Guidance Please ~ Nutrition Classes

Good Morning My Friends, I am in need of your help

My insurance requires 6 months of Nutrition Classes, Sadly I feel like I am just not getting the information and encouragement that one should be receiving at these "classes" which are basically a weigh in and 15 minute talk with the nutritionist.

So I am reaching out asking does anyone have handouts? a Website? a book recommendation? something?  I am really looking for Knowledge here, and I am not finding it in my monthly "classes"

Please note, I am in here almost daily reading, and I have a few books I am checking into online, but I am looking for something......I can grab ahold of now and run with that will make my choice to have surgery the most successful life long commitment I have made other than my Marriage and My relationship with God.

Please advise.  Thank you so much.

Lynne 

Hi

I do find this site more helpful than my support groups. It is only an hour once a month and 20-30 min is spent with introductions and announcing weight loss. And usually there is a speaker and that at least is helpful. I spend more time here than any other support place. If you ask a question here, you get a quick answer and it is honest.

i have a few books, one by Stapleton called Eat it up (I'm reading it now).  she talks about what happens after the surgery, how to keep it off and not regain. She apparently came to speak at a special event last year through my surgeons office, she is from Georgia. Another is eating well after weight loss surgery, it is on amazon and it has recipes.

The Emotional First + Aid Kit: A Practical Guide to Life After Bariatric Surgery, Second Edition Jul 15, 2009
by Cynthia L. Alexander

My surgical center has a workshop based on the book and recommends that we buy our own copy.  When someone I know has weight loss surgery I bring this to them instead of flowers or candy.

During my six months of pre-op appointments, I began living the lifestyle.  I gave up Diet Coke, bread, cake, donuts, cookies, candy, cereal, potatoes, chips, rice, pasta and noodles.  I ate nothing made with flour or sugar.  I ate lots of protein and a small amount of non-starchy vegetables.  It was hard.

After surgery it was so easy.  I no longer had hunger and what I did eat was not being absorbed.  But the emotional issues were still there and my First Aid book helped with that.

This is exactly what I am trying to do, begin living the lifestyle before I even get to a surgery date

I don't drink pop,

Over the holidays I made not one dessert for my family and we didn't travel, which made the sweets easier to avoid, I don't eat cereal, pasta and noodles very rarely, chips I have to say are my kryptonite....but I am not purchasing them and do not have them in our home.

I no longer keep bags, and Yes bags of Halloween candy, gone, just gone.

So I guess, its beginning to learn what I can eat with no flour and sugar, which sounds like fruits and veggies!!! 

Thanks for the input, It means a lot

I truly want to get this well underway before hand,  And know how to handle those "situations" when they arise because we all know they will.

Just a little FYI but limit your fruit also since it is really just sugar in disguise. A piece or 2 a week is probably ok but try to limit the amount since the body doesn't distinguish between sugar and the natural sugar in fruits. If you stick with dense protein and non starchy veggies you will do great. That is really all one needs to eat and still get all your vitamins in. Best of luck to you, stick to basics and you will do fine.

I am 4.5 years out from RNY surgery.  See if you can get a copy of post-surgery nutritional guidelines from this provider, so that you can see what they recommend.  I agree with your comment about fruits/veggies, but one of the bigger changes people encounter right away is pushing protein, protein, protein and hydration.  Those are two things you can start working on now.  Practice tracking and counting your grams of protein and hydration.  You will be advised to always eat protein first after surgery!

Another suggestion would be to start perusing books on carb counting, as well as reading labels for carb count.  I am also a Type 1 diabetic on an insulin pump, so carb counting is and has been a way of life for me before and since surgery.  It takes a while to get good at it, so start now.  Some apps help too - My Fitness Pal is often recommended.  The # of carb grams in food usually is quite an eye opener for most people.  But, tracking your carb grams can be a significant tool in weight loss success.  I limit myself to 15-20 net grams of carbs per meal, which means that many foods are simply banished (pasta, cereal, sweets, sandwiches) or quantities are severely limited.  (Net carb grams are the # of carbs per serving minus the fiber).  Portion control is a good thing for me, and carb counting helps with that. 

Best of luck to you, Lynne. 

Go to the Quest Nutrition site and order yourself some of their chips. They are low carb, low fat and high in protein. They are not the same as the ones at the store, but I find them very helpful and they taste pretty good.

Quest was not around when I had my surgery, but Kays Natural chips were.I planned my meals and liked having a few chips at lunchtime with my soup or salad.

I also use Quest bars for snacks or desserts.  This does not have to be punishment. 

Look at the recipes on the Quest site, on Eggface's site and on Bariatric Foodie

You can eat delicious treats and serve them to your family.  Make your new lifestyle fun and healthy for all of you.