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I liked your post because I like carbs. But eating too many carbs, "bad" carbs, calories, sugar, fried food, ethnic food, etc. got me to the point where I hopped under the knife Monday. I think the research and trends on diets go in cycles and obviously different things work for different people. Weight loss research is particularly hard to parse because entities like food and drug companies fund a lot of the research. In the 80s many dieters were on low fat diets. Fat was a dirty word and we ate carbs, did aerobics, and some lost weight. Now some of my friends are doing keto and some are doing high protein. I've been told there may still be small amounts of tortellini in my healthy future. And I'm happy about that.

I have a lapband, but I understand your pain. I want to tell you, failing to lose has many causes--I know, I lived on less than 1000 calories a day for years and never lost an ounce. My lapband didn't help me lose much and my first doctor wouldn't give me a fill. So I found another who did. I am practically wheelchair bound (can only hobble around the house). So I started to lose--slowly. the big help was I didn't regain what I lost. One thing I've never heard a doctor explain to me is that excessive hunger can be giving you a message. So many diets I went on ended with me lying in bed, weak and starving within weeks. What I didn't realize was that my body was telling me those diets weren't nutritionally what I needed. I've tried low fat-high fiber, low calorie, vegetarian, all raw salads, lot's of nuts, praying the weight away, self-hypnosis, bodybuilding, lots of exercise...you get the idea. All of them failed because I wasn't listening to my body. When I got so hungry I would eat nails if there was ketchup to put on them, my body was telling me I was on the wrong diet. This isn't a normal,"Gee, that looks tasty." But was more like a weak pathetic cry from my bed that I was dying and had to eat. I kept experimenting and discovered a ketogenic diet helped, but I gained everything back quickly. As I worked with the keto diet, I learned I wasn't drinking enough water, and I wasn't sleeping enough. But the high protein with lots of greens was definitely a better choice than the others. Then I got the lapband, and the slow weight loss with no restriction was discouraging. But it was a tool. And once I got restriction, I used that tool. I mostly stayed on the ketogenic diet. Lots of protein was just a necessity for me. The fat I ate made the diet more enjoyable. The lapband made me eat small bites, or I spent days puking. If I got sick, I had to reduce what I ate because sickness caused my stomach to swell, and I puked. Over the last ten years I've lived on the ketogenic diet, except for two years when I lost control, (I gained 50 pounds and found I had cancer. I believe the sugar cravings after being in control so long were a result of the cancer.) Back in control, and the 50 pounds went away. I've managed to lose 160 pounds. Not a large amount, and I still have over 100 pounds to go. But I am happy not to be the woman I was. I don't know if the ketogenic diet will help you, but I'm sharing my experience to show you have to experiment to find the right diet. And you have to sleep enough to lose weight. So, get the junk out of your house--the chips, crackers, cake mixes, candy, soda, snack food, juices (fruit juice is just liquid sugar water with a few minerals, eat whole fruit instead), and the alcohol (You can go back to 1 drink a day after you've lost weight). And start the eating pattern you feel best on. Just practice eating a healthy diet for a bit. Don't eat much at a time and keep any easy to snack on food (like grapes or nuts) in the refrigerator. Then start working your tool. go longer between small meals, see what happens when you delete starches, or what foods change how you feel. I had to stop vegetarian because beans make me uncontrollably hungry(love those beans, yumm, yumm). Your body is unique, and just because you haven't found what works for you doesn't mean you're a failure. It just means you haven't found the balance of diet, sleep and exercise that works for you. The important thing is NEVER GIVE UP. After 10 years with the band, I'm revising to a sleeve this spring. I love my band, but there is evidence it doesn't do well after 10 years or so. I feel I will do even better on the sleeve.

After reading a thread in another forum here, I thought I'd check in and see HOW everyone eats 2+ years post op!! I am 4.5 years post op and currently doing nutritional ketosis but seriously thinking about switching to a more 'bariatric' style eating with higher protein, lower fat and a few more starchy things (like some beans or a bit of squash) every now and again... I have also FINALLY embraced the need to move and get active so have started doing some muscle building. But, in the meantime i'm curious- how are YOU eating these days? Regular diet? Keto? Paleo? Bariatric/low carb? Diabetic diet? Cal controlled? Give your 2 cents!!

@jess9395 I'm not 100% certain, but I vaguely remember I think she said somewhere that she came back to post a while so she can get her BP discount for protein muffins or something like that? IDK, though, my keto-addled brain might be making that up? (Good to see you btw!)

I’m in the preop phase.. on nutritionist visit 3/6, scheduled to see food addiction counselor, cardiologists, pcp, and pulmonologist...I’m down to 50 carbs intake.. Only down 13lbs from end of August..I was feeling great.. food around me didn’t bother me.. but now I’m getting frustrated because It’s starting to bother me again... I’m even starting to second guess having the surgery..how much does lifestyle change? Should I just keep up with the Keto and lifestyle change and just try to do it on my own? Maybe I’m just having a bad day and needed to vent...

Which would you get if you were me: Sleeve or Bypass? I currently weigh 304 lbs down from 324 (I am 5'8") My adult average was 312 I have been obese since early childhood I have never been able to get below 280 for more then a few days I find hunger painful. I get crazy hungry if I eat refined carbs I have bad knees and a dislocated clavicle that never healed (is still in 2 peices) after a bad car accident 3 years ago. So I take a lot of Naproxin for pain. I enjoy exercise to some degree, I enjoy swimming, hiking, softball, yoga, going out and doing things like zoo, beach, etc.... But to be honest I do most of my exercise on the weekends (am considering picking up weight training again but a little worried about my shoulder/clavicle) Intended long term diet: Paleoish with occasional milk and beans. (Lower carb but not keto, whole food, 1 serving of fruit a day, maybe 2 long term etc) Weakness: Being around tastey food. I get suggestibale and want what everyone else is eating. Mild high blood pressure (140/70) that just started (kinda comes and goes, no treatment) No other comorbidities (except bad knees) No reflux No medication except NSAIDS and Tylenol I am lower income and on Medicaid in Oregon I am leaning towards sleeve because I take NASIDS and as a lower income Medicaid person I fear what will happen if Medicaid gets de-funded or drops me some day in the future... Then I would want least side effects or potential things to go wrong long term BUT I am very, very large with a lot to lose and have been heavy since early childhood and never successfully able to lose down to normal with diet and exercise.... Which sounds more like a Bypass recommendation. What would YOU do?

@johnsons13 dang that sucks...i’m sorry you experienced that. My new dr is making me do full keto for 6 months...ew 😝😒 so i was praying that air fried wings and cooked veggies would be my saving grace lol.

Well, life would be wonderful if we all fit into these little cookie cutter molds that were all exactly the same wouldn't it? It would be so simple...lol. Or would it? We are all so different. Metabolically, even genetically. And they will find out in the relatively near future, why some people tolerate one type of diet while other have issues with it! They've already identified quite a few genes that shows some of this. But the reality is we ALL have to weed our way through the fog to find the diet that doesn't feel like a diet. And my doc doesn't limit any of those things listed above. My RD has made changes to mine based on my personal needs and based on the fact that my fasting insulin continues to be higher than we'd like--even after surgery. So...I just can't handle as large a serving of some of those, nor do I choose to include some of them every day. But I'm low carb (sorta keto by defacto, although i don't eat super high fat) and I still enjoy a variety of whole natural foods including very small (like 1-2tbsp) of whole non-processed grains, berries, winter squash, some root veggies, fruit, nuts, and beans. My diet is 10000% satisfying to me and I just do not feel deprivation at all. But I know for me to keep my bgs and insulin down, I have to limit total load in a meal--luckily my RD works with me to help me figure that out! (That's why it's called personalized medicine...) And as @skinnylife mentions, it simply must fit into my calories and macros for the day. They almost always do. I've been able to lose over 130lbs that way...

I was just wondering who's bariatric (real food stage) instructions were to avoid fruits and beans? I get the people that choose atkins and keto avoid Fruit, beans, whole grains, corn, peas, lentils, peanuts, berries, squash, yams, potatoes, etc [I am wondering if people are having success when they avoid grains, sugar, and processed food, but eat a variety of whole natural foods, including berries, squash, fruit, nuts, and beans?] Four years out - My diet is mostly clean whole foods - proteins, veggies, fruits, nuts, sweet potato, lentils/beans, squash, nuts, dairy. I am not 100% clean. I balance all my foods to fit my calories and macros for the day.

So the doc just called from the OR, and her nurse asked me about if I was taking diuretics. I told them I was taking one for the continued borderline high blood pressure and leg swelling. So she said, I need you to go get this script from the pharmacy as soon as possible and start taking it today. I'm like, "Whah???" My potassium is 2.9. And they need me to come retake my blood work on Friday. So no more fasting today for me. Something to consider if you're still on a diuretic and are IFing...you should be very careful about getting bloodwork and checking to be sure your potassium isn't low or super low as this case may be... So while I wait, I went in and made the most potassium dense salad I could think of, but could only get 1/2 of it down. Will have to save the other half and eat it in 2-3 hours. Yeah, shazam! Too bad I don't keep anything but "dense" protein on hand and only pound down crap tons of protein and no veggies. Wah. Wah. Wahhhh. Shame really. LOL. 250mg of potassium salad--keto-friendly and I'll prolly still make my protein window from the doc of 60-80g today. I did have an after, afterall--it's pretty much sitting like a rock in my chest right now. So will walk it off and eat more later. But it was damn tasty! Argentine red shrimp, cannellini beans, red fat feta, pumpkin seeds, super greens (swiss chard, spinach, kale), cucumber, mushroom, beet root, onion, avocado, grape tomatoes, WF Italian dressing, 1tsp evoo Spanish Olive Oil. So dang tasty going down!

Lots of people! Lots of people's forever diet is "keto" or "Atkins-like" meaning protine and some green, low carb veg, but avoid carbs such as: Fruit, beans, whole grains, corn, peas, lentils, peanuts, berries, squash, yams, potatoes, etc They WILL however eat fake food, such as low fat margarine, artificially flavored sugar free treats, atkins brand low carb pancake with Atkins brand artificially flavored aspertame syrup etc I am wondering if people are having success when they avoid grains, sugar, and processed food, but eat a veriety of whole natural foods, including berries, squash, fruit, nuts, and beans (But not chips, cookies, bread, soda, pasta, crackers, candy, fake, or highly processed food etc) (Kinda paleo-like, but with beans and maybe milk if you tolerate it)

During the time leading up to surgery I had started the Keto Diet. - I personally loved it, I loved the way I felt everyday, unfortunately the high proteins from redmeat caused my uterine fibroids to return. And some of the items perfect for Keto - caused issues with my Hypothyroidism. But Keto wasn't all bad. - I learned that I had an intolerance to gluten. And in learning this, I found out how my body reacted and learned that is something that I cannot afford to have in the future. I also learned about my sugar intolerance as well as how much total carbs my body will accept before I stop losing weight. I had two weeks of a liquid pre-op diet. I over did it with protein shakes and come post op, the last thing I wanted was a protein shake. So, protein shakes are great meal replacements, but too many of them too soon just makes it harder post op. Learn to eat healthy ahead of time. Don't substitute shakes until you have to.

Many of us have regain after year(s) out from surgery. Nothing wrong with experimenting with options that help you find your weight loss mojo again.(examples Weight watchers, Going back to basics, Keto, pouch rest Ect) Whatever helps to get to a comfortable weight range. I indulged and maintained fine for the first few years. My weight gain was in my third year. I became accustomed to higher calories and carbs while distance running. Life also carries on after you get in maintenance mode all my tried and true ways to get my weight down stopped working (yes, I tracked food and worked out two hours five days a week) Fourth year magically basics started working again. I'm back to my maintenance weight.

@summerset. The great thing about this site is we don't all have the same opinion. You have yours I have mine. 😉 How many different diets have you seen on this site? Keto, Paleo, whole 30...Is a vegan bariatric diet that new to anyone? To each their own.

Many aspects of his approach I like, particularly his "veg first" approach to long term maintenance - he is one of the few docs that I have seen who discussed how our meal size evolves over time, and has a prescription to mitigate that (see his vid on "sleeve/pouch stretching") His green smoothies aren't popular with the low carb/keto crowd, but the do seem to have a better nutritional basis than most of those common fad diets. His protein requirements (45-60 g, IIRC) overall seem a bit scant for all but the smallest women, but overall, his focus on getting into real foods as soon as tolerated seems to be good thing, and fairly consistent with the program that I was on.

Most of the people here are instructed to do liquids only in the weeks leading up to their surgery, myself included. Also the hallmark of a Keto diet is that it is low carb, high fat. Fat is also something that I was instructed to minimize in my pre-op diet because the liver stores fat as well as carbs. No vegetables for me, I would kill for some steamed broccoli and sliced cucumber.

It’s not a liquid diet, it’s a keto/low carb diet. Most VLCDs used in the pro op diet just happen to come in liquid form or mix into a liquid form. My VLCD came in shakes, soups, mousse and bars, which is supplemented by lots of low starch veges. I liked the bars so that’s what I used. No liquid for me. When I mentioned to my dietician that I couldn’t mix the shakes properly, she offered instead that I could do a keto diet which was real food just low carb.

Girlfriend, bahahahaha! You are not a member of that coven but as @GreenTealael says, you ARE a member of our coven! I don't disagree with you btw. If I didn't have the level of deep doodoo in my metabolism, and neither did Mr. F., I don't know if I would be doing low carb/keto-ish. I would likely be doing Mediterranean or something like that--cuz I love eating that way. And I adore beans and legumes. But my insulin numbers tell me differently and if I eat those things, then my insulin does shoot up and so does my bgs...and so does Mr. F. But I've said it all along, there are Many, Many, Many paths to the finish. And the best path for you is the one that you can do forever without feeling discontent. I will go out there and say "some carbs are evil" and very unhealthy for us...no one in their right mind needs Cheerios, unless it's to use as their emotional support animal. LOL. But hey, if you do well with wheat berries, or oatmeal, or the rustic oats (forget the name), or fill-in-the-blank of your favorite unprocessed, whole grain, potato, brown rice, wild rice, basmati, etc...and I will hop on that train with you to cheer you on. I do envy those people. I just know I cannot do it, even if my will power holds out and let's me "eat in moderation." Sadly, magic for me always comes with a price--and that price is gonna be either higher bgs, or higher insulin. (And that's not to say I'm a saint either...we all know I have had and do have my fair share of cheats with bread, contraband, crappy carbs, etc, etc, etc! hahahaha--I can only hope to keep it to a very, very minimum and hope like hell it doesn't fu*k me or Mr. F. up down the road. I'd hate to lose a kidney cuz of my cheesy poof addiction.

Thanks for this study!!! IMO the reason for such a small change in lipids are because the carbs in both diets were still too high to demonstrate the superior lipid profiles from low carb/keto dieting. I'm sure we can expect a visit from the Coven, erp, I mean Summerset or Creek to vilify me and hound one of my posts where I mention ketogenic or low carb diets or restricting carbs as a means of controlling lipids and improving weight loss. LOL. Geeze, you'd think I'm the one making up these dietary findings...*snort*

@Matt Z This is such a timely post! TYTYTYTY! Mr. F. has T2 and went in yesterday for his 6month doc check-up. I'm so proud of him, we've been low carb keto for a while now (with some minor misbehaving) and he's brought his A1c down from an 8 with it, but was stuck in the 6s for awhile even with Invokana + Met. He's been IFing with me for the last 6 weeks and still on his meds. We've been taking is bgs about 4 times per day to make sure he wasn't too low. And yesterday his A1c was 5.5!!!! And he told the doc he wanted to get off the Invokana and that he wants to get even more serious about IF--doing a few extended 36-72 hour fasts like Dr. Fung recommends. And the doc was very encouraging!!! He told him to quit the Invokana and watch his sugars to see when he needs to step down on the Met. He's lost about 10lbs over the last 6weeks and is now down about 71lbs over the past 18months or so. I'm so proud of him!!

I had DS in 2014 and have been lazy these past few years, with the scale slowly climbing to a good 20-30lbs over what has been my "normal" weight for most of my post-op time. So many of my colleagues are doing Keto or eating low-carb and seeing such amazing weight loss results (and other benefits). Has anyone tried dieting like this or have any insight. Google results are 99% RNY so I'm unsure. Also, I've taken up intermittent fasting as a tactic. The 16/8 plan where I fast for 16 hours, and have an 8 hour eating window. I'd appreciate any insight from the veterans out there!

My liver was normal sized as well prior to surgery, but I wasn't going to over indulge in the weeks leading up surgery. And my food funeral was very minimal (breakfast burger, keto pizza for lunch and steak for dinner). I still stuck to my low carb regimen. I've heard too many horror stories of people having their surgeries canceled because they didn't follow protocol. I wasn't going to be one of those statistics.

Just reviews Dr Angela Bosworth €Dr Boz) from YOU- Tube, much if what she says bears much truth, I know, now a little more about me to keto/low inflammatory diets. Am I ready to jump on this bandwagon and go to IF. Not quite yet, still hsvebto have my,pouch accept a more varied diet. But Much FOOD for THOUGHT!

What treatment ws used to remedy the pain? I have been banded for 10+ years. It was not a sucessful in weight loss. I just stopped going for fills and sort of forgot about band. I started have severe mid back pain. I ended up at Kaiser they performed 2 cat scans one with contrast, 1 MRI and now they are going to do an upper GI. I found this site over the week end and now believe it is the lapband. If I get in a car OMG the pain is so intense. This pain has been going on for 3 weeks I am exhasted from it. I belong to Kaiser so must get refferal before going to a specialist. I also started the KETO diet 4 months ago and have lost 25 pounds. At first I thought it was attributed to that. I hated the thought of being told I had to stop diet it is the first sucess I have had in years. Is anyone here a kaiser member?

Here are some of my favorite low carb/keto bloggers' granola recipes: Maria Emmerich - http://mariamindbodyhealth.com/low-carb-granola/ Carolyn Ketchum - https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/paleo-coconut-cacao-nib-granola-low-carb-and-gluten-free/ I Breathe I'm Hungry (cinnamon faust crunch cereal) - https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/cinnamon-faux-st-crunch-cereal-3/ These are awesome recipes that are low carb and healthified and give good amounts of protein too!