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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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    • LeighaTR

      I am new here today... and only two weeks out from my sleeve surgery on the 23rd. I am amazed I have kept my calories down to 467 today so far... that leaves me almost 750 left for dinner and maybe a snack. This is going to be tough for two weeks... but I have to believe I can do it!
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    • Doughgurl

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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