Best WOE 2 years post sleeve with greatest success?
Shelleytate
Posts: 4 Member
What WOE has been the most successful for those of you who are years post VSG? I have regained almost all of the weight I lost making bad food choices. I started the Carbohydrate Addict's Diet yesterday...anyone try this one?
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I am 3 1/2 years out and had some regain. I talked to my surgeon and he basically suggested I go back to the basics. I try to eat the same way I did the first year post surgery, and it's definitely helped. Basically high protein, low carb. That said, I feel like I will always be a work in progress. My tastes and tolerances for different foods continue to change. For me, it's important to be mindful of these things and make sure I tweak my diet as necessary, but going back to the basics is really it for me.2
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I'm 26 months post-op. Healthier than I've been in my adult life. When I met suurgeon @ 395lbs they wanted me to lose weight before surgery so I immediately cut out sweets and started walking. lost 35 pounds in 2 months before surgery.
After surgery I transitioned to "real" food as soon as possible. I make most if my own meals. I eat lots of fruit veggies beans nuts and meats. Still RARELY eat fast food or sweets. First year weight loss was fairly steady.
Since this past December I've been more diligent about avoiding refined carbs. I've unexpectedly lost even more weight. I don't track calories but I'm guessing I consume 2,000-3,000 a day. My added sugars are probably around 10 grams a day or less.
I see a lot of people on here eating really low calorie but much of it is processed. I think if you concentrate on whole foods you can eat more and not have to worry about calories. At least that's what has worked for me.
All my health measurements are good. I'm getting fitter everyday. I'm happier than ever. And I've lost over 190lbs.7 -
Shelleytate wrote: »What WOE has been the most successful for those of you who are years post VSG? I have regained almost all of the weight I lost making bad food choices. I started the Carbohydrate Addict's Diet yesterday...anyone try this one?
I lost 94 pounds on the Carbohydrate Addict's Diet back around 1994-1995. I liked my carbs and discovered from the book & diet that I only needed to have one large meal a day (for me, typically at 2pm) that included my carbs to feel satisfied the rest of the day & night and just have something lite (i.e. an egg or something similar) at breakfast & dinner. That worked well for me until I hit my 40's & became diabetic & sometimes wonder if having that large carb-heavy meal once/day for so long helped pushed me towards becoming a diabetic (although I do have a strong family history of it). For post-op VSG individuals or diabetics, I would NOT recommend this diet--it's just too easy to get too many carbs all squeezed into 1 meal. I think a better option would be to try a ketogenic diet or other low-carb diet, or even just a moderate-carb diet with staying away from processed food and/or anything made with flour or added sugar or starchy vegetables like potatoes or rice. Things like noodles, bread, rice, cake, mashed potatoes & fast food has always seemed to be my weakness that kicks me off my diet whenever I start eating those things. I think there are some very active low-carb type groups here on MyFitnessPal that can also give some good advice & I've heard that VSG individuals do well on low-carb diets when they hit maintenance and are looking for something sustainable for the long term.
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For me the key to keeping it off is muscle. Lots of muscle. THe more muscle you have, the more you can eat without gaining. Seriously impressive.
I got to 145 pounds after surgery and plateau'd for a long time. Then went through a depression time. I ate about 1400 calories a day (i am a simple person - 7x 200 calorie protein bars a day
). I gained a pound a week for 4 months straight. My BMR was in the toilet.
Then I joined a gym and worked with a trainer and started lifting weights heavy (deadlifts, etc... showed up every day and did what I was told mostly without complaining ). I hate cardio. I got down to 130 pounds (I am 5'5 ) within 6 months (from 165 pounds). My trainer INSISTED I eat more gradually over those 6 months. In the end, I was eating 2500 calories a day, had all the energy in the world. That lasted a few years - maintaining within 5 pounds, eating regularly 2200-3000 calories every day.
Last summer my family started a series of health crisis that have made for the worst year anyone can imagine. Literally no time to think, no time to exercise, no time to breathe. I spent the last year eating whenever and whatever - mostly from vending machines, gas stations and hospital cafeterias. I am just starting this week to work my way out of that. Back in the gym day #3 today. Food prep on sundays. Focus on protein etc. Luckily the last year did not do too much damage overall. I am up to 145 pounds, but still quite a bit of muscle (back at it now I hope!). I figured out I am probably eating around 2000 calories a day right now to maintain.
So starting the weight lifting again, cutting down to 1500 calories a day for the next few weeks, then as the weight comes off I will once again start ramping up the calories.
FOOD=CALORIES=ENERGY. Muscles need more energy. Your body becomes a machine.
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For me the key to keeping it off is muscle. Lots of muscle. THe more muscle you have, the more you can eat without gaining. Seriously impressive.
I got to 145 pounds after surgery and plateau'd for a long time. Then went through a depression time. I ate about 1400 calories a day (i am a simple person - 7x 200 calorie protein bars a day ). I gained a pound a week for 4 months straight. My BMR was in the toilet.
Then I joined a gym and worked with a trainer and started lifting weights heavy (deadlifts, etc... showed up every day and did what I was told mostly without complaining ). I hate cardio. I got down to 130 pounds (I am 5'5 ) within 6 months (from 165 pounds). My trainer INSISTED I eat more gradually over those 6 months. In the end, I was eating 2500 calories a day, had all the energy in the world. That lasted a few years - maintaining within 5 pounds, eating regularly 2200-3000 calories every day.
Last summer my family started a series of health crisis that have made for the worst year anyone can imagine. Literally no time to think, no time to exercise, no time to breathe. I spent the last year eating whenever and whatever - mostly from vending machines, gas stations and hospital cafeterias. I am just starting this week to work my way out of that. Back in the gym day #3 today. Food prep on sundays. Focus on protein etc. Luckily the last year did not do too much damage overall. I am up to 145 pounds, but still quite a bit of muscle (back at it now I hope!). I figured out I am probably eating around 2000 calories a day right now to maintain.
So starting the weight lifting again, cutting down to 1500 calories a day for the next few weeks, then as the weight comes off I will once again start ramping up the calories.
FOOD=CALORIES=ENERGY. Muscles need more energy. Your body becomes a machine.
My surgeon says pretty much the same thing, the key for continued success is muscle. I just started working with a new trainer who is very much into lifting. My struggle is going to be increasing my calories once I get to a weight I want to maintain because I still have a lot of restriction and can't eat a lot at once.2 -
My surgeon says pretty much the same thing, the key for continued success is muscle. I just started working with a new trainer who is very much into lifting. My struggle is going to be increasing my calories once I get to a weight I want to maintain because I still have a lot of restriction and can't eat a lot at once.
He gave me some tips, and some cautions.
1) You dont want to lose your restriction - which is possible if you start really increasing volume of food. Even if your body is able to burn more calories, life happens and there will come a time you may have to take a break from exercise. If you are used to eating a larger volume then it will be hard to restrict again.
2) Control your calories, but keep the volume consistent. This is pretty key. For example, he had me change from a protein shake (25g protein, 2g carbs, under 120 calories) to a meal replacement shake (15g protein, 15g carbs, 10g fat (~210 calories). They are both the same # of ounces of liquid. Other ideas - switch from 2% cottage cheese to 4%. Eat fattier cuts of meat. Replace one thing with peanut butter or mayo or olive oil etc (high calorie for small volume).
The cool thing with doing it this way is that if you ever need to lose weight again in the future, you just reverse the process - change back from meal replacement to protein shakes, 4% to 2% etc. Basically your eating habits and volume do not change but your calories do. So you dont really "know" you are dieting. All the control is done "on paper" through the calorie counts.
Bottom line - aim to keep a consistent volume and tweak the calories within that, both up and down the scale for life.
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