I just had WLS on 10/1/04. Can anyone give me a few tips. Todate I have lost 20lbs. I am getting quite bored with my menu, so I need a few tips on cooking, I also need a few tips on excercise. My Docor said no sit ups yet. I do however wald on my tread mill.

Hi Geri, Congrats on the 20 lb. loss! What are you eating at this point?

Hi Mistyseas,

I am in stage three of my diet right now. My dotor said that I can now eat normal food, but still small portions.

I need some guidance to make sure I am doing the right thing. Will you help me?

Have you had the surgery yet? If so, what stage are you in.

Thanks for your reply

Good Morning Geri,

I'll try to help if I can, everyone here is usually pretty good helping out. I had wls on July 1, 2004. as of Oct. 6th I have lost 75lbs since the surgery, but I have a TON more to lose! I do not weigh myself everyday, I would drive myself nuts! I am still eating 2oz. meals, 3 to 4 times a day and drinking my protein drinks, 40-80g a day, depending on what protein I manage to eat that day. Feel free to ask anything, pm me if you don't want to post your question here. What kind of guidance are you looking for? Are you involved with a post op group? I still get worried too that I am doing something wrong, so I think that must be normal....LOL, me and normal in the same sentence!

Have a good day!

Hi Geri,
I am an old time member of 3 fat chicks, but.. I have not only not lost anything, I am heavier now than ever and my dh is heavier than he has ever ever been. We are in need of some serious intervention,inspiration, or something.I went to Ft. Lauderdale to a wlsurgeon and I really want to have the surgery. Money is the only thing stopping me, and my health insurance. My insurance,unlike the other women I had the consult with, insists on pre-op psyc.evaluation.The surgeon told me to pick wisely because if the psychiatrist or psycologist that I pick recommends that I undergo 8 mo. or so of therapy before having surgery that that is what I will have to do. So, in order for me to have what I need I have to go to Ft. Lauderdale to go to the psycologist that my surgeon uses. I even called him on the phone and he explained that it wasnt necessarily just a phsyc. eval. It was a 2- 21/2 hr. consult explaining exactly the changes that I would be going through, physically and mentally and the surgery. And that is why it was important to pick someone who was informed on working with barriatric surgeons. I know several people who have had very successful results with this surgeon and he is just the greatest! Now I just have to try to do something while waiting . I have been a 10 time rejoin to weight watcher, I have lost over a 100 lbs. once on my own. Not sure I have it in me to do it myself. It is so so so hard. But now I have 125 + to lose and many physical problems on top of that. I have fibromyalgia,and of course decreased mobility because of the extra weight and I find myself doing nothing because I cant. Well, I just wanted to give you a little info.. and I need to stop before it becomes a full blown bio lol

ok girls. i have a few minutes... nice to meet both of you. and MISTY. you're doing GREAT. yes, you have a way to go, but my goodness!!!! look at what you've done!!!!

geri... how much protein does your doc want you to get? remember that an oz of meat/chicken/fish is roughly 7 grams of protein. that's why we often need protein shakes because we just can't eat enough to meet our needs. you have to keep track of protein and water. yes. even if you have to write it down.

some rough guidelines: make sure that the food is moist. for right now, eat some soft veggies, probably not raw, although i found that chopped tomatoes were fine, as were SKINNED cucumbers. this is such an individual process that no one can tell you to eat 'that' and not 'this.' we can only tell you what worked for us...

sooooo with that, this is what worked for me at your stage: thinly sliced deli turkey or roast beef or chicken. an egg ANY WAY BUT SCRAMBLED. fish, especially things like salmon and flounder. canned tuna. small amounts of soft veggies. PEELED FRUIT AND VEGGIES [i didn't peel them for several days and ended up with a blockage of 'vegetable matter' that kept me throwing up for 30 hours - an ugly time]

thinly sliced and pounded meat - like chicken or veal or turkey - cooked in some gravy or other liquid.

hamburger, especially in chili.

the key was: thinly sliced, ground, soft, moist.

hope this helps!!!!! and oh yes, you can have some gravy.

now geri... breathe... find the best care you can. and it sounds like you have. what to do in the meantime? i'd suggest finding peace in yourself. researching life after surgery. it's really ok.. but the psych issues often torpedo efforts. i'm going through that right this minute, and it's a struggle sometimes. but at least i've identified what's happening and doing my best to deal...

hang out.. talk it out.

I had the duodenal switch and our diet was regular foods, but mostly protein, and smaller portions. It was an individual process, in that what worked well for one person didn't for another. Also, if something didn't work well, we tried it again a week or two later, and often were fine.

About the psych eval, I think they really want to know that you have an understanding of the procedure, you understand the risks, are reasonable in your expectations and that you understand and will adhere to the lifestyle changes necessary for success and health. I don't think they want to delve into your murky past so much as to make sure you are dealing in reality in the present, honest! I did go to a psych associated with my weight loss surgeon, but wonder if you couldn't find a WLS-knowledgeable psych near you.

I am just starting school, for a degree in human services, and in about 92 years should have a degree in social work, and hope to counsel WLS patients, so if you want to wait that long, I'll do it!

Take care,

Dawna

Mistyseas,

I appreciate any and all the help that I get. I too should be drinking my protein shakes, however i get full fast, so I cant drink them and try to eat. How do you get your shakes in

Hi Jiffy,

Thanks for your input.
My doc wants me to get in at least 78gms of protein a day. I guess I need to go back to making shakes and drinking my skim plus milk. I also need to start writing things down as you suggest.

I peresonally don't eat a lot of red meat. I can only do so much with turkey and chicken. I do however love fish and can tuna.

I love all kind of veggies. I also tried a few raw veggies (not a good idea).

I know I an suppose to take my time and eat which should take aboout an hour, however I get full very fast ( about half an hour into my food). I also understand that i can take longer than an hour but that takes away time from my drinking.

Hi Harbendr,

I too had to go for a phsy evl before my surgery. Although I only had to go through one evaluation, I am glad someone was there to make sure I was ready for this life changing decision other than myself.

My biggest cheerleader right now is my husband. He has been great, and thank goodness he does not mind my newstyle of cooking (light and bland). He understand that this is something that I must do to save my life. Even when i get tired and dont want to work out he pushes me to do it, I get mad but I understand he is doing it for my benefit and does not want to see me suffer.

whoa geri... eating for an hour?? are you SURE??? most of us have been told that we should eat for no longer than 20-30 minutes. and you should stop when you feel full. that 'one more bite' thing is REAL, and you should not be trying to work around that.

AND, no liquids with meals. that means no shakes + food.

AND there's no reason your food has to be bland... i just finished something i started eating right after the surgery and LOVE and have continued: a deviled egg made with hot salsa and chili powder.

after the first month, my schedule looked like this:

by 8 am protein shake

around 10 deviled egg or cottage cheese

around 1-2 lunch - a couple of deli rollups, maybe wrapped in a lettuce leaf or with some finely chopped veggies or some chili or some other form of protein with a little bit of veg of some sort.

around 5 a snack of about 15 grams of protein [cheese, cottage cheese, deli meat, whatever]

dinner around 8-9 protein plus a little veg...

hope this helps!!!

if your doc told you to eat for an hour, that's really so much different than what the rest of us have heard... i wonder why he said that!!! ask him - inquiring minds want to know!!!!

Hi JIffy,

Eat for an hour but it was small portions.

My portions look a little something like this
wake up at 6 am take iron on an empty stomach (mix 1oz vit. C and 1oz water
breakfast (8am)- 3 Tbs of nat. crm peanut butter - 1/2 banna or 1 egg w/one slice toast 1/2 cup cantaloup

***important to stop dinking beaverages 15min before any meal, procedd to drink about 1 1/2hr after any meal***

10:30 4oz protein shake

lunch (12 or 1) -1/2 cup chilli
6 crackers

(2:30pm) 4oz protein shake

dinner (apprx 7pm if i am having leftovers)- 3oz fish
2Tbs of whipped potatoes
2 - 3 Tbs of green veg.
1 1/2 after dinner another 4oz protein shake

This is what my menu should look like. instead of the shake i usually drink water because the shake is too much for me. I dont always eat all of my food because I am full, so sometimes the protein shake is usually out of the question.

I love your menu. How many devilled eggs do you eat for breakfast? I think one would fill me up, and it does not take an hour to eat like my doc suggests.

geri... i can see why you're having trouble!!! that's WAY too much food to be eating at this stage... most folks have trouble getting down 1-2 oz of fish/chicken/meat plus a bite or two of vegs.. and no one i know could manage fruit at your stage, let alone 1/2 of a banana!!!! 3 oz plus other stuff is out of the question. your pouch just isn't big enough to handle this. what your doc has you doing is what most folks consider to be 6-12 months, in amount, in schedule, and in composition.

but for right now, it's a physical impossibility for you to be eating all that on that schedule

the result is that the pouch is expanding with the extra food. the general aim is to get a LITTLE expansion so that the signal 'i'm full' gets to your brain. anything more than that is too much.

try eating for 30 minutes, and what you don't finish goes back in the frig or in the garbage [if you can't face it again].

how many grams of protein are in those 4-oz protein shakes?

and what are you using and how are you preparing it? i COULD NOT tolerate them if i blended them with ice - too thick, too much air. but if i stirred it well and poured it OVER ice, it was cold enough to sort of enjoy.

another thing i did was to eat them with a spoon, like ice cream [well, not exactly, but you get the idea]. it forced me to 'sip' not gulp.. and that made the shakes easier to tolerate...

as for the deviled egg.... i started off with a large egg [and didn't always finish it at your stage] but now i've graduated to a jumbo egg!!!!!! and my breakfast NOW [nearly 3 years out] also includes 2 slices LF cheese on a wasa cracker, with some cucumbers or tomato slices. at your stage, it would have been just the egg, and i would have been lucky to finish it!!!!

Wow Geri, I am with Jiff, I was told after 30 minutes you are done eating, not matter what. I am lucky if I can stretch my meals for that long, 2 oz meals only go so far and I am full by the time I get finished with it. I try to eat as slow as I can, which I am lucky because I always was a slow eater.

I was also told that you need to wait atleast a 1/2 hour before you eat anything and you need to wait atleast a 1/2 hour after you eat before you can drink anything. Maybe you are having a hard time because you are drinking too close to eating, eating too long and then waiting an 1 1/2 hours before you can drink again. That could be part of the reason you are having a hard time getting in all that you need to be drinking. And I think maybe you are trying to eat to much. The dinner you listed is way too big, 3oz of fish, and 2-3tbsp green beans and 2 tbsp of potatoes, that is like 3 meals in one. you can eat all that at this point? I am 4 months out and I could never eat all that in one meal, that is like a days worth of food, can anyone else? I hope I am not upsetting you, but is that how much your doctor told you to be eating? Do you have a nutricianist( I cant spell, LOL) you can talk to?

I also try to write everything down, I never thought I would do that, but it does really help to see where you are at. If I didnt I would not be able to keep track of my liquids or food or protein amounts. I try to get in 40 to 60 grams of my protein shake a day, depending on the food I choose to eat that day. I average about 80 to 100 oz of fluids in the form of water, crystal light, and decaf tea. Its like a balancing game to me. Here is a typical day for me:

get up at 6am, have 1-2 cups of tea (12-24oz), then around 10 am I have an egg, then I have 40g protein drink, then around 1pm I have 2 oz of cheese, around 2:30 a glass of crystal light(20oz), around 4 another protein drink, around 6 2oz of dinner, around 7 more crystal light(20oz), then maybe a cup (12oz) or 2 of tea before bed. This varies from day to day, sometimes I need another protein shake, or some days I might eat another 2oz meal. Sometimes lately 2 oz isnt cutting it anymore, I might do a 2 1/2 oz or 3 oz meal. I hope that is ok--Jiff what do you think? I am so afraid of screwing this up.

I wish you the best of luck Geri and please feel free to ask anything!

Jiffy,

Thanks for the info. I feel much better getting that piece of advice.

the shake contains 20 grams of protein (ibelieve). I use the GNC pure whey. I prepare it with silk soy (chocolate milk) ( 8grms of protein) in a blender. Why because the shake is caramel chocolate, my doc originally told me to prepare it using the skim plus which contains 11grms of protein on it own.

How many protein shakes would you suggest I drink? how many ounces? My doc said 3 -4oz shakes a day, so that's 12ozs.

My doc said that right now i should be able to eat whatever my husband eats except raw veggies. I will bring my suggested menu that the doc gave me with me to work tomorrow so that you get the gist of it.

Thanks again for your help I reallllllllllly appreciate it.