Question:
Should I diet??

I am about 8 weeks P.O. I am down 31 pounds. I am eating around 1000-1200 cals a day. I drink about 40 oz. of OJ aday. It is about the only liquid I like. NO dumping. I also seem to snack alot during the day. crackers with PB. toast with butter. I get about 20-30 protein in a day and am just wondering do I need to Diet(like Atkins) or will the Open RNY be enough? Do i need to be concerned with the carbs? I eat about 200 G a day.Also I could really use an angel as I have no group nearby and hav lots of questions and just need some guidance. Love to you All Lynne — Lynne K. (posted on September 5, 2002)

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September 5, 2002
Are you seeing a dietitian? None of the dietitians I have seen would endorse this type of eating. You need to be eating mostly protein and then fruits and veggies, then all of your carbs etc. Giving up juice is one of the first things they tell you when you lose weight because it's all sugar!!!!! Eat meat, PB, eggs, anything with protein.. protein shakes etc. Try sugar-free kool-aid, crystal light or other sugar free drinks if you can't do water and see a dietitian
— Allie A.

September 5, 2002
I agree with the previous poster. Cut down (or out) the OJ. If you must have it, then dilute it 50% with water. But the only fluids that we should be drinking in that quantity are non-caloric. I just went out to Fitday and calculated the caloric content of 40 oz of OJ - it is 565 calories. This provides 135g of carbs and *only* 8g of protein. Is this 565 calories and 135g of carbs being included in the totals that you quote that you are eating. You need to up that protein dramatically. And cut down on the carbs - dramatically. Carbohydrates provide your body with its basic fuel. Your body thinks about carbohydrates like a car engine thinks about gasoline. The simplest carbohydrate is glucose. Glucose, also called "blood sugar" and "dextrose," flows in the bloodstream so that it is available to every cell in your body. Your cells absorb glucose and convert it into energy to drive the cell. Glucose is a simple sugar, meaning that to our tongues it tastes sweet. There are other simple sugars that you have probably heard of - fructose, sucrose, lactose, galactose & maltose. There are also complex carbohydrates, commonly known as "starches." A complex carbohydrate is made up of chains of glucose molecules. Starches are the way plants store energy -- plants produce glucose and chain the glucose molecules together to form starch. Most grains (wheat, corn, oats, rice) and things like potatoes and plantains are high in starch. Your digestive system breaks a complex carbohydrate (starch) back down into its component glucose molecules so that the glucose can enter your bloodstream. It takes a lot longer to break down a starch, however. If you drink a can of soda full of sugar, glucose will enter the bloodstream at a rate of something like 30 calories per minute. A complex carbohydrate is digested more slowly, so glucose enters the bloodstream at a rate of only 2 calories per minute. A protein is any chain of amino acids. An amino acid is a small molecule that acts as the building block of any cell. Carbohydrates provide cells with energy, while amino acids provide cells with the building material they need to grow and maintain their structure. Your body is about 20-percent protein by weight. It is about 60-percent water. Most of the rest of your body is composed of minerals (for example, calcium in your bones). The human body is constructed of 20 different amino acids (there are perhaps 100 different amino acids available in nature). As far as your body is concerned, there are two different types of amino acids: essential and non-essential. Non-essential amino acids are amino acids that your body can create out of other chemicals found in your body. Essential amino acids cannot be created, and therefore the only way to get them is through food. Here are the different amino acids: Non-essential: Alanine, Arginine, Asparagine, Aspartic Acid, Cysteine, Glutamic Acid, Glutamine, Glycine, Proline, Serine & Tryosine; Essential: Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Valine Protein in our diets comes from both animal and vegetable sources. Most animal sources (meat, milk, eggs) provide what's called "complete protein," meaning that they contain all of the essential amino acids. Vegetable sources usually are low on or missing certain essential amino acids. For example, rice is low in isoleucine and lysine. However, different vegetable sources are deficient in different amino acids, and by combining different foods you can get all of the essential amino acids throughout the course of the day. Some vegetable sources contain quite a bit of protein -- things like nuts, beans, soybeans, etc. are all high in protein. By combining them you can get complete coverage of all essential amino acids. The digestive system breaks all proteins down into their amino acids so that they can enter the bloodstream. Cells then use the amino acids as building blocks. From this discussion you can see that your body cannot survive strictly on carbohydrates. You must have protein. The RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for protein is 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight. So a 150-pound person needs 54 grams of protein per day. We all know about the common fats that different foods contain. Meat contains animal fat. Most breads and pastries contain vegetable oils, shortening or lard. Deep fried foods are cooked in heated oils. Fats are greasy and slick. You commonly hear about two kinds of fats: saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fats are normally solid at room temperature, while unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature. However, most fats contain a mixture. For example, above you see the label from a bottle of olive oil. Fats that you eat enter the digestive system and meet with an enzyme called lipase. Lipase breaks the fat into its parts: glycerol and fatty acids. These components are then reassembled into triglycerides for transport in the bloodstream. Muscle cells and fat (adipose) cells absorb the triglycerides either to store them or to burn them as fuel. You need to eat fat for several reasons: 1) certain vitamins are fat soluble. The only way to get these vitamins is to eat fat. 2) there are essential fatty acids (for example, linoleic acid is used to build cell membranes). You must obtain these fatty acids from food you eat because your body has no way to make them, 3) fat turns out to be a good source of energy. Fat contains twice as many calories per gram as do carbohydrates or proteins. Your body can burn fat as fuel when necessary. I hope that this helps a little bit in understanding the function of each part of your diet in the absence of a dietician or nutritionist. I would recommend highly that you get a referral to a dietician to help you design a post-op diet.
— John Rushton

September 5, 2002
That is well over 100g of sugar, or about 4 Snickers bars. You didn't say how much water you're drinking? Anywhere close to 64 oz? PB & crackers isn't too bad, as long as you're not just munching all day, but organizing it into meals. Looks like you just need some structure and guidelines & you'll do it!
— vitalady

September 5, 2002
You have to cut back on the OJ for sure! I have a drink or so occasionally, but only 4 ounces at most a week. It tastes delicious and I love it, but it is full of sugar and calories. You gotta drink water in some form. I don't feel like I am dieting, but I do try to stay close to the Atkins diet myself. I eat mostly protein and the carbs that I do get are from healthy sources like vegetables,nuts,etc. I try to avoid bread, but will have crackers occasionally with some tuna on it or cheese. I would try to keep my carbs under 40g. I am not an expert though...so, just some new postie advice. :) Good luck. (open RNY 7/23/02 -42lbs)
— Shawnie S.

September 5, 2002
My nutrionist recommends only drinking 1/2 - 1 cup of fruit juice per week. Also I only eat between 30 and 5- grams of carbs per day. I try to stay around 30 or below but there are a few days that I eat a few more. I was also told by the nutritionist that we must eat 45-60 grams of protein per day. Another poster said that it sounded like you just needed to re-structure, I agree. That won't be hard. I use fitday.com to track my nutrition values and love it. I use it every day. It allows you to put in the food you ate and then it figures out your protein, carbs and calories for the day. If I have all my protein in for the day and I am still farily low in calories I allow myself a lite ice cream bar. Keep up the good work and congrats on the weight loss. (Lap RNY 7-22-02 down 45 pounds)
— tulagirl

September 5, 2002
You DEFINITELY are eating too many carbs. I am 17 months post-op and still eat 100 grams/day or less. 200 grams/day at your stage is WAY too much.
— Terissa R.

September 5, 2002
I agree with th other posters, but have one little thing to add...I'm 16 months post-op and have lost 135 lbs. I still only eat around 800 calories a day and it's mostly protein. Stay away from fruit juice and use a Brita Pitcher to filter your water...it tastes better that way. Get as much exercise as possible and avoid sugary, starchy carbs. This tool is not going to work if you fake it out by eating all that sugar and that many calories.
— Teri D.

September 6, 2002
You mean your doctor's office didn't give you any guidelines to follow??? That is very scarry. From reading this site most surgeons require a nutritionist or at least provide you some eating guidelines. Didn't you get any?
— Kristen I.

September 6, 2002
The carbs will kill you! They make me extremely hungery... plus why are you consuming 1,000-1,200 calaries a day at 8 weeks post op? That seems like it is way out of wack for that soon post op! Perhaps I'm wrong... but I thought you should be at least 6 months out, and probally closer to a year out before you consume that many. Something sounds wrong. Also, I drank OJ at the beginning, but I watered mine down so it was very week. (Cuts the sugar that way too). You should ask your surgeon how many calores you are to be consumming. The amount your eating now does'nt sound right. Shoot, if you eat that many calories now, what will you be consuming at a year out! Sounds like you are sabataging your surgery right off the bat.
— Danmark

September 6, 2002
My Dr told me to eat that much. It is all mostly from the OJ. So are all the carbs. I hardly eat except the munchies. I am a carbaholic and this is difficult. My surgeon did say to cut the cals and leave the oj. Force myself to drink if I have to.I have a very demanding job and it is easier to eat on the run and it is hard to get easy to eat protein as I am not allowed fresh fruits of veggies and no beef and only certain types of Pork.I can eat can fruits and veggies but driving down the road eating them is hard.I do not get regular lunch breaks so I am usually running at time to eat.Any Ideas?? Thanks for all the replies, I am today changing my way of eating.Wish me luck. Is propel water ok?
— Lynne K.

September 6, 2002
Lynne, what I have been eating a lot of is the imitation crabmeat (it is usually fish - sometimes actual crab is mixed in - that is processed along with some fillers and then designed to look like Alaskan king crab leg meat). 3 oz of this will give you 10g of Protein, 9g of carbs, only 1g of fat and 87 calories. I may do 2-3 meals today of the imitation crabmeat. It is good for on-the-go eating too - just put a few pieces in a Ziploc bag and stick it in with a cold pack in an insulated bag. If you are also out and about, you can stop at Wendy's and get a small chili. I can get 2-3 meals out of this - 3 oz is 6g of Protein, 8g of carbs, 2g of fat and only 75 calories. You can also eat stuff like string cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese (if you like the taste - some people don't), nuts (if you can tolerate them). Some people here swear by beef jerky. I am sure that others will come up with on-the-go protein choices for you. I've never had the Propel, but I believe that it's low-calorie enough for you. You can still have a small (4 oz) glass of OJ every now and then (I liked my OJ pre-op, haven't had any post-op) - just don't overdo it *G*. Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions or just need someone to talk to about dietary choices.
— John Rushton

September 6, 2002
Lynne, I would be very careful about drinking that much OJ every day. My nutritionist told me that only 8 oz per day should come from calorie filled liquids like juice and gatorade. All of your other liquids should be calorie free. Also you should really be getting in more protein and less carbs. Please feel free to e-mail me and we can chat some more. I have had great luck getting in the protein (60-70g per day) but still can't get in 64oz of liquid every day. The RNY isn't enough to get you to goal. You need to put every bit of effort into it as well. I had my open RNY on 8/5/02 and have lost 30lbs so far. My e-mail is [email protected] I'll be happy to talk anytime! Good Luck!!
— Jean T.

September 6, 2002
hey Lynne--you may wanna lower your carbs to 100gr a day and that's an awful lot of OJ you're getting every day. I think if you talk it over with your nutritionist they'll advise to lessen both of what I've mentioned. You need to try your best to get in 60-75gr of protein, as well as 64 oz of water first and foremost. Make sure you are taking your vitamins daily and a sublingual b12 once a week. Also take a source of calcium (tums, etc) every day but do NOT take it when you take your vitamins cos calcium and iron will wash each other out. I usually drink crystal light which can be counted towards the water intake and regular water and then for food I eat meat such as steak, hamburger, chicken, turkey, eggs (not too many), seafood, beans. I read labels carefully going for high protein and low carb, low sugar. I eat little meals throughout the day as I cannot eat but a few bites each time. I cannot do the protein shakes as they dont sit well with me but I did buy the sample pack of sugar free sportcookies from www.protocookie.com they are a bit pricey--BUT very very good (I've tried a lot of protein bars--YUCK!) and they have 15gr of protein. I hope this info helps. If you have any questions please feel free to email me. Good Luck & God Bless. bambi--Dr.McCarty--Lap 6/4/02
— Bambi C.

September 6, 2002
With all respect to the previous post, Bambi, do *not* take Tums as your source of calcium!!!! Tums contain calcium CARBONATE - which post-ops cannot metabolize properly because stomach acid is needed for the chemical reaction with the calcium carbonate (Tums are an antacid, duh...) What you need is calcium CITRATE.
— John Rushton

December 25, 2002
NO!!!! Diets are how I got overweight to begin with! Just follow your dietician's advise on what to eat. Ask you MD what types of vitamins to take, etc! No one on line is a MD that can give you these answers with authority. I am an RN, I am not going to tell anyone to do anything that their MD doesn't agree with. And, if you feel your MD is giving you poor advise...go for a second opinion. Happy New (BODY) Year! You are in my prayers. Blessings, Karen
— Karen J.

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