sorry all but I have another question

I know yall are probably getting tired of my questions by now but this is the only place it seem I can get the answers I am looking for. I have been watching post on another wls group and there is a lady there 5 days post-op and the responding post are saying it is ok to eat egg drop soup, and matza soup, or pureeing squash and eating that this is so confusing, they have also said she will be able to eat other foods in a few days.... I dont want to have to worry about food for a few months. fluids are great, protein supplements are great I can do that I have done a 6 month fast before. I don't like to eat I almost wish I never had to eat again. the medicines I take make me sick if I dont eat and the steroids make me hungry all the time. my dr says after the surgery though we should be able to cut down on most all of them after the first month but can start reducing them while I am in the hospital. I want a few months of the fluids and protein supplements so I can zero out my brain and habits before I have to start retraining everything. do I HAVE to start eating that soon or could I just use the protein supplements for a while? thanks for putting up with another question

I looked at your previous posts and I think it said you were going to St. V's. Before surgery you will go to a nutrition class where you will get a book that will be your bible for the first year post-op. Its referred to the "yellow sheets" on this site. They will tell you how to eat and what to eat. There really is no guess work in it. It is difficult right after surgery to get all your protein and water in, you feel like your eating and drinking constantly, and you are. All the docs aren't the same, about what you can or can't eat right away. You need to not worry about what others say you can eat and only follow your doctor's orders. Which are the "yellow sheets" for St. V's. We post-ops aren't going to be perfect but I work everyday at using my tool and I still look at my yellow sheets if I need a reminder. THe yellow sheets are posted on the wls indy site, if you want to look at them. www.wlsindy.com

The yellow sheets at www.wlsindy.com are under the post-op food guidelines tabe on the left side. shows the first 4 weeks and on.

Kathy, I am about 5 weeks post-op and Dr. Inman was my surgeon. I also went to St Vincent's for my surgery. I can't recall who your surgeon will be and what hospital you will be going to. I also want to emphasize the yellow sheets and the guidance that it will give you. I was introduced into "full liquids" while still in the hospital. Full liquids consist of yogurt, instant mashed potatoes, cream soups, sugar free pudding and such. You eat two ounces at a time. Your body needs to get used to eating soft foods and digesting again. I know my head said there was no way I would be full on such small amounts. But the truth was that in the beginning I could not eat all they gave me. They recommend that you take a full 30 min to eat. That is very wise because you will fill up quickly. If you put the food in too fast, it may come back up or you will be too full to the point of pain without realizing it until it is too late. I was advised to eat full liquids for the first 4 weeks. Don't try to buy too much in advance. My tasted changed so much and things that I would have been able to eat before surgery tasted yucky!! Good luck. Karen

I am going to be going to ST Vincent and my Dr is Dr Diaz. I have copies of the yellow sheets they gave them out at the consultation. I am not worried about being hungry he has already said they will adjust my meds so I wont have to take them with food. I was wondering if I could just do water and protein supplements for a few months before I had to start dealing with food again. the yellow sheets list full liquids but includes yogurt, cottage cheese,soups... I have been looking at lablels on this stuff and they all have sugar, carbs and calories in them... would it hurt anything to just do water and supplements for 3 or 4 months. we are supposed to be taking a lot of vitamins could I just add a protein supplement instead of trying to get protein from the foods? thank you

Kathy, why are you afraid to eat? That is what I am sensing from your posts. I understand that food has controlled us in the past, but your new tool allows us to be in control. Your little tiny pouch will only allow such a small amount to go in to begin with. Also for me at least, the first month almost I could have cared less whether I ate or not, but I knew my body needed to learn to adjust and learn to digest differently. I am now eating to provide the nutrients that my body needs to be healthy, not eating for comfort or because that looks good and I want it. I am sure I will struggle with temptations later, but right now I am scared enough that my health will be compromised if I do not get the right things into it. Please talk with your doctor or one of the nutritionists at St. V's. I am neither of those, but I would think you would do some damage to your new pouch and hookups if you only get used to drinking protein supplements for a period of time and do not introduce foods as they have been recommended. I would want clearance from my doctor to deviate from the plan set up. I am not trying to sound preachy, but I want you to be successful with WLS and success to me is following in the footsteps of others who have had WLS before me and been successful. Good luck. Karen PS When is your surgery scheduled?

Karen, I dont know why I am afraid of food, I just know I want to be far away from it. as far as my surgery when I spoke to amy on friday she said once she got the letter from the physciatrist and the letter from my doctor supporting the surgery that she would get stuff to heather and they should be able to schedule me in the next three weeks. so that is what i am waiting for. thanks

Kathy, Those yellow sheets are not simply a GUIDE. They are your weight loss Bible. If you are thinking about not eating anything at all, then I don't think you are ready for this surgery. I think you need some counseling before going into op. Your body needs food. Period. You need to learn how to control your portions. Period. You do not do this with abstinence. You brought up looking at the labels for soup, yogurt, cottage cheese and mashed potatoes (instant). Be sure you are looking at the right foods, the yogurt is to be the sugar-free variety and the cottage cheese, you can get fat-free (try to keep fat under 30 g per day). The soup & mashed potatoes are to be made with skim milk. And lastly, all of their servings are at least twice of what you can eat when you are new post-op. Of course there are calories. It's called food. All food has calories! The idea is to keep you calorie count low. Ask the nutritionist what your targets should be. My guess would be ~1200 cal/day. If a serving is for 1/2 cup and you only eat 1 oz, divide those calories by 4. And yes, some of those things have carbs. Your body needs at least 100 g carbs or it will go into ketosis...a condition to which your body, not finding carbs to burn, starts to burn your muscles. Not your fat, but your muscles. There may be a few grams of sugar, but that will be very low on those. There is no magical number with that. Some people have problems with anything that is more than 12 g, others it may take 16 g. Having too few of calories can slow your weight loss down as much as too many. Your body will go into starvation mode and try to preserve the calories it does get in. I would suggest you go to SparkPeople.com. Set up an account (it's free). It will help you journal your food, water, and exercise. There are also alot of good articles to read there. Remember that the idea of weight loss surgery is to teach you how to eat, NOT allow you not to eat anything at all. Sherri

Kathy I felt the same way before surgery. I was determined to live on water and protein shakes etc. That didn't last...they get old real quick. Also, I feel as though I needed to eat because it keeps something semi-solid going through my system and preventing strictures etc (this is in my own mind...not sure if a Dr. or anyone else will agree.) You'll learn the ropes soon enough, it just takes time. Make sure to keep the yellow sheets handy and refer to them whenever you feel tempted to "lost." Good Luck! Sam

Kathy, Your getting worried about something that in all acuality will not matter immediately after surgery. Iwas probably 6 months out before I started to look at calorie content. I only ate what my yellow sheets said, in the amount they said. It was when I could start to make choices again that I started to look at calorie counts. At my 6 month appointment the dietician asked me to write down what my normal day eating wise was. She counted my protein grams but not my calories. I also saw that I was eating a lot of cottage cheese and applesause. Both my Doctor and dietician said to start eating food with more consistancy, because my pouch would get used to only soft type foods and then I would have problems with reg. food. I still love cottage cheese, and have it just not for all my meals. It isn't going to be an option to only drink, you have to do what your doctor says. They want you to eat three meals a day even though they are only 2 oz. each. Your given these yellow sheets to succeed not fail. None of us would be here if doing it our own way worked. If only drinking protein and water worked for you in the past you wouldn't be having surgery. Stop worrying about eating after. Surgery is the first step of learning a new way of life.