Dietician

[Guest guest]

" My surgeon doesn't seem to have any follow-up plans as far as

diet

go, except for to say " just puree everything " . I'm thinking of

finding a

good dietician. "

Hi Steph,

The guidelines regarding diet differ a bit between the LapBand

and the Swedish Band, but I think the following plan is sensible:

Week 1 to 4

Liquids, liquids, liquids. Everything that you cannot take in

with a straw is not liquid enough. Why liquids? The sutures around the

band have to heal and adhesions must be formed. If you eat solids and

have to vomit, the band might slip. The other great advantage is that

normally one loses a lot of weight during the liquid diet stage,

especially if you try to drink low calorie things.

Week 5 and 6

Pureed food

Week 7 and 8

Slowly introduce solids. Be careful with meat and bread, they

seem to get stuck easily. Chew well and eat slowly.

Afterwards

Eat a bit of everything. This is the good thing about the band:

we are not supposed to follow a diet. The band will restrikt your food

intake automatically. Be careful with high calorie foods that melt, like

ice-cream and chocolate: they just slide their way past the band.

Personally I don't think that a dietician can help much. At

Aarberg Hospital in Switzerland it is mandatory that we see the

dietician about every three months or so. She does not seem to

understand the eating habits of obese people and I wonder if she really

understands the mechanics of the band. She tries to stall when it comes

to the next adjustment because she says that with a band that is very

full eating even becomes more difficult. Now isn't this what the band is

supposed to do? I don't mind if eating becomes very, very difficult,

because then I will not be able to overeat! She also keeps on talking

about the food pyramid and the three meals a day, no snacking etc. etc.

I knew all that before I had the band and couldn't help myself

overeating, so why does she think I can stick to a well balanced diet

now?

Steph, this is just my personal opinion. I do think that if you

can find a dietician or nurse that understands obese people and is

knowledgable about the band it could be of tremendous help.

cheers

Barbara

[Guest guest]

Barbara,

Thanks for that. Yes, I am amazed how many health professional want to talk

about that food pyramid. I went to a dietician just like yours who tried to

explain to me like I was a 2 year old that I should eat minimal fats,

maximum fibre etc. I don't think she realised that, being obsessed with my

weight as I am, I have read every book known to man on the subject. I could

probably even have told HER a few things about the food pyramid (like, where

I'd like to stick it). What I am after is someone who can give me a recipe

for a good balance of liquids so that I am getting maximum nutrients. I also

want to know a good brand of vitamin supplements. Or are they all the same

and you just pay for the brand names? Seeing as i will probably be taking

them for the rest of my life I'd like to do a bit of research into the best

ones to take without spending an absolute fortune. Unfortunately my GP is

only young and she hasn't had a patient go through this procedure before, in

fact she was the one who referred me to the dietician!

Steph