just curious if anyone has reached their goal weight without the low or no carb plan? i make sure to eat protein first but i am finding it really hard to avoid all carbs. i dont want to sabatoge myself from losing weight, and i have been losing very slowly. i am currently in another stall and i have read all sorts of different views on how to kick start weight loss again such as; uping carbs, uping calories, and even going no carbs at all. when i get into a stall all sorts of things go through my head about how i am not going to lose at all anymore and such. i really want to be under 200 pounds by christmas but i just dont see that happening now with just a month left to go. when you go into a stall what are some of the things that you more expierenced sleevers do to get that scale moving again?

on a side note, i have developed gout recently, not related to the sleeve, but i have it now. both my father and my grandfather have it so it runs in my family. kinda sucks not being able to eat rich foods like salmon and bacon and red meat. i love all of those things equally. my body doesnt though. i can always tell the next day if i had to many purines in my food because my hands ache and i get sharp pains in my feet. (really sucks)

advise please!

I am a vegetarian so most of my protein sources have carbs in them. I eat around 90-150 carbs a day, mostly from good clean sources with a few chocolate chips thrown in for good measure! I keep track of calories, get in my 65+ gms of protein a day, and try to get in variety for the rest of my 1100-1400 cals a day. I have 6 pounds to get to "normal" weight and have eaten regular food mostly the whole time. I think of myself as losing slowly, but 82 pounds in 10 months is NOT that slow. The 10 more pounds I am shooting for will come off eventually... while I am eating good whole grain, garden grown, home made carb including food in small doses. I love my sleeve! ...the only "phony" food I eat is hi quality vegetarian protein foods, like protein chips, bars, cereal and drinks... to help me keep my protein up and keep my hands off of junk like candy bars and chips. You have to figure out for yourself what you can live with for the long run.

i love all of the advice. it is so wonderful to know that we can do this in all different ways. i just know i would fail miserabaly if i tried to avoid all carbs. i had a really nice potato the other night with sour cream and butter. that was so delicious! it was small and it filled me up and made me satisfied. i even ate the skin it tasted so good. i think i needed the iron badly because i just donated blood on friday and i felt no energy since. i the potato definatly helped. i also lost 2 pounds since then....only one of them was blood...haha

I've bounced back and forth on carbs and like other posters have found that so long as I'm not going way overboard on the junk food it's not the cause for starts and stops. To me, low-carbing is having less than 50 grams a day. I usually end up somewhere between 75-100 a day. I've never been able to super restrict like some people and was never really feeling satisfied on 50 or less a day. This is what works for my body and I'm happy without feeling deprived.

Everyone is right - do what your body needs. We were not all made the same and cannot all eat the same diet and expect the same results. If that was the case, none of us would have chosen surgery - we would have succeeded on Weight Watchers years ago!

~Cheri

I do honestly believe that whole foods are the way to go. So a potato is whole. I don't fancy brown rice and I do know white rice has been processed, but I still look at rice as a near whole grain. I don't eat bread that often because even if it is whole grain bread the amount of energy and additional resources to break it down from a grain into a bread - too many steps. Bread and butter is a treat for me. I do eat some sugar here and there, but not very often. I remember my first month. I thought I was going to go nuts because I was not eating ANY CARBS! I was barely eating at all. Carbs do help my mood, but just choose the right carbs. However, if I want to eat 1/4 of a pint of Ben & Jerry's I do it. The good thing about the change in eating is now I don't even want it as much as I used to. I don't know if it is physical or psychological. I go into 7 eleven and I walk by the chips, the ice cream and donuts, and I just don't have the urge to get 1/2 dozen glazed donuts anymore. I think part of it is hope. I have hope that I am not going to be a big fat pig anymore. I am still eating around 500 to 1000 calories a day depending on my restriction and hunger. I don't really count and this will be the first month where I am going to weigh myself every other week if that. I wouldn't stress out too much, and I also would just stick to the basics, but every so often if you want to eat only potato then oh well. Just make sure you are sticking to the basics more often then not.

I totally agree with the above poster, "I don't even want it as much as I used to." YES--and I also don't know if it's physical or psychological, and I don't much care either way--it's just great that that's how it is!! I, too, walk right past the stuff I used to crave--it doesn't even enter my mind to pick up a package of chips or a cupcake. It just doesn't even "click" into my brain. I know where the Protein bars are on the shelf, or the nuts, and the Water in the refrigerator case, and that's where I go, without really thinking about it. If you had told me a few months ago that would be how it felt, I wouldn't have believed it.

On the subject of whole foods, I am going to tweak my intake a bit to try to add a few more whole-grain type foods into my diet. I know my sleeve likes them. At this point, the Vitamin benefits outweigh any potential slowing of weight loss; if I don't lose a single pound more, I'm still thrilled. I, too, get most of my protein from dairy and vegetable sources; I realized that I could be eating a cup of Beans (pinto, black, baked, whatever) over the course of a meal and a snack for 14-15 g of protein, getting all the good Fiber and all the Vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that come in plant-based foods--so now I eat beans a LOT. Sleevie likes them and so do I. Since I don't eat eggs or much meat (I like it, but my sleeve doesn't), vegetable sources and dairy are really important. Carbs, yeah, but more than carbs. I definitely steer clear of most sugar and flour.

I will say that low-carbing has been a HUGE benefit for a large number of people on this forum; it really is all about YOU and what works for you--if you are in the least carb-sensitive, your loss can stall out really quickly with too many carbs.

I was obsessive about counting everything in the beginning months after surgery. I would keep the carbs around 70-80 per day. I only hit a big stall a couple of times and I would low carb it then (around 30 per day). Lately, I have just been focusing on protein, and not worrying so much about carbs. The first month of doing that, I had a good month of weight loss. Now it has slowed down, but I am very close to goal. I decided to stop worrying so much about carbs because I know I can't live the rest of my life low carbing it. I feel weak and sluggish when I am low carbing, especially after working out. I do try to eat the good carbs though. I stay away from bread and sugar.

all great posts. i find myself just eating really what i feel is right. i went on a vacation with the wife this past weekend to San Francisco. ate whatever i wanted, i even ate an entire churrio...yeah..the whole thing...came home..lost a pound while i was gone. we are so restricted in what we can normally eat (lol the churrio "incident" lol..) it really doesnt matter as long as we try for protein first then the rest. dont stress about it.

I love everything about this thread! So encouraging - thanks all!

I can't live without eating carbs, seriously! I do read where some people NEVER eat carbs. I'm not sure how they do it, but that was not for me. I didn't count my carbs, I just made sure I ate protein first, and still do at my meals.

I also eat about 1200 calories. I dont pay attention to carbs. I knew going into this I wasnt going to give up sweets, bread etc. I can limit how much I eat now though. I can eat 1 oreo and be fine with it. I used to eat 8 oreos and a glass of milk with it. I just eat a little here and there. I have lost weight slowly but thats ok, I eat what I want and Im not deprived of anything. I feel like if I cut out the sweets I might lose weight quicker but its not very realistic of me to think in the long run thats going to be how I eat.

As long as you are meeting your Protein requirements - I don't see the problem. Just be careful with what carbs you are eating. Really no reason for anyone to eat things like bread....our bodies aren't even made to process it that well.

About gout.....I have suffered with it for several years. There are maintenance medications that you can take that are very effective (and cheap). I am currently taking allopurinol (300mg, 1 time per day) and I haven't had a single gout attack in almost 2 years no matter what I eat/drink. The prescription only costs 12 bucks a month even without insurance. If you can tolerate it, I strongly recommend it. I was having attacks every 2 months or so without it.

Also - contrary to popular belief.....gout isn't entirely caused by your diet. Most of the time people with gout have problems ELIMINATING uric acid. It's due to your kidney not being as efficient at getting rid of the acid. Now yes, some people just get it because they eat lots of meat and drink lots of beer. Other people (like me) will get it even with an almost vegetarian diet....so sometimes you just get it and not much you can do. It's genetic....like it seems to be in your case. Look into the meds.....it will help.

As long as you are meeting your Protein requirements - I don't see the problem. Just be careful with what carbs you are eating. Really no reason for anyone to eat things like bread....our bodies aren't even made to process it that well.

About gout.....I have suffered with it for several years. There are maintenance medications that you can take that are very effective (and cheap). I am currently taking allopurinol (300mg, 1 time per day) and I haven't had a single gout attack in almost 2 years no matter what I eat/drink. The prescription only costs 12 bucks a month even without insurance. If you can tolerate it, I strongly recommend it. I was having attacks every 2 months or so without it.

Also - contrary to popular belief.....gout isn't entirely caused by your diet. Most of the time people with gout have problems ELIMINATING uric acid. It's due to your kidney not being as efficient at getting rid of the acid. Now yes, some people just get it because they eat lots of meat and drink lots of beer. Other people (like me) will get it even with an almost vegetarian diet....so sometimes you just get it and not much you can do. It's genetic....like it seems to be in your case. Look into the meds.....it will help.

thank you for the advise about gout. i am not on any medication for it right now. I know i dont have it as bad as most people because i just get stiff in the fingers and sometimes some sharp pains in my foot. I have read that some patients cant even stand a blanket on top of the affected area. i am no where near that amount of pain. I will talk with the doc about the med. I do notice that if I just avoid the red meat I dont have any problems. Since we are supposed to avoid red meat anyways that isnt so hard, plus I love chicken and fish so that is a plus. I am surpized at all of the posts that this has received! I guess there are alot of people on here that are just like me and gotta have those carbs. I have noticed that if I dont have any carbs I am a couch potatoe and cant do anything, and that cant be good for burning the calories, so what would be the point of low carbing if I dont exercise because I am to tired. You all are wonderful!

Thank you guys for the wonderful input! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

I exercise quite a bit and found that my body needs the fuel carbs provide.

This --^