Good morning everyone. I finally broke down and started using fitday.com yesterday and have a question about carbs....how many???
Yesterday I took in 41 carbs...these all came from my protein shakes, 1/2 a banana, broccoli and an 8 oz. glass of Plum Smart light.
Is this bad?

Hi Terri,
The way I see it, we were meant to live primarily on protein and some fats post-WLS.
When we take in protein first, just as the rules say, our cravings subside and we feel
satiety much more acutely after eating what we're supposed to be eating. Personally,
I am not a counter. I eat protein, take vitamins, drink a bunch of water and exercise.
That said, we're sure to take in some carbs in veggies and the occasional piece of fruit
we eat as well as a sideline element in our protein supplements. However, I
do not intentionally consume carbs in an isolated way.... no pretzels, breads, pasta,
rice. When I make the Lentil Barley Soup from the 5DPT, there are certainly carbs
in the mix. But these constitute a very low percentage of the total. That's the way
my eating needs to stay while I'm still trying to lose. Once we're on maintenance,
we can carefully begin to add well chosen carbs to our eating plan. But careful is the
operative word here. Twinkies and pretzels are exiled to Neverland in my book...
or to be more realistic... I don't plan to eat them today or tomorrow
Hope this helps!

I agree with what's been said. I don't eat refined carbs. All my carbs come from complex carbs (mostly broccoli or tomatoes), protein drink mix (in my PB protein balls), etc. Some days, they are higher than others, but I don't really pay attention. I'm eating my protein and following the rules. If you do that, then the # of carbs is unimportant.

That being said, I just went back to fitday and my carbs tend to average between 25-45 per day (normally an avg of about 40).

If you focus on trying to get in 70+ grams of protein, you aren't going to have room to over-do it in the carb dept (unless you're eating refined carbs - which is a big no no).

Weeeeelllll...I'm more about %, rather than grams at this point in my journey. As a newbie, like you were, I never counted my carbs. I only ensured that I took in a minimum of 75g of protein each day. That was all that I counted and it resulted in my loss of over 200 pounds in about 18 months. It worked. Now, I feel best when my fat is at about 30%, my carbs are at about 45% and my protein is about 25%. I've taken in as many as 200g of carbs in a day. Nothing white, but still carbs.

Focus on your protein and listen to your pouch to know when you're full. That will give you success!

"Bad?" No. Not necessarily. It depends on the kinds of carbs and the amount you're eating in proportion to the rest of the food you're eating. Are you eating more carbs than anything else? Are you eating crackers, chips, cookies, desserts? Are you eating white flour products, white potatoes, white pasta, white rice?

You listed the things you think are the carbs in your diet. This in and of itself is not bad. Veggies first, fruit as a treat. 41 what? grams? percent? I'm assuming you mean grams. That's a great amount if you're eating 1000-1200 calories a day and getting 90 grams of protein and less than 30 grams of fat...

hope this helps.
hugs to you and keep up the good work.

processed carbs.
white carbs.
empty carbs.

avoid those. (crackers, bread, pasta, rice, baked sweets)

complex carbs:
vegetables
legumes
fruits
whole grains

embrace those.


there is a place for *carbs* in the post-WLS diet. Make sure they are from the ground or from the tree. From the factory? forget it.

Does that help?