carb question...

 ok im just curious.. as im on soft proteins at the moment probably for couple more weeks... anyhow.. question is... how much carbs? once u can have them what is a resonable amout to shoot for? i know it doesnt matter if they are good or bad they still count the same... an we need to keep calories kinda low.. 1000-1400 range... an protein first an so on.. im just curious since protein goals are minimum 60g just wanted to know what everyones been told an so on bout carbs.. i plan to ask my doc on 21st.. oh an another question does it make a difference pouch wise if u add protein powder? u know to like potatos, oatmeal, ceral, so on... docs can tell us alot but well lets face it most of them dont really know what our tiny tummy's like.. or dislike.. an so on.. thanks in advance.. 

I try not to eat anymore than 30% of my calories from carbs... I try to make sure that Protein is at least 40% of my calories... so if you are shooting for 60g of Protein, 30% carbs would be 45g.  BTW... The calories you are quoting are much higher than I eat 8 mths out... my average is about 800 to 850 per day. 

The 30% carbs 30% fat 40% protein figure is a common goal for people who track their intake. I just make sure to get 20-30g fiber or else I can't use the bathroom!

Really, the longer you can keep your carbs as low as possible, the faster you will lose weight (and the more water you will need to drink, ketosis is so hard on your body). If you exercise heavily you may find your energy or blood sugar to be too low and that you need to add some complex carbs, but definitely early out most people would say the lower the better (<50g). If you want numbers, I personally think my sweet spot for losing well but not feeling like death warmed over was about 80g (with at least 25 coming from fiber).

You can add protein powder to anything, just make sure it isn't too hot or the protien will curdle. Look up the website "The world according to eggface" - she has some nice recipes for all stages that are high in protien and some of them use protien powder.

Good luck!

 thanks so much an yeh i can understand the fiber thing perfectly...  i ended up getting some benefiber recently since im on this stage where its like nothing but chicken, turkey, fish, cheese.. i never thought i would see the day i missed vegies,fruit etc.. but its came..  least im not hungry tho so it makes it easier.. but cant wait for more variety.. like everyone says surgeons rules are different... im not even allowed beans an most are eating refriend beans right after surgery  so after a couple days being irregular i tried milk of magnesia an almost coughed up a foamie furball  was Nastyyyyyyy!!! benefiber couple times a day has been working tho.. 21st my diet gets bumped up to everything... within reason u know? meaning gona be a lot of experimenting seeing what "tiny tummy" likes an doesnt.. but wanted to make sure to get an idea of what everyone else was doing as far as carbs.. cuz after not having any i didnt want to go over im gona try to have the least amout as possible but get in some food fiber instead of supplementing...  

Sorry this is going to be long but I figured if you are curious someone else is, I was and had to do quite a bit of research to get my answers.

  I had to edit, I forgot that the NAC (National Academy of Science) states that the DRI (Daily Reference Intake) for Adults is 45-65% of their calories from Carbohydrates, I take less than half, I try not to go over 20% until I hit goal.  There are times I do have some garlic bread and noodles but only a few times since my surgery.

I have to start off saying “congrats on the surgery going well". Oh, and I was a carbohydrate ***** pre-surgery. I loved anything with carbohydrates in it, from complex carbs to simple carbs (especially the simple carbs!) but have altered that behavior for the most part. I keep my carbs at the bare minimum that I need to function and I have achieved maximum weight loss each and every week. For two weeks I added carbs like Pita bread, noodles, rye bread and potatoes and I only lost 3-4 lbs each week. The following week I took my carbs down to the minimum and I was back to my normal 7-10 lb loss for the week. I figure when I hit goal I will reintroduce carbs to maintain my weight (I CANNOT WAIT!!!).

I will attempt to answer your question with my personal experience (I took a nutritional class in college last spring and kept everything in a large binder) plus I did a bunch more research on carbohydrates over the last few weeks. I will copy/paste my copy of good/bad carbs that I keep printed on our refrigerator (the highlighted foods are what I like to use as my pick-me-ups.  Like I will have a pickle with some cheese if I am feeling weak or starting to get a headache from lack of food).

Complex carbohydrates, to put it simply, are made up of long strands of sugars and the body must 'break' them down into simple sugars before utilizing them. While it doesn't amount to much, the process of breaking down foods actually burns calories (YEAH, free workout, LOL if only it wee that easy, I would never have gotten so big eating so much and burning so many calories breaking down the foods I ate). Complex carbohydrates break down slowly over a longer period of time, thus athletes load up on carbs before a big race/game/event because it gives their bodies more energy over a longer period of time. How long any food stays in our bodies is beyond me, I haven't studied that aspect of wls.

Simple carbohydrates get digested very quickly, they are absorbed rapidly and converted into sugars. The majority of simple carbohydrates are refined sugars and very few of the essential vitamins and minerals we need. Simple carbohydrates are what we consider as bad carbs. Simple carbs consist of smaller molecules of sugar and are digested rapidly because they are absorbed immediately when digested. Simple carbs are what we call 'empty calories'.

***(IMPORTANT NOTE) Human body cells can only store a limited amount of glycogen (sugar once it is converted), taking too much food containing simple carbs results in the body storing the excess as fat.

Complex carbohydrates:

Spinach, Whole Barley, Grapefruit, Turnip Greens, Buckwheat, Apples, Lettuce, Buckwheat bread, Prunes, Water Cress, Oat bran bread, Dried apricots, Zucchini, Oatmeal, Pears, Asparagus, Oat bran cereal, Plums, Artichokes, Muesli, Strawberries, Okra, Brown rice, Yams, Celery, Multi-grain bread, Carrots, Cucumbers,Pinto beans, Potatoes, Dill Pickles, Low fat yogurt, Soybeans, Radishes, Skim milk, Lentils, Broccoli, Navy beans, Garbanzo beans, Brussels, Sprouts, Cauliflower, Kidney beans, Eggplant, Soy milk, Lentils, Onions, Whole meal bread and Split peas.

***NOTE: Some fruits have a lot of simple carbs, like berries, apples, etc... but they aren't going to waste due to their nutritional value and added fiber. Some of the others like potatoes and breads are full of starch. BE CHOOSY WITH YOGURT THEY MAY BE LOW/NO FAT BUT LOADED WITH SUGARS!!!

 

Simple carbohydrates:

Table sugar, Corn syrup, Fruit juice, Candy, Cake, Breads, Pasta and Baked goods made with white flour, Soda pop, Candy, Most packaged cereals, Honey, Milk, Yogurt, Jam/Jelly, Chocolate, Biscuits and a rash of other products like these.

 

 

 wow now thats a wealth of knowledge... thank u.. i had no idea.. gona stay away from as much as i can.. i dont need anything slowing me down.. thanks for the list it will come in handy im gona save that.. dill pickles an brown rice will work great for me.. 2 of my favs Prays "tiny tummy" likes an accepts them...

I forgot the Cardinal rule for pretty much the rest of my life if I do not want to fail at yet another weight loss program, although this can go badly I am pretty confident this time.  I hate this rule but it's my life now,  Modera... Mod... Mode.... Damn, I can't get it out, One more shot here, M-o-d-e-r-a-t-i-o-n. hehe.

I wished I could have used that word starting about 25 years ago, I think I will blame  Halloween  today. 


As a running joke with friends I randomly pick different things for my weight gain over the years. Thus the Halloween comment.