[bren]

OK I've got a question, the further out from my surgery I get and the more people I talk to the more confused I get. I've talked to different people about what we should be eating and some say you only need to watch the sugar intake and make sure your eating your protein, others say watch the carbs, others say you should be watching the fat and others say they only watch the calories.
I'm trying to eat plenty of protein, but should I be watching my carb intake, my sugar intake( which I do) or calorie intake? What are others doing, I know several people on this board watch their carb intake but it seems like everything has carbs in it.
SO please give me some intake on what you all are doing..

[mike]

Well, you are right with the carbs. Everything has them in. I, personally, watch my carbs like a hawk. I rarely focus on calories. The sugar thing, in my book, is a must. I have found with myself, that if I do have something that is high in sugar, I first get nausea, and the next day, I start craving the sweets more. Something in the brain, I do believe, actually tells your body to crave the bad carbs. My advice to you is just don't do it. For me, when I did that, the urge to eat those bad carb foods, was overwhelming....literally. I actually had to train myself again, to stay away from those food, and sweets. Yes, as I have said, I have tried them, just very very very much limit myself. I think that is the rule of thumb for us post-ops anyway.....a low-carb diet. I have never eaten so many veggies in all my life. lol I think I am going to turn into a peice of brocolli. I have found this to be very helpful. The protein thing is good to. You have to get the protein in. I get alot of protein and fiber in, first thing in the morning. For one thing, the fiber sticks with me for quite a while, and the protein is essential for a healthy bod. I stick with this Bren. I am sure you will get other replies, but I wanted to let you know what I do. So far, it has been working wonders for maintaining my weight. Good question.
I think, also, that you have to find something that works for you, eventhough, as I have said, some things you have to do, and are essential to the long term diet we all have to follow. I think you are doing great so far, and I know you will be a success story in the end. AWESOME JOB!
mike

[fr1endly2]

(((HUG))) BREN!
I know for me the CARBS have to be a watched issue
because personally i know i have carb issues when i eat
the "BAD" carbs. JUST a bag of microwave popcorn
for me starts up uncontrollable grazing. SO for me i have
to steer clear this way and really keep them lo. THERE trouble
for me. I do watch my sugars in products and early out never
had anything with more then 7 to 10 grams sugar...now i
bend that to about 15 or less. I dont watch calories because
when i eat the way i should the calories stay in tack fine.
MY

I know for me the surgeons nutritionist will expect a pateint
2 years out like me to eat a well balanced rounded meal from
all food groups and to stop when full. EATING some protein first,
veggie and last a tad bit of the usually carb loaded side...( a brown rice, multi grain pasta things like that) and to stop when full.

SO when i eat i do tend to mostly take my calories and fill up on that protein leaving me not much room for the other stuff which tends to carry the carbs. I use alot of my ATKINS rules cause this works best for me
and my eating behavior. Doing this also keeps my calories down being the proteins have far less calories then other things. WHEN i do my carbs, i do try to get them mostly from fruits, veggies and the whole grains verses the evil evil processed foods which for me just make me crave more and more.

THIS is whats best for me to keep control of my eating.
another person may not battle what i do and be fine with carbs.
I have seen this in my eating patterns time and time again to know
this is my trouble.

MY biggest daily battle is between meal snacking.

[DocSanae]

bren, everyone does it differently, adapt to what they each feel comfortable with while keeping to the basics of their respective surgeons.
What is right for them, is not always the right answer for you.
So, I would suggest you ask your surgeon, or ask him to refer you to a nutritionist/dietitian and talk over what is best for you.

That said, the BASICS of ALL HEALTHY DIET is a balanced meal in moderate amounts. The distribution of the nutrients and the total amount as in calories both count. With the post ops who do not count the calories, that is because the amount they can/do eat is not such that you need to watch the calories closely, and not because you can ignore the calories totally. There is a basic recommended balance of how much nutrients to take (check out How Many Calories Do I Need?) The problem with carbs is that there are a number of you out there who have what can be termed as sugar addiction. In that case, processed carbs can pose a problem by bringing on cravings. Wholesome carbs will be less so, but even then, then can cause trouble for some people. In such cases, it seems high protein, low carb diet works the best. Also, you do need to be careful of fat, but some fat replaces the carbs, especially if you are restricting the carbs as much as you can, and in that case, there will be people who will no regulate their fat intake as much as they watch their carb intake.
Make no mistake, what comes first is protein, and water. Once you have the needed amount of these in, how else you balance your intake, should be tailored to your personal needs. So, get some input from a nut/dr what should work best for you.

[jbarfield]

The surgeon I go to recommends for us to follow "The Zone Diet" which can be found in full detail on the web. Dr. Davis is very much into healthy balance of nutrition, afirmation, meditation and fun. He believes that it all works hand in hand.

[bren]

Thanks everyone.. I guess in this aspect each surgeon differs as well.
Mike its awesome to see you back again

[LittleLisaMarie]

That said, the BASICS of ALL HEALTHY DIET is a balanced meal in moderate amounts.

That quoted from Docs post. This is how we need to live our lives. THe sugar and fat issues have to do with our new bodies. The "dumping" issues that some have. But as far as the way we eat for the rest of our lives, MODERATION is key to whatever we decide to eat.

LittleLisaMarie

[bren]

Thanks Lisa,
I guess i'm starting to panic because I can eat more now then a few months ago and its scary. I do OK until the evening when I want to snack. I'm trying to stick to fruit in the evenings or the diet ice cream which is low in sugar.
Well thanks for listening to me.. I know i'm probably doing just fine but I tend to panic easy.