Low Carb/Atkins -vs- Sleeve

[Mike4132 256]

I will be sleeved next week on Dec 10 and like many before me (and I'm sure many after me) I'm going through a phase of doubt about my ability to maintain the lifestyle changes I'll need for long term success. In the back of my head, I'm worried that about 2-3 years down the road I'll regain the weight because the old familiar habits will set back in and I'll eat more junk and sweets than I should.

What has recently come to mind is my past experience with the Atkins diet and low carb eating. The more I learn about how to eat after my sleeve the more I realize the ideal diet is pretty much the same as the later stages of the Atkins diet. I was an advocate of eating low carb and for many years was able to lose weight and keep my weight from skyrocketing even though I was never able to lose all the weight I wanted. I would, however, always seem to slip and begin eating carbs again until I regained the weight and then some. (Repeated many times over the years and each time my weight would go a little higher.)

I guess my worry is: I know that eating low carb "works" and that by going into ketosis with it, you generally lose hunger and the weight comes off. I also know that for myself, it's easy to slip and once I do, it's really hard to get back on track with it. I'm encouraged to know that eating after the sleeve is similar to eating Atkins style because I've done it before and know it's very "doable". (Mainly Protein, vegetables, natural foods, with limited starches) What I'm wondering is, when I slip, and I know I will at some point, does the sleeve help make it easier to get back on track? (Or does it make a slip less damaging?)

For those who have tried low carb eating in the past and know what it's like and how it works, yet who have also had the sleeve after: How has the sleeve helped during those times when you slip? Is it easier to get back on track? Does the reduced stomach size help keep you from slipping "too much"? Are cravings and hunger less with the sleeve than they are with low carb induced ketosis?

I apologize for all the questions, but would love to hear from anyone who has experienced weight loss with low carb/Atkins prior to the sleeve and who can share the differences the sleeve, as an added tool, can have on their ability to maintain long term weight loss.

[dupexi 26]

I did low carb for 3 years, lost about 70 lbs, and eventually went off because I was severely constipated and tired. I gained back the lost weight plus quite a bit more.

Discovered I had a thyroid condition. I thought that by treating that I'd lose the weight but I didn't, and I put more on instead. Tried low carb again, never really able to make it stick. Plus being lactose intolerant meant no dairy. Right now, the mount of food

I'm eating is too low to trigger much of a lactose response, so hey, cottage cheese!

I am now about a month out with the sleeve, down 30 lbs, and I've lost all interest in food. I'm not hungry. I've been setting alarms to remind myself to eat. I had some early fatigue, a lot like going into ketosis (I attributed it to healing & meds), but that's gone.

Right now it just feels like such a chore to eat anything, and none of it is great food, just boring mush. When I get past this stage, maybe I'll have more interest. I love food, and I can honestly say I have never experienced this level of being not hungry - to the point that I've been having trouble getting all my Water and Protein. I've never had trouble eating all my calories before!

I've switched to unflavored Protein powder in broths, cause I can't stand the artificial sugar in the Protein shakes any more. And my one attempt at scrambled eggs make me throw up, not doing that again for a while. I'm still early, so maybe the hunger will come back, but I imagine this lasting quite a while.

[IcanMakeit 1,318]

As soon as I got over the nausea from the VSG surgery, my hunger returned. However, I don't overeat because even though I might be ravenous when I begin eating, I get full so fast that each meal is kind of disappointing. I have also found that carbs are a lot less attractive than they used to be because I fear that they will make me sick, not just gain a few pounds.

I had the same exact experience as @dupexi. I lost more than 100 lbs 15 years ago using the Atkins diet, and then threw it all out the window when I got bored with it.

I believe that my new eating pattern has a better chance to stick this time. There is a definite physical aspect to my avoidance of empty, high calorie foods and overeating is pretty much unthinkable. It would be too uncomfortable. I am trying to be as compliant with my nutritionist's recommendations as I can while my restriction is still at it's strongest. I hope that will help me extend the restriction for as long as possible.

And my current stint in the hospital (where they keep serving me high carb meals that I can't eat) has shown me that my restriction becomes stronger the less I eat. This is pretty good news. Maybe all I have to do to get and stay slim is what I'm currently doing. And maybe I'll be able to do it over the long haul because my new stomach will help me.

Edited December 5, 2014 by IcanMakeit

[livvsmum 2,368]

What's different this time is that you have a new "tool" to work with. So yes, the low-carb is what helps the weight come off quickly, but it's also the fact that you have a tiny tummy now too. For me, I have to take the abstinence approach to carbs in the form of processed sugar,etc. Once I have one thing it just triggers my food addiction and leads to a days or weeks long struggle to get back on track. So for me, I know that is just how I have to eat. Some people say they can have a little something carby and be fine with it and go right back to eating right. I guess it just depends on you.

For me what has made the difference this time in keeping the weight off is working on what was going on under the eating. So I've been going to therapy weekly to address my eating issues and that is what has helped me the most, to be honest.

But, to answer your other question. If you were a binge-eater in the past, yes, the sleeve will make a binge less damaging to some extent because you can't eat as much. However, you can still binge eat....you just do it over the course of a day instead of all at once. So, I guess my point is that it is a tool that WILL work if you work with it. And for me, a lot of that work was emotional work that I needed to do on myself.

Good luck to you!

[*Lexie* 1,486]

I've tried Atkins in the past and for me there are many differences. I'm on Atkins and go to a restaurant with plans to have a lean piece of fish and vegetables and they bring a bowl of bread to the table. I want that bread. I would love to have some Pasta instead of fish since I already ate some bread and ruined my diet. It is about choice and I would usually give in and cheat on my diet.

Fast forward to now and we go to Red Lobster and I plan to have some crab meat and a little bit of salad. They bring those delicious biscuits to the table and I look at them with horror because the last time I tried to eat a half slice of toast, I was in agony for 2 hours. I don't want Pasta because I threw up the last time I had a 1/4 cup of it. It really stinks to get sick but it's one hell of a reinforcer.

If I eat bread, pasta or anything fried, I get sick. I am forced into making healthier choices. I'm sure someday I'll probably be able to tolerate these foods but I sort of hope it doesn't change or maybe I'll just get so used to not having them that I won't miss them.

And as for other foods that I can tolerate that don't fall into my eating plan such as the 1/3 piece of pumpkin pie I had on Thanksgiving. That's where my restriction helps me a lot. Even if I eat something fattening, I can only handle a few bites. That helps me physically stay on plan and psychologically not feel defeated because I didn't have 3 pieces of pie and blow my diet. I just had a few bites.

I'm on a few months post op and right now I feel like I would have to try pretty hard to fail at this. I know that as the restriction lessens, this will not be the case. that's why now is the perfect time to build new habits and get in a healthy routine.

[BitterSweet* 835]

@@*Lexie*, very insightful post. Thanks.

[alwaysvegas 702]

I did Atkins for about 7 years and was quite successful at it with exercise. Obviously, I stopped and gained back the weight and then some. However, I never forgot how my carb cravings were curbed by Atkins and a low-carb lifestyle.

I started eating low carb and lower calories pre-surgery and my nutritionist advises lower-carb, lower-fat, high-Protein post surgery. It seems nutritionists are looking more closely at glycemic impact/index now than Atkins. For example, certain legumes like lentils and black Beans are recommended because they're higher in Protein and the carbs are lower glycemically so they don't impact insulin as, say, a potato or carrots would.

I've found I can eat these lower glycemic index foods and not get into carb cravings later on.

Yes, you could still binge eat, but in smaller quantities. However, if you wanted to eat a bag of Cookies, you likely could over the course of a day or maybe sooner. If you are still having binge feelings you need to talk to a bariatric counselor or a therapist. The sleeve will only help with physical hunger and Portion Control. We have to work on our heads.

I highly recommend that you attend a bariatric support group with others who have had weight loss surgery. I find it incredibly helpful to discuss my journey and to hear others' journeys, good and bad.

Best of luck to you!

[Mike4132 256]

Thank you all very much for your insight and experiences, this has helped a lot!

[mrsbailey921 117]

This is a good post for me, as Sleevie tolerates anything except rice so far...Yes I tried it and no I won't be trying it again any time soon lol. I haven't moved to toasts yet. I am a carb addict and am wanting to incorporate the low carb diet into my lifestyle again because it works. While a lot of foods don't taste good to me anymore and I can't tolerate eating them, if they can make it past my mouth Sleevie will more than likely be ok with it. So I have to have a plan too and I love the low carb plan.