Is it common to dislike eating breakfast after WLS?
My surgeon's own words...
http://www.empowher.com/bariatric-surgery/content/what-are-habits-successful-weight-loss-patients-dr-ellner-video
Dr. Ellner:
The typical habits that I see in my very successful bariatric patients are number one, eating behaviors. Knowing when to start eating and when to stop eating. Sometimes this is the hardest part for any human being to figure out when they are using either a gastric banding or a gastric bypass or a sleeve operation.
Patients need to learn what their first signal is of a low blood sugar feeling, which is hypoglycemia. That is a solid black and white signal that each of our bodies send to us when we need food in the system. A patient can’t be led astray by cravings or emotional eating if they are just following their low blood sugar signal as their only indication to start eating.
The second part of that comes with knowing when to stop eating. I tell my patients that they need to eat every bite, let every bite settle nice and slow in their system, and then they need to ask themselves after every single bite, “Did my low blood sugar feeling go away?” In most cases it’s a sense of dizziness or maybe a headache, and if with that bite, the headache went away, that’s the body saying, “You’ve just filled my tank; I don’t need anymore food.” And that’s a good black and white signal so patients know when to start and when to stop eating.
One of the most common mistakes that I see people making sometimes two or three years out of the gastric bypass is that they are still relying on their stomach to make them feel ill if they eat too much. Over time, the stomach muscles and nerves re-coordinate and they start to move food through faster over the second half of the first year than they did during the first half of the first year.
So the people that have the surgery will naturally be able to eat more food in the second six months and into the second year. So, that stomach will not necessarily make that person feel sick or vomit if they eat too much. Over time, this chronic overfilling can lead to pouch or stoma stretch. That leads to less satiety, which is a decreased sense of fullness with a given amount of food. That leads to increased volumes of food being eaten in a given period of time. That leads to weight regain, and that’s what brings patients in wanting a revision.
About Dr. Ellner, M.D.:
Dr. Julie Ellner, M.D., is a bariatric surgeon and medical director of Alvarado's Surgical Weight-Loss Program at Alvarado Hospital.
I definitely eat real foods, just only when necessary and not because I need to hit a number, but because my body is telling me when to eat. It is not waiting for my blood sugar to "bottom out", but to know when your body is physically telling you, you need food, not because of any other reason. As time goes on, and your body adjusts to surgery and eventually things stretch out, I know I will be eating more and more often, but she definitely is more concerned with developing habits for the long term, and taking advantage of the newness of surgery as long as I can. I have no doubt that I have learned so much more about eating properly than I did before. I believe she is setting me up for long term success, not long term failure.
Holy crap. Your surgeon is crazier than a loon.
She really expects people not to eat until their blood sugar gets too low? That could take days for some people. And by the time it gets low, you've already started a serious crash.
I have never heard of anyone either following or promoting such a plan before. It's reckless and dangerous. Unconscionable. Inconceivable.
I've never criticized a doctor like this before, but I would run away, and run fast.
6'3" tall, male.
Highest weight was 475. RNY on 08/21/12. Current weight: 198.
M1 -24; M2 -21; M3 -19; M4 -21; M5 -13; M6 -21; M7 -10; M8 -16; M9 -10; M10 -8; M11 -6; M12 -5.
For someone who deals with hypoglycemia and RH- i can tell you that this can be very dangerous and very very bad for your adrenals. Please be aware of that. I deal with adrenal insufficiency and we (my endo and I) are not sure if some of my low blood sugars i had over the years post op RNY did not contributed to that. Now i have to be on a replacemt hormones for life. I don't wish that on anyone.
Hala. RNY 5/14/2008; Happy At Goal =HAG
"I can eat or do anything I want to - as long as I am willing to deal with the consequences"
"Failure is not falling down, It is not getting up once you fell... So pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again...."
on 5/8/15 9:11 am - WI
If you are drinking kefir and Premier protein in the morning, technically, you are "eating" breakfast. Kefir and protein have calories in it and count as a meal. Just because it's not solid food, doesn't mean it doesn't count.
I can't eat a solid food breakfast. I have a theory that I feel a little nauseated in the mornings due to not drinking anything for 8 hours. I feel much better after I drink a few cups of decaf.
HW 270 SW 236 GW 160 CW 145 (15 pounds below goal!)
VBG Aug. 7, 1986, Revised to RNY Nov. 18, 2010
To answer your question, yes it is common. I hear about it all the time.
That doesn't mean it's a good idea to skip breakfast, though. Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do because it's good for us to do them.
That said, the research that breakfast is the most important meal of the day is being seriously challenged. A few studies have found that there is little to no difference in metabolism between people who eat breakfast and those who don't. I tend to work out in the morning so I eat to fuel for that. If I don't feel like eating breakfast, I usually don't have anything, truth be told. To me it's sort of contradictory to tell me to ONLY eat when I am hungry then tell me to eat breakfast even if I'm not hungry. Of the two rules, I think there's the most benefit in learning to eat when I am hungry, so I go with that.
(And that answer was probably five more things than you wanted to hear!)
RNY Gastric Bypass 1-8-08 350/327/200 (HW/SW/CW). I spend most of my time playing with my food over at Bariatric Foodie - check me out!
I always had breakfast pre op. Post op... I never wanted anything, but I'd drink a protein shake for breakfast, other things always made my pouch ache, like it had shrunk overnight. I can occasionally gave a yogurt or eggs for breakfast, but typically stick to a shake.
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It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.
I am 7 years post op... My pouch hates food in the morning...
Hala. RNY 5/14/2008; Happy At Goal =HAG
"I can eat or do anything I want to - as long as I am willing to deal with the consequences"
"Failure is not falling down, It is not getting up once you fell... So pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again...."
For the most part, not eating in the morning isn't a big deal. Lots of WLSers develop the habit. Some days it works out for me, as I desire those calories more later in the day.
There are some studies that say your metabolism gets a boost by eating shortly after starting your day. Other studies say not so much. A couple of recent studies show your metabolism gets a boost from a daily 12 hour overnight fast.
BUT. A year or two after RNY, many people start to develop hypoglycemia or reactive hypoglycemia. Those people NEED to eat in the morning, and at set intervals during the day, AND eat a proper mix of protein, fats, and a little carb. It can be dangerous for them to try to make it until later in the morning or lunch before eating. Having an episode behind the wheel and killing someone isn't a good idea. And anyone telling someone to hold off from eating until your blood sugar starts to bottom out is insane.
6'3" tall, male.
Highest weight was 475. RNY on 08/21/12. Current weight: 198.
M1 -24; M2 -21; M3 -19; M4 -21; M5 -13; M6 -21; M7 -10; M8 -16; M9 -10; M10 -8; M11 -6; M12 -5.
You speak the truth, Grim.
The times my blood sugar has started to cra**** is an awful feeling. Once it starts, it drops VERY quickly, and I go from feeling slightly woozy and thinking"Hm, I need to eat." to shaking, feeling panicky, and not being able to speak or form thoughts correctly. It's scary stuff.
I woke up in between a memory and a dream...
Tom Petty
And low BS can cause much worse - like seizures, passing out even death in extreme situations...
Hala. RNY 5/14/2008; Happy At Goal =HAG
"I can eat or do anything I want to - as long as I am willing to deal with the consequences"
"Failure is not falling down, It is not getting up once you fell... So pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again...."
