So New

[Rainerific]

So I just got off the phone with Duke! I have a date for my first appointment! July 31! I'm ridiculously excited!

 

[Munchkin]

Good luck! Learn as much as possible in the meanwhile.

Postop you can swallow anything you could before surgery. No need to worry about it. You won't be tossing back a handful at a time though. And you won't be taking all your supplements right away. Most people take a while to work up to the whole regimen of pills and that's OK. Same thing with protein. 30gr at 30 days, 60 at 60, and so on. Don't expect too much too soon.

The most important thing is to stay hydrated and learn how to eat again. After you have that down you can start to worry about the other stuff.

 

[Pink Unicorn]

Welcome, @Rainerific! Pull up a chair and join the fun.

 

[JackieOnLine]

welcome & good luck at your appointment.

 

[Rainerific]

So I went to my first appointment. The nutritionist spewed the low-fat crap that so many seem to do. I actually didn't see Dr. Sudan. He was out of town but they didn't want to delay my first appointment. I was put on a severe diet. Low carb (20 TOTAL carbs per day), low fat, no artificial sweeteners. I was told to eat meat and vegetables only. They also wanted to put me on Saxenda, but even after my insurance the co-pay is ridiculous.

I have no problem going on a diet as a pre-op, but man, doing low fat in conjunction with the low carb seems really difficult. I also don't understand choosing low fat to go along with a low carb diet at all. Aren't low fat foods pumped full of sugar to make them palatable? Doesn't it make it counter productive? Would it be horrible to write that I ate a turkey burger when it was a beef burger? Or say low-fat cheese when I had full-fat? Am I going to hurt myself if I do that?

I wish I would have thought to say these things in person, but my social anxiety makes me forget how to talk to new people. So I just nodded and thought about all of this when I got home.

 

[Munchkin]

Were you told you have to lose X pounds in X time to have surgery? How long do you have to do this?

 

[Rainerific]

No. I wasn't given a time frame at all. I wasn't told how much weight I need to loose. Just loose weight! Do it as quickly as possible!

My insurance requires 3 months of visits (4 visits). So I imagine that I have 5 months or more until my surgery date.

 

[Munchkin]

No. I wasn't given a time frame at all. I wasn't told how much weight I need to loose. Just loose weight! Do it as quickly as possible!

My insurance requires 3 months of visits (4 visits). So I imagine that I have 5 months or more until my surgery date.

Then I would make sure to do something I could manage for say, 6 months!

 

[Rainerific]

So I've decided to do my best, but ignore what she told me about artificial sugar and low-fat. I'll eat low-carb. I'll give up diet soda. I'll take the diet pills. I'll do whatever it takes, except, I will not go low fat and I will not give up artificial sugars right now. I'll eat sugar-free Jello. I'll drink Crystal Light. I'll put Stevia in my coffee.

@Munchkin, I just wanted to thank you for letting me know that it was OK to eat in a way that I can manage. I feel like if I tried to eat the way she wants me too it would be way too hard. I imagine that they just want to see the scale moving.

 

[southernlady]

@Rainerific be careful of Crystal Light....it's full of artificial sugars. I suggest something with stevia in it. I've switched from ice tea made with Splenda to True Lemon and True Lime. I find them at Wally World, 10 packs for less than $2.00. I hate plain water.

 

[k9ophile]

I agree that many low fat foods are crammed with sugar. When I hear a dieticians low fat mantra I think of broiled, gilled, roast meats. i.e. lean meats without frying. Lean cuts of beef or pork. Remove the skin from chicken. Blah, blah, blah. I did eat that way pre-op and lost eleven pounds. Post-op, I went back to high fat. Eating high fat afterward helps prevent constipation.

One thing that I was taught by my surgery center that I did find useful was the True products that Southernlady recommended. There is also a True Orange that I add to my tea. I get mine at Amazon.

 

[Rainerific]

@southernlady, giving up Crystal Light is going to be hard. I bought some Mio liquid water enhancer at Wal-Mart today. It uses Stevia as it's sweetener. I'll try the True products. I just wanted something easy to keep in my purse to squirt into my water bottles. The flavor is... It'll take some getting used to.

@k9ophile, I don't know why I was thinking about I had to go out and buy all kinds of low fat products. I always buy the leanest meats (I hate the texture of fat) and either buy my chicken skinless or take the skin off myself. So I'll keep on doing that. I just don't want to buy low-fat cheese. If I'm doing low-carb, I want to treat myself to the sharpest, oldest cheddar!

Thank you guys for your help! I'm still overwhelmed by all the information. I have a while to learn as much as possible though and this forum and the facebook pages that I've joined have been instrumental is getting me this far.

 

[k9ophile]

You were thinking low fat because all the diets we have tried (and failed) preach low fat. I know there are critical aftercare regimens to follow after the DS, but I've seen so many RNY patients start re-gaining. Yes. I have re-gained from my lowest point, but not to the degree that many RNY patients have. Both the RNY and the DS require annual labs and supplementation. No way did I want the lap-band and VSG was not a viable option for me at the time. Yet in the end, neither appealed to me. For me the DS was the only one I felt comfortable with. Kind of like of all the millions of men I could have chosen, I married the best one for me. In all honesty, I found the only one who would put up with me. LOL

Ah, the power of cheese!

 

[JackieOnLine]

I must look into these True products you speak of.

 

[southernlady]

I must look into these True products you speak of.

https://www.truelemonstore.com/

I find most of the ones I like best at Wally World.