question about diet
hortensehildegarde
Posts: 592 Member
I have not had surgery but was hoping some of you could help me with my question since you know more about it than me.
I know post-surgery there is a VLCD that you follow due to allowing time to heal and such then eventually you eat more calories but it stays quite restricted especially at first.
I also know all of this is done under Dr. supervision. My question is do any of you have a doctor that would let you follow the VLCD without the surgery?
I'm trying to figure out if it's possible nutrition and health (not comfort level) wise to follow the diet portion without the surgery portion.
It's mostly just an "in theory" question because I am guessing that it would be very hard or impossible to eat that way without the sleeve. But assume for the sake of argument you could.
Does the sleeve make you need less nutrients or absorb them better? Sorry I am so ignorant and thanks in advance for educating me.
I know post-surgery there is a VLCD that you follow due to allowing time to heal and such then eventually you eat more calories but it stays quite restricted especially at first.
I also know all of this is done under Dr. supervision. My question is do any of you have a doctor that would let you follow the VLCD without the surgery?
I'm trying to figure out if it's possible nutrition and health (not comfort level) wise to follow the diet portion without the surgery portion.
It's mostly just an "in theory" question because I am guessing that it would be very hard or impossible to eat that way without the sleeve. But assume for the sake of argument you could.
Does the sleeve make you need less nutrients or absorb them better? Sorry I am so ignorant and thanks in advance for educating me.
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I lost 55 lbs just through the diet leading up to the surgery. It is hard to stay on the diet. I had some issues with my meds. (too strong) I had my meds cut in half, But, I went off the diet for about a month and gained 10 lbs back. It is a life change that is necessary not yo yo dieting.
The one thing I wished I knew previously is that you can have a lot of broth that fills you up and has few calories. Watch the salt.0 -
Talking to my surgeon, he told me that the hormonal changes that come with the removal of most of the stomach are as important if not moreso than the restriction. I lost 100 pounds pre-surgery and am finding post surgery that eating less than 1000 calories per day is incredibly easy. I believe that this is due to the hormonal changes (especially the reduction of ghrelin production, produced in the stomach lining).
For this reason, I believe that the VLCD would be much more difficult without the surgery. I was eating a 1500 calorie diet from April until my surgery. It was tough, but sustainable, although I couldn't count on keeping that discipline forever, especially with my history of loss and regain.
I went ahead with the surgery, and hope to lose another 60 pounds from today, eventually returning to a 1500-ish calorie maintenance diet. Assuming I will be able to eat more in 6 months than I can today, I hope that this plan is sustainable going forward.
Feel free to follow up with any questions, either here or in a PM.
Rob
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The office where I got my surgery used to offer the diet as a stand alone program. I actually did it for a while and was successful for a bit but then, as always, the weight came back with friends. My Dr.'s office has since discontinued the program because of experiences like mine, the fact that you really cant live that way and the expense of administration. They say it just doesn't have the success rate they need to feel like they can ethically offer it to their patients.0
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I am pre-surgical at this point and on the 1400 calorie diet. I can barely do that one, I can't imagine doing the post surgical thing without the diet. I would be out of my head with hunger. As it is, my hunger is there but it is not a growling tiger. As the weeks have gone on (I am on month two of five) I have gotten better, but it's only seeing a light at the end of the tunnel that keeps me going. I have lost ten pounds so far and probably will add another five at my next official weigh in.
But I do have to say that since this is all documented for the doctors, I have been much more ethical about not cheating and writing everything down that I eat.0 -
in theory i suppose it is "possible" BUT the only way the average person could ever stick to this diet is with the restriction from the surgery and the loss of the grehlin hormone... i am 4 1/2 months out and i promise i could not in any way possible eat 600 calories a day without the aid of the surgery. durring the presurgery diet, i was constantly hungry and had a headache..now i am rarely hungry... my stomach is full on a few ounces of food so i dont have the desire to eat. i wont lie, there are still days i struggle to make good choices (ie. my sons bday party surrounded by cake and ice cream) but it is a heck of a lot easier to do post surgery. also, the "wrong foods" upset my stomach so bad that i dont want them...knowing the pasta, rice, or choc cake is going to make me sick makes it REAL easy to avoid them ... lol0
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I have not yet had surgery either, but I couldn't imagine eating that low without it. The sleeve removes the part of the stomach that produces Ghrelin (which is basically a hormone that sends a message to your brain that you are hungry).0
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You would have to take your vitamin and mineral supplements just like you do post-VSG, and you would have to have your bloodwork monitored regularly for any deficiencies. Nutritionally, there shouldn't be any difference. But as others have pointed out, it's pretty much physiologically and psychologically impossible for 99% of human beings to stick to such and intense VLCD for a significant length of time without surgery to help them.0
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I am 3 years out from surgery and I can tell you with certainty, there is no way I would still be eating the plan if I hadn't had the surgery. I depend on my sleeve to keep me from overeating, it's an automatic portion control, even now. And if I overeat on anything remotely bad for me, I'm so sick feeling and uncomfortable that, well, Let's just say I so I rarely do that anymore because it's just horrible. Nutritionally it's no different for someone who hasn't had the surgery. You would still need to do blood work to monitor your nutritional levels, but I agree with everyone here. Without the surgery, maintaining the eating plan long term to lose and then for the rest of your life to keep the weight off is highly unlikely.0
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I will point out that practically all of us were weak as kittens the first six weeks. 20 min of exercise was like a 5k. You would definitely have to take a lot of vitamins. there are a million and 1 healthy 1200 calorie diets out there and for most obese people this is a VLCD. I am trying to get to 140 so I reset my cals from 1350 to 1250. I am finding it challenging. I don't know that 1250 cals a day for the rest of my life( unless I get in an hour of exercise to allow for a few more) is gonna be feasible. I am now 5'5" 148lb size 4 but crap, I am out of cals before dinner. So I may lose interest in size 2 pants.0
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There was not a chance is hell that I could have followed a VLCD with the surgical tool. My Dr. tried for years to get me to try less than 1500 calories to lose weight and was amazed at the success I had post surgery.0
