When were you guys allowed to start eating carbs? How did you feel?

I follow a Youtuber that got the sleeve & she was allowed to eat anything including carbs after 6 weeks, while my Kaiser program wants me to wait 3 months so I was shocked to see her start eating rice, tacos & pancakes so soon.

I had no clue the carb time-line varied so much

Edited November 16, 20223 yr by bbykitty

Yeah, seems like post-op is all over the place depending upon the program. We all have different medical needs too so maybe there are some surgeons that require a different plan depending on height/weight/comorbities... Etc. for each of their patients. My surgeon wanted me on good carbs post op as soon as possible (fruits/vegs/whole grains, oat bran... Etc.) And of course, the typical general rules. Protein first to make sure I met that first. Lots of liquid in between, no drinking until 30 minutes after.

Each program has it's own set of guidelines for their own reasons. My theory is that if you trust them to preform surgery then trust them to guide you through the process. Follow their plan.

My program never limited carbs. As @Tomo said, just get protein in first then some veggies and from there eat what you want while staying within your daily calories.

I think other than a single bite here and there I probably couldn't get carbs in till 3/4 months after surgery anyway though. Now, it just depends on the day. Sometimes I eat 30 carbs and other days I eat 150.

I have no specific carb restrictions, just food stages. However there are foods that are best to avoid post sleeve for a while and they include the low nutrient, high calorie empty foods like basic white rice, breads and pasta… because of their processed nature (even many white rices are very processed) they turn to glucose easy and easily spike blood sugars even in some non diabetics causing issues that will make you hungry and eat more …

personally, when I reach that stage where I can eat it, breads and pasta will be sometimes foods.. tho for rice I don’t use some of the low end, but buy a high quality basmati from an Indio-pak store.. basmati has a lower glycemic index because of the way that the starches are naturally aligned … it will still not be a staple food anymore but will have a little when I can finally eat chicken tikka masala or methi mater again

Edited November 16, 20223 yr by KimA-GA

In hind sight I would say the longer you leave it to try to eat carbs and other foods and drinks (carbonated) that can cause weight issues the better. I was eager to " test" foods out early on and discovering I could eat and drink them easily with no issues slowed/stopped my weight loss earlier than it should have. I feel if I had have not tried them and went longer without them I would have had a better result.

Thanks guys. I think this stemmed from jealously last night lol. My body feeling good makes me want to move forward & but Kaiser's plan is so successful so waiting is probably for the best. & like @kcuster83 I probably also wont be able to fit any significant amount till the 3rd month as my plate is only 3oz & I can never fit in veggies lol.

I'll stick to my plan!

My post-op programme didn't limit anything - no calorie goals, no protein goals, no fluid goals even! I learnt all that by being on this forum. I was told just eat as you feel. Seems just basic common bariatric sense to me now to get my protein in first, veg second, fruit third and then other carbs after that. Even now at almost exactly a year out I don't reach 50g carbs or anything like it most days. Other than weekends, when I *choose* to drink some alcohol. So many ways to skin a rabbit, LOL.

Edited November 16, 20223 yr by Spinoza

Not all carbs are the same. It’s not that you’re not eating carbs, it’s just you’re not eating certain carbs - the higher processed, nutrient poor ones. You’re allowed vegetables & legumes & likely fruit - all are sources of nutritionally dense carbs. Even milk has carbs just not many.

When you do introduce those other carbs look for whole & multi grains which are lower processed & more nutrient dense.

I’m still pretty low carbs at 3.5yrs out. Partly by choice & also because bread, pasta & rice tend to sit heavily & are too filling for me. Don’t really miss them either & I used to eat a lot of them.

Edited November 17, 20223 yr by Arabesque

On 11/16/2022 at 1:23 AM, bbykitty said:

When were you guys allowed to start eating carbs? How did you feel?

I follow a Youtuber that got the sleeve & she was allowed to eat anything including carbs after 6 weeks, while my Kaiser program wants me to wait 3 months so I was shocked to see her start eating rice, tacos & pancakes so soon.

I had no clue the carb time-line varied so much

This is what my plan says. I take this to mean pretty much forever, or for a long time, anyways. And that's fine, most carbs are trigger foods for me, so I should stay away from them.

THESE FOODS ARE ALL HARD TO TOLERATE AND DO NOT SUPPORT YOUR LONG TERM WEIGHT LOSS GOALS

• Bread, pastries, muffins, bagels, rice, flour tortilla, pasta, and flour-based products. They foods form a dough ball, which can swell up and plug the stomach outlet resulting in pain or vomiting.

• Greasy and deep-fried foods are often hard to digest and poorly tolerated.

• Sugar and sweets can cause dumping syndrome and inadequate weight loss.

• Carbonation (soda, flavored waters, and alcohol), sugar sweetened drinks, and juice.

For the first several months, follow your plan from your doctor and as your diet expands, pay attention to what works for YOU...first of all, there's no way of knowing if what this girl on TikTok was describing is true or accurate (for all you know she took two bites, or even spit them into the trash between shots).

There's a phrase used in the motorcycle community that applies here: "Ride Your Ride" meaning ultimately, you are responsible for you and only you, and you need to take care of yourself. There's a lot of lousy advice and lousy examples out there. Proceed slowly and adjust based on how your own individual, personal system reacts.

I was also told under the program to wait 3 months, but then it turned out that I could not eat carbs for almost 6 months and with a nutritionist gradually introduced them into the diet. So it all depends not only on the program but also on you.