Day 4 - Calling all Vets - Questions for you all!

Hi everyone. I decided to ask people on the RNY menu thread last Monday if they had a question for an OH Vet (Veteran) here what would they ask? I got great feedback and have 16 great questions that some of our regular posters wanted to ask the Vets here.

Here on OH if you are 5 yrs post op you are considered a "Vet." So everyone who is 5 yrs post op or more are welcome to chime in (RNYers, VSGers, DSers etc). I will ask two questions per day per post, today is Day 4. I hope that all the Vets out there will help us by giving us your experience, insight, knowledge & expertise to all of the pre ops, newbies, anyone post op who is struggling, anyone who is a lurker but does not post and for any Vet out there who may have had regain and is fuzzy about the "rules" and needs help.

Thanks in advance to all the awesome Vets!

When you reply to make it easy please just say "Response to Q1" or "Response to Q2" hope that works! Can you also include in your response how many years post you are, thanks

Question #1 (Q1):

In your opinion is high protein, low carb, avoid your personal trigger foods still the best way to eat to maintain your weight and avoid regain?

Question #2 (Q2):

Did you ever test yourself if you could 1. eat sugar, 2. drink alcohol, 3. treat yourself to your "fav" food before you got to your goal weight? If you did how did it go? If you didn't, why?

Lets talk!

Question 1

100% the way to go. For me, it's also kept the diabetes, reactive hypoglycemia and dumping under control. None of those things are conducive to good health or feeling good overall.

Question 2

I did not, personally and will never get why people do. If you're already trying to eat/drink your way round your surgery while in the honeymoon phase, it doesnt bode well for long term success. This **** is HARD, more than you can imagine when you're a newbie.

Question #1 (Q1):

In your opinion is high protein, low carb, avoid your personal trigger foods still the best way to eat to maintain your weight and avoid regain?

YES YES YES. Not much else to say, except I've learned from hard experience that carbs "are" a trigger food. Protein and fresh veggies are the key to long term success. It's not that I can never ever have a treat, but it is indeed a slippery slippery slope. (Think belly flopping off a black diamond ski hill....and reaching the bottom with your ski pants ripped open int he back because your butt has expanded to its former size...)

Question #2 (Q2):

Did you ever test yourself if you could 1. eat sugar, 2. drink alcohol, 3. treat yourself to your "fav" food before you got to your goal weight? If you did how did it go? If you didn't, why?

Alcohol - no. I"m not a drinker. I will share though, that over the years I've known a number of WLS vets who have struggled with alcohol as a transfer addiction, and it's very real. I also know several vets who began drinking again and had serious regain issues.

Sugar - not during my weight loss phase. I experienced dumping a couple of times because I waited too long to eat (once from a familiar protein shake - come on! Another time from cereal and skim milk, which is a combination I still cannot tolerate.) It was horrible - fetal position on the bathroom floor type of horrible. I followed my program to the letter that first year and didn't test it.

Favorite foods - I really don't remember. There was some trial and error after my initial weight loss - I can't tolerate sugar alcohols so most "low sugar" baked goods are off limits for me. I can't tolerate potato chips. I love ice cream but it makes me light headed and has to be a very rare treat. I know the danger zones - slider foods (pretzels, crackers, popcorn at the movies). I've eaten sweets to the point of not feeling well so I know the old habits are there waiting for me and I have to be very very vigilant. Once i get on a roll with eating sweets, I find that the old cravings are still right there and have to kick them all over again.

Question #1 (Q1):

In your opinion is high protein, low carb, avoid your personal trigger foods still the best way to eat to maintain your weight and avoid regain?

Yes. But I am discovering that high protein, low carb, works great for me to lose weight. But I need to increase carbs in maintenance. Eating just keto style - makes me lose too much, specially since that carbs my appetite. I have adrenal Insufficiency, and that can cause uncontrolled Hypoglycemia when I just eat keto. I need to add some carbs (fruits and veggies) to make sure my BS is stable.

Question #2 (Q2):

Did you ever test yourself if you could 1. eat sugar, 2. drink alcohol, 3. treat yourself to your "fav" food before you got to your goal weight? If you did how did it go? If you didn't, why?

Ok would love to say no, but that would not be true. I did not drink alcohol until after I reached my goal, except one time I put a little bit of Baily liquor on top of my protein ice cream. I did not get drank or even felt any of the alcohol, but that was the very first time I dumped. And it was bad, really bad. Since that day, even smelling Bailey's gives me nausea.

That was also testing sugar intake. It was not a lot of alcohol or sugar but it was enough of the combination, that made me sick for over 24 hours.

Another "mistake" was getting polish chocolate candies as a gift from friends. One of my favorites. I decided to sample a couple of them. Huge huge mistake. Not only I dumped, but I also got my first severe RH. I took the rest of the box to work and left then in the break room.

The polish chocolates candies type are still my kryptonite. I can't have them at home.

Hi Daisy and all!

More good questions - here is my experience:

Time since surgery: 5 years, 3 months, working (at least in my mind) to lose 25 lbs of my regain...

Q1 (high protein, low carb): yes yes yes. This worked for me and I was a machine, losing from 351 to 160 in two weeks less than one year. That diet worked. And even five years out, when I eat DENSE PROTEIN, I get full on a small amount of food and eat within my calories. When I eat popcorn, crackers, chips, junk...too many calories and BAM, the scale moves up much more quickly than it moves down!

Q2 (test myself): one time. Like I said, that first year I was a beast. I ate on plan 100%. I didn't have a sip of alcohol. My one "test" (which looking back was rather stupid) was at ten months post op I had a small piece of cake at my brother's wedding because he had RAVED about this cake. Now, if I dumped, that would have been an AWFUL time to learn that! From what I have read about people's dumping experiences, I would have been on the bathroom floor at an outdoor wedding in a rock quarry. Dumb me. But alas, I don't dump. I wish I did. Honestly, other than rice and falafel, which have made me projectile vomit at times, my stomach can handle almost anything. Spices, fine. Sugar, fine. I sort of think dumping would be a good deterrent. But regardless, no, I never tested my limits during the weight loss phase. Like Kim said above, **** gets hard in maintenance and why mess with that before you get to goal???

Q1. Absofreakinglutely. Sticking with a low carb diet is the ONLY way I can stay on track. If I try to eat like a normie....baaad, baaad things happen.

Q2: I was a stupid on my first Turkey Day after my surgery. I was 6 months post-op and thought I could handle a tiny piece of apple pie after I'd had some turkey and green beans. Hahahahahahahahahaha yeahhhh, it was NOT pretty. I stayed away from sugar after that until after I hit goal and then it was the very occasional bite of a treat. Of course, I've gone off the rails a few times since then..sigh.

1. Protein first.
2. Dont start. Don't try. Hold off. My brain on sugar is a crazy ***** who wants to live in bakeries. It is so easy to gain weight. The holy grail of flour,sugar,and butter. Try so hard. It took me 4 years of trying to eat a piece of toast. Then I could eat it every 2 hours. 2.5 No alcohol while your losing weight to spare the liver. I drink a glass of wine 4xyear at the Opera. Less if there is no intermission.

Double poster.

The day go away from me, yesterday...those 5 Short Peeps were in MONDAY MODE :)... so I'll keep my answers short, and sweet:

Q1: YES...BUT - my trigger food is some white/fluffy/salty stuff...when I DO have it, I measure it out AHEAD OF TIME, and PLAN it, as part of my daily totals

Q2: I did WAY too much of EVERYTHING...PLEASE do NOT do what I DID...HUGE MISTAKE !!!!!!!!

I am a black and white kind of person. All in or go home. So 100% yes to question 1. And no to question two. I can't eat certain foods anymore. End of story. I haven't knowingly and won't. It's too hard to back away once I've rolled down the slippery slope. BTDT with my LapBand.