Is there a myth that you can eat anything after the DS and lose weight?

Why are you drinking 3 or 4 shakes a day?  Why not just eat  protein and reduce your carbs further?  Especially the simple carbs?  And you don't need more than 100g of protein.

How long is your cc ?

2 years is not long term.

Hey I know 2 years is not long term.  I never meant to imply that AT ALL.  If anything I meant to imply that even at ONLY 2 years I am already seeing that I have to be diligent or I will gain weight.

I think I wrote an answer to why I drink protein on another thread to you recently.  But here's why:

1.  When I "eat" my protein cake shakes (7 carbs) I tend to stay full longer, crave fewer carbs and actually eat fewer carbs.  I FEEL better.  I feel less hungry.  I have more energy.
2.  When I had stopped drinking any protein I noticed:  weight gain, I didn't feel as well and my protein labs started trending down.  I was hungrier and nothing seemed to satisfy that hunger.
3.  When I went back to my protein supplementation I started losing weight and feeling better.  It is too soon to see labs yet to see whether they will improve.

I think supplementing protein is a YMMV type thing.  I recommend it for people who have crappy labs or who are trying to lose weight and I tell people who ask that I do supplement with protein but I don't preach that everyone needs to take it.

I have 100 cc CC.

No.   The weight does not "melt" off.  What happens is you become more like a "normal" person.  You gain weight,  you restrict your carbs,  you lose weight.  The DS is   a TOOL, but it is not work-free.

I think it is a YMMV thing.  I thought from what I had read on these forums that I would be able to eat protein first and then some carbs and that I would never really have to worry about it after that.

That was very true until I was about 16-18 months out.  Then I started gaining weight.

Everyone says that a 10 lb regain is normal.  So perhaps if I had accepted that 10 lb regain I would have stopped gaining and would have been able to eat a lot of carbs.

But I didn't WANT to gain those 10 lbs.  I am currently trying to lose the rest of that 10 lb regain (I've lost 5 of it) so I am maintaining a low carb high protein diet.  Totally my choice.

I think a lot of this depends on what BMI you are happy with.  Starting as a lightweight may have predisposed me to wanting to keep a lower BMI that someone else might want. My advanced age may play a part (post-menopause).  Who knows?

There are a lot of variables.  I just don't believe that it is a eat whatever you want lifestyle for everyone.

~Becky

No you do not "lose" your DS.....but you will absorb more with time.  The DS is a TOOL it is not a magic cure.  Having the DS does NOT mean you can eat whatever you want for the rest of your life and never gain weight.  That is NOT true.  Long term, in order to maintain the weight loss,  you must restrict your carb intake because your absorption will increase.  That is just how it is.

I'm sure our guts become more efficient at absorbing protein and complex carbs, but I'm equally sure they will NEVER be back to the super-efficient things they were pre-op. And---remember that we will ALWAYS malabsorb around 80% of the fat we eat, because fat can NOT be absorbed until it's emulsified by bile. This ONLY happens in the common channel, always and forever.

I saw your lunch pictures.  I believe you.  Yum by the way.

 It's definitely is a YMMV kinda thing, not that I can eat ANYTHING ALL THE TIME but I don't have lactose intolerance anymore or gluten intolerance.  Well, let me back up. I can eat a gluten containing product that is homemade and/or made with quality ingredients, especially better if smothered in butter or deep fried.  Cheap hamburger buns, for example, aren't worth it and will give me gas! I go straight for the meat.  But fresh Zucchini bread... I'm all over that.

Processed foods with a laundry list of ingredients might give me gas.


I can eat Dreamfields pasta just fine (some can't) but pasta as a rule is a very rare occasion as a main dish.  As long as I get in my protein and vites, I'm not making a huge fuss about carbs.  

I'm not a carb nazi because that isn't how I personally want to live my life. But, I'm actually kind of turned off by rice, potatoes and pasta simply because my smaller tummy no longer has a need for it.

other than that I eat what sounds good :)

I agree that it's a YMMV thing......

Don't hate me, but I've basically spent the past year eating whatever the hell I want and can't gain any significant weight.  I do eat high protein and always get at least 100 grams in, but I also literally eat anything else I want, be it bread, pasta, oreos, sweet tea, whatever.  Here I sit at 144 today.  I fluctuate up to about 149 or 150 when I'm about to start my period, but that's normal.

I do realize that I am a tad shy of 2 years out and that things may not stay this way forever.  At that point, I will have to reign things in a bit and find the comfortable balance between what I want to weigh/what size clothes I want to wear and what type of diet I want to eat.  I fully acknowledge that this is most likely not a free ride to eat whatever for the rest of my life.

I also want to comment on the bites and vites thread.  I personally do not post on those threads for several reasons......I would look like a total heiffer with what and how much I eat......I don't want to be seen as rubbing that in other's faces when they are struggling and I don't want to give newbies the wrong impression by seeing my diet.......I also feel like I get reprimanded if I post that I ate 5 doublestuff oreos in the afternoon and then also had a twinkie after dinner, which had some stuffing and a crescent roll with it, yaddayaddayadda.  So, my point is that I don't really think the bites and vites thread is an accurate snapshot of what all DSers eat post-op.  I think it's a snapshot of how many of those currently trying to maintain a low(ish) carb diet eat.  I also don't think I'm the only person who doesn't post in those threads for the same reasons I just mentioned.

That is why I specificlly used the word subset in my description of those of us who do use that thread. I did not mean to imply that everyone posts there or that everyone eats low carb.   I know there are people who eat a lot more carbs than what I can eat.  I don't hate you.  But I also don't think it is realistic for people to think that everyone can eat whatever they want to and lose all their weight and keep it off.

I hope you get to eat that stuff forever.  I could eat it too, until about 6 months ago.  And that was still during my "honeymoon."  I hate to think what will happen in the next year or two.  Maybe I broke my DS.

~Becky