Carb Confusion

[prinnie 0]

I am really confused. My surgeon is so strict on a low carb (under 20 grams per day) diet. I read in here that so many bandsters eat bread, potato, and other high carb foods. Is it just my doc that is really strict or do all docs say to stick to Protein? Do those who eat high carb foods just eat so little of it that it doesn't add up?

Help my confusion please.

[Jessiebear 2]

I think most docs say to stay away from carbs. That doesn't mean that we do it. Personally, I can't! I have a tight fill & I am asking for trouble if I try bread, potatoes or potato products. They are problem foods for most banders with good restriction (they cause PBs or the dreaded golf ball). We all know that bad carbs = slow to no weight loss & possible gain. I hope that helps! It sucks, but I hope it helps!

[Elisabethsew 50]

My MD wants 2 parts Protein to one part carb so that would translate to 2 ounces of protein and one ounce of carbs. It's helpful if you learn to read food labels. Make sure that the protein content is highest.

[Poodles 0]

Carbs also cause insulin to spike which will make you hungry sooner than Protein will. If you stay away from carbs then you won't get into that "attack mode" that sugar/carbs have a tendency to put you into.

Staying below 20 grams is not too bad, I have been below 50 for three years now (off and on again though). It gets easier. (I am hoping that my band will control my portions of Protein and other foods to help with calorie control, and help me lose weight.) Not eating carbs is easy now-a-days, there are tons of low carb products out there. Personally, I like my low carb ice-cream better than the regular now. Your tastes will change.

Good luck!

[Montana Pam 0]

Boy, I've been doing everything wrong. Way too many carbs. I'm sitting here on my "pitty-pot" because I'm stuck at 260 for a month and feeling very disheartened.

I keep reading about you all eating Cereal, and bread and popcorn and other high carb stuff and your tickers are like at 1/2 ??? How do you do it? Last night I had a Weight Watchers lasagne, carrots and peaches. Later I ate a pork chop and threw up. ??? I'm very confused.

Somebody kick my butt into gear please.

Thanx

Pam

[shortgal 5]

I think a lot depends on which Cereal, which bread and how much. I eat Kashi Go Lean cereal, which is higher in Protein and Fiber. I eat 3/4 cup with a small amount of skim milk. Bread, I never eat more than one slice a day and it is always 100% whole grain for the Fiber.< /p>

My problem area is yogurt, has some Protein but too many carbs. I try to convince myself at least it has Calcium.

If you want to add some carbs, look for the ones that are lower on the gylcemic index. They don't spike the blood sugar levels as fast as the higher ones. Then it's Portion Control.< /p>

[Long2BFree 12]

Protein helps keep you full longer but are also important for maintaining muscles during weightloss. If you are filling up on carbs and not getting enough protein then your body is pretty much eating itself (muscle) to get what it needs.

[Just Banded 0]

I don't know if this is T or F, but I think that people, especially who gain weight easily- may have issues with burning the carbs effectively. Genetics- some people sweat more, some people hold on to fat more. My doctor gave me this "burning theory of carbs" paper that says that certain carbs get used up quickly and some sit in your body like logs. It might also be influenced by your activity level. Like for me, I used to eat like I was running in a marathon, every day, except all I was doing was running to the fridge from the couch. Some people HAVE to excercise every day. They feel incomplete if they don't excersise. I unfortunately have no clue what that is like. I would much rather sit in front of my computer all day and read Lap Band Talk than go for a walk. See- this is the arm wrestling I am talking about! I need a pep talk to get my tush our the door. In fact, I need Anthony Robbins himself to come yank me out. I need my nike sneakers to come to life and kick me while screaming JUST DO IT!

unless... I move my fridge a mile away from my house! j/k

Edited April 12, 2008 by Just Banded

[litterbug 0]

Boy oh boy can I relate to being stuck.. I have been stuck for several months and can't seem to get that scale to go down..but lets not give up..keep up that hard work..we can do this..your not alone.

[slimmy120 2]

I got lap banded on 18th sep 2007, have had 4 fills, last few weeks been getting really hungry, then followed everyones advice more Protein, i still eat carbs, i just include more protein .Lost 62lbs to date.

[Jachut 487]

I agree with Just Banded, I think certain people handle carbs differently. The low carb thing is definitely an American custom, its just not practices here as strongly, although of course plenty of people try low carb diets, its not a standard post lap band diet. And Australians by and large do well with the lap band.

I know you need Protein, but I personally think 80 to 100g a day is overstating it for most women, and I find that wholegrain, low GI carbs are the foods that really fill me up and make the band work the way its supposed to. When I eat a Protein heavy meal with very low carbs for Breakfast or lunch, I will be looking for food within the hour, my body just doesnt run well without the energy carbs give.

I dont know, I didnt get morbidly obese, I got to a BMI of 36 and it was quite hard work to get there, I wouldnt say I "gain weight easily" by just looking at food, I had to really let my eating and exercise habits slide to do it. I'm not one of those people who could say "I dont know why I'm fat". And when I changed my habits, I lost weight very easily. So perhaps I can burn carbs where the next person cant?

Anyway I definitely DONT believe the whole population is walking around with their insulin levels going crazy all over the place. Most people can and should eat good quality carbs.

Its very important to realise that what is good for weight loss (or for muscle gain for that matter) aint necessarily the best for your overall health. There's a lot of risks to your health by going protein heavy, not the least of which is the risk of overdoing the saturated fat, your kidney health or predisposing yourself to bowel problems from lack of fibre and substance. Guzzling processed soy based Protein shakes in huge quantities worries me, there's a lot of credible research highlighting the dangers of oberconsuming soy products. Moderation in all things is my motto.

[Wheetsin 714]

I'm beginning to think more and more that surgeons, outside of pre-op diets, advocate for lower carbs because most people do lose weight with carbs decreased and the more weight you lose, the better their numbers are.

I've seen very few surgeons distinguish in their diets between simple carbs and complex carbs. If I didn't eat my complex carbs, my food pickings would go way down, they're among most of my favorite foods. In fact, they will say "avoid carbs" in one sentence, and "eat beans" in the next... which is just going to confuse 95% of the population out there who is going to see the somewhat high carb count of the Beans and not get why they can eat them...

[jjsmiles 3]

I agree with Wheetsin and Jachut - I eat lots of carbs and I think I can be considered reasonably successful. I do make sure I eat lots of Protein, and I avoid white flour, white bread, etc. I do eat quite a bit of high fibre, whole wheat products, which I find help to fill me up. oatmeal is a staple Breakfast for me.

I have posted this before, but for me, cutting out most carbs is a recipe for disaster long term. I went into this process wanting to eat as I plan to eat for the rest of my life (maybe I can eat a little more down the line :biggrin:), which includes eating all foods in moderation. I didn't go into this journey planning to endure my diet until I got to goal and then I would go back to "regular" eating. Regular eating got me to 350ish pounds for most of the 2000's.

My problem with restricting carbs is that for me, I have done Atkins or atkins like several times (the first time when my mom put me on it when I was about 11 or 12) and I have lost weight very successfully (probably true for many obese people - which is probably why Dr's recommend it). However, once I started to reintroduce carbs into my diet, I was like an alcoholic or a drug addict and I couldn't seem to stop myself from eating and eating and eating. This of course led to me to gain back all my weight plus more. No thank you - not this time!!!!!!!

As Wheetsin posted, I don't think people realize how many carbs are in our food and get confused by the messages they receive (should I eat Beans or not?). fruit and lots of vegetables can also be quite high in carbs and I have a problem with eating plans that limit your fruit and vegetables. For me, I would recommend having a plan which includes all food groups, with a concentration on natural foods (i.e unprocessed).

There is some really interesting reading and newer research on the glycemic index (GI) that you might want to google for more information. I really enjoyed the book, The G.I. Diet, by Rick Gallop. Rick makes his case that you should include low fat Protein with every meal, but he also says that including low glycemic index foods "are slower to digest so you feel satiated longer", and they "keep insulin levels low which inhibits the formation of fat and assists in the conversion of fat back into energy".

My WLC does not advocate low carbs, but does advocate choosing low GI foods whenever possible.

[snuffy65 1]

Protein helps keep you full longer but are also important for maintaining muscles during weightloss. If you are filling up on carbs and not getting enough Protein then your body is pretty much eating itself (muscle) to get what it needs.

I beleive this is the main reason why doctors say lower your carb intake. We are suppose to have limited food intake and need to maximize nutrition intake.

We should get enough complex carbs by just choosing healthy things, like just about any vegatable we choose.

However lowering simple carbs and complex carbs does lead to:

More energy

Higher Metabolism

Less Hungar

Longer sense of fullness

These are all things that makes Atkins diet successful. Most people who tried the diet had most of these symptoms.

[jjsmiles 3]

Hi Snuffy,

I am not disagreeing with the symptoms you talk about - I certainly did feel them, but at what cost? I couldn't drink dairy, eat more than one small piece of certain fruits a day, couldn't eat carrots or many other vegetables and had to limit my vegetables to stay under 20 grams a day. There was no bread, Pasta, rice or potatoes in my diet. I also had very bad breath :biggrin:

I would argue that Atkins is not a successful long term weight loss tool, although it certainly does great short term. How many people do you know who have kept the weight off? If the low carb lifestyle was so sustainable, why does anyone eat carbs and why do we have morbid obesity and the need for WLS?

I don't mean to sound anti low carb, I am just saying beware of what the pros and cons are and what you are prepared to do to take the weight off and keep it off. I know lots of people on this forum are going low carb and I realize that it is incredibly important to get enough Protein in your diet, but I also think we took the drastic step of WLS to change our lives permanently and to build healthy lifestyles that are forever sustainable, particularly when we reach goal.

I did a quick search on the internet and came up with the carb counts of foods that are all considered healthy in any world:

1 c. skim milk = 12 carbs

1/2 c 1% cottage cheese = 4 carbs

1/2 cup non fat yogurt = 9 carbs

1 c cauliflower (raw) - 5.3 carbs

1 c. broccoli = 5.84 carbs

1 cup carrots = 12.26 carbs

1 cup squash = 5.25 carbs

1 Tomato = 5.84 carbs

1 medium apple = 19.06 carbs

1 banana (med) = 27 carbs

1 wedge of melon = 8.32 carbs

1 cup raspberries = 14.69 carbs

1 cup strawberries = 11.67 carbs

To me, it is unacceptable (and not promoting healthy eating) that I can have a cup of skim milk and 1 cup of vegetables a day (but no fruit) to stay under 20 grams of carbs. Or I can have 1 piece of fruit and maybe a cup of vegetables (if I stick to melon), but no dairy to stay under 20 carbs.