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I was able to lose 100 pounds Pre Op by going keto and eating as if I had already been sleeved. This time before the surgery will Help you get prepared for life Post Op. Keeping your protein High and your Carbs low will help you trim that 20 in a Hurry. Head Hunger is terrible but once you learn to tell the difference between it and true Hunger you will have a tool to build your future with. Good Luck

I spent the entirety of my six month insurance required pre-op diet program following a keto way of eating. I lost 100 pounds during that time, but, more importantly, I redefined my relationship with food which is the only way weight loss will be successful and sustainable long term, surgery or not. I have always been so thankful for spending that time, because post-op, your body is desperately trying to heal. I can't imagine how much harder it would have been to deal with the physical pain and challenges that existed after surgery while having to redefine my relationship with food at the same time. My advice is to try to start at least thinking about eating the way you should eat post-op. You'll thank yourself later.

For keto or low carb, yes pork rinds are ok.

I did a monthlong tour of SE Asia (Singapore; KL, Malaysia; Bangkok, Thailand; Hanoi, Vietnam) at 3 months post-op. I had no issues. I just kept to my keto way of eating and there was meat and green vegetables anywhere that I went. For the plane rides (and the long flight was 15+ hours from ATL-ISN), I took almonds, ParmCrisps, and some turkey Jerky. I was in business class, so the food was more or less accommodating (especially considering the limited quantities I could consume at that point). I also took ziploc bags so that I could hang on to some of the meat to eat a little bit later. (I had the flight attendant put some ice in another baggie for me to keep it coolish. They looked at me like I was insane, but they did it....) I also took an entire tub of Protein Powder in ziploc bags in my checked bag (with a little bit in smaller ziploc bags in my carryon). All in all, it was pretty easy. I had to be very mindful of eating. But we always have to be mindful of eating. Have a great time wherever your travels may take you!

Read through all the comments. First I want to say congratulations on your amazing progress! You are doing amazing. You should definitely be happy with your progress and also work hard to hit your goal! You can get past this stall! My nutritionist recommended the Keto diet for me. Low carb, no sugar, high protein and fat. I don’t go crazy with the fat but I also don’t buy fat free or low fat foods. I am only 5 weeks post op so I know I’m not the best person to give advice but if I were in your position I would probably try the WLS reset diet. I found it on Pinterest. It’s a condensed version of the post op diet and is supposed to help when you hit a stall.

please, for the love of god, do not start the g*dd*amn keto diet... there is the possibility that genetically this is your new set point. you haven't "failed" and there is nothing wrong with you. and your challenge now is to accept that fact, celebrate the progress you have made, and commit to eating and living healthy in the future.

I am going to ask my nutritionist today bout the Keto diet and if he feel as if i should do it but i have to hit onederland

I'm not as far out as you but every time I stall I have to eliminate carbs Can you try a KETO diet for a week?

I did a tour of SE Asia (Singapore; KL, Malaysia; Bangkok, Thailand; Hanoi, Vietnam) at 3 months post-op. I had no issues. I just kept to my keto way of eating and there was meat and green vegetables anywhere that I went. For the plane rides (and the long flight was 15+ hours from ATL-ISN), I took almonds, ParmCrisps, and some turkey jerky. I was in business class, so the food was more or less accommodating (especially considering the limited quantities I could consume at that point). I also took ziploc bags so that I could hang on to some of the meat to eat a little bit later. (I had the flight attendant put some ice in another baggie for me to keep it coolish. They looked at me like I was insane, but they did it....) I also took an entire tub of protein powder in ziploc bags in my checked bag (with a little bit in my carryon). All in all, it was pretty easy. I had to be very mindful of eating. But we always have to be mindful of eating. Have a great time wherever your travels may take you!

Sined, Don't let your doctor put you down 49lbs is amazing I am clapping. Like i said its not a race, and if the weight doesn't come of in ridiclous chunks you can try and prevent lose skin. I have a philosophy not to use word like cheat days .You ate a piece of food you enjoyed. I have what I call treat days when I reach a weight goal. Your not cheating on anyone your enjoying in moderation. Make sure you do start getting some 30 min walks in it helps with the skin and will help the kilo's drop. Thank you for reading my novel. If you honestly ever need anything just message and we can have a chat. Congrats too. Golden Barbie, Have you had a Composition scan??? You should try a full Keto diet. Its amazing i do it every 3 weeks. I am not sure if you have every heard of biltong that helps me it like a beef jerky but nice and addictive in a good way 100grams packet gives you 27grams of protien and only less than 2grams of carbs and if you about 120calories in a pack if i remember correctly. If you snack on it through the day you will keep your metabolism going. There is also flavor free protein powder you can put in drinks. I have 2 cups of Vanilla rooibos tea with some fake sugar and my benefibre so I am regular and a scoop of the flavorless protein and that get me to 60 grams a day with no worry. Try alternatives. well done on getting through the struggle and being optimistic. What was your starting weight share you success Thanks for reading too. I started typing and just couldn't stop lol

Hi I'm writing this post for all those who are about to get sleeved, are in the middle of there journey , struggling through there journey or at the end. My Name is Z, I am 28 years old, I have always been a bigger girl, At my heaviest weight I was 117.7kg's I am 157cm so I was OBESE. I have spent my whole life bouncing from different weight but always on the more solid side. What made me fat? genetics, the struggle we all call life, I never really ate incorrect food ( except lollies I use to love lollies). But honestly I was over constantly extreme dieting to then putting it back on. So I had never heard of a gastric sleeve before I spoke to a girl named raelee, I had heard of Bands but not sleeves. I was complaining about the weight struggle and she was telling me about her journey and how even though she had been to hell and back with a bansd and was going to have to get either a bypass or a sleeve. She was happy with the choice she had made for herself . So the first thing I said to her after she blessed me with knowledge she had, "I don't think i am big enough for weight loss surgery" (DENIAL). I then said when she educated me on the process of a sleeve "OMG so it's not reversible???" She said to me one of the most life changing word "why would you want to reverse it?" And that is the moment my Journey Started. " I had an amazing doctor, really educated me on all the factors that brought me to the point of being "FAT" ( he used the word fat so loosely I had never been flat out called FAT to my face Multiple times. I use to describe my self a curvy or chubby) . I had all my bloods done and thought for sure I would be diabetic or something would be wrong but apart from the Morbid Obesity I was actually really healthy my doctor described me as a "healthy fatty ". From my initial Consult to Surgery was about 3 months. I applied for super withdrawal and the rest was covered by private health insurance. I had to quit smoking I never ever thought the procedure was classed as a major surgery until I was lying getting prepped. I read multiple post and story and watched youtube videos with all these different sort of situation and descriptions of there Journey and for the most part it was positive. I spoke to the one person I knew who had been sleeved and honestly the stories the advise were all sunshine lolly pop and gave me a unrealistic expectation of what was to come. I AM GOING TO SAY THIS AND HOPE IT HELPS SOMEONE... EVERYONE JOURNEY IS DIFFERENT. What we all have in common is we were not happy with who we where so we took a step to change our lives. Honestly there is no point in fixating on others experience's, differently take it in and discuss but you may have a different road ahead. 1 week before my surgery I was speaking to someone who was 12 months post op and they said to me "OMG THIS IS THE BEST THING I EVER DO" ... But that not what I was really needing to hear I needed to know :- that eating a drink at the same time would not happened for a long time, That 1000mls of liquid is what you goal will be and it can be hard to reach. I needed to know that scully a bottle of drink when I was thirsty wasn't coming back for a long time. I needed to know how everything would taste and smell different. I went from being a sweet tooth to craving salty foods. Eggs and Seafood are still a no no. I needed to know it would take time, I needed to know that the doctor would glue me back together, I needed to know that I may not drop weight just like that. I will be honest I thought I would be in an out of hospital 3 days max, weight would just fall off. I learn't it the hard way, you have to work hard, retrain your mind and body. I am so grateful to have had a not so perfect experience. Its taught me to appeciate it more. I was in hospital for 7 days and could not drink more the 300mls and was on a drip for 7 day . I now have to wear glasses cause I lost my ability to see far away . I vomited everything i ate for about 3 months and felt like I had nausea and at 4 months gave up on food (ONLY THING THAT STOPPED THE NAUSEA WAS SMOKING ) . My body eventually adjusted and I can eat. I only vomit when I over do it but that me being greedy lol. I don't know what my goal weight will be. I was asked multiple time when I was always vomiting do you regret my choose , I never said yes ( FEAR cause i had done it and had to accept this was life) what I wish i had know is everyone's journey is different. I lost 13kgs in my first 3 months post op and I was so devastated reading peoples 25kg loses and 40kg loses. I was 101kgs on my surgery day and have 40% muscle composition. I lost 16.7kgs prior to surgery. My dietian told me from the start not to have crazy expectations. I do keto diets and exercise everyday and I'm not down to 67.5kgs with I think my goal being 60kgs but I re-asses every 3 months. I have lose skin but not crazy amounts. I have BAAD stales that can be demotivating its usually between the 10's the first happened at 92kgs then at 84kgs and then at 72kgs now it was happening at 69kgs. Your body will get use to the lack of food and the weightloss will slow down. Just keep at it or do something to shock the system. The second last thing I wanted to mention or discuss is the do I tell people or do I not. I am very open about my sleeve and I have found that I have have sleeve sisters and we help each other out. All who were doing a hidden journey. By being open and honest ten people have approached me from my work alone about their Journey and now we have a walking club on thursday's . Again we have all had very different Journey's , It seems like everyone has a sleeve hehehe. Its nothing to be ashamed of at all. And I have found with the amount of people who have had some form of weight loss surgery you actually look a little silly when you claim it just happened in 9 months and you only eat 900 calories. Cause when you meet another sleevey you know. and if you don't change your Lastly Please treat you sleeves right, and remember life before you sleeve, your body will get you use to the change life stylel, YOU WILL PUT IT BACK ON. I have meet 5 people who have been sleeved and rebounded at the two year mark some are now considering bypasses. If you heart breaks when you jump on the scale and it doesn't move, or you jump on and there is 200 grams gain and you think oh no. Or if you weigh yourself every chance you get cause of the excitement of seeing the weight come off. If you have tried duromine, xenical, starvation, oh an lets not forget skinny tea (aka painful laxative). Don't take 10 steps forward to take 30 steps back. You have taken the first step to changing your life. And always remember we are all beautiful at every size. Your doing this for you and noone else. I liked my life before but I love life now, I am content and happy and most important Healthy. I hate running but everyday that I go walking my body wants to run. AND YOUR JOURNEY IS NOT A RACE so don't get discouraged by others weight loss be happy for them and know you will get there too . I apologies for writing a novel but wanted to share my experience and if it helps even one person through there journey I am happy. P.S ensure your taking your Biatrics Vitamins

I am a Creature of Habit so for me it was eggs, sausage and cheese. I also live the Keto Lifestyle now so these are a Staple of my Diet. Enjoy the Honeymoon because at 4 months out I thought that I had lost the Love for all things Bad and couldn't understand how anyone could gain back any of the weight and now I realize (1Year) that Habits are Habits and unless you truly break them for Good they will always haunt you. I hate the words or even the thought of I can have just one because I know I am a LIAR!!! One turns into 3 and then into 3 servings. HaHaHa after proofreading this I realize I must be in my Feelings this morning.

My Foods were: Chicken - I could not wait to have baked chicken that was not in broth. Tomatoes - I did not like tomatoes before surgery and then all of a sudden, I was craving them. Pears - I love pears Corn - I do not know why but I wanted corn on a cob with some butter. Watermelon - I love them but the seeds were a no go. I did not have watermelon until I was about 3 - 4 months out. Turkey - I missed having a turkey sandwich Less Healthy: Pork Bacon and Red Meat. I have not been one for bacon and red meat in general but after surgery, I wanted it like crazy. I got my fill when I tried Keto and now I am back to barely eating it.

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.)

Me too, I was scared off rice expanding in the stomach so I have not touched it, ask for my salmon eggs at sushi restaurants with no rice please. The other day I got to be snack Mommy at kindergarten and I got my rice cake snack they made, and I didn’t touch it, been so scared off rice, even already expanded rice in the rice cake. i am low carb too and I think the carbs you eat are good ones. We need a few good natural carbs every day and every meal. Keto is great for people with conditions that need it. Low carb is fine for losing. And some days you will be in keto. There are days where I don’t get food til 1 or 2 pm. So that would be keto for some hours.

Apologies for my part in derailing the topic!! I can honestly understand and appreciate the different perspectives on some of the sensitive and important issues raised. We do need to be sensible on the internet. I think I'm probably going to remove my face from any photos I use here. Back to the original topic, I'm low carb. Definitely not full keto, because I do have sweet potato and banana or a couple of times a week (and there are net carbs in dark chocolate). I have noticed that my weight loss is faster when I lower carbs. I haven't had bread (other than a bite to see I could tolerate it), pasta or rice since before my surgery. I know that fast weight loss shouldn't be the goal (if anything slower weight loss will help with the loose skin) but I want results and low carb has worked for me so far!!

Really??? LOL I actually think it's pretty darn different. The standard advice is to eat your protein (and the word "protein" in that context almost always means meat or dairy) first and then if you can fit in other healthy foods, do it. (As you mentioned in your post, fitting in 1-2 oz of broccoli around your protein, maybe, if you have room.) In contrast to this Dr. Weiner strongly emphasizes eating vegetables first and fitting in protein around that. He also recommends plant foods - veggies and legumes and fruit and raw nuts - ahead of meat and dairy and has fairly low protein requirements - about 50g compared to many bariatric plans encouraging 80-100g. (Of course he isn't vegan by any stretch and I've seen him recommend yogurt smoothies and small amounts of animal protein, etc. He even said in one video that he doesn't think that a fully plant-based diet is "necessary for the general population." So yeah, while we're claiming him he's not necessarily "ours," know what I mean? Just a good resource!) While Dr. Weiner's diet is "low carb" compared to our pre-op sugary diets, it's certainly not low carb in the bariatric sense. You can't eat many fruits and certainly not any beans and whole grains and still remain under 30-50g carbs. It's also low-fat. Difficult to be low-fat and low-carb at the same time! He also promotes eating in abundance instead of focusing on calories, a huge difference from most bariatric plans. You just need to eat your abundance from healthy plant foods (Obviously you still end up eating fewer calories because you're eating high-volume, low-calorie foods but it's the mindset that helps make a difference!) So on a spectrum with keto/Atkins on the left and veganism on the right I'd say he's definitely well across the center line to the right, while most bariatric plans are basically keto except with low-fat dairy and some wiggle room for beans. Sorry for the long post, Fluff - I am fully carbed again, having eaten an abundance of fruit, oats, and rice in the last couple of days that I've been free from my liquid diet. So I'm all peppy and ready to argue again!!! Heehee!

My loss has slowed but I’m not complaining. It’s still going down though. The main thing for me is the fact that I know my body is healthy; the whole reason for me to get the surgery. Not for vanity, although it’s an added bonus. I’m at against keto anything and for sure anything high animal proteins after reading how our bodies react to them in long term. This is not a ploy to scare ya, but I hope you’d be open to the science behind how your body works. The western diet hides these truths because they’re in the money making business. If you are interested, read Proteinaholics by bariatric surgeon Dr garth Davis. It’s really amazing. Science and sources and it’s easy to understand.

I made some creamy based soups with cauliflower, canned chicken, cheddar cheese, and broccoli and added protein powder and then popped it all in the blender. The blender takes care of the clumping, and it's pretty tasty. I add a little extra cream for fat, but I follow a keto diet. You could omit the cream and still have a nice protein packed, "sippable" soup with less fat. Now that I'm not in pureed foods anymore, I don't blend the entire thing, just the cauli, cream, protein, and cheese, and I just add steamed broccoli and chicken.

Ha! It's a blessing and a curse for her. She calls me "her little rule follower" cuz I try very hard to know the borders of my parameters and explore to find out "is this in or out of bounds"? LOL. I'm sure I drive her crazy! And I have written books. I used to keep my low carb keto blog. I just haven't posted to it in about 2 years (or more) cuz my lymphedema has gotten so bad in my left arm, that doing the meal prep, photography, and then the recipe development and blog posts were just too much and made my arm, side, back, and neck swell too much. So I quit. Hanging out here is ok, cuz I can sit in my recliner with my left arm on pillows and type on a lap top, one handed. It allows the arm to keep the fluids more drained. I'm stage2 so that means, that gravity will still allow partial drainage. Here's my old blog Fluffy Chix Cook http://fluffychixcook.com/ There are a lot of low carb recipes that would be good for us, but sadly, the quantities are all wrong for post surg and you'd be eating some of the recipes for years. LOL. But some of the fiber "bread-type" stuff would/might be good. Here are the books I've written. I specialized in recreating low carb analogs of food I grew up with--particularly for "feast" or celebratory meals. http://fluffychixcook.com/fluffy-chix-newsstand/store/

Right now? 30-50g a day because I'm on the liquid diet, lol. Post-surgery, long-term, I'll probably be at 65-70% of my diet as carbs because I'm a vegan. (Those carbs will be from fruit, veggies, beans, oatmeal, potatoes, bread, rice, and other whole grains, and very few if any from sweeteners or processed food.) That's way more than most post-WLS patients, who tend to severely restrict carbs, so this might not be the answer you're looking for. I recommend reading How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger or watching Forks Over Knives on Netflix for some info on how plant foods like I mentioned above help you maintain a healthy weight and protect you from disease. You can also check out Dr. Matthew Weiner on YouTube, who's a bariatric surgeon who promotes plant foods ahead of the standard protein diet. Just thought I'd share my opinion in addition to the many keto and low-carb comments you'll see on this thread. *makes angel face*

I'm 16 months post-op, met goal of 180 at 1 year and 4 days post-op (October 2, 2017) and have been at 173 for several months now. I am incredibly particular about what I eat and drink, and, in my opinion, that has been the key to my success. I've worked my way up to around 1900-2000 calories per day, but I never go over 2000. I keep my carbs below 25 grams per day. I follow a keto way of eating. This is sustainable for me, and it's how I am going to live. I haven't had any sugar, bread, starch, etc. in almost 2 years. It's no thing now. Food is fuel to me, and nothing else. It's quite freeing, and provides for a much better quality of life for me. I'm treating carbs like an alcoholic treats booze. I feel like they are a slippery slope for me, so I eradicated them from my life, and I have no plan or desire to bring them back. Being this size, being healthy, and having a happy life is SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT TO ME than any food or drink. I'm technically not a vet in the eyes of BP for another couple of months, but I have been doing this for a long time, been successful, and been on and off of these boards for 2 years. I've seen a lot, and lived a lot, and accepted a very long time ago that this journey is for the rest of my life. I'll be damned if I gain anything back after I permanently changed my body and put it through all of that trauma...

I am 15 months post op (sleeve). I went to see my nut, recently, because I hit a wall. We spoke quite a bit about the Keto plan. She said that we who have had WLS not longer absorb the way we once did. She had the concern even though I take all my vitamins daily. She said that we as WLS patients need to have the protein over the fruit and veggies (think eat proteins first then the rest of the meal). If I keep up with the protein and reduce the fats, she is ok. Of course, this does change Keto a lot. So, I continue to investigate those who have had surgery and have done Keto without any issues.

Again...no judgement what so ever. Throwing my two cents out there, and appreciate everyone else's two cents. (Wish you hadn't deleted yours, Fluffy!) Ideas on nutrition have changed many times over...and I expect they'll continue to. Bottom line...do what works for you. What you feel safest doing. What you feel healthiest doing. As down as I personally am on keto...there are some really interesting studies involving kids with seizures and autism being helped by keto diet. They know it improves some neurological disorders, they don't know exactly why. I think we're going to learn a great deal about a lot of illnesses with further research into the gut microbiome....which is in it's infancy. Also....older adults do better on higher protein diets....as contradictory as this seems. So, there's a lot of wiggle room for new information and new ideas that might take us in different directions. I respect everyone's choices.

I have followed a keto way of eating for almost 2 years now (pre-op diet program an 16 months post-op). I lost all of my excess weight, am below goal, and have been maintaining for months. Additionally, my labs are perfect and I have no health consequences from eating this way. I have the complete support of all of my medical professionals.