Future diet

I'm 11 days post op so I'm still on liquids.  I have a couple questions about my future lifestyle diet:   1. Will I ever be able to eat mashed potatoes?  I love mashed potatoes.   Will my diet primarily be similar to the Atkins diet?   Will I be able to eat fruit?  I meet with my doc for post-op on Monday, but this forum is where the rubber meets the road and you all are the voices of experience. 

Down the road, but yes, you will be able to eat mashed potatoes and fruit. I like a nice baked potato myself. During the early months it's best to limit carbs as much as you can to make the most out of this wonderful opportunity, but longterm there are no foods that you are forbidden to ever eat again. This is one of the many ways that DS is more livable than gastric bypass or any purely restrictive operation.

but always, protein first, which you already knew.

Larra

Thank you, Larra!  I'd read that this surgery allows us to eat more normal than the others.  HOWEVER, the idea is to eat healthier and not the habits I had before.  Just wondered if that could be in my future!   

Of course you want to eat healthier, but there is far more to why you are having bariatric surgery than that. You have to look at the results you will get, and the DS has the highest percentage excess weight loss and best maintenance of that weight loss of any presently available bariatric surgery. It also has the best rates of resolution of almost all comorbidities.

To my mind, eating a more normal diet is eating a healthier diet. There is nothing healthy about having a big list of foods you are never supposed to eat again in your life. There is nothing healthy about feeling deprived. Haven't we all been down that road a few times already? Also, what is healthy with the DS is different from what is healthy for you now. Since we absorb just 20% of the fat we consume, we can eat all forms of protein, not just lean protein. That opens up a large number of protein options and cooking method options. I see nothing unhealthy about variety in my diet or about enjoying food that tastes good.

Larra

You can eat mashed potatoes or anything you ant to eat. The real question is how badly do you want to lose weight?

You may be able to eat some potatoes n not stall your weight loss, ESP early on. I , personally can't or any other white carbs cause even dS ers absorb 100% of those carbs. Bodies have to hold water to process any carbs and that causes a stop in wt loss .

My diet is similar to Atkins... High protein, lo carb. I expect to always mostly eat that way. I can eat berries without a problem though all fruit is high in sugar and we absorb 100% of sugar.

I attest you stay away from carbs during the losing phase and see when u get to maintenance. It is Al's about developing new eating habits.

Gl

I get chicken sometimes from Boston Market with mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. Once I get the
protein in I have very little room for the sides. They last me about 4 meals. They don't cause me any distress 
and at those quantities I don't think it changes my weight loss. 

I am seven years out, maintaining well, and eat basically whatever I want.  I have had to adhere to very low gluten diet, as I get a host of negative symptoms when I eat wheat,    So, I eat mashed potatoes and potato chips, I eat corn tortillas, I eat fruit, and I even eat pie and cheesecake.   If you went out to dinner with me, you'd never know that I had any dietary limitations.    

Here are the big kickers though:  1)   I maintained a low-carb lifestyle until I reached a normal BMI.   For my first couple of months post-op, I kept my carbs under 30, then I upped it to under 50.   This isn't difficult to do, as we can eat so little, and need to focus SO much of our eating on protein at that time.   When I reached a normal BMI, I upped my carbs to 100 a day.   As I continued to lose, I just continued to add more carbs.    I reached a low BMI, and was able to get away with not limiting carbs at all for several years.   It was wonderful.   2)  Now, at this stage in my DS cycle, I need to rein carbs in, or I will gain.  My free ride is over.   I have found that if I eat pretty low carb on most days, I can loosen up for special occasions.   I don't *count* carbs, I *watch* carbs.    I was an active Atkins dieter for many years, and so have a good idea of how many carbs are in most foods.    This method has worked very well for me over the years.    

This is also a "results may vary" thing.   Some people have to stay very carb forever in order to maintain.   It's all about what is important to YOU as well.   If you are happy to still be in the obese or overweight range BMI-wise, then you can be freer with your carbs.  If you want to stay at a certain weight, then you will adjust accordingly.   I am small boned, and just a few pounds makes a big difference with me.  I don't want to go out and buy new work clothes or have a different wardrobe for every weight, as I did in my pre-DS life, so it's important to me that I make at least an effort to keep my carbs on the lower side.   I am a compulsive eater for life, and I STILL struggle with over eating and making good food choices, but it s FAR, FAR easier to do this now, as a DS'er, because we have the option of eating a full, fun, rich, tasty diet.     

I am concerned when I see people visit these forums with inadequate weight loss or weight gain who write, "I had this surgery so I would never have to diet again."   I don't know where they received their pre-op information, or how much of it they absorbed, but the DS is NOT a free ride.  It IS a gift - an opportunity to eat a more normal diet than you'd ever though possible. 

Good luck!

Thank you so much, Julie.  Your honest information is terrific.  No, I have not entered this expecting it to be a free ride.   That was drilled into me during the early sessions, and from the research I did.  I also do not want to be overweight, I want to be small and wear smaller sizes.  I'm not looking for size 2 - but I'm tired of these fat days and seeing who the new me will be.  I'm looking forward to learning a new eating style. 

 

Thanks again!

Then You are going to be an awesome DS'er.  I cannot begin to tell you what a positive change this surgery has made in my life.  More than anything, it's thee "normalcy" of it all.