Post WLS - Basically Atkins diet? Wheat Belly Diet? Still stalled.

It appears that basically what we eat after WLS resembles the Atkins or Wheat Belly diet-just a lower caloric intake and less fat. Am I wrong in that assumption?

I'm still stuck between 265 lbs &270 lbs. I initially lost a lot of weight my first 3 months but the last 3 months have been painstakingly slow! I had surgery 8/26/14 and in December I was down to 280 lbs from surgery weight of 330. Since then I have only lost about 15 lbs. I'm eating low carb, protein, fluids and I am exercising.

Perhaps my calories may be too high at 1200 daily but when I dip too low to 800 I'm get weak-maybe low blood sugar? So this week 'm going to try to go down to around 950. 

I realized that I was at the weight of 265 lbs-285 lbs for a very long period in my life (over 10 years) and from what I hear your body has a hard time breaking through certain metabolic set weights that you carried for a long time. I hope this is true. Still sticking to the program, happy where I am but admittedly it can become discouraging, but really what alternative do we have but to keep on? So I just have to keep thinking that it's all about health not just the weight-just keep getting healthier everyday by making healthy choices each day and eventually the weight wall will break down.

At almost 8 years post-op, what I eat doesn't at all resemble Atkins, but what I was eating when I was actively trying to lose certainly did.  (I have never heard of the other diet, so cannot comment on it.)

When I was losing, I ate probably 75% protein with some veggies and some occasional fruit or grains added in as the remaining 25%.  A fair amount of my protein came from dairy (yogurt and cheese) -- and still does, actually -- so my carbs were higher than for some who avoid dairy products.

Now, however... I don't specifically eat low carb OR low fat.  I eat primarily protein, and my carbs mostly come from protein (dairy or beans) or veggies, avoiding "white carbs" from sugar and flour products as much as possible without feeling like I am dieting.  Although I don't eat high fat items like fried foods or butter or cream sauces, I use a small amount of real butter on various things and eat many normal-fat items like cheese (rather then the reduced fat versions, unless I like the reduced fat versions just as well, such as with yogurt or cream cheese).

The 800 calories probably is too low, but weakness can be a sign that you aren't getting enough protein in those 800 calories.  1200, though, may be too high.  How about trying to meet in the middle at 1000 (which is a typical calorie intake for those in the middle of the losing phase)?

Lora

My food intake now isn't like the Atkins but I suppose if the way I ate in the first year or so resembled any sort of "named" diet, it was the paleo. Plain meat or fish, fresh veggies, a limited number of complex carbs and nothing processed. 

I lost on 1200 a day but I thought most sleeved people ate less. I would have thought most men would lose at that level, though. Have you really measured and counted every mouthful? 

No, I probably could be more conservative in how I measure and count food. I do put into MyFitnessPal on my phone but maybe I am a little too liberal in what I eat to the amount I enter. I guess I will start measuring.

Worth giving it a try for, say, a week.

I'm not too familiar with either diet mentioned, but I can tell you I've been looking through some of the paleo cookbooks to get ideas and I've had a lot of success.  The paleo diet, as far as I can gather, is structured around putting protein forward and avoiding processed foods, sugar, grains and dairy, and lowering carbs to non-starchy veggies and fruits.  I do include dairy - mostly greek yogurt, cheeses and soy milk - but I have really gotten a lot out of the books for weekly dinner and weekend cooking ideas.  I started by researching a bunch of books at my library, and from there I purchased two that I found really useful. 

I had to change up my activity recently and I felt like I hit a wall.  I was still shrinking, but the scale wasn't moving; until it did.  It took weeks, and I just kept plugging along, getting my cardio on and sticking with my plan and it finally happened.  What I'm saying is stay the course, make healthy choices and it's bound to happen. 

Best of luck!

What I eat is closer to paleo.  Focus on whole, real foods.  My meals are a shake and 2 solid meals that are 4 ounces each and mainly protein.  Sometimes my weight stalls, and that sucks, but it always passes eventually and life is amazing. :D

Here are my basics - 

1. Prioritize protein and water
2. Deprioritize carbs, especially the refined and processed ones
3. Make the most of healthy fats
4. Eat three meals a day with no snacks
5. Avoid liquid calories (breakfast protein shake is the exception)
6. Weigh portions
7. Eat mindfully and with no distractions aside from real live people
8. Move as much as possible
9. Weigh myself daily
10. Be kind to myself

What we eat during the wl stage does kinda resemble Atkins, but he doesn't have too much of a restriction on fat, in fact he was very liberal on the fat, it was carbs he was very strict on. I did Atkins & lost a good amt of weight with it, but couldn't keep it up cuz eventually I wanted carbs like fruit or rice & the diet had you staying away from those items., almost indefinitely.

1200 calories might have been good for you when you started, but you lost weight, so now you don't need as much as b4. You'll have to play around with the numbers & cut back. Try 1000 & be brutally honest what you put in my fitness pal, you might have had a higher calorie count when you first started than you thought you had. 

Personally, I am sticking to a keto diet, which is similar to pale and Atkins, however on keto you are supposed to get a greater percentage of your calories from fat. On a low cal diet I am burning body fat so still getting a majority of my daily calories from fats. I am 10 months out and still sticking to under 20g of carbs per day, approx 70g of protein and approx 50g of fat (from food, lots more comes off my body). 

 

Recently I started feeling dizzy or light headed and thought I needed to eat more. I DIDN'T AND I DON'T NEED TO EAT MORE. What was happening was my electrolyte balance was out. Low carb diets are diuretic by nature. I needed more sodium, magnesium and potassium in my diet. Since focussing on those I have been able to stick to 800 calories, still go to the gym 4 times a week, still lose approx 2lb a week and not feel light headed or weak. As a man (and I assume someone taller than me) you likely need more than 70g of protein. Hope this is helpful :) 

 Very helpful! So where did you get the sodium, magnesium and potassium from-and how while still sticking to low-carb? Supplements or particular foods?