Snacks YES OR NO

[Ernie D 44]

For those who have been on the journey of the WLS for a while now, do you find yourself having any Snacks, or just sticking to just a meal plan. I was wondering about some healthy snacks that have Protein in them. Example Quest makes a baked chip with 22 grams of protein. Thought it may be something if I am in a social setting or the occasional movie etc. May be a better option than fat or carb heavy snacks that are often offered/served

your thoughts ???

[allwet 868]

did you have high blood sugar - diabetes or pre diabetes before WLS if you did you should avoid Snacks during the first year or so and very little after that. If you had no blood sugar issues than just keep it healthy.

[TakingABreak 2,733]

7 minutes ago, allwet said:

did you have high blood sugar - diabetes or pre diabetes before WLS if you did you should avoid Snacks during the first year or so and very little after that. If you had no blood sugar issues than just keep it healthy.

I'm confused as to why this matters as a diabetic. I am a diabetic and my NUT and doctor encourages Snacks between meals, as long as they are Protein focused. I have breakfast around 7am, snack around 10:30, lunch around 1:30, and dinner around 6:30pm. My blood sugar will drop too low in between if I didn't have snacks.

[allwet 868]

diabetics have higher insulin response to any eating and a slower return to normal blood sugar. a snack is just another meal that your body responds to with another insulin spike. Insulin is the hormone that causes fat storage. If you have an insulin spike, as you do during any calorie intake your body goes to fat storage mode and cant burn any stored fat till insulin levels return to normal and for diabetics that can be several hours. So Snacks just add more hours to everyday that you will not and can not burn body fat.

[TakingABreak 2,733]

5 minutes ago, allwet said:

diabetics have higher insulin response to any eating and a slower return to normal blood sugar. a snack is just another meal that your body responds to with another insulin spike. Insulin is the hormone that causes fat storage. If you have an insulin spike, as you do during any calorie intake your body goes to fat storage mode and cant burn any stored fat till insulin levels return to normal and for diabetics that can be several hours. So Snacks just add more hours to everyday that you will not and can not burn body fat.

I'd be careful giving people this kind of advice. Diabetes, especially the type 1 that I have, is a serious beast to manage and unless you are a Endocrinologist, I'd steer clear advising people of when to eat, and when not to eat. It can be life threatening for blood sugars to drop too low from a long fast between "meals". I've lost 95lbs since Jan 1st and I am a diabetic. I think I'm doing something OK, even though I'm not burning body fat during more hours a day than an non diabetic.

[allwet 868]

its not medical advice its fat loss advice and you should always follow your doctors instructions but he didnt ask his doctor he asked here.

[TakingABreak 2,733]

1 minute ago, allwet said:

its not medical advice its fat loss advice and you should always follow your doctors instructions but he didnt ask his doctor he asked here.

1 hour ago, allwet said:

did you have high blood sugar - diabetes or pre diabetes before WLS if you did you should avoid Snacks during the first year or so and very little after that. If you had no blood sugar issues than just keep it healthy.

Right, but your response was to ask him if he was a diabetic... and then to advise him what to do if he is one.... Maybe just respond in a general answer. I wouldn't be giving diabetics specific advice. Are you a diabetic? I'd be more qualified than you probably. Either way, I wouldn't think of telling someone who is a diabetic to fast between meals because it will burn more fat. And lets face it, its not all about weight loss. If you don't manage your blood sugars right, you might have lost the weight to fit into a smaller coffin.

[TakingABreak 2,733]

@allwet Not to mention, diabetics who rely on insulin, who start to take your advice and skip their regular Snacks, may not adjust their insulin accordingly. Which could throw them hypoglycemia.

[Creekimp13 5,838]

My meal plan is six 200 calorie meals per day....or three 400 calorie meals. All approved by my nutritionist.

With most of the healthy foods that I eat, 400 calories is too much volume for my little stomach and I don't see any reason to stretch it or feel overly full...so I spread it out.

I feel great on six little meals a day. Or three little meals and three snacks....whichever way you want to look at it. My doctor approves of this eating plan and is very happy with my weight loss.

Sometimes I'll do little meals through Breakfast and lunch and have a bigger meal for dinner. Or if I'm going out to lunch with a friend, I might skip my snack meal...so I'll have 400 calories to work with at the restaurant.

At the end of the day....it's all about balancing calories.

14 minutes ago, allwet said:

If you have an insulin spike, as you do during any calorie intake your body goes to fat storage mode and cant burn any stored fat till insulin levels return to normal

This depends very much on how many calories you are burning, what kind of food you're eating, how active you are.... and varies greatly by individual.

[allwet 868]

i would hope that anyone giving themselves insulin shots would be better at monitoring there blood sugar levels than that.

From a purely fat loss point any snacking is going to reduce the number of hours you will burn fat instead of whatever food you just ate. If your medical conditions prevent that then you will just have to accept those limitations and work from there on your goals.

It simply does not change the fact that if you add hours that your body has ready available food in your system you will decrease the time spent burning stored fat.

The body uses the sugar in your blood first

Then the stored sugar in your Liver.

Then finally it starts breaking down stored fat to replenish those levels. If you pop food in your mouth every 2 hours you never get past step 1.

Failure to understand the how and why of this process will just set you up for weight regain when the volume control introduced by your sleeve is slowly reduced over the first couple years.

Anyone with medical conditions that prevent them from doing this will have to work to those limitations.

If this upsets you so greatly i would suggest you add me to your ignore user list.

[J San 1,071]

ding ding ... and in this corner....

sorry but couldn't resist, but to answer posters question. I would say Snacks are fine as long as you choose the correct ones.

Edited May 23, 2018 by J San

[TakingABreak 2,733]

i would hope that anyone giving themselves insulin shots would be better at monitoring there blood sugar levels than that.

If this upsets you so greatly i would suggest you add me to your ignore user list.

I hope people monitor their sugars also but still doesn’t make you qualified to ask someone if they are a diabetic and then give them specific advice.

And no, I’d rather respond in the responsible way than ignore bad advice. It sounds like maybe you don’t like me contradicting you, maybe you should ignore me.

[jess9395 5,448]

Check with your surgeon and nutritionist and see what your plan is.

For me, even now at almost five year out I couldn’t possibly meet my Protein and Fiber and everything else goals without Snacks. Earlier out it was even more important for me.

For the record I was pre diabetic before surgery and lost way beyond my 100% excess weight in a year.

[jess9395 5,448]

Oh also for the record, those Quest chips taste like cardboard to me! Try nuts or Jerky or another whole food choice!

And I applaud AshAsh. I think it’s important to speak up when we find advise we feel is questionable/dangerous.

[Orchids&Dragons 9,047]

46 minutes ago, jess9395 said:

Oh also for the record, those Quest chips taste like cardboard to me! Try nuts or Jerky or another whole food choice!

And I applaud AshAsh. I think it’s important to speak up when we find advise we feel is questionable/dangerous.

As much as I know they are processed cr*p food, I miss crispy so much!