john48

Low carbohydrate diets go in and out of fashion for weight loss but a new piece of research suggests that an occasional low carb day is better to weight loss and heart disease in old age people.Exercise alone would not tend to help many people lose a few pounds. Low crab diet is necessary with daily exercise.

red-warrior

I like blending 1 container of cottage cheese in a blender with a little milk or cream till smooth. I then add a diet jello
that is mixed with only 1 cup of boiling water and blend till smooth. Tastes good and is low carb
I also make different home made soups and limit the carrots and potatoes to keep it low carbs but filling and tasty

resource fabricologist

We make low carb pizza. Take 1 lb. hamburger and spread it out as thin as possible on a cookie sheet that has sides. Bake it in a 350 degree oven for 10 min. Bring out of oven and drain off excess grease. Spread on pizza sauce...cooked sausage...pepperoni...ham...cheese...onions...spic es...anything you like on your pizza. Return to oven and bake till toppings are heated through. Slice and serve.

vickig626

I had gastric bypass over 4 years ago and lost almost 100# and have kept it off. What I found is, although I did my research for over a year before considering it, the physician's office did NOT have the long-term care in mind of the patient. I had to go to the hospital Medicare told me to so I didn't really have much choice. They only gave me close assistance for about 3 months then I was basically on my own.

I found a local hospital that had a support group and I was welcomed into the group. I learned there that they had long-term guidelines like what to eat, how much to eat, what to stay away from, etc. etc. It was very defined and well done. Unfortunately, because I didn't use their practice for my surgery, I could only go to the support meetings and not be able to obtain that 2" binder of great info. I even offered to buy it but they said no.

When my surgeon left the hospital I went to, I tried to get switched over to the doctor with the good support group. Again, I was denied. I discovered at that time that once you have this surgery, no other surgeon wants to take you for followup. The only way you can switch surgeons is if you moved very far away, like another state. So, when I needed hernia repair surgery, I had problems getting this taken care of.

Bottomline, I'm not sorry I had it done and would do it again knowing what I now know. BUT, I would have waited until I was able to choose the "right" surgeon group who really cared about the long-term care.

vickig626

I'll answer the low carb question in this post -- I did see a dietitian for guidance and she said she treated weightloss surgery patients. However, she still insisted on those government guidelines which caused me to put on a few lbs the first month with her so that didn't work.

I found (for myself) that I need to stay away from carbs, specifically bread. My diet consists mostly of a good protein and vegetable. For a carb, it's just a small portion of whatever carb I'm serving for that meal.

Example - instead of 2 pieces of toast for breakfast, I have 1 and I also look for thin-sliced grain bread which is healthier and less calories. As an evening snack, I'll have cottage cheese (Daisy is the tastiest) with pineapple or other fruit. The fruit becomes the carb (and low carb / calories).

You have to be careful with fruit because of the sugar but her body will tell her how much sugar she can handle. Too much and you get dumping....not fun.

At this point, I can pretty much eat anything I want except milk and ice cream (I can have a little DQ without getting sick) but I'm not much of an ice cream eater anyway. I just eat about half and I don't feel deprived and am much healthier.

I'd be happy to explain further what works for me so feel free to PM off-list and pick my brain.

I still consider myself a work-in-progress since I still need to lose another 40#. The doc said if I can't exercise enough, I won't get those last lbs. off but I'm not giving up, even if I can only lose 1 lb. a month, I'll get there eventually.

Sorry for rattling on and on but this surgery isn't for the faint of heart since we love our food.

romanojg

She will do fine on low carbs; Ive been doing it since I had the surgery for about 20yrs now. I do have my vitamin levels check alot and they just found out that zinc is another one that can run low on this surgery. Most of the people who gain alot of thier weight back is due to the higher carb intake. Ask me how I know.

The government guide lines aren't forevery one. Just like people who have this surgery won't all tolerate or not tolerate the same things; it's different for each person. Even before my surgery I always had problems with iron no matter how much I took and it's alot higher than the governments guide lines. I also have and do have problems with Vitamin D; my specialist says I take more Vit D than any of his other patients. We are all different and so are our needs. Cutting back on carbs is not that hard. Dreamfields makes a really good pasta; better than most. You just have to look and there are tons of books and info from online. Good luck to your daughter. She'll be fine and they know more about this surgery than they did 20yrs ago so it's gotten better. I just had a friend who had it last month. My best advice especially in the beginning (practice before surgery) is taking smaller bites and swallowing slowly. If you don't learn to do this your daughter will have lots of issues with reflux. My friend practiced before and couldn't believe how hard this its to do when you stop and think about how you are eating. She still has some problems now that shes slowly eating real food.

By the way; you can't have this surgery without having a dietition involved along with a phsyc eval and tons of other classes and test. There are even pre classes and after classes to help you understand what is going on. It doesn't take away you wanting food you have to put in the work there. When I went back up to 160 I went on the Southbeach diet; it follows closely what the surgery diet is; low carbs,low fat and higher protein. I lost my weight in less than 2 mos and that was about 10yrs ago and I stay around 130 now. Have her to check out the Southbeach diet; they have great recipes.

romanojg

I agree; I'd do it again but with a different surgeon. I ended up having 2 hernia surgeries and a tummy tuck with second. The doc didn't bill me for the tummy part and the hospital was covered by insurance. The reason I'd have a different doc is that he did what a lot do saying it's an easy fix (NOT) and never told me half of what I needed to know to make my recooperation easier. He had a support group at his house but I found out yrs later that I was one of the lucky ones. He ended up losing his license to practice first in a few hospitals then not being allowed to practice at all. There were alot of botched up jobs and people who had lots of problems due to his work. I'd had a referral from a friend when I went to him and she didn't have a problem so I figured I was good. I did get 100% checked out when I heard about all this and found out I was fine. It was scarey to think of what could have happened and not because of my body rejecting what I was doing but because he wasn't doing it like he should. Chose your doctors carefully. I've never had a doctor refuse me for anything but its not related to the surgery and I have a PCP who I see for most things. It is one of the best things that I ever did for my health, my staying around longer for my kids and grandkids.

Scakes

We use the Blue Diamond Almond milk. They have 1 that is Unsweetened and that is the 1 we get. It is very tasty (unless you don't like almonds).

mjhaess

Wow...being a nurse for 37 years, I would think twice before having gastric by-pass....Everyone responds differently but there are a lot of serious repercussions that could be in place. I hope this is her last resource and not her first...Best of luck to her.

JENNR8R

[h=2]TUSCAN VEGETABLE SOUP RECIPE<o></o>[/h]
Prep Time: 15 minutes Yield: 4 servings (1-1/2 cups per serving)

<o></o>
Really great, low calorie soup. Very easy to make too!<o></o>
Ingredients:<o></o>
1 tablespoon Olive Oil

<o></o>
1 cup diced Onion (about 1/2 large)
1 cup chopped Kale or Cabbage
1 cup diced Celery (about 2 stalks)
1 cup diced Zucchini (about 1 medium)
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Sage (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper, plus more to taste

<o></o>
4 cups low-sodium, fat free Chicken or Vegetable Broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced Tomatoes, with juice

<o></o>
2 handfuls Baby Spinach Leaves (about 2 cups packed)<o></o>
Directions:<o></o>
· Heat oil in a medium-sized soup pot over medium-high heat. Add veggies and spices (onion thru pepper), and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about five minutes.<o></o>
· Add the broth and, tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Add the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about three minutes more.<o></o>