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you're right - Keto isn't the best idea for RNY people. We have a high protein requirement (well, as do sleevers), and many can't handle large amounts of fat. Plus it isn't sustainable for a lot of folks. not sure if you were sort of responding to my comment above yours, but I meant I could handle MCT oil or butter in my coffee - NOT a complete Keto diet. For one thing, my protein requirements are even higher than most WLS patients' - 100+ grams a day. It'd be hard to do that - plus Keto - while staying within my calorie range. Plus my pouch doesn't like fat-laden meals.

We were told not to do Keto because the extra fat isn't healthy, and can cause more gallbladder issues as you are rapidly losing weight.

Hey surgery twin :)!! We got this! I’ll be sure to check up on you the day of!! I’ve tried everything as well; keto, low fat, low carb, etc and they would just make me less motivated because I wouldn’t see much weight loss. Due to trying to prevent hereditary issues, I need this push! New beginnings are coming, good luck on surgery!!

depends on the person. I had RNY, and I could handle that... P.S. I just googled "Bang Keto" - it's just a brand name

I was doing Carnivore/Keto diet October through December last year. Lost some good weight. Used MCT Oil or Butter in my coffee to make it bulletproof or keto coffee. It was just a way to get more fat in my diet, which is useful in keto. The MCT oil sometimes gave me diarrhea.

My surgery is also scheduled for 2/24. Pre-op diet for me starts this Thursday. I’m so tired of yo-yo dieting, fasting, low carb, high carb, low fat, keto, etc. Getting ready for a new start! Good luck for surgery. You got this. We got this!

I saw on a YouTube video someone saying they included Bang Keto coffee in their post-surgery diet. I’m unfamiliar with this product. Does anyone else include it in their daily eating plan?

Alcohol ended up becoming a major obstacle to my loss. My social life involved regular beer drinking. After getting sleeved I knew I was not supposed to drink carbonated beverages, however my desire to hang out with my friends caused me to learn how to overcome that obstacle and drink beer. I think this is the major reason I never hit my weight loss goal and then gained some back. What worked for me recently was to use a time restricted feeding program along with a Keto based diet. I ate mostly Keto and only had two meals, lunch at Noon and dinner around 5-6pm. This came from, the insulin control diet programs recommended by Dr. Jason Fung. Given that my sleeve kept me from feeling really hungry it worked well and I dropped the 20 pounds I gained during the pandemic restrictions. Now I have major issues with hiatal hernia and GERD, so a revision to RNY is scheduled for tomorrow. I've decided since I have been given a second chance I am going to make the most of it. I have determined that alcohol no longer has a place in my life, and neither do snacks and slider foods.

I began my WLS journey in 2015 with gastric sleeve surgery in September. My starting weight was 301, which I had managed to diet down to 285 by the time I was approved for surgery. Surgery weight was 277. Surgery was uneventful and I was back at my normal activities within a couple days. My goal weight was 185, but I only managed to lose down to 210. I believe this was because I made the mistake of continuing to drink alcohol after surgery (although less than before) and still ate too many snacks and slider type foods. Over the next several years my weight gradually increased until it settled in at about 230-235. Then the pandemic occurred and that added 20 pounds, so I was back to 255. This is when I learned what I felt was a good method to handle regain - I combined time restricted feeding with keto dieting... I only ate between Noon and 6pm, and strictly limited carbs. Doing this for a couple of months I was able to drop from 255 back to 235. I had issues with reflux before the surgery, and they continued after. They seemed to worsen as time passed. I learned not to eat at least 3 hours before bedtime, and still sometimes I'd end up sleeping in the recliner for several hours when the reflux was particularly bad. I also had developed a hiatal hernia (which a CT report said was small). Then in January of this year something changed. I started having issues where I could only eat a couple ounces of food without feeling severely overstuffed. This plus some bouts with chest pain prompted a couple of ER visits for cardiac workups. Finding no cardiac issues my doctors determined the pain was likely the hernia that had expanded. I also started experiencing symptoms that seem to be consistent with "silent reflux", such as throat, ear tube and sinus issues. I scheduled an EGD with my bariatric surgeon who found a 3cm hiatal hernia. He is going to repair it this coming Tuesday, and to prevent recurrence of the hernia as well as to resolve the GERD issues is doing a revision to RNY. I'm not happy about having to start over with the healing process, but am excited to finally lose the excess weight, correct the hernia and GERD, and get a chance to do things right the second time. So, here are some lessons learned along the way. If they can help someone else then this post is worth making: 1. Listen to your surgeon. If they recommend one procedure over another, there is a reason why. I probably should have done the RNY in the beginning but opted for the sleeve even though I had existing reflux issues. 2. Follow the dietary guidelines. They are there to assure the most successful weight loss. Unfortunately I 'taught myself' how to overcome the carbonation in beer and continued to drink it after recovery, which is a large part of the reason for lack of loss and regain. I wasn't addicted to either, but both were present in my social environment. I have now determined that alcohol and junk food are poison to my system and have resolved to be diligent in avoiding them. 3. If you do experience regain, get on it quickly. I found that time restricted feeding along with a keto eating plan worked wonders for me. I was essentially following the insulin control program established by Dr. Jason Fung. I quickly dropped close to 20 lbs using my sleeve along with this plan. 4. The sleeve, or bypass, is a tool that is given to you for life. You have a great window of opportunity the first year to lose weight and correct health problems. Make the most of it. Even though the tool is still there in later years, it becomes more difficult to lose weight after your system is fully healed and settled into normal life. It's possible, but harder. Make the most of the "one year honeymoon" window!

Hey there! Just had a revision from sleeve to bypass on February 3. I'm very curious about dumping and what one's body will and won't tolerate after surgery. What happens if you eat a few French fries? A bite of a burger? Bacon? A fat-laden keto meal? A few spoons of ice cream? A bite of pasta? An onion ring? Do you immediately feel ill and nauseous? Can you handle any fat in your diet? Any sugar? Please do share your experiences with me. I know everyone's different but also want to imagine what lies ahead. Thank you!

Hey everyone! I'm scheduled for my bypass on Feb 14. So far I've lost 8 lbs on the pre op diet and I'm on day 3 but was dieting pretty hard-core the week I got on my preop. lol it's going well but I get food anxiety about stupid stuff though like what if I ate too much lettuce and get kicked out of ketosis? I know it's so irrational and I've done keto and the nutrition/macro dance of anxiety in the past. I figure as long as I'm losing weight and eating less than 6 grams of carbs a day, my liver is hopefully shrinking. Anyway, I'm trying not to overthink things. That's been helping me so far. They say when you overthink you create problems that weren't there in the first place. Definitely feel like that applies to following a crash diet. Well, with surgery approaching I'll be relieved to not deal with this feeling of emptiness. This is probably going to be one the most challenging parts. I can't help but wonder though and I have terrible medical anxiety, what does it feel like when you wake up from surgery? And in the couple of days post op? Are you: Sore in your stomach? Can you feel your stomach and intestines? Is there a burning sensation? Are you zoned out on pain killers or you can go without them just fine? Do you get gas pain right away? Is it hard to move around? Just wanna know your experience after surgery, hospital and getting home. Thanks for the advice as usual. Love this community! Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

I have PCOS and slow metabolism but I wanted something that had better stats in the long run and RYN has that. Not to say sleeve doesn't since many have been successful on it as well. But personally given my medical history and plethora of PCOS related side effects, I opted for bypass. Plus chances of revision is also high with sleeve because of reflux issue. And I didn't want take the route of having to have a second surgery if revision was needed. "ONE surgery and that should be the end of it" was my thought process. Hence even after being confused, I finally opted for bypass. I know many prefer sleeve because of less chances of dumping and malnutrition, so it depends if those look tempting for you. Though there are 70% of by-passers who also don't dump, myself including. I always wanted a weight loss route that didn't restrict my diet (reason why I hated Keto and other carbs restrictive diets, my binge eating always worsened with them). Even then I took my chance with bypass thinking I shall see when I cross the bridge. And fortunately, I don't dump (at least with some of the sugary and fatty foods I have tried till now). So give consideration to your medical history, your metabolism, stats and pros and cons of each and go with your gut feeling. That's what I did and so far I haven't regretted it *fingers crossed*

I'm lap band (2006) to RNY (10 days ago). Lap Band simply never worked for me. Never lost any weight at all with it, although I lost via Keto a few years after. When it was removed last week they said it had slipped right up above my stomach. Silly things in my opinion.

My surgery is scheduled for Feb 23, 2022. My surgeon told me (when I saw him on Jan 11) to do keto until two days before my surgery and then it will be liquids.

Agree with the others, that is a very significant ask. It might be possible with an extremely low carb diet (think, very strict keto), but that's quite a commitment. I would have a follow up conversation with the surgeon to get clarification on why, how, etc. And, as others have said, if it does result in a delay of surgery that isn't the end of the world, despite the frustration and disappointment. Its just a step in the process and you will get there!

@melanatedqueen Macros are between 60-80 grams protein, 40-50 grams fat and less than 10 grams carbs. More fat if I can fit it in without eating too much. I don’t know if I was in a stall and it ended the same time I started introducing more fat or if it was the fat that jump started my weight loss. But I certainly didn’t go through all this to eat less than 500 calories a day and not lose weight. Much more satisfied on the keto.

@MAQ You brought up a great point. I’m on low carb/600 calories, 7 weeks out from revision vsg to rny, and my weight loss has been sooooo slow! Only 5 pounds lost in January! I don’t know what to do and my surgeon’s office has been less than helpful. Since I’m in ketosis, I thought the weight would fall off. I didn’t wanna eat too much fat that’s why I didn’t do Keto and figured I have more than enough stored body fat to use. May I ask what your daily macros are How many grams of fat, carbs, protein do you eat daily?

Yeh I personally can't do Keto even if I try 😂 I talked about it above. I had tried Keto in the past and it makes me miserable having to limit carbs. Keto expects you to restrict even good carbs like fruits and complex grains, which isn't sustainable in a long run. Not to mention heavy load of fat content in the diet, which truly freaks me out even when I did Keto. Hence here I am with the surgery since weight loss journey has to be sustainable otherwise the cycle of yo yo dieting continues. I feel Keto can be good for the weight loss but not sure if it's sustainable for a lifelong commitment. Plus Keto is usually combined with intermittent fasting, which again isn't sustainable.

First word of warning: a lot of people find that they either can't tolerate or don't like the same things after surgery that they did before surgery. A VERY common thread on BP is "I used [X brand] of shakes before surgery and liked them, but now I can't stand them, what other brands should I try." So don't think you need to find your brands/flavors and stock up before surgery. The better plan might be to buy those variety packs to try after your surgery. As far as protein shakes, I stick with the premade Premier Protein shakes (the ones with 30oz of protein). For protein shake powders, I like Keto Chow and just mix it with water and not add the fat source (like heavy whipping cream or butter). I also like the Protein2O protein waters. For salty/crunchy snacks, the Quest chips and Asha foods popped water lilly seeds.

Didn't give a flying f' about carbs or not. I only tracked protein and calories. No need for keto, trust me, I'm living proof.

I am just starting the process at 48 years old. I tried when i was in my late 20's, fought hard, got an approval and then chicken out as my babies were all little. Now here I am again. I don't have my consult until March so i wanted to start thinking ahead. Regarding Anthem Blue Cross, am I going to have a documented supervised weight loss plan on record or can i just document my attempts at diets like 'keto';etc? If i do have to document, is doing Weight Watchers through the App sufficient? Any advice anyone can give me is great. My BMI is 59.

I usually can have some fruits per day. And fruits and veggies are great with fiber, helps relieve constipation. So no issue there. I was just curious how everyone did their thing. And yeh I am aware of your ultra low carb intake, we had this discussion on another thread. Just not sure how you did it 😂 I mean how did you manage to get your protein in 400 to 500 calories? Mostly protein shakes? I can't do Keto. I remember trying it few years before surgery, but I ahve hard time limiting carbs. As in I can't eliminate fruits completely from my diet for a true blue Keto diet (under 20 grams). I don't find Keto as sustainable for me personally. Hence I opted for surgery since it doesn't ask you to restrict any food group per se!

I went ultra-low carb (20g net carbs a day), but I’m not vegetarian so it would’ve been easier for me. This was not my prescribed program, i chose to do this on my own (and fully disclosed it to my NUT). I didn’t eat any fruit during weight loss phase save for the occasional berry (least amount of sugar in the fruit family). But i do now at 3+ years post op. You can try google-ing Vegetarian Keto for some food/recipe ideas, but i think that so soon after surgery you may not reach your bariatric protein requirements and stay below your maintenance calories to be true Keto. So maybe a modified version of it?

For foods: Stick to whole foods. You don't need any premade, prepackaged, keto or bariatric foods. Meats, cheese, fruits & veggies, eggs, etc. If you buy ingredients and make your own meals, you don't need to worry about nutrition labels. I know it seems boring, but the trick is to switch up flavors (Spanish, Asian, etc. etc.) and figure out what you like. Cottage cheese, jerkey, protein bars/shakes, hummus, and things like that are all generally very safe bets as well. Recipes: Look in the forums here, Pinterest, or online for cookbooks. Also, find support from a registered dietician if you can - @theguacwarddietitian, @bariatric.meal.prep, @bariatricchefboyrd, and @mybariatricdietitian on IG are all great, as is @BariNation. Exercise: Fitness Blender (website or YouTube) and Get Fit With Rick (website or YouTube) are great resources for at home workouts. They both have a wide variety from super beginner to super advanced, many that do not require any equipment at all. Pre-Op Diet: This varies WIDELY from surgeon to surgeon. Some require a period of liquids only, some have a whole foods, low carb based approach. Your surgeon should be telling you exactly what they expect you to be doing pre-op. Lastly, please make sure you are having this conversation with your surgeon. They should be providing you with nutritional guidance, meal plan resources, etc.

I agree with @GradyCat. You probably have not stretched your stomach out. Those calorie calculators are pretty much fiction. So much depends on your height, age, gender, activity level, weight, etc. The first thing to do is track EVERYTHING you eat and drink, to see where you are. Talk to your nutritionist/dietician. Don't be embarrassed; this is incredibly common especially during COVID. They have seen this before, I guarantee it. Talk to them about how many calories you need to lose weight and what your macros should be. I was told not to do a keto diet as the fat is too high. I currently try to reduce the amount of carbs I eat and make the carbs I do it complex carbs or fruit/veggies. For me, it's still hard to get much carbs in since I'm still trying to get enough protein at 4 months out. Don't try to be perfect: aim for 80% of your food being "healthy" with 20% "fun", or maybe 90-10 if that feels better. If you try to be 100% perfect, you will set yourself up for failure. Good luck and keep us posted!