It's so frustrating not really knowing what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat. 3 meals and 3 meals only? Eat something every 2-3 hours? 3 meals & 2 Snacks? Fruit is OK. Fruit is not OK. salad is OK. Salad (as in lettace) doesn't have any nutritional value it's not OK. Drink Protein drinks. No, don't drink Protein Drinks. Eat your protein. Protein Bars are good. No they aren't. Yes, they are. HUH???

60-80 grams protein. 80+ grams protein. Only 20 carbs. Up to 90 carbs - if they are "good" carbs. 600 calories/day - 1000 calories/day (within the first few months of surgery).

We get one set of guidelines from our surgeon and think "OK, sounds good. I'll do this." Then you read 100 other opinions on here.

I KNOW it all boils down to some common sense, etc. but gosh, it sure would make life easier if all the surgeon's could agree on Protein, Carbs, Fluids, etc. for each week post surgery up to say 12 months post. I'll volunteer to host their meeting if they'll promise to come to a concensus!

And I'm still not sure I understand why the big push for 60+ ounces of fluids daily. OK, I get the dehydration angle, but I didn't drink 60 oz/day pre-surgery and wasn't dehydraed, what makes post-surgery so different?

I need the EASY button!

Every surgeon has their own plan. Follow their plan. Follow their plan. Follow their plan. Follow their plan. Follow your surgeons plan!!!!!!!!!

My surgeon repetedly told me to stay away from the forums and just follow his instructions. His experience was that forums tend to make people feel comfortable doing what they want and go outside of the rules- lending to undesired consequences and non-optimal results.

I did get on the forums (with a promise to myself that no matter what i read- I would trust my doc and follow his instructions to the letter) but I did what he told me and had absolutely no confusion about my diet, expectations or goals and am 35lbs away from being a success story.

It's OK to get support from these forume- but get all health and nutrition info from your doctor and their support staff!!!! Follow their plan!!!

Just a thought about the dehydration question; all foods have a water component to them. So when you are eating alot of food you are also getting in water.

Every surgeon has their own plan. Follow their plan. Follow their plan. Follow their plan. Follow their plan. Follow your surgeons plan!!!!!!!!!

My surgeon repetedly told me to stay away from the forums and just follow his instructions. His experience was that forums tend to make people feel comfortable doing what they want and go outside of the rules- lending to undesired consequences and non-optimal results.

I did get on the forums (with a promise to myself that no matter what i read- I would trust my doc and follow his instructions to the letter) but I did what he told me and had absolutely no confusion about my diet, expectations or goals and am 35lbs away from being a success story.

It's OK to get support from these forume- but get all health and nutrition info from your doctor and their support staff!!!! Follow their plan!!!

I understand your points, but there are times when my surgeon's "plan" just doesn't make any sense. I'm almost 6 week post-op. I went in yesterday and the PA told me up to 90 carbs/day is OK. Well common sense tells me that seems like way too many carbs. Even if they are "good carbs." So then you start 2nd guessing. And so I called the surgeon's office today and asked for verification. I heard the conversation in the background - and I heard 3 different answers!!! That's just crazy........

It's okay to try different programs once your cleared for regular foods.

Try different diets and see which gives you the best weight loss

It seems we all have different metabolisms too so what works for some doesn't for others.

It's a wonky world trying to decide...go with what works

Well, frankly, if you are only 6 weeks post op it's doubtful you can even eat 90 grams of good carbs a day, because that's a huge volume of asparagus or brocolli.

Amazon13 is dead on about the Water component you normally would have gotten from food. Now you're not getting it.

But the big answer is twofold. First, we are all different. What you need is totally different from what I need. We both had the same surgery, that's where the similarities end. We are completely different people with different goals and needs.

Secondly, there is more than one way to skin a cat, and every doctor thinks their way is the best way. Remember, these are people who are trained to be thinkers, not followers of instructions. They are also trained to be supremely confident in themselves, they have to be (although they can be too confident). They do their own research, and they draw their own conclusions from the literature. They don't just follow a manual....usually. And they all want to stand out, they want to be "leaders in the field." So they come up with their own plan and tweak it as time goes by depending on what works and what doesn't. The end result is the advice your surgeon gave you.

Regarding the Fluid intake post-op, the post-op diet is generally high Protein with low or limited carbs. Like the Atkins diet, when followed strictly our post-op diets are designed to put us into ketosis or ketoacidosis. This causes your body to metabolize food differently and can dump a lot of stuff for your kidneys to filter. There are big words for all of this, but this is the general idea. In order to keep your kidneys from getting overworked, clogged up or stopping altogether, you have to provide plenty of liquid to flush them out. Therefore, if you do nothing else properly, you must maintain you fluid intake.

So there you go...K