One month check-in

Hello fellow brave RNYers. It's been a month since surgery and I am down 25lbs. I don't believe this is normal as for the past two weeks I have been on a very restricted diet... no dairy, no seafood, no whey, nothing from a box or can, no frozen vegetables or fruits. No Salt!!! Or anything that has salt in it. I've been living on steel cut oatmeal, egg whites, ground chicken, ground turkey, fruit, iceberg lettuce with balsamic (I'm addicted to), homemade hummus, cooked vegetables, fresh fruit. My protein tanked for 2 weeks. I can start eating normally tomorrow and I am fearing weight gain. What do you think? I will be on the solid foods phase and my protein intake needs to be min 80 grams. I won't have a problem doing that. It's the whole grains I am worried about. Ex. Whole grain crackers, Melba toast. I have made sweet potato chips (slice and bake @350 convection for an hour, sprinkle sea salt and turn at 1/2 hour). 3-4 of those and that's my "movie popcorn" fix when a couple months ago a large buttered popcorn would have been on my menu. What a difference!!!

Shout out to all September RNYers, I hope your journeys are healthy and happy!!!

25 lbs. that's great!!

Is it your doc's plan for all the grains and veggies??  I have to be protein first, if not full I could have a veg., then a starch. But right now I'm sticking to dense protein: meat, or soft protein: cheese, yogurt, eggs.

Can I ask why you were on that diet??

Those sweet potato chips sound good!!

Hi Pat and thank you for your comments. I was on a restricted diet in preparation for radio-active iodine treatment. I had my thyroid removed due to thyroid cancer and this treatment is to kill off remaining cancer cells. I needed to avoid iodine and salt for 2 weeks which happened to be the soft food stage. I will continue tomorrow with the soft food stage. I'm hoping for no weight gain and will definitely ramp up the protein starting tomorrow.

Sorry you've had to deal with this. You seem to have a good handle on everything!!

So many approaches for dietary intake for the same surgical procedure.

I did no grains, no rice, no potatoes, no cereal, no sugar, no potatoes, no fruit and no starchy vegetables until I was over two years out from surgery.  Just protein and non-starchy vegetables.  It was three months before I ate salad or solid meat.  Until then it was protein shakes, ricotta cheese bake, ground turkey chili and tuna.  I would fear weight gain now if I was eating whole grain crackers, melba toast or sweet potato chips.

Wow! That is impressive! I'm hoping to eat smart and incorporate good food prep habits, eating properly and small portions. There is a list of foods my clinic gives us, do's and don'ts and one of the do's is to incorporate whole grains into our diet. 

A lot of programs have whole grains on their list. It's crappy advice. Skip those worthless calories and maximize protein.

Great job!  That is tough, to be recovering from RNY and deal with a thyroid problem... and you had the great bonus of a 25 pound loss!

glad to hear you are doing well... I am five weeks and counting, six week check-up Tuesday.  Hang in there!

A lot of centers push whole grains...it's old school thinking IMO, leftover from the days when fat was the enemy and rice was considered healthy.  We need to concentrate on protein and keep grains, wheat, rice, pasta, and potatoes, even sweet potatoes, at arm's length-especially during the losing phase. 

Going forward, I'd definitely avoid grains, crackers, and those sweet potato chips. The danger is not only the potatoes themselves, but also the thinking of having to have food during a movie if it's not time for a meal. Unless we happen go to a movie during what would normally be dinner time, or lunch, or time for a small snack, we really don't need food during a movie. Hydration is a good alternative if you need your hands occupied during a movie. Suck down as much water as you can during a movie.