adjusting to new way of eating

[Jasper60]

Hi, I just wanted to know how any of you fellow sugar and carb addicts have made the adjustment after the sleeve. That's my biggest concern as I start the process.

[cssamo]

Sugar is your enemy. lol

[brightnessofhope]

It is definitely something to be concerned about. I have no issues with any of the so- called "bad foods." They all go down soooo easily. However, if you make a commitment to ALWAYS eat your protein first, you won't be able to eat much of the carb foods. You simply won't have the room. And, I use Myfitnesspal.com to track every single bite. I think maybe it helps me not to eat more than I would have of the treats, since I am seeing the damage in black and white. Good luck to you!

[StephO]

I'm just over 2 years out, and struggling with carbs/sweets as of the last several months (many things contributed to that). While I'm certainly not as bad as I used to be, I have gotten away from where I want to be. The sleeve is not a cure. It's up to you to stay motivated, and remain strong with your convictions to eat healthy. It's easy to get back to old habits with time.

[julesdeck]

I am Italian and have always had a high sugar high carb lifestyle. After my Dr seminar, I started slowly removing things from my home and diet. Very slowly but by the time my surgery came around, I was off of most of it. During my liquid preop, I had awful headaches due to my system purging what remained of the sugar and carbs. Once that was done though, I felt great! More energy, no more bloating, no more headaches, it is amazing. I am 4 months out and feel great so far. I still struggle mentally with it and really want a bear claw pastry today, but I won't because it just isn't worth it. Good luck.

[VSGSetyoufree]

I second what Julie posted. I used to eat pizza, pasta, bread etc regularly (not too big a sweet eater except for ice cream) and now about 50 days since I started the liquid pre op diet I haven't had a single food that would be considered 'cheating'. You really don't crave what you may have used to crave. I have no desire to wolf down a few slices of pizza. I guess in my mind I do miss it a little, but in reality there is no way I could eat it if I tried and it doesn't bother me. Willpower has been surgically inserted in me.

[Pangie82]

Hey Julesdeck, I am Italian also. Our foods are based around starch.. pasta, sauces, bread. Being that I was banded in 2008.. i have had to cut out all breads. At first it was hard, head aches... ridiculous how a food item can make you feel like this. I do not crave it anymore at all. When and if I do eat a bread item, pizza crust... i feel bloated and sluggish.

I do like the crispy crunchy crusty type bread items... the hard dried bread sticks.. swirled in some home made gravy. YUMMMM!

[Ann2]

Millions of diabetics have learned to adjust their food choices to limit and manage carbohydrate intake. It seems obvious (am I right?) that the reason so many pre-op diabetics find the sleeve initially so helpful in reducing or even eliminating their diabetic medicines is not because of some surgical mojo that was performed on their stomachs, but because post-op they are eating very, very low amounts of high-carb foods and, instead, eating a high-protein, low-carb diet.

Yes, lifelong obesity creates some powerful, complex body chemistry and behavioral barriers to living healthfully. But we're still going to have to make long-term adjustments to our menus. Those adjustments mainly require that we eat a helluva lot less of the highly processed carbohydrates (sugars, flours and starches).

I'm not yet dealing with these choices (I'm not yet a month post-op yet). But any WLS patient who hopes to go back to the same menus they once "enjoyed" and expect they will retain the long-term benefits of WLS is ... unreasonable, even (harsh word) ludicrous.

[Jasper60]

thanks for your replies- one other thing I'm curious about. I was reading that the average woman (no surgery) needs 46 grams of protein a day, why do you as gastric sleeve patients need to eat almost twice as much?

[Ann2]

Jasper, 46 grams is probably appropriate for a woman who weighs 140 pounds or thereabouts. The heavier you are, the more muscle mass you require to maintain your muscle mass, repair your body (which was just operated on) and (for most of us) build new muscle.

Also, modern medicine has now recognized the superiority of high protein, low-carb diets to lose and maintain weight loss.

See this recent NYTimes article:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/0...ype=blogs&_r=0

[candik]

i have eliminated a lot of that stuff from my diet. My carbs consist of oatmeal, greek yogurt, granola, veggies, fruit (usually berries that I put in the oatmeal and yogurt), sweet potatoes, and quinoa. I haven't touched bread, rice, pasta, dessert, chocolate, candies, tortillas, potato/corn chips, cereal, or crackers since my pre-op diet which is almost 10 months ago. I don't forbid them I just choose not to eat them. When I detoxed from all of that stuff I could feel the difference in made in my energy, moods, and cravings so when I got to the "eat anything you want" stage after surgery I just decided I really didn't need that stuff because it didn't provide the nutrition I needed. What I refer to as the "ugly carb monster" remains quietly sleeping and hasn't been awake trying to tempt me into getting back on the food roller coaster.

[Jasper60]

thanks so much Anne for your reply

[jim1968]

Can someone post a link to foods with high protein, I want to build my arms and chest soon after I recover.

[Jasper60]

.healthaliciousness.com/articles/foods-highest-in-protein.php

wouldn't let me post whole link, so put www in front of it