Okay vets, let's get our list of tips on how to lose the weight: DS-Eating 101

Sorry I'm dragging my feet on this guys, I really want to do this for the benefit of our newbies.  It seems there has been some confusion on the boards on how to eat after the DS.  I've gotten some great advice how to go about working on this.  Please know that NO one strategy will work for everyone, this will never be a one size fits all.  If we each add the things that work for us, maybe new post ops will be able to try each strategy to see which one works for them!  The more vets that chime in, the better the info will be.  Nicolle came up with some great items to include, so I will start with those as a basis for our DS-eating 101.  We can each answer it in questionnaire form to make it easy to read.  Please add any info that you feel is important to help our newbies.  After I get the responses, I will form them into one big post and re post it.  Bev said she'd be happy to post our info on DSfacts.com as well so that we can send people there to view it. 

1) Age at surgery

2) Pre- and Post-op Activity level (choose one: active, sedentary, etc.)

3) CC length/stomach size

4) Surgery weight/Highest weight/Current weight

5) How far out are you from surgery now?

6) Typical menu at 3 months out/6 months out/1 year out (be as specific as you can)

7) Your basic strategy.  Did you low carb, or take a less anal path. 

8) If you're in maintenance mode now, how do you eat now as compared to while you were losing?

9) Do you have a plan to avoid regain?

10) Tip for newbies you'd like to share

_______________________________________________


Okay, I'll go first. 

1) Age at surgery 

32

2) Pre- and Post-op Activity level (choose one: active, sedentary, etc.) 

Pre-op Sedentary: Post op: middle of the road.  I don't do a lot of exercise on purpose, but I am starting back to walking and biking with the kids, which is just good fun!

3) CC length/stomach size 

70cm common channel, 3 oz stomach

4) Surgery weight/Highest weight/Current weight 

270/270/138

5) Typical menu at 3 months out/6 months out/1 year out (be as specific as you can)

I tracked my food  meticulously for the first year on Sparkpeope.com.  So I will just go there and look at what I was eating. 

At one month out, this is what one day looked like for me.

B- Champion nutrition banana scream plus 1/2 cup milk (27g)

S- 2 oz peanuts (14 g)

L- Taco Bell- The insides ONLY (threw tortillas away)  of two soft tacos(20g)

S- Champion Banana Scream + 1/2 cup milk (27 g)

Dinner- Garden tomatoes and one slice deli roast beef (7 g)

S- Popcorn 3 cups

Protein: 95 grams
carbs:47 grams

At three months out

B- Banana Scream protein drink with lactaid milk (27 g)

S- Starbucks tall whole milk latte with sf syrup (8 g)

L- 5 oz Hillshire Farm smoked sausage (43 g)

S- Inside of Marie Callendar's chicken pot pie, no crust (19 g)

D- Wendy's large Chili (19g)

S - Champion Nutrition Banana scream with lactaid milk (27g)

protein: 143 g
carbs: 54 g

At 6 months out:
(I have no idea what time a day I ate each of these, they were just entered this way)

2 Breyers Carb Smart Almond bar ( 6 g)
3 oz fried shrimp (18 g)
5 oz chicken breast (29 g)
1 slice provolone cheese (7g)
1 slice bacon (2g)
1.5 oz cured ham (10g)
1 slice swiss cheese (8g)
4 of Val's flourless peanut butter cookies (18g)
1 serving Genisoy Soy crisps (6)
5 cups popcorn (2)
Champion Nutrition banana scream protein (34.5 g)

Protein: 141.5 g
Carbs: 84

At one year out:

B- Breakfast casserole- (25 g)

S- Starbuck's Venti Caramel Frappucino  (8g)

S- Atkins protein shake (15 g)

L- Long John Silver's- 1 1/2 fish fillets (18 g)

S- Reese's PB cup (2 g)

D- 5 oz sirloin steak, one bite of baked potato (43 g)

S- Champion Nutrition choco protein drink (34.5 g)

Protein: 145
Carbs: 182

6) Your basic strategy.  Did you low carb, or take a less anal path. 

I definitely knew that I wanted to lose as much as I possibly could, as fast as possible, so I decided to really buckle down and go low carb as long as I could.  I didn't want to mess around with carbs only to find myself unable to get to goal, and unable to ***** about it if I had brought it on myself.  I spent the first two months with my carbs always at or below 50g of carbs.  I was losing at a nice steady pace with little to no stalls.  I decided that I *did* want carbs back in my life, so took an approach of adding them into my diet slowly and watching the scale's progress to be sure I wasn't adding in too much.  From months 2-4 I kept my carbs at or below 75 g.  The losses continued and I was nearing in on goal.  From months 4-6 I kept my carbs between 75-100 on any given day, never going over 100.  At 6 months out it was becoming pretty evident that I was going to keep losing, and in an effort to not lose too much, I started eating more around 150 g of carbs a day.  At 8 months and three days after my surgery, I had gotten to my goal weight of 145 pounds.  I allowed myself carbs, lots of them even sometimes, but tried to stick to complexex carbs to avoid gas and intestinal issues.   I have been pretty much doing the same thing since I was 8 months out.  I never deny myself anything that I really want, but I do try to keep things in check.  I rarely eat white flour, but I do indulge from time to time.  I limit the amount of milk I drink and often keep Lactaid milk in my fridge and also Lactaid pills for when I have protein shakes.  I have never limited my fat intake, have enjoyed butter like never in my life, and never felt like I was on a starvation diet even in my intense weight loss phase because I got to eat foods I loved all along! 

7) If you're in maintenance mode now, how do you eat now as compared to while you were losing? 

I was anal meticulous until I got to goal, now I only watch my protein intake, and I'm mindful about gassy foods.  Easiest diet of my life, I can only hope things continue to be so easy for me!

8) Do you have a plan to avoid regain?
 
Yes, and I may have to set this in motion very soon.  Now that I have been to my lowest weight of 116 and clawed to get my weight back up, I am now 138 pounds.  My plan is to have a magical number that means that it's time to low carb.  That weight is 142 for me.  I like how I look right now.  I would rather work to maintain the same 5-6 pounds than to struggle to lose a bunch of regain.  The day my scale says 142, I will low carb until I'm back at 135 pounds.  This has worked wonderfully for Carolyn, I believe she calls it her magic maintenance plan.  I hope I can do as well as she has.

9) Tip for newbies you'd like to share

I have about a million tips but I will focus on the one that is most important to me right now.  Find a protein shake that you can tolerate.  By tolerate, I mean you can drink it all gone and you don't throw it up.  I'm not promising that you'll fall in love with protein shakes the way that I have, but you will grow accustomed to the flavor.  You'll also love the energy they provide to you.  I am completely convinced that *many* (not all) of us will have to rely on protein as it's our most bio-available source for our bodies after surgery.  I treat protein the way I do my vitamins, it's necessary and that's why I do it.  After suffering from protein malnutrition this past winter (winter 2009), I knew I had to get back on board with protein.  (Side-note:  I have been back on 4-6 shakes a day for 7 weeks now and my poor health has turned around and skyrocketed back in the right direction.  I got protein malnutrition *despite* the fact I was eating 100+ grams of protein a day from food.  I had almost completely stopped relying on my protein shakes and that is why I believe my protein levels dipped low).  

Okay, one more tip.  Learn about vitamins as much as you can before surgery.  Ask questions, research, try to understand the best that you can.  Some of it will only make sense later on once you're having labs drawn.  Do not be afraid to ask those who are already living a life of vitamin supplementation.

Okay, maybe I can't stop myself.  Last tip.  JUST BECAUSE YOU EAT SOMETHING THAT YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE EATEN, DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE GOING TO FAIL YOUR DS.  Just hop right back on your eating plan of choice and don't continue the bad habits.  The DS is very forgiving, but it is NOT a free pass!!  Also, don't waste your chance at a normal life on foods that don't fuel your body.  Lose the weight, make sure you get your protein in, take your vitamins (that's a WHOLE different post), and try to learn to understand your new body. 

I know I will think of more things, I will add them when I do.

Lori

Ooooh I love to hear the stories! I'll be checking back!

What do you mean "hear the stories?" Why arn't you posting on this thread Ms. Thing?

Girl, I was thinking about it, then I was like.....I am the worst DSer EVER! I eat like a madwoman and can't stay on the low carb bandwagon for more than 3 days at a time LMAO. Mine would be more of a do as I say and not as I do.

1) Age at surgery - 38


2) Pre- and Post-op Activity level (choose one: active, sedentary, etc.) - was sedentary pre-op - - - now moderate post-op (was moderate but stressed until about 12 years ago)


3) CC length/stomach size - 100CM - unknown stomach size

4) Surgery weight/Highest weight/Current weight - 400/425/310

5) How far out are you from surgery now? - 4 1/2 months

6) Typical menu at 3 months out/6 months out/1 year out (be as specific as you can) -

3-6 months out typical daily sample menu:
> 1 cup whole milk
> 1.5 eggs and 1 slice toast with 1 tbsp butter
> 1/4 cup whole wheat spaghetti, tomato sauce, with 3 small meat balls
> 4 slices bacon and one medium size pancake
> 4 oz ground turkey patty with BBQ sauce
> 1 ice cream cone (approx 1/2 cup ice cream)

7) Your basic strategy.  Did you low carb, or take a less anal path.  -
Basically I'm just avoiding all white flour products & focusing on protein.  I have NOT been counting carbs at all since my surgery. 

I just started adding extra fat to my intake when my digestive process and weight loss slowed down recently.  This strategy has worked out just fine and things are moving along again at a rapid losing pace.  (more than 5 pounds in just the past 10 days)

8) If you're in maintenance mode now, how do you eat now as compared to while you were losing? n/a

9) Do you have a plan to avoid regain? In the long term I plan to continue focusing my lifestyle around foods that will at least partially malabsorb like protein, complex carbs, and fat (it sounds like a lifestyle I can live with)  I've always been a binge eater but have not been a sweets or carbs junky.

10) Tip for newbies you'd like to share - Protein shakes work for many folks, but are often expensive and they're really NOT mandatory for success.  I've easily gone without them and still met the recommended protein intake guidelines.

This is going to be very helpful for us newbie. going to bookmark this!

As a pre-op, I just want to say thank you to you and to everyone who is taking the time to participate in this.  Priceless information!

Lori,

I'm going to respond in depth later this evening. Unfortunately I can't check my resources or compose the detailed email this deserves while at work.

So expect to hear from me later.....

1) Age at surgery
     35

2) Pre- and Post-op Activity level (choose one: active, sedentary, etc.)
    Pre-op activity level: sedentary;
     Post-op activity level: fairly active

3) CC length/stomach size
      CC length: 75 cm;
      Stomach size 2 oz.

4) Surgery weight/Highest weight/Current weight
      308/318/167

5) How far out are you from surgery now?
      I am a little over 10 months out

6) Typical menu at 3 months out/6 months out/1 year out (be as specific as you can)
     3 Months Out:
B: S & S High Protein Frap
S: 1 oz. Cheese
L: 1/4 C. Tuna Salad w/ lots of mayo
S: 1 oz. Cheese
D: S & S High Protein Frap

     6 Months Out:
B: S & S High Protein Frap
S: 1 oz. Cheese
L: Salad w/ 1/2 lb. crumbled bacon, 1/4 C. lettuce, 5 grape tomatoes, 1/4 C. shredded cheese, 3 TBSP. blue cheese dressing
S: 1 oz. nuts (usually macadamia or almonds)
D: 2-3 oz. Salmon and 4 bites of cooked spinach
S: CarbSmart Ice Cream Bar

10 Months Out:
B: S & S High Protein Frap
S: 1 oz. Cheese
L: Chile Relleno w/ sour cream dressing and guacamole
S: 1 oz. Nuts
D: Whopper Jr. (no bun, onions, or lettuce; extra mayo, and cheese)
S: Small piece of cheesecake or a bowl of watermelon

7) Your basic strategy.  Did you low carb, or take a less anal path. 
     I was a low-carb kind of gal. For the first 6 months, I kept myself under 30 g. of carbs a day. I knew that this was my last shot at becoming healthy and I wanted to make the most of my weight loss window. As a short woman with a high BMI (52.9 at surgery), I knew the deck was somewhat stacked against me--compared to the taller gals. I wanted to do everything in my personal power to ensure success. I would do everything the same way again.

8) If you're in maintenance mode now, how do you eat now as compared to while you were losing?

9) Do you have a plan to avoid regain?
      My plan is to keep the simple and processed carbs to a reasonable portion on my daily intake. I will allow myself 5-10lbs of regain before going back to low-carb basics.

10) Tip for newbies you'd like to share
      Allow yourself the time to heal. Understand that you are going to have to relearn how to eat. Just because the DS is the most forgiving of WLS does not mean having EVERYTHING you want EVERY TIME you want it.