Carbohydrates

[BigLoser2020 9]

Just curious - I’m 8 weeks out from surgery. How many daily grams of carbs are other RNY patients told to shoot for around this time?

[catwoman7 10,843]

I think it depends on the program....they can vary quite a bit. We weren't given any specific limits, but then my program stressed balance rather than ultra-low-carb. Some programs want their patients to eat fewer than 30 ...or 40...or whatever. I'm not really sure what an average would be.

[toodlerue 432]

I was mainly focusing on Protein at that point.

[BigLoser2020 9]

My surgeon didn’t make a recommendation. 30 or 40grams isn’t much but that may be a good number for me to stick with.  I have wondered why these types of specifics were not laid out for me by either the surgeon or nutritionist.  I guess that’s standard from the sound of it...

[Recidivist 1,141]

2 hours ago, toodlerue said:

I was mainly focusing on Protein at that point.

Agree. You should be focusing on getting at least 60g of Protein at this point. If you are doing that, you shouldn't have enough room left for many carbs. At least that how it was for me for the first several months.

[Lynda486 783]

My nutritionist told me to just focus on Water and Protein and that would keep everything else in line. Sometimes my carbs get over 50 but not often....

[ms.sss 14,617]

As the posters said above, every team advocates different things.

With that said, I was originally told to ensure that 50% of my daily intake to come from (healthy) carbs.

However, I didn't want to do that and kept my carb intake to 20g or less for the first several months. I told my team I was doing this, and they weren't overly concerned.

Edited to add: and yeah, me too, I also made sure to get my Protein in...

Edited February 1, 2020 by ms.sss

[BigLoser2020 9]

14 hours ago, Recidivist said:

Agree. You should be focusing on getting at least 60g of Protein at this point. If you are doing that, you shouldn't have enough room left for many carbs. At least that how it was for me for the first several months.

Doc told me to shoot for 90-100 grams of Protein. The vast majority of that is coming from protein supplements (I use GENEPRO powder) but I'm getting the rest from food. For example, lunch today was 2.5 oz of grilled Mahi Mahi and about 4 small bites of a baked potato. All in all I've had 17g of carbs so far today.

[2Bsmaller18 435]

I was eating around 500-600 calories for the first 6 months. I was averaging 60-70g of Protein, half of that was from Premier shakes and the rest was mostly yogurts or high protein Fairlife milk since I could barely eat 1 egg or an ounce of meat at a meal until around 6 months out. I averaged around 20-30g of carbs until I hit my goal weight at 6 months and purposely added carbs to increase calories to slow down weight loss.

My carbs during that first 6 months came from veggies and dairy. I didn't eat any potatoes, rice, Pasta, bread etc for the first 6 months. Keep in mind I started at a BMI of 36 and i am only 5'2.

I am now 11 months out at eat around 1500 calories to maintain with a BMI of 21. I have a daily goal of 40% carbs, 30% fat and 30% protein. It works for me for now.

[momof3_angels 465]

You should be focusing on fluids and Protein at this point. If you eat your protein and still have room, focus on veggies that you can tolerate. Carbs are the least of your concerns for a while. I still hardly eat carbs at almost 5 months out. I do eat them, but very little.

Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

[Darktowerdream 419]

My dietitian through my surgeon (the Cleveland Clinic dietary guidelines) suggests no more than 4 grams of sugar in a meal. To focus on Protein first. As you progress through phases, liquid, purée, soft foods. You add soft vegetables. They don’t suggest complex carbs until maintenance. I keep things low carb. I have not counted. I count protein and calories to keep them both within a certain range. (Protein should at least be 0.36 grams per lb of body weight) I would guesstimate I eat below 20 net carbs a day. You subtract any Fiber from the total for net carbs (or sugar alcohols) although my nutritionist said avoid those. I mostly avoid maltitol which is harsh on your guts but erythritol is not. Allulose seems ok.

when you get to veggies, that’s where the carbs should come from. Mostly green leafy. For many people maintaining a low carb way of eating is beneficial.

[BoredFatGirl 134]

I have not got surgery yet, but there is a website that my doctors have given me to show me how I will be expected to eat during difference phases of my surgery. From week 5 and forward, I am to eat 6 times a day (1dl per meal) and to drink at least 1.5 liters of Fluid per day. Protein is suggested to be around 75g-100g a day, which seems like a lot (more than I eat currently on my pre-op diet). It doesn't mention eating carbs in particular, but it does say that I should have roughly 40-60g of whole grains per day.

[TryingtoloseTom 10]

I am 5 or so months preop, just started actually, and I am told to limit under 10 per meal. Tracking to show Surgeon on future appointments.

[JTSC 50]

I like potatoes on occasion. I haven’t noticed a change to my weight loss Rate after eating some baked potato. I drink shakes and try to down a little meat but it’s still really hard. Potato has been something that has helped for me. I was told that low carb ain’t the deal with this surgery. “Low to mid” carb, “low to mid” fat, “high” Protein. I had my surgery in November and just hit 80lbs. Not giving advice. Just telling you my approach.

[TheJuice202 63]

Protein was primarily my plan's focus the first few months (60-80g for women, 70-100 for men).

They didn't talk about carbs too much until I finally got into the 'Regular/Forever' foods stage. Now...they tell me up to 50g of carbs is okay.