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OMG Yes! I was so itchy after surgery that I was hurting myself with scratching. I'm not sure if it's correct but when I looked online I found out about the 'keto rash' and thought that could be the cause. When your body is in ketosis - when it's burning fat due to lack of carbs - it can cause that itchiness in places on your body where you typically sweat more. Like I said, not sure this is the actual cause because I didn't have a visible rash and I was mostly itchy on my lower legs. It did go away but every now and then I get a flair up that lasts for a few hours then goes away again. Hope you feel better soon.

Ok, so all those calculators on the internet suck!!! I've been saying I eat 1200 calories, but in formulating an answer to this post, I found out it's closer to 1000! Sheesh. Ok..so my original post... : <<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Carbs are "fillers", calorie-wise. First, figure out your calorie goal. I like mine at 1200, for example. Then protein: mine is 70g. (280 cals). Then fat: Around 40g. (360 cals). 280+360= 640cals. 1200-640= 560 / 4= 140g carbs... <<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> But I know I don't eat that many carbs! So I went through and retotalled them by hand. My new totals.. 78g net carbohydrate (312 calories) 74g protein (296 calories) 45g fat (405 calories) Total: 1013 calories All those people on the super low carb, keto diets.. if they eat 150g protein and 20g carbs, that's only 680 calories. If they aren't trying to lose weight, they need to eat the equivalent of 10-15 tablespoons of fat. Wowsers..

I think negativity about high protein intake is related to the negativity about the keto diet. I was told to aim for 60 grams during my weight loss. When I reached maintenance I adjusted to the 0.8 per kg of my weight. But my dietician said it should be 1g per kg but because I was a woman in her mid 50s I should be getting 1.2g but that seems too much. I aim for 50g a day but I don’t beat myself up if I only get in 40g on the odd day. It’s a bonus day when I get in 60g. I think you should just follow your plan & the recommendations from your dietician & surgeon.

Hi , I am a newbie still but I 'll share my input. Dont be depressed, you ve made alot of progress from what I can see in ur stats. My hair is thinning too at the middle parting and more hair falls out when I wash out. I am expecting it to get worse at some point so. I dont think we can do much but let it run its course . I havent stalled yet but my weight loss is a bit slow. So I am taking a more keto approach, having protein shakes and salads more. Keto might help you but general advice is to stick to your plan until the stall breaks.

Dietician had me on keto for a couple of weeks before surgery. My surgeon puts all his patients on a pre-surgery diet to reduce fat around the liver & give him a clearer line of sight during surgery. He put my friend, with a much higher starting BMI than me, on a protein shake diet pre surgery. Maybe too lose a little more pre surgery???

You might Trump my answer because I am in a stall. If cutting calories for me the next week doesn’t help, I will try cutting fat too. I love that I didn’t have to cut fat so far, but maybe that could help break the stall. I don’t do straight up keto but I do low carb.

Mikeyy. They put me on a similar diet to atkins or keto. Eat as much meat and non starch veggies as I want. I cannot have any sugar fruit and any carbs outside the veggies. I cannot have dairy either

I had my op 5 years ago and have regained more pounds than I expected  and feel very down, which makes me eat emotionally! Never a good thing! Well I have just decided to lose the pounds and have started eating low carb and started listening to podcasts all about weight loss, Keto and healthy ways , I find it really helps listening to 1 podcast a day to help keep me focused and motivated!

Some of you know I was interested in the IF topic but since I'm only 8 weeks out, it is probably not time for me to try to introduce that. As I am a super slow loser and am very metabolically challenged..I tend to opt for a keto based way of eating. Keeping carbs under 20 grams, etc. Keeping fat isolated to much less than the average 'keto WOL' and staying with the healthier fats. I've been stalled at the same weight for 10 days and I have been exercising during this time. Haven't noticed any new change in the way things fit (looking for non-scale victories, etc.)..and before that it took 2 to 3 weeks to lose 2 lbs. Was aiming for 800 calories or less with protein as highest macro followed by fat and then by carbs. When discussing IF on another thread, I posted what my dr recommended and it is based on 800 calories a day with 40% protein, 30% carbs, and 30% fat. I'm so nervous about changing my diet around, increasing carbs, etc. but at this point, I'm so frustrated with my slow losing pace and my stall, that I figure that I might as well try it. I've lost 32 lbs in 8.5 weeks which probably sounds ok to other slow losers but what bothers me is that in basically the last 3 wks of my 8.5 wk journey, I've lost roughly...2 lbs with the past 10 days at a big fat 0. I was ok with just losing 2 lbs a week..but i feel like my weight loss not only started slowing even more in the past several weeks, but it is now trickling to a standstill and I'm only 8 weeks out. I figured I'd see something like this starting maybe in month 4...definitely not month 2. I've tried to stay positive but that it is becoming harder and harder to do so...

Thanks for your advise. I need all the help I can get. I do have the low carb slim fast for breakfast and save the rest of the 30 grams for hidden carbs and I use the keto stiks to make sure I am staying on target. I guess I am just getting in a hurry. lol like you said it didnt come on over night so its not coming off over night.

Trying to get information for my husband who is currently 300 pounds at 6'0" tall making his basic BMI calculation 40.7. He's tried dieting so many times over the years but always ends up higher than he started. When we first married 11 years ago he was VERY fit, muscular, and broad shouldered weighing about 190. Because of work stress, life stress, and bad eating habits he's now where he is today. Low carb/keto is how he prefers to diet. Right now he's considering the lap band to force him into losing the 100 pounds. He doesn't have an eating disorder that I know of, he just needs something to keep him straight that's more than just his mind. He says he plans to follow the strict plan with eating properly and exercising and then take it out after having it a year. And then from there continuing to keep a clean healthy diet and exercise regime. Other than sleep apnea, he doesn't have any other health issues that we know of. His blood tests all look good and other than being quite over weight he's healthy. Anyone else done this? What are the downsides? I know people don't like the lap band long term, but is this a better plan? We are fortunate to live in an area where there are many, many very good doctors and the ones here still do lap band. Was hoping he could use it as a tool to get to a healthy weight and then maintain from there. We have our first consultation next week. Would love thoughts from experienced people here. Thanks in advance!

I am 3 months out from RNY surgery and have lost about 45lbs , the weight has been slow moving this past month and I work out 7 days a week, I do a full mix of cardio , weight lifting and yoga/Pilates / barre and follow a Keto or Lazy Keto diet. Depression , anxiety, sleeplessness , restlessness and anger have been a constant no matter how much I keep my endorphins up. Is this normal? Is it normal to look in the mirror or photos and still be angry and upset with what you see? Are the mood swings 3 months out still normal? I’m disgusted and saddened by what is looking back at me and I am critiquing myself harder than before when I was 200lbs , 154lbs just doesn’t feel like the progress I was hoping g for at 3 months and I feel like no matter how hard I work out I am not seeing the muscles or definition in my body , all I see is saggy skin , bingo arms and cellulite. I just want to know am I the only that has felt or feels this way ?

Biggest thing, don't cave in. The ONLY person putting that food in your face is you. You control you. SO... control you! Now, find something that's a healthy option that you can swap with whatever you are craving that will satisfy the craving. There are some amazing foods out there that you can eat that are WAY better for you than most of the junk that's out there. 3 ingredient Keto Cookies using nothing but bananas, cacao powder and raw peanut butter, super amazing fudgey cookies that are decently low in calories, have ZERO added sugars and pack in the protein and nutrients that you just don't get from typical cookies. You can either avoid or confront the foods. I confronted them. I legit stood in front of all the candy in the candy isle and was like... "screw you candy. You made me fat and unhappy and made me feel like crap. Sure you are tasty, but it's all just junk and I don't need you." I used to eat a LOT of ice cream, now I eat a 1/4 or so of Halo Top, way better option. You have to make this work. Do your best and only your best and it gets easier. If you fail or cave... that's fine, but, it's not. Don't beat yourself up... but don't make it "ok". Work with your surgery, not against it! Good Luck!

Hey Guys, I just found this site after a hopeful search looking for someone who has or is going through something similar. I had RNY with a Minimizer Ring on the 18th of February 2020. I am 43 and 5ft 9In. My surgery weight was 296 pounds and I am now 238 pounds. A loss of 58 pounds so far. I had been planning/researching the surgery for 5 years and after my last failed attempt of maintaining, went ahead with surgery with full knowledge of what to expect (well so I thought). For full disclosure, my weight problems I think were based on years of yo-yo dieting. Mainly extreme calorie cutting and exercise to get to normal weight. However, when off the ‘diet wagon’ I would only eat a huge meal once a day after not eating all day and being starving when I got home. Usually meals were very much carb based with heavy sauces. I would eat normally on the weekend, but overly big portion sizes. I am not a sweet tooth or an emotional eater, nor am I a fussy eater. I also loved coke zero, which I have just found out is apparently a trickster. Anyways, I think I ruined my metabolism and losing weight was no longer working like it used to! What I expected: · 5-10 days of a keto kind of flu whilst my body adjusted to fat burning mode · Minimal appetite, but still some kind of signal I needed to eat · Being easily satiated with small amounts of food · Having to chew my food 20-30 times · No water 30 mins before or 60 mins after food · Protein first, avoid simple carbs What I did not expect · Persistent nausea · Aversions to all meat/poultry/fish and eggs (physically make me heave) and other random things (sour cream, mushrooms, pumpkin soup, cheese that has been grilled) · Complete and utter exhaustion to the point where my personal hygiene is embarrassing because sometimes I can’t muster enough energy to have a shower for days · Dumping sometimes trying food for the first time, sometimes after having food that did not make me dump last time (for me it is sweating, heart racing, severe cramps and diarrhoea within 30 mins of eating) · Being so uncomfortably full even if it is just water, or a couple of tiny bites of food. I get less than 1000 calories in a week · That chewing the food so many times would make most foods unpalatable and having to spit it out or throw up · The amount of times I belch, heave and bring up thick saliva……all day…..its disgusting and embarrassing! I had read many stories before the surgery, some positive and some negative and was always quick to judge people thinking they were just negative Nancy’s or hypochondriacs and like attention. So it hard to write this post knowing a lot of people will think what I did. I have had scans with contrasts and there are no issues. I have been hospitalised for dehydration, low potassium and high blood ketones. Ketones are normal due to weigh loss. Dehydration and potassium easily fixed with IV fluid. I have a gastroscope tomorrow morning to check if there is scar tissue etc causing my issues. BUT WHAT IF THEY FIND NOTHING???? WILL THIS BE MY FOREVER??? HAS ANYONE DEALT WITH ANYTHING SIMILAR OR IS IT JUST MY BODY FREAKING OUT AND TAKING LONGER THAN NORMAL TO ADJUST? Thanks if you read this far, it really means a lot. I would love to hear from you. I am open to all feedback. Best, Laura (Alice Springs, Australia)

Beyond activity levels, such factors include prior dietary history and genetics. There is a genetic predisposition toward diabetes, insulin resistance and genuine "carb sensitivity" that some people have, and they can benefit form low carb diets; for those without that genetic makeup it's just another fad diet. I don't know if I was considered a big exerciser who "should" succeed with a 100g diet, but I couldn't afford the common side effects or nutritional deficiencies of low carb dieting and knew from history and experience that it has little to do with weight loss success. My wife lost 200# without regard to carb counts, and she is exercise averse. Carb counting and such severe restrictions was never an emphasis in our program an no one seems to be suffering from it (sugar, simple carbs and junk food in general, yes, but carbs as a macro, no.) In the absence of WLS, the success rate of losing large amounts of weight and keeping it off is about 5%, whether one does a low fat diet, low carb diet, balanced, Atkins, Keto or whatever one chooses. With WLS, success rates are similar - people have been successfully maintaining massive weight loss for decades before low carb became the fad of the day. In the fourteen some odd years that I have been involved in the bariatric world, I have never seen anyone fail because of "too many carbs". whatever magic number is chosen - 100g, 40g, 20g... Too many calories relative to their metabolism - absolutely; though those excess calories may be from carbohydrates, they can just as easily be from too much fat or protein, or more typically a combination of them all. Excessive fat consumption is often a problem in maintenace as people who adopted the "full fat everything" habit early on when their volume was severely restricted often continue it as their volume increases a few years out and they let their calories slip away from them. They may blame the carbs for "getting away from them" and exceeding the magic 40g. but then ignore the 1000 calories of fats they are consuming, with a 12-1300 cal metabolism.

What's your eating like?.. I'm 13.5 weeks post op and stalled 3 weeks ago as well. I hate the friggan scales tbh. I eat a mostly keto diet and I'm only a few kgs from goal weight although I never had one before I think Ill make one up lol Increase your fat intake and really look at what carbs your eating they can make a huge difference. You want to tap into your fat stores and use that as an energy source and not inflate your insulin. Walk and weights u don't need to any full on bloody cardio as u will stress your body and make cortisol. Christ honestly who knows I feel like I'm a bloody expert and still I'm stuck as well lol

A keto diet means it is ketogenic, basically very very low carb, high Protein and fat. Being a few years out, you are now in the maintenance phase. Think of yourself the same as you were before the surgery, or same as "regular folk". The weight loss strategies the rest of the world uses are going to apply to you. Take a little time to decide which train to jump on. Go to your local library and/or bookstore, go to the diet/nutrition section, and behold! Everything from South Beach Diet to Mediterranean to Atkins, etc. Keto will be there. Read through the various concepts, and see if any of them sound like something that will work for you. If they promise weight loss without exercise, ignore that part. You must exercise! Good luck! Sent from my SM-N920R4 using the BariatricPal App

I was concerned about Dougs wife as well. In the beginning I wasn't concerned because she was 3 months out of having twins. I have a friend who is 3 years post VSG and was up 50 pounds after her baby but she did Keto and got the weight back off. It seemed like his wife was getting larger. Also how she was eating wasn't helping. I actually enjoy the show, I'm no where near 600-700 pounds but I love when they are successful. It gives me hope that if they can be, so can I.

Vets- I need some opinions (although typically i'm more than willing to give my own)...I am 5 years post VSG. I did good overall, losing about 85 lbs. Then, I had major life issues and had some regain. Had some ugly health news about 2 years ago, did Keto and lost my regain. I'm cycling on/off keto for the last few months and maintaining, but find that i have serious sugar cravings occasionally. I have some screenings coming up for the said health issue and REALLY want to get myself back on track and wondering if a short-term reboot using my pre-op diet is a better option than just going back to Keto? Strict keto for me is basically meat, eggs, fat, green veg. Might be a stupid question but I would love some opinions.

Yes, keto has been around for a long time, as has most of the popular diets that have gone in and out of fashion - there really isn't all that many things that can be done in a weight loss diet that hasn't been tried before and found wanting, often multiple times. Keto has some apparent benefit in the treatment of epilepsy but beyond that it is fundamentally just a fail safe or backup mode for our bodies in time of famine - we can get by but the body really doesn't like it (that's why if provides you with the bad breath and BO, telling you that this really isn't a great idea....) Over the short to intermediate term, it can work well - as most diets do - but in the longer term for the morbidly obese, beyond a year or so, it shows the same 95+% failure rate as any other diet effort (though WLS tends to extend that years' grace period some.) Indeed, if you go back 20-30 years in the WLS world, many were often told to simply eat as they did before, but just less (courtesy of their WLS) and it overall worked well for the first year or so, but obviously since they never learned to eat sustainably and correct the habits that caused them to need WLS in the first place, they typically regained. So, from a strictly weightloss perspective (as opposed to longer term weight control), almost any diet will work with your WLS for the first year or so. What really counts is how well you adapt to a sustainable weight maintenance life in the long term. If keto works for you to do that - great; if going vegetarian or vegan does it, that is also great. Balanced diet, South Beach, Zone, Atkins, low fat, Mediterranean or whatever - go for it, and don't worry about what others do because if it doesn't make sense to you, then is isn't right for you. Clinically, high fat, low carb diets such as keto or paleo (or at least the current commercial interpretation of paleo) are used for minimizing or avoiding weight loss after a gastrectomy (such as when done for cancer or gastroparesis) owing to its high caloric density - one needs lots of calories in a small volume to maintain weight, which is just what such diets provide. This isn't to say that they can't be used for losing weight, but the odds are more stacked against one in doing so, and one needs to be aware that just because a food or recipe is labelled as keto (or paleo, vegetarian, vegan, etc.) doesn't mean that it is appropriate for weight loss or contol - one still needs to watch what one eats.

I'm down 36lbs since my August 8th surgery. I was stalled for a VERY long time. I started a very strict Bariatric Keto diet plan this past week and I've lost 5lbs in the last 4 days. No more than 20g of carb, moderate fat and protein. Hw: 315 SW: 248 CW: 212 GW: 150

I gained 20 lbs after hitting my lowest point (138). I really needed to gain the first 10 lbs of it - I'd gotten too thin. But I've been struggling to lose the last 10 because I DIDN'T need or want that part of it (have managed to lose like 3 of it -- since March! It's tough...) anyway, I still track my food intake, but I've been doing that since my surgery in 2015 (actually, even BEFORE surgery). I've made a serious effort to stay within my maintenance calorie range, which for me is 1500-1700 per day - and I'm trying to stay at the low end of that (1500). I also really increased my exercise. My primary exercise these days is biking, which I usually do for 60-90 minutes a day, five or six days a week. It's working, but it's S-L-O-W. I know if I lowered my calories even more, to like 1200, the weight would come off faster - but I'm evidently not ready or willing to do that yet or I'd already be doing it. BUT....I'm sure it would work. at this point I just count calories - and I've been doing that since I was about a year out from surgery. I can eat anything as long as it fits into my daily calorie limit. I know that doesn't work for everyone, though. I know several people who are trying to lose regain doing Keto, or Weight Watchers, or Intermittent Fasting. And many just go back to what they were doing the first year post-surgery (not all the way back to protein shakes and purees, but back to protein first, then non-starchy vegetables - and then maybe an occasional serving of fruit or whole-grain carb) it basically comes down to what works for you and what you think you'll be able to sustain long term. Losing regain is hard and it's slow, but it's do-able

I am also a 2014 vet. I too had some regain. Here's the story for me...about 18 months after my op I left a long term career position, took a night, started grad school, switched to a leadership job, lost a parent unexpectedly, graduated grad school, went back for PhD, and more. When I had surgery, one of the main issues was a health problem that was considered reversible. In 2017 after some regain, my GI doc gave me some sobering news that it was returning. I had a serious 'come to Jesus' talk with myself. I went online looking for solutions. I sought my team. I went to some support group meetings (even online). I met with my nut. I met with a surgeon. After being given the option of a RNY revision, I realized that I KNEW WHAT TO DO, AND I HAD THE TOOL...I went full on Keto and never looked back. I am now at my lowest ever. I lost all the regain and then some. I realized through the process that FOR ME, I must always identify as a bariatric patient. I will NEVER be able to eat 'everything in small amounts'. I will always struggle. Surgery saved my life, yes, but it didn't fix my weight permanently- it did part of it but the major work was up to me. I would suggest seeking out support from your surgical team, support group, nut, psych, etc. ANYONE who is part of a bariatric practice. And start from scratch. Dense protein. Water. Shakes if necessary. Skip the 'reset' and all those things. Obviously regain comes from EATING so you have to relearn how to eat as a bariatric patient. It is absolutely possible but there are many of us here on the same timeline as you who have already been through this and are willing to help!

I’m 4 days out from gastric sleeve and hiatal hernia repair as of today. Woke up a little dehydrated this morning and not feeling great. Yesterday was the first day I missed my water goal. (yes I had other things that contribute to my water, but I’ve been pretty good about getting 64 oz plus those other liquids) I have had super low energy today - sleeping way more than normal. I’m working hard to get my water in but no matter how much I drink my mouth seems dry - and this stubborn headache won’t go away. Today has thrown me for quite a loop because I expected to feel better day 4 than I did day 2 and that is not the case. The day after surgery I was walking around the ward and feeling relatively good - considering the surgery. I was up and around and went for a short walk on day 2. Day 3 I didn’t do as much but I did get time in on the recumbent bike - energy level was low, so I thought I could take it easier on the bike and still hit my movement goal. I have been getting my water in ok today - despite the nausea when I got up earlier, had a frozen juice popsicle and that went down ok. Had some protein soup (broth only with protein powder) - powder was not the best with that broth, but I got it down. I’m struggling with the shakes today (which I usually have no issues with - but today they aren’t appealing). I struggle with artificial sweeteners - they upset my stomach and can trigger headaches, so I’m limited in some of the options I have during my liquid phase. The yogurts suggested are of course the ones with artificial sweetener which makes them not ideal on a day I’m already not feeling well. Which eliminates yogurt based smoothies that are suggested in place of a store bought shake. Can anyone tell me if you experienced anything like this your first week? I’m still on full liquids, transition to purées Wednesday. Maybe it’s the low calories kicking my butt energy wise? I’m struggling to even hit 800 calories, my goals are 800-1200 … I’m getting about 770-780 most days. I don’t think it’s a Keto flue because I’m allowed fruit juice and I use that for popsicles. I haven’t had caffeine in months so I don’t think it’s withdraw from that either. I’ll call my nutritionist Monday if I’m still not feeling well, but since it’s the weekend I thought I would ask if others experienced anything similar and how you got through. Any suggestions or advice appreciate. Thanks in advance.

Of course you should talk to your doctor/therapist (when you find one), but I wonder if it's the carbs that are derailing you. They certainly do for me. I was pretty good in the beginning about tracking my food and macros, but since I mostly eat the same thing all the time, it got pretty boring so I stopped. However, I've been losing weight steadily in the 8 months since surgery. That said, over the summer I started eating more carbs that usual - lots of fruit, an occasional wrap here and there, a chai latte, etc. And I noticed a few things. One, I started getting hungrier. Two, my weight completely stalled (and in fact, went up a few pounds). And three, I noticed that unlike protein-dense foods like chicken, most carbs went through my sleeve with no problem - I could eat them all day if I wanted to. So I've gone back to (mostly) what I had been doing before (low carbs - not quite keto but pretty close) and guess what - my weight is starting to go down again on a slow but steady basis, my cravings have stopped, and I'm more mindful about what I eat. We are all different, what works for one may not work for another, but perhaps you really do need to think about the carbs you are putting into your body and if that makes a difference. The sleeve has forced me to eat less per sitting and has reset my body to help me lose weight, but I've quickly learned that I cannot go back, even a little, to eating what I used to eat before. It's too slippery a slope. Which sucks because there are a lot of (high carb) foods out there that I love but that I know I probably won't eat again for a very long time (if ever). I know you're an aspiring gourmand, but you may have to channel that energy into foods that are good for you and your sleeve. Also, I don't know how old your kids are, but you may want to talk to them about having only good foods in the house for a while (so no pringles or ice cream) to help you stay on track. Temptation is a hard thing to get over, and it takes a long time to truly get over the things we love (if ever). In any event, good luck.