It seems there are 2 trains of thought about life with VSG- Deep Thoughts?

Mariana Trench??? LOL!

 
Is that next to camp "wannacheeseburger" that is next to camp "wantmesomenookie" ???

frisco

Awesome post Jimbo! That is what I strive to follow for sure. I am pleased with my results and feel fabulous, so I guess, so far, so good.
Thanks!
Linda B

 

I totally get what you are saying, but had to say that I don't consider myself deprived for making good choices as often as reasonably possible. Since I don't value the tastes of "party" foods anymore, and I don't have that mindset, "deprived" is not the way I feel.  Deprived was the way I felt when I was carrying around another 165 pounds.

Well my thinking....and past experience is....when I...and many other people i know...follow the "all or nothing"  diet....mindset....it is bound to get the best of you...at some point!  I do not know of too many people...that can follow ANY super strict...eating plan!...I'm guessing less than 5% of peoples (especially MO people)...can do that...LONG TERM!  Funny that it is the same percentage of people  that can successfully lose a significant amount of weight with "diet and exercise" alone...and be successful...long term!  i don't fall into that 5%....and needed WLS to help me.   So that is what i mean by NOT feeling "deprived"  I eat healthy most of the time...but allow...some "BAAAD" foods in....I find it is easier for me....I DO NOT feel like I'm on a "diet"...when I did Atkins....etc before...I felt VERY deprived...and would give up! Just did not work for me!  And about the extra "weight" you were carrying around...I get it....I was carrying YOU....at your starting weight plus another 230lbs!...at one time!  preaching not necessary for this choir!

Pre op,I was sincerely hoping that I would be in camp 2. As it turned out,it was not a choice I was allowed to make...at least not if I wanted to continue to lose weight.

After years and years and YEARS of yo-yo dieting,I have completely wrecked my metabolism. I am so carb sensitive that even good carbs,occasionally,will stop my loss.

So,I am solidly in camp 1. (hope I haven't got my camps mixed up,lol).

I discovered this the hard way. I spent the first 6 months post op,solidly low carb. I lost every week,consistently,without a stall...every single week the scale went down. then I went on vacation. I decided to have a few "treats". I had been a good girl,after all,had I not? I deserved a little treat.

Came home from vacation and hadn't gained any so I thought I was cool  to continue with little treats and to add in some good carbs,too. So I did and immediately my loss stopped. I started bouncing around between the same two weights,without getting any more real loss.

Like a fool,lol,I did this for another 6 months,wasting valuable losing time. I have finally been able to force the "its yummy" monster back in her box and as long as she stays there,I can lose.  I am losing again and I have learned that I can't do anything but low carb if I want to continue my loss.

I personally think that having to do low carb sux big time. I also think not losing sux big time. for me,it is a choice of which big sucky situation I can live with best. Right now,I can best live with low carb and losing the 48# I have to go to  get to goal.

I believe,for me,I have found the solution to maintaining,when I get there. I believe,from this past 6 month experience,that I will be able to add in good carbs to maintain where I want to be.

I also am pretty sure that I will always have trouble with things that are yummy to me. If they are yummy to me,I still want to eat it now,eat it all and get some more when it is gone.

I also know that getting it now,all and more makes me feel pretty rotten,so it is a trade off ,again for me.

Good luck in your journey and don't be afraid to find out what works best for you,just be careful,be very careful,as you proceed.
GL

I fall in the second group.  I have done low-carb living before...prior to surgery.  And, I was extrememly successful with getting weight off when low-carbing.  HOWEVER...that wasn't the life for me and as soon as I started to introduce carbs back into my life, I gained.  Not a couple of pounds....I gained all I had lost and then some....60 or more pounds of then some. Mind you, prior to surgery, low carb was really the ONLY way I had ever lost any measureable amount of weight.

I also realized that my problem prior to surgery wasn't eating the wrong things.  I never was a junk food junkie, didn't care much for chips, candy, cake, baked goods...you know, all the carby things in the world.  Sure, I liked them, I enjoyed them in moderation if they were around but I rarely, if ever, bought them to have at home.  MY problem was a) eating to excess as I was NEVER full and b) greed.  If those types of items were in my house, I would eat them and continue to eat them until I was stuffed...not because I loved them but because they were there and I was starving...I was starving ALL.THE.TIME.

SO, I went into this knowing I wanted to live without ever having to be on another "diet" - no carb watching, no extreme low carbing, no counting points and so on.  I didn't need that.  I needed to feel full after eating the same items I ate preop.  And, now I do!

Its hard to say.  I am so new to this - I am trying a little of this and a little of that. I excercise at least 4X a week, and  I have allowed myself some junk food, but as I get further in on this journey,  I find that I feel better physically and mentally without junk.  I simply dont want it or need it every single day. So far it hasnt seemed to slow or stall me, but I am leaning more towards keeping it simple.  Low carb is really my only option at this point if I am to get in all of my protein, and my husbands a fantastic cook, so I dont feel deprived. I have been pretty happy this entire process really.

I dont think I will ever totally eliminate junk, especially when Aunt Flow is in town, and if I am eating well and exercising as I should almost all of the time then I am not gonna trip over a few- and i mean very few -  junk food items.  I dont and wont keep them in the house though, for my family's sake as well as mine.

I am raising my hand to the 'second camp'.  Here is a sample of yesterday's breakfast:  

  1/2 small pancake with one Tablespoon of maple syrup
  1  small sausage patty
  1  scrambled egg (which I shared with my grandson)

Could I fit into smaller clothing if I cut out the carbs?  Possibly, but history has proven that deprivation
does not work for me on a long term basis.

I say find what works for you and enjoy the ride!

 

I fall into both categories!  While I was actively losing I ate quite low carb...not no carb, but low carb.  I focused on protein first and really didn't have room for much else.  Now that I've been in maintenance for a good long while, I practice the protein first rule still but do allow myself to stray off plan occasionally.  However, I make room for a small piece of chocolate or a couple of peanut MnM's every day.  Just a bite or two is all I need.  I don't eat fast food anymore cause, well it's just plain nasty and if I want to cheat I can think of other better ways to do it!  I probably eat in the neighborhood of 100 grams of healthy carbs a day, but I am and always have been an exerciser.  I've had no trouble maintaining thus far.

Laura