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asgcpa

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Prior to my WLS the surgeon put me on protein shakes for 2 weeks. Lost 22 pounds. Decided to go back on it. Need to lose another 60 pounds. Anyone ever do this type of diet?
 
asgcpa said:
Prior to my WLS the surgeon put me on protein shakes for 2 weeks. Lost 22 pounds. Decided to go back on it. Need to lose another 60 pounds. Anyone ever do this type of diet?
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My wife convinced me to liberalize my diet for Thanksgiving and have not tried to limit my intake until today. I'll fast today then on protein powder for a while.
 
I can't recommend this for anybody. I need to break my addiction to carbs and this works for me. I use a whey protein powder (chocolate peanut butter flavored) three times a day for a couple weeks then a more sane low calorie, restricted carb diet.
 
Substitute a protein shake for a meal or a snack, eat multiple smaller meals. Just look at you overall caloric intake, reduce it, and make the shakes part of it. If you go straight protein, you will lose weight, but you will end up gaining almost all of it back when you go back to your regular diet.
 
Geico266 said:
What powder are you talking about and is that all you "eat"?
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I use Bariatric advantage. 2scoops is 150 cals. You can mix with water, milk, fruit etc. obviously caloric content increases as you add ingredients. But it's the best stuff, I have found, actually somewhat tasty. Strawberry and chocolate are good with skim milk. Vanilla can be used with pineapple chunks, imitation coconut syrup, and ice chips. Blend well and you have a piña colada.
 
FastEddieB said:
22 pounds in two weeks?

I thought that was well in excess of what was considered healthy.
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This is medically supervised and in the lead up to bariatric surgery. The purpose is to shrink the stomach before sleeving/banding/stapling. In general, though, you are correct. Especially if its sustained.
 
Whatever works, but I still think that you should use a diet that is as close as possible to what you would normally eat, and simply control your portion sizes. Otherwise, once you get back on your "normal" diet you will simply gain the weight back, since it is your normal diet that put it there in the first place.
 
steingar said:
Whatever works, but I still think that you should use a diet that is as close as possible to what you would normally eat, and simply control your portion sizes. Otherwise, once you get back on your "normal" diet you will simply gain the weight back, since it is your normal diet that put it there in the first place.
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That's sort of like telling a heroin addict to cut back a little. Sugar is addictive.
 
Protein shakes IMHO are not a sustainable diet. Try low carb. Been on it for 5 years...lost excess weight and my lab numbers are better now than when I was a teenager (and I'm 59).
 
:)
So, you are now 1 year away from the magical Step #2 age for metabolitic slowdown (Step 1 @ age 40)
happy trails ....
 
Gary F said:
That's sort of like telling a heroin addict to cut back a little. Sugar is addictive.
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For you, and I laud your decision to abstain. Couldn't have been easy. We've been able to effect tight portion control on sweets, though I have to abstain totally if I want to loose weight.
 
Wait a minute. I was drinking protein shakes for awhile in order to gain weight, or at least to maintain it, when other food wad not particularly appetizing. This was my idea (the protein shakes), not a suggestion of anyone. Made a lot of smoothies too, with fruit and ice cream. :D
 
Low carb works well for me. If I eat much for carbs now I just feel instantly sick.
 
Gary F said:
I can't recommend this for anybody. I need to break my addiction to carbs and this works for me. I use a whey protein powder (chocolate peanut butter flavored) three times a day for a couple weeks then a more sane low calorie, restricted carb diet.
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The primal/ paleo folks claim some people get 'carb flu' when getting off the stuff. Supposed to last 2 weeks until you feel better.
 
Eat fruits vegetables eat all organic cut down on gluten Etc now that sounds a lot more healthy than a month of one thing only.
 
Want protein? Eat split pea soup. While perusing this thread I was simmering 1/2 cup of split peas in a pot for lunch. That amounts to about twice the World Health Organization's daily protein requirement, IIRC. Tasted so good, I ate every last one! Haven't eaten meat, fish or dairy for over two years. Not worried about eating enough protein ever since I read how even lowly iceburg lettuce has all the essential amino acids, provided you eat enough calories of it or other plants every day. Of course, if you want to survive on lettuce alone, you'd need to eat about 40 pounds of the stuff. :)

dtuuri
 
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Been strict low carb since April. I also cut out some of the higher calorie easy to go overboard items that are lower carb. I have averaged 2.2 pounds a week in weight loss.

Have not cheated at all since I started not even over the Holidays. For me it is easier than trying to cheat for a week and get back on. Too easy to tell yourself "one more day."

The biggest drawback for me is the lack of variety and I have always had a thing for salty and crunchy (potato chips and such) there is very little in the low carb world that is like that.

There is no way I could do protein shakes so more power to you if you can.
 
FastEddieB said:
22 pounds in two weeks?

I thought that was well in excess of what was considered healthy.
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Most of this is water weight. Each gram of glucose holds onto about 4 grams of water. So once you flush out the glucose the water joins it.
 
48dodge said:
Most of this is water weight. Each gram of glucose holds onto about 4 grams of water. So once you flush out the glucose the water joins it.
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That's it. I **** like a racehorse for a week or two when I go ultra low carb.
 
Again, I had a modicum of training in this field, albeit some time ago.

On the one hand, whatever works for you.

On the other hand...

1) Diets of exclusion rarely work. Your "appestat" is highly evolved to want certain nutrients. When you just say, "NO" to certain macronutrient classes (carbs, fats or proteins), the body, needing a balance, rebels. Craves. Even forbidding yourself specific items (refined sugar, chocolate, salt, whatever), is also usually doomed to fail.

2) The human body can exist on a wide range of diets. There's no "best" diet. Eskimos can live on high fat diets, Orientals on mostly rice and fish, Mediterraneans on lots of carbs and oils. Each group will be prone to some conditions and likely more resistant to others.

3) Before you start any diet, ask if you'd be content to stay on it the rest of your life. If the answer is no, as soon as you go off the diet you'll likely return to your old diet, and probably your old weight - plus some.

Anyway, I'm not a dietician or nutritionist - and only those specialties are really trained to prescribe diets. Improper diets can and have sickened and even killed. Best I can offer is some very general guidelines, which may or may not apply to you.
 
That could be taken as an excuse to stay fat. I agree the diet restriction stuff doesn't work, but going high fat low carb with a little discipline works well. Once you force yourself past carbs as energy and eat eggs, plants and meat, it easy to pass on the pasta and pie. It still tastes good but you aren't hungry so it is easier to maintain discipline.
FastEddieB said:
Again, I had a modicum of training in this field, albeit some time ago.

On the one hand, whatever works for you.

On the other hand...

1) Diets of exclusion rarely work. Your "appestat" is highly evolved to want certain nutrients. When you just say, "NO" to certain macronutrient classes (carbs, fats or proteins), the body, needing a balance, rebels. Craves. Even forbidding yourself specific items (refined sugar, chocolate, salt, whatever), is also usually doomed to fail.

2) The human body can exist on a wide range of diets. There's no "best" diet. Eskimos can live on high fat diets, Orientals on mostly rice and fish, Mediterraneans on lots of carbs and oils. Each group will be prone to some conditions and likely more resistant to others.

3) Before you start any diet, ask if you'd be content to stay on it the rest of your life. If the answer is no, as soon as you go off the diet you'll likely return to your old diet, and probably your old weight - plus some.

Anyway, I'm not a dietician or nutritionist - and only those specialties are really trained to prescribe diets. Improper diets can and have sickened and even killed. Best I can offer is some very general guidelines, which may or may not apply to you.
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ClimbnSink said:
The primal/ paleo folks claim some people get 'carb flu' when getting off the stuff. Supposed to last 2 weeks until you feel better.
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This is the basis for Atkins-get off carbs. That means sugars, alcohol, grains, etc. everthing that metabolizes to sugars. if you can get thru the first 3 days or so, you'll be fine. You go cold turkey off the carbs - often get headaches, grousy, etc. As mentioned earlier here, it really is an addiction and you go thru the withdrawal.
 
ClimbnSink said:
That could be taken as an excuse to stay fat.
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Not meant as such.

Weight loss is simple, but it's not easy.

Balanced diet and control of portion size to reduce calories in.

Increase activity, even modestly, to increase calories out.

To lose a pound of fat, some combination of the above needs to result in a 3,500 calorie reduction or expenditure.

No major modification of macronutrient balance is necessary.

But everyone is different, so if you've found a regimen that takes off pounds and keeps them off, the proof is in the pudding (so to speak, assuming pudding is allowed ;) )
 
I've been very very low carb for over a year now. If I eat a bun on a hamburger I literally get sick. Hours of upset stomach. It actually hurts. Sweets are even worse.

It's quite easy to avoid eating things that are bad for you when those things make you sick guaranteed each time you've caved.
 
My wife just made us a fantastic ricotta bake. All the great flavors of Italian food with only 10g carbs and 370 calories. Add in 32g protein and it's a winner! :) Not only was the flavor profile excellent, it was very filling.
 
pilot_dude said:
My wife just made us a fantastic ricotta bake. All the great flavors of Italian food with only 10g carbs and 370 calories. Add in 32g protein and it's a winner! :) Not only was the flavor profile excellent, it was very filling.
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You should give the recipe, please.
 
jesse said:
I've been very very low carb for over a year now. If I eat a bun on a hamburger I literally get sick. Hours of upset stomach. It actually hurts. Sweets are even worse.

It's quite easy to avoid eating things that are bad for you when those things make you sick guaranteed each time you've caved.
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We like empirical evidence, but sometimes we can look at one or two factors (weight loss! feel great!) and still be missing something. That something can be, and is being proven to be among paleo dieters, the myriad problems that can arise from too-low carbs.

Very low carb is a great way to lose weight, and of course very low PROCESSED carbs is a good way to stay healthy and slim, but too few carbs of any kind, and you will eventually run into problems. I write this from experience. It can be googled, very low carb diet problems, or try paleo diet resistant starch. Or Paul Jaminet very low carb. Good, scientific stuff.

The bacteria in the gut need to feed on something, and they don't do well with fat and protein. If they don't get enough carbs, they can begin to destroy the mucous lining in the intestine. You do not want this to happen. Be careful with your gut, and do not rely forever on youthful resilience to carry you into a problem-free old age, when it comes to very low carb.:nonod:

I think Fast Eddie has it right ... eliminating whole macronutrient classes is not going to sustain your health. Again, I speak from experience with this, and have learned the hard way. We are mostly paleo but now with some rice and plenty of yams, fruit, potatoes, and such, more along the lines of the Perfect Health Diet by Paul Jaminet and his wife. It works really well. I went through, however, a long stretch of very low carb, for which I paid dearly.
 
Gary F said:
You should give the recipe, please.
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Because you asked, and my wife is nice :)

8 oz of Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (real stuff - not the junk in a green jar)
1 large Egg, beaten
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup Marinara Sauce (I used Mario Batali's marinara - only 6 gr of carbs for the 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup of turkey sausage crumbles
17 slices turkey pepperoni

Mix ricotta cheese, parmesan, beaten egg, seasonings together and place in a oven proof dish. Pour marinara on top and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake it in the oven @ 450 for about 20-25 minutes
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The ingredients as written above make 2 servings
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We doubled for leftovers - but did not double the meat or the marinara sauce


Enjoy!
 
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pilot_dude said:
Because you asked, and my wife is nice :)

8 oz of Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (real stuff - not the junk in a green jar)
1 large Egg, beaten
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup Marinara Sauce (I used Mario Batali's marinara - only 6 gr of carbs for the 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup of turkey sausage crumbles
17 slices turkey pepperoni

Mix ricotta cheese, parmesan, beaten egg, seasonings together and place in a oven proof dish. Pour marinara on top and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake it in the oven @ 450 for about 20-25 minutes
\\
The ingredients as written above make 2 servings
\\
We doubled for leftovers - but did not double the meat or the marinara sauce


Enjoy!
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Better than Strawberry protein shakes....lol
 
That sounds cool basically its a good thing to take if other stuff you are trying doesn't suit you.But going over the top can be bad so yeah take it according to the advice.


physical therapy business
 
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I yo-yoed a bunch of times with high protein diets. What is working for me now is the Medifast system. It's a low carb diet, basically about 1000 calories per day spread over six meals, 100 grams of carbs, and some fat.

In my case I started at 253 pounds on 1/16/2013. As advertised I lost about 4-5 pounds a week for the first 3 weeks, and then about 2 pounds per week after that.

After the first 3 weeks I was never hungry, which I attribute to the many small meals a day system.

On 6/6/2013 Dr. Bruce weighed me at 190 pounds. I suspect he had a toe on the scale, I think I was about 185 that day. ;)

I followed their transition plan for about a month and since then I've pretty much eaten a normal diet.

In any case I've stayed below 190 from that day to this, although I'm starting 2014 at 188, thanks mostly to over indulgence in cookies.

I do view carbs as the enemy, and try to minimize high carb foods as much as possible. I still try to eat several small meals a day, rather than two or three big meals.

I'm going back on Medifast starting on 1/16/2014 to try and get and stay below 180.

I really think that the Medifast meals are better designed than any other similar looking product I've tried, and I've tried a bunch of them.

Disclaimer: I have no connection with Medifast other than as a paying customer.
 
In my case, Intermittent Fasting has worked, I stop eating at 8.00 pm, and don't eat again until Noon the next day. Other "fasters" eat regular 6 days a week, and fast on the 7th.

I have lost 10 lbs that have never come off before, from 185 to 175, and I feel good about how I am right now. I eat a great lunch and a great dinner, with some snacks at 3.00 pm, but I never have to "count calories", because I don't feel the need to eat.

I even cheat sometimes, eating after 8 pm, or going out for breakfast with friends, but the next day I'm right back on the wagon.

The first two weeks were tough, but now I don't even want to eat 'till noon.
Here's some links with more info:

http://jamesclear.com/the-beginners-guide-to-intermittent-fasting

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/08/06/a-beginners-guide-to-intermittent-fasting/
 
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