Since I was sleeved on June 29th, I am still a "newborn" I guess. Here is my rant ( take this as aggravated humor please):

After reading a load of threads on here. Post OP diets on here are about as consistent as Congress. It seems some start "soft pureed" foods sooner than others and some don't. It obviously differs from doctor to doctor, the phase the moon is in and maybe where the NUT and Surgeon feel they want to really stretch someone out. It's crazy! WE ALL HAVE HAD THE SAME SURGERY. We have our stomachs "trimmed up" with staples in them .

I started my official diet journey 32 days before my surgery date. I was 409. I did the phase 1 pre op diet for a week and a half and the rest did the liquid diet (jumped on it half a week early to be safe) up until surgery. I lost 45 pounds doing that and some short walk around the block. I did it out of fear that if I didn't, I would be sliced open and then stamped " REJECTED" and/or complications might arise. Did it for fear of my life basically! Could I have introduced foods back in and not done the surgery and hit my goal weight? Probably not due to the fact that I emotionally ate at times due to stress, issues and just addiction to the "CARB" load.

Anyways, my point is....I have probably paid for some executives car payment that is over the Protein drink companies I buy from. My local grocery store is about to ban me from Crystal Light and broth. My body wants REAL nutrition and not a freaking synthetic load of ________.

I do realize I will still have to supplement one a day, but I want some real protein and food with real Vitamins. I don't even crave junk, sugar or lard. I crave fruits, veggies, lean Proteins, etc. Which is not weird for me because I actually use to eat somewhat clean until I felt I had to have a "fix", then go eat a dozen tacos and wash it down with a Mountain Dew ( and that was a light fix). I chose surgery due to my health (blood pressure pills and hiatal hernia) and a TOOL to remind me if I want a fix...it's going to hurt..bad..which will make me say "Nope"!

Ughh...the variances in these "stages". It's like a bunch of chimpanzees ( nutritionist teamed with docs) having a go at operating traffic lights in rush hour traffic. Sporadic and not making much sense.

I said my peace to the world (forum of WLS people..lol)..

Have a great day!

Great post!! I actually stepped away from here for a few weeks because of the wildly differing phases and allowable foods. That and the fact that I didn't lose 30 pounds in two weeks like everyone else (it took me 5.) But I came back this morning to get some recipes, and am sort of reconnecting. Although I'm not going to make myself crazy with the comparisons. That's what got me in all kinds of trouble in the past. Thinking I'm not as thin, pretty or successful as everyone else sent me right to the refrigerator!

That being said, I decided to just follow my own bariatric team's recommendations. I follow their Facebook page, and use the nutrition booklet I got from my NUT. But even my team don't always agree, and then I have to do what works or makes sense to me. Like my surgeon says protein shakes can count as a liquid but my NUT says no. I agree with her so I only count waters. It's empowering to think for myself sometimes!! But being bombarded with SO much conflicting information can make you crazy!!

There's an assumption often made that IMHO is not supportable: That every bariatric surgeon operates the same way using identical techniques of cutting, staple placement, sewing, over-sewing, etc.

Also, everyone doesn't have the same size / shaped original stomachs to start with. Just as with other body parts, our stomachs aren't all the same length and shape to start with. Nor are our other body parts the same size that are involved, e.g., hiatal valves, duodenal valves, esophagus lengths, liver sizes and health variances, etc.

So given the variances in patients' bodies and surgeons' operating techniques, we don't all necessarily get exactly the same results. Therefore, there's the possibility that not all of us are going to get (or need) the same post-op eating guidelines.

This is why I think everyone should just do what their surgeons tell them to do during the first few weeks after surgery. After all, a few weeks is a relatively short time to be extra-compliant.

P.S. I've definitely seen Surgeon X order different pre-op diets and diet lengths for different patients, depending on their starting weights and liver sizes.