This "Diet" Is Driving Me Crazy!!!!!

As Kayla mentioned in her excellent post, there are products out there to help you eat some things you crave without doing too much damage. I can vouch for the Carbsmart ice creams bars. They are my favorite indulgence. I allow myself one if I've been good all day, but I'll go days without even thinking about it. One box lasts two weeks at least. Sugar free candy can help, too. Hershey's has some good ones and sf Reeses' cups are something I always have in the house for a sudden chocolate urge.

Don't count fiber. Humans lack the enzymes to digest fiber so they don't count for anyone.

You have to find a balance that you can live with. Maybe sacrifice some weight loss for more carbs. (and Kayla's right about that, too. You're not allowed to whine about slow or insufficient weight loss if you DO choose to indulge in more carbs.)

All you really HAVE to do is get in at least 90 grams of protein, 64 ounces of water, and all your vitamins each day. What you do after that is completely up to you.

Have you tried a bagel, yet? You may find that you can't tolerate it. More than one year out and I still can't eat one (or pasta or bread of any kind, even low carb/high fiber varieties). It would sit like throbbing lead in my gut and cause me an evening's worth of very painful gas. That really helps keep me from craving anything made with flour.

So, try a bagel (buy ONE, not a bag) and see how it goes. Make sure you don't need to be in public for a good 12 hours afterwards. You may discover that they're not worth the pain or inconvenience, never mind how they effect your weight.  Maybe you'll be one of the very lucky few whose carb intake doesn't affect their weight.

Whatever you end up embracing, no one is going to criticize you for it. The only thing that will tick us off is if you consciously make choices that will slow your weight loss and then complain about it.

I still count carbs (net carbs).  I try and stay under 50, but I don't always succeed - one day is not going to undo any 'good' you've done.  String 10 or 15 of those real high days, and that might.  Some days I hit 60, some days 45, some days 70, some days are so high I don't even bother (like the piece of pie, 2 Hardees cookies, and the California Burger with bacon and cheese [and bun] that I had yesterday).  Shake it off and start over!  I save my carbs for foods I want that would be on the no-no list of a dieter - like cheetos!  But I measure them and count them!  If I go over, I'm accountable . . . .   It's your choice, your life!

I so sabotaged myself trying to diet in the first few months.  It was hard if not impossible for me to go a few days under 50 carbs without killing myself with guilt for going over.  I hate self-loathing.  Have a bagel for God's sake.  Get whole wheat and smother it in cream cheese and go slow.  

I will share with you that a few weeks ago I started getting in two protein drinks a day.  It worked so well in reducing my carb cravings that I have upped it to three a day.  I am sooooo happy with the results so far.  The protein drinks are NOT meal replacements just added to my daily food to up my protein.  It really does help.  Now when I have something sweet a bite or two is enough.  I even had a funnel cake at the fair and ate like 3 bites and gave the rest away.  NEVER before could I have done that, starving Ethiopians and all yanno.

Start getting in those protein drinks and eat something yummy.

interesting that you say that about the protein shakes...  i know a lot of people here have some shakes some of the time...  but my surgeon advocates 5 4oz shakes a day, post op...  indefinitely.  i suspect the reason for this is not only to ensure that you get adequate protein, but also, as you said to help with satiety.

I have to jump in here and say that your surgeon ROCKS for telling you to do those protein shakes!!  I wish my surgeon had told me that from the beginning.  I'm going to go and post something about it now...I think it's really important! 

Julie, \

You've gotten some WONDERFUL advice!  I think it's time to sit down with a pen and paper and have a column for the pro's and a column for the con's of what you need to do now.  Yes, you can eat your protein first and then whatever you'd like after that.  But as others have mentioned, you may never reach your personal WLS goal.  Are you prepared to deal with that?  For me, I didn't go out and have my body rearranged in this new configuration to settle for obese or overweight, I wanted to get off all of my weight.  This may not BE your goal, and that's okay too.  We all have different expectations.  I ate low carb because it was the last time in my life I was really going to have to buckle down and just do it!  It gets easier, I promise.  And it's not forever.  Get the weight off first, however you can get it off, and then enjoy carbs for the rest of your life.  You will have to cut back on carbs from time to time to shed a few pounds here and there after you've reached goal, it's much easier to control carbs for 2 weeks than it was to control them while you're losing your weight in the weight loss window.  Anyone can diet for 2 weeks!  (It was always day 15 that kicked my ass as a pre-op!  Lol!) 

You CAN stay low carb with some creativity.  If you are DYING to have a bagel, just have it.  For me it would've come right back up...bread products didn't stay down for 4 months after my DS.  Eating bread was the ONLY thing that I threw up after my DS.  It just didn't work for me.

Evaluate where you want to be 2 years from now.  This window of opportunity is now....carbs beget carbs, and if you start wanting them all of the time now, it may seriously hinder your ability to maximize your weight loss.  You CAN lose weight after 2 years, it's just more work.  Your DS is the most effecient it's going to be RIGHT NOW!  If you have your eyes on a goal weight, it's time to decide what is most important right now.

Good luck hon.  We do know this isn't easy, we've been there, done that, and know how much some days can suck.  We ALL like to eat.  But the good news is that you've got the DS.  You wanna eat something, go for it.  Just try to avoid that it becomes an everyday event and you should chug along JUST fine!

Hugs,

Lori

I have to thank all of you for the FANTASTIC advice!

I am so trying to take care of myself and do what I need to in order to maximize weight loss during my "window."  I'm looking at an 18 month to 2-year "window" where I'll have to low carb it, or so I think.

I've been pretty successful staying under 50g a day.  I love the idea of drinking multiple protein shakes in a day.  Question -- is there such a thing as TOO MUCH protein?  Today I had one protein shake, and I ended up eating 125 g of protein!  (Yesterday and today I've been VERY hungry and eating alot.  Maybe because I didn't eat much for the three days before that.)

Some of my coping mechanisms right now are:
1.  buying lots of low carb/high protein snack bars
2.  eating more veggies (the salad I ate today really reduced my cravings)
3.  allowing myself the occasional Dreamfield's pasta meal (a pasta with mostly indigestible carbohydrates)

Before the DS, I was a total carb fiend.  Sugar and pasta and bread.  The first month I didn't crave so much.  I think adding the veggies will definitely help.  I'll also up the protein shakes, as that gives me a sweet boost.

Thank you again so much for all of your input and suggestions and encouragement.  It makes a huge difference to me because it makes me feel less alone in this and makes it easier to live like this.