Carb Removal Help

I am usually a pretty intelligent person.  But I am having trouble with carbs in my post surgery diet.  I am almost 5 years post op.  I believe my weight gain and difficult weight loss battle is due to the carbs in my diet.
I know if I make an in-office appointment with my bariatric dietician, she will say, stop eating carbs.  Well, if it were that easy, wouldn't I have done that already??!?!!?
So, I need help in how to get the carbs out of my diet and staying out.  I am on day #7 of no soda.  Which doesn't sound like a lot.  But for me, it is TONS.  no pun intended.
I am being honest and asking for help.  Anything is appreciated.
i have never been taught healthy habits growing up.  I can read what I am supposed to do on paper.  But putting it into practice is where I am having big trouble.  I originally lost 100# with my lap RNY surgery.  I have, to date, gained 60#.  My exercise is good.  My surgeon told me my body is physiologically wired to hang onto each and every carb we give it.  Honestly, i don't know what he means.  I did just start reading Gary Taubes book WHY WE GET FAT so I am hoping to get some knowledge on the topic.
I knew from day one that I would not have any family support with my surgery or post surgery lifestyle.  And I accept that.  (I am very independent.)  But I am struggling so much right now that I am asking for help.
Thanks,
penny - WI
date of surg: 4/12/06

Learning to live without the carb foods we often love is so very hard.  It may even be harder if wls gave you a false sense of security.  Leaving you thinking that with a pouch and malabsorption you could handle carbs. 

No soda is a great rule if you were drinking the full sugar variety.  Diet soda depends on your body's reaction to it.  Sugar alcohols, fruits, starchy carbs, etc some can be worse for you than others. 

If you can't just stop cold, I suggest you eliminate carbs in stages starting with the worst for your body based on your experience.  What carbs cause you the most difficulty be it in weight gain, propensity to binge eat , or what ever? 

Pick something to start with be it a category of carbs or a problem carb food.  Expand each wee****il you can get your diet down to mainly protein and fibrous veg.  When you can leave the sugar, white carbs like potatos, rice, flour etc alone, then you can hit low carbing hard with induction level net carbs. 

Start eliminating immediatly.  Get support for compulsive eating issues.  Being unable to stop eating carbs is a sign of compulsive over eating.  Most folks I've encountered who coe have carbs as their primary nemesis but this group is not about eating disorders. 

Work it one day at a time,  Go for progress not perfection.  You will be low carbing as a way of life. 

Hi Penny --

First of all I think that getting soda out of your home and life is a GREAT place to start.  I would move on to ..

1)  the carbs you drink -- any beverage should ideally be zero carbs, watch out for flavored waters and coffee beverages!   The sneakiest carbs are the ones we drink because they just "slide" through!

2)  the next sneakiest carbs are the other "slider" carbs -- anything which, once you chew it up, just slides through your stoma withuot filling you up in the least.  It seems, on this message board, that the most frequent culprit is CRACKERS, followed by CHIPS (both corn and potato), and then COOKIES.

3)  Breakfast cereal is just highly refined CARB junk, and no one really needs it;

4)  Ice cream, along with its cousins (sherbet, sorbet, mochi, and especially sugar-free or fat-free frozen treats) is evil.  It just is.  Evil. 

Those are the big three that dog people in the WLS and Low-Carb worlds.  If I was starting to de-carb-ify my home,  I would get rid of every one of 'em. 


So that's from the NEGATIVE perspective.

From the positive perspective, take a look at the yummy things people ARE eating, on the CARb Accountability Roundup threads.  These will give you a good idea of the great variety of delicious things that really ARE availabie.

And go forward from there!

Nice to have you on board!

Thanks for the tips.  My problem areas are bread and fruits.  I LOVE fruit.  As for the bread, my standby breakfast WAS a peanut butter sandwich.  So i will be looking thru threads for different ideas.  I am mainly drinking crystal light and water.  And with no soda, I am drinking over a gallon a day. 
With RNY I have noticed I have a problem with cooked vegetables.  Getting stuck.  Not feeling good after.  So I will work on this as well.  I have been trying stir fries and salads with the warmer weather.
Thanks everyone for all your support in my journey.
Penny

Penny, Once I removed the carbs - and took some time off them - they do not appeal to me. My BF will have bread and I can just look and have no desire for it. But I know that I am a carb addict, and if I would start with a bite - I would want the whole thing. So I do not get a bite.
Some fruits are better for me than others (mostly berries), Veggies - only non starchy are allowed on my diet. Greens, and low carb veggies (but that also means no beans, except green beans). 2 weeks on a very low carb diet and my cravings went away.
I also noticed that when my craving are getting the worst of me - that means that my candida (systematic candida - internal yeast) must be getting worse. My doc prescribed anti-fungal meds, and I try to take them only if I have it, (now it is maybe every 2-3 months the most?)

Look into candida and the symptoms (google it)...

I sent a (quite) long email to the dietician where i had my surgery.  She suggested I come in for an office visit so we can both get on the same page and get me headed in the right direction.  She requested I bring some current food journals with me.   Surprisingly, she got me in her schedule in 2 weeks.  So I should have some good food journals by then.
Thanks everyone for your support and ideas.  I have been watching the food postings online to get ideas of low carb/no carb friendly food ideas.
Enjoy the sunshine!!
Penny

Hi Penny,

You've come to the right place!  You've already gotten some great advice from these wonderful women.  I wanted to add that looking at the big picture can be overwhelming.  When i'm making changes, I have to tell myself that I'm forgoing the carbs for one meal which then stretches to one day more easily.  Take it one day at a time and know that you're not giving yourself a prison sentence.  I find that I miss the carbs (a lot!) for a few days.  What I miss is fruit because I don't eat grains or sugar products so I crave that natural fruit.  It takes me several days to get it out of my system, then I don't crave it as much.  Feed yourself as much high quality protein as fits nicely in your pouch.  Drink lots and get good rest.  You said your exercise is good so you're already on top of that.

You've taken that first step of asking for help.  Bravo!!  Keep posting lots and stay in touch.  You can do this.  :)