screwed up?

I had RNY 11-13-12.
My starting weight was 299.8 I weighed myself the other day and the scale said 269 which made me smile a little, but I really thought I should have lost more by now.
Thanks to insurance changes I have not been able to see a nutritionist since my surgery and am going to my new primary care doctor tomorrow for a referral to get set up with a nutritionist. I am hoping I have not screwed up my new little pouch by not eating right.
I have not gotten to many answers from my surgeons office since all they keep saying when I call them is to follow the book (which is not very informative except it says to eat fish, chicken etc.)
Am I supposed to be eating a certain amount of calories a day? I eat mainly protein foods, and still have to drink protein shakes to make sure I am getting it all in.
I have made a few bad choices and eaten some mashed potatoes, and noodles though. I am just afraid that I am sabotaging my weight loss.
I am not sure how much I should be eating in a sitting, but I can eat a whole scrambled egg with a little cheese, or I even bought some of those sandwich thins and made a turkey and cheese sandwich I was able to eat almost the whole thing. Is this too much to eat?

You can relax a not.  I is very difficult to "screw up" your pouch, especially since you are only 2 months out.  It is made of the least stretchy part of he stomach.  The stoma can be stretched more easily, but even that is somewhat rare.  You are wise to seek out a nutritionist as long as it is someone who is really familiar with post-op RNY needs.  MANY are not (even if they work with a RNY surgeon's patients), so don't assume that just any nutritionist will be ale to give you good guidance.  

Why not just contact your surgeon, though, to ask him/her to clarify what and how much you should be eating?  Every surgeon has a different plan for post-op eating., so any answers you get here will based on what other people's surgeons did (and you will get lots of different answers).  I was eating soft foods on Day Three post-op, for example, but was not eating any noodles, potatoes, or bread of any kind until 6 months out.  I was able to eat a scrambled egg (or at least most of it) at 2 or 3 months out, but I don't have any idea what kind of volume of food you are talking about with your sandwich thins (how big are the sandwich thins, how much turkey, how much cheese?)  I did not eat sandwiches of any kind until close to a year out. I did not want the carbs and did not want to waste the pouch space on something with so little nutritional value. (Others, of course, may disagree.)  I just made meat and cheese rollups.  At over 5 years out, I still limit sandwiches to one piece of whole grain bread cut in half, and I don't ever finish all of that amount of bread... I end up eating half of the bread or so and then just eating the rest of the meat and cheese out of it and throwing the rest of the bread away or letting the dog have it.  It is just my opinion, but I think bread (or sandwich thins) at two months out isn't a very good choice.

Lora

Hi Lora,

I appreciate your response. I think I am going to have to insist on seeing my surgeon and getting some straight answers. As I mentioned in my original post, the surgeon's office just keeps telling me to follow the book which is not that helpful to be honest.
I am going to stay completely away from any breads, pasta, potatoes until my surgeon says they are acceptable. I have only had the sandwich thins twice which consisted of 100 calorie bun, one slice of turkey lunch meat, and one slice of cheese, nothing else. I should of known better to think this may be a good choice at this point it still has carbs.
I appreciate your advice, and will definitely try to find a nutritionist that deals with gastric bypass.

Think of the sandwich this way: how many more slices of turkey (and cheese) could you have eaten (how much more PROTEIN could you are eaten) for the amount of pouch space used up by the bread?  (Lots.)  it is all part of the new way of thinking about food and making healthy food choices.  You will get there.  In the meantime, think "no white food except dairy products and cauliflower".  :)

Lora

I. Had surgery the same date as you and have lost 30 lbs as well.  I have had a stall for more than a week and have no idea why.  I think asking your doc how many calories a day you should have and integrating that into your protein needs would be helpful now.  I have been mentally tracking mine and can't believe the scale hasn't moved in over a week.  Good luck to you!

Hi Apurdie,

What is your typical daily food intake? I am curious what others who had the surgery around the same time as me are eating and how much so I can get a better idea of what I should be doing until I can see the nutritionist.

Average weight loss after surgery is 100 pounds in one year

Month 1 – 20 pounds

Month 2-6 – 10 pounds

Month 7-12 – 5 pounds

For breakfast I have a protein bar and a cup of coffee.  Between then and noon, I get in 40 ounces of liquid.  Lunch is tuna salad, or turkey chilli,, which I can can eat a lot of, around 2:00pm I have a snack of nuts or cottage cheese or yogurt, at dinner I have a large portion of protein, veges, a little rice or beans, later, a high protein shake or glass of non fat milk with 1/2 banana..  I need to exercise more and only seem to find time on weekends.  Allison

I had surgery a week before you. I was told not to worry about calories right now and to focus on protein and fluids instead. My food is something like this: 2-3 oz meat for brkfst, string cheese for snack, about 2.5 -3 oz protein for lunch, protein drink snack, chicken wrapped in lettuce (2 oz) and a little fruit or slices of bell pepper dinner. I'll sip on isopure rtd's (usually about half a bottle which is 10 oz for 20 g protein) with my water on days I don't have enough protein through food. Or I'll do a protein shake instead of string cheese for a snack (two a day) if i need the protein boost. When I weighed myself today I am down 53 lbs since surgery. But I've started increasing my exercise.

Thinking about how many calories you should have per day and counting calories is part of the old way of eating/dieting that isn't apart of our new life.  At 2 months, and really for quite awhile, you should be focusing on a protein forward diet.  Worry first about how much protein you are getting, make sure it is enough, and that all your choices are good, health options that are high in protein.  AND that you are listening to your pouch and stopping when it is full.  

 

Do that, and you are pretty much going to be hitting whatever calorie mark you need to be hitting.  But counting calories can actually be detrimental because you may choose low calorie food that is not rich in protein. 

 

Remember that what we used to do to lose weight didn't work and we had to have this surgery for a reason.   Being mindful of calories is ok, but don't let that become your main focus over the nutrients IN the food.