Help!! Questions about changing diet to include more carbohydrates!!

Hi Everyone!

I am in my first week of BOT dieting.  Lost 5 lbs!! I am sure a good portion of that is water weight but I will take what I can get ...:)

To my distress, going back on the diet which helped me lose weight after the VSG in 2009 has been disastrous.  I can deal with hunger and that passes, but the feeling of NO energy is a deal killer. Perhaps I simply didn't notice it the first go round??  This week I experienced fogginess, feeling tired, weak, shaky at times. It is not constant, but there is no way to start a fitness program on that, nor really to live a life.  I need to way of eating that will help me lose the weight I want...not toooo slowly...but also be sustainable in the long run as I get into fitness more and more.  One of my central goals, after all, is to increase energy and vitality.

I have been looking over fitness magazines and blogs and have read a great deal over the years, as I am sure have all of you.  What puzzles me, and honestly makes me nervous, is that ALL of the fitness and health literature emphasizes complex carbs (fruit, veggis, grains) and lean protein..."clean food" overall.  Yet the diet that helped most of us was very, very low carb which of course causes a great deal of water loss, along with fat loss. 

I have looked at some of your postings and they certainly have more than the 25g of carbs recommended right after surgery.

My question is this:  has anyone moved into more mainstream healthy eating -- allowing for complex carbs in addition to a minimum of lean protein, and at what calorie level?  I don't want to "slow my metabolism" (has anyonen actually experienced this??) and am committed to working on weight lifting and cardio, but also want to get back in my 4/6 clothes by spring/summer. 

After the high protein worked so well, I am a bit nervous about switching over. Yet so many people seem to succeed with that approach as well...more weigh****cher ish I suppose.

Thoughts? Advice? Help!!

I dont count my carbs and never have, but I am only a year and a half out..  As long as I get in over 100 g of protien I pretty much eat whatever.  I have a green smoothie almost daily and it is all veggies, fruits and protien powder.  I eat a fairly normal diet but stay away from pastas and breads.   Best of luck and make sure you getting in enough calories.  Dipping below 1000-1200 calories makes most people feel like crap and is not a good way to go either ( you didnt say how many you were getting a day.)  

I hope one of the "older" vets will chime in regarding calories and your other questions.

 

Kat

I felt the exact same way and still struggle sometimes with the concept. I've noticed that if I eat more carbs in god quality food (not junk) then I feel so much better. And if you're going to get into endurance activity then carbs are a must.

I did count carbs religiously while losing but I also picked up running towards the end of my losing phase and carbs came into play. Just experiment and have fun with it

Good luck

When I met with my NUT to discuss endurance training while in maintenance, I nearly flipped my lid when she told me how many carbs I should be eating. After all, I'd just spent over a year eating less than 50g carbs a day, so it was hard to switch my mind to what my body would need on long runs. Now, 21 months post op and working my way to my 2nd Half-Marathon and possibly training for my first Full-Marathon in October, I eat with these guidelines: lean protein first, dairy, then veggies/fruit, then whole-grain carbs. On non-workout days, I eat 1250 cal, at least 100g protein and try to keep carbs under 80g. I adjust calories/carbs/protein up on days I run, per whatever my Garmin said I burned off. It's working so far.....

You have to focus on high glycemic index foods as they would prolog your craving for food and help in being fit and healthy.