Question for everyone....please reply...

Good morning, I went to one of Dr. Snyder's seminars, and was very impressed with the doctor, as well as the people who have had so much success with both lap band and gastric bypass.  I am now working on getting a referral from my insurance company (Pacificare) and hope to proceed down the weight loss surgery path. My question is, for people who have had either lap band or bypass, what does your daily diet (menu) look like a year out from your surgery?  I know that there are classes to be taken regarding foods, nutrition, etc., but would just like to hear from someone now what their food intake looks like day-to-day a year out of surgery. Thank you in advance for any information that you can supply. Alison

Hi Alison, I am almost 1 year out with the lap band and Dr Snyder is my dr also. This is what my usual daily diet looks like: Coffee Egg beaters with alittle cheese Beef Jerky or some type of protein snack, maybe a string cheese or cottage cheese etc... Tuna salad, crab salad, turkey with avacados, any type of protein and alittle veggies Fruit with cheese or peanut butter, or protein bar for a snack Again for dinner I do mostly protein of some sort like pork, beef, chicken, fish, etc... and some veggies. I really try to stick with 5-6 small meals a day and not graze between meals. 

I am a year out of gastric bypass on March 15th. Let's see what I've eaten today. I had a bowl of instant low sugar maple syrup oatmeal for breakfast (1 packet), yummy! Then I had a low-fat string mozarella cheese stick (1 oz) for a snack. Then for lunch I had 4 pieces of turkey bacon and 2 - 1 oz cheese sticks. I had a snack bag of Chex-Mix for a snack. I had a one cup microwaveable Denty Moore beef soup (I drink all the broth and eat about half of the actual beef/carrots/potatoes), I get really full off of that. I will probably have a bit more cheese before the end of the night.  Is this what you should eat after a year? I don't know. I have been maintaining a weight loss of over 100 lbs since I was 7 months out...so that's for almost 5 months. I graze alot and eat alot of potato chips that I know I shouldn't...but they are soo yummy. I have meat and sugar intolerances that I don't think will ever get better.  For every nutritionist you meet they will have a completely different plan for what you should eat. I have met many many ladies where their diet plan from their doc's are just to eat whatever they want...just less of it. Some have very particular protein/carb/fat everything counts that must be met everyday. My surgeon told me to do whatever I've been doing. I could stand to lose another 20-30 lbs...but I don't really have the desire to be perfect. My brother puts it like this...I look like I used to be a super skinny person that had a kid. That makes me laugh so hard. I have always looked really big and you could never have imagined me looking anything near skinny. I'm still chubby and that's ok. If I had a tummy tuck I would have a flat belly. If I exercised and watched what I ate I could lose that extra weight. I'm so happy with where I am compared to where I was that it doesn't bother me enough to actually work on it! I think being realistic and goal oriented helps alot too. I let my eating habits be imperfect...but within limits. I weigh myself once a week and so far I've only moved slightly down...never up. If I started to go down...I'd star****ching what I ate very carefully. I go to my check-ups and make sure that all my blood work looks good. If I start to feel a bit down on energy I up my water and make sure to eat alot of protein for awhile. Most of my eating habits will stay the same and make sure I don't gain weight back because of my complications of eating intolerances after the surgery. When you can't have more than 5g sugar at a time and can't have anything tough or chewy because it sticks...well that limits what settles right and the amount of food you eat. I have never liked sweets so I don't eat the sugar free candies that alot of people gain weight on.  I think alot of people gain their weight back because they have these rules for eating that they have to be perfect. When we can't live up to the perfect standards that creates more stress and causes people to eat more...making them feel guilty and not get the help or support they need. Alot of people that gain weight back don't go to support group meetings because they are embarrased. It's ok if you don't end up super-uber skinny. It's ok if you don't eat perfect. What I think is important is to keep the big picture in mind. Are you alot healthier than before? Are you staying healthy now? Are you happy with what's going on? I'm happy that I can go to Ihop and order a side of toast, eggs, bacon and hasbrowns and be able to eat a decent amount not to stick out as abnormal. If we eat out for dinner I usually get a baked potato with butter, cheese and bacon bits. Depending on how much toppings and how big the potato is I can eat half to the whole thing. I drink bottled water. Crystal light (or similar product) lemonaides and peach teas. Snapple diet peach tea is yummy. Minute Maid Light Lemonaide is great...can buy in a bottle or cans and it is available at alot of restaurants and fast food. I can eat about half of a kids meal from a fast food place. It doesn't taste very good and I don't really like them but if we are out and I need something I get this. That's something important to know almost everyone has a complete change in taste after the surgery. Everything tastes completely werid after surgery. Fries don't taste good to me anymore even a year out when they used to be WONDERFUL. You shouldn't drink diet sodas (some do) but I don't want them cuz they taste awful to me. Every week I am drinking something else and eating something else because last weeks food tastes funny. One week it's lots of turkey bacon and cheese the next it's alot of peanut butter and oatmeal. One week it's peach tea the next plain water.  Well I hope that helps...sorry for being so long! Good luck with everything!

Thank you so much CW and Dionysus Star.... You have provided such valuable information that will help me as well as many others I'm sure.  All of the foods that you both have listed are no problem at all for me to eat.  I like most of the items, just consume too much! I was approved today (Pacificare) for a referral (3 visits) to Dr. Snyder.  I have my first visit with him on March 26th.  I am so excited!!!  I think I am leaning toward a lap band surgery.  We'll see.  I wonder how long from when I first see him to when I have the surgery? Well, I am going to run.  Thanks again for sharing your wisdom and daily routines. Alison

I am 6 months out from gastric bybass.  Tomorrow is my 6 month checkup.  Yay!  I've lost about 80 pounds and I know I could have lost more if I'd excercise like I'm supposed to.  Dr. Schoen is my doctor.  I seem to be able to eat more than some of the folks on here, but I do have to take Prevacid 2 times a day.  I can't eat port at all any more, it hurts but that only started about a month ago.  Today, this is what I've had. 24 oz sugar free french vanilla cappacino 1 oz string cheese Heart to Heart cereal, 3/4 to 1 cup, with 1 cup Dannon Light and Fit yogurt 1/2 cut chili with beans and 5 saltine crackers 16 oz sugar free mocha 1 bag of 100 calorie lorna doones For the rest of the day, I'll have something like a lean cusine dinner and a Sobe Lean (12.5 calories per bottle) and it is really good-  cranberry grapefruit flavor.  But I digress, then I'll have 2-3 sugar free popsicles, one bottle regular water and another cup of the Heart to Heart honey toasted oat cereal.  All this amounts to about 1000 calories a day.  When I eat more protein and less cappicino and more water, I lose weight faster.  I've been losing about 8-10 pounds a month and so far am not displeased. I use Fitday.com to track my meals.  I've gone from a size 28-30 to a size 18-20 and I'm feeling ever so much better than I was.   My hair is getting really thin but I do also have thyroid problems which cause some of it.  I know that most bypass patients do lose some hair, but mine is getting really bad.  I'm actually considering a wig.  I'm going to talk to the nutritionist tomorrow. I hope this helps.  I guess the most telling thing I can tell you is that I wish I'd done this years ago.  I feel like I've gotten a new lease on life.

My hair fell our really badly too from about 4 months out until about 8 months. My hair has always been really thick so I my hair never looked bad but it was still a really traumatic experience every time I brushed my hair I'd have to clean my brush out because there would be a handful of hair in it. Every time I took a shower several hand fulls...literally...would come out. My husband would have to continously unclog the shower. It was really scary even though I knew why it was happening, shock from the surgery. But now that I am almost a year out there is no more hair loss...lost hair has grown out a bit...and everything is fine. I've met some ladies who had really really thin hair after surgery...mostly because these people had kinda thin hair to start with. But their hair grew back out over time and you'd never have known. There are LOTS of ups and down before and after surgery...but we get through them...and almost everyone would do it again in a heart beat and are very happy with the surgery. The people who aren't happy are the ones who don't even try to help themselves...if you put forth a small amout of effort you can be successful...if you put forth alot of effort you will have the most amazing results ever. I'm happy with somewhere in the middle! I went from a tight size 28 to lose size 18s and I'd be happy to stay this size forever. My life has really changed...I am the exact same person I am just able to do all the things I talked about doing. I am more positive and energetic. I am not ashamed of who I am.