TMB peeps- thank you!

One of his patients that is 3 years out and has done very well said that she has followed all the rules... protein first, 80-90g of protein a day, no soda, no drinking with meals, taking her vitamins.... and she said now your saying that everything you have told me to do the past 3 years is wrong?  Well he had to do some back stepping on that one!!!   He was a mess.... he said so many things that left us all scratching our heads!! 

 Hi Paige,

I was great meeting you this weekend.

I wish I had been there...for this.  Do you know who the person was?  If so, please ask her to PM me.

I actually went up to Dr. Gareth for a brief chat.  I do think he's on to something and that his message is not necessary a bad one, but I just don't think it's all as easy as he makes it seem.  I asked him for a few tips,ideas and/or suggestions for an average busy working mom to eat better/organic/natural foods with out such an impact on our pocket book and time...and he basically just told me that I had to be willing to sacrifice more of my time and be willing to spend more money on food that cost more and just doesn't last as long.  I walked away feeling "trapped."  - He told me about how he is a part of a co-op that delivery fresh produce from local farmers in the area to his home. This guy has no clue!!  I don't  have a doctor's salary!  This is not realistic for me and/or my family.  It was really very upsetting, I walked away from that chat feeling somewhat hopeless.  Not good....

DARN!  I left the conference before the Q&A.  I wish I had been there for this, because I left the conference feeling somewhat confused.  I came home and told my friends and family that everything I had been doing for the past two years since my WLS was "wrong" and maybe not the best thing for me.  

>>I wish I had been there...for this.  Do you know who the person was?  If so, please ask her >>to PM me.

Her name is Criss and this is her profile:

http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/crissc/

You can PM her with your questions.

 Thank you very much, Sarah.

Lisa

Actually, the lady is a little over 2 years out, but it doesn't change her question (I know she said 3 but she was upset).  She is from Arkansas and had her surgery a few weeks after mine and I went to see her in the hotel she was recovering at after her surgery.  She has lost a LOT of weight, followed all the rules to a "T" and done fantastic with her surgery tool.

A year ago Dr. Garth scribbled across my labwork "Need more protein" based on my low pre-albumin levels.  I never got to talk to him about it because his staff screwed up and didn't get my labwork into my file before my appt even though I had it drawn 3 weeks before my appt and they had it in their office.

My husband shook his head when he saw that because at the time I was drinking 2 protein shakes a day and definitely "protein first" at every meal.  I was feeling fine with no issues.  Dr. Garth actually commented at the conference on the albumin and pre-albumin not being a reliable indicator of protein requirements/deficits and my own case is a good example,

I got the impression that he is letting his personal diet beliefs spill over into his practice and I do not think this is a good thing since he has no studies on bariatric patients to back it up.  A study in China of indigenous people who have not had their guts rearranged, not exposed to industrial pollutants in their food, water and air and eat no processed foods with preservatives and high-fructose corn syrup has no relevance to his bariatric practice or patients who live in an industrialized society.

Norma and I came across Chef Dave at Starbucks, not going to rat him out for what he had in his hand , before we left Houston this morning.  He said that Dr. Davis has only recently started inserting his vegitarian opinions into his sessions.  He himself disagrees with the good doctor but they remain friends.  As I reminded Chef Dave he himself has commented that "..if it has a mama - it's protein.."  He added that when he can he does try to purchase organic/free range produced meats but in the interest of time, or finances, he will go with the regular meat from the store. 

Dr. Garth's message doesn't bother me too much, and I'm one of his patients.  I can see where he is coming from, but I also think he has gone a little overboard and think he's being unrealistic as to what we regular folk can afford to do.  So many people say, "follow your doctor's guidelines".  I've never liked this message because so many doctors have different plans.  How can they all be right??  They're not all right and they're not all wrong.  We have to be our own advocates.  We need to do our own research and figure out what works for us.

Laura

great to see you too!! I too have mixed feelings about the "Garth Incident". Personally I cant eat a lot of fibrous veggies especially greens (lettuce,cabbage,field greens etc) hell I pretty much can't eat any because of my exotic guts, they hate them and I can't process them to matter how much I chew them! As a daughter of a woman who has lost 6 1/2 inches of height due to osteoporosis, my pcp would disagree with the milk cheese thing!
I see my surgeon in a few weeks so I will talk to him!! I am glad Dr Garths diet works for him but not sure about his blanket statement,
Meggie

yes doc garths message was a bit confusing to some...but we all have to understand that things are evolving quickly in this area as to what makes or breaks a WLS patient...he didn't say NO protien or dairy...he said that after a certain number of years that 50-60 is a good number for protien...I was pondering the protein issue too much to catch all of the dairy stand...I thought that in the last session that he explained himself very well...this is all a learning process for everyone even the surgeons...he was certainly put on the spot in the last session because he did throw some "different " information out...(and definitely contraversial)...glad you had a good time this weekend...I know I did...the whole list of ladies you listed are amazing...love them all ! have a great week....

I asked Dr. Garth about him writing "needs more protein" on my labs a year ago and he quickly repsonded that it could all come from plants or soy.

Not practical for me - sorry.

What tree does a multi-vitamin grow on?  If I quit eating meat I will need more iron supplements.  What does an "iron" bush look like?  LOL

I actually agree with a lot of Dr. Garth's statements.  When we retire to Arkansas my dream is to raise chickens and dariy goats and have a large garden so we will have fresh organic veggies, eggs, milk and meat.  But for now I live in a big city and work full time and the reality is I eat whatever I can buy at HEB and what the local restaurants are serving.