low carb vs calorie restriction

[stcyt 15]

HI all,

I'm just wondering what everyones experience has been with food programs post sleeve. Did most of you intentionally restrict carb intake or did you depend on the calorie restriction provided by the sleeve, or some other method. I'm curious about your reasons for choosing what you did and your experience with stalls, energy, etc.

I can't really eat yet and there are days when I think that I should just eat what I want (no white carbs obviously) and let the sleeve do its thing and then there are days when I think I should carefully count carbs to ensure success.

Pre sleeve I always felt good on a low glycemic plan even though I didn't loose any weight.

thanks for your input

Stacey

[Megan_SF 2]

you should always follow what YOUR doctor says. with that being said..EVERY doctor has a different plan!

i'm a vegetarian and tried to do low carb at first, but i couldn't stick to it. now i just make good whole food-type decisions. yogurt (even the kind with sugar!), cheese, whole wheat Pasta, eggs, cottage cheese, lentil Soup, bran Cereal, milk, veggies, fruit, sf popsicles....those are the things i don't think i could live without.

i was always a healthy eater, i just ate too much. my sleeve allows me to stop before i go crazy. i'm eating whole grain crackers with brie cheese right now!!!

anyways. i think if i went with a low carb diet i might lose more...faster....but if i could live on a low carb diet i would have never needed the sleeve! i have lost 67 lbs in 4 months, and i have 45 to go. the last month has slowed down a lot. but i'm confident i will reach goal!

[stcyt 15]

Thanks for your response. My surgeons guidlines for eating are "Protein first" which makes sense, but I like whole grains, legumes fruit etc. Like you, I ate pretty healthy before, just too much.

Thanks

Stacey

[Tiffykins 673]

I chose low carb. I had a lot to lose, and knew that my body would rely on my fat stores for needed energy. By sticking with my no more than 30gr of carbs and at least 60gr Protein, I never experienced a stall. Every week, I lost a minimum of 2 pounds.

For me, I had to break some bad habits. I had to completely rethink eating. I was a volume eater, and I didn't eat completely unhealthy. I just ate huge amounts of food. So, I had to set some boundaries for myself mentally. I'm an "all or nothing" kind of girl. I couldn't do it with just calorie restriction. I needed guidelines, structure, and it worked for me. Now, of course, everything has changed. I do not limit my carbs, I still follow the rules the majority of the time, but if I want to just eat mashed potatoes for dinner, that's what I eat. I know that sounds horrible, but it's true. I do not do that very often at all, but ya know crap happens. Some days meat just grosses me out, and I want to have an all veggie, cheese and cracker day.

I think everyone has to decide on what works for them, and their bodies. For me, I had to not waiver from the program until we (myself and surgeon) realized my weight loss was not slowing down like it should have. I was averaging about 5-8lbs a week instead of the 2-3lbs. I had to change things up around 4 months, and I slowed down a little, but not much. I had a really hard time switching back to not watching carbs as carefully. I hated eating stuff in fear that I was going to gain. Fortunately, I didn't have that issue. I've lost sporadically for the last 4 months. I lost 80lbs the first 4 months, it took me a little over 2.5 months to lose 53lbs, and then the last 4 months I've only lost 27lbs total, and for the time being I'm holding steady.

Some people don't eat white carbs, and count Net carbs instead of total carb. That just complicated things for me so I just counted all carbs. There are healthy carbs, and of course those are a bit different than the evil white carbs.

You just have to do it your way. For me, and this sounds horrible as well, I am not a good endurance runner. I wanted to get to goal quickly, I was not interested in doing it slowly. I knew low carbing it would work for me because it worked in the past. I just couldn't keep it off.

[Stacy160 201]

I try to keep the carbs below 40 grams, but on days where I just do NOT want any more meat and decide maybe I want a bowl of Fiber One, or half a PB&J or something, I still make sure to keep my calories in check, just so I don't get too crazy. :biggrin: