OutsideMatchInside

My Dr told me at my one week post-op appt what to do.

Are you self pay but have insurance in the US? You are going to need to monitor your blood work etc post-op. I wouldn't have DS outside of the US only because the DS requires a lot of post-op care, you need your blood work etc monitored closely. It is a more complicated surgery so if you are thinking about DS, then find a Dr in the US. The only way to make a decision is to think about what matter to you, what level of dedication you have, and how much maintenance you want to do long term. You really just have to do your own research and decide based on your values. As far as weight loss, the type of surgery you have doesn't matter, you pretty much choose how much weight you lose by how you eat. Surgery doesn't lose the weight for you.

If you wear the same clothes you will never feel like you are losing weight. When I was losing as soon as my clothes were loose I donated them or tossed them and replaced them. Clearing your closet out every 2 to 3 weeks is the best reinforcement of progress. I got that advice from a friend that lost 200 pounds without surgery.

It really isn't Keto because if the meat is lean and the spinach is plain, that is just low carb. The key to eating keto, is the fat ratio.

Google or search here. I'm not explaining it again for the 50th time.

It might take a while for your cholesterol to adjust. Burning a lot of fat rapidly can make your cholesterol spike until your weight stabilizes.

Low carb isn't keto and keto isn't low carb. People keep mixing up the terms and they are not the same thing. A post-op diet is low carb, not keto. Almost all bariatric diets post-op are low carb and low fat (which is kind of impossible). The reason so many people fail at Keto is because they don't understand what it is or how it works. You have to set your macros and control the ratios carefully. If you aren't you are just low carbing, which is fine, but it isn't Keto. Unless you are vegetarian/vegan, you are going to low carb for the rest of your life anyway if you are eating properly in the right order. If you have plate of food, you are supposed to eat your protein FIRST. First means ALONE not alternating bites with other foods, FIRST. If you have your proper portion of protein 3-4 ounces, and you finish that, THEN eat your veggies/carbs, you will be lucky to get an ounce of those items in. The protein is going to make you full by eating it first. People don't follow these directions, they eat alternating bites. They don't measure and weigh their portions. If you eat your veggies alternating bites with your protein, you can eat a lot more food, and you won't feel as full and you will not get all your protein in. This is why I eat my veggies separate at snacks so I can get enough veggies in while meeting my protein goals. If I didn't eat my veggies separate, I would never eat any, because 3 to 4 ounces of protein fills me up. On a typical day I eat 4 cups of spinach. That is pretty much the sum of my carbs, and it is barely 4 carbs, the rest of my carbs are from half and half. If I have broccoli instead I might hit 6 carbs in broccoli and even that is a stretch because broccoli is more filling and I can't eat as much of it as I can of spinach. If you are eating protein and green veggies, it is basically impossible not to low carb.

It seems like a lot of advice given by "nutritionist" is only for immediately post-op. I don't know if this is just because that is their focus or they don't deal with many patients long term. Probably a mix of both. I get in more calories by eating more often. Now at also 2 years post-op I can also eat more volume depending on what it is, but I try to keep my calories and volume in check each time I eat. 4 ounces is the most comfortable amount of dense protein I can eat, sometimes I can get away with 5 but I try very hard not to do it, because I might not realize I went too far until it is too late then it feels like a baby elephant is standing on my chest. The first 6 months I wasn't allowed steak or pork chops anything really dense, so that kept my calories down naturally. Once I was able to have steak my calories went up just because steak is more calories than fish.

@Sparklez No, I basically eat all day long. I eat basically whatever I want. If I want pizza (rarely) I make low carb pizza. I have chicken wings all the time (I bake them in the oven or order them fried naked out), I eat quest chips. If you are willing to spend the money and you can cook you can have all the things you like in low carb WLS friendly versions. There is really no reason to give up anything or think you will never have it again. I'm going to walk my dog and have some ice cream in a little while. Today I had... Bacon and coffee Ranch Wings Ribs (Beef with sugar free BBQ sauce) Italian beef (in a bow) And lost more coffee with half and half. After the point you are healed, about 6 months post-op, you can eat a wide variety of foods. I love and enjoy food more now than I ever did before surgery.

@cstem When is the last time you had your labs checked? Try just having dense protein for a week or 2 and see if that gets things moving. If you aren't weighing your food, make sure you are weighing and tracking every single thing you eat to make sure you are tracking accurately. Hopefully someone who is further out from surgery than you shows up to offer you advice.

@Green1 How long since surgery?

You can't grow back something removed from your body. It is gone forever. Sleeve is really more perm that RNY since RNY can stretch and a properly formed sleeve cannot stretch out, RNY patients keep their entire stomach in their body forever, it is just severed. Many post-op people RNY have an expanded stomach at the top of their intestine. And in extreme circumstances, RNY is reversible, the sleeve isn't since the stomach is removed and disposed of. @SEAHAWKS FAN! I'm glad you decided not to have surgery if your heart wasn't in it. I feel like too many people have surgery when they are not committed 100%. Post-op is a lot easier when you have totally bought into the process. Good luck with whatever you choose.

You should eat in a way that you can keep eating forever without feeling deprived. I love eating Keto but it isn't for everyone. If a person feels deprived, then eating Keto or anything else is going to suck for them. I feel like people need a find a way to eat that doesn't feel like a diet, is easily sustainable for them, and doesn't encourage the idea of cheat meals or cheat days. If you aren't carb sensitive and can lose weight eating carbs then eat carbs. No one has to live your life or in your body but you. Most programs allow for carbs anyway.

Not unless you try honestly. If you choose to eat certain things it is easy to regain and over eat. If you eat how your program tells you, it is basically impossible.

Just go to the Dr.

In the study I linked they cite a few other studies. One of the things they notated, which seems to be true with successful who keep their weight off long term, WLS patients or not is... Also they define a high protein diet as 1.5 g per kg per day of total weight not lean mass, 1.5 is still within the acceptable recommended limits. I am roughly 84 Kilos total weight that is 126 grams (which is about what I eat in a normal day). The .8 recommendation would put someone like me at 67 grams of protein a day. My issue with that is less the low amount of protein but the low amount of calories. Protein is 4 calories a gram, that is 268 calories a day. I have not idea where I would find another 1200 to 1400 minimum calories a day just so I could function, then if I wanted to maintain, I would need to find another 1800 is calories that were not protein. I can't eat 1800 calories a day in spinach. This is a really long PDF and pages 609-696 deal with protein recommendations. https://www.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fnic_uploads//energy_full_report.pdf At the bottom of page 692 in the PDF they start talking about high protein diets. The first few paragraphs deal with it. Basically you can high protein if you have enough fat, but you can't eat just super lean meat and keep your fat low, because in the past people have became size doing this (top half of page 693). Page 694 The uppers limits of what counts are possibly high protein is 3 to 3.5 grams of protein per kilogram of total weight. I don't think any weight loss patient could eat over 200 grams of protein a day unless they were drinking it and eating protein bars. Even at that high rate... This is all a lot to say there is no recommended upper limit, there is no data on it really. People can eat massive amounts of protein over 200 grams a day without adverse effects, that doesn't mean that people should eat that much. Still eat 100 grams or so a day is fairly normal and not a cause for alarm. So people should consult with their Doctors, keep up with the regular blood work. I am going to keep consuming my 1g per pound of lean mass because it has allowed me to maintain my lean mass without regular weight training while losing a large amount of fat. I have lost 95% fat and only 5% muscle all with just walking and eating high protein. That might not be right for everyone but scaremongering people into eating low amounts of protein which may be counter productive for weight loss and maintenance is not necessary. People should consult with their medical team and find a way they can eat for life without feeling deprived.

Her Dr office already gave her an 80 gram goal, knowing her medical history, so obviously 70 isn't too much. And science says you need more protein. The US government says you need less because they fill the food pyramid with carbs because of lobbyists. The only people that can advise her on proper protein levels are her medical team and they already have. No one on the internet is qualified to tell her how to eat, even if she is asking. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1262767/ Since OP isn't carb sensitive, she could switch her protein sources to 50% plant based and that is easier on her kidneys if that is a real concern for her Drs.

My very first drink in the hospital was from a straw. If you aren't dumb and know how not to suck in air, that should be no issue with drinking from a straw. Early on it is really useful because you can suck a steady slow stream. It is a lot easier to regulate than sips and swallows, and you can drink water a lot easier and faster.

Walmart only stocks 2 flavors usually, at least around here. I know Texas Walmarts are well Texas sized so they might carry more. GNC has more flavors. Salt and Vinegar tastes the best because the flavoring isn't synthetic. You can order them on Amazon with Amazon prime.

I love the lamb broth a whole foods. It isn't low sodium though. A low carb diet is a diuretic, ketosis has a strong diuretic effect. You need sodium in your diet if you are on a low carb diet. They have bone broth at Whole Foods, it is cheap and doesn't take 14 plus hours to make. Make sure you read the label of every broth you buy, some have added sugar and a lot of them have carbs from flour thickeners. Whole foods has a wider variety than trader joe's and that is where I purchased all my broths.

Buy Quest chips and keep them in your desk at work. You can eat those when everyone else is eating regular chips. They are 130 calories, 20g of protein, and 2 net carbs.

Drinking once is not going to damage you. You have to drink heavily for years. You learned from your mistake, don't beat yourself up about it, it is the past you can't change it. Just move on.

It is normal early on not to go for days and not because you are constipated but just because the quantity of food you eat is so small. As you eat more, you have more frequent bowel movements, By the time you are 6 months or so they should be close to normal. My plan says I can have nuts at 8 weeks. I have only had nuts a couple times since surgery just because they aren't worth it, not enough protein for the calories but you can have them. Nuts aren't hard to digest at all. You chew them and they break up very small and mushy, like a nut butter. By the time Christmas comes around you will have no issues with eating them at all.

@diana52817 What is your fluid consumption like? Headache are often the first sign of dehydration.

Well to some extent it is kind of pointless to buy a lot of protein powders and stuff pre-op. What you like pre-op you might not like post-op. Buying a lot of stuff is kind of pointless. At the one year mark I threw out so much protein. I just threw some other protein I had from before surgery and right after a couple days ago cleaning out the cabinets. I love premier protein shakes and used them for years before surgery as a meal replacement. Once I had them for weeks and months and they were my main source of food, I don't know if I will ever touch another one again. I haven't had a protein shake in months, and I doubt I will ever have another one again. If your husband wants out the marriage after 14 years, well that is normal for anyone, WLS or not. If you see cracks in your marriage might as well start working on them now, instead of later. And honestly his weight loss surgery and recovery is mainly about him. Just because other people are around, no one is going to feel it or know what he is going through but him. A pre=op patient can't imagine what life is like really post-op just like people who recently had WLS have no idea what long term life is like. You have to live it. You guys can't live it for him, even if you are living it with him, Plus things are really only different the first 3 to 6 months, after that life is pretty normal.