Stop Counting Carbs and Lose Weight

Hot off the press - LivingAfterWLS Weekly Digest
Great topic today: Never Count Carbs Again
Link to the full newsletter in our archive: Digest Sept 3 2013

Opening Article from the Digest:
A major area of concern and sometimes confusion for us after weight loss surgery is how many grams of carbohydrates should we eat in a day. Have you been perplexed over the carbohydrate question? Today we take a look at carbs and the role they play our diet after weight loss surgery.

It is popular in the health and nutrition fields to describe carbs as "good carbs" or "bad carbs". I prefer not to use those words because they assign a moral trait to food and food does not have moral traits. Food is food. When we remove moral assignment from the food we eat we can be smart, thoughtful, and rational with our choices. But if we assign morals to food and eat "bad carbs" then we must be bad. You know the self-blame cycle I'm talking about.

Instead of good carbs and bad carbs I prefer to use more accurate terms:

• Fruit and Vegetable Carbs or Complex Carbs
• Grain and Starch Carbs or Complex Carbs
• Processed Manufactured Carbs or Simple Carbs

I have them arranged in nutritional importance to us after undergoing weight loss surgery. Like other nutrients carbohydrates are measured in grams. A 2008 broad-canvas study of bariatric centers revealed that few bariatric surgeons or nutritionists give a specific daily quota for carbohydrate intake. Most default to the 113g RDA recommended by the National Academies' Institute of Medicine for people following a 1200 calorie a day diet. It takes roughly 8 to 10 cups of fruit and vegetables to equal 113g complex carbohydrates and I do not know any weight loss surgery patient who can consume that much volume.

That is good news. While it is unlikely we can ever reach that daily intake by eating fruits and vegetables it is also unlikely we will ever over eat our carbohydrate allowance when we select high moisture, high fiber fruits and vegetables. A variety of fruits and vegetables promotes good health because they contain disease fighting vitamins and nutrients. Fruits and vegetables enjoyed with lean protein improve the overall eating experience for weight loss surgery patients because they are high in moisture. This is a relief when we are following the liquid restrictions and not drinking a beverage with meals.




Link to the full newsletter in our archive: Digest Sept 3 2013

Today we look at complex carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables. We have some great tips and recipes to include them in your diet for life-long weight management. Pictured here is a typical breakfast plate for me that included 2 ounces white meat roasted turkey, 1 hard-cooked egg, 6 blackberries and 1/2 large kiwifruit. After enjoying this meal I will not feel hungry or crave sweets for several hours. Nutritional Count: 182 Calories. (44% Protein, 32% Fat, 24% Carbohydrate); 20g Protein; 6g Fat; 11g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber. 75% RDI Vitamin C, 25% RDI Niacin, 5% RDI Calcium.) I consider this plate a perfect breakfast and while I don't get it right every morning it is a goal I aim for because on days when I get this right I am powerful and in control.

Continue to the full newsletter and don't miss a bit of this great information that supports your ongoing weight management with surgery.

Link to the full newsletter in our archive: Digest Sept 3 2013

Are you a slave to Carbs?

Are you a slave to snacky carbs or as we call them "slider foods"? Is this keeping you from reaching your full potential with WLS? How about a refresher course on carbohydrates and the role they play in our high protein weight loss surgery diet. Check out our 5 Day Pouch Test Bulletin free in our online archive. So much good information and inspiration here - take a look! Link to Bulletin

Opening Article: 5DPT Bulletin March 2013

Greetings! 

We know from our search engine reports that many of you find LivingAfterWLS and the 5 Day Pouch Test by looking for answers about eating carbohydrates after weight loss surgery. Perhaps you, like so many other post-WLS patients find yourself taking little nibbles of soft snacky carbs with increasing frequency. Maybe you've regained some weight and are feeling frustrated and discouraged. Maybe you are embarrassed feeling you've broken your WLS tool. You are not alone. And you have the power to change directions and improve you health and weight management. Today's bulletin offers loads of information that empowers you to make changes you can live with.

Most of us, before surgery, agreed to follow the Four Rules and we likely banished processed carbohydrates from our diet - for life. That's because we understood that eating them before surgery contributed to our obesity - the result would be the same eating them after surgery.  But somewhere down the road we relax the rules and dip into the snack bowl. It is not that we are weak human beings. It is because soft carbs are more comfortable to eat than protein and in our society soft carbs are ever present. After weight loss surgery we call these snacks slider foods.

 

"The very nature of the surgical gastric pouch is to cause feelings of tightness or restriction when one has eaten enough food. However, when soft simple carbohydrates are eaten this tightness or restriction does not result and one can continue to eat, unmeasured amounts of food without ever feeling uncomfortable. Many patients unknowingly turn to slider foods for this very reason. They do not like the discomfort that results when the pouch is full from eating a measured portion of lean animal or dairy protein, and it is more comfortable to eat the soft slider foods. Slider foods have played a significant role in every case of post-WLS weight regain that I have ever heard about." (5DPT Owner's Manual page 34)

 

Today we look at the role of carbohydrates in the post-WLS diet and learn how to include nutrient dense complex carbs in our Protein First meals. When we find a balanced plate that works specifically for our individual WLS-pouch we enjoy feelings of fullness, feelings of wellness and accomplishment, and we are likely to lose weight and sustain a healthy weight loss.

You can Do this!
Kaye

Link to Bulletin

Your Brain on Sugar

It gives you a rush, messes with your mind, and always leaves you wanting more - and now researchers are calling for the government to regulate the sweet stuff like a drug.

WebMD Feature from "Marie Claire" Magazine

 

Is sugar worse for you than, say, cocaine? According to a 2012 article in the journal Nature, it's a toxic substance that should be regulated like tobacco and alcohol. Researchers point to studies that show that too much sugar (both in the form of natural sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup) not only makes us fat, it also wreaks havoc on our liver, mucks up our metabolism, impairs brain function, and may leave us susceptible to heart disease, diabetes, even cancer. So far, no federal action has been taken (advocates blame industry lobbyists), and experts say simply raising awareness isn't enough, especially when 80 percent of our food choices contain sugar. "It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion," says coauthor Laura Schmidt, Ph.D., a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco.

 Nevertheless, after the shock of hearing the news, many of us shrugged and turned back to our cupcakes. Yet, truth is, women in their 20s and 30s may already be feeling the effects of too much sugar without even realizing it. Here, the most common sugar-induced issues and how to beat them to prevent long-term damage—and feel your best right now.

STRESS EATING For a pick-me-up, you may feel the urge to inhale a bag of M&M's or scarf down a box of cookies. But the impulse goes deeper. To examine the hold sugar can have over us, substance-abuse researchers have performed brain scans on subjects eating something sweet. What they've seen resembles the mind of a drug addict: When tasting sugar, the brain lights up in the same regions as it would in an alcoholic with a bottle of gin. Dopamine—the so-called reward chemical—spikes and reinforces the desire to have more. (Sugar also fuels the calming hormone serotonin.)
THE FIX In times of stress, dieters are more likely to binge, studies conclude. That said, a cookie once in a while (say, twice a week) is fine, but on most days go for oatmeal with brown sugar, suggests Jeffrey Fortuna, Ph.D., a health and behavior lecturer at California State University, Fullerton. The whole grains fill you up and the sweetness is just enough to release serotonin.

INEXPLICABLE WEIGHT GAIN You stay away from burgers and drink diet soda. But sugar—both real and artificial—is the secret saboteur. When the pancreas senses sugar, the body releases insulin, which causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen for energy. Eat too much at once, though, and insulin levels spike, then drop. The aftermath? You feel tired, then crave more sustenance to perk up. Faux sugars don't help. "Artificial sweeteners travel to the part of the brain associated with desire but not to the part responsible for reward," says Dr. Gene-Jack Wang, a researcher at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. Nor do they trigger the release of the satiety hormones that real sugar does, so you're more likely to consume more calories.
THE FIX Feed sweet cravings with fruit (the fiber will help keep insulin in check), and sub in sparkling water for diet soda. If you must indulge, go for a small snack made with real sugar, and eat slowly. Add fruit or yogurt to feel fuller and prevent a crash.

BRAIN FOG Blanking out in the middle of a meeting? Research out of the University of California, Los Angeles, suggests that sugar forms free radicals in the brain's membrane and compromises nerve cells' ability to communicate. This could have repercussions in how well we remember instructions, process ideas, and handle our moods, says Fernando Gómez-Pinilla, Ph.D., author of the UCLA study.
THE FIX Stay under the USDA limit of 10 teaspoons (40 grams) of added sugar a day. Read labels and available nutrition information at chains: A 16-ounce Starbucks vanilla latte and Einstein Bros. bagel will max out your day's allotment! A wiser choice: black coffee and plain yogurt with antioxidant-rich blueberries and walnuts, sweetened with honey.

AGING SKIN Sugar causes premature aging, just as cigarettes and UV rays do. With young skin (generally under 35), when skin support structures collagen and elastin break down from sun or other free-radical exposure, cells repair themselves. But when sugar travels into the skin, its components cause nearby amino acids to form cross-links. These cross-links jam the repair mechanism and, over time, leave you with premature wrinkles.
THE FIX Once cross-links form, they won't unhitch, so keep sugar intake to as close to zero as you can. "It's the enemy," says Dr. William Danby, a dermatologist with Dartmouth Medical School in New Hampshire. Avoid soda and processed pastries and trade sugar packets for cinnamon—it slows down cross-linking, as do cloves, oregano, ginger, and garlic.

A SLUGGISH WORKOUT Muscles need sugar for fuel, so carbs (which break up into glucose, a type of sim-ple sugar) can kick-start your morning jog. But fruit or prepackaged snacks touting "natural sweeteners" contain just fructose, which is metabolized in the liver, not the muscles. The result: bloat, or even the runs.
THE FIX A glucose-packed snack with just 4 to 8 grams of fructose—it'll help increase glucose absorption, says Dr. Richard Johnson, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, Denver. Try a sports drink like Gatorade or trail mix with dried fruit an hour before your workout.
 

Better Than Green Bean Casserole

A couple of years ago I came across this recipe in Vegetarian Times and served it for Thanksgiving in place of traditional green bean casserole - you know the one with the canned soup and canned fried onions. This dish is so delicious and such a crowd pleaser I have been making it ever since. Here is the recipe direct from Vegetarian Times -- I hope it finds a way to your holiday table this year!

Green Beans with Walnuts and Shallot Crisps

Shallot crisps are the star attraction here and can be made in advance. In a tightly sealed jar, they will keep at room temperature for 2 weeks—but you’d better hide the jar.

 Vegetarian Times Issue: November 1, 2008   p.71   —   Member Rating:

Ingredient List

Serves 8

Shallot Crisps

• 5 large shallots (½ lb.), peeled and sliced into thin rings
• ½ cup vegetable oil

Green Beans

• 2 lb. green beans, trimmed
• 3 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
• 3 Tbs. Dijon mustard
• 3 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 3 Tbs. maple syrup
• 1 cup toasted chopped walnuts (½ lb.)

Directions

1. To make Shallot Crisps: Spread shallot rings on paper towel, sprinkle with salt, and cover with another paper towel. Let stand 10 minutes. Blot excess moisture from shallots.
2. Heat oil in small saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots, and fry
2 to 4 minutes, or until golden brown, stirring frequently.
3. Pour shallots and oil through fine mesh strainer, or remove shallots with slotted spoon. Spread shallots on paper towels to drain and cool. Discard oil. Store shallots in jar, if desired.
4. To make Green Beans: Cook beans
in large pot of boiling salted water 5 to 8 minutes, or until just tender. Drain. Whisk together vinegar, mustard, oil, and maple syrup in serving bowl. Add green beans, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Top with Shallot Crisps and chopped walnuts, and serve.

Nutritional Information

Per : Calories: 253, Protein: 5g, Total fat: 18g, Saturated fat: 1.5g, Carbs: 22g, Cholesterol: mg, Sodium: 291mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugars: 9g

Chicken & Pepperoni - Low Carb Slow Cooker Supper

I have been a fan of pepperoni for as long as I can remember. Here is a recipe from Diabetic Living that incorporates today's leaner figure-friendly turkey pepperoni with succulent dark meat chicken in a no-fuss no-muss slow-cooker supper. At zero carbs you can enjoy this protein dense recipe with a crisp side salad or steamed veggies. It's what's for dinner in your LivingAfterWLS Kitchen!

Chicken and Pepperoni

6 (4-ounce) servings of chicken

Ingredients:
3 1/2 to 4 pounds chicken legs and/or thighs, skinned
2 ounces sliced turkey pepperoni
1/4 cup sliced pitted ripe olives
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (2 ounces)

Directions:
Place chicken in a slow cooker. Season chicken with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Cut pepperoni slices in half. Add pepperoni and olives to slow cooker. In a small bowl whisk together chicken broth, tomato paste, and Italian seasoning. Add to mixture in cooker.

Cover and cook on low-heat setting 6 to 7 hours or on high-heat setting 3 to 3-1/2 hours.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken, pepperoni, and olives to a serving platter. Sprinkle chicken with cheese. Cover loosely with foil and let stand 5 minutes to melt cheese.

Per Serving: 209 calories, 33g protein, 7g fat (2g saturated fat), 484mg cholesterol, 1g carbohydrate and 0g fiber.

Curious what other weight loss surgery folks are cooking? Visit the Neighborhood Kitchen.

"Normal" Recipes in the Kitchen

The LivingAfterWLS "Normal" eating is a diet of clean, lean protein; nutrient rich vegetable and fruit carbohydrates; healthy fats; limited grains, processed carbohydrates and sweets. It is easy to get into a rut of safe or predictable food. The danger with a food rut is boredom which may lead to eating that falls out of the "normal" diet. At LivingAfterWLS we have recently remodeled our online Kitchen with many new terrific recipes that will bring variety to your normal eating. The recipes are nicely organized and easy to follow.

At right: Orange and Fennel Salad from Palermo
Photo by Barbara Gibbons

Try some of my favorites:
Chicken Piccata
Halibut with White Wine Sauce
Beef Osso Buco
Chocolate Spice Brownies
Spinach Asparagus Salad

Visit the LivingAfterWLS Kitchen Today!

Seared Salmon and Tomato-Mozzarella Salad

We enjoyed a meal so delicious last night that I forgot it was healthy! I first made a Tomato-Mozzarella salad from tomato slices that had been drained on paper toweling and then seasoned with salt and pepper. These were arranged in a ring on the serving platter then drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, finally garnished with toasted pinenuts.

For the Salmon:
In a large skillet I heated 1 tablespoon of EVOO. Working on parchment paper I seasoned the skinless, boneless salmon fillets with freshly ground pepper and pink sea salt. The fillets were put in the hot oil to sear for 4 minutes and then turned, allowing to cook over medium high heat for 3 more minutes. After removing the skillet from the heat I topped each fillet with 1 generous tablespoon of Sweet Peppers Bruschetta Topping by Gia Russa (Found at World Market), placed the lid on the skillet and let the salmon rest for a few minutes.

What a great meal! I didn't run caloric or protein-fat-carb counts because when a meal is this healthy I prefer to think of all the healthy nutrients such as vitamins C and A and lycopene in the tomatoes; calcium in the mozzarella and salmon and of course the beneficial omega-3 fish oil which is good for hormonal health, skin and the immune system.

For more great salad ideas check out the Neighborhood Memorial Day Recipe Contest.

Happy Eating!

Review: The Neighborhood Cookbook

Our LivingAfterWLS Food & Nutrition Editor Barbara Gibbons recently reviewed the Neighborhood Cookbook. Here is what she had to say about this weight loss surgery specific cookbook that was created by patients for patients:

There are so many new neighbors here that I thought I would post a topic about our very special publication. Not to be confused with the ‘Community Kitchen’ which is a live forum, the Neighborhood Cookbook was a labor of love produced by WLS patients for WLS patients.

As with most cookbooks, there are introductory pages [about Kaye (our Founder), about Living After WLS and all the affiliated websites (one of which is the Neighborhood itself), about the Living After WLS philosophy, and about the neighbors themselves].

It is appropriately titled “A Collection of Neighborhood Recipes”. We all refer to it as the Neighborhood Cookbook. What better way for us to help each other than to share? In the Neighborhood we share all that is happening in our lives from the perspective of the pre-op or post-op WLS patient. The Neighborhood Cookbook is the ultimate sharing.

Order The Cookbook

It has the usual chapters that cookbooks include with the Desserts chapter focusing on SENSIBLE desserts. There are quotes from neighbors on divider pages between chapters and several blank pages for the owner to include some of their own favorite recipes. Among the most interesting pages in the book are instructional pages explaining how to use a wine reduction in place of a gravy, explaining complex carbs and cruciferous vegetables, or how to eat chocolate after WLS to name a few.

At the end of the book there is a true index so you can find the recipes you want at a glance.

If you own this cookbook, take it off the shelf and plan your next week’s menu around some new recipes that you haven’t tried from the Neighborhood Cookbook. These recipes have been tried, liked and submitted by your friends in the Neighborhood; a book written with you in mind, with no worries about, “Can I eat this?”

If you don’t own this cookbook, why not give it a try? Remember that each recipe has been submitted by folks like you and it can add so much more variety into your post WLS diet no matter what stage you are at.

Most of you know that we are editing the newest cookbook from the neighborhood. This book will have more than double the recipes of the first one and will have photo pages as well as tips and techniques, basic foundation recipes and many more features. People have wondered when it will be ready for sale. Kaye has said that it will most likely be released in the 3rd quarter, sometime in July. In the meantime, continue to enjoy the cookbook that we DO have available. It is a treasure trove of good recipes for the WLS world.

Want to sample some recipes from the cookbook? Click here: Kaye's Favorite Weeknight Meals

10-Grain Mini Muffins from the Cookbook

Another Healthy Snack option from page 169 of the LivingAfterWLS Neighborhood Cookbook:

10-Grain Mini Mufins

Ingredients:
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 c. turbinado sugar (raw sugar)
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. 10-grain cereal (Bob's Redd Mill)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 c. milk
3 T. honey
1/3 c. margarine

Mix Bob's 10-Grain Cereal and milk and allow to stand for 10 minutes while preheating oven and assembling other ingredients. Cream sugar and margarine and egg together. Add dry ingredients and milk with cereal. Stir only until mixed. Spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick spray. Fill each cup. Bake in 400F oven for 15 minutes (watch closely, your oven may cook them more quickly). Remember 1 mini muffin is one serving. Theres a fine lien between a treat and self-sabotage.

Recipe note: One mini-muffin is a serving. Per serving: 148 calories, 4 grams protein, 2 grams fat, 19 grams carbohydrate and 2 grams dietary fiber.

The LivingAfterWLS Neighborhood Cookbook is a spiral bound collection of recipes for surgical weight loss patients by patients. Order yours today and select your FREE GIFT - Link Here!

Try these Healthy Snacks from the Cookbook:

Banana Bran Nut Muffins - Page 170
Healthy Chocolate Mousse - Page 152
Macadamia-White Chocolate Dessert - Page 158
Healthy Dippers - Page 42

Cream of Turkey Soup

From Low Carb Recipes this is a quick and healthy way to use some of your left over Thanksgiving Turkey. Use for Days 1 & 2 of the 5 Day Pouch Test.

Ingredients:
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
10 ounces cooked turkey, finely shredded (discard skin)
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 Tablespoon fresh tarragon
1/2 cup heavy cream
Croutons (optional)

Directions:
Melt the butter in a large, heavy bottom pan, then add the onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add the turkey to the pan with 1 1/2 cups of the stock.

Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool, then transfer the soup to a food processor or blender and process until smooth.

Add the remainder of the stock and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the tarragon, then pour the soup into a tureen or individual bowls and add a swirl of cream.

Garnish with croutons if desired.

Serves 4. Per serving: 420 calories, 24 grams protein, 33 grams fat (20 saturated) and 6 grams carbohydrate.

Thanksgiving Desserts for Surgical Weight Loss

Have you started planning your Thanksgiving menu? In just two short weeks we'll be carving the great American turkey and giving thanks for life's bounty.

Desserts always present a special challenge as we try to follow our weight loss surgery dietary guidelines, but also desire to participate in family rituals and traditions of Thanksgiving. Today I opened my treasured Neighborhood Cookbook and found this great recipe for pumpkin pie that works just fine for all those who will be seated at my table. I hope it will find a spot on your holiday menu. The Neighborhood Cookbook is a collection of recipes from our Neighborhood - Real cooks living real lives and doing their best with weight loss surgery.

Kabuki's Sugarless Pumpkin Pie
Page 155 - Neighborhood Cookbook

This is a fine substitute for traditional pumpkin pie. If you truly want to go low carb omit the crust and serve as pudding.

Ingredients:
1 pre-baked pie shell
2 small boxes sugar free vanilla instant pudding
2 cups milk
2 cups plain canned pumpkin
1 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Blend all ingredients using a wire whisk until smooth. Pour into baked pie shell and chill until serving. May serve with a dollop of lite whipped topping or freshly whipped heavy cream.

Serves 8. Per serving: 178 calories, 4 grams protein,8 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 23 grams carbohydrate and 2 grams dietary fiber.


If you have the Neighborhood Cookbook consider these Sensible Dessert recipes this holiday season:

Chocolate-Almond Macaroons (page 150)
Gingerbread Cake (page 152)
Macadamia White Chocolate Dessert (page 158)
Pumpkin Mousse (page 161)

To order you cookbook Click Here. It's on sale now for $18.00 and comes with your choice of a free gift!

Carbs and Guilt: The Wicked Vicious Cycle

I think that most weight loss surgery post-ops will tell you that processed carbohydrates led to their obesity. After surgery during weight loss we live by the four rules or guidelines from our bariatric centers concentrating on a high-protein diet. Then somewhere along the line the snack monster attacks and we return to processed carbs. A little nibble here, a taste there. At first it doesn't slow down our weight loss so we test the water and more carbs come back into our diet.

Then the cycle is set and suddenly the scale reverses directions and we regain. This happened to me and it all started with an innocent graham cracker. Pretty soon it was stacks of graham crackers, then popcorn and then Nutter-Butter cookies. The snack monster had me firmly in its wicked grasp.

Not only did I gain weight from the carbs, I felt shame and guilt because I knew better and I promised my surgeon that I would comply with the rules. I committed for life to be a good bariatric patient and here I was doing the same thing that made me obese in the first place: mindlessly eating nutritionally void foods.

My cycle became predictable: a moment of lost willpower lead to a carb binge followed by a guilt binge and resolve to do better. I repeated the cycle often, sometimes more than once a day.

What I have since learned is that the carb monster is not necessarily a mental demon. The carb monster is the body's biological roller coaster that results with a blood chemistry imbalance. More often than not it has nothing to do with willpower or personal integrity. According to Drs. Richard and Rachael Heller in Carbohydrate Addicts, blood sugar swings are the leading physical trigger for carb cravings. They write, "High-sugar, refined starch, convenience and comfort foods feed the (carb) addiction like a drug. They produce correspondingly high blood sugar and insulin levels, which leads to more cravings. They also produce higher levels of the brain chemical serotonin. In sensitive people, particularly those who may have low serotonin levels to begin with, a carbohydrate binge is the equivalent of self-medicating, just to get the sugar high.”

I realized that not only am I a recovering morbidly obese person, I am a carbohydrate addict. That’s why I was spinning out of control when I broke from the high protein weight loss surgery way of life.

Read Bamagal's: The Protein Dilemma

According to The Merck Manual of Medical Information, “The theory behind high protein, low carbohydrate diets is that slower-burning energy sources – protein and fat – provide a steady supply of energy and thus are less likely to lead to weight gain. In addition, people tend to feel full longer after eating protein than after eating carbohydrates, because carbohydrates empty from the stomach quickly and are digested quickly. Carbohydrates also strongly stimulate insulin production, which promotes fat deposition and increases appetite.”

Clearly if I was going to return to the same addictive carb cycle as before weight loss surgery I would also return to rapid weight gain and ultimately morbid obesity. My only choice if I elected to keep the weight off was to follow the four rules and eat a high-protein low-carbohydrate diet for the rest of my life.

Is this easy? Heavens no. We live in a world full of temptations where it’s easy to be obese. I, like many of the LivingAfterWLS Neighbors, have recommitted myself many times again to following the protein first rule. When I succeed I enjoy more energy, fewer mood or blood sugar swings and overall better health. And I don’t gain weight. The easiest way for me to follow the protein first rule is start the day with protein and have my meals planned. If I start the day with carbs, even something presumably healthy like whole-wheat toast and peanut butter, the carb-cycle begins.

Understanding the role that carbohydrates play in my nutrition has been helpful in sticking to the high protein, low carbohydrate way of life. It releases me from the self-loathing and guilt that I associated with a lack of willpower. The carb binge is not necessarily about being out of control mentally or emotionally. A carb binge is the body’s attempt to regulate blood sugar, which escalates into a recurring need or drive for starches, snack foods, junk foods or sweets.

The easiest way to avoid this vicious cycle that feeds on itself, over and over, is to follow the guidelines we committed to when we promised our surgeons we would be good weight loss surgery post-ops. They gave us the tool and the rules; now it’s our turn to prove ourselves!

Sizzling Hot BamaGal

Ladies and Gentlemen stand on your feet and put your hands together for our own BamaGal who has been named by Jimmy Moore one of the Sizzling Hot New Low-Carb Blogs for 2007!!! This is no ordinary blog shout-out - this is HUGE!!!! Jimmy Moore is a leader in the grass roots low-carb movement and he knows a good thing when he sees one. Diane started her blog in March 2007 and is now a leader in the low-carb community. Way to go Diane!!!

As you all know, an understanding and practice of low-carb is key in our success in weight management with weight loss surgery. If you haven't bookmarked Diane's blog, Back Across the Line, then don't walk, run to your favorites page and click SAVE now. Diane is the most current and accurate researcher when it comes to the low carb lifestyle with a little weight loss surgery and bipolar disorder mixed in for fun.

Glad to have you here at LivingAfterWLS, BamaGal and I am proud to say I knew you when you simply left comments -- now my friend, YOU are leader of the pack and I am your #1 fan.