Carbs - what do you limit yourself to per day?
I am wondering what others limit their carb intake to per day? Another site I have been on says 50 gms/day. I tend to do 70+ per day. Thoughts? I have a hard time with meat unless it is mixed with some potato. I am also amazed at the things that have carbs in them that I didn't know about. For example, I make a protein shake daily with Greek yogurt, protein powder, water, ice, Truvia and frozen peaches - peaches have carbs! Sugar free hot coco has carbs. I am losing about 1.5 - 2.5 pounds per week still but wonder if I could be doing better. Thanks. Sharn
The only carbs I eat are unprocessed from fruits and veggies. I don't eat potatoes, pasta, breads etc. To me the are empty calories that fill me up way too quickly and I'm hungry again way too quick. It's workkng for me, so I go with it.
High Weight: 264, BMI 46.8, Surgery Date: July 1, 2014, weight 227, BMI 40.2
on 12/27/14 2:52 pm
Do you understand the point of the surgery is to lose weight. To do that you have to cut your carbs. If you can't eat meat without potatoes then don't eat meat. The protein shakes are not meant to be fruity smoothies, they are made to help you get your required protien in. If you load then up with peaches with a high sugar content, you are defeating the purpose. Just because something isn't a professed carb doesn't mean you should eat it They are many high sugar fruits that you should exclude
Cut out the carbs and you will lose.
"The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue." --- Dorothy Parker
"You may not like what I say or how I say it, but it may be just exactly what you need to hear." ---Kathryn White
I know what carbs are but I haven't the faintest idea how to count them. I just choose complex cards rather than simple ones and start meals with protein, then veggies and then carbs if I have any room left. If I start to count anything, I start to obsess. Then I start to think about food all the time. So I don't count. But I accept that that doesn't work for everyone!
But, without knowing which surgery you have had, if you are losing steadily and finding your food intake comfortable, why not stick to what you are doing? Change things if loss slows!
Highest 290, Banded - 248 Lowest 139 (too thin!). Comfort zone 155-165.
Happily banded since May 2006. Regain of 28lbs 2013-14. ALL GONE!
But some has returned! Up to 175, argh! Off we go again,
Dr. Atkins promoted the concept of low carb dieting. To lose weight rapidly, he had you stay under 20 carbs a day for the first two weeks and then increase to 40 carbs a day. This keeps you in ketosis and gives you a 10 percent advantage in weight loss. Ten percent advantage means that you will lose eleven pounds in a month where you would have lost ten with higher carb eating.
Eating 50 or more carbs a day will stop ketosis. You can buy test strips to test if you are in ketosis or rapid fat burning mode. For me to get into ketosis, I have to stay well under 40 carbs a day. For me that is meat and water only, sometimes a small amount of lettuce or green beans. At 45 carbs a day for me the test strips are no longer purple.
Real life begins where your comfort zone ends
I tried to stay around 50 while losing, though most days it was closer to 100.
I don't count carbs today but years of history of losing and gaining weight has taught me that things like sugar, bread, cake, candy, pasta and almost all processed foods don't go hand in hand with keeping a healthy weight. Use common sense.
WLS 10/28/2002 Revision 7/23/2010
High Weight (2002) 240 Revision Weight (2010) 220 Current Weight 115.
My doc said to stick to about 45 gms of carbs a day and he stressed "good" carbs. Meaning carbs from peaches are better than carbs from macaroni and cheese. I don't do potatoes or bread. Most post ops shouldn't. We really should not eat anything "white"-bread, rice, crackers, etc. The carbs in that is high and there's no nutrition to balance out the fact that we're eating carbs. Find another alternative to potatoes with your meat. Meat for posties should never be eaten dry. We have to have juice, gravy, salsa, broth or something else to moisten the meat. Potatoes are a "filler food" but don't offer much else. Farther down the road you'll be glad you limited carbs now - it's not easier later and for most of us weight goes back on fast when we eat carbs. Keep reading labels until you're an expert. It's easy to plan meals around low carb and you're doing well already.
Jen 14 yrs post op RNY
