Maintenance, Veggies and Fruit - Need help from the vets please!

My husband and I both had WLS in Feb 2012, we are almost 1 year out and are both at our goal weight.  I had the sleeve and he had RNY.  We were talking last night about being in maintenance and eating fruits and veggies.  He said there is no point in him eating any veggies because he wont absorb any nutrients from them anyway.  Is this true?  Do people with RNY never absorb ANY vitamins ever again?  I know I read that he will need to take vitamins for the rest of his life, but is it useless for him to eat veggies?  Are there any long term affects from people only taking vitamins and not eating any veggies for the rest of their lives?

Well I've never eaten a veggie and don't plan on it lol. I get my vitamins from vitamins. However he may want to rethink it if he is having issues with constipation like many of us do. I don't know that we don't get anything from them I don't eat them so didn't research it. He may also at some point as hunger increases want them for fillers without as many calories etc.

Are you serious?

Lora

I had a post typed out that said "What are you eating, then?"  but thought better of it - I'm sure Mrs Litch has it under control LOL!   I can't imagine existing on just meat ...   I'd have to take shares out in Fleet enemas

my stock is in MoM Kim lol

Pre op I lived on meat, potatoes, pasta, bread, sweets etc. The only condiment I'll eat is BBQ sauce and ketchup too, no gravy or sauces, no rice and only 3 types of cheese. I'm weird I know.

Post op life so far is pretty simple - meat, protein shakes, the cheeses I like and now that my doc has me in "maintenance" I have whole wheat toast twice a week with low sugar jelly for breakfast or snack and one serving 1/4-1/2 cup of potatoes at my Sunday dinner. makes shopping/planning pretty simple.

I am dead serious. I have tried and can tolerate cauliflower since surgery, but prior to that post op I have never eaten a veggie other than tomatoes and only if in sauce and not chunks in my life(other than an occasional missed carrot in chicken noodle soup). Nor I have eaten fruit. I have had a bite of many but none have ever been swallowed ). It's a texture thing that my psych think stems to something in childhood but I for the life of me can't figure out what it would be. I've also never swallowed a pill. Yep I've tried but can't swallow. The psych and therapists all think it stems from the same thing. 25 years of counseling and I've even tried hypnosis does not resolve these issues.

The doctors could never figure out how my blood work was so perfect my whole life and I swear some of them didn't believe me.

Wow.  Yeah, it sounds like there is definitely something in your history.  I guess it is different of you never ate fruits and vegetables, but I would definitely miss the fruit and a couple of veggies!  Maybe one of these days the cause will reveal itself.

Kudos to you for being able to stay on plan with the more limited diet! 

LIKE have a friend who also absolutely CANNOT swallow a pill no matter how small.  We found this special straw, though, where you can put the pill at the bottom and then you just drink normally and the pill goes right down.  She was very reluctant to try it at first because of her anxiety level, but she can now take small to medium sized pills that way.  She still has a mental block with the larger pills even if she cuts them in half and takes only half at a time.  I don't remember where we got it, but we got it online.

Lora

This sounds like something my 9 year old would come up with LOL!   If nothing else, he will absorb some of the nutrients and I'm sure he could do with the fibre if nothing else ...

Eating a BALANCED diet is key and if he's not eating vegetables, he'll be chowing down on other carbohydrates no doubt!!!!  A slippery slope to regain if they happen to be white or processed!

LOL - just to clarify, he likes veggies, but said he might as well just eat more meat or protein foods because the veggies dont do anything for him anyway.... I just wanted to know if it was true that he will never absorb any nutrients from any veggies that he eats.

Good advice by the way about using them as a filler even if he doesnt absorb anything... that may come in handy farther down the line.

I already provided a response but then saw this clarification.

I think you should encourage him to ask his surgeon about the advisability of not eating any vegetables.  

Also, des he still eat fruit?  If so, why (since, by his logic, he wouldn't absorb any vitamins from them either)?  If he does, what makes the fruit different from vegetables?  Does he eat bread?  Again, if so, why?  By his reasoning, he should exist only on pure protein.

Lora