Hello all,

I am 8 weeks post op. Lost 20 lbs so far. My diet has consisted of a good mix of protien and carbs, no junk and much smaller portions. My question is this...

My support group leader, a fellow bandster, suggests a total protien NO CARB diet. The equivalent of Atkins. Her stategy is to prepare me for later when I am more resticted and in need of protien. While I realize protien is very important to my diet I am uncofortable with this diet plan. I have not yet tried the protien shakes. What types do you guys drink?

What are your opinions?

Many thanks

my nutritionist is against the whole high protein low carb thing. She says we all need a good balance of everything. She has me eating 3 to 4 oz of meat with 2 to 3 oz of veggies (cooked or raw) and then a small portion of cabs at every meal (i.e. 2 baby potatoes, or 2 tablespoons of cooked rice) I agree that the healthiest way is to give our body a bit of everything. I think when we eliminate something we are naturally meant to eat it could mean trouble. And this is coming from some one who lost around 50lbs on Atkins at one time, I put it all back on plus I ended up with fat in places where I had never been fat before (like on my upper arm and thighs)

My support group leader, a fellow bandster, suggests a total protien NO CARB diet. The equivalent of Atkins.

Atkins is not a NO CARB diet. During the Induction phase you should eat no more than 20 carbs, but no where does Dr. Atkins say to eat NO carbs.

I think you should do what your Dr. says. My Dr. wants me to eat Protein, veggies and if I have room, some carbs. I don't try to totally eliminate carbs from my diet, but they do not sit well with me, and they are the reason I was so fat in the first place.

There are good carbs and bad carbs, which I am sure you are aware of. You should follow what your Dr. suggests.

Heather Gurl is right...Atkins is not a no-carb diet. I was really concentrating on the Protein before my first visit to the dietician ,and she was not happy with that. She said we really need to be balanced...protein is important, but so are some carbs and veggies. Having said that, I still eat my protein first to make sure I get it in before I get full and then go on to the veggies and a small amount of carb.

I drink Atkins shakes for Breakfast every morning on the way to work...I've never been a big breakfast eater, so this works for me. I prefer the vanilla ones, then strawberry. I love chocolate, but their chocolate royale shakes aren't as good as the other flavors IMHO.

Emily

I used to do total protein and would always lose quickly but when i gained it back I was "fatter" even though I did not weigh more than when I started. I have since taken a more Atkins or South Beach approach and incorporate vaggies and fruit and every once in awhile bread. My nutritionist would like for me to incorporate bread into every meal, but I can't get my brain around it yet! But this weekend I olet loose and ate a few cookies...I lost more than I had in weeks, 6 pounds!

You definately need some carbs. The brain runs on 'em!

I pretty much eat what I want to but in smaller portions. Diets are known to fail when you can't have certain things so it makes sense to me. Now I don't say I can't have it, I choose to have it when I want it, knowing that I don't always choose to eat it. I do include lots of veggies in my diet, and try to also get some fruit in, but it is harder for me to eat after I eat the other stuff.

I am with Betty. I eat whatever I want or should I say I can. I always eat primarily protein and salad but I don't say anything is off limits. I get full with very little food so I very seldom eat things that I shouldn't. I can't do breads. I also don't worry about low fat or fat-free (i.e. salad dressing) I only eat enough to use about a tablespoon of dressing so it doesn't really matter.

Havn't you seen all the Atkins Labled products flooding the market with carbs?!?! Where have you been? Atkins revised his diet several years ago and added carbs. Mostly fresh fruit and vegetables but also Whole Wheat carb products like bread, ceral, almost anything you can think of. They(Atkins) simply advise that you concentrate mostly on protein. Get the new books or watch the video. I known theres been a lot of confusion so I hope this helps. I also known that when he died they found that he did have high cholesterol but remember sometimes it's inherited and theres not much your diet will do for that. I used a protein/carb diet years ago which was a little twist. It was 4oz protein and fruit for breakfast. 4oz protein with a salad for lunch. 4oz pro and 1/2c higher sugar veggies and a salad for dinner. You only used dressings that the sugar was 5 or lower on the ingredients list. Same with your mayonaise etc. Once past the 1st month I going to try this again with small veggie portions. It's the 1st month that scares me. By the way lots of good receipes on the threads. I've just taken the tortillas out and made them into more of a casserole. Here's to success!

We all need carbs in our diet, you'll be lacking in energy, sluggish and mentally slow without any carbs, ketosis is not a normal or healthy state for the body and eating in an Atkins style is a pretty good way to clog up your arteries and wreck your kidneys.

That said I dont believe we need the amount of carbs we eat these days and we most definitely do not need processed white carbs. More of a focus on Protein is a good thing although I think with bandsters it can lead to a bit of a problem where due to lack of tummy space, they then dont eat enough fruit and vegetables. Its not healthy just to eat protein for any meal.

You still need to eat from the five food groups, I'm just not so sure they've got the proportions right. People have just gotten fatter and fatter and diseases like diabetes are on the rise. And I dont believe all fat is the devil either.

It pays to remember, debates aside, there is still NO scientific proof behind Atkins' theories. And you certainly CAN influence your cholesterol levels by your diet and exercise habits, a tendency to have high levels can be genetic but so can being obese. We can contol those things by diet.

Everything in moderation seems to be the safest bet to me.

I don't agree with giving up carbs to the extreme of atkins... first veggies are carbs so you really don't want to give them up to be healthy. Second... I believe to make something work for your entire life you shouldn't give up anything you still like. If your taste change and your not interested in Junk that is one thing, but if you still crave junk then I "personally" feel that you will sabatgoge yourself if you make it completely off limits.

I'd rather lose weight more slowly but eat what normal people eat. A well balanced diet full of real food (not diet crap), real veggies, limited processed foods and limited junk.

The thing is... with the band it's easier to eat a bit of junk and not the entire bag or stop at a fast food rest. and order something on the healthier side because the junk doesn't seem so "good".

I don't know about you all but I think that this is possible... that you can still lose weight and not have to be on a "Low- Whatever DIET" (diet foods, fake foods, saying no to every dessert marter) for the rest of your life.

I say "Amen" to a balanced "small portion" diet...