My insurance requires a 3-month medically supervised weight loss program. I started a couple of weeks ago. During my first week I had a small piece of cake one time and I had a hamburger and fries on a different day. I still was under 1500 calories both days, which is well under the 1800 calorie limit the nutritionist gave me. I had my first follow up with the nutritionist and she lectured me quite a bit about the fries and the cake specifically. She insisted that I cut ALL starches. No potatoes at all. No rice. No whole grains. Not even quinoa or farro!

I've already lost over 50 pounds on my own just by counting calories. So, I know that cutting starches isn't really necessary to lose weight. It's also annoying, because I am not by any means wealthy. I was told not to ever go under 1200 calories, Do you know how expensive it is getting 1200+ calories with nothing but lean meats, Beans and cottage cheese?

I have since had two other days when I ate off the plan. One day I had some pizza and another day I stuck with the no-starch portion of the plan but had more calories than I should have. But I just won't log that stuff if it is going to mean getting lectures even though 90% of the time I am sticking with it and losing plenty of weight.

Oh, I should clarify... the balanced diet stuff was only for the 3 month period my insurance required. Not the pre-op diet or post-op as those differ, even from the same NUTs.

Weaning off Diet Coke was hard but not as hard as if I just went cold turkey after surgery.

I quit Diet Coke cold turkey about 4 years ago and it was worst than when I quit smoking. I was drinking a 12-pack every day and one day just stopped. I was sick for about two weeks. Including vomiting and nausea for the first week. I couldn't concentrate or stay awake. I was drinking ice tea with plenty of caffeine, so I know the withdraw was from the aspartame and not the caffeine. I have since cut aspartame completely. I used to have heart palpitations all the time and now I hardly ever have them.

The great thing about it, though, is that once you stop you will completely lose the taste for it. My parents have terrible Water, so a couple of times when I was at their place I tried drinking a diet soda, because it was all they had to drink, and I could never get past the first sip. It is so disgusting when you're not used to it.

Edited May 20, 201511 yr by LiberalInAZ

I HATE weaning off my Diet Coke (doing it now). Worst. Thing. Ever.

Everyone here has given you good advice so far. But I do understand where you're coming from. During my 6-month physician-directed "diet" required by insurance (I'm in month six), they definitely stressed implementing the healthy habits ahead of time so that your post-op transition isn't as difficult. But that being said, my NUT was pretty realistic about making gradual changes. We "weaned" me off of Diet Coke over the first 3 months, and the goal for starches was to eat less and less until they were a rare find in my food diary.

So, if every single other day of your food diary was on point, I don't think anyone can be upset about you having a slice of cake or a serving of french fries, if they were indeed just one serving. I know I'm not post-op yet, but I feel like one or two days per month of a little treat, or something off plan, doesn't seem excessive.

Weaning off Diet Coke was hard but not as hard as if I just went cold turkey after surgery.

Cutting out the Diet Coke was the most difficult thing for me. But, I've gone over 2 months without it, and I'm definitely glad I did the gradual detox vs. quitting cold turkey after surgery.

Good luck @@Nursejlcox!

There is no need to completely cut out starches. When you on the liquid diet the week before and the liquid then soft diet in the weeks after surgery, then you need to do exactly what your doctor tells you. Before that and after that though, as long as you're losing weight, staying in your calorie goals, and getting the required amount of Protein, having carbs isn't going to hurt you. If anything I find that the times I have totally cut out carbs, I have gained massively with just a little bit of adding them back into my diet. I know that I can eat according to the plan about 95% of the time and if every once in awhile I want a grilled chicken sandwich with a bun, a small piece of cake, or a few fries...I eat them. Unlike before I don't really crave foods like this any more and they tend to make me hellaciously sick, so a few bites and I am quite satisfied. I have zero interest in living the rest of my life without ever getting to enjoy good food...the trick is to learn the act of moderation. Your sleeve helps you with that.

You can have your cake and eat it too....just not the entire cake, lol.

@@LiberalInAZ I was honest once too with the nut and got verbally beaten up when I admitted to eating a sliver of pumpkin pie and a few bites of thanksgiving dinner after months of no junk food soda starch carbs etc I felt like a criminal when it was over then I was pissed after so I never said a thing after that kept losing weight never gained any back it seems they want and expect that we are to never eat carbs etc again which is just so unrealistic just have to try and eat healthy and when u do have the occasional carb or starch a small amount etc no need to feel like your committing a crime

At present my goal is 20g of carbs per day. That's less than the carbs in 2 ounces of french fries.

@@LiberalInAZ It looks like you're in AZ - me too ) I went to Scottsdale Healthcare - how about you?

Banner. It's the only place that had a doctor in my network.

Banner Gateway? That's who I am using as well. One of the nutritionists I saw was really hardcore and strict while the other is very laid back. They told to cut out starches as well. I just completed my 3 months of visits and lost a total of 29 lbs. I had slip ups in that time, I just didn't mention them. As long as I was losing weight, they didn't give me any fuss.

There is no need to completely cut out starches. When you on the liquid diet the week before and the liquid then soft diet in the weeks after surgery, then you need to do exactly what your doctor tells you. Before that and after that though, as long as you're losing weight, staying in your calorie goals, and getting the required amount of Protein, having carbs isn't going to hurt you. If anything I find that the times I have totally cut out carbs, I have gained massively with just a little bit of adding them back into my diet. I know that I can eat according to the plan about 95% of the time and if every once in awhile I want a grilled chicken sandwich with a bun, a small piece of cake, or a few fries...I eat them. Unlike before I don't really crave foods like this any more and they tend to make me hellaciously sick, so a few bites and I am quite satisfied. I have zero interest in living the rest of my life without ever getting to enjoy good food...the trick is to learn the act of moderation. Your sleeve helps you with that.

You can have your cake and eat it too....just not the entire cake, lol.

I entirely agree with everything above. I'm exactly four months post-op today and can honestly say that the 95% mark has resulted in not just weight loss, but a generally happier outlook.

Yes, certain things make me terribly sick. I know that I can't really eat a burger (sans bun, just a patty) at a diner or bar and grill-type restaurant because the amount of grease in them make me sick. I made the mistake of taking a few bites of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream that my sister offered me and the dough made me sick, too.

However, I have learned that having two tablespoons of white rice with my chicken and broccoli will not kill me or sabotage my weight loss, nor will eating a few french fries when I'm out to dinner with my family. Those were not the habits that got me here. It was the huge basket of fries with my BBQ burger and a brownie for dessert. It was the pork fried rice I ate with sesame chicken.

My point is that sometimes, it's okay to indulge just a bit, so long as it's only a couple of bites once in a while and you're not reverting to bad habits. I find it makes me feel like I'm not deprived of all things and while that might seem silly emotionally, it's why all those strict no carb diets failed for me. I felt so deprived that I binged.

If you can stay on board with your nutrition 95% of the time, you'll do just fine. You'll be happy and healthy. Both mentally and physically.

BUT what everyone else says is also true. Don't use the pre-op nutritional period as a time to binge because you know this surgery is down the pipeline. Make your lifestyle changes now, maybe treat yourself to one splurge meal once or twice a month, and know that this is your life from now on.

You can eat a burger without the bun ... use lettuce as the wrap and stuff tomato slices in between.

You can slice up a parsnip and roast it to make fake french fries. It's a bit high in carbs (24 for 1 cup), but that's still 1/2 the carbs of what the same amount of fries has, and it's delicious.

You are going to have to change your eating when you are sleeved. You may as well start now.

Somewhere inside you know to be truly successful you cannot eat cake and burgers and fries. Take a long, hard look at what you are doing and be honest with yourself. Then and only then can you hope for success with this.

I believe very strongly in everything in moderation. The day I had cake my calorie intake was 1295 calories and my Protein intake was 94 g. The day I had a cheeseburger and fries, I had 1500 calories and 99 g of protein. I've consistently lost the weight I am supposed to.

As for why I want the surgery, obesity is a disease state and studies show that bariatric surgery is the only thing that resolves it. It's the only thing that resolves metabolic syndrome, the inflammation and the hormonal imbalances. I want it because I know that I can lose weight counting every calories every day, but I want more support.

I understand that it involves a lifestyle change. But having one piece of cake one week should not even be considered cheating. If I were binging on cake or eating it every day, it would be different. But it was literally one piece of cake about 2"x2".

I have read all the posts here and think many good points have been made. I think perhaps you need to see a different nutritionist. This person seems extremely rigid. During my dietitian visits, I told her that I was taking one day per week off. She was cool with that and we talked about using that as an opportunity to enjoy certain foods (like pizza) in a moderate manner that would not derail my eating plan and the new approaches I was learning.

I found that to be very beneficial and has helped me have a balanced view of food. If there is another nutritionist on staff, I would recommend transferring.

Good Luck.

In my post I was saying that in order for us all to be successful we must change our eating habits for life. I do realize we are all human and we will slip now and again, The point being that in order to be successful we must make changes and realize that the foods we ate before CLEARLY do not work for us.

Yes you can have a burger, just do bunless and add toppings that are healthy and no fries or only a few and eat them after you have eaten your Protein if you have room. Yes you can do sugar-free dessert or make a great dessert Protein shake with addins to make it a key lime pie, or reeses shake or even angel food cake with fruit and fat free whipped topping.

Anyone can do what they want but like I said, it's all what you want to achieve. I personally want to achieve my goal weight and am not trying to justify eating off plan. That's my decision and it may not be the one for everyone, but I am looking to succeed. Moderation is not an option to me right now because I have my eyes on my goal weight. Those foods got me where I am and they will not sabotage me ever again! I am forging a new relationship with food, a more healthy one.

Just my 2 cents.

LiberalinAZ,

I agree with your point of view: you can lose weight without cutting all starches. It’s about calories. Knowing that you can still lose weight even if you is a great thing. It’s also wonderful that you logged it, because you are being honest with yourself and also figuring out what works for you and can work for you long-term.

Do you have a choice of nutritionists? Is there any chance you can work with a different one? It seems really counterproductive to me to work with one who disapproves of your choices and refuses to work with you. Even the fact that you’re considering not logging your “poor” food choices anymore seems sad, because it’s such a good habit to get into.

As for the cost of post-op eating, I don’t think it should be too expensive. You mentioned you can eat Beans, which are pretty cheap! You can easily get a can of about 15 ounces or 350 calories for $1 or, if you’re willing to cook your own, you can pay a lot less for dried beans. I’m not sure how much you were hoping to spend, but you might save money by eating a lot less than you were before, and also by being healthier.