BullZeye

I second Laura777's support of the South Beach Supercharged as a pre-op diet. It has worked great for me and I find the meals you can make and the allowed food groups are very satisfying. Thanks to these types of diets the whole grain options at the store have gotten much better. I've hit my surgery goal weight dropping 21 pounds. I drifted a couple of times during the last 6 weeks on the plan but nothing serious enough you can't recover quickly. The big thing is first not to call it cheating... that sounds negative. I called it drifting for a reason, because its easy to correct and get back on course. We are all human and there are going to be times when a beer sounds overwhelmingly good, or a perhaps a warm cookie causes you feel depresed and deprived. But the point is to remember perfection is not required to loose weight just the ability not to throw it all under the bus and go haywire because you have a slight drift off course once in a while. I found with that approach, accepting an occasional drift but controlling how wide I drift and not beating myself up as a result, the course corrections come easier AND ironically they are needed with lesser frequency as you become better at piloting the ship.

I'm in the pre-op phase having been approved for insurance but am waiting for surgery for a bit because of upcoming events and I don't want to be learning the band and its impact on me while I'm at an out of town conference away from family and my care network. My doc and nutritionist are both strong supporters of the South Beach Diet plan. In fact I was impressed when they both told me its the diet plan they strongly recommend for their diebetic patients to help moderate blood sugar spikes and healthy eating habits. Like other carb focussed systems it also has strong emphasis on Protein choices but with healthy carbs (whole grains and fruits) eaten in moderation and lower fat choices for meat and dairy. It pretty much eliminates starchy items like potatoes and corn as those turn to sugar in our system but if you can adjust to not having potatoes, and avoiding 1 or 2 high sugar content fruits like watermelon it works well. There are several books and recipe guides on the food plan and several web sites dedicated to creative recipes and food presentations to mix things up and make it work and yes, its actually kind of fun at times. I highly recommend ricotta waffles as a great Sunday Breakfast. Its worked great for me. I lost 70 pounds in 10 months on it 5 years ago then gained it all back after drifting back to old habits and buying decisions. I've lost 21 on it so far in my pre-op phase over the last 6 weeks and I'm never hungry and my energy levels are much better than when I was eating white flour and proceesed rice/pasta instead of whole health grains and fruits with more protein. Atkins gets a lot of press and publicity but another alternative is South Beach. Look into it and see if its for you.

I've been doing the South Beach Diet for the last 6 weeks and am down 21 pounds and have hit my pre-surgery weight goal. For me the SBD is an excellent food plan that I am going to follow up to the point of surgery and post surgery as soon as I am back on solids. Its a nice blend of healthy fats (olive oil, lean meats, etc) and healthy carbs (whole wheat tortillas, brown/wild rice, whole grain pastas etc) with none of the processed sugars and refined flour that packs on the pounds so easily. I've never felt more energetic because I think my body uses those foods so much more efficiently and all my pants and shirts are a bit looser even after only 21 pounds. As long as I hit the pre-surgical weight I am not required to do a pre-op liquid diet for additional loss.

Hey all... I got the call yesterday from my surgeon's office that I've cleared all the pre-op and insurance hurdles and can come in for a consult and schedule surgery. I have to admit, this call put kind of a chill on my mood. I started second guessing my decision to do this. I've been successful with my pre-op weight loss having dropped 21 pounds in 7 weeks and doing very well following the South Beach Diet plan. I've found no difficulties in following the SBD and have never felt better getting rid of the white flour, processed sugar, and starches from my diet and making much better choices on whole wheat grains, lower fat meats, cheese and dressings, artificial sweeteners or using naturally sweet foods as sugar replacement in recipes. As my family doctor suggested if I can do SBD and stick to my current excercise plan for life do I really need the surgery and the possible side effects of PBing, Slimming on certain foods....foods I know I currently enjoy and are part of SBD plan. I mean I'd need to made modifications on making smart food choices and exercise anyways band or no band, the only thing the band will do is control portion sizes of those same foods but may make eating some of them very uncomfortable. So now I'm having second thoughts and wondering all over again if I've made the right decision :scared2:. Is getting cold feet pretty common for folks a few weeks before surgery ? If so how did you avoid over thinking and changing your mind about what seemed like a great choice and desirable life change only 1 or 2 months ago ?

Is there anyone that follows the south beach diet post surgery on here and can you share your experience ? I'm a SBD supporter as I've done the diet twice loosing 70lbs in 10 months, and 60 pounds in 5 months twice in my life only to rebound it all back in the years post SBD (falling off the phase 3 plan). I've been doing the SBD the last 6 weeks and have lost 21 lbs pre surgery and am currently under my surgery goal weight. I'm planning on following a SBD type of phase 2 diet post banding and my doc and nutritionist say the proportion of food groups and types of healthy choices on the diet make good sence once I am banded. What is you experience following an SBD structured diet (healthy fat, healthy carb) post surgery. What's worked, what hasn't, and do any of the foods it suggests as staples of the food plan give you any problems (brown rice, whole grain bread, whole weat tortillas ???). Thanks.

Hello.... I'm only a few steps into the process towards banding. Started reading and learning 3 months ago and decided to do something more permanent about my weight having really tired of the yo-yo dieting I've done all my life. I have spent time researching this, found great information at my physician's conference, and in the last 3 weeks I have been evaluated at the clinic, by my family physician, dietitian and have the first of three psych visits done. Starting a series of 6 phone consultations with my insurance company's steps to wellness program next week. A lot of hurdles to get through but I am convinced they are worth the time. So far, I have added exercise and Water to my daily routine and have modified my eating to eliminate any eating after dinner and any junk food types of Snacks and so far I am down 5 lbs of the 19lbs I need to loose prior to surgery. I feel great about that :Banane20:. I know its only a small % of the weight I want to loose but baby steps right ? Will be starting the South Beach diet as my pre-op diet in a week once the books arrive from Amazon. My family doc and the bariatric dietitian both support that food plan as a good pre-op plan and from what I've learned I like the balanced healthful approach that food plan takes. Anyways, hoping to find some online folks to talk to and keep up with for support and also get to know a few of you and lend a supportive shoulder for you as well.

Well I just finished my first week on the South Beach Diet. Its the 3rd change in my life working towards my surgical goal weight. Starting at 329 in early March, and added a walking program, increased Water consumption right away, eliminated all unhealthy Snacks and beer from my diet the second week, and having jumped on the SBD 9 days ago I am now down 13 pounds and only have 6 to go for surgical weight. I love the South Beach plan its works very well for me as I lost 70 pounds on it last time so I'm excited to see a big change in my weight this last week. I've had my psych evaluation now and nutritional consult. Both my doctor and my nutritionist encouraged the South Beach diet for me to loose weight pre-surgery and a healthy approach to food following surgery. Hope everyone is doing well wherever you are in your process of banding.

Mimi and Catherine thank you for the welcome, much appreciated. Yeah time is going by relatively quickly anyways. I'm not one to wish time away and I have plenty of activities with work and my kids to keep my busy as I go through the insurance requirements. I'm a month closer already than I was at the start of the month when this began in earnest and I look at this month like Mimi said as a good beginning. I've been told with my insurance its about a 3 month process from start to procedure so I only have 2 months to go. It will take me plenty of time to adjust to all the added chewing I'm practicing but I do find that a frustrating habit to develop. So learning to chew like a grinding machine and dropping the remaining 14 lbs are my goals the next two months.