Dear Pre-Ops - what to eat?

OH is a great place for support and information.  Members love to help with recipes or suggestions on what to eat when. But.... 

I can't tell you how many times I see a post that says. . . 

I don't know what to eat?  

What foods can I eat?  

I am at phase yada yada, what can I eat?

Am I eating the correct food?

I don't have clue what to eat?

BEFORE ANYONE CUTS YOU, KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO EAT TO LOSE WEIGHT AND KEEP IT OFF, AT EACH PHASE!!!

Before I had surgery I knew exactly what to eat and when to eat it.  If that didn't work I had plan B, C and D in place. OH members provided me with great recipes and suggestions.  In addition, my surgeon provided me with access to a Nut and Exercise person.  I had a binder with lists of foods and access to a website of what to eat at all phases in case I forgot!  Reached out for help with my support group provided by my surgeon.  

If your surgeon does not offer this education/support pre-op and support post-op, run to the door and don't look back.  I realize things have changed since I had surgery, but knowledge = success and all surgeons should offer that!

Please pre-ops, know what you need to do when, IT'S YOUR HEALTH, IT'S YOUR LIFE!!!

Rant over  

Kathy

 Now, Drop the mike!! And just walk off stage.

Knowing is the easy part. Doing it is hard.

I agree Grim!   But know what you need to eat so you can "TRY"!

Absolutely!

The people that befuddle me are those that have surgery, do well for a few years, and come back saying they've forgotten the rules, or what they should be eating. Really? It's just not that complicated. Doing it, day in, day out, year after year is really hard. I get that, for sure. But the general outline is not rocket science.

I suspect many of those people have never been fully compliant with the basics. They didn't forget them because they never learned them. I've attended a couple of OH conferences and a lot of post-op people were not complying there. Drinking with meals, not eating protein first, drinking smoothies, etc. 

You're right. It's hard not to lose at first. And when yhey lose, they think they're doing everything right.

We see plenty of the smoothie drinking cracker addicts here. I do hope to get to an OH conference the next time it's closer to my neck of the woods.

As a cancer survivor, I tell everyone that you and you alone are the advocate for your own health.  If you won't take the time to research and learn, then don't blame anyone else when you don't understand.  

Kathy, I hear you.  How does anyone manage to have surgery then claim that they have "no clue" on what they are supposed to eat in the early post op stages?   

  Indeed.

Please note this is not a beat up on pre-ops.  Maybe they honestly don't know what they can expect from a surgeon.  Maybe they think the surgeon does the surgery and then they are on their own?  

I am just letting them know what to expect. No let me rephrase that, what to demand of the surgeon, staff and the program