Liquid Diet Almost 3 Years Post Op

Hi Everyone,

Before I got pregnant, I was at my lowest weight ever of 152lbs.  At this point I was exercising (but not really exerting myself, more maintenance) and eating a diet of lean protein.  In a typical day I'd have a shake for breakfast, greek yogurt for lunch, a few slices of turkey for a snack with cucumber, and then chicken or salmon for dinner with a vegetable and cottage cheese.  I could not eat much at a time even though I was almost 2 years out.  I hardly ever had interest in junk or fast food.  In December of last year I got pregnant and could not keep anything down for the first 4 months, but gained weight quickly.  By the end of pregnancy I was 214 lbs.  When I got home from the hospital I was down to 196, and since then I've been bouncing between 179-186 lbs.  I still have quite a bit of restriction but sometimes I feel like I could eat endlessly.  My DD is 4.5 months old and I just stopped breastfeeding because it was putting me through an emotional rollercoaster and I could not cope.  I feel like to make myself feel my willpower again I need to do a two week liquid diet.  I'm talking shakes, water, green tea (I never had any other clear liquids during my pre-op liquid diet and I found it very easy).  Has anyone else done this?  Did they find it made them get back on track and stop craving all the junk?  Any criticism/input/results/ideas welcome!  I have had two protein shakes today and nothing else, and haven't had the desire to eat.

I had regain after crazy life and I just got back on track in October.  I cut all carbs and only get what is in the occasional protein bar, or low starch veggie.  It was rough for a few weeks, but then the carb cravings faded, just like in the beginning.  I'm fortunate, I live alone.  I have no bread or other whites in the house.  I don't know how family gals make it!

Yeah my boyfriend has a great metabolism but eats like crap!! Thank god he's a pasta fanatic and I don't care for it guess what he'll be eating for the next two weeks!

How long can you do a liquid diet? A few days? Maybe 2 weeks? The problem with those diets, when you fall off the wagon, you eat like crazy.

You described what you ate before you were pregnant: "In a typical day I'd have a shake for breakfast, greek yogurt for lunch, a few slices of turkey for a snack with cucumber, and then chicken or salmon for dinner with a vegetable and cottage cheese." That's a perfect plan to start with, right now. If you can start doing that, one day after another, you'll do great.

There is no secret diet or reset. Just do what worked before. It's a really simple plan, but obviously hard to do.

Good luck.

The point of the liquid diet is to detox from all the carbs/sugars/fats my body is now used to. 

The diet you describe from before pregnancy will do that perfectly.

A liquid diet will leave you crawling the walls hungry. Do that for long enough, you will eat, a lot, and likely bad stuff. Then feel horrible about it.

Eat low or zero carb. Eat something that will fill you, leaving you satiated. Dense protein, like meat. Chicken, turkey, beef, tuna, etc. That is a much better solution than liquids.

No one can stay on liquids for long. Start, today, a meal plan you CAN do forever.

I am going to echo what Grim wrote. The idea of detox is appealing and is big business, but research shows that a change to a diet you can sustain over the long haul works far better. You may not feel like you are being aggressive enough and you have to let go of that idea. Switch to lean whole foods. Have the shake in the morning, use Greek yogurt as a go to food, and incorporate lots of lean, dense protein, low carb vegetables, low carb fruits (really, only berries during weight loss), also some real butter, nuts, coconut oil, and olive oil. Create a plan that works for you.

There is no one right way to lose the regain. Take it from me. I'm still a "bouncer". I've tried several different appraoches over the past 3 years as my weight has waxed and waned. I gained a bit over the holidays and just got back to a sensible, low carb plan that I can stick to over the long haul. I'm down a good 6 pounds since last week. No detox. No cravings. No hunger. Just sensible high protein, low carb eating. 

I also agree with the other posters.  I also would always try to be super strict after a period of eating things that were not healthy or weight gain and it would last for a while but then backfire.  Even though, this year on Christmas and New Years weekend, I ate things that caused me to gain a few pounds, I didn't punish myself.  I went back to normal eating and activity right after and the weight was gone within 3 days!  Even if it doesn't come off that fast, punishing yourself with harsh restriction or a liquid diet leads to bad habits in my experience and definitely an inevitable binge. 

I heard a great quote from a dietitian once that said, "Deprivation is just a binge in the bank." It's 100% true for me. If there is no wagon, I can't fall off it.  I just try to eat well with things that are nourishing to my body and if I eat something that isn't that great, I move right on. No more starting over next week for me.  That has always been my biggest problem. I have also researched mindful eating and hunger queues and it has really worked for me in the past year with loving myself enough to eat good food and not obsess over every morsel that goes in my mouth. 

Good luck! 

Love that! - "Deprivation is just a binge in the bank" Awesome! 

Although I had some regain, it was not to the degree or for the awesome reason of your situation. With that said, due to have stomach and gallbladder issues that required eventual surgery, I had to go off and on full liquid diets over the course of 2 months or so. Beyond a shadow of a doubt this resulted in weight loss. Granted, the reason for the liquid diet was due to my inability to keep food down otherwise... but the result is what you are looking for. Additionally, talk about kicking in the restriction full force this is the way to do it. But goodness, it is a rough path to travel potentially. Have you tried eating only dense protein and green leafy veggies? I find that this too after a few days helps to diminish the constant cravings, feelings of having a bottomless pit for a stomach, and kicking in the restriction... quite similar to what the liquid diet does but not as painful to implement.