Hey guys,

Yesterday I got a chance to talk to my nc from Kaiser. She said:

1- NO Protein SHAKES- Protein powder is expensive and cause weight gain. People add this and that to protien shakes and gain weight. Get your protein from your meat!

2- That hunger pain that you are feeling is because of lack of fluids. Drink more. It will go away. Warm fluids are better for the new pouch. Try that. Do NOT drink Ensure and or Boost, nothing but weight gainers.

3- NO oatmeal it is a sweller. It will make your stomach bigger and you will eat more and gain weight.

4- The reason why you are not losing weight right now is because your body is saying- "What the hell is going on?" Trust me, it will start kicking in. Just hang in there.

5- She asked, "Do you feel pain when you are eating?" I said, "Yes." She asks, "So what do you do?" I said, "I stop eating." She said, "Good, that's what you suppose to do." She also said, that some people just keep eating pass the pain and gain weight. (how..)

6- I said, "I don't feel that I am not getting enough calories." She said, "That's the idea. Even though you might be getting 300 calories, your body will kick in. Maybe not right away, but trust me--you will loose weight."

7- "Are you exercising?" "Yes, I am." "What are you doing." "I walk." "GOOD!"

8- "You feel weak and tired?" "Yes I do." She said, " that is because your body is trying to figure out where to get the energy from. Your body will realize that it will have to take it from the fat. So don't worry, this will go away."

---What do you guys think about that?

Pam

Other than the protein shakes sounds about right. Yes, if you are eating 1000 calories and a protein shake it might be too much, but they really saved me.

I agree with the warm fluids. I've never heard of Protein drinks causing weight gain and even by adding stuff like fruit may increase carbs, but seriously I've never heard of anyone gaining weight on straight Protein shakes. It is true your body is shock, but on a mere 300 calories a day, any humans body would be in shock and hang onto every little pound, nutrient, calorie that you're taking in.

Eating with pain is not supposed to happen unless we overeat. I measured my portions and stopped before I ever had any pain. 300 calories is ridiculous, sorry I'm not trying to insult your medical team, but that's absurd.

Oatmeal does swell up at least that is my experience, but it isn't like you can stretch out your stomach by having 1/4 cup of runny oatmeal or cream of wheat.

I've never heard that our bodies will get energy from fat stores. We burn fat by building muscle, and calorie deficiency, but I know when I was on full liquids only (300-500 calories a day), I was beyond weak and needed to nap often. I wasn't walking much at all because I was restricted on activity, and if I walked more, I would have needed more calories. Your body needs fuel, good fats, calories, fluids and nutrients.

I think guidelines are just that guidelines, and nothing should be set in stone once a patient is out of the danger zone of leaks and complications immediately post-op. Every person is different, every body works differently, and what works for 100 of their other patients might not work for 10 others.