Carb/Sugar question

Hey everyone! I am a pre-op - hoping to have RNY this summer. I am really confused about what I should be aiming for with carbs and sugars after surgery. Some things have no sugar but a ton of carbs! Am I supposed to be  avoiding foods over a certain cab count to avoid dumping? I know everyone is different and every surgeon has different guidelines. But what do YOU personally look for? And how many carbs/sugars do YOU aim to stay under? 

  Thanks!!!

Dumping is usually caused by too much sugar.  I personally do OK with up to about 15 grams of sugar, but some people can tolerate a lot more, some can't tolerate that much.  And of course, many people don't dump at all.

Are you working with a registered dietician with experience and training specific to RNY patients?  If so,, he or she should be able to help you with a food plan.  If not, then I recommended finding one that you can work with.

I agree with Kelly. Your surgeon's office should have someone to help you with this.

I am in maintenance. All of us seem to be a bit different as far as what works for us. Generally, my limit for carbs is around 100 g/day and sugar is 20 g/day.

Speaking very broadly, you don't need to "avoid" healthful, slow-digesting carbs like whole grains and fruits that have fiber to keep things balanced.  Make sure you get your protein first, of course, but you don't need to run away screaming from every carbohydrate you see.

Refined sugar and simple starches in foods without any other redeeming healthy qualities are best avoided.

For example, my standard breakfast at this point is muesli, some additional seeds and nuts, and soy milk, topped with fresh berries.  That clocks in at 50g of carbs, 17 of which are sugar.  However, it's whole grains and it's balanced by 12g of protein and 13g of fiber.  All for about 300 calories.  It really kickstarts my day (and tastes awesome).

I don't look at how many carbs my food has. Never have. But I also don't eat simple carbs. No rice, bread, pasta or cereal. Any carb I eat comes from my veggies or beans.

Sugars are a different story. I have to check. The most I can usually have is 5g. Even that can be to much for me. I dump. So I have to be extra careful.

I can only have 5g too :( stupid dumping!

Hi Jessica,

I don't really count a daily number of carbs and sugars. Because I track my food on myfitnesspal, I know that I get less than 30 grams of sugar a day and usually less than 50 grams of carbs a day. Based on the guidelines and advice of my bariatric dietician, I get approximately 80-100 grams of protein a day. My meals and snacks are always protein-focused - I eat approximately 2-3 ounces of protein at a time and then try to eat a little bit of veggies/salad or small amount of fruit. Most of my sugar consumption is from skim milk, yogurt (I eat Dannon Light & Fit greek yogurt), and fruit. My dietician advised me to consume less than 6-7 grams of sugar in any food or portion. So I generally keep my sugars under 5 grams per serving or else I don't eat it. I'm 6 and a half months post-RNY. I don't know if I dump because I haven't tested it. I have made the assumption that I dump so that keeps my trigger foods off limits for me.

Take care,

Kim

Remember that different kinds of people dump on different kinds of sugar, too. I can't handle sucrose, but fructose and I are just fine.

My NUT is very strict on carbs.  I try to stay under 30 a day and they all come from meat, cheese, and whole grains.  Its very hard to do.  I NEVER eat bread of any kind, I do splurge every once in a while and have like 1 or 2 bites of pasta when I make it for the kids but not often, since the surgery I have done it three times.  I avoid sugar also and fruit, basically I am on adkins.

Thanks everyone!  That's very helpful.