Dr. not big on Protein - SHOCK!! - ThinnerTimes

ScootRider · 02-22-2005, 03:07 PM

Hey,

I just wanted to share this with you to get other POV's. I went to an orientation session with the Group of Dr's that will be doing my surgery. I will point out I am confident these are very reputable Bariatric Surgeons. But it came as a shock to me when they started discussing postop nutrition. 2 weeks on Insure PLus and Water, then soft foods and by 3 months back to normal diet minus sugars. Of course, there will be the vitamins and B12 supplements.

But not a word was mentioned about protein supplements. This was a surprise to me given the enormous amount of posts here about just that very thing.

So I mentioned it and was told that they expect the protein to be derived from normal diet.

How about them apples?

Other than that I came away feeling rather positive about the situation.

They mentioned my insurer really put us through the ringer by requiring every single test...so that is gonna sucka little.

JohnsWife4Life · 02-22-2005, 03:53 PM

That is odd Skoot,

I don't think ensure or ensure plus has enough protein. You also need protein for normal wound healing, tissue granulation. I don't understand this at all. In the first months there is no way you can derive enough protein from your normal diet, and what do you do for protein until you can eat enough again?

Good Luck,

Traci

bridgetgirl · 02-22-2005, 08:37 PM

Well Dr Callery dosent push protein supplements either. They prefer that we get all of our nutrition through regualer eating as well Protein first, then vegetables, then complex carbohydrates, ie fruit. They want us to eat our nutrtion as well, not drink it. In the first few months, we drink it, but after that its business as usual. If you feel as thought you must supplement you may, bvut it is not a requirement here either.

Sounds like you are right about your surgeon's office Scoot, they do sound qualified! Relax, everything sounds okay

Almost to the other side... woo woo!

JohnsWife4Life · 02-22-2005, 08:48 PM

I know Dr. Callery wants us to eat our protein, and we can now, but if we cannot, then we have to supplement somewhere. However, I could never get those shakes down, and depended on my milk to do the job, but protein is necessary for normal wound healing, for our incision, and our insides as well.

HapBird · 02-22-2005, 08:57 PM

I think Dr. Callery's take on this is that while he prefers - and strongly recommends - we get our protein from our normal diet, with real food, and eat as little in the way of highly processed food as possible, he realizes we're "only" human, and there are going to be times when we don't get enough protein, or even enough to eat given the busy circumstances of our daily lives. So - he recognizes that we're likely to take the occasional protein drink or bar, but he doesn't want us to become dependent on them.

We ALL should aim towards eliminating or at least minimizing the amount of processed food we eat - fresh food is better tasting, more nutritious, and in the long run, better for us in lots of ways.

JohnsWife4Life · 02-23-2005, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JOHNS_WIFE_4_LIFE

I know Dr. Callery wants us to eat our protein, and we can now, but if we cannot, then we have to supplement somewhere. However, I could never get those shakes down, and depended on my milk to do the job, but protein is necessary for normal wound healing, for our incision, and our insides as well.

Although Dr. Callery finds that supplementing is important enough that at our frst post op appointment, an hour protein class is mandatory. Kelly showed us every kind of protein supplement there is.

Esouza · 02-23-2005, 05:57 AM

As far as eating "real food" I totally understand what Dr. Callery's point is. The problem with that is I didn't get to be 450 pounds because I knew how to handle real food or even know that proper real food was. I lived a lifetime of eating processed food and to me that was real food. I run across this quite a bit. A patients weight stalls on them and they ask me for advice. First thing I do is ask them to log their food for a week and send it to me. Most of it is processed foods. Totally understandable too. I mean you can only eat a small portion so instead of cooking you grab something pre-packages and in 2 minutes you have something. Read the label though and you'll get a real eye opener. That's one of the things I don't like about this surgery. You are left on your own to deal with mental and nutritional issues. They give you a list of suggested foods but lets face it, if we have ever been on a diet we have seen this list many times and have we been able to stick with them in the past? Even when I went to see a nutritionist after WLS it was basically the same deal.. eat fresh food and here's a list. I had to go to the FDA website and educate myself on labels. I was lucky enough to be a good cook so I could make a variety of things with little effort. It takes some management tho. You have to make time to do these things. You have to store leftovers, make lists, and so on. It's a little easier now because I've been doing it a while but at first I cleared out the cabinets of everything and started over. Besides canned tuna, salad dressing, and a few packages of frozen veggies everything is fresh. I know I keep harping on it but a person who has been obese since childhood may not have a concept of what real food is.

Take care

Ed