Hi everyone! My name is Heather. I am new here. I haven't had surgery yet. I am struggling my way through the required 6 month pre-approval diet. This sucks! I have been dieting for 2 years! And because my doctor didn't document my progress (yo-yo weight loss/gain of 20-30 lbs in two years), I have to do this diet for six months! And the diet the NP put me on is horrible. It's a low carb diet. I am struggling to stick with it because I have a family that ISN'T on a diet. We have a very tight budget, so it's not always possible for me to buy special things for myself and I can't expect my family to give up carbs! I've lost 4 lbs so far, and I've been dieting for one month, one week and two days. Yep....I've been counting. The NP now thinks it's not in my best interest to have the LB done! She says I'm losing weight just fine without it. Never mind the fact that I will gain it all back as soon as I start to resume a normal diet! It's happened before. She's recommending to the doctor that I not have the surgery. She's one for "natural" weight loss and not "artificial means". In my opinion, I don't think it's any of her business! So now I have to go in and convince my doctor that this is best for me. I'm hoping he'll see things my way, because it was him that recommended the surgery in the first place! I've struggled with my weight since puberty. It's always been an issue. And at 305 lbs, it's always going to be an issue...until I step up to the plate and take control of my own body again. I've tried exercise, but my weight makes walking very hard and I can't breath good enough to do much else! This weight is pulling me down....literally! I've made the decision that if my doctor refuses to continue on this path, I will find someone that will. I've had my fill of yo yo dieting. I'm done with losing, then gaining it all back. So now I need to figure out a way to make this diet work until my surgery. I am fully aware that I have to diet after the surgery, but it will be easier then...I hope! And I won't have to count carbs as strictly as I am now. I'll be able to resume a more normal diet. But until then, how do I make this diet work when all the odds are against me?
As you can see, i made your post a new thread - i think you'll get more answers this way.
it's interesting that the doc seems to have 'failed to communicate' your issues to the NP. Now, don't get me wrong - i'm a HUGE fan of NPs, but they usually operate under a doc's GUIDANCE. you might have to have a chat with your doc about this.
having said that, many of us have hit the wall, so to speak, with diets. and the required diet isn't as much about losing weight as being able to stick with something over time. Don't give up hope!!
I'm sorry you're not seeing eye to eye with your doc/NP, but, honestly, I'm more concerned with what you think eating will be like AFTER the surgery. You say it isn't feasible (financially nor convenience-wise) for you to be on a low-carb diet. However, after WLS, the most successful diets ARE lower in carbs. Even with the band, many folks find that most carby foods are "slider" foods (including things like potato foods - mashed potato, fries, chips, etc. - breads, crackers, pastas...), which will likely get in the way of your success. If you can't follow this type of diet now, how will you be able to do so after surgery, PLUS afford your vitamin/mineral supplements? And will you have to pay out-of-pocket for band fills/unfills as well (not all insurance companies cover the fills, just the initial band placement)?
Low-carb diets aren't as restrictive as most people tend to believe. You should be feeding your family dinners that include protein and fat, not JUST carbs, so just take the same protein and fat foods on your plate and don't take the carby side dishes. Include a non-starchy side dish (broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, asparagus, brussels sprouts...I make all of these from frozen, not fresh, so they're not expensive and don't spoil) and/or dinner salad with your meals so you have something other than a piece of meat on your plate, and you're good to go. These non-starchy sides are important for EVERYONE for good nutrition, so hopefully they're already a part of your normal meals.
If your doc is not supportive of your chosen path, go find one who is. I changed PCPs a few times before I found one that would work WITH me and not just dictate his/her opinions to me and expect me to blindly follow. The NP's opinions should have NO bearing on the level of care and support you receive. Request a copy of your medical records, and move on to someone more professional.
I couldn't agree more with the above advice. Go find a doc that works with you better. I am also about to have lap band and the doc I found includes all pre-op and a year of post-op in his lap band price. So, for at least a year I don't have to worry about the insurance paying or not for fills.
Hi Faith, not sure how much my advice is worth but I will give my 2 cents a go. 1st of all I totally agree with Jilly. She is right in the aspect of after WLS you do have to count carbs, in fact carbs are a NO NO for me period. I have no bread, no rice, no pasta, i dont eat potatoes etc. AND i have no desire for them. I will say this i use to get angry before WLS when they wanted me to go on a diet before hand. but the fact is its for a good reason, not only does it reduce the size of your liver to make the surgery safer but it teaches you how to live a stable lifestyle after the surgery so you dont hurt yourself eating the wrong items that will not benefit you. WLS is not where you go back to eating what you want just small amounts, people have the wrong concept all together. It is a very healthy strict eating lifestyle. Consisting of protein and veggies or fruits (as you can tolerate them over time). We dont buy starches and carbs in our house and i have my family on the same lifestyle, everyone has lost weight around here it no longer matters what they want im the leader they are the follower and i want us ALL healthy. We have 1 meat and 2 veggies AND a salad for dinner. This is whats cooked you an eat or go hungry and noone around here will die missing any meals in fact they can stand to miss a few. There are not chips and snacks in our house of sort. Instead we have fresh fruits veggies, nuts and good granola bars not the sugar ones. We dont play video games unless its a wii game and we are active and standing up, we take family walks and our activities no longer consist of adding food to them. The bread we buy is weight watcher wheat bread 100 cal for 2 slices and low sugar, that is what sandwhiches are made on when they are made, yogurt is used for deserts IF a dessert is given as it is not necessary. This is a life style change and if we dont learn before surgery to make small changes the big changes after will only be harder.
Now in terms of your NP, i think a new one is in order, I would switch all together if your not on the same age and she is only keeping you from what your path and goal is dont let her stand in your way. Your the patient she is not, your the one paying making you the customer not her. You have made your own choice.
Next, I would like to maybe give you some advice on the weight loss your trying to do before surgery. I want to by no means make light of it, face it its hard and that is the facts. I am now a personal trainer and work with clients who do not have WLS and are loosing weight with a plan I give them. I give them 2 options they choose one that fits their lifestyle and work habits.
1- eat 6 small meals a day (doing this keeps you eating every 2-3 hours) thus reducing hunger and allowing you to do what you want to do eat ( i know before surgery all i wanted to do was eat) so I can only assume (being honest you do as well), now choose the right items, stay away from carbs period. Stick with meats, raw or cooked veggies (and eat as many as you want) at your size before surgery, simply changing the patterns of what you eat to a healthier diet WILL enduce weight loss and thus also reducing your calories from your normal eating habits. Reduce fruit intake to 1 time a day. No regular salad dressing, there is a section in the grocery store for Walden Farms products (as your stock boy to help you find it) all ZERO calore dressings and spreads. Do they taste like regular dressing of course not some are better than others. But your on a mission so it is what it is, either your serious enough to make the change or not. Next I have one principle i tell my clients, The salad is the main dish, so that means your meals start with fresh greens raw spinach and then you add any other raw veggies, THEN a weighed out amount of any meat you want (never fried or with a bunch of sauces on them) stick to meat with ONLY 2 meals at day at the most, for breakfast have a protein shake or for 1-2 of the meals a day (the shake should be no more than 150 cal each) this will also give you a chance to find shakes you like because after surgery you will be on them. The dressing being the walden farms or just lemon. You can have yogurt, fat free cottage cheese, low fat cheese, There are lots of options you have READ labels, stay under 15g of carbs per item the lower the better and under 10grams of sugar. THIS IS HOW you will shop after surgery, it is required so start now. with the 6 meals each meal should be 200cal or less. Putting you at 1200 cal a day, and if you DO go off the plan you have not killed yourself in calories. BUT try to stay on target. You can use sparkspeople.com to calorie count.
2nd plan- eating the same type of food above only eat 3 meals a day and 2 snacks ONLY. Each meal being 250 no more than 275cal each and snacks being 150 cal each. or less preferably 100.
TIP: i always have a greek yogurt before bed, it takes longer to digest due to the protein and it has kept me from eating in the middle of the night for a long time now so i go to bed with something on my stomach that is not heavy and im satisfied. I use OIKES greek and the low fat one so its 100 cal and very low sugar.
Veggies are not expensive you can also buy can variety and still meet your goal, next once you see that you will be saving $ NOT buying the crap you will have $ to buy the good items.
NO BUTTER- i use i cant believe its not butter spray ZERO calore- but frankly i rarely use it, my palet is so acustomed to fresh and plain now.
In terms of excersize,
I have my clients do a DVD that is on you tube for free and it is for overweight people. Its called walk away the pounds with Leslie Sansone. Look it up, it is 10 min each once you get use to it start it over and do it a couple times in a row, I started this DVD at 501pounds able to only do 5 mins now at 240 pounds I can do up to 10 miles at one time of this DVD. You can also purchase the full length versions at walmart its $8. Start your day each day with a vitamin B12 sublingual you can get them 5000's at walmart it gives you an energy boost and then work out starting in the AM.
DRINKS: NOTHING with caloreis: water, water with lemon, hot green tea with lomen, ice green tea with lemon, unsweet tea with lemon, it doesnt matter if you dont like them, fact is after surgery you wont want ANYTHING to do with sugar so this is the time to get use to how it will be. IF you HAVE to have sweet and crave it use crystal light.
I know i typed allot here, i felt for you and wanted to badly to help you when i read your post, all i saw was me in you long ago. But being at a distance its difficult but I have given you the tools in this post to get you started and hopefully excited about this again. Stay positive and enjoy the excersize dont look at it as a chore start to enjoy how your body feels moving and do the work out as many times a day as possible, Your goal should be 5000 steps a day, walking is the BEST form of excersize their is because its what our body is made for. DONT give yourself a goal you cant reach, start with small goals and dont make your focus the scale make your focus living healthy by making the right choices, those choices are fresh meats, veggies and fruits and excersize and your entire family can benefit from this. God Bless your journey I look forward to seeing how you do.
Carisa, I just wanted to say that your advice and the depth you went into was amazing. I believe I now have a better understanding. I work(ed) with 3 people who had lap band surgery and my daughter used to date a boy who lost 300 pounds with gastric bypass. Even so, I had no idea all what was involved afterwards. Thank you for adding to my understanding.
Anytime it was my pleasure and if you have any questions feel s free to message me, not sure how you do that here after reading for so long this was one of my 1st posts ;P God Bless.
I am just in the final stages of my pre-op diet, thankfully not as long as what you have to do. We have to do optifast for 2-4 weeks before surgery. It has not been easy, I like it in that I don't have to make choices right now.
After I have surgery carbs like bread, pasta etc are going to be no-nos for me. I am going to be all about protein, fruits and veggies. I will have whole grains but not stuff that has been processed and refined. We also do not have a lot of money, it is absurd that healthy foods cost more than fast food but you have to shop smart. Buy fruits and veggies in season and preserve them by freezing or canning (if you are into that). I bought a 10 lbs bag of carrots, cleaned them and cut them into slices and froze them, that will last us for a couple of months no doubt. Frozen veggies are just as good as fresh nutrient wise and far cheaper than canned. Buy things when they are on sale, when those bags of frozen veggies go on sale around Thanksgiving or Xmas buy 5 or 6 of them. You may have some meat markets that sell chicken breasts or hamburger in 10 lbs bags. You can weigh out 1 lbs portions and put them into smaller freezer bags. Food is so expensive these days that I barely buy anything anymore unless it is on sale then I will buy as many as I can store to last until the next time it is on sale. Just some ideas of things I've had to do to be able to put food on the table.
I understand the logic of healthy food being more expensive with some things (ie, white bread is much cheaper than whole grain, organic is more expensive than non), but not with most of the things that I buy. At one point in my life, I was poor. Not a little poor, but this-eight-dollars-has-to-buy-three-weeks-worth-of-food-for-my-family poor.
The cheapest things were moderately healthy, although high in carbs - beans, rice, pasta, potatoes, and cans of tomatoes were our staples. Fast food is PRICEY! $1 for a "cheap sandwich?" This may be a cliched example, but a bag of apples is a lot cheaper than buying other packaged and processed snack foods. If you know where to look (Asian markets, Aldi, PriceRite, ShopRite, other discount markets), you can easily end up with a very inexpensive cart full of fresh produce.
I can end up with a pot of beautiful healthy stew that serves 10 for much less than it would cost to feed 10 with fast food.
Hi there! struggling with pre-op diet
