Help with diet decision

[mamakatken 0]

I'm on my 2nd week after being banded. I'll have my post op visit next Tuesday and will be able to start mushies after that. I'm trying to decide which diet plan I will follow when I start solid foods. I've done both low carb and weight watchers in the past with good results from both.

I love cheese and sauces that are allowed in the Atkins type diet, but wonder how well meat will be tolerated. And I wonder how much sucess people have had with a less strict plan that allows occasional Pasta and rice dishes. Not having bread won't really be a problem for me. But I'm worried that if I get off the plan after I loose a lot of weight, I might gain it back if I switch to another plan "for life".

The weight watchers type plan seems more realistic in the long term "for life" eating. It allows fresh fruit, Soup, and yogurts which I love, and has easy ready to eat meals that i can fix quickly and will be able to take to work, but doesn't have great flavor with low fat cheeses, sauces, and dressing.

Would you long term banders please share your success or not so successful stories with me?

[luvinke 0]

Welcome,

I mostly try to get in as much Protein as possible and then my veggies. I have been eating Pasta and some rice in the past and I don't think that that combinatin worked for my weightloss so I started just eating either chicken or fish and now I am craving fresh greens which I eat weekly. I have a homemade low cal smoothie for Breakfast and I've been doing this since last week so I did manage to lose 3 pounds last week and I'm down 1.4 this week so far eventhough I'm not suppose to weigh in until Saturday morning.

[mamakatken 0]

OK, not so hot thread. Lots of views but few replies...LOL!

I'm still a band "baby" or newbie. I've had sucess with both diets, but it was preband. I guess my real question is which one is better tolerated post band?

Atkins...lot's of meat...do you have a problem eating?

WW....lot's of Pasta...do you have a problem eating?

[sfeiner 2]

The purpose of the band is that you shouldn't have to be on any diet. You just eat less of everything. You are susposed to get in 60=80 gms of protien and around 1000-1200 cal per day. I think if you insist on a diet, south beach is good and so is ww. Some people like low card.

[mamakatken 0]

Thanks Sharon! It's weird how after a lifetime of dieting I still focus on what I can't have instead of the positive aspect of the band.

[jjsmiles 3]

I started with Weight Watchers as my preparation for the band and I still count points, although I don't eat as many points as I am allowed (I try to stick to 20-22 points per day). Because I am also obsessive, I also count calories and log all my food on the daily plate (which does not count ww points). I generally stick to about 1000 to 1200 calories per day (which is close to the ww points, just depends on how much fibre you eat).

I really like ww because it is based on eating all foods and on a balanced diet. I have done very well on Atkins in the past, only to react like a crack addict when carbs were added in (I ate and ate and ate and couldn't seem to stop myself, starting the whole destructive scene all over again). I wanted to start this process as a way of life that I could follow forever, not a diet to be endured until I lost weight.

You would be surprised at the numbers of recipes for sauces that you can find online and in low fat/low calorie cook books that are delicious and good for you. For example I just bought a cook book "Company's Coming: Diabetic Cooking" that has some wonderful sounding sauces i.e. Vegetable Gravy (29 calories for 1/2 cup) that can be used for stroganoff receipes, creamy Pasta sauce (95 calories for 1/2 cup), Roasted Red Pepper sauce (52 calories for 2 Tbsp), Tzatziki (12 calories for 1 Tbsp). Mnay of these recipes call for skim milk, skim evaporated milk, low or not fat yogurt or sour cream.

I think you will find many bandsters who will say that they don't use the low cal, low fat stuff. Because they are using so little, they prefer to go "full strength", which they say makes them feel more satisfied. I still try to go low fat etc, but that is just me!

By the way, my new way of eating - slower, smaller bites, chewing well has changed my tastes and I find that I am much more interested in quality product over quantity. As weird as it sounds, I think I enjoy eating way more now. I think in the past when I ate, even while I was eating, I was anticipating the next thing I would eat.

I am also appreciating vegetables in a whole new way. New faves: saute asparagus or zucchini in a tsp of extra virgin olive oil until tender crisp and a little blackened and sprinkle on a tsp of parmesan and I am in love!!!!:redface:

Good luck!

[mamakatken 0]

Thanks jjsmiles! I'm soooo glad for this support forum! The mind game I've played with food so long has ruined me. I'm like a kindergartner starting all over again. I'm very grateful that you upperclassmen are here to guide us along!

[Jachut 487]

I really believe in eating all foods, so I'd say WW. I dont "diet" but I guess what I eat and do is similar to a weight watchers lifestyle.

Atkins really worries me, you may love the cheese and sauces, but I will never agree that that's a healthy way to feed yourself. I know all the justification behind it insists that it doesnt lead to high cholesterol and arterial disease, but well, I just dont believe that. Eat lots of meat, lots of saturated fat and too little fibre, starve your body of an entire food group and you are not going to be the healthiest you can be.

And people always say that it worked brilliantly for the, but virtually everybody that says that has fallen off the wagon. You need a lifestyle forever, not a diet plan and WW is really the only one that fits that bill.

And you *can* of course do WW and go lighter on the carbs. There's a lot of sense in decreasing carbs and completely eradicating really processed ones. But you dont need to cut them out entirely.