Random Poll o' the Week: Uselessness....

Personally, I can't do it.  For starters, if I start my meal with a solid protein, like fish, I can't get anything else in.  I can do 2-2.5 ounces at a time of solid protein.  And, at 6-7.5 ounces of food total for the day, I would be starving! 

I do at least 2 snacks a day, and I drank protein shakes much longer than recommended in order to just get the minimum requirements in. 

At least in my case, I think she was wrong.... and I'm hanging at almost 30lbs below my surgeon's goal weight....

Exactly.

I have roasted almonds at work, and Cuties, those little seedless mandarins. I keep a pile of those on my cabinet in my office, for myself and to share. People really like them!
I learned to keep the almonds in a jar in the cabinet at work, and take out no more than one or two serving to put on my desk. Worse than potato chips, those lovely, crunchy little *******s.
But with those little snacks, I can feel comforatble throughout the day, and the almonds are surprisingly filling.

 How long do they recommend that you drink the shakes?  My doctor never said, I assumed it was forever.  Do you get to stop when you slow down your weight loss?  Man, I hope so...I hate those things!  But I do it.

The answer varies from dr to dr and nut to nut.....  once you get at least your minimum protein requirements from food it should be safe to give up the shakes though.

I can't say this would be true for everyone, but I pretty much tossed all warnings about fresh fruits and vegetables out the window within the first three weeks, and never had even the smallest problem about it. I had all kinds of frozen pureed nastiness in my freezer, in tiny serving cups, eady to go, and they stayed right there until I tossed them at about three months.
It just didn't make sense to me that I could eat processed and pureed, but I couldn't eat fresh produce. Instead, I just chewed it all to puree in my mouth, and I never had any issues. I honestly think I healed just as fast, if not faster, and it let me feel a lot more "normal", which helps so much with getting past the psychological impact of surgery. I ate a lot of fruits and veggies before surgery - (hell, I ate a lot of everything before surgery) - and afterward, those foods never made me feel queasy, or dump, so they were and are my safety foods.
I can't say that would be true for everyone of course, and the fact that I did eat lots of fresh produce before may have something to do with being able to digest them fairly well after, but that was really pretty useless advice to me.
And to be fair, when I asked my doctor at my second follow up why they were off limits, she kinda shrugged and said if I wanted them, to just try a little at first, and if I had no problems, to go ahead, just chew thoroughly.
I already was, of course, but I needed to hear a professional tell me what I already knew on a gut level.
 - on a gut level, get it?!?  

hahahaha gut level! 

I get it though...my nurse practitioner said I absoulutely could not go back to work before 6 weeks.  Guess what?  I came back at 3 weeks.  I listened to my body.  I left early when I got tired.  I worked only 4 days the first two weeks.  But, I did it.  I was so bored and depressed at home, and I work a job where I can do whatever I want (sit at my desk, or walk if I need to)...and all my "friends" are here.  Anyway, I listened to my body about that and just never told her that I did it!

I don't follow directions well.... I went back to work after 3 days.  Didn't tell my surgeon.

With plastics, I was told not to attempt going back before 6 weeks and was back in a week & a half!

My surgeon and dietician told me to take Flintstones vitamins - totally useless and ineffective.

I'm with Penny on this one; Flintstones Vitamins...I never even tasted one! I purchased Centrum Silver Chewables from the start and later switched to regular pills.

I was told not to drink from a straw and to never chew gum. The tiny bit of air that you get from chewing and straw using would cause excruciating gas.
What a crock. I HAVE to chew gum when I'm talking to someone, without being rude and stopping to drink mid-sentence, because my mouth gets so dry my tongue dries out and my lips get so dry they stick to my teeth!!
 
I get plenty of water each day, so that's not why, some of my meds cause dry mouth. So, I guess if I didn't chew SF gum, I could learn to keep my mouth shut sometimes!!! And I've had no experiences with bad gas after drinking from a straw. I started drinking from straws the day I got out of the hospital. I drink faster with a straw, when I use a regular glass, so it helps me get in my fluids faster!!