Went to my one year follow-up. Doc was happy w/ my progress. Wants me to do low-carb (one carb per meal) and lose another 50lbs by end of July. (I've lost 89lbs in a YEAR)

Talked to my endocrinologist and he says that's too low. He said he thinks I'm doing it exactly right, slow wins the race. He said to keep doing what I'm doing and he thinks 50lbs in a year is much more realistic.

I agree with my endo. (he is a metabolism and hormone expert after all!) When I first had the surgery I felt I wanted to lose 3lbs a week. Well, reality hit and I was losing fast at first, but leveled out to about a pound a week. I'm ok with that now. I'm trying to not be so obsessed and just LIVE. It took 35 years to put all the weight on, I can give it 3-5 to come off. Eat HEALTHY and MOVE. That's my mantra.

How much is considered low carb? What are some common foods that are high in carbs?

I've had an issue with this low-carb bit, too. I understand how/why they work in term of getting your body to go into ketosis, so that it burns its own fat for fuel rather than carbs.

HOWEVER,

Tnt: I'm with you and your endo. if you are following a healthy, nutrient-rich diet and still slowly and steadily losing weight then that is GOOD! And that is the goal, after all, isn't it?

Besides this, there are known health issues with going high-protein/low-carb. That kind of diet has been linked to such ailments as kidney probs, high cholesterol (if you aren't watching the fat), osteoporosis and even cancer.

Cys -- it depends how drastic you want to go. People that follow Atkins are usually under 60-70 grams/day. They start super low, like below 50 (even 20-30) in order to get into a state of ketosis. Once ketosis kicks in they gradually increase until they aren't losing or aren't losing as much. You can even by these strips to test your urine to see if you are in ketosis or not.

Gee, can you tell I once tried the Atkins diet? :wink1:

LOL I did the Lindora diet. Same as Atkins. I stopped losing and so I upped the calories in my diet and nothing. I have even begun core body training 3 weeks ago, so maybe the weight gain (2lbs) is muscle, but still discouraging. Today is first day of bootcamp. YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! this should do it.

How much is considered low carb? What are some common foods that are high in carbs?

Common foods high in carbs are anything with grains in it. Rice, bread, Pasta, Cereal, sweets, candy, cakes, chips, etc.

Your surgeon wants you eating 1 carb per meal? That seems a little extreme to me. I am settling somewhere in between your surgeon and your endos advice. I am finding myself eating about 50 carbs a day right now, and am fairly happy there, and its crazy given that I probably used to eat 250-300 carbs or more a day.

THe only point your surgeon may be making is taking advantage of that first 18 month window after surgery. I've read in more than one place that our window for best opportunity to lose the weight after surgery is 12-18 months, and then after that it gets harder.

Let me clarify by stating 1 carb = 15 grams of carbohydrate. So, he only wants me to eat 15g of carb per meal. Not happening. I probably eat 2 now, 2.5 tops per meal. That's how I'm leaving it.

I plan to watch protein grams and calories once I introduce food again. By default that should limit my carbs, but I am not going to track those. No processed food for me, but healthy complex carbs I won't be concerned with.

I track my carbs because my food tracker calculates them along with everything else, but I don't stress over it too much. By default I'm not eating too many carbs (because there's not room for them after the protein and veggies!) but there are days when I am hitting 60-75 grams of carbs. In general I'm probably at 50 or below, though, which I am OK with. I have continued to steadily lose so I am not going to worry about it unless I stall.

It really depends on how insulin resistant you are. If you have a fairly normal metabolism.....you can get away with eating more carbohydrate and still lose weight. If you are insulin resistant....then you will need to lower it to continue to lose weight.

Low carb is generally considered anything under 100g per day.....although many have to restrict it much further to see results.

No matter what stance you take.....low carb or not....things like wheat, sugar, corn, etc.....really have no place in a healthy diet.