Calling all helpful losers (said with love)...

I am sure someone will have the answer to this question:  I am coming up on 4 weeks being sleeved and I am mentally planning out things to eat.  I read the posts on here several times a day.  It appears a key is low carb.  I have done Atkins in the past with good success, but it was also high fat (cheese, meat, sour cream, etc).  Should I not worry about the fat content?  I know I wouldn't be able to stick to a low fat diet. That is why I got the sleeve... For those of you who have followed Atkins in the past, is it important to be in Ketosis?  or do I just eat fewer carbs and not worry about getting into ketosis.

Primarily, of course, you should follow your doctor's advice; secondarily, I would say take it by trial and error and see what works for you. Some people do low carb (although if you are following the all-important "protein first" rule, that kind of happens by itself), others aren't as strict about that, and I think it really depends on our individual needs and body chemistry. Some people are also vigilant about fat. I am not, for three reasons. First, same thing here about the "protein first" thing - lots of high protein foods, meat, etc., are naturally low in fat. Second, we eat very little overall, and a certain amount of fat is crucial for the body. Third, fat has a high satiety response. So, I don't eat "low-fat" or "light" anything. I eat full-fat cheese, sour cream, yoghurt, and cream in my coffee, red meat when I feel like it (which isn't that often, actually, maybe once a week), chicken (don't eat the skin because I don't like it), fish, etc., nuts and peanuts, peanut butter, eggs. 

My rules are pretty simple: protein first, veggies second, simple carbs third, eat what I want, listen to my body, stop when I'm full. I SO do not want my life to be about things like peeing on a stick to check for ketones, etc., so I don't do any of that and after the first three months I stopped counting grams of anything, other than a rough count of my protein intake.

Anyway, that's what I do, for whatever it's worth. Besides whatever advice you are getting from your doctor/nutritionist, you might want to call out specifically to some of the other guys on the board, since men and women have partially different nutritional needs/metabolisms. 

Good luck! 

Unfortunately I don't have a doctor's advise to follow... Thank goodness for this site so I can get the bulk of my questions answered.  It is good to know to eat my protein first, then veggies.  I have never been a big veggie person, except asparagus.  I like your rules.  Simple and easy to remember. Just what I need.  Thanks.. : )

Hi,

Personally, I cannot tolerate fat anymore since being sleeved. I dont miss it since eating it makes me feel extremely nauseous. I eat mostlyfish, string cheese, salad with low fat balsamic dressing, chicken, sometimes steak with little fat. I eat carbs, but only for fiber like Kashi go lean (4oz of the high protein cereal, 1x per week oatmeal (plain with splenda) I eat one piece of 35 calorie bread a week (dont miss bread) Am I losing slower than most? Probably since I am a revision from lapband to sleeve and had already lost 1/2 my excess with the band. This works for me. Ocassionally, I will have a few teaspoons of peanut butter (gotta have the real stuff) and meat with a little fat, but since I am only eating 4 ounces or less a meal, I definitely want to maximize my intake with only healthy food.

Babs

I am trying to focus of eating only healthy food (thank goodness peanut butter is considered healthy). Being four weeks out I am able to eat more than 4 oz (I think I might have a larger pouch).  I have been able to eat string cheese, full fat cottage cheese, ice cream, etc without problem.  I would truely miss not being able to eat any fat...

Many of us here have advised to keep fat intake to < 30 g/day.   Fats has 9 calories per gram while protein and carbs each have 4.  That fact alone should discourage you from seeking out high fat foods. I've done Atkins at least 10 times with good results.  It's the post-Atkins part that I had trouble with.  To my knowledge Atkins doesn't encourage high fat, they just focus on high protein, low carb diets.  I never think about ketosis, I just follow the guidlines set forth by my nutritionist. There are low fat alternatives to everything you listed above and in many cases you couldn't tell the difference between different versions.  I really think that as small as your new stomach is you will have a hard time getting in the protein you need.  There won't have space in there to think about fat.  You might even find that a high fat diet does not agree with your new and improved digestive system.   You are coming up on week 4.  It's a little soon to start with the "I can't" stuff.  You've got 6 or so good months to quickly lose the majority of your weight.  Don't waste it.

Phil - When you cook your chicken for dinner do you find you cook it healthy (bake, broil, etc) or fatty (fried with a sour cream sauce)? I know I need to be focusing on eating more protein and attempting to segue into the "real food" part of having a sleeve. Currently I am getting it from EAS Low-carb drinks and cottage cheese.

Dude, lose the sour cream sauce!  I am grilling chicken as soon as I finish sending this it has a little bit of parmesean and LF mozerella on it. Back away from the ice cream too.  You are sabotaging yourself before you've even given your sleeve a chance to help you.  I'm not trying to be an ass but part of WLS involves you making good choices.

AAARRRGGGHHHH...No sour cream????? Just Kidding...I generally eat what my kids eat (I know it should be the other way around).  We eat out (or order out) almost every meal (we are not a cooking family).  I guess I am going to have to go out and buy a grill to start cooking outing.  And don't worry about being an ass...Honesty is always best and being blunt is usually the best way to get a message across.  Thanks again... : ) Jay

Hey Dad of Twins, I too had your surgeon and his eating plan leaves alot to be desired. I looked at it an laughed at first cause there was no way I could eat what was on there being a diabetic! I focused in the beginning on doing high protein, low carb and fats as much as possible. As time went on for me at about 10 months out I added more fruits...say a serving a day and healthier carbs(I am not a great veggie eater..I like green beans and salads mostly). But also that is when the losses slowed up for me too--that along with great weight loss makes it much harder to lose a pound now. I started out SMO so the road is a longer one for me than most and sticking to the high protein without a few carbs gets harder when you edge out to that first year. Make the most of your honeymoon period and work off as much weight as you can. That is my very best advice...stick to the proteins and low carbs for as long as possible.    Hugs Cathy