I am clueless

I had my surgery on Ocotber 25, 2004. So far, I have lost about 60 pounds. I was 363 at the time of my surgery. My doctor says that my progress is steady. I feel like I should have lost more. My problem is the nutritionist that workd with him. I was told to just get a South Beach Diet book to help me plan my menus. I need to know from someone else what their doctor prescribed. I don't know how many carbs or how much protein to eat. I wonder if I am eating too much or not enough some days. Does anyone have a menu plan from their doctor or nutritionist that can help me?

Hi Victoria! First let me say, 60 pounds is awesome!!!! Be proud of yourself. Today is my 3 month surgical anniversary and I'm down about 62 pounds....so, being that we are a day apart and everyone is telling me I'm doing great then I can only say...so are you!!!! As for suggestions. My nutritionist is pretty good. Basically....protien, protien, protien and veggies and fruit as you can tolerate. She states that we should get about 60 - 80 grams of protien a day. She gave us a great notebook too. If you want more specific information feel free to email me and I will see how I can help. [email protected]. Keep up the good work!!! Kat

Oh 60 pounds is awesome! I am only down 45 pounds - I have not lost anything in a month! Anyway - my nutritionist says: protein first - 2 oz. then some green veggies if there is room - about 1/4 c. Then fruit, if there is room...and lastly, carbs. I am supposed to stay away from soups, stews, casseroles...anything that mixes liquid with my food, or that I can't accurately measure how much protein I am getting. I think my dr and nutritionist seem a bit more strict than most. Its been hard to stay away from soups...and I have started eating cereal - but its high protein (better than yogurt) and fiber, which I really needed. I am also only supposed to be eatingmy 3 meals a day NO snacking. That is hard - I get hungry and have a snack here and there - I try to just have skim milk as a snack. Jenn

Wow, they are telling you to only eat 3 xs a day? Every Dr is so different on the nutirtion aspect. My question is, knowing how litttle I can eat at one time, How can you possibly be getting enough protien in 3 tiny meals a day? It takes me all day to get my protien in. I eat a small amout of food (I dont classify between snacks an meals anymore) about every 3-4 hours. I am very aware of how much protien I get at every sitting. Every food intake has some amount of protien. I dont bother w/ starches anymore at all unless its coupled w/ protien. Ex a veggie or a light breading on meat. I continue to reasearch by speaking to different people in the nutrition field and take the "best practices" that work for me. At this stage in our journey we should be able to branch out to other options that may work better for us. Good luck to you. Robb 337/257/195

The whole snack thikng is confusing! Everyone has a different view on it. Some say NO snacking and others say you need to so you keep your metabolism up?!

my nutritionist says 70-90 g protein a day, but the rule of thumb for protein is to multyply your weight by .3 that is supposed to give you an accurate cot on the amount of protein you should be getting a day. need less to say I do not get that much in on any given day if ever. 64 oz of water a day.... bwahahahaha that also is a no go for me , I average about 30 oz a day give or take a few either way, but I also do milk which my nutritionist says counts. so with my milk intake I am up to maybe 50 oz a day fluid intake. I am also supposed to eat 6 times a day three meals and three snacks. I find that hard as I was a one meal a day guy before surgery, and eating that often when I am not hungry is a definate no! I find myself looking for protein packed meals and seldom get vegies in at all< thats bad according to my dietician, she wants me spreding out my meals over protein , vegies and fruit. I do snack on fruit when I can maybe once a day a I love the sweetness of the fruit and it goes down easy. oranges are a bit harder on my pouch than say bannanas or grapes. I will be looking forward to watermellon this summer. it sounds to me like your doing well. I am about 75 pounds down since surgery, but have been on a massive 4 week plateau which I hate. keep up the good work and just remember every DR. does this a diferent way. be sure to take your daily vitamin, calcium, and monthly B12. good luck

Well, the answers go to show you that every physician, nutritionist and patient is different. Just to throw another view in, my surgeon said I should NOT be counting calories, protein, or anything. He said in my case, since I had a proximal RNY I don't have the malabsorption people who started at a higher weight than me do, so I should not be concerned with getting specific nutritional values. He said I should be eating a small but balanced meal including all the food groups. Of course, he said I should limit the amount to aprox. 3-4 oz per meal, 3 x a day and MAYBE one healthy snack. I tell you, it's a scary thing when they turn you loose to make choices again. I'm afraid I'm going to wake up and all my weight will be back! Good luck everyone! Joann