Does it matter the amount of carbs or fats you get in per day. As long as you get the correct amount of protein in.

I think the general feeling is to limit the carbs until you get closer to maintenance. Just getting the protein and fluids in is a major accomplishment for a long time, and then adding veggies and some fruit is more than enough. Adding carbs and fatty foods like nuts and nut butters can slow down your weight loss. I reached goal in 7 months, but did not even think of adding a grain based carb, nuts, or nut butters until then. Then I added them very gradually, to ensure I wouldn't start regaining.

I am 18 months out now, and am eating a whole foods plant based (WFPB) diet now. I get all my protein in, but it comes from legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and non dairy milk/yogurt. I eat a lot of carbs now - but they are whole grains, legumes, fruits and veggies - nothing processed. I eat nuts and seeds every day. I also eat 8-10 servings of veggies/fruit every day, so I am NEVER hungry with that much volume. This all to say that there are a lot of different ways to eat after surgery, but initially, until you reach goal, you need to stick to your protein, water, legumes, veggies. The other stuff can come later.

The first 6 months are where you are going to lose a lot of weight. The first year is the golden year, and you want to maximize the opportunity to lose as much as you can during that time. After 12-18 months (sometimes sooner, sometimes later), the weight loss will slow down, your body will start absorbing nutrients more easily, you will lose the tight restriction, and all your new lifestyle modifications will be the real tools you will use to maintain your new weight. The surgery gets the weight off, but you need to do the rest. Don't waste those first months. Hold off on maintenance foods like grain based carbs, starchy vegetables, and nuts/nut butters until you are ready to stop losing and start maintaining. Just my 2 cents worth. I'm sure others will have different ideas.

Edited August 30, 20206 yr by AZhiker

You DEFINITELY have to watch your carb and fat intake. Your nutritionist will help you with setting a 'max' amount and a minimum amount you should have with each meal. It's kind of funny though because my nutritionist monitors the other surgeries calorie intake, but I was told my surgery you don't really have to monitor that, but I still do mostly out of curiosity. I generally eat between 600-800 calories a day. My carb intake is a minimum of 15 per meal per my nutritionist and I generally eat between 60-80 carbs a day. But I was eating less than 50 carbs a day for the first 6 months. As for fat, my nutritionist wants my fat intake to be as low as I can possibly get it. But... she knows I LOVE cheese even though it doesn't love me (my stomach has NEVER liked it) and so she's okay with it as long as I stick to mozzarella since it's generally lower in fat then other cheeses. She also okayed one protein bar a day for snack even though the fat content is a little high in the one's I like. So yeah, I'd suggest bringing all of that up with your nutritionist or failing that your surgeons office.

I tried to eat pretty cleanly through the weight loss stage. Low fat, low salt & avoided sugar (real & artificial) whenever possible. The only carbs I consciously ate was from fruit, vegetable & rolled oats (about 1/3 cup of milky porridge - a good whole grain).

Like AZhiker, said just reaching your protein & water goals each day will fill you up. Eat your protein first, then vegetables if you can fit them in. I’d only get in a couple of green beans or about a tablespoon of steamed cabbage. There was no way I could eat carbs as well. Most important to consider is that breads, pasta, rice tend to swell in your tummy & provide little nutritional value.

I still avoid bread, rice & pasta but do eat multi or whole grain crackers as a carrier for avocado, hummus, etc. now. I’ve also tried beans & chia seeds but they make me very windy - lol.

This weight loss stage is a perfect opportunity to break old eating habits establish new patterns to help maintain your weight long term.

Good luck.

I think all of us have protein and fluid goals we're supposed to hit.

with carbs, programs vary widely. Some are ultra-low-carb, some are moderately-low-carb, and some don't seem to care about carbs at all - so there's no universal answer to that one. Did your surgeon or dietitian give you guidelines on this? If so, i'd follow whatever their plan is.

fats - I never counted fats. I still don't in maintenance. I now count calories (started that when I was several months out), and I still try to hit my protein and fluid goals every day. I guess I don't eat a lot of fatty things because I'd otherwise be constantly going over my daily calorie range, but I don't consciously count fats (although some people do)

P.S. I should add I'm over five years out and have been in maintenance for 3.5 years, so I eat differently than I did the first year or two...

Edited August 31, 20206 yr by catwoman7

Thank you all so much. The good thing about this is I am pre surgery and have already given up bread, pasta, and rice. Now trying to give up the sweets. [emoji53]but I will get there before I have this done.

On 8/30/2020 at 8:17 PM, LaWanda2 said:

Does it matter the amount of carbs or fats you get in per day. As long as you get the correct amount of Protein in.

The amount of calories matters. Get your required grams of protein in and then distribute your macros in a way that feels best to you.