Surgeon's Rules

Dec 12, 2010

I learned quite a lot during my pre-op session with my surgeon.  He has 4 rules for eating post-op once you've completely healed from surgery.  He said if you have any issues with poor loss or weight gain, he guarantees you are not following one of the 4 rules.  These begin after you are back on solid foods after surgery.

1. Eat 3 meals a day until full. (So no snacking. And no eating just to "satisfaction." He stressed, BE FULL.)
2. Eat solid food. (Avoid slider foods like yogurt, jello, cottage cheese, cream of wheat, etc)
3. No drinks with meals, and no drinking within one hour of a meal.
4. No liquid calories. (No soups, protein shakes, milk, juice, etc)

The rules are based on the fact that your pouch needs to reach a certain point of distention and stay distended about 45 minutes in order to signal your brain to turn off the urge to eat.  Liquids don't stay in the pouch long enough to send the signal.  You need to FILL the pouch with SOLID protein, veggies, etc.  By filling the pouch completely with solid food, you lose the urge to eat and get in all of the protein you need. This makes a lot of sense to me. He also cautioned us not to put too much trust in what we read on  the Internet.  Every RNY surgeon does a slightly different surgery, so each person should follow his or her own surgeon's advice.

He seems to be a very precise individual, intelligent and articulate.  A neat, rather small man, kind of dapper.  Young.  There's a sparkle of humor once in a while, as well, which I like.  He was very honest about risks and benefits of surgery, and his own statistics.  I'm pretty happy with my choice.  The staff is wonderful, too, which is a big plus.  The staff can be a barrier if they aren't well organized and helpful.

Going to weigh-in again on Friday.  Last time I was up 2 pounds and they weren't well pleased.  I need to start exercising and limiting portions more, I know.

I almost forgot to mention a big milestone! On December 4, my weight history was complete.  It took me 14 months, but I can now document my BMI being 35 or greater for 24 months as Aetna requires.  When I weigh in this Friday, I'll remind them to submit to insurance.  I was denied 14 months ago (Oct 09) due to not having my weight documentation.

I am 38 days from surgery (6 1/2 weeks).

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