Diets - Live Healthy MD

How to Follow a Low-Carb Diet for Weight Loss

Posted on 06.01.202216.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

For bariatric patients, a low-carb diet is the most recommended way of eating to lose weight and maintain your weight loss after bariatric surgery. Hopefully, you have learned the importance of a low-carb diet at your bariatric program. However, if you are searching for resources online about getting started, this is a great place to look.

Carbohydrates are naturally occurring sugars, starches, and fibers found in food products. Like fats and protein, carbohydrates are a macronutrient, meaning a nutrient that must be consumed in relatively large amounts as fuel for the body. In fact, you may have heard that carbs are the body’s primary source of energy. So if carbs are so highly praised, why would you want to follow a low-carb diet after weight loss surgery?

Types of Carbohydrates

First, it is important to understand the role carbs play in the body and the different types of carbs. All carbs fall into one of two categories – simple versus complex. The main difference between these two types of carbs is their chemical structure and how easily they are absorbed.

Complex Carbs

Complex carbs are those starchy, high-fiber foods that contain vitamins and minerals. They are known as the “good guys” and provide sustained energy levels compared to their counter-part, simple carbs.

Simple Carbs

Simple carbs are almost always bad for you (except in cases where you need additional energy before endurance events) as they contain only one or two forms of sugar and no vitamins or minerals. The body easily and quickly processes simple carbs as sudden bursts of energy. Your body does not become full for long after eating these “empty calories.”

The consumption of simple carbs can also lead to a sudden spike in blood sugar levels, which can be dangerous for people with diabetes who need to maintain their blood glucose. When the blood sugar levels increase, the pancreas produces more insulin, which promotes fat storage. If you are not using the increased glucose levels through exercise, it will turn into fat and can cause weight gain. That is why studies have linked simple carbs (high-glycemic foods) to medical conditions such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer.

Low-Carb Diets

After bariatric surgery, when we refer to a low-carb diet, we refer to the consumption of 50 to 75 grams of carbs a day. However, other websites categorize low-carb based on the following parameters:

Very low-carb: 20–50 grams of carbs per day

Low-carb: 50–100 grams of carbs per day

Moderate-carb: 100–200 grams of carbs per day

Although it can be tempting to follow a very low-carb diet and significantly restrict your carb intake to speed up your weight loss, we recommend taking it slow to ensure you maintain a healthy energy level. Also, you will want to customize your grams of carbs each day based on your activity levels as well as your body composition.

How to Incorporate a Low-Carb Diet Into Your Lifestyle

Transitioning your lifestyle to follow a low-carb diet can be challenging if you haven’t prepared and created a nutrition plan. When eating low-carb, the first thing to remember is to avoid simple carbs (cakes, cookies, chips, etc.) and non-starchy vegetables (potatoes, corn, squash, etc.). You want to fill your fridge with lots of vegetables, protein, and dairy options.

Most registered dietitians praise the consumption of all fruits and vegetables. However, patients looking to lose weight must watch out for the carb count within fruit. We suggest bariatric patients stick to berries and melons as they are the best options.

Some great low-carb options to pick up at the grocery store are below:

The Problem with Cheat Days after Bariatric Surgery

Posted on 15.11.202116.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

Cheat Days have become a popular trend amount dieters and fitness enthusiasts alike. Life after bariatric surgery comes with many changes, the most significant being a change in your eating habits. Transitioning from a diet high in carbs and fatty foods to the typical post-op diet low in carbohydrates and high in protein can be daunting. You may have thought that one way to overcome this drastic change would be to allow yourself one cheat day to eat the foods that are off-limits after bariatric surgery.

However, cheat days create a negative narrative around certain foods – categorizing foods based on what is “good” and what is “bad.”

“The very phrase ‘cheat day’ sets up enjoying a meal as something forbidden. Separating foods into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ categories encourages you to associate eating with guilt and shame.”

— Sondra Kronberg, RD

Although cheat days are socially acceptable in today’s society and often endorsed by fitness enthusiasts and influencers, they can be detrimental to your health – both physical and psychological.

Cheat days lead to an all-or-nothing thought pattern that can result in binging or overeating because you begin to think that this is your “one chance” to enjoy the bad food. And it is not uncommon to feel guilt or shame after a binge eating episode, which almost always leads to stricter food restrictions or falling back into the bad habits for longer than you would have liked.

A study published in 2018 found that individuals who had cheat meals were more likely to experience disordered eating, such as binge eating or restrictive eating. Similarly, they were more likely to crave certain foods when they told themselves those foods were “off-limits.”

There are also physical detriments to binging after bariatric surgery. Having a cheat day where you eat high-carb, high-fat foods can lead to dumping syndrome—which, if you have ever experienced it, will never want to live through again. Dumping syndrome is a condition common after bariatric surgery due to the shortening of the intestines and occurs when the contents of your stomach empty through your intestines faster than usual. This can lead to nausea, cramping, sweating, diarrhea, dizziness, and rapid heart rate.

As a dietitian, I do not recommend cheat days. For many bariatric patients, being on a “diet” has been a way of life. And cheat days play into that diet-as-a-way-of-life mentality. After bariatric surgery, it is important to focus on your eating habits as a lifestyle change, not a diet! You want to foster a positive relationship with food.

Healthy Strategies to Still Enjoy Food

Nonetheless, it is possible to incorporate unhealthy foods into your diet after bariatric surgery, yet the key is to eat in moderation. When you are craving a particular food, allow yourself to enjoy it, regardless of the day of the week. Many people choose to “cheat” on weekends or vacations, but instead of focusing on deprivation, focus on treating yourself. However, that is not to say you can treat yourself every day, at every meal. Again, you want to focus on moderation. Don’t let one bad meal or one bad day turn into a bad week.

Another method to help shift your mentality is to think about food as nourishment instead of thinking in a way that buckets food into the good vs. the bad. Practicing food mindfulness can help foster a more positive and healthy relationship with food and eating after bariatric surgery.

Carnivore Diet Meal Plan for Bariatric Patients

Posted on 03.05.202116.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

The carnivore diet, also known as the zero-carb diet or all meat diet, is not to be confused with the ketogenic diet. If you’ve followed other diets to lose weight only to put it back on again later on, maybe the carnivore diet is what you need to achieve your weight loss goals and build lean muscle mass. If you enjoy eating meat and you’re wise to the health benefits of doing so, a high protein, low carb, meat-only diet could work for you.

The carnivore diet is a radical elimination diet to reduce inflammation in the body. Inflammation can cause leaky gut and many other “incurable” issues that the carnivore diet has successfully cured, like Crohn’s disease and Rheumatoid arthritis.

Choosing Your Meat

Optimized diets center around three things:

Energy: Fat / Carbs
Nutrient density: Micronutrients
Lean Muscle Mass Gain: Protein Targets

Consuming cow meat is the best and most bioavailable source of every single nutrient. Beef ribeye has equal grams of protein and fat, which equate to about 70% fat and 30% protein by calories. A common issue on this meat diet is not getting sufficient fat. If you’re eating too little fat, you may suffer from unsavory symptoms like headaches, lethargy, and diarrhea. In fact, too much protein is one of the most common causes of diarrhea when transitioning to the carnivore diet. Make sure to look for cuts of beef that are close to equal grams of fat and protein.

The best cuts of beef to eat are:

Ribeye steak
Roasts
Ground beef

If you’re doing the carnivore diet on a budget, go for the ground beef and roasts over ribeye steak. However, experiment with fat intake because, with ground beef, you may be getting substantially less fat. Compared to other animals, beef has a better omega 6 to omega 3 ratio, affecting inflammation. Here’s what you need to know: beef is also much higher in almost every single nutrient than pork bacon.

Carnivore Diet Food List

Here’s a list of food you can eat on the carnivore diet:

Beef
Lamb
Pork
Seafood
Organ meat
Fats
Bone broth

Carnivore Diet Meal Plan

Now for the fun stuff. How should you plan your meals every week? The goal with this plan will be to transition you from more variety in meat to less. But still cut out the inflammatory foods. When you start the carnivore diet and mainly eat only meat, many people experience gut issues like diarrhea and constipation. But think of this like burning off the deadwood. It’s only short-term. Growth always comes with pain.

With that being said, my carnivore meal plan is formulated to minimize the gut pain you experience. My philosophy is to jump right in and go cold turkey on the vegetables and carbohydrates. If you’re addicted to something, it doesn’t make sense to have a little bit of it. You don’t tell an alcoholic it’s okay to have a shot of vodka before bed. However, when it comes to meat, you may want to try starting with more variety so that you don’t quit out of boredom as you transition. Over time, however, you’ll come to love beef, and most cravings can and should go away.

These are just suggestions. Use this as a template. You don’t need to follow it to a tee.

Carnivore Diet Meal Ideas: Week 1

Here are some meal ideas for a week on the carnivore diet. From lamb chops to ribeye steak and ground beef, week one also includes pork and fish.

Carnivore Diet Shopping List: Week 1

When I shop, I open up a spreadsheet and map out how many meals I plan to eat of each animal foods and the amount per meal. Assuming that each meal consists of ~16oz of beef (you’ll figure this out over time), I calculate the total amount to bulk buy. Creating a spreadsheet on a computer is precisely how our hunter-gatherer ancestors did it too….lol, kidding. If you want to add some variety to your carnivore diet beyond what’s below, check out my top 10 favorite carnivore diet recipes. Based on the calendar above, you’ll need to buy the following amounts in the right-hand column:

Sample Meal Plan: Week 2

Here’s another sample meal plan for the carnivore diet. I introduce organ meat alongside the usually ground beef:

Carnivore Diet Grocery List: Week 2

Based on the week two meal plan, you’ll need to buy the following amounts in the right-hand column:

Carnivore Diet Recipes: How to Cook Your Meat?

Yes, some people do eat raw meat. But that’s not what I recommend.

Nonetheless, you should make sure not to overcook your meat. You want your steak to stay juicy when you’re finished cooking it. If you overcook your meat, you can reduce the nutrient content of the following nutrients:

Water-soluble vitamins: Vitamin C and the B vitamins
Fat-soluble vitamins: Vitamins A, D, E, and K
Minerals: Primarily potassium, magnesium, sodium, and calcium

I prefer rare-to-medium rare for meats and steaks. It allows more flavor to come out.

Eggs and Dairy on the Carnivore Diet

Both eggs and dairy products can be inflammatory triggers for some people. But you know your body best. It’s up to you to make that call. Dairy can cause inflammation for two reasons: lactose and dairy proteins. If you’re just lactose intolerant, you can try hard cheeses and fermented products that have had lactose fermented away. If that still irritates you, you should drop the dairy altogether because it’s likely the proteins that bother you.

On the first 15-30 days of the carnivore diet, given how frequently eggs and dairy cause inflammation, you should not eat either. If you feel great after your first month, then experiment with adding them back.

Carnivore Diet for Bariatric Patients

In the field of bariatrics, we preach the power of protein when it comes to successful weight loss. So the carnivore diet may seem like a good fit for your lifestyle and health goals.

After bariatric surgery, we recommend our patients consume about 40% protein, 40% fat, and 20% carbs. However, if you are interested in building lean muscle mass, we encourage you to increase your protein intake to about 50 to 60% while dropping your fat intake to 30 to 35% and carbs to 10 to 15%. Luckily, you can obtain most of your fat from meat on the carnivore diet, as mentioned above.

On the carnivore diet, you do not consume any carbs. Although we teach bariatric patients to avoid carbs after weight loss surgery, it can result in you feeling out of energy, especially when your body is initially adapting to this change in diet. Therefore, if you do begin feeling mentally and physically weak, we would encourage you to incorporate more HEALTHY, complex carbs into your diet.

In conclusion, the carnivore diet is a good choice for bariatric patients looking to lose weight or maintain weight loss while building lean muscle mass. However, like every diet, we encourage our patients to look at their food choices as a lifestyle change and not a fad. Therefore, we recommend considering all aspects of incorporating dietary changes into your lifestyle and encourage you to consult your bariatric surgeon or dietitian for further advice.

This blog post was originally published by Carnivore Aurelius on Published on March 9, 2019

Bariatric Liquid Diet Before Weight Loss Surgery

Posted on 05.04.202116.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

Before weight loss surgery, all patients must adhere to a two-week liquid diet no matter the type of bariatric procedure being performed. The thought of drinking only liquids for two weeks sounds horrible and quite intimidating. But in this blog, we hope to educate you on the purpose of the liquid diet, the dangers of not adhering to the diet, and how to follow the diet. So grab your drink and take a seat; let’s dive in!

As a bariatric dietitian, I understand how difficult it can be to even think about giving up solid foods in preparation for weight loss surgery. I have seen many patients struggle during these two weeks, and I do feel for them. However, despite what you may think, this is not to torture you! In fact, we require patients to only consume liquids before surgery to limit the procedure’s risk.

Purpose of the Bariatric Pre-Op Liquid Diet

Prior to surgery, many patients will have excess fat sitting around and/or in their liver. In order to effectively reach the stomach to perform the bariatric procedure, the surgeon has to move the liver. And the larger the liver is, combined with the fat in and around it, the harder it is for the surgeon to safely and effectively maneuver around it.

This can result in more time that the patient will be under anesthesia, significantly increasing their risk of complications, not to mention their medical bills.

On the two-week liquid diet, patients lose enough weight to shrink the liver and limit the amount of time the surgeon will have to spend moving around the liver.

The Pre-Op Liquid Diet Meal Plan

The pre-op liquid diet will consist of approved protein shakes, sugar-free beverages, sugar-free gelatin, sugar-free popsicles, and broth.We always recommend that our patients consume five protein shakes a day and consume at least 64 ounces of sugar-free liquids. Patients cannot consume carbonated beverages such as sodas, sparkling waters, milk or alcohol, etc., and all drinks should contain no more than 10 calories per serving. We also recommend that patients limit their caffeine consumption to two 8-ounce servings a day—all you coffee lovers can still enjoy your cup of joe (with sugar-free sweetener, not sugar).

*This plan does not need to be followed precisely. You can adjust the times based on your own schedule.

*This plan is based on the liquid diet our practice requires patients to do and is a case-by-case diet plan. Therefore we recommend you talk with your surgeon about what you should be consuming leading up to surgery.

What to Expect with the Pre-Op Liquid Diet

When you restrict the total calories and carbohydrates you consume in a day to an extremely low amount, some patients may experience symptoms.

Some of the symptoms you can expect to experience include:

Extreme Hunger Pains
Fatigue
Headaches
Nausea, Constipation, Diarrhea
Mood Swings

The symptoms listed above are completely normal, and they should subside within 3 to 4 days, once your body gets used to consuming so few calories and carbohydrates. Drinking 64 oz of sugar-free beverages and broth can help with the severity of these symptoms.

Success Tips for the Pre-Op Liquid Diet

The pre-operative liquid diet is hard—there is no doubt about it! Therefore, we highly recommend that our patients mentally and physically prepare themselves for the challenge ahead.

1. Plan ahead for success.

Leading up to the days you will be participating in the liquid diet, we recommend that you go to the grocery store to stock up on all the items you will need throughout the two weeks. Waiting to buy the protein shakes, gelatin, and broths until the last minute can lead to failure in adhering to the plan. You want to make sure you set yourself up for success from day one.

2. Find a support and accountability system.

We recommend that bariatric patients find a support system; it can be friends, family, or a group of current/past patients at your bariatric clinic. By enlisting support, you are not only holding yourself accountable, but others are holding you accountable. We have seen it first hand; patients who decide to do it all on their own (pre and post-op meal plans) are not as successful with their weight loss as those are who find support.

3. Remember, it’s temporary.

The two-week liquid diet can be daunting. It is critical that you mentally prepare yourself for the challenge. Tell yourself, this is temporary, and it is a part of a bigger plan!

4. Ignore the numbers on the scale.

Although the liquid diet is in place to lose weight rapidly before surgery, don’t get caught up on the number on the scale. If you see that you aren’t losing weight like you want to, you may be more inclined to start cheating because “what difference does it make anyway?”

We know that the pre-op liquid diet can be intimidating, especially if you have never been on a highly restrictive diet plan before. However, you want to be sure that you are fully committed to the pre-op liquid diet, or else your surgeon may have to cancel or reschedule your surgery. The pre-op liquid diet is a critical step leading up to the weight loss surgery, and all patients have to participate in it—so you are not alone!

PCOS Diet: Foods to Eat and to Avoid if You Have PCOS

Posted on 12.10.202017.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

PCOS is an endocrine condition in which the female reproductive hormones are off-balance and result in infertility in women of childbearing age. Women who experience PCOS may have irregular periods, high androgen levels, and the frequent development of ovarian cysts. Although it is unclear what exactly causes PCOS, it is believed to be a result of increased insulin and androgens levels and usually affects overweight or obese women.

Continue reading “PCOS Diet: Foods to Eat and to Avoid if You Have PCOS”

Reasons You May Not be Losing Weight on the Keto Diet

Posted on 01.06.202017.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

The keto diet has been shown to be an effective diet for losing weight. Its low-carbohydrate, high-fat, moderate-protein model transforms the body from glucose-reliant to a machine that uses fat for fuel and produces ketones endogenously.

Continue reading “Reasons You May Not be Losing Weight on the Keto Diet”

Deciding if the Keto Diet is Right for You After Bariatric Surgery

Posted on 25.05.202017.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

Many swear by keto, but just like other diets, it isn’t for everyone. The important things to consider when deciding whether or not to “go keto” after bariatric surgery are your current health status, your health goals, and how (and if) keto can fit into your life.

Continue reading “Deciding if the Keto Diet is Right for You After Bariatric Surgery”

The Bariatric Patient’s Marconutrient Breakdown on the Keto Diet

Posted on 18.05.202017.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

Macronutrients (“macros” for short) are the components of food that we consume in large quantities that provide energy in the form of calories—fat, protein, and carbohydrates. Macros provide the bulk of our body’s energy, and all of the food we consume contains some relative percent of each.

Continue reading “The Bariatric Patient’s Marconutrient Breakdown on the Keto Diet”

The Fundamentals of a Keto Diet

Posted on 11.05.202017.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

Far from a fad diet, the ketogenic diet, a.k.a the keto diet, is proving that it is here to stay. The attention is well justified, since the ketogenic diet has benefits for athletes, weight loss, and several other health-related conditions. And with an emphasis on the consumption of whole, nutritious, tasty foods, many people find the diet to be fairly non-restrictive. In fact, some claim they’ve never eaten better. They don’t even miss the carbs, which were once a staple of their low-fat diet. Continue reading “The Fundamentals of a Keto Diet”

How Dieting Ruins Your Metabolism and How to Fix It

Posted on 07.10.201917.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

Metabolism is the process in which your body converts calories into energy, explaining why there is a lot of talk around metabolism and your weight. We have all tried dieting in an effort to shed some lbs, but what you may not know is that the constant dieting, caloric restriction, and overtraining is making it harder for your body to metabolize food. Continue reading “How Dieting Ruins Your Metabolism and How to Fix It”

Intermittent Fasting 101: For Bariatric Patients

Posted on 19.08.201917.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

In last weeks blog post, I talked about intermittent fasting, what it entails, and the added benefits. And as promised, this week I am talking about the downsides as well as what my take is on bariatric patients doing intermittent fasting.

Continue reading “Intermittent Fasting 101: For Bariatric Patients”

Intermittent Fasting 101: An Introduction

Posted on 12.08.201917.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

Intermittent fasting seems to be another rising health trend and one that is said to promote weight loss and simplicity—if done appropriately. It is not a diet, but rather a pattern of eating. It involves alternating between periods of fasting and eating. There are no stipulations on what you can or can’t eat, unlike some of the diets we reviewed a few weeks ago, but rather on when you can eat. Continue reading “Intermittent Fasting 101: An Introduction”

The Paleo and Whole 30 Diet for Bariatric Patients

Posted on 18.07.201917.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

When we talk about eating an all natural, whole food diet, we are referring to eating foods that are minimally processed. There are many benefits to eating a diet rich in vegetables and farm-raised meats, including weight loss and lowering your risk of chronic disease such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and much more. So it is no surprise that the paleo and Whole30 diet have been trending in the recent years.

Continue reading “The Paleo and Whole 30 Diet for Bariatric Patients”

A Breakdown of the Keto Diet for Bariatric Patients

Posted on 20.06.201917.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

We have all heard about the Keto Diet, the latest trend. But do you actually know what it entails other than eating lots of fat and losing weight? In this blog I am going to dive into the basics of the ketogenic diet and our take on this diet for bariatric patients.

Continue reading “A Breakdown of the Keto Diet for Bariatric Patients”

The Worst Types of Diets

Posted on 23.05.201917.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

It is estimated that about 45 million Americans go on a diet each year. However, two-thirds of the US population is considered overweight or obese based on their body mass index. With the steady rise in the obesity rate, it is no surprise Americans are turning to extreme methods to lose weight. Continue reading “The Worst Types of Diets”

Fad Diets: The Dangerous Side Effects

Posted on 25.04.201917.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

Do you ever wonder why at Live Healthy MD we promote a lifestyle change and not a diet? Diets just don’t work! How many times have you started your healthy eating kick with the elimination of all processed foods, all sugar, all carbs, and basically anything that tastes good? Yeah, we have all been there.

Continue reading “Fad Diets: The Dangerous Side Effects”

Video Blog: How Dieting May be Ruining Your Weight Loss

Posted on 10.05.201818.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

Continue reading “Video Blog: How Dieting May be Ruining Your Weight Loss”

It’s NOT a DIET!

Posted on 11.01.201817.07.2023 by Live Healthy MD

Are you old enough to remember the movie Kindergarten Cop? Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a policeman who, on assignment, poses as a kindergarten teacher in order to catch a criminal. In the famous scene, he is in front of his class of 5-year-olds, rubbing his head. One of the kids asks, “What’s the matter?” Arnold, the cop/teacher, responds, “I have a headache.” The child, offering his wisdom, suggests, “Maybe it’s a tumor,” to which Arnold replies, “It’s NOT a TOOMAH.”

Continue reading “It’s NOT a DIET!”