Group Appointment with the Nutritionist

I must confess, I have been a bad blogger.  Not sure why, but I have been.  So a quick update about the latest in my journey to Lap Band Land.  This past Tuesday I had a mandatory group meeting with the nutritionist in my surgeon's office.  About 10 of us filed into the room and took our seats and we all began to look around at each other.  As I looked around I got the strangest feeling that I didn't belong.  My inner self (who thinks she is thin) began to question my outer-self (who is clearly obese) if I was doing the right thing.  My outer-self who is clearly living in the reality (at the moment) knocked the thin self out of the way and gave in to the situation, that yes, I do belong in that room with the other obese patients in the room.  I feel so uncomfortable saying that word - "obese".  As a society we try to ignore that we are obese or even really comment on it to others.  I know that we are silently discriminated against for our weight, but no one ever says it out loud. We are ignored in clothing stores/ parties/ restaurants/ or any social situation, passed up for promotions, and we are patronized by our doctors.  It is hard for me to admit, but I am part of this group of obese.  I feel like it is such a dirty word.  I much prefer the term overweight but according to my BMI that was about 60 pounds ago.  (Sorry this was a tangent.)


So anyways, back to the topic at hand.  The nutritionist talked with us about what we can expect to eat after surgery and why it is important to follow the "Rules".  She focused mostly on gastric bypass, but she did comment on the Band a bit.  Her main point was to respect the surgery, by following the diet requirements so the surgery can properly healing.  She said that it actually takes a good year for the surgery to completely heal and if the rules are not followed the integrity of the surgery could be damaged.  This had a huge impact on me.  I definitely do not want to do eat something or not get the right nutrients that could impact my success.  She also talked a lot about the importance of protein and getting enough liquids the first year. She said that most successful patients that are happy (key word is "happy") get the daily requirements of protein and water.  The unhappy or unhealthy patients are usually not do this.  That is some food for thought.   She made some very good points and I plan to install them in my diet.  My next appointment with the nutritionist is a private appointment and as she is also the in house psychologist I will also be meeting with her for that.  


Once I meet with the nutritionist/ psychologist I will meet with the surgeon once again to discuss my application to the insurance company.  Wish me luck.


Cheers!
Robin Wine Girl