Intermittent Fasting and VSG

sylv
on 8/21/12 8:14 am - NC

VSG on 07/15/12 with

It seems to me that with the loss of hunger from VSG we would be better able to apply intermittent fasting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermittent_fasting

Has anyone tried it? I am going to ask my Dr about it, but was wondering if anyone else had looked into it.

Age 39, 5'11", HW: 295, SW 285, M1 -40lbs

acbbrown
on 8/21/12 8:29 am - Lancaster, CA

VSG on 06/10/11 with

Sure, it might be easier, but seeing as how many of us come from a long history of diet after diet, I'm not sure I'd call this an appropriate process for us mentally.

I had WLS to help me change my lifestyle, my eating habits, and my relationship with food. a 24 hour fasting period is pretty much everything i should not be doing. It is not a sustainable life style, and it's not like its going to give you some huge benefit that you can't obtain by eating sensibly and living a healthy life style.

SO - ask your doc, and more power to you if you want to do it.

www.sexyskinnybitch.wordpress.com - my journey to sexy skinny bitch status

11/16/12 - Got my Body by Sauceda - arms, Bl/BA, LBL, thigh lift.

HW 420/ SW 335 /CW 202 85 lbs lost pre-op / 133 since surgery (lowest weight post op: 188)

~~~~Alison~~~~~

Mom4Jazz
on 8/21/12 8:35 am

VSG on 04/18/11 with

It's hard to imagine this would work with a VSG, simply because of the capacity. The idea of intermittent fasting is to concentrate all your calories within a certain short (6-8 hour) window of the day. You might be able to get in enough calories during the loss period, but it would be tough to do so in maintenance.

Here's the thing: The long term success of any weight loss surgery depends on using the immediate post-op time to build good, sustainable new food habits, not to try this or that fad to get the weight off. A good eating plan with lean, healthy food choices is your best bet.

At least that's my two cents. YMMV.

Highest weight: 335 lbs, BMI 50.9
Pre-op weight: 319 lbs, BMI 48.5
Current range: 135 - 139 lbs, BMI 20.5 - 21
Goal range: 140-144,BMI 21.3 - 22 (currently trying to gain back 5 pounds)

175+ lbs lost, maintaining since February 2012

sylv
on 8/21/12 9:04 am, edited 8/21/12 9:10 am - NC

VSG on 07/15/12 with

I was considering occasional fasting as a healthy lifestyle choice. I'll have to ask my doc more about it to see if it is healthy to do on the long term.

I want to develop healthy eating habits for sure - this topic came up while I was reading about healthy diet and lifestyles

You actually get there from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie_restriction

Ms Shell
on 8/21/12 9:12 am - Hawthorne, CA

VSG on 11/26/07 with

Occassional fasting is a wonderful thing if you can do it. My friend does something "similar" every Monday is a liquids days. She does shakes and blends up vegetable soup.

Ms Shell

"WLS is only for people who are ready to move past the "diet" mentality" ~Alison Brown
"WLS is not a Do-Over (repeat same mistakes = get a similar outcome.) It is a Do-BETTER (make lifestyle changes you can continue forever.)" ~ Michele Vicara aka Eggface

sylv
on 8/21/12 9:38 am - NC

VSG on 07/15/12 with

That is sort of what I was thinking of doing. 1 day per week is fasting, the rest are following my nut's eating plan.

Ms Shell
on 8/21/12 9:55 am - Hawthorne, CA

VSG on 11/26/07 with

I would wait until you were further out unless you are going to include protein in your fast days, because protein is really important right now.

Good luck =)

"WLS is only for people who are ready to move past the "diet" mentality" ~Alison Brown
"WLS is not a Do-Over (repeat same mistakes = get a similar outcome.) It is a Do-BETTER (make lifestyle changes you can continue forever.)" ~ Michele Vicara aka Eggface

roxyrocks808
on 8/21/12 10:13 am - Waialua, HI

VSG on 05/30/12 with

The program we have at Kaiser allow us to go back to our liq faze diet whenever we need to get back on track or we're having medical issues, like nausea, vomiting etc. I've never had any of those problems but I have been stalling with my WL and considering this option to get me back on track. Our liq faze still allow for our protein intake to be same and then other liq throughout the day.
I think doing this one day a week would be OK. I have a call into my Nut to confirm....

AnnieinIA
on 8/21/12 10:21 am

This is a rather complicated topic. I have long been interested in the concept of calorie restriction and the possibility that it can prolong our lifespan. However, that is actually a different purpose than weight loss. I have used intermittent (and prolonged) fasting to lose weight in the past. Although I know it can have health benefits, I know for me it can be part of an unhealthy response to my desire to lose weight so I made a commitment to myself not to go down this road.

That said, depending on what plan you follow, eating 500-800 calories per day (which many do in weight loss phase) is already firmly in the "calorie restriction" range so fasting doesn't have a place (just my opinion) in our world until maintenance when we will eat more calories overall. Many people who fast on some days eat considerably more than we do even if we are in maintenance.

happymom80
on 8/21/12 1:00 pm - MO

VSG on 03/05/12 with

Just as my own personal mantra right now - I am trying very hard not to get "caught up" in just another weight loss idea or tool or tip. I have done something very dramatic, drastic, and invasive. I want to give this my best and complete attention so I can be successful with it, rather than "chasing" the dream of something faster or better or easier.

I feel like I have wasted so much of my time, money, and energy trying all kinds of stuff for years, and now, I am just focussing on what I have done. There is no more money to spend, no more new things to add right now. It is time for me to master what I have done and what I already know.

Maybe after that has happened...I will explore other nurtitious changes and ideas...but for now, I need to master what I know.

It is a hard habit to break for me though...the idea that something else might be helpful or that I need to do more or whatever. It's hard to just give in to the process and stop looking for the next great thing. But it's important to learning to live in the now...to being fully engaged in the process.

HW: 350+ (I didn't look after that) SW: 328

INgirl
on 8/21/12 1:33 pm

VSG on 04/11/11 with

I have read only briefly on it a few times over the last couple years, and it and CR intrigued me for the (not proven yet?) health effects etc. I have an acquaintance that swears on a form of IF, using fats/bulletproof coffee etc.. he is rocking some serious changes, in that "just converted" health zealot way.

I have had no serious interest in either. Some of it makes sense to me.. but I'm a. too lazy to bother really getting into it.. and b. it feels a little extreme/unnatural to me.. and I'm already playing in the fringe on my workout currently.

If you were interested in either, I wouldn't consider playing around until well, well into maintenance.

~Find me on the VSG Maintenance Group page here.~

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Intermittent Fasting and VSG