STILL CONFUSED ABOUT EATING PLAN!

Before surgery, I spent the last few years bouncing back and forth from diets -- Atkins, South Beach, Weigh****chers, etc. I felt totally confused about which way to go, and lost weight successfully (albeit temporarily) on each diet. I found that I would lose weight faster on the low-carb diets, but I FELT better on the more nutrionally balanced diets, like WW. On the low-carb diets, my cravings seemed to disappear. On WW, I was constantly famished and feeling deprived. I think the back-and-forth dieting has really destroyed my metabolism and that is probably the biggest reason I am not losing weight. Anyway, here I am, post-surgery and in the 5th Stage. I can eat regular foods now. Here's the thing -- I'm still confused! I am currently eating nothing but protein -- no fruits, veggies, no starches (other than what is in my beans). My surgeon recommends following the South Beach diet to the extent my pouch will tolerate those foods. My dietician (an old school person who prays to the food pyramid) recommends a WW approach. I don't know what to do! I think it's healthier to be eating fruits and veggies but I don't know if my new tummy will tolerate them. I tried spinach once (with a bit of meatloaf) and had a bad episode. Had the meatloaf the next day without a problem, so I think the spinach may have been the culprit. Here's my question: those of you that are at least 4 weeks post op, how are you eating? Are you eating any breads, pastas, cereals, crackers, etc? For instance, I would love to have a small scrambled egg with 1/2 piece of WW toast, or 1/2 an english muffin for breakfast but I am terrified of the starch and carbs! Would love to try a peeled apple! What about salad??? Is anyone eating salad yet?? Thanks for your help. Maureen

I have had well toasted bread since day one at home and lightly buttered. I also can have crackers. I can have cooked veggies, but no raw veggies for 2 months (too hard to digest), I have had some fruit in small amounts with cottage cheese (no raw fruit, just canned) I have had potato and rice and a little pasta (the noodles don't do well for me). I have even had a half of a grilled cheese. The best advice to follow is your surgeons. It is his protocol that you should be following. Each surgeon is different. Hope that helps. Whitney

Maureen, I can only speak for me, but I'm trying to get in as few carbs as possible. I've cut WAY back on beans because although they are a decent source of protein, they are also high in carbs. No bread, no pasta. I've been told to lay off of raw vegetables until after the 4th month because they are just too hard on the pouch. Cooked vegetables are OK, but I make sure that I have my protein in first. Fruit goes in OK, but I'm mostly sticking to a few bites of melon after I've eaten my meal. Again, high in carbs so I don't do this often. The best sources of protein that I've found have been fish and deli turkey. I'd say to stick with your doctor's plan as opposed to the dietician's. What your doctor says seems to follow what most say about a wls diet. Good Luck. I know this is frustrating. Connie

Hi Reenie- I am about 5wks post-op and i just saw the dr and nutrionist yesterday. I had a ton of questions about what i could eat. The nutrionist works right in the dr's office and they all work together so that the patients are the most successful at there wls. She said I could start eating strawberries, oranges(the skin may be a little rough), melons, bananas and apples w/out the skin. I was advised at 2wks that i could eat crackers, and now i can eat bread also. I usually eat my protein first though like shrimp or chicken, (I havent been able to handle fish) and eat that w/some green beans or broccilli. For breakfast I usually eat oatmeal, but she said I could start eating cherrios. I have been staying away from the rice and pasta also, but did buy some whole wheat spaghetti(not sure if i will like that). I also eat lunch meats, cheese, pretzals, egg salad. I have also tried some salad and cucumbers and they went down well. I hope this helps. Kristina

I eat everything -but not very much meat, mostly shrimp and fish. I eat salad veggies fruits and even nuts. It all goes down fine. I even had some mac and cheese the other day. Of course the portions are small. I think you have to listen to your body. The other night after a meal of loin pork, green beans and 1/3 sweet potato I was so hungry. I tried a sf fudgesicle but was still hungry. So I had 1/4 avacado and that satisfied me. I think I needed the fat in my diet. I think that different people can tolerate different foods on different days. So try different foods and see what works. My dh was on South Beach and we tried that for a couple of weeks - but he can gain weight on it so we switched to a more balanced diet. Maybe you're taking in too many calories. Try weighing and measuring your foods for a couple of days and enter them in the nutrition calculator on fitday.com Good luck. Louise