Search the Community

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.

I lift heavy right now, and go to the gym 6x a week. Do weights + cardio. I will most definitely continue my love for the gym post op. Although sedentary or not, carbs are supposed to be ok as long as you don't eat more than your activity level. Everyone is different. I would probably fail on keto and binge on carbs. But if I keep carbs apart of my meals, no reason to binge or feel deprived I've lost 5.7 pounds in a week, and I've been eating 100+ carbs, 80g of protein and about 50g of fat.

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.

I have not heard of this but I did " paleo " for a month just to try it out and see how easy/hard it was. Lost 25 lbs. The hardest thing is no dairy or grains.. i love bread.. but its something you can look into if the full on carni does not work for you. My sister is type 1 and does Keto. says its the only thing she tried that keeps her blood sugars from really going wonkey

What are you eating? Are you tracking your daily intake and macros no matter whether you're pre-op or post-op? Share your macros. Here's what I ate yesterday: Calories: 1075 Carbs: 24 Protein: 128 Fat: 56 Sugars: 9 Yeah, I know the "fat" looks high, but hubby and I are doing the "Carnivore Diet" right now, more rigid form of keto with focus on protein and fats and reduction of carbs and sugars. Tell us what you're eating.

I live in the Midwest and everyone here is something -- hi protein/lo carb, Paleo, keto, I live in the Midwest and everyone here is something -- hi protein/lo carb, Paleo, keto, whole foods etc. I haven't had anyone blink an eye when I order/eat. Sent from my XT1565 using the BariatricPal App

Day 7 and Week 1 are in the bag. Cheat free! Relatively drama free--no small animals were harmed in the making of this week long epic!!! Wahhhhhh. Slap my ass and call me Fanny! And I'm down 8.4lbs. That dog WILL hunt, Sis! Surprisingly, the week went out with a whimper. I had zero appetite yesterday and had a bit of that anorexia-high going--you know, where you have great energy, feel like you look like a brick **** house, and are just a tiny bit high/light headed feeling? So I decided to ride the wave and see where it petered out. Turns out that it ran all the way until 10pm. When I was looking around for someone to play with and everyone was sleeping. So. Much. Energy. Damn you Celebrate 3-in-1 MultiVitamin Stick and Vitamin B1 (thiamine=the energy vitamin)!!! Damn you to hell! At 1am, I'd only managed to force down 2 Premier Protein drinks (60g protein), and about eleventy billion cups of black decaf coffee. I was watching the YouTube tell me about how to hunt, fish, and cook if I was part of a primitive tribe living in Asia and only using primitive tools. This morning, I have a little hunger, but it acts a little like a whipped pup. It's wimperin' a bit, but if I give it the stink eye, it backs down into submission. I honestly seriously questioned whether I would be able to get through this 2 week period. I'm not so worried about post surgery. I know there will be little hunger/drive to eat; and I KNOW it will be filled with suckage as any surgery is--at least for me. I know I will have 3 months of a serious learning curve that will be filled with challenges, and I think I'm prepared. But I honestly, didn't know if I would be able to travel the straight and narrow for a week--let alone 2 weeks. Food/cooking is such an enormous part of my DNA. I grew up in a Southern family of very talented cooks (men and women) and have cooked since I was 6 years old. I am a foodie, true blue. So this week of liquids has been eye opening. I would just say for anyone reading, if you know your 2 week diet is approaching--then do yourself a favor. Go Atkins or low carb keto for the 2 weeks prior to the 2 week liquid (at least). Go ahead and have your cheats and falls as you do it, cuz you'll hit the liquid stage and you won't have nearly as much angst as you would have going fully carbed up, then screeching to a stop with the liquid diet. I'd also give up the caffeine and carbonation before hand as well. You will infinitely decrease the level of suckage. Here's Day 7 Menu: (I kept it very clean, rather than spicing up my bullion.)

@Subaru This is only me...but I would be terrified going into surgery without having prepared ahead. Knowing that I've already been through the keto flu months before, knowing that I don't drink pop or caffeine, knowing I'm 99.9% off sugar, knowing I'm already eating a low carb, low sodium, low fat diet and doing just splendidly is reassuring. I have a plan on how to put protein meals together after surgery so that I don't feel overwhelmed. I have a plan for getting my liquids/water in after surgery. I know what schedule will work to get my vitamins in each day and will purchase them soon. That doesn't guarantee a smooth ride. I'm sure there will be a few curve balls to negotiate. Recovery from any surgery is tough and for me, prolonged (3-6months usually). So I'm praying this one will be quicker, but am mentally prepared for 6 months of "not so much fun." And because I've done the pre-work, I took the "overwhelmed" part out of the equation (I hope). But, you know, I'm a What About Bob type of personality. So I have to break things down into baby steps in order to make myself do something or to get through it.

I'm so glad you got that scale to move!!!! I ended up losing 1.3 for the week so I'll take that. I saw my nutritionist on Friday and I think I may stop doing the keto diet and just focus on meat and vegetables and see if that change helps things at all. You are looking fantastic! Thanks for following up. Have a great week!

Hey guys, I haven't checked in for while. I hope everyone's doing well. I know I am doing great. I am sticking with the modified Keto and exercise routine. The scale hasn't moved much in the past six week--only down about 5 or 6 pound. However, during that time I lost: 1.5% of my body fat (down to 16.5%); 1.5 inches off my waist; inch off my chest (down to 42 from a 50) and a quarter inch off my neck (down to 16.5" from 18.5" in the fall). My pants size is now a 32, down from a 44 this past summer. I have gone from wearing XXL shirts to M slim fit shirts (sometimes large slim depending on the brand). At this point, I am not really sure how much more weight I am going to be losing. I am ok where I am. Aside from the number on the scale, all of my aesthetic goals have been met (or are very close to being met). More importantly, I just had my 3 month follow up last week. My blood work looks great. My triglycerides are down to a 54 (they were over 450 last summer). My good cholesterol is up three fold to 96. My A1C's have dropped from a 6.3 (with 1000mg of MetFormin and 1.8mg of Victoza) in November to a 5.1 with no medications. As of now, all my nutrional numbers look good and are well within normal ranges, including vitamin D, B12, B6, Calcium, Iron etc. Of course, nutritional deficits can take a while to show up in blood work, so we'll see how they look again in three months. So, far the only downside is that my once very thick hair is thinning a bit. Not loving that, but no one can really tell yet except me (hope it stays that way). I am taking my biotin, but not sure how much it really helps (can't hurt though). I would still trade lush hair for a slim body any day. Anyway, here's a picture from this past weekend (3/23/19):

I have a question: do those doing keto take Medium-chain triglycerides (MCT)? If so, how much and in what form? Do you find that it helps? I bought some in pill form (big gel caps) and am wondering how many to take. The bottle says you can take three up to five times a day but to start at a low dose. I'm currently taking two a day. If it's helping you, what have you noticed? Also, is it better to take it at a certain time of day? Thanks! http://drjockers.com/5-reasons-to-use-mct-oil-for-ketosis/

Since I got no counseling beyond a sheet of paper, that said I could eat , lightly, after a month. I went from shakes and soups to regular food. I was eating high protein, very small portions— 800 calories. I was not losing for a month. I started using ProTracker, Keto/Calorie. I stay under 1100c., and track every morsel. I keep carbs under 50, and fats low. I have lost my desire for junk. I’m surprised I haven’t s sprouted feathers, I eat so much chicken. It’s slow, but almost steady. I had a serious leg injury, and my mobility is not yet where it should be, but I try to do what I can. It’s just good to no longer be controlled by food. Good Luck to you.

I am a sleeve to bypass revision. When I had my sleeve I went from 260 to 220 within 6 months. I followed my program to a tee. I then developed extreme GERD. At the time I had no idea what it was but it got so bad that about 2 years ago I was burping up water and feeling gross from the GERD that I asked for a revision and got it almost a month ago. i honestly don’t know why I regained my weight back. No one knew I had the sleeve but everyone knew me as the dieter: I did Atkins, Keto, you name it. You would think I would feel full from Keto cause of the heavy protein, but nope. I felt no restriction. But I felt myself slowly losing the restriction as time went on. I had my sleeve for 7 years before revising. I have also seen where some sleevers develop GERD and the only food that seems to settle is the bad food. That didn’t happen for me but I have read it on some forums.

I have been seeing counsellors who specialize in eating disorders for many years.All of them have different approaches how to deal with this disorder: one of my councelors wanted me to eat everything but in moderation,and the one I am seeing now want me to eat "clean" and to stay away from junk food. I decided to listen my counsellor and up my calories to 1400.Believe or not,I always ate pretty healthy, even when I was 300 pounds;my problem was with portions.Before surgery,I used to eat the whole bag of salad(which is 600 calories) + I would add grilled chicken(another 200 calories) and that was my lunch. I think best approach for binge eaters is healthy balanced diet(not keto,not low-carb,not fat -free),but normal healthy diet with appropriate amount of carbs,protein,and fat(and calories overall).Depriving myself of food only will get me in trouble.I did it all my childhood,and as consequence,I developed eating disorder.I will keep eating healthy and exercise 3-5 times per week.I will let you know if it helped me with my binges.Now I have 1-2 per week;I hope to eliminate them.Also,I think I will join BED support group;my therapist suggested one,where the organizer is registered dietician.Also,I will eliminate some foods Enoch trigger my binges;one of this foods is granola(whenever I buy one,I end up eating it in 2 days). Thank you all for your suggestions and support.I feel so much better now!Good luck with your journeys! Sent from my LGMP260 using BariatricPal mobile app

Wow that’s great! Yea it seems like the only difference is that we take in more proteins than fats I’ve been measuring and using Baritastic. The hardest thing is coming home and making food for my son that is so drastically different from what I can eat. So looking for something like keto or paleo that I could just eat is smaller portions as opposed to making my kiddo pasta based carbs that makes my hunger worse and is not great for him either or teaching him healthy long term eating habits.

I think it has to do with all the different things people pre-op and post-op are eating. I know when I was fresh out so to speak I see all these peiple eating this and that and think will that work for me and proceed to try it. Be it keto or Adkins or high fat low carb...so many different "diets" to still try and be on. We are so used to being on "diets" we are still trying to find what "works for us" instead of sticking to what the Dr said would work for us...its a mibd thing not that people are not learning there just seeing what may work for someone else and try that then when it don't we feel like we have failed. Its just getting into the right mindset. Imo anyway and yes I have been there even 15 months out... Sent from my LGMP260 using BariatricPal mobile app

Yes! Also doing bariatric food coaching/meal plans/books. My old blog I no longer keep was low carb keto. I also had a fasting days healing days blog for a short period. fluffychixcook.com fastdayshealingdays.com

Yesterday, Thursday, Dec. 5 Maintenance : 5'2" / 1yr PO Sleeve / 115.1 lbs ---------------------------------------- Aaaaalmost went dessert free today, but I had a forkful of the Kid's red velvet cupcake this afternoon. On another note, I notice I haven't been eating close to my normal calories for the past several days (I was also sick, so there's that), AND i haven't gone for a run in days either (though I have kept up with my 10 mins of daily strength training). Need to get back to my running routine!! ---------------------------------------- 10:00am - coffee w/ stevia + earl grey tea w/ stevia 12:35pm - salad greens w/ vinaigrette + 4.5 oz grilled chicken w/ mushroom gravy + pumpkin seeds + almonds + 1/2 avocado 4:30pm - salad greens w/ vinaigrette + 3.5 oz grilled chicken + 1/2 oz skirt steak + pumpkin seeds + 1/2 avocado + 1 dark chocolate covered almond + 7 dark chocolate covered coffee beans 7:30pm - 1 cup 4% cottage cheese + 1 oz raspberries + pumpkin seeds + almond butter 9:00pm - 1 Love Good Fats Keto Macadamia-Coconut Bar + 1 cup 3.25% milk ---------------------------------------- Totals: 1816 cals - 119g Protein - 53g NET carbs - 110g fat

Not to overwhelm you with even more recipes, but I get alot of recipe inspiration from these places as well: Keto Stuff: https://www.ruled.me/keto-recipes/ Baking & Desserts: https://sugarfreelondoner.com/recipes/

Yesterday Friday, Jan 17 Maintenance : 5'2" / 1yr PO Sleeve / 115.2 lbs ---------------------------------------- Another unplanned extended stay at BFF's place. We dropped by to return a borrowed kitchen appliance and intended to stay for some coffee and snacks, but ended up staying for drinks and poker. The resulting indulgence puts a damper on my weekend plans as we have a small party to go to tonite which I had previously allocated for drinking and dessert-eating. I guess my pants are getting tighter this weekend... ---------------------------------------- 9:30am - 1 black coffee w/ stevia + 1 skinny tea latte 1:00pm - salad w/ vinaigrette + cucumber + carrots + 6 green grapes + 2 slices bacon + 1/4 cup tuna salad (tuna, mayo, celery, red ohion) + 1.5 tsp crunchy chili oil 3:00pm - 1 skinny tea latte + 1 Pure Protein Chewy Chocolate Protein Bar 6:00pm - salad w/ vinaigrette + cucumber + carrots + 6 green grapes + 1/4 cup tuna salad (tuna, mayo, celery, red ohion) + 1.5 tsp crunchy chili oil + 1/2 cup cottage cheese + 1 oz blueberries + 1/2 fl oz pumpkin seeds 7:00pm to 2:00am - 2 oz garlic peanuts 3 oz spicy cashews 2 oz candied pecans 2 oz assorted cheese 2 oz assorted cured meats 1 oz KETO flax crackers 1 oz banana chips 3 oz dark chocolate 2 glasses red wine 4 tequilas ---------------------------------------- Totals: 3018 cals - 150g Protein - 218g NET carbs - 162g fat

I understand that weight gain and loss (beyond the usual 10-15 pound swings most people experience) is based on insulin resistance rather than total calorie consumption. However, even with diets that are not based entirely on cutting calories--like Keto and Atkins--still place limits on total consumption and advocate weight food so you can track your macros. Ultimately, the idea is that the fat and protein that makes up 90% of your consumption on these diets will be more satiating, so you end up eating less because you have less cravings and hunger. Regardless of how the goal is achieved, one of the goals is a reduction or moderation in total caloric intake for someone that has weight they need to lose. Keto, in particular, focuses on insulin control, but by adding in intermittent fasting (which most strict keto people incorporate at some point), you're definitely cutting calories by limiting the window for eating. You're not strictly counting calories like you would on a diet like weight watchers (probably one of the worst diets out there IMO), but the calories are cut anyway (it's just a less painful process in my experience). Anyway, I am happy with following a keto style diet (constipation notwithstanding). It's something I can do long term, but I can't follow a therapeutic style keto with a 4:1 fat to protein ration or anything close that as a new sleever (6 weeks post-op). Based on my workout regimen, I need to get around 125-150g or protein in a day (even with the protein/muscle sparing qualities of Keto) and there's a limit to how much else I can eat (even with calorie dense fats like avocado). I also don't want to deviate too far from my doctor's prescribed diet at this point, so I doing a 1:1 fat to protein diet (sticking to clean, high quality fats and proteins) and I cut carbs to less than 20g net carbs. I pretty happy with this and it sets enough ground rules that I can easily decide what I can eat and how much of it---even when I am out a restaurant.

If I could go back and edit my comment to clarify, I would. I was explaining what I currently follow (pre-op) and how I handle calories. I did mention at the end that I don't know how pre-op keto translates to post-op since most people follow low-fat post-op. But I understand...I'll be more careful.

I'm not "hard core". LOL, see? I said so in that statement. I don't claim "keto". I am LC. We just got one for Christmas but I haven't wanted to blow into it until I'm sure I'm over my cold. Those levels are very hard to maintain.

I’ve been doing keto for three months and lost 25 pounds scheduled for the sleeve in February not sure if I’m gonna go through with it if I can just stay keto it seems to work well also I have a lap band for 11 years and had it removed October 1 so I have lost this weight right after removal of the lap band

I feel pretty lucky because I found a keto diet very easy to stick to. So, even long-term, I feel like I will be successful. I find my current bland puree easy to stick to, even. I just need to make sure I continue to keep my cravings themselves in check, which has been great thus far. But, as far as getting hungrier, I am down for eating meat meat meat! Lean meat, that is.