Ivanova8

I lost quite a bit of weight on the Dr. Bernstein diet (offered mainly in Canada) a year ago, but like so many extreme diets I quickly gained it all back after stopping. It's very expensive unfortunately. And unless you have a tiny stomach it seems like an impossible diet to do forever no matter how much money you have. The Dr. B diet is basically a very low carb diet with "special" B12 Vitamin shots you get 3 times per week. I thought now that I've gone through the program and have all the materials that I could duplicate the diet at home after my surgery. From what I've read the B vitamin shots they give could come in handy if I could afford to go again. But some people (not having done WLS) just take the sublingual B12 and say they have good success that way. Several people on this forum mentioned that B12 doesn't absorb well after gastric bypass so injections I guess could be a plus. I have not had my surgery yet which should be a Roux N-Y or gastric bypass. I've read that you really should try to max out your first year honeymoon period for as much weight loss as you can manage. After rearranging my insides I'd really like to make the most of it. So has anyone tried the Dr. Bernstein diet or a very low carb diet after any type of weight loss surgery? If so for how long did you do it before transitioning over to a more normal healthier way of eating? Did you think it was helpful? I was thinking maybe a regular low carb diet for life might also be my best option because I noticed from being on the Dr. B diet that carbs are really my Achilles heel. Thanks.

@@gb401 I'm with you. I barely get in 6 cups a day and I'm 9 weeks out. Maybe later it will be better but I can't imagine drinking more like I used to before a fast day.

@@Dyros It's probably best to ask your rabbi that question. It could vary depending on your circumstances.

@@anewme2015 Yeah! The staff at TWH is amazing. And remember you can always keep calling to see if there are any openings sooner than what you have scheduled. That's what I did. Otherwise I would have been looking at maybe an April or May surgery. You're right! This is just the beginning I'm on the way to a new me =)

@@KreemyPeach Unfortunately I won't be able to come tonight. But I think anything no further than Steeles Ave like was suggested before would be nice. I see there's a Timmy's at Dufferin & Finch and on Bathurst north of Finch. Sunday, Monday or Tuesday nights are good for me.

@@Angelant76 Not a problem for me. Sorry I didn't notice it in your profile before.

I'm good for up to Steeles either Bathurst or Dufferin though I'd favor Bathurst more. I'm not on here everyday and I just saw that a location was picked. Not thrilled about the Highway 7 location especially since a 7pm meeting means I'd be driving up 400 during rush hour traffic. So you three ladies will have to let the rest of know how much fun you had so we'll all be jealous and want to come out next time.

@@RuthFour I spoke to the dietitian on Friday and she said 4-6 cups of any liquid I can fit in right now is fine. I'm just under 4 weeks post op. Tea, crystal light, broth whatever. No coffee or caffeined drinks though. So that was good to hear. My Protein is on target everyday so she was happy to hear that. I feel better and less stressed aiming for 4 cups of "water" in any form. Plus she said I can drink prune juice and take Benefiber again to help with the constipation. Yeah!

@@Calgirl26 Well I'm just under 4 weeks post-op (boy that went by fast!) and I think I'm a slow loser. Following the program as per the instructions I've only lost 12 lbs. I hope it's because I've heard that if you start at a lower weight that you lose slower and not because I'm doing something wrong. Funny though if I'd lost 12 lbs on WW or some other diet in less than 4 weeks I'd be doing cartwheels. I have to keep reminding myself of that. It's funny how you expect so much more from the surgery. Like to wake up each day and expect to see the scale go down a pound or two each time. Maybe some do but not me apparently. As long as it keeps steadily going down I should not complain. Everyone's weight loss journey is different. By the way I loss 9 lbs before the surgery from my last nurse weigh-in right before I started Opti-fast.

@@anewme2015 I think the entire team at TWH is amazing. I even sent the hospital ward a thank you card because the nurses there were professional, compassionate, caring and very competent. My only surgery complaint is that I never got to meet the doctor who actually did the operation. Kind of weird you know. "The phantom doctor." I did meet his assistant, Dr. Kim, who was really nice. But he must of done a super job because I've had no complications thus far and I pray it stays that way. My recovery was extremely uneventful except for the constipation that still plagues me and that's not anyone's fault. It just is. I went for orientation in Sept 2014 and had my surgery in January 2015.

@@bigbattynatty Congrats on your progress! Looking good!

@@RuthFour Thankfully getting all my Protein in has not been a problem but I did decide to call the dietitian today about the Water. Maybe she'll have other ideas beside crystal light, caffeine free tea and drinking warm water.

I agree I think it's trial and error. Water has nothing in it and now at three weeks out its giving me fits. It has to be very warm water. But yet and still I can drink my protein shakes with cold milk and ice. Weird.

I'm in Toronto near Bathurst and the 401. So I guess I would not want to travel north of Thornhill.

@@Calgirl26 Congrats on having your surgery! A bit of a rough start but you seem to have recovered nicely. May it only be smooth sailing from now on!

@@cab127 There is certainly a lot of trial and error involved. Sometimes I don't even feel hungry but I eat because I know it's time for lunch or breakfast. Unfortunately I also don't also get the full signal unless I eat slowly until it's too late but so far it hasn't been too uncomfortable. Eating slow, which is hard, seems to be the key. Hope you don't have to experience dumping again. I also try to walk every other day. Still have issues with constipation on some days and I'm hoping the walking will help. I know my lack of Water intake isn't helping though. =(

@@freshair Hey there. I'm doing pretty good. I'm happy to be up to the pureed diet but not everything sits well. Most days I still have a Protein shake for Breakfast and yogurt for lunch. Canned salmon sits well but other easily mashed fish and foods not so much. I usually have 1/4 to 1/2 cup of food. Pureed vegetable Soups have also been a winner. Boiled eggs are good too. I've not experienced dumping yet, so for that I am grateful. Oh and Solo Protein Bars are a nice high Protein yummy treat. I only eat about a third to half of a bar at a time. One thing that has been a problem is Water. It just lands in my stomach like a brick unless it's warm water. Room temperature is still uncomfortable and right out the fridge is totally out of the question. One day I ate too fast (I was late for an appointment) and then in a rush I swallowed my Vitamins with cold water. I don't know what I was thinking. The pain was horrendous. I couldn't move for 10 minutes. I've looked at Vitamin water but it has way too many carbs. I've been using Crystal Light which I like but I don't want to drink it all the time. I actually like water and I know now I'm not drinking enough. But I'm trying. I'll be at the TWH support meeting Wednesday night. Anyone else going?

My surgery was 10 days ago. I seem to be stuck at the same weight for the past 3 days. I was wondering if the weight I lost on the 2 week Opti-fast liquid diet plus the weight lost during my first week home would make for a 3 week stall. Has anyone experienced this so early after surgery? I know it's still early but could use some encouragement. And I want to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm eating between 500 - 650 calories a day. I've so far not experienced dumping. I even had 1/2 cup of pureed split pea Soup last night for dinner. The only thing different so far is that my pouch doesn't like cold Water. It definitely has to be room temperature.

@@BearerOfLight Oy vey. I hope it does not continue like this indefinitely. There should be a magic pill or formula to make it go faster or at least at an even pace. I used to walk 2 miles or more at least 3-4 times per week but I'd only been doing short walks since surgery. So on Wednesday I started walking further again so I hope that will help. I'm for sure looking forward to being cleared for gym exercises. Here's to wishing for an easier next six weeks for you!

@@anewme2015 No worries. It made perfect sense to me. I certainly hear your frustration. Maybe some Hamilton folks will weigh in with what they may have done to help speed up the process. Good luck!

@@Dyros You make a good point. I'm sure my body got comfortable and now doesn't want to lose the weight. So I suppose it needs time to realize that no, I'm not starving and it's okay to let it go! =)

@@allielee I love MFP! Isn't it great. So handy for tracking and knowing what you ate each day. Thanks for letting me know that your weight loss was in fits and starts. So frustrating since I'm doing everything that the plan says and I hope that I'm not doing anything wrong. But if this is normal even at this early stage then I'll take a deep breath, try to relax and let the process work. Hopefully a month from now I'll look back and wonder what all the fuss was about.

@@Djmohr Gosh I hope the 1/2 cup of yogurt or soup for a meal is not a problem. Sometimes it's 1/4 yogurt and then 1/4 unsweetened applesauce. I'm following the sample food plan they made for us for the first two weeks after surgery. It takes a little while to get it down but no where near 45 minutes to an hour like the plan says. More like half an hour at the most. Most days I manage to drink about 5 cups of Water. Thanks for your insights. =)

@@freshair I'm not diabetic so I couldn't check my sugar. I did check my blood pressure and it's in the high normal range. I've checked it everyday this week. I love that it's going down a bit each day.

Hi all. I'm feeling much better now. I'm trying to drink extra Water compared to the recommended norm for this stage. That's what the nurse advised along with getting up slowly and no straining when using the washroom. Her advice seems to be working. I think I may feel up to driving today. Congrats to everyone who recently had surgery! I hope it's going well.