Question:
How Long is meat the only option?

My friend had WLS about 6 weeks ago. Since coming home, all she has been able to eat per her doctor's orders is meat. (Beef, chicken, pork)...NOTHING else. For some reason this sounds completely wrong to me...I've been seriously considering WLS, but know if all I can put in my mouth until I loose 100 lbs is meat, I will never be successful. She explained that once she looses 100 lbs, she will be able to incorporate a few other things into her diet. Does this sound right?    — kydoll (posted on March 19, 2002)

March 19, 2002
Hi, that sounds weird to me. I have to get in meat, because of the protein, but am encouraged to get in fruits, vegs, breads, cheeses, everything normal just lowfat. Every doctor is different but that is weird. I am 5 months out and down 73lbs. I could not live on meat alone all that time. Good luck.
   — TONYA B.

March 19, 2002
every dr has his/her own way of doing things, but, this sounds strange to me. in all my researching & daily reading of AMOS i have never seen a patient whose dr specified only meat for the duration of the weight loss. in fact, i have never seen that done at all. maybe i missed something. r u sure her dr didnt tell her all protein? or high protein? i was told to eat balanced meals but get the protein in first, then carbs (veggies, fruit) & fats. our bodies still need some fat & carbs to survive & function properly.
   — sheryl titone

March 19, 2002
Doesn't sound right to me. I'm 5 1/2 weeks post-op. I eat everything (meat, fruit, veggies, complex carbs), except for refined sugars and simple carbs (like white bread, pretzels). Now, I'm a slow loser, but I'm still down 26 pounds and happy with it and feel great.
   — Kathy J.

March 19, 2002
I don't think anyone would suggest a meat only diet to lose 100 pounds. Perhaps her doctor told her to eat mostly protein, and she assumed meat was the only way to get this much protein??
   — Kristy J.

March 19, 2002
Doesnt sound right at all! The doctor is probably trying to make sure she gets in enough protein, but a BALANCED diet is the only healthy one. And althought I am still pre-op, I am a vegetarian so where would that leave me???? Protein drinks baby!
   — emilyfink

March 19, 2002
Every doctor has a different protocol for eating - and everything else. I am 3 1/2 months post-op and I eat everything but high fat foods and sugary things. I eat more protein than anything else (that includes jerky and peanut butter)but I also eat salad, veggies and fruit. I occasionally have low fat wheat thins with tuna salad - but I don't eat bread yet. This is working great for me - at 10 weeks I had lost 66 pounds, so I must be doing something right. My surgeon believes in a little bit of all healthy foods. I eat a lot of fish, very little chicken (it makes me sick), pork, beef, shrimp, Great Northern Beans, cottage cheese with chopped up onions, bell pepper and cucumber, to name just a few things. The first few weeks after I got off liquids, Wendy's Chili was my life saver. So - it really depends on your doctor. I was only on liquids for a week after leaving the hospital - a lot of people are on liquids for weeks. I started soft foods at day 12 - started with cream of wheat then baked potato, scrambled egg, salmon, cottage cheese and went from there.
   — Patty_Butler

March 19, 2002
This is one of the more bizarre postop diets that I've read. I think a balanced meal plan is so much healthier than an all-meat one. Your friend needs nutrients that she is probably not getting this way. Maybe like a previous poster said, she is equating protein with meat only. I think it would be a good idea to double check the surgeon's protocol. I never tell anyone to go against their surgeon's orders, but she may want to see a WLS saavy nutritionist.
   — Donna L.