Yep, I eat them all. Love them. They're a daily part of my diet. Sometimes multiple times a day.

OMG, they're carbs!

Yep, they are. But they're not refined, over-processed, or bad.

And you know what else they are?

Excellent sources of plant based protein and fiber.

A baked potato has 160 calories. By itself, it has 4g of protein. Throw some vegetarian chili on there and you're in the high teens. Awesome lunch!

Brown rice...half a cup has around 100 calories and 3g of protein. Add some bean or peas and you've got complete amino acids...tons of protein... and a crazy awesome amount of fiber.

Why is dietary fiber important? To grow good gut bugs. Your microbiota and the health of your gut (and metabolism) depend on happy little bacteria. The strains of gut bugs that live in the guts of skinny people....have a favorite food: dietary fiber. Feed your good bugs good things and they'll be good to you.

They like to eat fruit, veggies, beans, whole wheat bread...

Whole wheat bread? I eat this A LOT:)

For instance.....A lite Thomas English wheat muffin has 5g of protein for 100 calories. This dietary powerhouse has 8g of dietary fiber! Smear that sucker with your favorite nut butter or fruit preserves, and you're in business.

One of my favorite go-to dinners these days...... is fresh homemade wheat bread with 16 veggie soup...and fruit for dessert.

I eat about four servings of fruit a day...and that's not even counting the watermelon I huddle over in the car while hissing "My Precious...." LOL:)

A banana is not "a candy bar" A banana is a wonderful healthy food. I eat lots of them. Hell, I have a Yonanas that makes them into ice cream. They're terrific.

Normal weight does not HAVE to mean giving up carbs. It means being carb smart, balancing, and making mindful choices.

More than one way to do this whole thing.

Weight loss success does not mean ONLY eating meat for the rest of your life with broccoli on the side. That's great once in a while, though!

Not trying to tell anyone they're doing it wrong.....just sayin'....there's more than one way to do it right:)

Extreme thinking, extreme dieting, extreme self denial....is not sustainable.

Work on a forever diet you can live with.

Be mindful, be accountable....but be kind to yourself.

24 minutes ago, summerset said:

This. And it doesn't even need complications for that path to be rough for many people. Many paths in life are not smooth, but rough or/and winded, be it school, love, career...

Absolutely~

This debate was going on 9 years ago when I got my band and it seems it's still going on now.

Obviously there is no 1 size fits all solution but what I find interesting is the major difference between countries. The focus on protein at the exclusion of carbs seems to be THE THING in the USA. In Aus that is not something that is generally promoted. Protein first yes, healthy carbs yes but No carbs no.

29 minutes ago, elcee said:

This debate was going on 9 years ago when I got my band and it seems it's still going on now.

Obviously there is no 1 size fits all solution but what I find interesting is the major difference between countries. The focus on Protein at the exclusion of carbs seems to be THE THING in the USA. In Aus that is not something that is generally promoted. Protein first yes, healthy carbs yes but No carbs no.

I had the same plan here in the US that you have in Aus. First year low carb. After goal add more healthy carbs.

The mantra protein first is right after surgery. This is because you can hardly get calories in to hit your protein goal. And this term gets way too much hype. You are still eating other foods and carbs. Not sure what a no carb plan is. Is it a 100% protein diet?

I think people should do what works for them. If you can eat carbs in healthy portions, then go for it. Carbs make me lethargic, are a migraine trigger, and tend to send me down a downward spiral of bad carbs, sugars, etc. I have to avoid them altogether ☹️

I love it yassss ?

I’m glad it works for you.

What happened to “I’m leaving this board when I get to goal and people who hang around need to get a life?”

I thought you said it was better for your health to not hang around.

I’m five years out, low carb and have never been healthier. I’m glad we all find different paths to health.

On 10/18/2018 at 08:04, Creekimp13 said:

What I think is awful....is how people here are continually encouraged to do what doesn't work.

How many hundreds of posts have we read that go like this:

"I lost all this weight by self denial and will power and eating a very restricted diet....and I'm so sad and disgusted with myself that I put half of it back on. HELP!"

And what do these people routinely get told here?

Go back on your diet that was unsustainable...and didn't work. Try harder. Deny more.

It's crazy. And it's unhealthy to yo-yo.

There is no harm in illustrating a DIFFERENT path supported by science. No one is forcing anyone to do anything.

There are and always will be a variety of options and opinions.

Encouraged to do what doesn’t work?

Except it DOES for many of us which is why it’s encouraged.

You say you want people to realize there are multiple paths yet always say low carb doesn’t work.

On 10/18/2018 at 08:48, Creekimp13 said:

True, I've been at maintenance since July...not long at all. Touche. You're right.

And I'm also having a hell of a time keeping my weight up. I'd like to be 170...today the scale says 162.

I have been actively trying to stop my weight loss for three month. Most days I eat 1600 calories, but I try for 1700-1800. That's a LOT of food when you eat mostly fruits and veggies and complex carbs. I'm not a big 'fats' eater and I limit animal Proteins to 3 servings or so a week. I do get 60g of Protein a day....mostly from carbs/plant sources. I also get at least 25g of dietary Fiber a day. I avoid dairy. Am currently trying to eat more nuts.

While I want to weigh 170, my team says my body might have other ideas....and to trust my body. This is probably really good advice.

But yeah...part of my focus lately has been arresting my weight loss. My posts probably reflect that.

Believe it or not....there are others who are coping with this issue.

There are a lot of DIFFERENT experiences represented on this board:)

Yup and some of us with that issue are low carb-ers

You say you’re trying to advocate against one size fits all but slam us all the time

13 hours ago, jess9395 said:

I’m glad it works for you.

What happened to “I’m leaving this board when I get to goal and people who hang around need to get a life?”

I thought you said it was better for your health to not hang around.

I’m five years out, low carb and have never been healthier. I’m glad we all find different paths to health.

@jess9395 I'm not 100% certain, but I vaguely remember I think she said somewhere that she came back to post a while so she can get her BP discount for protein muffins or something like that? IDK, though, my keto-addled brain might be making that up? (Good to see you btw!)

At the end of the day, we are ALL different. That's what makes us all so great. Everybody, think of when you were pre-op...what was working great for your friend/cousin/co-worker/neighbor just didn't work for you, right? Thus, part of the reason that most of us ended up in the surgical suite.

Here we are again, going around the same argument. What works for one post-op doesn't necessarily work for us all. I WISH I could eat carbs. Boy, do I truly wish I could sit down with some awesome carby thing and love on it, but my body absolutely does not tolerate any form of sugar and almost no carbs now. At 5 years post op I've had to revamp my diet multiple times and am finally in a spot where I feel as good as I can, but I maintain nutritional ketosis. That works for ME. It might not work for you, nor would you want to do it! Additionally, everyone here has different surgeons and different surgical teams who recommend very different maintenance diets to live on.

I'm going to just remind everyone that we have all been on the receiving end of eye-rolling, someone somewhere who thought we were 'crazy' for having bariatric surgery, people who thought we didn't have will power or that we were weak. We all remember what that felt like. Please let's not now bring all this negativity to the forums.

39 minutes ago, mi75 said:

Please let's not now bring all this negativity to the forums.

It is being brought only by one individual who insists that her way is "best", that all the rest of us who eat differently are killing ourselves, has an incredible need to be condescending and apparently needs attention even though she is so superior to the rest of us. I can not think of another individual on here that operates in that manner.

I kind of wish I could eat like people did before factory food took over. Simpler foods with basic ingredients and minimal processing. My wife is super into those processed high volume low calorie things. I can't eat like that, I don't like it and it isn't nutrient dense enough.

At the end of the day it's calories in vs calories out and if you can maintain basic nutrition that is all that matters. I personally like carbs at times, but will often end a snack (say chips) that isn't filling with dense protein, which fills me immediately and prevents overeating. I wish I could eat brown rice, potato or beans, but at current volumes I would either have to eat constantly or starve to death.

This sounds like my "diet" and my doctor is completely on board!

I love your post thank you ??

I love your post thank you ??