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Hi. I have had a lap band for 11 and half years. I lost around 100 lbs with it but it turned me into a bulimic because I could eat whatever I wanted and just "regurgitate" it back up. It was a bad cycle to be in, but it kept my weight off. Finally last year I went to my bariatric surgeon and confessed up. He did some tests and realized my esophagus was "floppy" and dilated. He did a complete unfill of my band at the time. I was able to maintain my original weight loss on the keto diet, but after 10 months I fell off the keto wagon and the weight QUICKLY returned. I gained around 50 lbs in 4 months!! I went back to my surgeon a year later and we have decided to remove my lap band and switch to the gastric bypass. He is not a fan of the lap band surgery anymore and is not recommending them to his patients. I have my surgery next week on October 6th. I am nervous because I am 52 now and postmenopausal. Im definitely not as active as I was when I first had my lap band surgery almost 12 years ago. How many people on this forum have had the lap band to bypass? How was their weight loss compared to the first surgery? What differences do you notice with restriction? Anyone having the surgery soon? or recently? Thanks in advance!

I started my journey at 397 pounds. I lost 99 pounds during my six month insurance-required pre-op diet program, weighing 298 on the day of surgery (September 28, 2016). I met my goal of 180 pounds on October 2, 2017, 1 year and 4 days post-op. I currently weigh 173 pounds. The surgery helped me, yes, but I have followed a keto way of eating since the first day of my six month pre-op diet program. I eat less than 25 grams of carbs per day and keep my calories below 2000. I plan to continue to eat that way long term. That's what has helped me to achieve my goals. Good luck!

My nutritionist said I couldn't take psyllium capsules. She said due to the nature of the sleeve they could get caught outside the stomach and choke me or something like that. I did use psyllium when I did keto and they worked well though. Wish I could use them again. Anyways miralax will help keep things soft but not necessarily moving. Occasionally have to take a laxative to keep things moving.

After reading a thread in another forum here, I thought I'd check in and see HOW everyone eats 2+ years post op!! I am 4.5 years post op and currently doing nutritional ketosis but seriously thinking about switching to a more 'bariatric' style eating with higher protein, lower fat and a few more starchy things (like some beans or a bit of squash) every now and again... I have also FINALLY embraced the need to move and get active so have started doing some muscle building. But, in the meantime i'm curious- how are YOU eating these days? Regular diet? Keto? Paleo? Bariatric/low carb? Diabetic diet? Cal controlled? Give your 2 cents!!

Yes, indeed surgery is the key factor. One of the things that I have recognized over the years of being in this game is how little dietary style influences ones weight loss after surgery. Back in the good ol' days 20-30 years ago WLS patients were often advised to just "eat like you always have, just less...." and that generally worked quite well - for the year or so, give or take, that they were losing. Maintaining that loss was not so successful with that approach, obviously, as they never changed what got them into trouble in the first place, and they often regained just as they did when doing diets in the past, though usually somewhat more slowly owing to the restriction that they had. Back when low fat diets were "in", people did just as well with their WLS as they do today with low carb and keto diets being the big thing. The important thing is developing good long term eating habits that one can maintain forever, and none of the popular fad diets do that for most people, and they tend to regain when they get tired of the diet.

YES! Keto was wonderful for me. I lost 40lbs in the first 2 months and then stalled for a year and a half no matter what I did (at which point I learned I was broken). But I loved it anyway. I slept better, felt more energetic, never had low blood sugar/hangry emotions and almost never was hungry. Here are some fantastic resources: The big one: www.reddit.com/r/keto - Seriously, everything you could want is there. They're amazing and it is an active community full of people who get the science side and the flavor side. Recipes: Two huge sites I would always visit: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/ and http://cavemanketo.com/ Macro calculator for if you hit a stall: https://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ I don't want to overwhelm you with links and info. If you're ever looking for a good bread substitute or something for a sweet tooth/salt craving, I probably found something to fit the bill.

i have done a lot of study and self-experimentation with ketogenic diets going back 8 years. i highly, HIGHLY suggest you not start any sort of keto dieting. just kick the liquid calories. also realize that a bit of rebound pounds is normal.

I'll chime in... First, I abstained from alcohol for the entirety of my six month pre-op diet program and the first 3 months post-op. I just wasn't willing to derail the progress I wanted to make on the front end of the surgery (where I lost 100 pounds by surgery day) or the first few months post-op. I took my ex on a monthlong tour of SE Asia at the 3 months post-op point. I spoke with my surgeon about alcohol on the trip, and he told me that I would be fine. His only recommendation was to take it easy and test things out at home before I went out in public with it. I am now 16 months post-op, and it has been 22 months since I started this journey. I follow a keto way of eating and am really particular about what I put in my body. I have lost 225 pounds, am below goal, and have maintained beautifully for several months now. Do I have alcohol? Yes, I do. I mostly have red wine and I mostly only have it when I am traveling for work or on the weekends. Drinking has always been a very social thing for me. Yes, there are statistics about WLS and alcoholism just there are statistics about losing more weight with a bypass than a sleeve. But, I'll same the same thing about the alcohol as I did about the bypass vs sleeve weight loss issue in a thread the other day. It depends on the person. If you were inclined toward alcoholism before, you will be now. If you are eating and exercising like you should, a few drinks (especially with low- or no-carb mixers) probably won't cause you a problem. I had a sleeve and have been more successful than many bypass patients. It just depends on each person's story. But if your alcohol calories outnumber your food calories, that is an issue. Something to think about. To each his own. I have no issue with it, and never have gained one once from it, but I am also crazy obsessed about what I eat and how often I imbibe. It's all about balance, in my opinion. Good luck!

Dear Great-West Insurance: This letter is to provide you, Great-West Healthcare, with a bit of insight on the life of someone who is morbidly obese. Here I am 27 years old and I currently weigh 329 pounds. THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE pounds. It makes me want to cry just saying it. I’m supposed to be at my prime, these are supposed to be the best years of my life, and here I am struggling with each step I take, each breath I breathe. There has to be a change, and I am asking for your approval of Bariatric surgery, where the Lap Band would help me live the rest of my life to the fullest. So here I stand at 5’10” and weigh a whopping 329 pounds, that would put my BMI at 47.2! According to the National Institutes of Health I should weigh 170 pounds. I cant recall the last time I weighed 170. Infact, the lowest I can ever remember weighing is 185#. I remember it very clearly, I was in 7th grade, I was 12 years old. Id say the weight began pouring on me that summer. Since it seems I’ve nearly doubled that weight in just half of my life, I’d like to share with you in detail my struggle with being an obese child, obese teenager, obese young adult, and now, and a morbidly obese mother and wife. I was 11 years old, I went to visit my grandmother for a few weeks the summer before I began 7th grade. Me and a few kids were playing, and my grandmother after a little while brought ice cream sandwiches to all of the kids for a snack. Well, all the kids but me. She proceeded to call me “fat”, “you don’t need any ice cream”, “you should only eat fruit”. All of the kids there began laughing and pointing at me, and at that point, I began to feel not like the rest of kids, I felt I was “fat”. If my own grandmother would call me fat, what on earth does everyone else think of me?? That summer I began eating, and eating, and eating. It seems it just hasn’t stopped since. That fall I wanted to play sports, small schools let anyone be on the team, with a physical from the doctor saying you were healthy. I remember the doctor writing “overweight” on my physical exam. I was embarrassed to turn in the exam to my coach, with a weight of 185 and the word “overweight” in black and white, I was sure my peers would see this and I’d be labeled the “fat kid” all over again. My parents didn’t help matters at all. I went to my mom right about this time to help me diet, and get in shape. This only led to more issues with food, dieting and the yo-yo roller coaster ride that I’ve been on my entire life it seems. The first diet I ever remember being on is the Atkins diet. My mom would pack my lunches for me, to make sure that I ate only what I should. I also wasn’t given snack money like the rest of my peers, so that I wouldn’t be tempted to buy sodas, or chips at recess. Then at the end of each school day, my mom would break out the KETO Sticks, to see if I had cheated that day. If the stick turned purple, I was praised, and if it didn’t, Id get a long lecture about how overweight I was, and how the other kids make fun of me at school, etc. Which would always cause me to starting crying and sware Id get back on track. I lost a few pounds, give or take 10 or so…But the weight just came back on, with a few bad habits. While my mom was trying to “help” me lose weight, Id find her locking up the fridge and freezer, so that after school, I wouldn’t be able to eat anything until she got home from work. This was her way of supervising my diet while she was gone. This only led to me sneaking food behind my parents back. When using the KETO sticks each day, Id manage to find the purple ones in the trash from a few days prior, and urinate on it as if it were a new one. My KETO never failed me that way, and I never failed my mother. Until she found out what I was doing, and at that point, I had to use the KETO sticks in front of her. That diet soon left, and then came the low fat diet. Low fat cottage cheese, low fat this, low fat that. As a young kid its hard enough trying to fit in at school, much less if you’re on a different diet because you are the “fat kid”. Id say I was 199 or so my freshman year, I was 14 years old. I had been on so many diets in the past 2 years, that Id even find myself binging. My parents would send me to the store on my bike, and Id buy loads of candy, and junk food, something I could gobble up before I made it home. Id hide it where I parked my bike, and when they put me on the strict diet, or would put me to bed early so they could eat the ice cream and peach cobbler, Id sneak my own sweets. Being that I never had a boyfriend throughout high school, I devoted all my energy into sports. Like I said, all kids in a small school can be on the team, you just never get the chance to play. The only control I had on my weight when I was in high school was the activity I would get in sports. While all other young adults were experiencing their first kiss and double dating, I didn’t. It was as if I were cursed. Id go to bed many nights crying, and praying that Id be tall and slender like the rest of the girls my age. My mother again thought shed help me out. Shed post a favorite swimsuit I saw in a magazine on the fridge, the same fridge that she kept tightly locked. On the flip side, my dad would often bribe me with food. He was my escape. He ask me to go to town with him, and when I declined, he would say, “we will eat Chinese, or steaks” or whatever it was I was craving at that point. My father and I would also take many fishing trips together the next few years, and during that time he’d invest in a dozen hamburgers on the way to the lake. Id invest in extra weight. There reached a point where my father wanted to lose weight as well. So we joined Nutri System together. I had to be pre-approved by my doctor so I could join, since I was only a teen at the time. This diet among many others lead to short success. I managed to lose 30 pounds, and felt great. But it seemed no matter how great I did, nobody would notice, and so the short success lead to failure once again. The weight creeped back on, and would always seem to add 5 or 10 more pounds with it. When I graduated from high school at 17 years old, I weighed 230 pounds. I remember it very clearly. Wow, I just realized in only 10 years I have managed to gain 100 pounds. At this rate I will weigh 490 pounds by the time my 5 month old graduates from high school. If I live that long. College was no easier. With college though, came all exposure to eating disorders that I somehow missed in high school. I recall trying the laxatives, trying to startle my gag reflex to vomit, and starving myself until I even began to pass out from lack of food and water. I even went to the pharmacy in search of syrup of Ipecac since I wasn’t successful with purging with my finger. Diet pills were “the thing”. Oh, I failed to mention when I was around 14 or 15 my mom began giving me the world famous Phen-Fen, along with the 4 or 5 other pills that went along with it. So Diet Pills weren’t new to me. Around 2000 I topped the scales at 255 pounds or so, Metabolife and Ephedrine was the thing at the time. I found myself buying it in bulk, and then eating nothing but pretzels and water for weeks at a time. Again, the weight came off, I felt terrible, and would end up eating in excess and so more weight would just build back on. When I married my husband in 2002 I weighed 272 pounds. Since we have been married I have tried numerous times to drop the extra weight. We even invested in exercise equipment totaling $3500. We joined gyms, we have walked, even managed to jog for a few steps. But the minute I let my guard down, it never fails, I gain. Nursing school added another 15 or so pounds on me. I cant describe how difficult it is to explain to my diabetic patients the importance of healthy weight when here I sit at a plump 329. When I got pregnant with our son I weighed 290, when he was born, I had gained a whopping 60 pounds. The stress on my joints and body was unbearable. I began trying to lose weight once again, this January on a simple low calorie diet. I try to be more active, but it is very difficult to perform even the easiest tasks. I often get short of breath from doing simple things like bringing in the groceries, or doing laundry. Cleaning the house, doing yard work, picking up my child is all very difficult for me to do. I cant even enjoy going to a movie theater or riding roller coasters because I am to large for the seats. Pleasurable activities that I once enjoyed such as gardening, walking and riding a bike is a thing of the past, a mere memory. I am requesting your approval for the Lap Band so that I can have a 2nd chance at life. I’ve been happily married for almost 4 years now, and our 5 month old son deserves to see his mom another 40 or 50 years. Id love to one day ride a bike with him, ride roller coasters, play catch, and go to the beach. I don’t want to burden him with the weight I have been carrying my whole life. I don’t want to be the “fat mama”. My family has many co-morbidities: MY MATERNAL SIDE: My mother--has hip, knee and back pain. She is expected to have knee surgery at the end of this year. She is also obese, has hypertension, GERD and high cholesterol. She has also been advised she is borderline diabetic. My grandmother--she too had hip, knee and back pain. She had osteoporosis, high cholesterol, asthma, sleep apnea, GERD and heart disease. She had multiple diagnoses of Cancer including bladder, kidney and lung cancer. She was also obese. She passed at an early age of 67. My grandfather--he is still living after a quadruple bypass. He has a history of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, high cholesterol, osteoporosis and PVD. He is also obese. MY PATERNAL SIDE: My father--he has experienced a heart attack at a young age, CHF, COPD, diabetic, hypertension and is obese. My grandmother--history of diabetes, PAD, heart disease, GERD, cancer, osteoporosis and is also obese. My grandfather--died of a massive heart attack at the age of 55, he had a history of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, CHF, COPD, and high cholesterol. My health history--I suffer from chronic back and hip pain. I have been diagnosed with bursitis in the right hip. I have shortness of breath with light tasks. I experience daytime sleepiness, and I’m physically to tired to do anything. I experience reflux and heartburn. It took my husband and I three years to get pregnant with our son. I suffered from irregular periods due to my obesity. I also have issues with rashes under bilateral breasts, on my bottom and peri area. I also experience anxiety and am currently on anti-depressant medications due to my current health condition. I take pain medicine daily to help with hip and back pain. A few other issues that make life in general very difficult being morbidly obese. I have a hard time doing simple things like shaving my legs, not to mention getting out of the bathtub. My bra straps cut into my shoulders, causing everyday neck pain because of strain from my breasts. I also have a very hard time finding a bra that will even fit me. I also have a tendency to get a rash under both of my breasts--which at first breaks out and itches, then becomes a sore open area that hurts to even touch it. Its rather embarrassing but its hard to even clean myself properly after using the restroom. I also have a tendency to be overly sweaty and therefore my butt crack collects moisture and then it too cracks and is very painful just like my breasts. I also have incontinence of urine with the littlest tasks. I find this very embarrassing, and have began wearing panty liners at all time to prevent accidents in public. Standing for longer than 30 minutes plays a toll on my joints and back, and I must sit down. Many times just the weight on my lower back from sitting down causes pain, and therefore I have to lie down. Lets not even mention the fact about finding clothes for me. I am currently in size 32 shirt, and 28 jeans, and its nearly impossible to find these sizes at the local Walmart. I have to purchase most of my clothing at a plus size women’s store which is VERY expensive as you may know. Seat belts are nearly never large enough, I have my own seat belt extender which I carry with me while traveling anywhere. In a world were society labels morbidly obese as out of the ordinary I feel exactly that way when in public. I often get treated wrongly because I am obese. I have had waitresses purposely sit me at a booth at a restaurant knowing that I couldn’t fit, then giggle behind my back when seeing me try. Please, this is my last resort to eliminating the hurt and pain that I have gone through for so many years. Again, I feel this is my last resort to freedom from this weight and burden I have been carrying my entire life. The results from my MRI done on June 30th of this year revealed that I have a herniated disc to my lower back. This seems to be the cause of the back pain, and with the added weight on my back, it makes matters even worse. I have been referred to a pain specialist where they have plans on injecting my lower back with steroid injections from time to time, and assisting me with pain management. This was definitely devastating news, here I am 27 years old, and I am told my back has a herniated disc. I am also told my primary care physician that this condition only gets worse, that it can never heal on its own. I also have the understanding that losing weight will help the pain that I am experiencing at this time by relieving some of the pressure off of that area. The only other option is surgery. Please also take this into consideration when determining if the Lap Band is right for me. My weight loss history--Over the counter diet pills: Hydroxycut, Metabolife, TrimSpa, Xantrex 3, ENERGY, Lipo 6, Stacker 2. Prescription medications: Phen-Fen, Phentermine, Xenical, Meridia. Diets used in the past: Jenny Craig, Nutri System, Weight Watchers, South beach, cardiac, Atkins, Sugar Busters, Slim Fast, low fat, grapefruit. As you can see I have tried many many times to drop the weight. It seems every woman in my family is morbidly obese, this obviously is genetic in my family. I am not overweight because I haven’t put forth the effort to diet or exercise. I am overweight because I am the 5th generation of morbidly obese women. I am obese because I cant remain on a routine exercise plan because of back and joint pain. I am obese because I have tried so many diets in the past my metabolism has appeared to have completely shut down. I realize that this is a lot of information, and I do apologize. I simply wanted to give you a full history of my attempts to lose weight. I cant tell you how many times I have failed at weight loss. I am fearful that with the rate that I am going, I will not be able to live a happy, healthy life. I am fearful that I too will die of a massive heart attack at 55 or have to live as a bilateral amputee because diabetes got the best of me. Please consider me for this surgery, I feel this is my last chance at life. Thank you.

I wonder if this bothers people because it hits a little too close to home. I used to hate when people said, "It's not a diet -- it's a lifestyle change!" (usually when referring to... a diet, e.g., keto). But now, I get it, as much as I hate to admit. I actually use that now to shut people up when they get too nosy about my weight loss (I have kept my surgery private and not told any friends, family, or coworkers). When they demand to know my secret to weight loss, I say I made a lot of lifestyle changes, and that's not what they want to hear. I see a lot of people on this forum who seem to expect the surgery to work like magic -- to make weight loss easy, instant, and permanent. Reminding people that surgery is a tool, not something that works on its own, might be a reality that's hard to face.

Which cost $200 - the Robards or another one? Are the $200 ones those you were advised to use by your surgeon or medical team? Usually we say follow your surgeon’s & medical team’s plan because it’s in place to best support you lose weight & make the surgery easier & safer. There likely is a specific reason your surgeon recommended the shakes they did. But if the expense is a concern (& $200 does seem excessive - does your insurance cover it?) I’d speak to your surgeon & ask for alternatives. My surgeon puts different patients on different pre surgery plans. For example he sent me to a dietician & did keto for the two weeks. He sent my friend (who had more to lose & pre existing health issues which I didn’t) to the hospital’s weight loss clinic to do their shake plan.

I follow a low carb/high protein/high healthy fat way of eating and have done so for the past almost 2 years (including the food stages post-op). To many, this is a keto diet; to me it is a permanent way of life. I have no intention of bringing carbs or sugar back into my life at any point. I worked hard to make food nothing more than fuel, and I am going to continue to live that way. (I know that this approach isn't for everyone, but it has helped me to lose 225 pounds and beautifully maintain that loss...) I look at the word diet as "how I eat," and not a program to lose weight. I don't need to lose weight anymore.

Probably not until late November. I can't pin my surgeon down, to get a date. They keep moving the goalposts. ("Lose 15 pounds by September, and we'll schedule you." "Ah, you lost 6 pounds between June and July; lose 6 more by August, and we'll get you in for late September/early October." "Oh, no, actually, Dr. Eid wants you to lose 20 more pounds, so if you lose 8 between now and your September appointment, we'll put you on the schedule for, let's say, the week of Thanksgiving." Ugh. Anyway, I'm at 7 out of those "8 more pounds," a couple of weeks after that appointment*, and well on my way to the "20 more total," so I'm going to do my best to get them to put me on the schedule, for real this time, so I can know when my surgery date is.) *I am cheating by doing a low-fat keto diet. ~5 of those pounds were definitely water weight from switching into ketosis, so as soon as I eat some fruit or something, they'll come back. Cheating or not, I'll meet their goals so that I can get in and get the surgery this semester. (I work at a college and take classes. My whole life is in semesters.)

Are you morbidly obese? If that sounds like a smart ass question, it is. We are MO. Period. End of story. I can NOT think of ONE scenario where our fat bodies actually NEED an influx of the amount of exogenous dietary fat from relatively nutritionless liquids. We get almost all the fat we need from the fat liberation that is hopefully going on inside our bodies! ALL post surgery patients in the initial weight loss phases are by-proxy on VLCDs (very low calorie diets). Why would you want to sabotage those few calories you CAN have on BS liquids like bulletproof fat laced, fat bomb coffee? And btw? I'm a low carb keto proponent, but I think the latest evolution of fat obsessed ketoneers is totally loony bins crazy! We are not epileptics. And if we're MO, there is no way you need a diet 80-85% fat. I'm not fat phobic. I'm a dietary pragmatist and realist. (BTW, if you are lost in an Antarctica expedition and have 9% body fat, my response to you will be entirely different. Come talk to me then...we will discuss Ericksonn and rabbit starvation.)

Baloney. mr fluffy and I have been Keto for about 90% of the last 18 years. Good news! We still have all our kidneys and have totes normal bun/crest levels!! Even despite my chemo and tons of contrast media! Lol. https://www.renalandurologynews.com/nutrition/high-fat-low-carb-diet-beneficial-for-ckd-patients/article/314032/

Damn i thought i replied but it never up loaded...https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/protein-for-vegans-vegetariansPea protein, hemp hearts, tofu, chia, etc. Not single source. Its going to cost you calorically but it can be done. Usually you have to plan very well and make your own foods. Example if you make falafel you can add ground hemp hearts, chia seeds, flax, pea protein, spices,etc. Stir fry mushrooms with fluffed buckwheat and quinoa. Eat with a hummus spread. You will work harder (especially if you don't like legumes) but its possible. I have come to the very real conclusion that my time with animal protein is almost over, but I'm interested in keto, I stopped by to see if I could do it for a short burst then try to vegetarian/vegan keto for a burst to break through anticipated plateaus VSG2017 HW 249 SW 238 CW 167

Not exactly Baloney for everyone. I went on a protein strict diet prior to surgery and almost couldn't have surgery because I had temporary proteinuria. It didn't level back out until I started a more balanced diet. The kidney doctor told me specifically that an increase in protein, or heavy protein diet can cause temporary---leading to permanent kidney disease or damage. This happened to me. My doctor told me this. I should say, that this isn't the case for everyone I'm sure. And we all know that pre op diets and liver shrinking diets in general, are the extreme version of "Keto".

You'r welcomed. While the BP coffee, and the keto movement in general may be debatable, the liquid calories are one of the Cardinal no-no's of WLS, (or at least a big red flag,) no matter how healthy and nutritious that liquid may be. Some surgeons are even really down on the protein shakes because of them being liquid calories, though most are accepting of them for their necessity during the immediate to intermediate post op times to ensure adequate protein intake.

So I've arranged my first dietician consult, which is interestingly done remotely via WebEx video conference (not relevant to this post, but just interesting). Any who...I was given a lengthy PDF packet to read through regarding general nutrition and as I read it, I find I don't agree with some of the information. I've been living relatively strict keto, High Fat/Moderate Protein/Low Carb for nearly 2 years and I'm afraid I'm going to get into this consult and butt heads with the poor person. Not on purpose, but I really don't want to change the way I eat because I know what happens when I eat the stuff that is considered OK. I get bloated, I gain weight, my face gets puffy, my feet get swollen...etc. My body likes keto and most "health professionals" aren't on that bandwagon. Any words of advice from anyone that's gone through their diet consults would be awesome. I know the best thing is to just smile and nod, but I know this girl is going to want active participation.

UPDATE: Yep, I was definitely overthinking things The dietician was so nice and very helpful. We talked for a good hour and a half and the best part is, she's down with keto! She said her main focus right now is to get me prepared for life after surgery like working on weaning off caffeine and mindful eating. Also, these dietician visits are free and unlimited even after surgery which is flippin' great! My mind is at ease now

That’s good to hear. It’s taken so much work to change my mindset from “eat all the things” to keto. If all I need to do is dial back my fat, I should be good.

I definitely consider myself lucky! Just a bit of anxiety surrounding my rules being so different from the vast majority of what I see online about people's requirements and all. Was hoping to quell it a bit. I considered maybe imposing my own liquid pre-op diet for a couple days leading up to surgery to play it safe, but I know I'll be miserable if I do. When I've cut out sugar in the past to do do keto, the first few days are just migraine ridden. I also don't know that 2-3 days would actually be enough to shrink the liver at all.

Actually if you are completely keto-adapted you have no need of carbs. Reference the Inuits who eat nothing but protein and fat year-round (in their native environment before McDonalds marched in probably) - there was even a doctor who lived with them 11 years eating what they ate and was completely normal. You mention protein to repair the muscles - yes, protein is needed, and fat is needed for fuel. There is no need for glucose if you consume adequate fat. http://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-Low-Carbohydrate-Performance/dp/0983490716/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1434031729&sr=8-2&keywords=phinney+and+volek The authors of the above book say "low carb" rather than "no carb" b/c in our world, realistically we aren't going to avoid every single carb. If you avoid ALL processed foods, and potatoes, corn and peas, you can probably eat most of the other fruit and vegetable carbs on a limited basis. However, I suspect the OP is actually just having the typical 3 week post-op stall. She doesn't say when her surgery was, but the amount of weight loss makes me suspect that. Also if she is fairly early post-op and eating even small amounts of crackers and bread, she's probably not getting all her protein in.

Yes, here is update. It took a little longer for me to heal for the DS over the sleeve. My belly was sore and bloated for a solid 2 weeks, with painful gas. It was a pretty uncomfortable recovery in the hospital. I had mine in Mexico and they really don't give you any pain meds. I now have figured out what I can eat. Pretty much anything I want!! Minus sugar...I have found I can still eat bread on my sandwich with no ill effect, and can have just a few bites of dessert. I can have 1 slice of pizza, steak and corn on the cob, roast beef, ... nothing really bothers my stomach. Since I am trying to lose, I do limit my portions, but I'm fully satisfied. Do not feel like I'm missing out at all, nor do I have uncontrollable cravings. I have found that if I eat too much of a carb or sugar, I will have gas and alot more loose stool the next day. It's not like uncontrollable diarrhea or anything, just have to go alot. For that reason it's really not worth it to overeat on carbs, and it keeps me from doing it. And I try to limit my carbs for the weight loss effect, not low carb by any means... just do half a piece of bread with sandwich, etc. The bathroom situation is not as horrible as a lot made it out to be. I had problems with constipation before, so it's actually nice to have looser stools. It is more stinky, but it's worth it!! I have not had any accidents..when I'm traveling I take devrom tablets, and it takes the stinkies away. It took awhile for me to trust the weight loss from malabsorption. At first I didn't trust it, and was eating hardly anything at all, and it actually slowed my weight loss. Once I trusted it, and ate like a normal person (about 1000-1300 cals a day) the weight started coming off. I have lost 12 since July 20. It's slow but steady. I average about 2 lbs a week... before my DS when I would try so hard doing keto, or 1000 cals a day ( which felt like starvation) I absolutely would not lose. For breakfast I usually have 4 sausage links or low sugar oatmeal. For lunch a deli meat sandwich with cheese and Mayo, usually on just one piece bread. For dinner, usually grill a meat with a veggie, or do tacos, or bacon avacado sandwich, or egg drop soup with 2 crab rangoon. Or I also love Amy's frozen cheese enchiladas. I try not to snack between meals, because most snacks are carb heavy. If I do, I'll do cheese sticks. Any questions, please ask. Would I do it over again, heck yes.

you're very likely in ketosis. The metallic taste (at the back of the throat and sides of the tongue?) is a result of breaking down and using ketones, the by-product of which is acetyl-CoA and acetate.... dont worry about it it indicates your insulin and blood sugar levels are dropping.. also a good thing. It will resolve through the day then come back periodically. This goes away entirely for most people who enter ketosis and stay there after a few weeks. More info, look up "keto breath"