Stall

I clarified that such is a red flag if she was speaking of chips and twinkies, but a green flag if she was speaking of a diet with a modicum of balance and variety, to the extent permitted by caloric limits. She replied with small bits of bread, potato or pasta which are more of a yellow flag - not deadly but not ideal either at this point.

Yes, we do get quite a bit of carb shaming here, which very much mirrors the fat shaming of yesterday, where people are told to avoid all of the perceived evil macro rather than discriminate between the good and bad and learn to use them to their best advantage. I equate it somewhat with the "abstinance only" sex ed ideas that were promoted some time ago, where kids were just told "no, don't do that" which may have delayed the onset of that activity, but once they did start were not prepared to engage in it responsibly. So, we do get some here counseling that we should avoid all those nasty fruits and veg because there is some sugar in there somewhere, and ignoring the problems that the dietary imbalances can create.

I come at this with about fifteen years in the bariatric world, my wife and I going through a program that was not agonizingly low carb, as it wasn't the fashion then (low sugar/simple carbs, yes, but let's keep nutrition in mind, too) and the overall population came through it well with good long term maintenance habits. We still dine regularly with out support group comprised mainly of vets 10-20 years out, who one would be hard pressed to pick out from the normal population, other than being somewhat leaner than average. One can have a lot of success with a moderated approach (no, that doesn't mean one twinkie rather than the whole box) without demonizing, or deifying entire food groups or macros.

"carb respectful"....LOVE that !!

I don't understand when people say "You can't eat low carb forever." Why? I've been low carb for over a year now and it doesn't bother me. I'm not as low as others, I don't do 25 or less and instead stick at 50. I get to eat the carbs I want without issue on that. I'm not sure why people think low carb forever is impossible.

Remember all people are not created equal. I?m not a big red meat/pork eater, and nuts and tofu for dinner don?t appeal to me either. In order to add variety, I eat carbs. I supplement with protein drinks to reach my goals, but yes a very restrictive carb diet doesn?t work for me. I eat good carbs though! My weight loss has been steady and healthy. High protein and low carbs work for many but not all. The thought of meat all the time makes me gag!

I am not saying low carb is the only way to diet though. I said I don't understand people who think low carb forever is impossible. Really the end-all-be-all of weight loss will always be calories in vs calories out. There are some here who do not do low carb at all and are long time maintainers! I just don't have room for carbs, my stomach is still very restricted even after a year, I already have to maintain 5 small meals a day to keep my protein and calories up. Though I am trying to slowly increase my meals and knock them down to 3 or 4 a day instead.

Yep. Five years here -- no regain, no diabetes, no HBP -- it's certainly not impossible.

I see two massive red flags in your post.

I am not following a strict diet.

...I can't give that up.

Surgery is not magical. You need to strictly follow your post-op eating guidelines if you want to see results. For most people, that is 600 - 800 calories, 60+ g protein, and under 25g carbs. If you're not following protocol, then this stall is completely your fault.

When you say "some carbs," what do you mean? How many grams a day? What kinds of foods? And why "can't" you give them up? Is somebody force-feeding you melba toast? If you're still having nausea issues, that's no excuse to eat carbs; you need to speak with your surgeon.

Unless you have a documented medical condition that precludes you from following a low-carb diet then saying you "can't" just means you aren't willing to try hard enough. You're two months out. It doesn't get better than now and it's only harder and more tempting as you go.

I think sometimes you have to tailor your diet to meet your needs. I have a hard time with protein. Not a lover of all meat. Can do fish and seafood, but get sick of it quick. I have to be very creative to get the protein in. I definitely supplement, otherwise it would be impossible. I know what is recommended for VSG, but my common sense tells me there are other ways. Caloric deficit! Truly proven. I can eat 70 to 100 carbs per day, stay under 1000 cals per day, and still meet my protein goal. When I stop losing, I'll tweak things a little.

FYI: talking about good carbs (yogurt, nuts, beans, salad, fruit, with occasional popcorn or crackers.)