with it. I ate greek yogurt yesterday and today instead and felt satisfied all morning! It was so nice. However, I think she considers olive oil and salad dressing to be liquid calories because she warned me about them. I guess I will have to watch and cut down if I can...
I left feeling overwhelmed, mostly about the 20gr of non-plant protein per meal, because a lot of my stand-by foods are plant protein combined to be complete. I was doubtful when she said I would probably be stuffed trying to eat it all, and I have definitely been satisfied but not exactly "stuffed" or "full." It is still hard to believe my stomach is still the size of a thumb after 12 years! I now know how I gained weight (drinking with meals, grazing and LOTS of simple carbs), and I learned some significant things, so I am glad I went. My imagination can be put to rest about what has happened to my anatomy since I got checked out and am supposedly fine.
I appreciate any feedback on this, including good ways to get 20gr of animal protein into a meal, and info about reduced-fat and fat-free cheeses! I also hope my sharing has helped someone else.
Susan
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Replies
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No liquid calories is interesting - I've been doing a protein shake a couple times a week just to get my protein in.0
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Thanks for sharing and glad you got some up to date information. I am also glad to hear that you did not permanent damage to your pouch. We were taught no shakes after your healing period also. Glad to know that my meal should take about 15 min to consume. Thanks for that tidbit. Maybe instead of your shakes you could try a good quality protein bar. Quest or Oh Yeah are pretty good if your are having difficulty getting in your protein. Whey protein isolate is suppose to be the best for us WLS patients. Good luck will all your new information so that you can be successful once again.0
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I'm struggling with the amount of fat I eat. I was eating double of what I was supposed to eat! I'm supposed to have around 30 grams per day. I absolutely do not like fat free cheese. I can do reduced fat - there are reduced fat slices and string cheese (light) and there is also lowfat cottage cheese that I mix with fruit. Are you vegan?0
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The protein shakes were for the first year only because in the first year those who have had the surgery can't eat enough and lack of protein causes serious side effects. I was so happy to go off those, although it did go closer to 2 years on them because I had trouble eating in general, but they were soooooooooooooooooooo gross. I like real food. Good luck to you.0
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I incorporate quite a bit of protein powder into my diet - but I mix it with greek yogurt to make a kind of chocolate dessert - very nice and high protein. I also mix it with oats and egg white to create a type of protein bar - I add a bit of peanut butter - again , very nice. These two are my stock breakfasts
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