I am about 6 wks post op & have had one fill. I'm thinking of doing low carb. How do I start? I've done low carb where you do no carb 1st then add some in. How many carbs can you do a day? Do you do low fat or do you not watch the fat at all? All responses are appreciated. Thanks!

anyone??? hello? any advise?

Hi Heidi! I have not been banded yet, but I am doing a low carb/high Protein pre-surgery diet. The original diet I was on for pre-surgery diet is making me GAIN weight so I JUST switched to low carb.

I think the most efficient way to start is to go zero carbs for a week and then slowly introduce them back. But get ready for some major headaches with stopping carbs cold turkey! This time, I just dove right in and still eat a few carbs/day. I've lost 5 lbs in only TWO days! After the first week, I will begin to allow myself 56 carbs/day but I know after being banded, it's bound to be a LOT less than that. I remember reading a post where a bandster ate 20-25 carbs/day.

One recipe i absolutely LOVE is a smothered chicken breast:

grill chicken breast until done. while it is grilling, i pan fried two slices of bacon, drained most of the grease but left VERY little to saute mushrooms and peppers in. Once those were sauted, I added just a tiny bit of A1 steak sauce to the mushrooms and peppers. I topped the chicken breast with the bacon, then the mixture, then a slice of provolone cheese and it was absolutely amazing! But beware, its VERY filling!

I hope this helps!

Oh thanks Claire. That chicken sounds yummmmy!!!!

I consider myself a low-carber, but I actually don't pay THAT much attention to how many I'm getting in a day. Basically, I don't whip myself if I get too many. I think the main thing is to cut out all the processed crap - white flour/sugar/etc.

I think the South Beach Diet is a good starting point because it's more of a good carb/good fats diet rather than really EXCLUDING anything. It teaches foods to avoid and ones that are good for you. That's where I started and now I just try to make good decisions. I don't eat bread or Pasta at all. But once in a great while, I might eat brown rice (found out I love it so much more than white rice). I don't eat mashed potatoes, instead I'm now HOOKED on South Beach mashed potatoes (mashed cauliflower, basically - you'd be surprised how close they taste to the real thing if you make them right!). I don't drink sugary drinks, but do not get enough liquids in the day if I try plain Water. So now I have sugar-free Koolaid or Fuze Slenderize or Crystal Light.

I try to keep all sugars low, so really I don't eat much in the way of fruit, either...even though that's against the SB diet later phases. I'm just afraid of cravings that I get when my body gets any version of sugar.

But I do not limit my vegetables at all. If I have carbs that send me over, it's usually veggies that do it and I don't see how non-starchy green veggies could be a bad thing for anybody's diet.

Hope that helps.

yeah, I think I'll probably do a lot better on a low carb diet now than before. Seeing how I'm limited on the amount I can eat. I don't count the carbs in low starch veggies either. :-)