Question on Carbs

Good Morning Friends!

I am certain this is a question I should ask my NUT but I don't see her again until next week. I wanted to get advice from fellow VSG's about carbs. Although I am still pre-op, I wanted to start trying to eat like I will likely have to post surgery. So at this point, I know that the golden rule is PROTEIN FIRST... but I am not really sure how to handle the carb situation.

This question came up as I was eating my vanilla flavored Greek yogurt this morning and I happened to double check the nutrition label. I was shocked when I saw that in addition to the 12 grams of protein in my morning meal, there are also 22 big fat grams of carbohydrates!!!  I declare I must have been sleep walking when I went grocery shopping the other night. Usually I don't buy yogurt if it has more than about 8 grams of carbs per serving! I don't know how I missed this but 22 grams seems really high to me and I am not sure if this is an appropriate protein to carb balance.

I know some carbs are ok, especially if they are "good" carbs. But how should I gauge stuff like this? Is there a "rule of thumb" when it comes to carbs that has worked for anyone out there? I guess I could force myself to get accustomed to eating plain greek yogurt for the high protein/lower carb value BUT, is this necessary? Should I stay away from greek yogurt with fruit that boosts the carb intake?  

I really appreciate any advice here, and thanks so much!

Johnelka

My rule of thumb was to aim for foods that have at least 1 gram of protein per 10 calories and that the rest of the macronutrients will fall into place. (My NUT never gave me a carb target.)

so your yogurt would be okay for me as long as it has fewer than 120 calories. Which it probably doesn't. :/

No you are right, this yogurt has 140 calories, 0 grams of fat, 22 grams of carbohydrates, and 12 grams of protein. It definitely beats my normal breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast with butter... but I really am trying to form new habits. Just don't know what to do with these carbs. I don't want to create a false sense of "fear" behind them, but I want to try and set myself up for success once I have my surgery in August.

Thanks for the input... 1 gram of protein per 10 calories is a good place to start. Thanks again!

After VSG I followed the 600 calories a day with 80+ protein and 20 carbs to lose my weight.  The Greek yogurt that I have been using and still use is Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt.  There are a lot of different yummy flavors and only 80 calories, 8-9 carbs and 12 grams of protein. 

That sound like a winner!! So I do need to be mindful of the # of carbs I take in. I do better with exact directives and 600 calories, 80+ grams of protein and 20 grams of carbs per day is very helpful to me. Do you also try to stick to fat free or low fat, guessing the answer is yes but is there a # of fat grams you stay under? 

Thanks so much for the input, very helpful to me!

You definitely need to be mindful of the carbs you take in.  You won't be able to follow the post op plan until after the surgery.  It would be next to impossible to do pre op.  The majority of people say 600-800 calories, 20-40 carbs and 80+ protein.  I kept it on the low end and it worked for me.  If you can stick to the lower end of calories and carbs then the weight will melt off of you. 

I don't really worry about the fat free or low fat because we are not taking in a lot of food.  The only thing I did reduced fat was my cheese.  Reduced calorie I did Helmanns reduced calorie mayo & Heinz reduced sugar ketchup.  Everything else was normal. If you keep your calorie and carb intake in check, the fat intake will balance out on its own.   

Thanks so much! This is encouraging. And I know from previous fails that I can't stick to the post op diet right now. It's pretty much like fasting for me, been there, done that, lol! What I am actually trying to do is get my taste buds accustomed to different foods and since I know Greek yogurt is a great source of protein I was trying out different brands now. The carb question came about when I tried a particular brand and was floored by the amount of carbs in it. I really appreciate your advise  though. It sounds like what I need to do is just express my concerns to my NUT and see if she will help me build a more detailed post op diet. One that I don't have to do any guessing on. I am soooo bad at guessing, I ALWAYS over do it!

Thanks again!

You're very welcome!! 

I would argue that no carb from processed food is a good carb.  Doesn't mean they don't enter the picture sometimes, but you want to minimize them.

Yes, as you've seen, the yogurt selection was not a good one.

Yes, I am learning. Thank you.