DS & Carbs

Hi All,

I had my VSG in 2010, lost 55 lbs for a couple years, and then started gaining it back (ACK!!).    I'm in the pre-op process for the DS, and have been reading all your posts with much interest.

I hear that carbs are the enemy post-DS, with a variety of digestive problems, but I'm also seeing on the posts about daily diet that folks are eating bread, pasta, candies, and other carbs.   

So my question is, when you eat bread, pasta, potatoes, and other white carbs, are you doing it knowing you'll face digestive consequences?   Or are you able to eat some carbs without an issue?   Does this change the longer you move post-op?

I only ask so that I can make plans for my lifestyle post-op, hoping to qualify for surgery this fall sometime.

Thank you!!

I think everyone is a little different in the carb department. Some folks can maintain their weight and have little digestive issues with carbs...I'm not one of them. I will indulge more on the weekends but carefully. Also, finding a great probiotic helps the digestive system a lot.

--gina 

I am 9 years out and I have always been able to eat what I want, and I have also never made it to goal. So there is consquences

I am a carb eater, I am guilty I eat white pasta, jelly beans, stuff like that, I find that I don't have to many issues. Sometimes I get bloated if I overdo it, and sometimes I do get a little gassy, but my system handles most anything I eat. So it really depends on the person. 

Susan

I am two years out.  I eat mindfully of the DS with a focus on protein and fat.  I do not have a lot of digestive issues with carbs, but I do take two different types of probiotics each day with the Vitalady-recommended vitamin list.  I purposely try to limit pasta, rice, sugar and flour, and I don't drink calories except for protein shakes and the half and half I put in my coffee.

With all that said, if there is something I want I will eat it.  Last night I had 1/2 a brisket sandwich that included a bun and onion ring.  At a family reunion there was a vegetable dish that had pasta swirls in it.  I also had some cake and tasted other desserts too.  Potatoes have been fine for me.  I eat chips, salsa, and guacamole probably once a week.  There are a few candies that have produced lots of intestinal rumbling and gas, but nothing has caused diarrhea.  

But -- praise the DS -- since my intestinal configuration has changed, my body's reaction to food is different.  I no longer CRAVE cake or desserts.  I no longer NEED the big bowl of ice cream.  I am no longer DRIVEN to eat.   I feel so grateful that the DS has allowed me to eat mindfully and have almost anything in a reasonable quantity.

Wishing you the best in your journey...

I'm 6 months out from the DS, I stay away from carbs as much as I can. I do occasionally have more carbs than I should, but I'm very limiting with them.  The weeks I do have more carbs than I should my weight loss is much slower.  Yes, with the DS carbs are the enemy...and don't forget about the sugar too! Sugar is as much an enemy as carbs are.  The only digestive problems I get from carbs is gas, and lots of it!!  Let me tell ya, the DS gas is TERRIBLE (the smell)!!!  I'm talking really, really bad!!  I've been told in order to stay in ketosis, you should have 20-25 (or less) net carbs per day.  Net carbs are different than total carbs.  To figure net carbs you subtract the dietary fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carbs.  So if something has 23 TOTAL carbs, 9 dietary fiber, and 6 sugar alcohols, your NET carbs for that food is 8.....so....is having pasta or bread worth being thrown out of ketosis, having slower weight loss, and getting bloated with awful gas?  Not for me! You have to decide that for yourself.  Everyone reacts differently to excess carb intake, you will have to discover for yourself how your body reacts to it.  I hope this helped you, and I wish you the best of luck :-)

I am 13 months out and have made my personal goal five months ago.  If I lose more, I look sickly.  The only way to maintain the weight that's best for me is to eat carbs in normal amounts...that means everything.  I rarely have reactions, gas etc, to anything except sugar alcohols.  If I eat just protein/fat, I start to lose quickly again...it's a balancing act based on weighing weekly.

I see the post-op lifestyle as more of a phased approach. This is just how I see it.

In the losing phase most of us are high protein - low carb. At the beginning I didn't have much room for anything beyond protein.
I was also pretty sensitive to carbs that I would occasionally splurge on the first 8 or 9 months. Trips to the bathroom were the
expected consequence. At 15 months I am less ?reactive? to carbs but I can always tell that if I let carbs in to my diet because my weight loss 
slows or stalls.

You will see very few people losing adequately on a high carb diet like you describe. It's a big change to your system - so yes you may still lose
for a while just not as much and not as fast. Plus if you make no dietary changes you are totally screwed when that honeymoon phase is over.

There are exceptions but that is what they are - exceptions.

Maintenance is a whole different ball game. I'm not there yet but I know you have to watch the balance between enough carbs to keep you
at the weight you want without too many causing you to gain weight back.

I totally agree with Ladybug. While I can now enjoy some ice cream or a piece of birthday cake. I no longer feel the craving/urge to eat more
than a serving.

Pete

Thank you all for taking the time to respond, it helps to know what to expect, and I'm reading everything I can in preparation.   Failing with the VSG was very discouraging, and I'm committed to succeeding this time around.   

It depends on the person and the CC length. Those with shorter common channels have more issues with carbs and sugars. I have one of the shorter channels  so too many of the wrong carbs give me diarrhea and sugar gives me horrible gas. If I mix sugar with carbs such as a piece of cake or something it tears me up. I have to stay completely away from sugar alcohols because they completely screw my flora up.

I am only a little over a year out and I hope this changes at some point. All that being said I can still eat carbs. I eat cookies on occasion if they have under 10g of sugar and low carb. I eat low carb wheat bread with peanut butter and low sugar jelly and it does not do anything to me at all. Some chips tear me up and some do nothing.  If I am going to eat something with carbs and sugars I keep the carbs around 20 and the sugars under 10g and for some reason keeping it around there keeps it from messing me up. If I go over those numbers I will sit on the pot for two hours miserable for a day.

I eat around 70g of carbs a day mostly good carbs and still lose weight. I had a really bad stall for three months where my body was fighting to get past my skinniest point. The DS finally won and I dropped ten pounds in two weeks and I have been steadily losing since. A normal day for me is...

2 Yogurt, 2 protein bars, two protein shakes, half peanut butter and jelly sandwich, sugar free pop cycles from two to four, for dinner I eat some kind of meat with veggies and at times a starch. I might even have a piece of pizza.   I usually have two dinners. I eat all that in a day. 

Hi!

Can you tell me at what point you experienced the three month stall?  I am thinking I am there :(

Thanks.