What's your take on sugar and carbs?

(deactivated member)
on 1/17/15 6:00 am

Hoping to get a conversation going about everyone’s take on sugar, which also includes carbohydrate by default.

According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, carbohydrates should make up 45 to 65 percent of a person's total daily calorie intake. Any amount less than this could be considered low carb. For someone consuming 2,000 calories a day, this is about 225 to 325 grams of carbohydrates per day. Most “low carb” diets prescribe between 50 and 150 grams per day (after the initial two week start).

So clearly most of us are on what is considered a low carb food plan. What intrigues me is the heated debate in the past on the WLS boards about eating low carb, but including whole grains, etc…

I’m a firm believer in different strokes for different folks – honestly. I know what carb level works best for me when I’m in weight loss mode and what is safe for me when I am maintaining. I remember a year or two ago I got a great big chuckle out of a poster who insisted she was not “low carb”. Well, it turned out that she was eating about 100 carbs per day and to me that was still low carb, but to her since it wasn’t ultra low carb, it wasn’t a low carb plan.

So, I’d like to start another debate. What’s your take on sugar? I’ve done tons and tons of reading over the past year and have come to my own conclusions. I’ve also done anecdotal studies on my own reactions to sugar and tracked those reactions. I’ve come to understand that my personal reaction to sugar is far more severe than I initially believed it to be. I can eat fruit (especially those low glycemic fruits) without much consequence. I can eat bread on the rare occasion without ill effect. However, add refined sugar or HFCS to a food and I’m pretty much a goner. I will start jonesing almost immediately for the next bite. Once I’m done with whatever it was I ate, I’ll be craving for most of the day until I get to reset once I’m asleep at night. It is a maddening reaction to a “treat” but it is my truth.

While I’m not a complete convert to the No Sugar, No Grain movement, I certainly see the benefits of a healthy eating plan that subscribes to that philosophy. I’m not militant about being perfect in one’s eating 100% of the time. Lord knows I’m not! But I do aspire to clean eating.

The more I know and the farther out I get, the more I understand what got me to obese – Grains and Sugar! At six months out I would not have said this. I attributed my obesity to wanting to feel full. Now I believe that the never feeling sated had more to do with my lousy leptin response and my intake of sugar and carbs.

What say you?

NateH
on 1/17/15 6:11 am
VSG on 09/26/14

I'm only 3.5 months out from surgery, but looking at my food journal my carbs run between 0 (many days) and 21 (once). I've found getting off and staying off carbs and sugars is key for me. Maybe I'll fold more carbs in later but I'm down 100+ and plan to keep being a big loser for awhile yet. 

HW: 450
SW: 428 9/26/14
Reached 'normal' BMI (24.9) with a weight of 199.9: 2/5/2016

    

(deactivated member)
on 1/17/15 6:15 am

Wow! Awesome loss since September! You're doing great. I never kept my carbs quite as low as you are. I kept mine between 20 and 40 during WL. To maintain I do well with between 80 and 100 as long as they aren't refined sugar carbs!

 

Allison L.
on 1/18/15 3:00 am - Berkeley, CA

Amazing weight loss. You rock!

        

happyteacher
on 1/17/15 6:12 am

I fall (as you know) into the quality carb camp. But sugar? It is a full on addiction. I also carefully track what it does to me, and because of the cancer issues more closely and in different ways than most. Yes, I too start jonesing immediately. If I start in the morning with it, I derail the entire day every damn time. Even worse is the inflammation it causes. I have had several surgeries over the last couple of years where I have needed drains for a month or so at a time. When i eat a lot of sugar, the amount of swelling increases as does the output as measured by the drains. Substantially so too- usually triples it. My complexion (particuarly the face) gets a red rash like reaction. Of course the re is the predictable impact on blood sugar levels. 

If my overall carbs go over 150 for any variety I also struggle. Like you, fruits low on the glycemic index do not seem to be a problem. I can handle whole grain dense bread pretty well, but pasta is off the list. I do best with lots of veggies and protein, but I do struggle to maintain that and refined crap makes it way in too frequently. I feel fortunate to stil be 5 pounds under goal frankly. 

Surgeon: Chengelis  Surgery on 12/19/2011  A little less carb eating compared to my weight loss phase loose sleever here!

1Mo: -21  2Mo: -16  3Mo: -12  4MO - 13  5MO: -11 6MO: -10 7MO: -10.3 8MO: -6  Goal in 8 months 4 days!!   6' 2''  EWL 103%  Starting size 28 or 4x (tight) now size 12 or large, shoe size 12 w to 10.5   150+ pounds lost  

Join the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker group for recipes and tips! Click here to join!

MissNexxie
on 1/17/15 6:26 am
VSG on 04/30/14

I am only 9 months out but can attest to what you are saying. My hunger and satiety are not an issue when I keep my carbs low (usually

Surgery: April 30, 2014: HW: 288 SW: 250 Achieved Goal 149 lbs: April 8, 2015 CW: 158 lbs (working on losing 65 lb regain as of June 1, 2021. Weight was at 215 lbs). Fighting every darn day!

MissNexxie
on 1/17/15 6:32 am
VSG on 04/30/14

Hmm. Most of my message was lost. To summarize, at 9 months out I try to stay below 70 net carbs. I indulged in some refined carbs over the holidays and my cravings went crazy. For 10 days I was insatiable. Gained 4 lbs.  Took 4 days to detox. Sugars and whole grains seem to trigger me equally hard. I'm carb sensitive and need to remember that as I reach goal and look at maintenance.

Surgery: April 30, 2014: HW: 288 SW: 250 Achieved Goal 149 lbs: April 8, 2015 CW: 158 lbs (working on losing 65 lb regain as of June 1, 2021. Weight was at 215 lbs). Fighting every darn day!

ElizaM
on 1/17/15 7:17 am
VSG on 07/24/14

I'm in the very low carb camp. I don't really think there's anything necessary about carbs, physiologically speaking, and I'm living proof. My carb count ranges from 1-25, including fiber which I don't particularly worry about. I hit 90 on Thanksgiving day but otherwise I've been reliably low carb since surgery. I chalk it up to my success pre-op as well. I've had registered dietitians tell me with a straight face that I need 100g of carbs to function. This is obviously bunkum. 

When I was diagnosed with diabetes, I was 432lbs. I used to eat a TON of food (unsurprisingly). I added it up once, and I would eat 5-6k calories a day and still be hungry. I read up on low carb, high fat diets and gave them a try. All of a sudden I could eat 1600-2000 calories with NO hunger. It really was magical. That convinced me it was right for me. Sticking to it has always been the hard thing, and I think the sleeve helps me to a degree. Obviously I know I can still screw up and just eat carbs all day and get into trouble, but as long as I eat protein first there's no room for carbs. 

For me, I don't think about how many carbs I can eat before I get into trouble, it's a question of how low can I go and still be a happy camper. Also, I don't fear fat! I put butter on my steak, etc. I think that's a key to low carb diets. If you eat nothing but protein, you can get into trouble.

   

32F 5'8" High weight: 432 | Consult weight: 396 | Surgery weight: 335 | Current weight: 170

DeeNY52
on 1/17/15 8:25 am

Oh, me too.  If I'm having a good day and avoiding sugar or HFCS I'm good to go for the day. But once I get into sugar I am craving the next bite as well.

In a restaurant or at a friend's house I'm OK, I always have my protein first, order dessert and have as much as my sleeve can hold, give the rest to my husband and go home.

It's clear to me that I just CANNOT have sugary stuff in the house.  It was hard over Xmas, but the house is pretty treat-free now.

White sugar is a drug, and I 'm an addict.  Darn it.  So I know that sugary treats are only for where I'm limited by external forces.  I can't have it in the house.

            
Bufflehead
on 1/17/15 8:29 am - TN
VSG on 06/19/13

I can't have sweets during the day. Even a tiny piece of chocolate, at, say, mid-day will end up with me stuffing my face with cookies later in the afternoon and evening. I've never had a drug addiction but I imagine it feels kind of similar - one little taste and I just get out of control and desperate. I can't reason with myself.

A small something sweet at night is safer because there is pretty much no opportunity for me to keep going with it. Still, though, I prefer to avoid at least the processed, white sugar type of sweets even at night. I do like an occasional piece or two of dried fruit as "dessert" and that doesn't seem to affect me the same way.

Sad to say I think this is going to have to be the way it is the rest of my life. Sugary sweets will have to be a very occasional treat, reserved for dinners out and such. I'm not the sort of person who can have one cookie with lunch and then eat right the rest of the day. Just doesn't work.

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