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Years before I had VSG, I tried the keto diet. Gained 7 lbs. in one week, so I went off it. I am almost 2 years post-op and do not use the word “diet” for myself, as diets have always failed me. I eat intuitively and so far, it seems to be working for me.

Keto is no better or worse than any of the other fad diets out there - it's just the one that's currently "in". As with the others, maybe 5% of people on it can lose, and most importantly, keep, a substantial amount of weight off. If it floats your boat and you can keep with it as a "lifestyle" (think vegetarian or vegan) over the long term - even after your loss has stalled and stopped - go for it. But, do realize that Keto in and of itself is not a weight loss/maintenance diet - you have to learn how to do that within the restrictions of the diet, just like any other lifestyle choice. Good luck

Ditto! I did keto as well. I didnt lose as much as sleevediva2022 but I did gain it all back as soon as I stopped tracking everything I ate and I got back up to my highest weight again. I believe I had lost 40 lbs and gained 45 lbs back.

I had to do keto as my pre surgical diet - 2.5 weeks. That was enough. I can’t stand the high fat aspect. Never been good with fatty/oily foods regardless if being good or bad fats. So it would never be an option for me long term. Bedsides I really don’t like bacon. 😉 The reading I did about it & conversations with my dietician all pointed to it being fine for the short term (like a kick start to a diet) but not the long term. Plus it can mess with your sugar levels, cholesterol, etc. There will always be fervent advocates of any diet. But no one diet works for everyone. If there was no one would ever have a weight issue. Use the time during which you are losing to start to work out a plan that works for you. It needs to be sustainable (you can do it long term). It needs to complement your lifestyle. It needs to support you to maintain your weight without you feeling like you are being punished, missing out or making too many sacrifices. Plan a way of eating not a diet. But talk to your dietician & do your own reading (avoid the pro keto ones though). May be have a look at Aitken’s as a lower fat alternative to keto if you are drawn to it. But look into lots of eating plans including what nutrition your body actually needs to function effectively.

Only if you can stick to it for life. It's more a lifestyle change, not so much a diet. I did it, and I lost 100 pounds. But in my case, I have PCOS and couldn't keep the weight off no matter how hard I tried. If you do keto and then go off, you will gain all the weight back quickly, and the more you start and stop, the less effective it is.

Worth it or not?

I had to have my lapband removed in 2013 due to an abscess from having my band put back in place. Since then I gained all my weight back and an extra 45. Tried losing with weight watchers, then keto and then with regular portion control. I lost weight on each, but never got passed 40 pounds. So, I'm calling to set up an appointment with my surgeon to hopefully get the rny going. Super nervous and good luck!

Been overweight since puberty. Starved to lose weight to be a normal teenage girl. i walked and jogged and starved. Had two boys by 23 yrs old. Gallbladder removed at 23 years old. Gained weight afterward. Divorces and lifes ups and downs along with the scale. Ate Atkins/Keto for seven years. Fell off and back on occasionally. Went from 236 in 2013 to 184 in 2015. Moved to NC and lost to 179 after Covid. Put that back on and then some. Hysterosalpingo-oophorectomy 2004. No hormone replacement therapy due to family hx. of ca. Struggle with Keto last seven years. Cannot eat "normal" without gaining weight. So sick of struggling. Hope that this surgery will be a great tool to get back to my "fighting weight" of 135. I am 5'2 3/4" I now have fibromyalgia, osteo arthritis, UCTD, Sleep Apnea, high cholesterol, and occasional high bp and inflammation in my hands, legs, etc.. Its time to get healthy again. If any of you are approximately 200lb or any weight for that matter, I would love to pen pal. I have pre-op jitters. Scared the closer May 24th approaches. I want this but the rest of my life with this WOE scares me so much. I have a really good appetite and I am afraid of failure.

Totally the same! I am 5 weeks post op - I can eat so much more than others on this forum! Today, we had a shared lunch at church - I had one large sausage roll (minus the pastry casing), 3 tbsp of tuna pasta salad, 3 tbsp bulgar wheat salad, the full topping of a large slice of veggie pizza and a keto brownie. The worrying thing is... I didn't feel restriction. 😲I only stopped because I felt I should. Does anyone here think that a person's height and frame size has an effect on this?

Hey everyone! I haven't been on here I'm quite some time. Because of that, no one knows that I used to have the lapband. Which when I had to get the revision surgery, they poked a hole in my stomach which cause me to get an abscess. 2 days after that surgery, I had to get my lapband removed. That was 9 years ago. I gained back everything I lost and right now, I'm 45 pounds over that starting weight. After that scary day, it struggled losing the weight. 2015 I tried weight watchers and joined a gym. I was 10 pounds more than i was when I got the lapband. I lost 42 pounds. My membership ended and I lost my motivation and gained it back! 2018 I tried keto. It works, but it was definitely too restrictive for me and the recipes weren't that get! Last year I was at my highest weight ever (I was 4 pounds above that this year) I tried eating the way we are supposed to be eating. I lost almost 25 pounds with portion control. I slowly lost focus, determination and I was becoming depressed because of someone I really liked. He was just crushing me. I of course gained it all back and like I said, and extra 4 pounds. It sucks! I remember coming on here saying I want to get the surgery, but everyone I told was telling me not to do it and telling me I don't need surgery to just eat healthier. I was told that everyone is scared that they will lose me and if they lose me then they'll probably lose my son. It's definitely a scary thing to think about, but you can lose me with the way I'm going now. SO, I think I said everything I wanted to say before I write what I've about to write and that is, I want to try to lose the weight before going through with surgery. If I can't lose about 85 pounds by this time next year then I will start up the process again. I know some people will tell me "surgery is the easy way out" and I know it's not any easier than losing it on your own. Now, I have a few questions. How much is everyone able to eat at each meal? What are foods you need to avoid? I'm planning on RNY, do you notice your insides being rearranged? How was your recovery?

Turkey & cheese sandwich on keto bread. The log says “wheat bread” but it’s their new white bread (it’s just not in the database yet). As usual I use only one slice of bread and slice it into two. Also this sandwich was clearly meant to be a salad in another life. 😂 I’m always shocked when I see that it’s only ~300 cals for this whole thing

Welcome. It’s ok to feel scared & nervous. It’s surgery. Food likely is something you depend upon as an emotional support & that is going to change & you will be changing what & how you eat. Things like how much pain you will experience after surgery is very individual. You may have a lot of gas pain or nine at all (I didn’t after my sleeve) but there are things you can do to help the gas escape your body. You may experience surgical pain for a couple of days or a week but again you’ll have access to pain meds to help. You may have muscular discomfort & struggle to get up & down for a little while or you may have very little at all. Pre surgical diets differ a lot too. Some are two weeks, some are just a couple of days. Some are all shakes. Others 2 meals shakes & 1 meal protein & vegetables. Mine was keto so … (I have done shake diets before & for a couple of months at a time.) The first challenge to the pre surgical diet is the psychological loss of the crunch & chew comfort of solid food. This can increase your head hunger & cause a lot of emotional turmoil. The second is the withdrawal symptoms (headaches, nausea, tiredness, etc.) from cutting out caffeine & sugar. This usually lasts less than a week. These things are small & are only a couple of weeks in duration. Nothing when you consider the big picture of your whole life & your health. The surgery is an opportunity to makes big changes but you have to be psychologically & emotionally ready. Don’t be afraid to seek support from a therapist (one who specialises in bariatric patients & disordered eating are best). A lot of people have found therapy extremely helpful. Yes, you are on a low calorie restricted diet & eating small portions to begin. Initially it is to support your healing. Then to make you look at the nutritional benefits of what you eat but within a few months you’ll be eating more & a greater variety of food. By maintenance you’ll be eating the portion sizes we all should be eating (not those giant plates two & three times more than what we actually need & lead to our obesity). And you’ll be consuming only the calories your body needs to function effectively & maintain your weight. You’ll discover your relationship with food will change. I still enjoy eating & the taste & texture of food but I see it as something my body needs to function & not as something to comfort & soothe me emotionally - because I’m bored, sad, happy, angry, etc. I’m not continuously thinking about what & when I’ll eat next. It’s that maxim of eating to live not living to eat. All the best.

There are several variations of what a surgeon may require you to do pre surgery. I had an easier road as I was on keto for two weeks (I did almost three because of when I saw my dietician). Some do two weeks of nothing but shakes. Others, two weeks of shakes for two meals & one of protein & vegetables/salad. Some do a day or two only. I did discover my surgeon recommends different diets for different patients based on their weight loss/gain history, starting weight, health status, etc. The purpose is to shrink your liver which is likely fatty & enlarged therefore clearing some of the abdominal field so they can better see what they’re doing during surgery. Some use it to see if you can manage a restricted diet before surgery because of the restrictive diet to support your healing after surgery. But I do agree. Wait until your next appointment before buying anything for your pre & post surgery diets.

Thanks for the honesty ! Theresa lot to be said for tracking then food, the calories and the type of food you eat! I can stay below 1000 calories a day, but if those calories have any sugar or bread in them, I stall out for a week or two. I'm about 2 months out of the surgery. Sometimes I think, maybe it isn't working on me like everyone else. I'm certainly not in the "I can eat whatever I want and still lose weight." I know I do best on keto diets, but that's so hard to stick to! If I think I will still lose by eating only 1/2 of a sandwich and still sticking to under1000 calories a day, it doesn't work that way for me. The bread stops the weight lost. Not being able to eat salads right now (my surgeon says no raw vegs for 6 months) its really challenging eating out and staying away from any carbs. I admire people who can do it. I've noticed, the further away from the surgery, the more my hunger comes back. I'm only 2months out! Is anyone else dealing with this? At the same time, if I'm not hungry, at least a little bit, I'm not losing weight!

Oh dear, thats discouraging! I'm probably doing the same thing. I lost 20 pounds in the first 6 weeks. When I stay on keto or very low carb, I lose. As soon as I have any bread, wheat, tortilla, I stall out and don't lose anything, even though my calorie count is still under 1000 calories in a day. I haven't lost anything in my second month so far because I ate out and had bread of some sort. What can I say? Before surgery I could lose 1/2 a pound a month, I know I have insulin resistance, it is what it is. Hand in there! At least we aren't gaining!

I'm 39 & a mom of 4 amazing boys (21, 17, 13, & 7) & I've been obese or morbidly ones since I was pregnant with my first son 21 years ago. I've tried Keto, Adkins, WW, etc etc & although I lose weight it never stays gone. As soon as I LOOK at a piece of bread, I gain a pound. I've long since cut out sugars & sodas. I like bread but I don't have to have it. I live in Northeast Louisiana & don't know where to begin. My doctor & I have tried medications, but she's anti- weight loss surgery, so talking to her get me no where. I've researched the different types of surgeries, but I don't know which would be best for me (probably because I'm not a doctor or nurse). I just know I'm tired of being 220+ pounds & I want to get down to 140-150 & there's no amount of dieting, exercise, or medication that gets me past 195. I know my insurance won't pay for it so I'll have to finance, which is fine, I just don't know where to start & I'm beginning to get depressed about the whole ideal. My boyfriend is amazing & tells me I don't need surgery but also understands my mental health & how this affects me. Can anyone help me?

Xylitol is a natural Sweetener and many Keto folks use it as stage substitute. But for some, it acts like a laxative and not tolerable. I am one such person. A spoon of xylitol is all is takes for my inside to start running. I was super constipated and my daily docusate didn't help. I tried miralax but it ended up giving me cramps and felt not so good. So decided to try xylitol and bam it did the trick. I keep using fiber supplement, do eat veggies/fruits (mostly pineapple) but milk/yogurt/cheese high protein diet does it for me and I continue getting constipated. I don't know what else I can do to have normal bowel movements since I do all I can along with walking most of the days 🤷🏻‍♀️ Any other means of solving this issue? Have you tried xylitol? I am sure daily use of xylitol isn't advisable but may be once a week use may be fine to get you the needed relief? May ask my nutritionist on my next appt but that's more than month away.

I think the South Beach diet format is far better than keto and sustainable for life. South Beach can become a way of life.

Exactly. Given the protein goals post wls, to achieve the correct ratio of fat required to be Keto-proper is challenging to do while staying under a certain calorie number AND with reduced stomach size. Handy calculator here for info purposes: https://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/ I think alot of folks are likely doing something more along the lines of Atkins or Modified Atkins. I did ultra-low carb, with min protein and max calories goals during weight loss phase, and let the fat fall where it may. After goal, it took about 6 mnths to break this habit, and now at 3.5 years out, i basically eat whatever i feel like so long as i stay at or below 1800-2000 cals a day most days (i’m 5’2”). Its worth noting, however, that “whatever i feel like” looks alot different than what it did pre-wls. To the OP: do what works for you until it doesn’t, then do something else. Good Luck! ❤️

Good morning, I finally decided to take the step and do a surgery consult. I’ve been considering surgery for 10 years. I tried to talk to my sister about it and she told me I’m mentally I’ll and need to do counseling, that I have PTSD and if I just do counseling I’ll lose weight. Trust me I’ve lost weight before with diets and behavior modification! Then tells me I just need to do keto (also did that I need more veggies and fruits in my life). Anyone have not supportive family? I guess I’m sort of over working so hard (no I’m not constantly eating candy, chips and fast food like everyone says to me) and getting nowhere. About me: 41, she/her, work as a research RN, no kids, never married, 2 dogs. Living the fun life in the desert of Arizona.

Same. My dietician said to eat higher levels of protein, but other than that, watch my portion sizes and how often I eat and make sure my meals are balanced (so so many fruits and vegs aren't allowed with keto, and I'm excited to learn how to "properly" eat balanced meals again)

THIS!!! I did keto for nearly 8 months. Had REALLY good success...at first. But you can't live like that forever, and if you have a slip up...oh boy. It's like all the weight you lost finds its way back WITH A QUICKNESS!!! And you have to have some carbs, some fats, some calories in your diet to be healthy. Has to be balanced and in moderation, but trying to live on keto forever just isn't feasible.

I had already been doing weight loss diets under my doctor's supervision (I never really intended to get wls, I did keto and thought that would work wonders for me) so when I did everything I could and still didn't have any long term success, my doctor actually suggested surgery. I have BCBS of Illinois so I called them to find out if I have coverage for it and they said yes, so I found a doctor in my network and had my 1st appt on Feb 28th. I had to watch a 4 part video and do a quiz for each part, I had to get lots of bloodwork done, and ecg because the anesthesiologist required it, had to get a clearance letter from my neurologist (I have MS) and my primary doctor. I got those really fast because both were completely on board. I was able to get all of that done really quickly, and honestly I thought the biggest hurdle was going to be my insurance. Everyone was STUNNED that I got my approval, and they got the approval letter, in 48 hours. Nobody expected that at all.

Hiya, not at 6 months yet, but at 5 months I have lost 61lbs, results may vary I've always lost weight easily and I struggled with nausea initially and basically only ate cheese and protein shakes for the first 2 months so was very in keto. Ive heard that typically people lose between 30-40% of their excess weight by the 6 month period, anecdotally, from stalking others' posts on this, most seem to lose about 70lbs who started high 200s low 300s.

I posted this in another thread, but I thought I would try here too, just in case I might get more/different responses. Here goes: So I'm hoping to hear from anyone with a high BMI that got the sleeve and had a lot of success. My current BMI is 63. My goal weight is 200 pounds, which means I need to lose 190 pounds. For various reasons I chose the sleeve over the bypass, and I know bypass patients lose more than sleeve patients do. BUT...I have no issues following the diet, and once I lose some weight I will start working out again (I did Keto and lost almost 100 pounds over 7 months, but then it just started creeping back up and no matter how much I restricted my carbs and worked out, I couldn't keep the weight down and I got frustrated and quit), but I worry that I won't be able to hit my goal even if I stick to the diet and work out. I have MS, so strengthening my muscles and losing the weight is a must to keep my mobility and reduce the pain. I also desperately want to get rid of my diabetes and high blood pressure. And I'm hoping losing the weight will help my asthma a little. BUT... is this possible with the sleeve? I'm so excited about the surgery, but is it really possible to lose that kind of weight with the sleeve? Has ANYONE on here done it, or even come close? This just has to work. I wasn't always overweight. I used to be a size 6, but when I had my son back in 98, my PCOS jump started and I put on close to 100 pounds and only lost maybe 25. No matter what i did, I couldn't lose it. Then I had my daughter and gained close to the same amount, and was never able to lose any of it. Then I did keto, succeeded for a while, then it failed and I gave up. And now here I am. Do I have any hope at all of hitting my goal weight?