How Many Carbs Are Yoo Many?

How do I know if something has too many carbs and I should avoid it (obviously, i have't had my nutritionist appt yet)... I want to go out and check out some protein powders, etc and while i know NO carbs would probably be best, i'm sure there must be some amount that's still "acceptable"... i'm trying to be especially vigilante with my carbs since, as a vegetarian, pretty much all of my protein sources (veggie burgers, tofu, beans, etc) have some amount of carbs...

Hi Raphie, Every program is different! So it is hard to give you that advice. The best I can tell you that is pretty much the rule for all is when you eat carbs try to make sure they are complex carbs and stay away from simple carbs. Complex carbs are fruit, veggies, whole grains. Simple carbs are anything made of refined flours and sugars, starchy veggies (potatoes, peas) in moderation. If it is junk food it usurally is a simple carb. I hope I am not confusing you more. Try Googling Simple and Complex carbs, it should bring you up a list of them and problably many articles for you to read and get fimilar with. REMEMBER knowledge is POWER! The more research you do the better. God Bless and take care. ----Toni

What she said! Seriously though, complex carbs are better but I think they may even want you to stay away from those in the beginning. It varies by surgeon/nutritionist on what they want. Holly W

i was told to avoid ALL carbs as much as possible at first and that later, much later i could start adding complex carbs to my diet. If you want to be in ketosis (you lose weight faster and burn fat when i ketosis) you need a minimum amount of carbs, probably between 20 and 40 total grams of carbs per day. You can test yourself with ketosis strips to see if you're in ketosis and if not, cut back. Another reason to avoid carbs is that for many of us, carbs sets off the cravings. If i'm on mostly protein, i'm not hungry. if i have something that has a lot of carbs i find myself hungrier and wanting more food sooner. The explanation is somewhat complex and has to do with insulin and how our bodies handle carbohydrates. You really want to talk to a nutritionist about this and any center that does bariatric surgery on you should make a nutritionist a necessary part of your program. The protein powders i use vary between zero and three carbs per serving. Being a vegetarian you are really going to want a lot of protein supplements and being that you will be getting your complex carbs from the veggies you probably want to go low carb on the supplements... but again, talk to a nutritionist and get professional, educated advice on this subject. You'll get many different (and some dangerous) opinions on this board. My advice would be to use what we, your peers, say to formulate questions for your nutritionist and doctors rather than answers for yourself.

You need carbs to make energy. If you eat a cup of yogurt and a small orange, that's 25 carbs right there so trying to do only 25 - 50 a day would mean you would be eating very little food. I also was concerned about carbs (I think we've been conditioned) so I asked my nutritionist. She told me that as long as I stayed under 30 grams of fat that the carbs would be in line with what they should be. You should eat things with complex carbs and not the stuff made with refined flour (junk food) that's not good for you. Her reasoning is that junk food is full of fat so if you don't eat it, then the carbs you do eat will come from good, nutritious food.

the low carb yogurt is awesome and has a lot more protein than the regular or low fat yogurt. I don'****ch fat, i watch carbs. my bypass helps me with the fat calories unfortunately not with the carbs. who told you that you need carbs for energy? protein works too! it's just not as quick and doesn't cause that insulin jump. i lived for over a year on less than 20g of carbs a day and it was the most energy i ever had. every nut is different but the reason mine had me at low carbs for the first six to eight months is because that is the 'honeymoon' period where you lose most of your weight so we wanted to maximize that loss by putting me into ketosis. also with lots of exercise. that period is a once in a lifetime opportunity. (unless we are one of the unfortunates who need a revision later on.)