Questioning my NUT.......

Ok, sorry if this is winded, but now I am confused, and frustrated. I went to my 1 year appointment yesterday and saw the nurse and the nutritionist. The nut is new and I haven't ever seen her. I explained to her my concern over snacking. I tend to snack in the evenings, popcorn is my downfall. But I have been switching on and off to fresh veggies instead. Her concern for me was to remove myself from my family and do something for an hour that i like all by myself. I told her, my family is not a bad influence, it's my head. She said try it. OK! Whatever. I get to see my family for 3 hours a day together, and now she tells me to remove myself for 1 of those hours. ok, moving on. I told her what I eat each day because I'm losing so slowly. I was honest and gave the things I eat. She said I was fine. OK! I asked how much protein I should be getting in at a year out. She said that I should be fine with my shake for breakfast and the foods each day. I asked again, how many GRAMS of PROTEIN should I be getting. She told me not to worry, I was gettin genough. OMG! I asked her about fluid intake and what amount of ounces I should be consuming each day. On a good day, I can get in 120oz. If I don't try hard, I can get in 64-80oz. Again, she said, that's good. WHICH ONE? Now, I know that I am a year out. But come one, shouldn't a nut be able to answer my questions for me and not just say that I'm doing good. If i was doing so good, I'd be at goal by now and not struggling to lose 1lb each week. I told her that my exercise wasn't as good as it should be, but that I was going to join curves with my daughter again w/in the next month, she said, ok, that's good. Please help. I started at 318lbs, surgery was 10/4/07, I am now 214lbs. My goal is 180, but I want to get under 200 first. What other suggestions can you offer.

WOW you have SO met my NUT haven't you. Which is basically why I haven't talked to her in well over 6 months. Well that and other reasons. But still same basic thing. I found her to be lacking in bariatric nutritional know how. IRRITATING to say the least. I could rant on this for paragraphs but wanted to let you know I totally understand. As for what you can do.. my best advice is research to see what reliable information you can find on line ( I found the answers to most of my questions there anyways *sigh*). *My 2 cents here* - Water intake : if you are getting 120oz in AND still getting your protein in ( without drinking with your meals) then I say if you can drink 120 drink it. I wouldn't go much higher then that as you CAN drink TO much water. - Goal : we all lose at different rates so if some one makes it to goal in such n such time frame doesn't mean you will (or wont for that matter). Especially in just one year. Some lose faster, some lose slower. BUT that doesn't mean you will NEVER make goal, it just may take longer. My weight loss has DIED but I still keep focused on the fact that I may not get there by "my" goal time, I WILL get there. One pound at a time, as they say. - Evening Snacks : my experience is that its never a good thing to snack or eat in the evening. I, 98% of the time, NEVER eat after 730pm as once I get going I tend to keep going. - Hour away from family at night : I think that is total BS and would TOTALLY disregard this stupid idea. My NUT here in Billings when I was going to this clinic (preop) was more worried about my "organizational skills becoming obsessive" then WHY I was over 277lbs over weight and what eating habits got there. It didnt seem to matter that I was eating THREE Big Bacon Classics in a sitting, it only mattered that my binder was "to organized". What ever *insert eye roll here* My next life I want to be a NUT. Good pay, no work. - Protein : I was told 90 grams ( but never given for how long - will look back thru the some what good info packet I got to see though to make sure ). I find I lose better when I get at least 90 grams in a day BUT I tend to try and get no LESS then 70 as that seems to be the average that people are taking in. Some days are better then others and I am working on that currently. I would "guess" that the higher we keep it ( without going to far over 100 grams) the better for our muscle and mental health. But again thats just from what I have read. Personally I think you ARE doing GREAT ( not good ) and I think you are losing at what YOUR bodies pace that IT wants to lose at not what "someone tells you it should be, or what WE think it should be". You do NOT know if you would be at goal now as none of us know WHERE we will be at any point ( its just where we HOPE to be, and hope and fact don't always meet up at the same date) . It doesn't mean you are doing something wrong it simply means you are just not there yet. Stick to what you know works ( the basics ). We all need to eat better(lets face it we all are eating things we shouldn't now in quantities that are larger then we thought we would be able to eat), work out more and frankly LOL learn to worry less but all we can do is what we can do today and tomorrow will take care of itself. *HUGS* No worries. I think you are doing fine!!!! Felicia =0)

Felicia, Thanks so much for your kind words. You are so right. I know I shouldn't be so hard on myself, but then again, I was hoping to get some solid answers from the bariatric center. I will keep working on making my goal and striving to do my best each day. That's all I can do. Thanks again, you are the best. Molly

* BIG HUGGLES* I am fighting the same fight you are. I totally understand your frustration. We are going to make it!! Felicia =0)

I have to chime in here too!!! (Sorry, I am just as winded.....) Maybe your NUT is a clone, and they are scattered throughout the country! I, like you was losing at a snail's pace. 30 lbs. total pre-op---which was almost 2 years---(11 of those in the 2 week liquid phase) and 60 lbs. since day of surgery (by my scale). I have not lost a THING in at least 6-8 weeks. 4 weeks ago, I got very serious about working out (now that the energy is returning due to the iron infusion). I get up at 4:15 every day and ride the stationary bike for 30-35 minutes. I have progressed that workout steadily so that now, I am up to at least 35 minutes, 1 mile warm up at average 10 mph, then 25 minutes at an avereage of 15-18 mph with sprints 3-5 times of 30 seconds at up to 35 mph, with a 1 mile cool down at 10 mph. According to my surgeon's office, this is considered a "vigorous" work out and I do it at least 5 days a week. I have not lost any thing and actually GAINED a couple pounds. So......I try to talk to the NUT. Same story......she says I am doing good and to "be patient". I can not get a really straight answer from her either: How many calories per day? "Don't worry about calories." How much water is too much? "I don't think that you can drink too much--don't worry." How many protein shakes/grams? "At least 60, but you are fine, don't worry." Am I eating too much? "You eat a LOT less than you used to, don't worry." Maybe I am not eating enough? "Don't worry, you are fine". As you can see, I can TOTALY relate to your frustration. If I find a good solution, besides Felicia's sage advice, I will let you know if you will do the same for me. In the mean time, know that you have a true "sister" in me! Dawn

I don't feel so bad about the fact that I have not spoken to my nutritionist since the day I was discharged from the hospital following surgery. I would say as long as you are getting at LEAST 60 - 70 grams of protein in and no more than 100 or so...that is fine. I try to follow the "healthy eating rules" - no white "starches" - protein first - at least 80 oz of water (10 glasses) a day -no drinking with meals -no eating after dinner.... The no eating after dinner is not really a hard one for me, the hard thing is the timing of dinner...because I have a "second job" (teaching piano) right after work...and most evenings go to the gym after that, my "dinner" may not be until 9 at night...at that point, I force myself to stay awake an hour or so longer than usual to give my body a chance to metabolize the late dinner. Excercise. I am still on the fence as to how much it really helps. I've read some studies that show - it's not as much as some "experts" tell us. And lately, I too have been slacking. The excercise I keep up with is the excercise that I have made a "lifestyle" habit. My group water aerobics has been easy to keep up, as I have made friends with people in the class and miss them if I can't get there. The fitness center? I haven't been there in a month. However, I have found that I still keep up my activity level in "life style" ways - running or walking with the dog, roller blading, bike riding, hiking, rock climbing, kyaking...etc. I am worried about what I will do during winter....when the outdoor activites will not be as available. Will have to find an indoor excercise obsession that I will enjoy (maybe I should buy Dance, Dance Revolution). Keep it up...it sounds like most of us have slowed..and we have not all reached goal. I keep telling my friends that I took 36 years to put this weight on....I don't expect that it will only take a year to get it off.

The no eating after dinner is not really a hard one for me, the hard thing is the timing of dinner...because I have a "second job" (teaching piano) right after work...and most evenings go to the gym after that, my "dinner" may not be until 9 at night...at that point, I force myself to stay awake an hour or so longer than usual to give my body a chance to metabolize the late dinner. I have always had late dinners. Hasnt stopped me from losing. But I did want to touch on the exercise/late dinner thing here. If you are exercsing in the evening before dinner, the calorie burn you experience from the exercsie, will last way longer than the dinner you just ate. My spin instructor uses a lot of resistance during class. She said by engaging large muscle groups, the calorie burn can last as long as 4 hours! I am worried about what I will do during winter....when the outdoor activites will not be as available. I have been trying new classes in the evenings just to prepare for winter. There is a cardio class and step aerobics class I love. But like you, I spend my evening time in some outdoor actvity, walking, biking etc. The days are growing shorter, and after this Indian summer, Im sure colder. I was worried abot getting my exercise fix in, in the evenings. Branch out a little....you might stumble on something that will be perfect! Lauri WLS Oct23 06' Down 232 lbs.

If you are looking to get Plastic Surgery which I am. You have to eat at the least 100 grams of protein daily. I will be upping my protein in March for my June surgery. You'll also be seeing a nutricianist. This is just alittle extra info I just found out.

Hey molly, who ever thought we'd be in this situation, worring about how much to take in, water, protein, grams, and ounces this tim and last year we would have just ate what we wanted and never though twice about it. I've been a bad patient. I haven't visited my surgeon or nutritionist since feb. 2007. First, it's about a 2 hour drive one way and w/ the price of gas it's just not worth it. Second, I never even saw the nutritionist even once from the very begining. That being said, I'm following my own plan, protein first, veggies next then maybe some starch. Some days I'm really good, other times I suck. I have cheated, and feel guilty about it at times, other times I say, what the f - - k, I'm not going to deprive myself if I realy want something. I do try to get a minimum of 60 - 80 grams of protein in a day and at least 80 - 100 ounces of fluid a day. Exercise, I use to be so religous about walking at least 2.5 miles on my days off but ever since mom died I've lost my motivation, although I do walk up 4 flights of stairs at work the three days I'm there. I've found that when I do work around the yard I lose faster than when I take the stairs. Go figure. I wouldn't stress about "goals", every one loses at different rates. There were, and still are times that I haven't lost a pound in a couple of months, then I'll get on the scale and there's a 3-4 lb loss. I found that when I vary my activity, walking, taking the stairs or yard work I seem to lose more. But again, every one is different. I know it's easy for me to say but try not to get discouraged. You too will be at "goal" before you know it. Why not try setting smaller goals for your self, I'm going to walk 2 miles today, tomorrow I'll take the stairs down, the next day I'll start walking up the stairs. You get the picture. Please, just don't give up. We're all here for you. Donna, sfy

I am amzed that all the NUTs sound pretty similar. Mine dont give out exact numbers either. I think they purposely do this, because people tend to get a little nutty, and focus so much on the numbers. I think they are trying to teach us to be "normal" whatever that is. Normally people dont obessess over numbers! LOL Everyone has given great advice! Stick with the basics.....we all know what those are. It will come! Everyone loses at a different rate. I would suggest you up your exercise some. When I hired my personal trainer, I did so, because I had been stalled. The first thing she did was up my cardio time. Lauri WLS Oct23 06' Down 232 lbs.