Hello Everyone

[skinner]

Hello Everyone,

I am a 59 yo male married with a wonderful wife and two great kids 21 and 15.
Five years ago, I was 6' 3" tall and 416 lbs., I underwent bariatric surgery, it is called Duodenal Switch (also known as Bilio-Pancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch also called DS.

I lost 200 lbs. in about two years and kept it off for about an additional year. In the past two years I have gained back about 60 lbs.

This has due to the fact that I probably stretched my stomach out by overeating the wrong foods, excessing on a lot of carbs and sugars.

Unlike gastric bypass surgery,this surgery cuts out two thirds of the large curvature of your stomach and reroutes and shortens your intestine so you do not absorb protein very efficiently , you must eat at least 100 grams of protein a day. It does not just leave a little pouch that you can only eat very small amounts like gastric bypass.

Eventually you can eat pretty much of a normal diet you do however get filled up pretty fast and if you over do it you get super uncomfortable to say the least. After overeating for months, your capacity does increase, my real problem was constantly grazing on the wrong foods all day at work.

I was wondering if anyone is in similar circumstances than I am in. I am at a critical point in my weight dilemma. Could anyone help me with some tips to maximize my first couple of weeks on the program, I would appreciate any information that you good folks could help me with.

Thank you
skinner (soup is my nickname)

[Laurenfra]

Hi Soup Welcome.
I have no advice for you but I wanted to say welcome!

[chinadoll]

Well, first you need to get through the fact that you are choosing a way of life. There is no going back to eating"normally" since that's what caused all the trouble in the first place. The one idea that helped me was thinking of myself as having a life threatening allergy to starch and sugar, like it was toxic (I mean isnt that what this is? a life threatening reaction when we eat these things--causing binges, tiredness, sugar fluctuations and subsequent diabetes) This made me feel less like I was depriving myself and more like I was choosing a life of activity and energy over a slow death by poisoning.

[skinner]

Hi Jill,

This is the first time I have been back to the forum since I posted.

Your comments were very insightful for me. I Had a very good first week with a nine lb. loss, but deviated (had some adult beverages one night)and picked up four of the lbs. back.
I am very interested in hearing from people that have had DS surgery and the difficulties they may be experiencing with weight control.

[I_WILL_Lose_Weight]

Ouch... it looks like you're in a tight pickle, my friend Well since I've even -heard- of this DS surgery I don't know how helpful my advice can be, but.. I'll put in my 2 cents for what its' worth

As chinadoll said, it takes a commitment to want to change the way you eat completely if you want to control your weight. I put in my own signature to remind myself that the definition of insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result. So yes, you can get your weight under control, but if you go back to eating normally it's just gunna come back.

We're not normal, and we can't eat normal. We're addicted to the wrong types of food, and we're addicted to carbs general. Kind of like alcoholism. Alcoholics are addicted to alcohol, and they can't just drink it like a normal person would without going crazy with it. That's why we just have to avoid those bad types of food like the plague - we can't even rationalize just one taste

But of course there will always be holes you manage to dig yourself in, and that's where ADBB comes in handy... this community of people are so informative, and so nice Just never be afraid to say, "Hey, I'm having trouble with this and I need to vent!!!" cause we'll be here to listen.

As far as overeating and stretching your stomach out, well, this is my own theory on what happens to me :P Induction is kinda boring, you know? All you can eat is meat, cheese, and vegetables. And water. Ick. Pretty soon, you get so tired of eating the same thing, you stop eating to enjoy yourself and you start eating only to get on through out the day, and your stomach starts to naturally shrink back to its normal size. So yeah, it's important to stay true to induction not only to get rid of your cravings, but to discipline yourself

You said you have a loving wife, and 2 kids. Get them to help you out by supporting you! Ask them to be respective of the fact that you only have a certain amount of food you can eat, and not to parade their goodies around you when you're having your weak moments Look up some low carb recipes that are induction friendly and still tastey! There's lots on this website And as far as work goes, cheese sticks, boiled eggs, and pickles absolutely work wonders for me. Really keeps those cravings down. And, while this isn't appropriate Atkins advice, I've found that for ME that the occassional beef jerky also really hits the spot and it doesn't affect me personally, however, there are sugars in it so you gotta just remember that.

I'd avoid chewing gum, or sugar alcohols in general. I don't know, but to me, both just really seem to give me the oochy goochy cravings for something more.

Welcome to ADBB!!

[abouttime]

Welcome & congrats on deciding to get healthy and lose that extra weight.

I wish you the best of luck!!

[joee5]

Welcome Soup. I dont have an answer but I just want to wish you well and may you be successfull. It appears as if you've gone through alot and you'll see, after the 3rd day how easy Atkin's really is. Keep us posted. God Bless, Joe

[Robin's Nest]

Hi and welcome, Soup! Your thread hit home and being on program for exactly one month, I can say that if you work the program as it is written, it will help you knock off that 60 pound gain in no time. My story in short goes that in June of 2007 I was diagnosed with Diabetes Type 2. The main problem is glucose control where one day my glucose will be 266 and drop to 65...My glucose is now under control ranging from 90 to 126. In the safe zone. However, in my attempts to find a doctor to work with ME and not the pharmaceutical world, three doctors have strongly suggested bariac surgery. Even though that would be an answer to resolving my diabetes, it would not resolve my eatting habits or cravings. Atkins is the ONLY program that I have found that has stopped the carb cravings, hunger, and now can say, I am FULL... and as mentioned, glucose is under control. Since the surgery (in my opinon) is a "tool", fiinding the eatting program most suitable for you is the Key. I give you and others credit.. It is a long and difficult process, yes?

Not only are the folks here friendly and supportive, they have been successful. Buy the 2002 Atkin Book.. It will give you so much information!
You have worked SO hard.. give it a chance!

[chinadoll]

Looks like you are doing just fine so far. It isnt going to be superfast and you will probably hit a few bumps, but you are off to a good start