Carbohydrates

I just started my journey and this is my first time posting a question. 

I had my initial consultation on April 7th with a nutritionist, insurance coordinator, and doctor.  Per my insurance, I have to be under a supervised physician diet for 6 months before they will approve surgery.  I was given a general diet plan.  Naturally to fill my plate with veggies and a palm size portion of protein.  My problem is, I am a carbohydrate addict.  Every meal has some sort of carb.  I am trying, but I am failing miserably.  I'm scared that I won't be able to stay away from carbs once I have my surgery.  Anyone else out there that is a carb addict that had the surgery?  What helped you?

Thanks-

Kim

Welcome!  Lots of carb addicts here!  I'm definitely one.  There is no magic pill for this unfortunately, but the good news is that if you can white-knuckle it for a few days and be seriously low-carb (no cheating), then the cravings really truly do diminish to tolerable levels.  Sugar-free stuff helps on the carbs-per-day count, but it probably won't help craving-wise if you have a sweet tooth.

Get all of it out of the house because we all know how crazy we get when the craving****!! :)

going cold turkey. WLS won't stop you from craving or eating carbs. It is a head game not a stomach game.

Just don't include the carbs in your meals. 

My program was the same, telling me I could have a 1/2 cup of starches per meal. But I knew that would never work for me, so I just omitted it.  I had my 4 ounces of protein and filled up on healthy low carb veggies. 

My nutritionist didn't recommend it, but she didn't give me trouble about it, either.  And I did well on my low carb plan.

You know your body better than they do. 

Carol

None of us got big enough for weight loss surgery on lean protein and non-starchy vegetables.  We are all carb addicts and have all had to deal with that in order to lose weight.  I completely gave up sugar, flour, potatoes, rice, cereal, bread, pasta, noodles, pasties, ice cream, cookies, crackers and anything that would make me crave carbs.

For me the secret was to always find substitutes using low carb ingredients.

I do think it's quite a bit easier after surgery and you can't eat much at one go. For example, last night I cooked some chicken breast with curry sauce. I ate a couple of ounces and was DONE. No room for carbs! Don't make them and fill up on lean protein, and you're pretty much done.

I definitely have carb issues too. Now that I'm heading into getting things together for my pre-op diet, I'm kind of cringing again because I know the sensation I have to battle and it's a huge struggle for me to get over. The advice about white-knuckling it for a few days given above is pretty accurate. After having done Atkins and South Beach and Whole 30, I have to say that your BIGGEST friend for success (based on where I've pinpointed where my failures started and everything fell apart) is planning all your meals ahead of time, finding healthy substitutes and work-arounds for your favorite foods and minimizing your stress as much as possible. Having home made zucchini chips, pistachios and cheese on hand to eat when I felt the carb craving was definitely helpful, it didn't take much to help curb the feelings. Definitely READ as much as you can for recipes that tailor your meal restrictions, plan your shopping list for the week and your meals around your schedule, look for as many HEALTHY substitutions as you can (no one wants chemicals and weird fake food to fill their plate, it just leads to failure when you can't stand what you're eating). Keep occupied when the craving**** take a walk when you feel it coming on, avoid sitting in front of the TV, take the time to go to bed early to fight off those late night cravings. I found that healthy modified recipes really helped me mentally get past the hurdle at first - things like pureed cauliflower to make faux mashed potatoes was amazing, cauliflower crumbled like rice was great for a fried "rice" recipe and substitute coconut aminos for soy sauce. For pasta, I went for spaghetti squash and ate that like a mad woman. I couldn't tell the difference when it was smothered in a meat-sauce, LOL. For bread - this was a HUGE hurdle for me. But there are low-carb options out there that do not taste that horrible and it can help you when you *absolutely* have to have some. There are always low-carb dessert options if you absolutely can't get past the need for a sweet (there are tons of Paleo diet recipes to help with that).

My best to you and wishing you much success!

I have to tell you, since I had my surgery 3 months ago I do not crave carbs at all....and that's all I ate before. I loved bread, pasta, popcorn, chips, etc. I think I still love them now but I don't crave it like I did before the surgery. I mean the look and smell of a piece of pizza makes my heart go pitter patter (lol), but I don't seem to have any interest in it anymore. 

So a question for the vets - do you eventually eat this kind of stuff? I mean, not gorge ourselves like we did prior to surgery but have a slice every now and then once your reached goal or further out. Just curious. I know it's not impossible to revert back to our old habits and sticking to the proteins and veggies are best if we want to succeed. I was just wondering if you dabble in something yummy like that from time to time? 

I am a NYer... and we love our pizza. That was my fast food of choice before surgery. I have had a slice, or part of a slice of pizza about 5ish times since surgery, they were all while I was losing weight... they were all also because someone was visiting and wanted to go for pizza.

I don't crave pizza the way I did, but really enjoyed it every time. They didn't derail me, because I haven't let it into my everyday....they were special occasions.

At this point I feel like I could eat almost anything, it is deciding if it is worth it.

Hey fellow NY'er!!! I think pizza runs in our veins lol. It for sure was my fave before surgery. It even runs in my family with my dad and brother owning a pizza place here in Vegas. I love the smell and if we go there I have him make me something I can eat but salivate over the pizza for like a second lol.