I'm not sure!  http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/crossingtotransferaddictions/  Is the main group location.  Maybe you have to.  I don't really know how things work around here!

 

Megan,

 I really enjoyed reading your post. I am stuck after losing a little. I am new to this site and just got my band 6 weeks ago...have only lost 11 pounds. What is dumping? I am so curious after reading the post's. How do you motivate yourself? Bulawookie

Thanks for the replies, and yes, it definitely ruins the mood......for about 8 weeks!  lol

 

 

I think a few things... first when I decided to have surgery it was a "last resort" for me... I knew I HAD to make this work for me and there were no other options if I "failed". I told myself I would NEVER go back to the way I was NO MATTER WHAT!

I had a GREAT nutritionist... she really took the time to explain/educate and it awoke an interest in me. I started to educate myself further about nutrition, what is in foods and started to cook for myself more, grow some of my own foods and stopped buying prepackaged/prepared foods and making things from scratch at home.

I weight myself daily, always have and still do.. I have a "trigger point" where I know I am above where I should be an need to reel myself back in and take a look at what I am eating/how much exercise I am doing. This helps me to keep an eye on where I am at and not let things get beyond a point I feel I can control.

It is long - but it may help you...

 

I deal with severe RH ... plus some other issues.  But the Rh was really bad.  I had to completely change what and how much I am eating.  I also (finally) went to allergist and was diagnosed with dairy and soy allergies. Great, no?  anyway.. after crying for a day or 2 because I already had severe restrictions - I decided to act my age and changed my diet yet again .  

Add severe gut pains when eating - that is possible IBS-C (C=constipation) and more food restriction... (elimination FODMAP foods)

Anyway, right now - I eat and I no longer deal with low BS (unless I eat stuff that I know I can't-shouldn't)

Trial and error. 

here is what I do -eat: 

protein and fat at every meal - and maybe some carbs. My ideal meal has  calories: 45% fat +35% proteins +20% carbs..  And I am losing weight.  Yes. I gained weight due to RH. In the last 2 months I lost 10 lbs without being hungry or having one low BS episode.  In addition - most of the time my gut pain is very minimal (unless i do something stupid and pay for that for 3-5 days) 

Example of my daily eats: 

coffee with Miralax (followed by more coffee) 

Green tea, water (flavored)

vegan protein shake + added fat (note - the whey and soy allergy..plus plus)

some meat, or eggs or fish plus some  non starchy veggies that my body tolerates...

snack: nuts, homemade protein based cookies or bread (keto- paleo), or  meat stick, or nuts, or nut butter, or bacon - sometimes with or without veggies.. (cucumbers, NSA pickles, greens, roasted veggies, green beans,) 

Dinner - same as lunch.

LNS: just before bed I eat something that has fat and protein - mostly nuts or my own protein cookies.   I chose to have LNS so I don't wake up in a middle of the night with low BS - horrible horrible stuff...

 

In addition - once or 2 times a week I may have some fruits - but only berries - and never by itself -always with fat and proteins.  

I stay away from any starches.. (grains, beans, rice, potatoes, etc).  Either that stuff is going to hurt me or may make my BS to raise and then drop.  Yea - it is challenging at times - but it is what it is. 

There are a lot of web sites, with great recipes for keto style diet.  I don't feel deprived anymore. I eat burgers and steaks (only fillet - other - too tough - hurts), fish and shrimps and scallops, good sausage (no soy or wheat fillers), chicken and turkey, etc.  plus many veggies. I use coconut oil and bacon fat (no butter = dairy=allergies)

Due to IBS symptoms I also avoid (or really limit) foods from FODMAP (google that) diet. But that still leaves a lot of veggies I can eat. And the small qty of food I can eatin one time - really makes is less difficult to decide what to eat.  Traveling is *****allenging - but most places have grilled fish or chicken - add some veggies and I am set. 

Adding fat and removing carbs made my system rather stable.  Removing food I am allergic to - also helped.  

But I can't have just lean proteins - our body can and it will turn the proteins into blood sugar, so low fat - high protein diet - made me crash over and over.. I was in tears.. Changing  to proteins + fat really made a huge difference in my life.  I chose natural fats - coconut oil, avocado, nuts, olives, bacon fat (from bacon I crisp at home- yummm)  etc.

I try to make sure that even my shakes have 2:1 ratio (protein to fat) i.e. shake with 15 gr of proteins will have 5-8 gr of fat.  But too many fats and I got runs... 

That works for me. 

I still get carbs - but only from nuts, some veggies, some berries.  

I try not to use artificial sweeteners -  some people are very sensitive to them - and in some people - artificial sweeteners can cause insulin release = too much insulin = BS crash. 

I don't use SA (sugar alcohol)  - not only they give me pain - but my body sees them as pure carbs/sugar and I may crash. 

I don't use commercially available protein bars - some claims the low net carbs - do not apply to me. My body things it is all carbs.. 

I try not to use any cold cuts that have sugar added (read labels) so most jerkies are out.  and so on.. 

I do work full time and then some.. have a BF and active life.  But I cook and freeze to grab and go dishes. 

BTW: I test almost any new foods I buy - to see how my body will react to it. i.e. some very low carb egg protein shakes - caused a very rapid blood sugar spike and then RH - I had to return them.  The shake was all natural, with stevia - but with added enzymes - so my body got a shot of very predigested proteins - and even with the fat I added - the 20 gr of proteins - my body turned them into blood sugar very fast.  

I buy protein powders  because if I don't supplement - I can get close to 80-100 of proteins my body needs...And with my IBS- I can have no more that 2 max 3 meals with proteins before everything just start hurting. I was able to find a few brands of vegan protein powders  that taste good enough to drink. Some are just horrible ( so I use them to make cookies, protein muffins, etc). 

I hope that this info may help you in any way. You can PM me - or post your typical day - meals - and your reaction to them and I can tell you if that selection would cause bad reaction for me.