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Its quite normal to go off foods. I think its the Keto diet that changes the foods tastes. Two years on, I still am unable to stomach cooked salmon, mussels and lamb. Strangely enough, they were my most favourite foods pre surgery. It does get better once real foods are back on your menu, I promise. Just eat what you can now because this stage of having little appetite doesn't last for everyone. What you are doing is great

Ann- Old vet threads have a ton of links. Jess- I think 5:2 or similar is great. Just wanted to suggest Keto as an option as well. Low carb, moderate fat is working for me currently. I'm certain the first 5 lbs were water but I am now at a new low weight at almost 3.5 years out. Lastly, since your 4s still fit, you may want to focus on recomposition- a diet specific to leaning out and add resistance training to your exercise. I plan on reversing out of my current diet at the end of next month to focus on recomposition, specifically to add muscle.

Nope. I'm not really being guided by my surgeon or a NUT since I'm getting my surgery out of the country. But from the support groups I'm on, and the recipes page, everyone seems to be following a keto diet. (Low carb, high fat, high protein) So many recipes include cheese, butter, etc. Everything is ok in moderation, but eating "sandwiches" where your bread is replace by cheese constantly just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I love healthy fats (avocado, nuts, etc) but too much fat like butter and cheese scare me :x

Wow, thank you all for your replies!! I definitely do plan on trying keto at first, but I DO NOT see it working for me for the rest of my life. I love my complex carbs. And keto usually doesn't discriminate. Watermelon, for example, has close to the allowed carb intake for the day. When I speak about carbs, I def mean complex! Thank you all for your replies - I will take every single one into account. I was really nervous posting this question. So thanks!

That and there are ambiguous definitions of keto diet.. the only important part is getting the body into ketosis. I find the differences of how to be subjective and irrelevant.

Your story sounds very similar to mine! I'm sick of yo-yo dieting, as well. I've been off and on keto for a few years, too. I actually lost 62 pounds doing keto, but it wasn't sustainable for me and I was STARVING ALL THE TIME. People say they're never hungry on keto. Ha! I wish! I couldn't eat enough food. And I think it changed the ghrelin and leptin in my stomach. Because now I'm either STARVING or I'm full - there's no in between. After going off keto, I gained back all but 15 pounds. Thankfully I didn't put on even more weight than I lost. I've tried other diets and I failed all of them. I have diabetes and high cholesterol. My blood pressure, while still normal, is creeping up. I'm going to say that I have metabolic syndrome. I'm 52-years old. With my co-morbidities, I don't think I'll make it to 60. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I have a life to live and I need energy to do it. Gastric bypass in 34 days!!! Woo hoo!!!

Mine expired around 6 months. I maintain around my current weight, with very little thought, ever since then. I'm happy to be 90# smaller, but I still technically have 85# to go. I've tried rebooting, starving, calorie zig-zagging, carb loading, Keto diet, and I also workout 6-7 days a week (10-ish workouts/week), but to no avail. I've just given up & accepted that this is what I am.

I would have said Ketosis. It doesn't matter the amount of calories per day, it's WHAT foods you are consuming. Do u have Keto-sticks to test your urine?

Sorry for the novel folks, but maybe before getting to tips and tricks, let's talk a bit about what causes plateaus: First, the most common reason for any stall, including the dreaded 3-week stall is simply that you are retaining more water. There are a few reasons this happens, but around the 3-week mark it comes down to the fact that your body is adjusting to a low carb intake after converting from glycogen to ketones for energy. More water is needed to burn glycogen, so you were retaining more water pre-surgery than you are now that you're using primarily ketones for energy. At about the 3-week mark, your body eventually recognizes that the water loss is long term, so other mechanisms have started kicking in to start holding on to more water. This water loss due to the change between glycogen and ketones is the primary reason for "keto flu", and something that increases your risk of dehydration early after surgery. The other "reasons" for plateaus really don't apply as much at the 3 week mark, but will become more important later in the process. Let's cover those too though so you're prepared: As you lose more weight, your overall metabolic rate will slow down. People sometimes think fat is not metabolically active, but that's not true. Less fat means your metabolism slows down, even if you retain the same amount of muscle. As you lose weight, it takes less effort to move, so the amount of calories you burn from activity also drops quite a bit. As you progress, you'll be able to eat more and especially if you're not tracking intake closely by weighing and measuring your food, you can easily be eating a lot more than you think. This one may be TMI for some, but you may simply be retaining more stool. This is going to be hard for some people to hear, but I can tell you one thing it's not, and that's hormones. Yes, various hormonal processes negatively impact weight loss in a myriad of ways, but they don't overcome basic physics: if you eat less than you are burning, you'll lose weight. What these hormones can do if they're out of whack, is not good things like slowing your metabolism, increasing your hunger, screwing with water weight, or even fooling you into thinking you're eating less than you are. So, with all that sciency stuff out of the way, what do we actually do if we're in a stall? Well, I think it depends on when it happens and how long it lasts: If it's early (a.k.a. the 3-week stall), just keep doing what you're doing and you should be fine. I know people don't like that advice, but as I said, it's just water, so don't worry about it. Later on, especially if the stall is lasting longer than 2-3 weeks. that's when I think it's important that you look closely at what you are actually burning, as well as really tracking what you are eating. If you don't know your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), you should. The closer you are to goal, the harder it is to get the balance right between intake and output to make sure you're not eating too much, so fixing this starts with knowing your BMR and accurate food logging. There's a lot of anecdotal advice thrown around about "ways to break a stall", but there seems to be little scientific evidence for any of it. Most of it certainly won't hurt to try, e.g. breaking up your routine in terms of diet or exercise, but just understand that this change may or may not have had any impact. If it makes you feel better to be proactive, go for it. Longer term, there is one piece of solid advice that's backed up by lots of research: Even if you don't really like working out, do it anyway. Those WLS patients that make a regular habit of exercising for 45 minutes to an hour most days a week are significantly more likely to reach their goal and maintain the weight loss. (One caveat here: significantly changing your exercise routine can make you retain water and possibly even add muscle, so don't freak out if you see a stall or even a gain.) I'll take that exercise advice one step further and say you really should be doing some form of strength training. This is also backed up by lots of studies, but the great thing about strength training is that it makes your burn more calories even at rest (in other words, it increases your metabolic rate). There are lots of other benefits, but the metabolic benefit is the most germaine to the stall question. Those that do strength training are less likely to stall during weight loss.

I just bought some soup mixes from Keto Chow, haven't tried them though. They're high protein and low carb and despite the name, the dry mix is low fat as well.

Meal planning and food prep will probably help you resist in the future. I am 6 months out and meal prep weekly so i always have things on hand. I am a true food addict and I need to fight my addiction every hour of every day. Are you eating keto? Look up the Holy Grail Fathead Pizza crust recipe on Ditchthecarbs.com http://www.ditchthecarbs.com/2015/04/23/fat-head-pizza/ . I make it ahead and after it comes out of the oven I divide into mini servings (my servings are smaller than the recipe says) and I throw the servings into a ziplock. i have it on hand whenever I crave pizza, bagels, etc. It is seriously better than regular pizza. It will also not make you crave carbs and is filling in a healthy way. As a food addict, having foods readily available to me that will prevent a binge on something crappy is key and it is the only thing that will make me successful with this tool. I hope this helps. I would suggest that you meal prep right away and try to choose foods with your macro goals. Not sure what your macro goals are, but 70% fat, 25% protein and 5% carbs has worked for me and keeps me satiated so I don't want to binge eat. Keto has saved my life. Myfitnesspal will show you your macros if you record all your food. Stay strong!!!!

i have done a lot of study and self-experimentation with ketogenic diets going back 8 years. i highly, HIGHLY suggest you not start any sort of keto dieting. just kick the liquid calories. also realize that a bit of rebound pounds is normal.

I think you are right, that you need to start keeping track of your calorie intake....it will give you a better idea of how much you should be eating to lose weight. Take a look at this calculator and input your data and it will give you a general sense of what calorie level you should be at to lose weight: https://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/ There are many other calculators out there, this just happen to be the one I used. Good Luck!

Well I am still only making it 24 hours. GRRRRR! I want to do 36 so bad but by 24 hours I just want to "feed" and "feed" and "feed". LOL. So hmmm, there is that. I'm sticking at 144.8lbs and it's not going anywhere! Gah! LOL. It feels like my body defends each new low and I will sit within a few pounds of it for weeks, then it relents and allows a new low. It's a bit crazy making. I'm trying to do a 36 again today. Then will be gone no IF for the weekend, but keto weekend planned. How are you doing? ((hugs))

@Orchids&Dragons I'm so sorry about the state of your tubesocks girls. ((hugs)) @Sosewsue61 Welcome back my friend! Hold on tight and do it just for today. We can do anything for 1 day. Then tomorrow wake up and recommit for 1 day. Pretty soon you'll be going strong and you will catch the fire. I swear seeing the scale move quickly is the big motivator. Just embrace the suck for 1 day only. ((hugs)) @GreenTealael Can I just tell you that I adore your videos!!!??? Love the links you post - they teach so much and are very helpful and uplifting/empowering! Fiber = Big Crush for me. Must. Have. Fiber. LURVE fiber! Love Dr. B. @AEdoesRnY Welcome! Hope you will hang out here and post often. There are some super duper posts in the last 153pages. Bahahahaha! Happy reading/losing. IF really helps shake the tree up. I also recommend a "lowerish" carb approach. Even though @sillykitty wasn't LC/keto by her foods, I believe she was/is by virtue of her restriction and daily calories. And I really think we all want to access the fat stores in our body rather than burning lean tissue. Being keto means you have access to your fat stores to make up the nutrition you need when you're in calorie restriction from fasting. If you are only in calorie restriction (that may be high enough to keep you from ketosis), then you don't have access to those fat stores and your body smartly down regulates your metabolism in alignment with your calorie restriction. Plain as mud, right? I'm doing good here y'all. Still bouncing between 140-144. Today I'm 141.0 and will hopefully be 140 tomorrow again. Or maybe I will tick down into the 130s? I can hope. Right? I want to be @sillykitty when I grow up.

Restaurants are usually more than willing to accommodate substitutions and understand that people have complex diets. I have seen vegetarian, diabetic/keto friendly, gluten free, etc menu categories. I have also looked up menus prior to going places. When ordering I either ask for everything on the side or without everything I don’t want. My BF says that I do *appear* high maintenance at restaurants. But I have always been that way because I am kosher, sometimes I was a strict vegetarian/vegan and have a shellfish allergy too so cross contamination is dangerous for me. WLS was just one more layer. If all else fails I order salad or ice water, tea or dessert 🤣

My doctor recommended 60 grams per day of protein, which seems low for my height. I probably need about 75 based on what I have read. It is all I can do to make it to 60. I feel like I am on a low fat keto diet, lol. Thank goodness for the vitamins! I still have not had any labs ordered so who knows. I received a packet from the dietitian recommending 5 small meals (1/4-1/2 cup each) each day. I have noticed that the recommendations differ vastly between different providers. I am supposed to be having regular appointments with my dietician but the appointments are always full so I have had no dietician contact post operatively. She doesn’t even respond to my emails (okay, she did once, two months after I asked a question). In some ways I am relieved that no one has noticed the weight loss, but at the same time I want it to be noticeable, too. I guess 229 looks as huge to the average observer as 289. I look forward to passing from an obese BMI into just an overweight BMI. For my height that will be at 205. Maybe it will be noticeable at that point. But you’re right, you tend to overlook changes on someone you see on a daily basis.

I gave this some more thought, Assuming you are not especially fatigued at the end of the day or other days, and you get enough sleep, and your nutrient balance is correct for your post-op diet, and you are of course drinking the more than the minimum amount of water, I would say your exercise regimen is more exercise related and not diet. I wish it was as easy as "eat more carbs, lift more weights," but its far more complicated than that. Nutritionists are not athletic trainers, and neither are athletic trainers nutritionists. If hitting a wall when weightlifting if the only thing of note (no other non-normal post op feelings or notes), then I believe your issue is more directly relate to the gym than an overall carb or calorie intake. Ask the gym operator for someone to get advice from, they either know a knowledgeable trainer that works at the gym (not all trainers are knowledgeable) or a client you can ask questions to. Post-op, you have a heavier than normal protein diet, because you are on a very low calorie diet, and that makes your body want to draw a higher proportion of calories from its ready muscle. So, you should bump up your protein. Post-op unknowingly put myself on a keto diet, low, very low carb and higher fat, because I was very lean meat oriented and string cheese for snacks. I didn't hit such walls. But no one just adds 5 lbs of weights to exercises every week, or even every month. Your body needs water to process, everything. Whatever amount of water you are drinking now, add to it. I was drinking about 80oz a day, and I learned that was not enough for me once I lost alot of weight - 80oz could not support a run every other day without severe shin splints. Now, to your weight lifting. Without knowing what your regiment is, STOP! take a break. Take a 2 week break. Don't worry, your weight loss is far, far more dependent on what you eat than weightlifting. Go for walks instead. Use that time to make sure you lifting right, and lifting with the right form. If you are lifting everyday, it may not be fatigue, it could be pain. You MUST NOT mix up muscle groups back to back. For example, you should not be doing a lat pull down on a monday, and then a deltoid on a tuesday. They share the same muscle group and they are share common muscles. Triceps and biceps are similar, they should be done on the same day, so the shared muscles between those exercises can rest on the off days. You need a rest day for them. Google some suggest workout patterns. I spent 4 months in physical therapy because a "certified" trainer let me do chest press-shoulder-press-incline press everyday. I learned the hard way... not to trust a trainer. I broke my shoulders down, and threw one out fencing, and then later threw the other out trying to grab my dog. If you are lifting every other day, you might need an extra day to recovery. Recovery is super, super important. You do not build muscle mass at the gym, and never will. It happens after you leave the gym, when your muscle fibers go about repairing themselves. Perhaps, being new to lifting, and being older, you just need an extra day. Also, 6 months is TOO LONG to be doing the same thing. Do different exercises in different orders. If you are doing bicep curls, do hammer curls. If you are doing chest presses, do incline chest presses. or more ideally, mix them all up. Doing the same exercises too long will put you into a rut. Make sure you're not doing too many of the same group. Doing 3 sets each of shoulder, incline and chest press on the same day is the same as asking to be admitted for a physical therapist to fix an impinged shoulder. When you leave the gym, that is the best time to eat. Your muscles are craving fuel, and so is the rest of your body, its the best time to absorb food. Also, it wouldn't hurt to have a snack before you go to the gym either. Just also make sure you are hydrated before going to the gym. Back off the weights. Start doing less weights and see how your reps go. When you do sets, you might need a longer rest time between them. Your fatigue might be related to lactic acid, and you need extra time to flush some more of it out. Warm up your muscles before lifting. You might need to stretch, or do a lightweight set before you do your main sets s a warmup.

Hey August Buddies! I wanted to share my results so far in starting my mock trial liquid diet to see how well it goes for me. Basically, to test to make sure I can hit all my macros and protein, I don't put it in my mouth if it does not have some version of protein in it. So far I have felt very satisfied and not felt too hungry. If I do get hungry, then I drink more water with the Liquid Protein and it satisfies me. What my days are consisting of: Breakfast 1 cup of coffee with 1 Tbsp of cream and 1 teaspoon of Skinny mix and 1 scoop of college protein Take all my supplements and vitamins Water with Electrolytes Oikos triple zero yogurt watered down Organic Plum Stage 1 Babyfood (OMG - soooo good!) Lunch 2-ounce puck of strained Bear Creek Cheddar Broccoli soup with 2 TBSP of grass-fed Whey protein ( I also made chicken noodle soup and potato soup pucks so I have a variety) 1 Keto Chow protein shake with 1 cup Almond Milk Water with Liquid Protein and Electrolytes Snack 1 Premiere Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake Water with Liquid Protein and Electrolytes Dinner 1 complete SF Jello box with Liquid Protein Water with Liquid Protein and Electrolytes My program may be completely different from yours, but I wanted to share what is so far working for me. I'm down 4 pounds since Sunday and have not been hungry and very satisfied. Average daily calories 850, Avg protein 120 grams, average net carbs 58 (primarily from yogurt and fiber carbs) I feel really good that my protein levels increased to over 50% when I implemented the liquid protein. So easy to consume with your water! Lots of Love to My August Buddies!! ❤️

It sounds to me like you are describing dehydration., although I get this really rank metallic taste in my mouth-like sucking on pennies-when I am in ketosis. You can always buy keto sticks and test your urine if you want to know if you are in ketosis or not. You can get them at most pharmacies behind the counter without a prescription, just ask.

Eat real food hon. Let your tool do its job. Ditch the crap=Keto Ice Cream and Barney's Almond Butter with Lily's chips, enlightened bar...WAY too much processed junk. This is the time to break up with treats and nut up/knuckle down. Make your meals as lean and protein forward as you can. Don't start using "crutches" at this point. It is WAY early and chances are you will stall out long before reaching goal. This is the time to MAXIMIZE your weight loss. It's the time you will lose the most. Don't squander it. Follow your doc's plan. At this point I was at 1/4c per meal and 400-600 cals. ALL of it was protein + a bite or two of steamed veg + a tiny tiny amount of healthy fat (ie 1/2oz of avocado = 1/8 of an avocado).

Like Jess said....post surgical diets are incredibly different. I think Jess's version is more common among American bariatric centers.... and all of her food is stuff I'd eat in a heartbeat...looks delicious. Biggest difference, is that I do a lot of fuit and low glycemic carbs and more plant based protein. I've always done healthy carbs. Right after protein drinks I transitioned to thin cream of wheat and oatmeal per my approved plan. Mashed potatoes and vegetarian refried beans were on my soft food approved list, too. Didn't do whole grain breads until later, they were tough for a while. I know a lot of folks do something closer to keto. My clinic serves a lot of international clients and lots of them are vegan and vegetarian culturally, so my nutritionist was delighted when I said I'd been doing Mayo Clinic Diet. She was like...Awesome, I can work with that! Here's a sample menu from early on: We're only required to do 60g of protein per day, but it's not unusual for me to hit 80-100. The big things that make my diet work (I think), are fixed calories under 1200 per day, little to no refined sugar, healthy fats, fiber, steady blood sugar, lean protein and plant based protein. I don't do much animal fat. Also, my clinic stresses exercise and writes our recommendations on a prescription pad.

When you can't admit a diet made up of 50% carbs is a "carb rich diet",,,...was logical discussion ever happening? Dude, I get it....you like Keto, you're horrified by the number of carbs I eat, and you think I eat too much. LOL It's cool...to each, their own. But to address your concerns......my carbs and calories are an approved part of a study being conducted by a major medical research hospital...and they seem to be working great. My doctor and nutritionist are delighted with my progress and compliance. And most importantly, I am, too. I love that I'm off my blood pressure meds, I love that I'm off my diuretic, I love that my legs don't swell anymore, I love that my cholesterol is low. I love that my A1C blood sugar is normal. I love that I don't have any nutrient deficiencies. I love the energy I have!!! I love that I can mow my whole yard comfortably, without getting out of breath. I love that I sleep better. I love that I haven't had a cold or flu or illness in over a year. And I love my forever diet! I don't ever feel deprived or hungry. I feel like I can do this forever...and that's the first time that's ever happened with a diet in my life. There are a lotta ways up this mountain. I wish you tremendous success no matter which path you choose:)

I never rethought about it, I just occupy myself with things. I'm just starting out, they have put me on something like a keto diet. When I start thinking of food I draw, read, or bug my grand kids. I m sure after I have surgery it may be a bit different

Ok....everytime I try to lose weight, I become addicted to the scale. I hop on at least 3 times a day to see where I am....even though I KNOW it hasn't moved. LOL When I did Atkins, I used the keto-sticks every time I pee'd to make sure they still turned pink. Does anyone else get like this? I am getting next week, and don't want the scale to run my life. I might just have to throw it away and drive somewhere to weigh myself.