Question:
I am worried about the no carb diet post-op...
I have tried the Atkins diet several times, and I can't stand it after 1 week with no carbs! Am I going to find the post-op no carb routine impossible? — Tim W. (posted on January 30, 2003)
January 30, 2003
Well, Tim, I didn't know we could have NO carbs on this 'diet'. I think if
you eat your protein first, and then your vegetables and THEN your carbs,
you will not feel you are missing out on anything. NEVER over eat. That
will not be hard at first. I am celebrating my three month post op
anniversary today. I am down 80 lbs. I think it's wonderful that my head
and my tummy are so in sync and I am just not able to eat much. Portion
control was ALWAYS my problem. Tonight, for example, AFTER I had eaten my
HALF of a SMALL chicken breast and then my vegetables and a quarter of a
baked potato, I was able to have three SMALL bites of some tapioca pudding.
It was satisfying and enough. I listen to my body and NEVER over eat.
Like I said, this is not a problem after this surgery. Good luck to you.
— Ginger M.
January 30, 2003
I was very concerned about this pre-op too, afterall, potatoes and pasta
are my favorite foods. Then I had the surgery and realized its so much
easier than you think because for me, everytime I eat its like I've eaten
Thanksgiving dinner. Its just alot easier to say no to some of those
things if you're really full. Later on, we'll be able to add some carbs in
our diet when we're closer to maintenence. Good luck to you.
— thumpiez
January 30, 2003
I know that we get different info from our programs, but what seems to be
the norm is "protein first". That doesn't mean you can't have ANY
carbs. I'm 1.5 months post-op and tonight I ate a very small taco with
meat, cheese, lettuce and taco shell. It was VERY small, and I didn't feel
overly full. I eat a balanced diet. I eat carbs, but I eat protein FIRST.
Otherwise, there might not be room for protein, which is what you NEED to
eat. I wouldn't worry about it. I'm a carb-addict, and I'm doing ok. :)
— Diana L.
January 30, 2003
My Dr. DID NOT EVER say NO carbs, only to eat protein and veggies first. I
was a pastaholic, but now it hurts my stomach. a little "behavior
modification" I guess. I would sau unbalanced diets are what yo-yo'd
me to 260. Surgery has given me a tool to help me with the moderation I
always needed and was not capable of.
— **willow**
January 30, 2003
Since my protein is shakes, my food is likely to be carbs, fruits. veggies.
No milk, no other sugars. But some good whole grain breads. There has to
be balance. I do eat cheese on my burger, but lotsa lettuce & tomato,
too.
— vitalady
January 30, 2003
My doctor (not surgeon) recommended Atkins to me years ago. I could NOT
survive without bread and potatoes. Just kill me and get it over with. Life
is'nt worth living if I can't have mashed with gravy. Anyway I did the
Carbohydrates Addict Diet and lost 25 pounds in 12 days! But I never could
lose anymore weight afterward but boy I felt good on that diet. Honest, I
felt wonderful. Anyway, carbs have gotten a big hold on me again and I
can't lose anymore weight. I'm thinking of doing it again. Should you want
to go low carb this is the diet! Once a day you can eat all the carbs you
want (although you are supposed to eat in balance). Here is the web
address. (I have the book and found it to be a real eye opener as to why
carbs make you eat more and what they do to your blood sugar ect).
http://www.carbohydrateaddicts.com/
— Danmark
January 30, 2003
You have to eat your protein first, then you can add carbs if there is
room. I satisfied my carb carvings by eating crackers--one or two will
fill you up. Now I eat protein first then some veggies. ALso your taste
will change and things you couldn't live without will not interest you
anymore. I could never imagined not eating bread and potatoes before
surgery. Now I have no interest in them==
good luck
— barbara A.
January 30, 2003
You have to eat your protein first, then you can add carbs if there is
room. I satisfied my carb carvings by eating crackers--one or two will
fill you up. Now I eat protein first then some veggies. ALso your taste
will change and things you couldn't live without will not interest you
anymore. I could never imagined not eating bread and potatoes before
surgery. Now I have no interest in them==
good luck
— barbara A.
January 31, 2003
My nutrionist insists that we have carbs in our diet but she does stress
that we chose protein first. She told me tht carbohydrates are directly
linked to brain function and depleating carbs drasticly could cause
permenant memory loss. God knows I don't need that....lol. I always chose
protein first but have carbs everyday and enjoy them as much as I did
before surgery. Donna Rutherford Open RNY 7-5-02 start weight 253, current
weight 160, total loss -93 lbs.
— DRutherford
January 31, 2003
My surgeon is a "No-carb EVER" kind of guy. I balked at the
idea, but honestly, carbs just don't go down well for me. A few whole
wheat crackers or 1/2 a whole wheat tortilla with a protein is enough to
stuff me. So if I absolutely "have to" eat carbs (ie- crave), I
make sure it's something whole grain. Occasionally, I have had a bite or
two of white bread, or baked potato, and it makes me not feel well. I
think that my tastes have adjusted with time.
— Rebekah B.
January 31, 2003
hi there :) my post op diet concists of moslty protein but i do get a
little carbs in as well. i try to stick to the complex ones most of the
time.i at times may eat a cracker but i dont eat bread, noodles, rice. once
in a while ill have a taste of some type of potato.i dont want to be
deprived of everythng all the time and feel a sense of normalcy is
important. breads dont make me sick i just dont like the feeling of 2 bites
and being done, bread filled me up way to quick so i made the desision to
give it up completely, pre op this is somethng i nver would have done, it
has been much easier for me to give it up this way. i wish you the best of
luck! :)
— carrie M.
January 31, 2003
hi there :) my post op diet concists of moslty protein but i do get a
little carbs in as well. i try to stick to the complex ones most of the
time.i at times may eat a cracker but i dont eat bread, noodles, rice. once
in a while ill have a taste of some type of potato.i dont want to be
deprived of everythng all the time and feel a sense of normalcy is
important. breads dont make me sick i just dont like the feeling of 2 bites
and being done, bread filled me up way to quick so i made the desision to
give it up completely, pre op this is somethng i nver would have done, it
has been much easier for me to give it up this way. i wish you the best of
luck! :)
— carrie M.
January 31, 2003
My dr told me I could eat "anything you can tolerate." Now, I
knew that I needed a substantial amount of protein so I followed the simple
rule: Protein first, then fruits & veggies, then other stuff if I have
room. I still follow it but now I have more room. ;) <p>Also remember
that all carbs are not created equal. Toss out the "white" stuff
(potatoes, pasta, rice, white flour, white sugar, corn--yeah, I know it's
yellow LOL) and replace it with complex carbohydrates (whole grain flours
& pasta, fruits, veggies, brown rice, etc.). Early on (once I started
solid food) I averaged about 50 grams a day of carbs and 65 grams of
protein. Now I am right at 125-150 grams of carbs and 100+ grams of
protien.<p>Also remember that carbs can create a vicious cycle: The
more you eat the more you want. If you tend to have a problem with them
(like I do) you'll know it! I have to eliminate carbs in the morning or I'm
hungry all day. I believe in moderation BUT not at breakfast because I HATE
that starving feeling!
— ctyst
January 31, 2003
You can have carbs, you just need to learn to put your protein first. For
example if I eat spaghetti and meatballs I will eat the meatballs first and
with what room I have left I have some pasta. Or eat a steak first (small
one) then some baked potato and veggies. Read my profile I have a lot of
info.
— Linda A.
January 31, 2003
Although each of you who have answered are correct - based on your
individual surgeon's guidance - your answers to this poster are not right.
I am also a patient of Dr. Marema's in Ft. Lauderdale and his treatment is
NO CARBS until the patient has lost 75% of excess weight. Although many
here will disagree with this approach, it does work, and it helps to ensure
that the patient does not lose necessary muscle mass during the quick
weight-loss phase.
— Juan C.
February 1, 2003
Excuse me Juan, but your answer is no more correct than the rest of ours.
You are going by what your doctor says and we are going with what ours say.
Neither is right or wrong - just different approaches. My doctor allows
me to eat carbs but even if he didn't I would eat them anyway. I did not
have this surgery to cut out an entire food group! Carbs are essential to
good nutrition. Clearly we shouldn't eat as many as we did before surgery
but we can eat some.
— Pamela R.
February 1, 2003
I have to agree. Our bodies need protein, carbs and fat to function
properly. However, many people confuse carbs with starches. While all
starches are carbohydrate, not all carbs are starches. Starches are things
like bread, potatoes, corn, peas and so on. Carbohydrates include all
fruits and veggies, in addition to the starches I just listed. Many can't
tolerate refined sugar, which isn't all that great for anyone unless it's
for a small treat once in a great while. However, I don't believe your
body can survive and function without some veggies and fruits in our diets
and I know that fats are essential to keeping our bodies lubricated, our
hair and skin from being so dry, etc.
— garw
February 1, 2003
Hi again, and thanks to all of you for your support! It is good to hear
that there are many ways for this to work, as many as there are people, I
guess! I went to a health food store and bought a single serving of the
lowest carb protein shake I could find... I mixed it in milk (I think it
will be water I use post-op) and it isn't too bad at all! It is KETO slim,
with 23g of protein, 2g of carbs, .5g fats and no sugar at all... anyone
ever heard of it?
— Tim W.
February 2, 2003
Pamela, you have said the same thing I did - 'follow your own doctor's
guidelines.' If you bothered to look at the original poster's profile - as
I did - you would see he has the same surgeon that I did, as I referenced
in my answer. As such, I believe, I gave the answer which is most
appropriate for him, because it is based on what his actual surgeon
prescribes for a post-op diet, not some general commentary on what is
"right" in another person's opinion. Every other answer to this
question - including yours - has given the original poster suggestions
which are contrary to his surgeon's requirements.
— Juan C.
February 3, 2003
Juan, I think you're being a little hard on all the helpful people who've
posted on this issue (and speaking of reading profiles -- read theirs and
note how many are successful WITHOUT treating carbs like the proverbial
"wooden stake through the heart"). Yours is not the only doc who
tells people "no carbs" until they've lost 75% of their weight.
But frankly, I think that's impossible. There are very few foods that
literally have no carbs in them. Surely he's not banning fruits,
vegetables, and many forms of protein that have also contain carbs as well
as protein.<P>Beyond that, I seriously question this approach even as
applied to so-called "bad carbs" (and oooo, are they baddies to
me, lol!). The purpose of WLS is to help us relearn our eating habits so
we don't regain all this weight we lose during the "honeymoon"
period. It's NOT to try to set a land-speed record for losing weight on a
funky all-protein diet that bears no relationship to how the patient will
be living one year, two years, or five years down the road. To my mind,
telling people not to eat *any* carbs until a certain weight is reached is
setting them up for more "diet-go-round" failure. Those early
post-op months are the best for re-learning our eating habits. It's when
we fear and respect the pouches the most (and when the pouch can really
whack us upside the head the most!) about how to eat carefully and learn to
handle some of our food demons. What a waste not to use that early phase
of this tool to learn how to handle carbs, too. I think there are real
issues attached with creating a class of "forbidden foods" like
this; it just smacks of "diet merry-go-round" all over again.
The posters below have given lots of thought to how to handle carbs and
keep our protein higher, and I think we're all ahead of the game for having
gotten experience with it from the beginning (liquid and pureed phases
aside). Please try to understand the reasons why people posted the very
good advice they did. There's really a lot more to this issue than just:
"Bad patient! Doctor said 'No No!" :=)
— Suzy C.
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