Yesterday I had my post surgery 2 week checkup. All is well. The nurse told me I should begin taking my bariatric vitamins the next day and then she said something that kind of shocked me. She said I no longer need to eat vegetables or fruit because this vitamin will give me everything that vegetables and fruit can give me. I find this horrifying because I love vegetables, and can't imagine never eating them again. Have others been told this?

Edited July 30, 20205 yr by joleza
Mis spelling

Well to be fair she is a nurse not a dietician or nutritionist...don't listen to her at all. Does your program have a dietician? That is who you should be listening to.

Vitamins are supplement, they are to meet the needs of what you can't get from food, there is no reason that you can't have veg and fruit once you are past the liquid stages...you may want to take it easy on some of the starchier ones for a while though.

I had my 2 week post-op and was told I can eat anything right now, just to make sure it's not raw. You're stomach will work harder to break it down. In time, of course.

I mean, the nurse is technically correct that the bariatric vitamins will be giving you everything that you can get in fruits and vegetables...but she's friggin' ridiculous if she thinks that means you don't need to eat fruits or vegetables. No dietician is going to tell you not to eat fruits and vegetables and the nurse shouldn't have either. You'll find them as part of your diet when the time comes.

I wonder if the nurse meant temporarily?

For the first few months you will find it challenging to eat many fruits & vegetables. Sometimes because of the taste or texture, sometimes because your tummy won’t be able to tolerate them. This will change & you’ll find you will be able to eat them much as you did before. In this interim period, you will most definitely get the nutrients & vitamins you’re not getting from fruit & vegetables from your multivitamins. Once you are eating more & a healthy, balanced diet the multivitamins aren’t as necessary.

Multivitamins should be seen only as a supplement if you’re not getting enough of those vitamins through a balanced diet or you have malabsorption issues. I stopped taking my vitamins about 7 months ago (they made me very nauseated) & my blood work shows all my levels are very good so I don’t need them but I do ensure I have fruit & vegetables every day.

However, we are all different & while I get my enough nutrients through food, you may not & will have to take vitamins to boost your levels.

she must have meant temporarily. I had to gradually reintroduce fruits and vegetables - for example, I know I wasn't supposed to eat fruit that had seeds or skins - or any raw vegetables - for several weeks because my stomach was still healing. Check with a dietitian.

Yeah, she had to have meant temporarily. When I discussed with my nurse having V8 or spicy hot V8 a week out, she said that was fine as long as my system tolerated it, but once I moved to the pureed stage, she would prefer I get my vegetables that way, so that they're unprocessed, retain fiber, etc.

Thanks guys I feel a lot better knowing this

When you are a year or two out, vegetables and fruit that's low on the glycemic index (most berries) are a great way to fill up if your appetite returns. Don't worry!

On 7/31/2020 at 12:43 AM, joleza said:

She said I no longer need to eat vegetables or fruit because this Vitamin will give me everything that vegetables and fruit can give me. I find this horrifying because I love vegetables, and can't imagine never eating them again. Have others been told this?

No, and it's best to just forget this ridiculous kind of "advice".

On 7/31/2020 at 1:00 AM, Pandemonium said:

I mean, the nurse is technically correct that the bariatric Vitamins will be giving you everything that you can get in fruits and vegetables...

This is absolutely not true considering that vegetables and fruits contain many phytonutrients pills don't provide.