tracking food..
Jen, I was told that I needed to eat 130 g of protein per day, probably by the same nutritionist. That is based on my starting weight, and she said to adjust it as I lost weight, according to the formula she gave me. However, that sounds crazy to me. I know the reasoning is to eat enough protein to preserve your lean body mass. However, when you are obese, you don't have the same percentage of lean body mass as an average person, you have a lower percentage of lean, and a higher percentage of fat. The formula assumes that your percentage of lean body mass will stay the same as you lose weight, and that's just not true. I don't really know what to do with the instruction to eat 130 grams of protein a day. I don't think it makes any sense. I am aiming to eat the proper amount for my goal weight instead. That is the amount of lean body mass that I want to support. I hate to go against her rule, but I know she is fresh out of school and is in her first few months as a nutritionist, and it is understandable that she would confuse this one thing.
I too am interested in how many calories to aim for. Even eating mostly protein foods, there is a lot of variation in calories day to day.
I too am interested in how many calories to aim for. Even eating mostly protein foods, there is a lot of variation in calories day to day.
Joan
Just have a quick minute here to reply - but you can adjust the serving size by putting in ".25" for the amount of serving, to indicate 1/4 cup as opposed to 1 full cup. I had to do this with my GNC protein drink, where a serving was listed as 3 scoops for 66 g. protein. No way! I used one scoop at a time, and always just put in .33 servings.
The carbs in yogurt come from naturally occuring lactose, which is the sugar found in milk. This is okay. The key is to look at the list of ingredients. If a refined sugar (listed as sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, etc.) is in the first 5 ingrediets, set it down! My dr. set a very strict limit of 2 gm. sugar per serving - but then said to check the first 5 ingredients. If no added sugar is listed there, you are probably dealing with lactose or a simple sugar such as is found in fruit.
My dr. does not emphasize calories and carb counting at this point anyway. I think that both are pretty much taken care of in the other dietary guidelines. I do see that calories come in at the maintenance phase - but if you do sparkpeople, you will get a daily count of both calories and carbs, and you will quickly see where you land. I am able to spot a day that might be higher than normal (or lower) just by looking at the summaries each week.
There are other sites - but spark is the one I've used so I just stick with that.
The carbs in yogurt come from naturally occuring lactose, which is the sugar found in milk. This is okay. The key is to look at the list of ingredients. If a refined sugar (listed as sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, etc.) is in the first 5 ingrediets, set it down! My dr. set a very strict limit of 2 gm. sugar per serving - but then said to check the first 5 ingredients. If no added sugar is listed there, you are probably dealing with lactose or a simple sugar such as is found in fruit.
My dr. does not emphasize calories and carb counting at this point anyway. I think that both are pretty much taken care of in the other dietary guidelines. I do see that calories come in at the maintenance phase - but if you do sparkpeople, you will get a daily count of both calories and carbs, and you will quickly see where you land. I am able to spot a day that might be higher than normal (or lower) just by looking at the summaries each week.
There are other sites - but spark is the one I've used so I just stick with that.
Jenn,
In sparkpeople, you do "Add Food" and find the specific food that you want (or you can enter a food if you don't find it in the global search or the "member added" foods). Say you want to put in "nonfat milk" (type "nonfat milk" and click "All these words", then Search). If it comes up with a default of 1 as the number and cups as the measure, just type .25 in the number field to put in a quarter cup. If you're not sure of the conversion (you used a teaspoon of something but the calc is for a tablespoon), you can click the "conversion calculator" and put in the amounts and it will tell you what the decimal conversion is. Pretty simple once you do it a couple of times.
In the recipe calculator (under Healthy Lifestyle -> Sparkrecipes.com) it works much the same way, but you do it in the context of adding ingredients to a recipe, then saving the recipe and specifying how many servings it makes. You then add the serving to your nutrition planner to say that you've eaten it - and the recipe is there for the future to add again if you eat it again. I usually name my recipes in a way that indicates the serving size - like "White bean turkey chili, 1 serving = 1 cup"
In terms of calories, carbs, and proteins - call your nutritionist and ask. Each person's goal is different and will be different based on body type, metabolism, how much you have to lose, and your surgeon's eating plan. I can tell you that for me, my protein range is 78 - 98g/day and I try to balance my carbs with that, focusing on carbs from vegetables and fruits first, whole grains next.
As to sugars, the Barix guide has us consuming no more than 2g of added sugar per serving - so reading the nutrition labels and understanding what added sugars really are is important (things like sugar, dextrose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, etc.). If the sugar is higher than 2g, the key is to look and see if any sugars are in the first 5 ingredients listed on the label. If so, avoid the item. If not, the sugar may be "natural" (the sugar from a fruit, or from another ingredient, for example). Sugar alcohols (maltitol, xylitol, erythritol, etc.) don't affect blood sugar the way processed sugars do, but if they're too high, they can cause dumping or diarrhea and gas, so just proceed with caution.
Hope this helps, but the key is to be in close contact with your nutritionist, especially early out like this. You and s/he should have a "good relationship" at this point, where you're in touch and asking questions as needed. That's going to be your first line of defense in re-learning how to eat with your new tool.
Karen
In sparkpeople, you do "Add Food" and find the specific food that you want (or you can enter a food if you don't find it in the global search or the "member added" foods). Say you want to put in "nonfat milk" (type "nonfat milk" and click "All these words", then Search). If it comes up with a default of 1 as the number and cups as the measure, just type .25 in the number field to put in a quarter cup. If you're not sure of the conversion (you used a teaspoon of something but the calc is for a tablespoon), you can click the "conversion calculator" and put in the amounts and it will tell you what the decimal conversion is. Pretty simple once you do it a couple of times.
In the recipe calculator (under Healthy Lifestyle -> Sparkrecipes.com) it works much the same way, but you do it in the context of adding ingredients to a recipe, then saving the recipe and specifying how many servings it makes. You then add the serving to your nutrition planner to say that you've eaten it - and the recipe is there for the future to add again if you eat it again. I usually name my recipes in a way that indicates the serving size - like "White bean turkey chili, 1 serving = 1 cup"
In terms of calories, carbs, and proteins - call your nutritionist and ask. Each person's goal is different and will be different based on body type, metabolism, how much you have to lose, and your surgeon's eating plan. I can tell you that for me, my protein range is 78 - 98g/day and I try to balance my carbs with that, focusing on carbs from vegetables and fruits first, whole grains next.
As to sugars, the Barix guide has us consuming no more than 2g of added sugar per serving - so reading the nutrition labels and understanding what added sugars really are is important (things like sugar, dextrose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, etc.). If the sugar is higher than 2g, the key is to look and see if any sugars are in the first 5 ingredients listed on the label. If so, avoid the item. If not, the sugar may be "natural" (the sugar from a fruit, or from another ingredient, for example). Sugar alcohols (maltitol, xylitol, erythritol, etc.) don't affect blood sugar the way processed sugars do, but if they're too high, they can cause dumping or diarrhea and gas, so just proceed with caution.
Hope this helps, but the key is to be in close contact with your nutritionist, especially early out like this. You and s/he should have a "good relationship" at this point, where you're in touch and asking questions as needed. That's going to be your first line of defense in re-learning how to eat with your new tool.
Karen
THank you all for your help you have given me such great info .. Katen I so appreciate you explaining things out to me. I am going to have to call and jsut make them , make me an appt cause they don't have me schelduled to go back in till april to see the nut which is 3mths after my surgery .. I guess I will jsut put my foot down and say you either see me or tell me over the phone.. LOL its very hard with just a pamhlet to figure out what you are suppose to be doing..
I am liking sparkspeople once I started figuring it all out..
This was one of my goals to start jotting down everything that goes in my mouth so I appreciate all of you for steering my butt in the right direction..
I am liking sparkspeople once I started figuring it all out..
This was one of my goals to start jotting down everything that goes in my mouth so I appreciate all of you for steering my butt in the right direction..
Jenn,
I like Dannon Light and Fit or Activia Light for my yogurt.
I use dailyplate.com to track what I'm eating. I like that it has a fitness tracker on it as well. I don't like that I can't seem to figure out how to override the calculated calorie goal, but I'm able to live with that.
I have a friend who had her sugery at Jefferson and her nut told her she needs a lot of protein too. When she feels she can't get enough in, she does protein shakes or shots.
I like Dannon Light and Fit or Activia Light for my yogurt.
I use dailyplate.com to track what I'm eating. I like that it has a fitness tracker on it as well. I don't like that I can't seem to figure out how to override the calculated calorie goal, but I'm able to live with that.
I have a friend who had her sugery at Jefferson and her nut told her she needs a lot of protein too. When she feels she can't get enough in, she does protein shakes or shots.
Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.
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