What's the difference? Veterans needed....

 So, I am planning on trying either cutting carbs or doing carb cycling.  I just started thinking, everyone talks about how with Atkins you lose a lot of weight quickly but then gain back as soon as you eat like a normal person.  Why would this be any different? Is it really ok to eat such a small amount of carbs and then start adding in some fruit and not gain wright? I really want this to work but I don't want to get on some fad diet. How are people able to keep off the weight during maintenance?  I'm confused... 

I very much limited carbs during the losing phase. Tried to stay under 40. When I got closer to goal, I had to push that number down even further, closer to 20. When I got to goal, then I SLOWLY added some carbs back in, mostly in the form of fruit and a few other veggies (beyond the veggies I was already eating). Now that I've become a runner, I eat a few other carbs as well. My weight is pretty stable in maintenance, but I'm pretty vigilant abou****ching calories and exercising.

Carb cycling doesn't sound like the right thing to maximize weight loss, if that's what you are after. You'll be in and out of ketosis if you do that and so one day you'll be max fat burning and the next you'll be right back to storing glycogen. My opinion, of course.

Good luck!

I can only share my experience:

I did low carb, ALL carbs, none of the "net carb" mess through my losing phase. Staying under 40grams for the first solid 6.5 months until I achieved goal. Once I was trying to get into maintenance, #1 carbs made me feel like crap, I was sluggish, lethargic and overall just gross feeling. After talking to vets further out, and my surgeon, they all told me to add in healthy fats and foods that were caloric dense without changing my volume of intake except to add a "meal/snack" or two to my day. #2 I like fat, I ate full fat through my whole losing stage so I could handle throwing in 1/3 of an avocado or some nuts to get my losing to stop. Once my weight stabilized, I was still shying away from processed, white carbs, and fruits. I'm not a fruit eater, never have been, so "good carb, good sugar" blah blah, I still don't like fruit so I'm not going to eat those foods.

As the months went on, my weight stabilized and I got a bit obsessive abou****er weight, bouncing on the scale and being pretty darn excessive in my food choices. This brought on a vicious cycle of what reminded me of crash dieting, and I had to in a sense "let go" and find some moderation with ALL foods. I decided that 1/4 cup of mashed potatoes never made me fat, and if there was a bounce on the scale, it was water weight. This took months for me to really wrap my head around. Essentially, I became comfortable eating a very normal diet, including all foods, white carbs included, the one rule that I still follow to this day (except when a pregnancy craving wins) is that I eat my protein first. This leaves little to no room for crappy foods therefore I'm able to maintain my loss along with keeping my sanity. My husband had to hide my scale, I had to realize that I can indeed eat some chips or pretzels, I can even have a miniature snickers or 3 if I want. I'm not going to gain back 130+ pounds by having a couple of mini snickers a couple times a month. If I did it everyday, several times a day, with a milkshake on the side and some fries for dinner, yep my butt is going to get huge again. But, I do not know one skinny chick who can eat like I did pre-op and remain "skinny".

The problem comes when all the behavior modification that is set in motion during the losing stage is tossed out the window and a free for all mindset takes over. I've only gained real weight with my pregnancies. My first post-op pregnancy last year, gained 35lbs, lost 25lbs within 4-5 weeks of delivery, got pregnant 2 months after Tatum's arrival. I'm only halfway through this pregnancy and as of last night I've already gained 15lbs with this little nugget. BUT, I have no doubt in my ability to lose the weight. All the head work I did during my losing stage and maintenance year will be what gets me through back to goal.

I eat like a very normal person. What I ate pre-op was nowhere near "normal person" eating. No where even close. I honestly eat like all my naturally thin girlfriends. None of them eat a full entree at a restaurant, they either box up leftovers or the food goes back with the server to the trash. None of my naturally thin girlfriends have dessert with every meal, none of them can polish off an entire large pizza on their own, nor did they have that desire. So, what "normal" appeared to be pre-op is not even close to what "normal" is post-op.

 quick question- Did you count the carbs in the vitamins and calcium chewables in your 40 grams?  each one has 1 g.  That means I would have to keep it to 30 g a day

Yes I did. Every carb that crossed my lips was counted.

 Tiff..Ty so much for this post!! I cant recall the last time I bookmarked something on here but I really gleaned a lot from your response! 

I have been beating myself up a lot lately I think because I really do eat the way you describe. 

There is so much talk on here and on the maintenance forum about food addiction and following the rules and as I approach my two year mark I have made my peace with my size and where I am weight wise. but I struggle with my eating "plan" I love the way I look at a curvy size 8 but I think that despite the fact that I have maintained my weight for almost  a year now part of me has felt that as a  person who has had WLS don't *have to* give up sugar and carbs forever and never eat crappy **** because if I do I will for sure get fat again because look see...there are 400 people on OH who tell me so!!! 

But the reality is for *for me* I really can eat 2 bites of cheesecake. or 2 choclates a night (in bed!) AND IN MAINTENANCE. But like you..I didn't touch ANYTHING like that during the losing stage. And I realize that everyones reality of maintenance eating is different but I just was so relieved when I read your post...it was like getting permission to just be who I am...So thank you for taking the time to still post.you made a difference in my life today!..Gee do you think I can quit the therapist now???! 

PS. Congrats on all the baby stuff! You are a braver woman then I !

I'm not sure, where you are at, but during the losing phase, I did keep my carbs at 40-60/day and lost weight steadily. Some people are more insulin resistance, so they do better on very low carbs. Luckily, I was able to have some carbs (dairy, veggies) during my losing phase. When I hit maintenance, I added in a little more fruit, some complex carbs (oatmeal, sweet potato a few times/week), and of course veggies. After eating protein, I don't have a lot of room for very much of anything, so I will often have a snack of veggies. I eat healthy fats, like avocado, some nuts and nut butters, but in very limited amounts. I still measure and track my food. This helps me to remain mindful. Not everyone needs to do this, but during the past year since I have been maintaining, it would have been very easy to put on some weight by grazing and not keeping track of what was going into my mouth, if I wasn't tracking and weighing myself daily.

Fruit, one does need to be careful of, since it is high in sugar, but a little fruit with my protein drink or NF Greek yogurt seems to be fine for me. I use generally, 1/4, 1/3,1/2 cup/ twice/day, depending upon my carb allowance for the day and my exercise for the day.

Carb cycling is used by body builders, as a means to keep the metabolism going strong. By varying your daily intake, your body doesn't get use to a specific number of carbs/calories/day, which keeps your body guessing. It can be a great plateau buster. I have done this, sometimes unconsciously, but when I look back at my food logs, I can see that there is often times a variation in my daily intake. I've been doing this for the past week, and it is helping me to slowly lose a couple of pounds that I put on.

The key to maintenance, is practicing the same behaviors that helped you to lose weight in the first place, and just adding in some healthy fats and a few complex carbs (if you can handle them). If you return to former behaviors, you will regain the weight. It is all about protein first. That never changes, if you want to be successful. This is all about a change in lifestyle. Exercise is key, including weight lifting, which helps to maintain your lean muscle mass, so that you burn more calories, even at rest.

Hope this helps.

Gail

 Thank you everyone! I can not tell you enough how much your posts help me get through.  I hope someday I can do for someone what you all have done for me.