Question:
7 months out and eating too many carbs, HELP!

I am 7 months post-op and know I am eating way too many carbs. I don't feel like my diet is balanced and need some advice. A typical day for me is crunchy granola bars for breakfast(I can eat 2), turkey (about 1 oz) and broccoli salad (1/4 cup), an afternoon snack of popcorn (probably about 1 cup), dinner 1/2 cup chicken casserole, evening snack 3 sugar free snackwell cookies. I don't want to end up failing but I feel like that is the path I am on. Cookies, Popcorn, Granola bars, those are all bad and I know this. But how do I stop eating them? Lap RNY -104 lbs. Thanks in advance for your advice.    — [Anonymous] (posted on March 7, 2002)

March 7, 2002
Hi. I am preop so am probably not an expert, but it sounds like you're eating a healthy, lo-cal diet...I can't see how 1 cup of popcorn could ever be considered "bad"...perhaps postops could comment more on this, but isn't it still reducing calories overall that constitues weight loss?
   — rebeccamayhew

March 7, 2002
Thanks for the question. I am 7.5 months out, -82 lbs. I really was eating too many carbs (for me), but didn't feel like I was eating bad....AND I felt like I wasn't losing fast enough. I had read on here many times about the website fitday.com but had never tried it. Let me tell you, 10 days of entering all my food in (it's a free website) and SEEING if I'm getting the right amount of protein has been great! And, I've lost 6 pounds in 10 days. Love fitday.com (almost as much as THIS website!) Best of luck to you. Open RNY 7/17/01.
   — blee01

March 7, 2002
I'm not a nutritionist but you are not getting enough protein. You need to replace that granola bar in the morning with a protein bar. I do that every morning, I eat a Doctor's Low Carb diet Smore's protein bar and find myself looking forward to it. I would at least double that lunch time turkey, then eat as much brocoli salad as you have room for. You just may pay with muscle loss if you don't get in some more protein. Try switching to high protein snacks like beef jerky. In the afternoons if I an starving I eat a shrimp coctail. I keep the frozen shrimp in my freezer and just nuke them a few seconds and run water over them to thaw. I am just as guilty as everyone else of wanting to wolf down some carbs. And I think it is okay to add more starches or simple carbs once you get and stay at goal.
   — cindy Q.

March 7, 2002
Please don't beat yourself up about this. If you are really worried there are lots of nutrition books out there, but personally I eat alot of carbs and it hasn't affected me one bit. I'm just over a year and 90lbs off. I'm a 6-8 and can eat almost anything I want. I don't want to give you any bad advise other than not to overthink every bite. Sincerely, Susan
   — susan R.

March 7, 2002
I was in the same boat as you at 7 mos out. during mos 6 and 7--which happened to fall during halloween--i kinda went carb-crazy. I WAS able to get back on the wagon and get the rest of the weight off, though. Of course we are all different but this worked for me so I hope it helps.<p>If I eat carbs first thing in the morning I crave them all day, so I switched to protein breakfasts--a piece of cheese, cottage cheese with lime juice and splenda, peanut butter and apples, deli meat, stuff like that. I wanted to up my protein so I added a protein bar mid-morning. That seemed to quiet down my sugar cravings AND added 15-20 grams of protein a day. I stuck with an early lunch and a second mid-afternoon "lunch" and ate a few nuts before going home in the afternoon if I felt too hungry so I didn't go to dinner ravenous. I ate a normal dinner and if hungry, another protein snack before bedtime (see previous list) or some fruit. <p>IMHO I don't think you are eating enough! I try for 100 grams of protein a day and usually get close. I also use fitday.com to check my protein and carb intake. The only downside is they don't show sugar values. Try upping your protein and eating 2-3 good snacks a day. I'll bet your carb craving will subside. Mine did! Good luck and happy losing!
   — ctyst