Hi. I am new here (not to surgery obviously but to the site). I sort of stumbled onto this site trying to get some information on the South Beach diet. I thought I might ask if anyone here had WLS years ago and struggles to keep the weight off or even struggles with regain, etc. Perhaps I should just start with my problem. I lost a ton gained some, lost it all plus more, gained some and now I am back to needing to lose (realistically) probably 30lbs. My problem is that all these low-carb, low-fat or right-carbs, right-fats diets are just painful for me to follow. Number one because I am a CARB-A-HOLIC and number two because when I do these higher protein diets, I can hardly eat more than 500 calories/day and I get so sick of the protein that I end up screwing it all up. Even though it has been a while since my surgery, (actually my first was in 1988 and I was revised in 2000) I still can become totally full on half a cheeseburger. Add to it some lettuce, tomato, and what not and sometimes only 3-4 small bites will suffice. It's great and all but when my diet consists of mostly protein, I don't really lose too quickly (if at all) because (I think) I am not getting enough calories. Any suggestions or does anyone experience similar issues?

hmmmm. interesting... it sounds like, on the one hand, that the surgery has 'held' if ya know what i mean - and that the main issue is figuring out how to live a happy, healthy life that involves being able to lose and then maintain it.

did i get that straight????? i hope?

i don't usually suggest this, but perhaps a consultation with a dietician? it's gonna take some time to figure out the right balance for you, especially given the surgery. and ya gotta get enough protein - the malabsorption means that we need to consume more than un-surgeried people.

there's a school of thought that all of us who qualified for the surgery have insulin resistance, and that forever more, we have to manage our carbs carefully. it's about living, not dieting.

having said ALLTHAT - lots of WLS folks seem to do well on either WW or South Beach -

i can tell you what i'm SUPPOSED to be eating, and when - and trust me, i'm not perfect., but at least i know what i need to be doing. and when i do it, everything works...

schedule: eat every 3-4 hours
3 meals plus one snack

meal = protein [up to 20 grams or so], 12-14 grams of high-quality carbs, non-starchy veggies of the same volume of the protein serving. another way to look at it is that the protein and veggies are the same size, and make up 80% of the plate - the carb portion is 1/2 the veggie portion

snack = about 10 grams of protein and 7-8 grams of high-quality carbs, and some veggies.

Thank you for that information. You know way back in 88 the doctor who did my VBG (vertical banded gastroplasty for those who never heard of it...old school...and not laparoscopic) never even gave me a diet to follow or anything. When I left the hospital, I was given a paper, "what to eat after surgery". It just told me to eat liquids for some pre-determined amount of time. After that, I think I had 1 follow up appointment to remove the staples and to check that I had lost weight which I did (lots) and that was it. He didn't even do the revision. The Doc who took his place 12 years later did just about the same. But sent me home with a different paper that suggested liquids only for the next day...I was only there two nights that time as opposed to the 7 days alloted for the first time. Insurance! But after that day, I was to start eating everything just smaller portions. duh! I remember being totally afraid I was going to break something open so I stayed on liquids for a while. If I remember correctly, that paper was titled something like "After VBG". I must say though, he at least got really rude with me when it had been about a month after the revision and I had only lost like 10-14 lbs...extremely unusual right??? Well, I forgot what his exact words were but it was really hurtful. Something that made me feel like I was being scolded. That happened infront of my 3 year old son. Turns out, the antidepressant I was put on shortly after the birth of my 2nd son 10 months earlier, effexor, was very bad for someone having weight issues. Things are so different now. It seems that the doctors get more involved with the post-diet and all that. Well, I guess maybe it's their staff who do more of the follow-up. Still, I wish someone would have at least given me your formula. I am going to give it a try for this week. I'll let you know how it goes. One question, I assume that by "high-quality carbs" you are referring to the ones that are mentioned in SB book as "good" carbs? Trust me when I say...I am new to the "diet" scene.

Are you Canadian by any chance?

I guess I am supposed to answer this...no I am not Canadian. But I visited there tons of years ago as a kid. Why do you ask?

Is that what most WLS people eat...about 60-70 grams of food at a sitting. That is if I totaled it correctly. I'd love to hear what others are able to eat...possibly ones whose surgery was not as recent. I weighed everything out for breakfast and I was satisfied??? but not full by any stretch. Sound normal. I guess I will forever be wondering if the surgery is still intact/working. My father had it done after I did and his no longer seems to do anything for him. But then again, he didn't get his "revised".

I ask because the procedure was so common in Canada. I had the procedure twice. And the lack of follow up direction also common. No diet. No nothing. And no lap.

So you also had a vbg? May I ask when? I am curious as to how much you've lost, kept off total, how much you are able to eat now, etc. I've never gotten to talk to anyone else who had a vbg. Well, except my dad, and he is in a totally different world when it comes to diet. Thanks for posting.

Here's a link to some of my story l2h.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70437

The significant thing about my revision from a surgical perspective is that they ran 7 rows of staples and also wrapped my stomach with mesh to prevent any further damage. Part of the problem with the first one - again from a surgical perspective - is that my stomach adhesed to my liver among other things. That was a major repair in and of itself.

I had two failed surgeries and lost nothing due to the surgery but I had metabolic complications that should have been factored in but were not. Not like the surgeons didn't know about the pit tumour. They did. They were just so blinded by their determination to do this surgery on every obese person who crossed their paths that they went ahead anyway. At my expense.

The first surgery was about 11 years ago now, the second one 6. My weight loss came about only over the past couple years when I treated the metabolic issues. I still struggle like you wouldn't believe. Every pound has to be practically blown off by dynamite lol!