What's a carb to you? In the context of "avoiding carbs" or "low-carb" as a bariatric patient?

• Fries, pizza, ice cream, cookies, etc. - of course (although most of those foods are actually 50%+ fat so it seems weird to call them carbs).
• Bread? White bread seems obvious, but what about whole wheat? What about the gross, "healthy" kind with all the seeds and grains?
• Pasta? Again, refined white pasta seems clear enough, but how about the kinda gritty "meh" whole grain version?
• Potatoes?
• Beans?
• Oatmeal, rice, quinoa, corn... all whole grains, so which ones do you avoid?

Thanks for any discussion you can provide! I'm just curious about how real life post-op folks make their decisions about what's acceptable to eat when it comes to carbs.

Fiber is a terrific idea:)

Split peas, lentils, black beans, artichokes, peas, broccoli, raspberries, blackberries, apples, pears, spinach, soy, chia seed pudding, potatoes with skins,...are all terrific sources of fiber.

Fiber not only makes you feel fuller and helps ya poo.... it's the food eaten by better gut bugs and helps establish a strong diverse gut microbiota.

On 05/28/2018 at 17:14, Creekimp13 said:

Fiber is a terrific idea:)

Split peas, lentils, black Beans, artichokes, peas, broccoli, raspberries, blackberries, apples, pears, spinach, soy, chia seed pudding, potatoes with skins,...are all terrific sources of fiber.

Fiber not only makes you feel fuller and helps ya poo.... it's the food eaten by better gut bugs and helps establish a strong diverse gut microbiota.

Just to clarity... fiber was my “if you are looking to carbs” option. Don’t misunderstand.

Additional protein and healthy fats are the suggestions that fit with my plan and they were my first suggestions. They make me feel far more full than any carbs even those with fiber. In fact carbs, even complex carbs with fiber have a tendency to make me hungrier.

I know you have a different plan, Creek, and I don’t know what the posters surgeons plan was.

My surgeon's plan is pretty open. Protien first then veggies and fruits, carbs last for now. I'm only 1 month out.

For some reason certain forms of protien are more filling to me than others. I am still in the trial and error stage of figuring put my new stomach. My portions are small, so to meet my protien goals I still need shakes.

Today I had a few bites of veggies and avocado with my protein and I felt MUCH better. I can still only eat very small portions and softer food, so I was hesitant to add anything. Turns out I feel better on a "balanced diet".

Ha ha. ? Not sure I can call 1/2 cup of food balanced, but that's what it is for now. I am going to stick with veggies, avacado, and plant protien to balance my diet.

Good news is it's grilling season and grilled veggies are magical, I love them SO much.

Will definately add fruit as certain things come in season. . . . . I mean who can seriously pass up fresh peaches and blueberries?

12 minutes ago, Sleeved36 said:

Will definately add fruit as certain things come in season. . . . . I mean who can seriously pass up fresh peaches and blueberries?

I'm so excited to put pureed blueberries on my oatmeal when I start purees soon! And peaches are an approved fruit on the soft phase so I can add those in about 2.5 weeks, too!

Adding raw (frozen) strawberries blended into my smoothies at my one month was my nirvana. I haven’t done much else “carb” wise other than beans but I’m slowly starting to incorporate “normal” carbs in. I did have some egg salad on a super whole wheat/nuts/ hippie cracker and omg I missed crunch. My NUT recommended every third or forth bite to be non protein to help vary my diet (within reason).

I eat all types of carbs . . . in moderation. I make sure to get my protein, but I will eat whole grain toast for breakfast sometimes or an occasional slice of pizza or half a hamburger bun. I was keeping it super low carb for awhile, and my NUT flat out told me to go ahead and add more into my diet.

I'll admit that I'm stalled, but that's due to the fact that I am stress snacking. I can't blame the carbs. I'm getting it back on track, so I'll start losing again soon.

Realize that pureeing foods retains the insoluble fiber but breaks up the soluble fiber. So make sure you are getting soluble fiber from a supplement like Benefiber. That was always part of my surgeons plan. You can also add psyllium husk or Metamucil for insoluble fiber.

And know that the sugars in puréed fruits hit the body hard without the soluble fiber to slow it down.

1 hour ago, jess9395 said:

Realize that pureeing foods retains the insoluble Fiber but breaks up the soluble fiber. So make sure you are getting soluble fiber from a supplement like Benefiber. That was always part of my surgeons plan. You can also add psyllium husk or Metamucil for insoluble fiber.

And know that the sugars in puréed fruits hit the body hard without the soluble fiber to slow it down.

Noted! I'm not allowed to take Benefiber for three months post-op. I only need to puree food for two weeks and plan to eat a lot of different types of plants with varying fiber content and varieties even during the puree phase, so I think I'll be okay.

Rather than decide which foods to eat or not to eat, I try to maintain a goal carb count for the day, usually under 20 or 30 for this stage.

On 05/30/2018 at 13:11, Little Green said:

Noted! I'm not allowed to take Benefiber for three months post-op. I only need to puree food for two weeks and plan to eat a lot of different types of plants with varying fiber content and varieties even during the puree phase, so I think I'll be okay.

Interesting! My doc had us doing benefiber from day one!

And pureeing any food means you aren’t getting the soluble fiber from it.

Not that that’s an issue for you, but putting it out there for those following the thread.

I eat low carb and no “non-healthy” carbs. I mainly eat carbs for the gut bugs because they keep us healthy and they need starchy veg carbs. Go for clean, healthy versions. Potatoes and other root vegetables. Seeds (and nuts which I am allergic to). Beans. I do put some oats into my homemade granola. And of course all veggies, cooked and raw. That is all the carbs you need.

first you eat your protein, then you add to each meal something from that list. Cooked and cooled starchy root veggies are very good food for your gut bacteria and will keep you healthy with good moods. We can’t forget to feed those critters. I don’t really count carbs per se but I don’t eat more than 60g roughly in a day, around there.

i eat a lot of healthy fat. For 9 months I lost my weight so steadily no matter that every day over 50% of my calories was fat. And of course 60-70g protein.

i don’t eat breads or pastas or baked goods or even tortillas. I didn’t eat fruit for the first 6 mos after surgery. I didn’t eat any sweets or things that tasted sweet. It was a great reset for someone who used to have a terrible sweet tooth. Now sweet things make me sick so I don’t even want them. I eat 90% dark chocolate. That is my treat now.

clearly, for me, fat never made me fat. Sugary carbs made me fat.

On 5/28/2018 at 8:47 PM, jess9395 said:

Just to clarity... fiber was my “if you are looking to carbs” option. Don’t misunderstand.

Additional Protein and healthy fats are the suggestions that fit with my plan and they were my first suggestions. They make me feel far more full than any carbs even those with fiber. In fact carbs, even complex carbs with fiber have a tendency to make me hungrier.

I know you have a different plan, Creek, and I don’t know what the posters surgeons plan was.

I agree with you. I know higher fat, moderate protein, low carb helps y my satiety. I think we have to learn what our own carb sensitivity is. As I continue to experiment, I find a good amount of healthy fats makes my brain work better too. No brain fog when I'm doing more healthy fats. With the satiety being more under control it is easier to do intermittent fasting. I basically stop eating 8 hours after I start eating each day. It is helping me to sleep better too.