OutsideMatchInside

@MarinaGirl Any suggestions?

My friend always says she gets bored with food. I eat basically the same thing every day. I have a few variations during the week but not really. I don't eat leftovers and I live alone, so that kinds of limits what I can/will eat without creating leftovers. Maybe someone else will have good ideas.

Everything depends on how far out you. If I recall correctly you are just like 2 or 3 months? One way I create variety in my food is in the way I season it. Example a pack of thin sliced steak can be.. Fajita meat with fajita seasoning Philly Steak Just steak Shrimp can be.. Cajun Boiled coastal style Scampi Salad topper The best thing you can do for yourself is to invest in high quality spices and seasoning mixes that don't have sugar. My 2 favorites are https://www.penzeys.com/ https://flavorgod.com/

I'm almost 2 years out and chicken is still the worst. Too dry. Moist and fatty meats are easier to eat

I was sleeved at Des Peres, I have never made it to a support group. It is a good 45 minute drive from home and I haven't wanted to make the trip for nothing. After the kinds of questions people were asking in my pre-op group, I figured the support group would be terrible. I would like to attend though.

Surgeons like VSG because they can do 10 a day, with RNY they can only do 3-4.

Chowder is too high in calories and carbs unless it is a tomato base and that is pretty rare to find. Other than that you should be able to eat all the fish you want. Ask your Dr about getting in the ocean with your incisions. Don't swim too far out, fatigue can hit fast.

I used to low carb off and on for years before WLS. Sometimes when you stall out you have to experiment. Hopefully your WLS team can help you out with some tips also.

@nancymm72 Your food looks good, calories might be a little low, you are almost a year post op, 1000 calories shouldn't be that hard to do. You didn't answer about your blood work/labs. When did you have them checked last?

3 months, easier at 6 months, easier at 9 months, and at 12 months, that is about as easy as it is going to get. I haven't noticed any difference after 12 months.

@nancymm72 Nice to see a food log. It would be cool to see what you are actually eating not just the macros but your macros don't look bad. When is the last time you had your blood work done and are all your vitamins okay? You might have to experiment. Remove all artificial sweeteners, see if the weight drops. If that doesn't work. Just got to all protein for week, see what happens, then add foods back in and see what stalls you.

Yeah I think in Europe, they use the term LCHF more than Keto, in the past to use an app that had settings for it, Lifesum. The yearly cost was too high last year (I just checked and they lowered it if you buy a year at a time) so I switched back to LoseIt. The Developers of Cronometer have settings for Keto also. I think I might spend the evening taking another look at Cronometer. I used to use it to make nutrition labels for my custom recipes.

My Dr told me at my one week post-op appt what to do.

Are you self pay but have insurance in the US? You are going to need to monitor your blood work etc post-op. I wouldn't have DS outside of the US only because the DS requires a lot of post-op care, you need your blood work etc monitored closely. It is a more complicated surgery so if you are thinking about DS, then find a Dr in the US. The only way to make a decision is to think about what matter to you, what level of dedication you have, and how much maintenance you want to do long term. You really just have to do your own research and decide based on your values. As far as weight loss, the type of surgery you have doesn't matter, you pretty much choose how much weight you lose by how you eat. Surgery doesn't lose the weight for you.

If you wear the same clothes you will never feel like you are losing weight. When I was losing as soon as my clothes were loose I donated them or tossed them and replaced them. Clearing your closet out every 2 to 3 weeks is the best reinforcement of progress. I got that advice from a friend that lost 200 pounds without surgery.

It really isn't Keto because if the meat is lean and the spinach is plain, that is just low carb. The key to eating keto, is the fat ratio.

Google or search here. I'm not explaining it again for the 50th time.

It might take a while for your cholesterol to adjust. Burning a lot of fat rapidly can make your cholesterol spike until your weight stabilizes.

Low carb isn't keto and keto isn't low carb. People keep mixing up the terms and they are not the same thing. A post-op diet is low carb, not keto. Almost all bariatric diets post-op are low carb and low fat (which is kind of impossible). The reason so many people fail at Keto is because they don't understand what it is or how it works. You have to set your macros and control the ratios carefully. If you aren't you are just low carbing, which is fine, but it isn't Keto. Unless you are vegetarian/vegan, you are going to low carb for the rest of your life anyway if you are eating properly in the right order. If you have plate of food, you are supposed to eat your protein FIRST. First means ALONE not alternating bites with other foods, FIRST. If you have your proper portion of protein 3-4 ounces, and you finish that, THEN eat your veggies/carbs, you will be lucky to get an ounce of those items in. The protein is going to make you full by eating it first. People don't follow these directions, they eat alternating bites. They don't measure and weigh their portions. If you eat your veggies alternating bites with your protein, you can eat a lot more food, and you won't feel as full and you will not get all your protein in. This is why I eat my veggies separate at snacks so I can get enough veggies in while meeting my protein goals. If I didn't eat my veggies separate, I would never eat any, because 3 to 4 ounces of protein fills me up. On a typical day I eat 4 cups of spinach. That is pretty much the sum of my carbs, and it is barely 4 carbs, the rest of my carbs are from half and half. If I have broccoli instead I might hit 6 carbs in broccoli and even that is a stretch because broccoli is more filling and I can't eat as much of it as I can of spinach. If you are eating protein and green veggies, it is basically impossible not to low carb.

It seems like a lot of advice given by "nutritionist" is only for immediately post-op. I don't know if this is just because that is their focus or they don't deal with many patients long term. Probably a mix of both. I get in more calories by eating more often. Now at also 2 years post-op I can also eat more volume depending on what it is, but I try to keep my calories and volume in check each time I eat. 4 ounces is the most comfortable amount of dense protein I can eat, sometimes I can get away with 5 but I try very hard not to do it, because I might not realize I went too far until it is too late then it feels like a baby elephant is standing on my chest. The first 6 months I wasn't allowed steak or pork chops anything really dense, so that kept my calories down naturally. Once I was able to have steak my calories went up just because steak is more calories than fish.

@Sparklez No, I basically eat all day long. I eat basically whatever I want. If I want pizza (rarely) I make low carb pizza. I have chicken wings all the time (I bake them in the oven or order them fried naked out), I eat quest chips. If you are willing to spend the money and you can cook you can have all the things you like in low carb WLS friendly versions. There is really no reason to give up anything or think you will never have it again. I'm going to walk my dog and have some ice cream in a little while. Today I had... Bacon and coffee Ranch Wings Ribs (Beef with sugar free BBQ sauce) Italian beef (in a bow) And lost more coffee with half and half. After the point you are healed, about 6 months post-op, you can eat a wide variety of foods. I love and enjoy food more now than I ever did before surgery.

@cstem When is the last time you had your labs checked? Try just having dense protein for a week or 2 and see if that gets things moving. If you aren't weighing your food, make sure you are weighing and tracking every single thing you eat to make sure you are tracking accurately. Hopefully someone who is further out from surgery than you shows up to offer you advice.

@Green1 How long since surgery?

You can't grow back something removed from your body. It is gone forever. Sleeve is really more perm that RNY since RNY can stretch and a properly formed sleeve cannot stretch out, RNY patients keep their entire stomach in their body forever, it is just severed. Many post-op people RNY have an expanded stomach at the top of their intestine. And in extreme circumstances, RNY is reversible, the sleeve isn't since the stomach is removed and disposed of. @SEAHAWKS FAN! I'm glad you decided not to have surgery if your heart wasn't in it. I feel like too many people have surgery when they are not committed 100%. Post-op is a lot easier when you have totally bought into the process. Good luck with whatever you choose.

You should eat in a way that you can keep eating forever without feeling deprived. I love eating Keto but it isn't for everyone. If a person feels deprived, then eating Keto or anything else is going to suck for them. I feel like people need a find a way to eat that doesn't feel like a diet, is easily sustainable for them, and doesn't encourage the idea of cheat meals or cheat days. If you aren't carb sensitive and can lose weight eating carbs then eat carbs. No one has to live your life or in your body but you. Most programs allow for carbs anyway.