Other sleeve forums..noticing the trend Frisco referred to growing larger

I personally understand that. I did not eat those things. My book did not say to limit those and focus on protein either. Many people look at those "options" and say they don't like shakes so they will just eat mashed potatoes because their book says they can, so it should be ok.  In this day and age it is the patients responsibility to take control of their medical care. They need to be aware of EVERYTHING. Anything from knowing what a procedure is, how it is done, what the possible risks/results/complications are, to knowing how to take care of themselves before and after a procedure. Doctors are to prescribe and heal; they are not supposed to hold our hands and baby us.

i made it to goal and yes my plan included soups and mashed potatoes...  the mushy stage was for one week two at the most .. sometimes a bit longer for those struggling..

 I do not believe that one or two teaspoons of mashed potatoes is going to cause you to fail... i was fighting to get in 300 calories at 3 weeks out i could only eat just  one or two teaspoons of food...once i went on to solid food i had no room for anything after protein..

at 4 yrs out i still only eat 3-4 ounces of food total in one meal.. yes i have had regain and re lost it.. but it was not from mashed potatoes... mine was cakes and pies that i never ate often prior to surgery and dunkin donuts coffee..so i went from being a person who used to eat things like chips and nuts to someone who suddenly craved sweet foods. from someone who couldnt stand coffee to someone who drank it.... its all a learning though and i think that is also a real important part of our surgery is learning what we can and cant do...

 

 

how did you gain from Dunkin donuts coffee??????

It was frozen coolatas... 800 calories a drink...  but my fault for not checking up and finding out what he had actually got me lol...

ahhh! gotcha I was beginning to think I would have to give up my beloved coffee! 

I think some people only hear what they want to hear when they are preop. A woman who had surgery two weeks after me (different doctor, but same preop evals and classes at the same facility. Hearing about how her weight loss has slowed and then what she is eating really made me see that we don't all "get" it. A couple of little tiny cookies with dinner at four weeks out? Baked potato soup? And more. These are not in our plan and they most certainly are listed in our "bible" as things we should avoid. I am seeing this over and over is support group and on here. It is super sad to have such drastic surgery and then not do everything you can to be successful.

Wow. I am not on the boards as much as I use to be so I was unaware of this but it explains some things. I am three years out. I still feel my restriction and still can get foamies if I eat too much or too fast. I have noticed more and more people posting having trouble early out losing weight and talking about pouch tests and such and have been wondering why.

While large sleeves are a concern, it would be scarier to have a new surgeon do overly tight ones (it seems new-to-the procedure- surgeons make large sleeves until they get more comfortable).  Neither is good IMHO.  It all comes down to doing your home work before you commit to a surgeon.  That is no-one's responsibility but the 'to-be-sleeved person' him/herself.

I see people post that they just picked the first surgeon they could afford, and go with the flow after that.  Scares the heck out of me.  There are MANY great surgeons, and there are MANY great post op diet plans.  I see some diet plans here pushed a lot, and that makes me uncomfortable too.  Again, I think it is up to the individual to do their own research, see what is the best for him/her and then follow through to the best of their ability.

 

I have a hard time believing that people who eat 100 carbs a day will not lose weight, assuming they have the calories at an appropriate weight loss level for their size.  IMHO it is very common for people to not fully be mindful of food choices, consume more calories than they either realize or care to admit, and then blame their failure on the plan or larger sleeve.  There are many here who do not make it to goal following the under 800 calories, under 40 carb plan due to not being able to sustain it long enough- but there are many who do.  Same goes for the more balanced approach.  The commonaility is that in either case the person making it to goal is keeping the calories in check and not bull****tig themselves or blaming, but rather getting down to buisness consistently.  

During my research and my time on the board as well as at my support group, I have seen many different and successful plans.  However, they all had one thing in common: lean protein first. 

I chose my surgeon because she was a specialist in bariatrics and the group has a well rounded program that included pre-decision lengthy orientation, pre surgery psych, presurgery support group requirements, pre surgery small group instruction, presurgery one on one with surgeon and with nut.  I received a binder with extensive info about surgery and the pre and post op diet progression.  It even listed other resources to get more information and included this site.  Even with all of that, during small group discussion at a recent support I heard this:  "I drink chocolate milk as a recovery drink after working out"...said by a woman 6 weeks out whose workout is a 5 block out 5 block back walk.  I also heared "I just wanted to see what would happen so I ate a chicken plank from Long John Silvers"  also, "I had some popcorn 3 weeks after surgery, I just made sure I chewed it a whole bunch"  Wow.  The ones that I hear most often there and here are "I wanted to see if I could eat ________"  fill in the blank.  There is a clear lack of understanding that the post op is not only what we "can't" eat because of the surgery it is often what we "shouldn't" eat.  I am positive that I could eat a piece of cake right now and it would go through fine...but I choose not to.  People clearly, even with the best information choose to ignore it.

BUT, I do think there are too many general surgeons that don't know the research and don't seem to understand the need for fully comprehensive programming doing this surgery.  and that is a shame.

Anne