Carbs- low carb, moderate carb, ignore carbs... a perspective

So how do you decide what to do with carbs in your diet?  Most programs would not advocate keeping carbs under 40 grams per day, however, there is a strong pressure on these boards that this is the most reliable path to goal.  So which is it?  I think anyone starting this journey has to take an honest evaluation of what your personal needs are.  For many, keeping carbs under 40 simplifies the process and works.  For others, under 40 is a strong type of unsustainable deprivation that does not allow to develop the skills needed to eat a healthy balanced diet.  Not to mention that it goes against just about all wisdom out there on what a healthy diet is.  I know, I know... people will pipe in that due to our obesity the rules don't apply to us.  Really?  All of a sudden we don't need nutrients and fiber because we are (or were) super fat?  Ridiculous.  For most I suspect, you are somewhere in between low carb and my more generous carb approach (still not considered high carb by the way).  But here is what I have found.

1.  Carbs indeed can trigger cravings and hunger.  I do not dispute this.  My stance, however, is that carbs should be carefully consumed.  For me, 15 carbs at a snack and 30 at a meal.  Too much carb at one time can flood your system with insulin, which stores fat, and triggers hunger and cravings.  Your number may be very different.  My point is to pay attention when you log your food.  I bet you will notice when you have too much at one sitting if you log and look for trends.  Notice how you feel after carbs or lack of carbs and track that for a while.  It is enlightening.  

2.  Suffering from terrible constipation and going low carb?  Yea, you need carbs.  Sure, you could take a pill or some other medicinal intervention.  For me, it makes sense to meet your bodies need through diet and nutrition.  For most folks this means 25 grams or more of fiber per day.  I have found I need 35 grams per day to keep things moving correctly.  I do not eat all of these grams in one sitting, but rather spaced out through the day.  This is true both in maintenance and in my weight loss phase.  

3.  Blood sugar levels.  Pay attention to how you feel.  Are you shaky and perhaps a little mentally foggy?  This may be a blood sugar issue.  When you have say 4 ounces of milk do you feel better?  Yep, blood sugar could be the culprit.  Some folks are able to go under 40 and not have this be an issue.  I can't.  Anything under 60 for sure causes problems, and 60-80 is pretty darn iffy.  But, I am hypoglycemic.  I think everyone has a range that is best for themselves.  Track your food and see if you can find your range.  

4.  Veggies are your friend.  Nobody got fat eating asparagus.  There is no reason to suspect it will derail your weight loss.  You need the nutrients from veggies and fruit and the fiber.  Now perhaps don't sit down and eat 4 cups of pineapple- that will not help.  Look up the glycemic index and choose options that are low on the index.  Keep in mind ripeness of fruit changes the impact on your blood sugar level.  Educate yourself.  

5.  Pay attention to what your program suggests.  Listen to your  nutritionist.  Yea, some of them are not very good.  If you suspect this, find another one.  My nutritionist was exponentially helpful in identifying areas to tweak to make this process more effective and sustainable.  

6.  Not all carbs are good.  Stay away from refined and processed junk, "white" carbs, etc . I don't eat a lot of bread, rice, or pasta.  Once in a while sure, but it is not a regular part of my day.  Veggies and fruit are.  

In all, I made it to goal without any difficulty eating carbs.  I would average about a 100-125 net carbs a day, and spaced out appropriately the majority of time.  When I overdid the carbs, yes indeed it would take a few days to work out of that cycle.  In maintenance, I will occasionally have a few consecutive days of very high carbs (over 225 or so).  Every time my weight will spike by a few pounds, but for sure it seems to be water weight.  I eat clean for a couple a days with exercise (not low calorie) and that spike in weight comes right off.  The carbs will increase glycogyn, and the glycogyn needs water.  Plain and simple.  Lower the carbs a bit, burn off the glycogyn, and this is how people lose several pounds in just a few short days.  But that is not that same as burning fat.  Here is a brief article about glycogyn if interested http://www.livestrong.com/article/307905-glycogen-and-weight -loss/

 

Use your bariatric team that you (or your insurance) paid a chunk of change too.  Use the support services, go to your NUT appointments, exercise.  It works and will lead you to goal.  Learning to eat and manage a healthy diet is priceless.  Best of luck on your journey, Happyteacher.

Great post happy teacher.  This all makes sense to me, thanks for sharing.  It's definitely something to think about!!!

i AGREE  my plan calls for 100 gm carbs from low carb fruits and veggies (blueberries , squash, broccoli)but you need to get your protein in first  there are lots of things in veggies and fruit besides vitamins and minerals and carbs that your body needs that don't come in a pill

I am going to avoid the debate that this is begging for but I think what does not get mentioned here is that the programs that get prescribed to us are often over simplified and do require some self education to help to refine it to optimize it. Our doctors want our programs to fit in a nice binder they can print once and hand to every patient. This is simply not the case. My level of insulin resistance/sensitivity is not the same as your level on insulin resistance/sensitivity. Therefor while 80 grams of carbs might get you to your goal with ease, it may cause me to stay out of ketosis and lose weight very slowly. 

Doctors often prescribe for us to eat low carb low fat leaving only protein for fuel. Know what's made from protein and an easy source to get to? Muscle. They tell us this because this is the currently accepted opinion of the medical community. They should be telling us to eat low carb, low saturated fat, but eat other fats so our body has some thing to burn. We keep the calories low yes, but don't starve your body of fuel, particularly if you are exercising.

I agree with what you are saying but I don't think the focus should be solely on carbs. At a simple level yes sugar and white flour and processed foods bad. Whole grains good. But I think there are many other factors that play into how many, how much, when and how to avoid the carbs.

You bring up a great point in that you need to spend the time to figure it all out but I am not sure everyone's bariatric team is created equally. I think so many nutritionist spout textbook rhetoric and do not take our unique obese physiology into account. I  think doctors are over simplifying the process so they can optimize their incomes.

At the end of all of this you comment "Learning to eat and manage a healthy diet is priceless." but I think this takes some self education as well.

I concur with you Keith.  I should note that the post refers only to carb, and not protein.  Protein is critical as well, and I also agree with the idea of eating your protein first.  Nobody signed up to lose muscle in this process!  And absolutely, each person will have their own unique needs that do not fit nicely into a binder- that is precisely my point of the post.  Figure out what works and do that!

you're preaching to the choir here... ( Great post by the way)

I eat loads of carbs daily.. and I d not do low fat either... I make my protein goals and drink water... Im within 5 pounds of "normal" BMI before 10 months post-op...


my plan works for ME, I'll stick with it.... ( though the nay-sayers will be by shortly to dispute all you have stated and present their maintenance goal weight as evidence that though there may be another way to get there, THEIR way is the BEST)

I fully agree. I have respect for those vocal vets, and their contributions to this board, but never agreed with mega low carb plan as a good plan for me. 

I did experience foggy, shaky feeling on low carbs. I also have trouble with constipation.

I never limited carbs but did focus on protein first which naturally left little room for carbs.  I believe we really need to eat clean, and unprocessed as much as possible, then it falls into place easier. When I eat junk food, is when things get out of control, not when I eat fruit, big difference in my body and mind response.

When I tracked, I was well over 80 grams most days. Now I probably hit 200 most days and so far so good, I am still maintaining a 100+ weight loss, 2 years post op. I did incorporate a lot of exercise and that may be the difference in some of our needs and ability to hit goal weight. I like how I eat virtually the same as I did during weight loss phase, the transition to maintenance was not too different, and I never felt like I was on a diet or plan, but just a lifestyle of new eating habits.

Everyone needs to evaluate all perspectives and find the tools and tips that help them be a success, because everything worth achieving takes some effort on our part, and needs to be individualized for our compliance and lifestyle.

"I did incorporate a lot of exercise and that may be the difference in some of our needs and ability to hit goal weight. I like how I eat virtually the same as I did during weight loss phase, the transition to maintenance was not too different, and I never felt like I was on a diet or plan, but just a lifestyle of new eating habits."

Well stated!  I couldn't agree with this more.  Adjusting into maintenance was a bit unsettling for me at first only because I didn't know the target calories for the day.  Once I worked that out it has been a breeze- precisely since my eating habits did not have to do this major adjustment to suddenly allow for carbs, or (fill in the blank) other types of food.  I learned how to manage all that during the weight loss phase.  I can honestly say that there is nothing now I eat that I didn't eat in the weight loss phase.  The major difference is less exercise (but still regular) and the confidence that if I do have that rare pasta meal or more common ice cream, that I can keep everything in line overall.  That is just as important to me as the weight that I lost.   

Don't get me wrong.  I still can't keep junk food in the house.  I just can't stay out of it.  There are a few things like this that I have to accept will just have to be this way.  But it is only a few things like this and compared to sitting out of all the fun life offers because I weighed 150 pounds more it is totally worth it. :) 

Great essay, thanks!
I guess I'm also in the choir. Super low carb makes me constipated, cranky, woozy and shaky. Adequate protein, moderate non-crap carbs and plenty of fibre and fluids avoids all of those things. Yes, I can see a quick drop on the scale if I cut carbs for a few days, but that's a drop in glycogen and water, not fat.

We read on here all the time that this is a marathon, not a sprint, which to me means learning to eat well for the long haul. I define that as a crap free balanced diet that I can live with for life. Happily, my surgeon and my dietitian agree with me. The whole "eat super unbalanced during the weight loss phase, THEN learn to eat properly" just doesn't make sense to me.

As a newbie to the sleeve side, it is pretty early for me to have an opinion...but of course I do :-)  ! I think that what Kevin said about each and every person being different is true.  For me, my body responds very differently to refined sugars than what I call natural sugar (that contained in the package from which it should...fruit and veggies primarily.  After I quit refined sugar and processed food my cravings and binging completely stopped.  I assume that I will need to follow the "plan" perfectly until healed (liquid,full liquid, pureed...)  and that once I get to "real" food that I will stick with protein first, veggies second, and carb third.  My hope is that I will be able to have one of my snacks each day be a fruit.  But, if I find that I can't lose doing so, I will adjust.  I see a potato of any type as a treat when eating out.We shall see.  But I am going to assume that this is an ongoing experiment to find My path.

 

Anne