Ok, I have been on the protein drinks now since 3/2/09 (date of surgery) and am now able to begin introducing more solid foods. But the thing I am running in to is the amount of carbs to aim for. I understand the protein (+60g or more per day), I understand the calories as well. But what I have some issues with is the amount of carbs I want to have. I went to the store this afternoon and was looking at the Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones from Weight Watchers and some other name brand I cannot remember. And the one thing that jumps out at me is the amiunt of carbs all of these entrees have. I was seeing an average of 28g-45g of carbs per meal?!?!?!? Isn't that a little over the top than I want for 1 meal?

I did find a meal from Smart Ones which had 11g of carbs:

Weight Watchers

Here is their complete list though which shows every meal and how muchs carbs per meal

Weight Watchers

But I am confused as to how much I should be aiming for. Any advise would be greatly appreciated

The RDA is about 55% of your daily calorie intake, that is a little high for me. I don't count carbs grams I try to get quality carbs from natural sources like fruits, veggies, oats and dairy. I avoid the white starchy carbs like pasta, potato, rice, sugar and white flour. I always try to have a protein with my carb too.

I generally don't buy the frozen dinners due to the high sodium but I know that South Beach had some frozen dinners that were pretty good in a pinch. It is healthier and probably cheaper to buy some fresh meat, veggies and fruit and cook and freeze your own meals.

So for a 1000 calorie/day plan the RDA suggests 550g's? Even 300g's per day would seem hard to hit. So as an example, yesterday my total nutrient intake for the day was as follows:

Breakfast - Muscle Milk (Carb Conscience Formula)

220 calories / 11g Fat / 13g Carbs

Lunch - Smart One frozen dinner (Weight Watchers)

140 Calories / 2.5g Fat / 11g Carbs

Dinner - Chicken breast over brown rice. I made the meal in a crockpot and when I inputted all the data into thedailyplate.com it was:

339 Calories / 15g Fat / 18g Carbs

Day total-

Calories: 699

Fat: 31.5g

Carbs: 43g

So I am wondering is this seem like a good plan at this point? Is the calorie to fat to carb ratio seem fine? I am not eating breads at all at this pointand I have also not yet (but will) introduced potatoes to my diet. For those of you with a 1000 calorie plan, what is the carb amount you aim for the day?

And Jodi, thanks for the heads up on the frozen meals. I will not make those a staple of my diet....but I am a horrible cook, a male, and lazy when I get home from work so there are times that the last thing I want to do is be in the kitchen cooking. I did grab some crockpot cookbooks and those will be a good savior for me

If you want a frozen meal and your looking low carb, how about the South Beach Diet meals?

Just a suggestion.

I like to stay below 100g a day of carbs, but routinely end up at 50-75

Try using dietplate.com and it will help you figure out what the content of real food is when you don't have a label to help you.