Question:
DOES LOW CARB WORK AS WELL AFTER 18 MTH FOR NON WLS VS. WLS

IF YOU HAVE HAD WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY DOES THE LOW CARB DIET WORK BETTER FOR YOU THAN IT WOULD FOR A NON-WEIGHT LOSS PERSON 18 MONTHS & LONGER AFTER THE SURGERY?    — BLSLIM77 (posted on November 21, 2004)

November 21, 2004
For me it backfired. I was easiely maintaining at 162. But I still wanted to lose another 30 lbs. So I went low carb and lost 7 lbs. But as soon as I went off I went up to 165. It has been a year and I can't get down to 162 again. Now I'm sorry I even tried to diet. I was better off before.
   — Danmark

November 21, 2004
My surgeon has told me that for the rest of my life 75% of my meals need to be protein. Then vegetables/fruit....after that if I'm still hungry carbs. So I guess technically I'll always be on a "low carb" diet.
   — SJP

November 22, 2004
I think it does. With my RNY, because of my small pouch, I can still fill up on a modest amount of food, even at 2 1/2 years post-op, *if* I eat a dense protein food first. I don't think of this as "low-carb" eating; I think of it as "protein-first" eating. Without WLS, I'd still have a normal-sized stomach, and I wouldn't get nearly as full as I do now with dense proteins.<P>However, if I don't lead off with a dense protein food first, I find that I can eat normal portions of many, many foods now, as measured by anyone's standards. Indeed, I can even overeat easily if I pace myself just right. In that sense, I can outeat my surgery, and could regain easily. Maybe not as fast or as much as without WLS, but enough so that, over time, I could become obese, even morbidly so, all over again. Hence the "protein-first" rule.
   — Suzy C.

November 22, 2004
I use a "good carb" versus "low carb" plan (like South Beach phase II) and it works well for me as a long term post-op. Does it work BETTER for me than a non-WLS person? Probably not at this point since I'm proximal and your intestines adjust to absorb more. I think it's better for me since I eat more protein which we need as a post-op. The biggest difference I see as a WLS post-op is that I can actually stay on a program now, whereas pre-op, I couldn't stay on a diet to save my life (literally).
   — mom2jtx3

November 23, 2004
At 10 yrs, I'd say yes. My preference is carbs (potato, pasta, rice), so I find if the balance of my meals becomes too heavily those things, I will become more round. When I put it back into protein/veg/starch, everything is fine again. I do 6 protein drinks per day, though, so that has a lot to do with holding my wt. That does tip the balance, but not if I then have 4 meals of starch only <g>.
   — vitalady