I went for me third visit yesterday. I should say at this point that I am RARELY wrong when assessing people and situations- and this turn out to be a time when my initial impression was way off base. I was wrong. I will write later about it- just to say that my initial skepticism has proven unfounded. Dr. Wharton is the real deal.

I went to my 3rd visit at Canadian Bariatric Clinic lead by Dr. Sean Wharton. I had an ECG test and breath test. Went very smoothly and took very little time. Technician quite friendly.

Saw Derek, whose role I am not 100% sure of… My best guess is that he inputs what I tell him into a computer to save Dr. Wharton time. There are not many question he is able to answer- most because of legal reasons. He also does not seem that knowledgeable in general- he has admitted to being new to the field. he is amiable and friendly however and if you are the type that is nervous to get weighed or discuss food issues he is very non-threatening.

Weigh-in- Was disappointed. As i thought the other scales at family doctors office are not in sync.. so I am at 301. Which means from last visit at CBC ( Canadian Bariatric Clinic) I am down about 7 lbs.

I then saw Dr. Wharton- I often have to resist calling him Sean, as he is quite open and warm. When I fist met him last month I thought him disingenuous but I think I misread his motives. He really is THAT passionate and committed to his work and does not have the air of arrogance that most medical professionals to carry.

I was unusually chatty and wired at the visit. I have extreme sensitivity to caffeine and mistakenly had a non-decaf tea earlier in the day- so I talked doctors ear off…
Key Points:
I asked about headaches that I thought might becoming from Meridia- he suggested I try drinking more water- that it could be toxins being released as I lose weight.

he did also ask if I would like to be part of weight loss support group he is starting up soon. I eagerly agreed.

Insomnia: I am having a rough time with not sleeping. Some night I can get to sleep but wake up early.. other I can’t get to sleep easily and worst nights- both. I wonder if headaches are from loss of sleep. Dr. Wharton said that if they side effects continue to be a problem then at some point we could look at stopping the Meridia.

Bizarre Dreams: He mentioned this was probably because of the poor quality of sleep.

We then talked about some non- weightless related stuff and had quite a long visit. I left energized.

I realized i didn’t put up diet that doctor suggested. Initially my Family doctor said try a low glycemic diet and basically when I look at diet Dr. Wharton obesity specialist at Canadian Bariatric Clinic) recommends it is very similar.
He initially asked I go on 1500 calorie a day to lose 1lbs a week. Yes- he wants you to lose only 1lb. a week! I have been averaging about 3 , however. ( Note: on 3rd visit correction as made- there was an input error made and I should be on 1800 calories a day- 700 calorie deficit, and was never meant to on 1500 kcals)

I have been aiming for 1500-1800 calories a day. I should aim for 30g of fibre ( harder think you think), 90 grams protein and 200 grams carbohydrate.
He also feels it is IMPERATIVE to eat throughout the day and to not go long periods without food or your body will go into “starvation mode” and your metabolism will drop. The best thing you can do is to eat something when you wake up.
Snack between meal ( about 1/2-1 hour before meal) and to avoid fruit juices.

In order to meat the nutritional requirements it is VERY difficult to eat white flour and lots of sugar.

My daily diet is broken down like this
breakfast:250 calories
snack: 150
Lunch: 350
snack: 100
Dinner: 500
snack: 150

A HIGH fibre cereal is a MUST if you have any hope of getting in 30 grams a day! I have been having Fiber1 which has 12 grams. Also with 1% milk and decaf tea in the morning. I will usually have a clementine or apple as well.

snack: almost always fruit or yogurt or both depending on the calories in fruit. I also carry a nutritional bar in purse so if I am out and don;t have acces to food will eat that- and drink with water!

lunch: I sometimes forget to eat so i will have a meal replacement shake, pretty much always vanilla flavour with frozen strawberries. Will also have sliced chicken sandwich with fruit and glass of milk.

other snacks- lower fat popcorn ( good for fiber) , raw veggies and low fit dip- either homemade or store bought.

dinner- I can usually eat what family is eating. I have found trying to eat more vegetarian meals is good way to reduce calories and increase fiber. So chicken, veggies, whole wheat pasta with lean or turkey meatballs, I tend to make a lot of Indian food as well… not for everyone but you can easily replace chicken with lentils and or chick peas. We eat a lot of basmati rice as well.

Any other thoughts? Would love to hear them!

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.

I attended a lecture offered by the Canadian Bariatric Clinic last night. It was done in two parts, 1st hour was bariatric specialist Dr. Sean Wharton and the next hour was the staff nutritionist.
I can see why Dr. Wharton strongly encourages his patients attend. It is an in depth and science based presentation that would be impossible to to get across to all his patients- and it is information you need.
In my last post about my first visit to the clinic I mention how sceptical I was, disappointed even. I am starting to feel a glimmer of hope.
I couldn’t possibly repeat all that was discussed. Of the key points of the talk was that you needed to eat to lose weight. Not just eat- but eat often- to keep your metabolism at a steady pace and not have it go into “starvation mode” . One of the most important things to do was to eat in the morning- that to go 12 hours with no food at a stretch was too long and your metabolic rate would drop and then “hang on” to any food that subsequently came in,,
Many people grumbled that felt nauseous in the morning and the was no way they could eat in the morning and he said tough… to try a handful of grapes and gradually increase the amount.
He also talked a lot about genetics and our environment. That environment was a large part of why we are an obese culture. I got the feeling that Dr. Wharton was a bit of a fanatic on this point- he was very passionate about the effect fast food is having and at some point hinted that it should be illegal.
The lecture was WELL worth my time and really did allay many fears and concerns that I had. The lecture was very informative and I am very happy I took the time to give it a chance and go.

I mentioned that I was going for more first appt. with Dr, Wharton at the Canadian Bariatric Clinic. I was sure what to expect- but several forums had led me to believe that he was very quick to push the Opti-fast program and drugs. The clinic was very busy and to be honest I was put off by the amount of business going on- scales and cases of Optifast were being sold like crazy- there was quite a bit of traffic of people purchasing things from the receptionist and this troubled me- ALOT.

The wait time was much longer than I expected. On a positive note- staff cam out often and were friendly to returning clients patients. There chairs where extra wide and comfortable.

I first saw some sort of intake worker- her role was never explained to me. She rhymed off what felt like a “speil” she had said a thousand times in a quick monotone. At this point I could see no difference between a Jenny Craig office . The selling of stuff from behind the counter was just so unprofessional and it got worse. I had to pay a mandatory 100.00 to receive their special binder and take test using a calorimeter which checked your metabolic rate. Also I had to buy a scale – the ones I saw flying from behind the counter- a whopping 130.00. I filled out a lengthy medical history and chronicled my weight loss attempts and history.

I did express my concerns to Christina that from what I could see it looked like they were positioning themselves to be the next Dr. Bernstein … she was polite and friendly but she did say it felt like a slap in the face. She said that the scale was difficult to find and that it was really a service they were providing patients. I then said- if you were doing a service than the scales would be provided at close to cost and were they- she said “no” and did admit that in that regard it was a business. She made great effort to tell me they were like a family here.

I was weighed and measured and goals were discussed, etc then asked to go back to waiting room to wait for Dr. Wharton. she also explained some of their available services- a psychiatrist ( covered by OHIP) , kenesieoligist (not covered and 65.00) and nutritionist (not covered).

I waited about another half hour – again staff were very friendly and many came out to waiting room to greet patients by name.

I finally went into Dr. Whartons office. He gave me quick medical exam- checking for swelling, rashes and enlarged liver as well as listened to my heart and chest.

I spoke with him for about 10 minutes- not a lot about treatments, etc was discussed- basically had to journal my food, he talked about the importance of understanding food , relationship of carbohydrates , proteins and was adamant that the key was understanding calories and nutrition. And before I left he advised that I attend his lecture coming up on Wednesday.

I left feeling a bit like every other program i have ever tried.. and felt like this was just another business aiming to make money off of weight loss. I also wanted to give it a chance- i have been wrong before about first judgments and after all- this was a bit of a last stop for me before getting weightloss surgery ( WLS) . Nothing else has worked.