so i'm about 3-4 months pre-op and i had to sign a contract with my dr. that i would lose some weight before surgery. i was thinking of doing atkins since i've never tried it and it won't be for very long anyway. good idea or bad idea? has anyone ever done it? do you just cut out carbs or is there more to it? thanks.

so i'm about 3-4 months pre-op and i had to sign a contract with my dr. that i would lose some weight before surgery. i was thinking of doing atkins since i've never tried it and it won't be for very long anyway. good idea or bad idea? has anyone ever done it? do you just cut out carbs or is there more to it? thanks.

I would say that Atkins could be your best friend for preparing for the lapband, you can have extreme weight loss quickly (I usually lose anywhere from 12-16 lbs in the first 2 weeks whenever I would go on it) but it is a very extreme change in eating and you MUST adhere to it very stictly cos' if you cheat at ALL then you've defeated the purpose and will probably gain weight. It's all about changing your body's way of burning stored fat so if you get half way into it and cheat then you will turn all the food you've eaten into fat instead of burning stored fat (that of course is a very simple explanation of what it's doing). I am a huge fan of low carb dieting and it is what my surgeon recommends for all his patients and so far it's working for me, I've lost 60 lbs in 3 months. You will need to commit yourself to it for at least the first two weeks where you will keep your daily carb count to under 25 grams per diem (very hard but worth it if you can do it). You will go through withdrawal symptoms and feel like shit for atleast the first week, but if you can stay strong and get through it then you will be successful. Talk to your doctor and see what they recommend for you. South Beach Diet is also a very good healthy way to lose some fast weight as well. Check the books out at your local library and see what you think, but no not enter into Atkins lightly, get informed so that you maximize the loss. Good luck to you. Be well. KKG

I agree, you will feel sorta yukky the first few days (3 to 4, usually) while your body is detoxing from your usual carb (sugar!) intake. But after that you feel very energetic and have little hunger.

I followed the induction (stricter) phase of Atkins for over a year. I would never, ever advocate it as a tried & true long-term weightloss method, but if you need to lose pounds fast, it almost always works. What you lose isn't fat for a while, but the weight will come off, and eventually fat too.

we have an Atkins / low carb thread going if you'd like to join, you are more than welcome.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f15/low-carbing-come-join-me-55709/