Carbs

I love this site!!  It seems when something is on my mind and I have questions, it suddenly appears on the forum.  I have been dealing with carbs.  I dont want to ever eat bread again.  I am highly addicted to bread.  I spoke with my doctor about this and was told he did not care if I ever eat bread again.  But of course I did not say crackers.  So I indulge in them now and again.  It is getting worse.  Now I am up to ten at a time every few days, and not whole wheat crackers.  So reading all your posts about carbs has got me back on track.  To to scary.  I dont want to regain.  I am at my six months now and at that dreaded stall.  I am staying on track,  I am getting in my protein, even uped it to 80.  I am drinking more water now.  And I am journaling, yes even the crackers.  I am going to stop them right this minute.  They will only lead to more carbs, I can feel the pull even now.   I am also doing more walking and biking.  Of course I feel good enough to do more, thanks to God and my RNY.  And thank all of you for being here and sharing.  We need one another!!!

My doctor said no crackers ever again.  He does allow bread, but he said crackers, along with chips and other munchie snacks will cause us to crave.  Craving kill!  I believe him because part of his post diet, which I totally ignored like a idiot, was to give all of this up.  Post op I suffered weeks of cravings because I went cold turkey.

It will be hard but you have to stop the crackers.  In about 2 weeks you will feel better.  I too want to give up bread and all the other high carb stuff that packs on the weight.  For everything we gain, we lose something and for everything we lose we gain something too. 

It seems easier to rationalize crackers - even whole grain??  I don't know why, but it does.

I stayed away from all bread and crackers for the first year.

I always have protein - even with a snack - so I do have cheese and some whole grain crackers now that I'm at goal.  I look at the box for the serving size & grams of carbs.  I count out maybe 7 crackers with my 1 oz cheese and put the box away and walk away from the kitchen.

If carbs "call your name", IMHO omit them.

It is so easy to use cucumber slices, celery, and so many other good complex carb fruits and veggies, instead of crackers.

Best wishes.

Good for you.  Carbs are particularly dangerous for those of us who are insulin resistant.

 I had a problem with crackers and bread before surgery and at 9 months out I avoid bread all together and have had a few wheat crackers every now and then but I get out what I need and put them away.  If not I find myself wanting more.  GOOD LUCK

Look at you GO!  Yay for getting back on track.  Yep, carbs from refined flour products are just no good for us, they offer absolutely nothing but head gratification and are a detriment to continued long term success.

The only bread and cereal I used is from sprouted grains and do not contain any flour.  But I use them only a few times a week as a pre-work out mid afternoon meal and I always combine them with a good protein.

Good luck with you re-commitment!

I'm sooooo confused!
I thought I read somewhere that we need carbs for energy?
I just went to the store and bought 3 boxes of different kind of crackers because I thought they would help with my energy level.

Sigh

I know it is confusing, Donna.  We do need some carbs in our diet, under direction from my nutritionist I had to add some carbs to my pre-workout meal when my activity level increased significantly.  The confusing part is when most of  us think of carbs, we think crackers, bread and pastas, when in fact we should be thinking about vegetables and fruits and maybe a few whole grains.  Everything is either a protein, a fat or a carb.  That makes vegetables and fruits carbs.  Because I know that the breads, crackers and pastas were trigger foods for me pre-op, I have very limited amounts of these items; most of these products are made with refined flour and offer us nothing nutritionally and do nothing to aid in sustained weight loss success; they have a negative effect on maintaining steady blood sugar levels and will lead to additional carb cravings when your insulin takes a nose dive.  If you do indulge these on a regular basis, learn the labels and make sure that you are getting whole grain products.

Good luck in finding the balance for increased energy.

You need carbs for quickish energy.  That is why runners and bikers carb-load.  If you are going to run a marathon or do a heavy duty workout then carbs are helpful.  But anything you don't use pretty quickly gets stored as fat.  Long term, both fat and protein also supply energy.

But if you are sitting in a chair and eat carbs they aren't going to boost your energy level and make you get up and run around.  They are going to make the chair fit you a little more snugly. 

Congrats on identifying your behavior! Mine is refined sugar. I was in a support group just yesterday and there were a few people in there talking about that they were up about 8-10 lbs and that they knew why (kinda like your situation). I'm in the club, too, but the scale has started coming back down -- in the realm of this battle, we're accountable only to ourselves. People kept telling me it was muscle gain and if I'd been 100% on plan, I could have accepted that but I knew what I wasn't telling....the mini Reese cups, the mints (yes, even mints when you eat 6-7 per day), the Jolly Rancher...yep.

Go you!