Post about my daily menu

I come from one of those centers that has cereal,rice and other carbs on their plan--basically a good weight loss diet for a normal person. Their goal for me was 160 which at my height was still overweight. I followed the advice of the vets here and eliminated bread,rice,pasta and potatoes and made it past my surgeons goal of 160 to 117--the bottom of a normal bmi for my height. My rheumatoid arthritis is so much better at this weight and by continuing to eat on plan I've maintained this weight for 4 years now. If I'd have done exactly what they told me I'd never have made it to my personal goal. I do eat 1/2 c steel cut oats with protein powder every morning for the fiber but have found if I add too many carbs my hunger and urge to snack increases. Because of that I've recently stopped having protein bars which used to be my evening snack and substituted protein instead. We each have to find our own way but there's much to be said for actual post weight loss surgery experience compared to a dietitian with no history of obesity or surgery.

Karen, exactly. The urge to snack becomes very strong when I eat carbs. When I eat dense protein (meat) it does not. Period. Someone here suggested once that if I felt hungry, consider whether I would eat a chicken breast. Yes? Go ahead. No? Not hungry.

I have eaten and do eat carbs. When I do, I get very snacky... until I get back to protein.

It sounds like you are doing a great job. I remember when I was as far out as you. Wondered who was right, vets or my NUT. So I played around with my menu, experimented with various foods, and I really did find what was right for me. You should do the same for you. I feel very confident in what I am eating now.

Good luck!

I'm a newbie. I didn't follow the advice of my nutritionist or my surgeons plan after reading posts here from vets. I decided to follow their advice and feel as though I'm living a miracle right now. I urge you to give it a try while you are still early out. Everyone delivers advise a different way but anyone that takes the time to point these issues out are doing so out of sincere concern for your success.

I am also a newbie on here and decided to go with the vets advice. Whichever plan you choose to follow is certainly up to you. While some surgeons and NUT's will have you follow a plan that is lower in carbs many do not. If your choice is to follow a very low carb plan just be prepared to have a major disagreement with your NUT if they don't recommend it. I can tell you that my NUT and surgeon are not happy with me but that's a fight I was willing to take on. I did eat more carbs for a very short period and I gained weight immediately(like the next day) so listening to the vets and making the decision on a low carb plan has proven to be very successful for me personally. Whatever you decide, I wish you nothing but great success! :)

Saying "it's too much of a bother to reply to the people who've tried to help me" is a good way to not get any help the next time you need it.

Ever try and find a thread on a 5" phone screen? That's where I'm coming from. Have a good day.

Late to chime in, but chime in, I must :)

The biggest thing in all of these responses that I read here is that most centers considering 60-70% (or whatever the numbers are, I'm close) successful... that's because not many of their patients are successful beyond that number.

Carbs are addictive. You can pull up a multitude of articles not necessarily geared just toward the WLS population and read all about it. Cutting them out reduces, or completely eradicates, the cravings. Dense protein fills you up, and keeps you satisfied longer.

You will lose a ton of weight, almost without changing anything directly after surgery.

I have 2 friends that have had WLS within a year of me. The one that is 7 months out, and still overweight (possibly still obese by the BMI scale) is already giving up and telling me why she's not going to lose more... she eats way too many carbs, and not nearly enough protein. I'm watching my close friend fail because she can't get with the low carb diet. It's sad.

Yes, people here will give you an earful if they see your menu and know you're setting yourself up for failure. Yup. It hurts. Yup. I've gotten a few posts to that when I've not followed like I should. Yup. Butthurt was me too (although quietly because I knew they were right). They are trying to help you. Trust me.

I'm almost 1 year out... haven't quite hit that magical number of 145.0 - but I'm sitting really close to it. Thing is, I'm struggling with eating properly more now than ever. At 3-4 months out I KNEW EVERYTHING... I was rocking it, and kind of blew off the warnings (and kind of not)...

You are in the easy phase... the time you need to use to get your eating habits for the REST OF YOUR LIFE in order... having shakes that have 1/2 cup of berries, protein powder and milk in them is too much right now for you to be eating, not to mention the popcorn. MY center says NO POPCORN EVER AGAIN... something about it getting stuck in the pouch and them having had to remove it surgically... not sure I believe them on that one, but nevertheless, it's their rule.My center also doesn't advocate things like cereal, but they do give the green light at breads in moderation... I don't believe that either.

The reason I stayed on OH was exactly because of these people that hurt your feelers... they are just trying to tell you like it is, not sugarcoat it. Ask your center how many people lose 100% of their excess weight on their program... KEEP IT OFF for more than 2 years too... let us know the answer.

I missed this post but here's my unfiltered opinion.

Unless someone here has "MD" or "RD" behind their name, take what they say with a grain of salt.

We are not all the same. Your medical team, presumably, knows YOUR body. And I assume they made recommendations based on YOUR body.

If I were you I'd do exactly as you said, next time you go in to be seen just mention that you have concerns that your plan involves too many carbs (and all the other stuff you mentioned) and see what they say.

Yes, we've walked the walk but...if we were such nutritional experts we probably wouldn't have had to have surgery ourselves.

Follow medical advice before our advice. ALWAYS. But it's also ok to ask your medical team "why."

It's all good, and I agree. Good advice is good advice, and medical advice is medical advice. When they clash, question it, and I have (and will continue to do so).

Honestly, re this thread and all the kerfluffle that has been caused in my wake, I'm about done with the topic. The fact is, nobody's an expert. Nobody. Some people have insights based on their OWN experiences, and freely offer it and that's great. You've just got to go through it and figure it out.

I've got an in-person line of support that's gone through it, and they are a great help. I plan to lean on them more in the future, but also bug the crap out of my clinic.

I'm thrilled at my progress, and so is my clinic and surgeon. See my post above to Juniper, re everything that happened today. It was pretty great at the dr. office today. I left feeling very sure of my plan, and very uplifted knowing that I'm doing things right, just gotta keep tweaking the plan as needed.

Thanks for the reply.

That's awesome! I'm glad you feel good about the outcome.

You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders. Keep it up! You have like a THOUSAND times more common sense than I did at...probably ever. ;)