Back to Basics??

 What do you consider Back to Basics???  Shakes, Shakes, Shakes??

IMO, back to basics= going back to your post op instructions and following those rules to a T. Cutting out any junk you may have let wiggle its way back in. Upping your water, exercise, and protein. Cutting out carbs if needed.

I wouldn't go back to liquids only, because then I would be too eager to eat afterwards and probably end up way off plan once I went back to solids... but that's just me.

To me: meat, meat, meat & cheese and veggies. Shakes if you can't get enough protein in.. or if you are like me and hate eating first thing in the am. 

I'm not a fan of going back to liquids, feels like punishment, and it's not a realistic way of eating. So for me the 5 day pouch test is in reality, just another crash diet. I didn't even have to do a liquid pre-op diet, my surgeon favors a real-food approach, just very low carb.

B2B for me is pretty much where I'm at, with just a few less cals/carb & prot: 600-800cals/under 40g carbs, 70+prot and TONS of water. 

 I'm doing primarily shakes right now with a light protein/veggie dinner but I prefer shakes because it gives me relief from my never ending acid reflux. As long as I don't eat, I don't have so much acid, so I dont get hungry. 

And it's a mental reset for me even if it is a little "diet mentality" -ish. Sometimes
I just need to regain control so it works for me. 

Back to Basics for me means making sure I follow the RULES 100%. Honestly, I've never really felt the need to go "back to basics", but I do often have a "food event" (dinner out with friends, party, movie, etc...) at which I make a choice to eat something carby. When I make that choice I always reset the next day (or meal) by going heavy on protein and super low on carbs. If I don't do that, I end up craving carbs and that's just no fun. 

So for me, Back to Basics means following my good, healthy, VSG eating plan - 100 to 120 grams protein and fewer than 40 grams of carbs for a day or two. After a couple of low carb days for detox (if needed)  I will go back to my normal 80 - 100 carbs per day.

I will not go back to liquids. That just seems punitive to me. (I'd probably binge afterward, too!)

I'm in the same school of thought as Kairk and Jo.

I absolutely refuse to do liquids. For me, and my sanity, I'm not going to crash diet again. B2B for me is cutting out simple carbs and grazing, which I've gotte in during my pregnancies. However, even when I had a gain, I did go all out and cut all foods, nor do I resort to liquids.

Basics for me are 1) good solid rule following Protein first, greens, carbs if room 2) stop justifying that handful of nuts, trail mix, goldfish crackers as I cruise through the kitchen preparing a bottle or Tot's lunch.3) Recognize the behaviors, adapt and overcome

I really love carbs, they don't love me. I feel crappy, lethargic, and overall just blah. My body really does "run" more efficiently and better on protein and veggies.

I just can't go back to crash dieting behaviors. And, for me, shakes/liquids is just that, crash dieting in hopes of reigning in some behavior. It did nothing positive for me in the past. Naturally skinny people don't do that crap, they realize they've put on a couple of pounds, they recognize those behaviors and adjust. I have plenty of girlfriends who are "normal", don't have food issues, and we've discussed certain behaviors and what keeps them in their size 6 pants. It's not dieting, it's not cutting food groups, it's a simple equation of eating less + moving more + reigning in the behavior that led to their little bounce up on the scale before it gets out of hand. That's where I want to be for life. The ability to be that aware of my behaviors and correct them before the consequences of getting fat again set in.

 Thanks!