I'm Guilty as Follows.....

 Nothing to be guilty about.  I think Dr. C is among if not the most recognized of VSG surgeons and as much as I love my own (one of, if not the top in Canada) I'm always interested in what Dr. C has to say!

Here's an example of what I got at my support group on Wednesday night.  The program NUT came to give advice on how to get through the holidays sanely and on track.

Here's the question thrown out to the group:

You're out and about shopping and need to eat right now.  Now time to get home to prepare food or to get to the grocery store etc.  What would you do?

I said I would stop at IN and OUT burger and get a protein style hamburger (wrapped in a lettuce leaf instead of bun) and I would eat a reasonable amount.

Her response to me:  I would be concerned about you going there because you would be getting a bite of lettuce with your protein.

My Kaiser program is eat 3x a day, 4-6 hours apart,  no snacks, no protein supplements. Always eat protein first.

Oh jeeze, it's the holidays and she's worried about me eating a leaf of lettuce?  Am I wrong here?

I'm so grateful for OH because I feel like I get "real" support here instead of textbook spewing that doesn't help much in the real world.

So keep posting please because I need the education!

I am sorry, but she is a nut not a NUT.  I would totally eat the IN and Out burger in lettuce.  I would even get the Panda Express beef and broccoli.  and eat until full.  She would really hate that answer.  What does she expect you to do?  Life happens, yes we try to carry snacks and be prepared, but you have to make the best choice you can at the time.  Now if you said you would head right over to Cinnabun, well then.....  :)

this is weird. what is so horrible about eating a little lettuce unless you are too early out for it?  Gotta admit i sort of hate lettuce since i felt forced to eat in for years in failed dieting and now i don't feel i have room for the not very nutritious material and would rather eat some other veggie. but jeez, what a dopey answer. I get a fast food hamburger or grilled chicken when traveling or out and about and ditch the bun. use it sort of like a potholder for the meat part.   another good answer is to go get a couple of sticks of string cheese at a convenience store or grocery or a protein bar available at many places. wonder what this person would say about those options. D

She would say that protein bars are not part of my plan and would probably ban me from the meeting for saying it when pre-ops were in the room.

Thanks for the support you two!  I'm headed off to the San Leandro East Bay Bariatric OH support group this afternoon.  I need to find me some new places to show up.

It never ceases to amaze me, how different Kaiser facilities located less than 50 miles apart, can have such different philosophies. At Kaiser Fremont, we are allowed protein shakes, until we are able to get enough protein from our food. We were given sample menus of how to get the most protein from food,  handouts of protein sources that can be found at Trader Joe's, list of where to buy the recommended vitamins, and more. Protein first seems to be emphasized in most programs. I have found the dieticians with the Fremont program to be very flexible and willing to help. They really want people to succeed and answer all questions, without judgement or rigidity.

The focus is on 3 meals per day, with protein supplements to make up the shortfall in protein. The recommended amount of protein/day is 70-80 gr/day.

Snacking is not encouraged, because they do not want people eating unplanned snacks. If you have some protein leftover from a meal, you can eat it later, because it is a planned snack.

Your Nut's scenario, is why I always carry some protein based food with me. For example, I carry Babybel light swiss cheese with me or a protein bar, so I'm not faced with the choice of eating on the run. I do like sampling at Costco or Whole Foods.

I smiled at the In and Out Burger example. At Thanksgiving, people were getting take-out from In and Out Burger. I ate part of the protein burger, but only ate about 1/2-3/4 of the amall patty and maybe, one bite of the lettuce. The amount of lettuce was overwhelming and was the last thing that my sleeve needed at the time. A bite of lettuce was fine, anything more would have been too much for my sleeve. It didn't prevent me from getting my protein.

I like the support meetings at Fremont. It is a large group and a dietician is the facilitator. She does a good job and takes the lead from the group. First hour is pre-op, second hour is post-op. She offers reasonable suggestions and solutions.

STOP talking about I-N-O,  Lee!   It was my "drug of choice" before WLS!!  Doncha know?  It sucks cause they are all like 1/2 hour away from me....i'm too lazy to go there now! ( not worth it for a few bites)  But if I'm in close proximity to one.......My car automatically pulls in!

LOL Jim. If you drive home on 880 from our Concord Luncheon, you'll pass two along the way.  Maybe we need to plan something fun for the afternnon after our January Luncheon so that you won't pass by I-N-O until dinner time.  :)   I've only been 2x since surgery and also don't drive out of my way to get to one.  I'm way too lazy and always just come home for dinner.  Maybe one day we'll have an I-N-O outing.  They'd think we were all nuts, two people sharing one protein style burger.

I have a friend moving back from the East Coast in February.  She had her RNY with Dr. Jossart back in 2002.  Would she still be welcome at the support group meetings?  I don't know if there's an expiration on how long a person can attend. 

It is amazing how different the Kaiser programs are...down here at the SoCal Fontana facility we were encouraged to find protein shakes & bars for post op. I don't know how I would've gotten all my protein in, early out, otherwise.

Speaking of In and Out - I love, love, love getting a protein style burger!!! Sometimes when I'm not feeling like eating lettuce I'll order just a patty and ask for a side of tomatoes and pickles...and it's just $1!!! Talk about a cheap date :)