Had my second visit last week. I met a different “bariatric technician” named Derek who was a little less monotone than Christina. To be fair the clinic gets 15+ new patients a day so must be difficult to keep the information fresh.

I spent about 20 mins with Derek, who was quite kind and gentle- though he admitted he was new to the field. He went over my diet journal and made some comments. I think what happens is he inputs into computer and Dr. Wharton takes a quick glance at it.

Met Dr. Wharton for a few minutes and was given a meal plan. By this- told how many calories to have in a day and what the makeup of those calories should be… At least 90 g of protein and 30 (!!) grams of fiber.
I am to stick to a 1500 calorie plan although I may just do an 1800 calorie one.

I also asked him a bit more about the Meridia- he told me that it was not true that the Meridia boosted metabolism as I was told by my family doctor. He also stressed again the importance of eating slowly.

I am not sure how much to share on this blog0 some of the details are deeply personal. One of the things I discussed with the Doctor was my relationship with food. That I felt I did not eat from hunger or pleasure or comfort- but more out o anger or self-mutilation. This is something I will need to think on. I don’t eat a lot- but I do binge every once in awhile .. so my weight has crept up over the years- about 3 lbs a years for the last 10 years. I so have some eating issues and he recommended I see their on staff Bariatric psychiatrist. So I will think about it.