I have just started a low carb diet which is required by my WLS practice prior to surgery (before the 2 weeks of protein shakes) and also seems to be standard practice for WLS success. I was shocked to discover how low the carbs are in my plan. 40 to

80 grams. Is this standard? I've tried these plans before and I never adjusts to them. My body always felt weird and after a few

months I would get depressed (which the Social

Worker who cleared my surgery said is a real

Phenomena because your body uses carbs to make serotonin. ) I know it will be different after surgery since I'll have a tiny stomach and a reset metabolism to help me along. Just curious how everyone's adjustment went to a low carb lifestyle after surgery? I suspect that most of us really liked carbs prior to surgery - did any of that change afterward? Do you plan on staying at ultra low carbs for maintenance as well? Thanks in advance for sharing your experience!

For me the drop from 135 to 80 is a very big deal. Glad it isn't for you. I've had major depressions triggered by very low carb diets. I'm going to have to be vigilant and work closely with my team in this regards. Be well!

i have experienced the same. my long term experience after the surgery is that i can do 100 - 130 grams per day and be okay. which is wayyyyy less than what i was eating before. i think the type of carb matters and what else you are eating it with. the less i weigh, the less i seem to need carbs for good brain function. but everyone is different.

I know, I am sorry if I sounded flippant. I am currently on about 45 carbs a day. Next week for my final two weeks pre op I drop down to about 24. (Three shakes a day) The less carbs I eat, the less I sleep. I dont feel tired, this is a very big change for me. I think post op, just working with your body to see how low you can go without suffering adverse reactions. I know at regular carbs 150+ I sleep 9+ hours, at 80 about 6-7 and at 45 its 5 or 6. I worry that at the 24 carb level I wont sleep at all!

some people do very well on ketogenic diets... i feel high. like i am on drugs and not in a good way. i hated it after surgery.

That just goes to show you how individual we all are, and how important it is to stay close with the plan given to us. I get my best results when I sacrifice the carbs down to less than 20g. That's not much, but it is how I just kicked a plateau for 7 weeks, and lost four pounds this past week.

I need to change my body from a sugar burner to a fat burner. Just frankly speaking, I get much better results with very low carb. Breakfast this morning was one scrambled egg with 1/2 ounce of shredded cheddar, and one slice of bacon. Pre-op, that would have been two eggs, an ounce of cheese, three pieces of bacon and four pieces of toast with a cup of tes & sugar and a small glass of orange juice...... and I was hungry before lunch. Carbs make you hungry for more carbs, plain and simple.

Chocolate, oh man I love chocolate, but I did not give it up. I gave up the sugary sweet milk chocolate candy bars for 85% dark chocolate. Usually I will eat it for a snack with a few nuts to break up the strong flavor. Soda pop was a big contributer to my bloated 53 inch belly. On a 5'4" woman, that means I was almost as big around as I was tall. I have lost over 10" of belly at this point.

Pre-op I was really concerned about up giving up so much, but you know what? I am almost six months out, and my body thanks me for putting my brain in its place! Miss Tummy is in charge of this joint now, and I lose every argument.

What I miss is the flavor of those foods. The smell of bread makes me ill - it smells like a brewery. I never met a potato I didn't like, but now a potato or noodles or rice have unpleasant consequences like gas and bloating and weight stalls.

So, for lunch I will be having a tomato stuffed with tuna salad.....no bread. Dinner will be 1/2 a burger (no bread) with 1/2 slice of cheese and some green beans. If I get hungry before bedtime, I will have some sugar free hot chocolate. So, ketosis looks good on me, but causes a lot of grief for others. I just have to face the fact that I am extremely insulin resistant. Before surgery, I could not even lose weight on a 1,000 calorie of the American Food Pyramid. Low carb is my future....Miss Tummy insists.

That just goes to show you how individual we all are, and how important it is to stay close with the plan given to us. I get my best results when I sacrifice the carbs down to less than 20g. That's not much, but it is how I just kicked a plateau for 7 weeks, and lost four pounds this past week.

aint that the truth! i can be hypoglycemic too. it was the worst when i was pregnant. but i also had lots of problems when i was fat. i tried to do the 4 hour body diet (recommended by my doc). i was a hot mess. the doc gave me a script for a glucometer and we figured out i was teetering on too low blood sugar with almost no carbs. but it seems the less i weigh, the less this is an issue. it can be really hard to listen to our body (for lots of reasons), but its really required after this surgery... the changes we go through are so huge. (what this translates to is, dont decide before surgery what you will be able to do... you have no idea what your post op, not fat anymore body will be like!)

aint that the truth! i can be hypoglycemic too. it was the worst when i was pregnant. but i also had lots of problems when i was fat. i tried to do the 4 hour body diet (recommended by my doc). i was a hot mess. the doc gave me a script for a glucometer and we figured out i was teetering on too low blood sugar with almost no carbs. but it seems the less i weigh, the less this is an issue. it can be really hard to listen to our body (for lots of reasons), but its really required after this surgery... the changes we go through are so huge. (what this translates to is, dont decide before surgery what you will be able to do... you have no idea what your post op, not fat anymore body will be like!)

That is wise council; Thanks for the distinction.

I have become a very strong advocate of low carb/high fat and plan to stay on this forever to keep my weight where I want it. It gets easier over time, and I do endulge in carb feasts from time to time, but high carb treats are just that - treats (not my regular fare). And a treat might be a frozen yogurt or ice cream scoop (not half a pint) a couple of Cookies (not a package) or a slice of pizza (not half the pie). My regular meals have 10- 20 carbs each, often less.

Carbs are addictive. There is a study with rats and cocaine and oreos - they pick the oreos over the cocaine - nice! Once you get over your addiction (some people never do), it gets much better.

Note if you are just starting off low carb: when you eat high carb you hold a lot of Water. When you start low carb you lose a lot of that water very fast, which can lead to dehydration and headaches. Be sure to stay hydrated during this period. Also, once you get used to eating low carb, the 3pm lows and depression go away.

I recommend studying up on it if you are interested. Gary Taub's books are great: Why We Get Fat or Good Carbs Bad Carbs (read one or the other, no need to read both).

I currently eat no more than 50 carbs a day on maintenance. When I have a treat I might have 100 carbs for the day. Gone are the days of 500 grams of carbs at a sitting. I used to eat huge amounts of carbs, bread, Cereal, Pasta, etc. and never ate fats. I never eat pasta or bread or drink beer any more, and I don't miss it. My carbs tend to come from Beans and legumes, dairy, and vegetables, and the occasional tortilla or tortilla chips (some addictions never die). Once in a while I do a cookie thing or a chocolate thing or a key lime pie thing. No one is perfect.

I will say that I believe eating high fat with low carb is what makes it work best long term. I am never hungry and I never feel deprived. I understand now that calories in do NOT equal calories out, and I understand why I got fat despite years of low fat eating. How many salads did I eat with plain vinegar? How many sandwiches with mustard instead of mayo? How much pasta with marinara sauce instead of alfredo sauce? Plain vegetables instead of buttered? I never understood it was the bread, the pasta, the cereal, the potatoes, etc. that made me fat, not the fats which I never ate. Now I've got this, and my weight is very stable (a miracle), even going on vacation and a cruise (with more than my normal treats). I finally have a way of eating that I can do long term easily and that works well with my sleeve. And, the sleeve is there to help me keep my "bad" moments limited, which is a great tool because I can actually stop myself now. That was not the case before the sleeve.

Both fat and Protein promote satiety. Carbs if not used get stored very very quickly.

If it's playing in your city Fed Up is a great film to see.

My NUT and surgeon told me 40 net carbs max for the entire day, out of which I can have one serving of crackers or starchy veg per day. The rest has to be made up of non-starchy produce or dairy.

For the first three months post-op, I averaged about 10 net carbs per day. Now at almost 7 months out, I average about 30 because I don't always have the serving of crackers; in fact I try to only do that once or twice per week.

It is hard at first. I did Atkins and Protein Power for years before surgery. I think the major difference in being able to handle it, though, was the fact that even when I was very low carb before, the weight didn't come off so it seemed harder to stick to. This time around, the pounds are slipping off so I don't even really care about the carbs anymore.