Is There Evidence That Low Carb Actually Leads To Better Losses?

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

So, my original question had to do with finding objective evidence for low carbing improving success after weight loss surgery. Even without eating simple carbs (sugar, junk food, bread etc) it is still pretty easy to get carbs in. Carbs are in many of the Vitamin supplements, in fruits and veggies etc.

I find that when i try to stay under 40 TOTAL carbs per day I don't feel as good as when I eat a bit more of them. I have alot of weight to lose and want to do as well as I can this first year post op, but am not sure it is worth it to try to stay truly low carb as opposed to just eating Protein first. Once i am further along I plan to replace some of my higher carb Vitamins, but right now I have a liquid Calcium citrate and it adds quite a few to my daily total.

[RickM 1,747]

I am very happy to find this discussion. I can't function without good carbs but was feeling bad because another group I belong to was all about putting yourself in ketosis. I don't like that idea but I haven't been sleeved yet either... 1/17/12 is my date. What I really need to focus on is what works for me and not worry about what others do, but then I started to fear I wouldnt lose.

In the eight years or so that I have been going to the support groups for my surgeon (between my wife's pre-op/post-op time several years ago and my own,) they never brought up the prospect of doing low carb diets other than the avoidance of simple carbs and junk food, and they have one of the best weight loss records around - so there certainly nothing essential about low carb dieting and the VSG or weight loss in general. The only time I have heard them mention ketosis is in reference to something that can happen as a result of fat burning, but was never something desirable to strive for.

I never controlled carb intake, and was averaged in the 80-100g per day range through most of the weight loss period, except for these past three months or so when i selectively boosted complex carb consumption to better fuel workouts, so that brought it up into the 120g range. There is nothing particularly wrong with things like bread, rice and even (heavens!) potatoes in moderation as they all have nutritional value that often doesn't come from other sources. I am seeing occasional references posted to thiamin deficiency, which typicaly comes from lack of grains; potatoes are one of the better sources of potassium (on the order of twice the potassium per calorie than low carb avocados, and about 50% better than bananas) and potassium is difficult to supplement without presciption. As usual, the whole grain products are preferred over the overly refined white products. They all have a place in a properly balanced diet - the key there being balanced rather than the carb overload diets that are all too common. After WLS, our diets are anything but balanced with our limited intake volume and Protein emphasis, and we can tolerate that imbalance for a while when we are losing, but we do need to bring that balance back in as we lose an move toward maintenance.

The weight loss industry in general (both the MDs and what passes for research that supports them as well as the infomercial crowd) go back and forth between low carb and low fat extremes, and have done so several times over the past century. Just as when low fat was the fashion of the day and they said that there were no good fats, that we don't need them and then they found that we actually do (but in moderation), now we hear the same thing from the low carb crowd. Nothing is really new, and we always have to re-learn the same things over again.

There will always be some therapeutic value for some to any kind of severly restricted diet - low carb is often prescibed to counter diabetic related issues - but that is far from recommending such restrictions as a cookie cutter (sorry!) recipe for success. My bro-in-law was on a Wonder bread diet for a while - white bread, white rice, avoidance of complex carbs, whole grains and fiberous veg. It did it's job (which was certainly not weight loss oriented!) but it was a restriction for a specific purpose. We have to learn what works best for us - some have triggers that lead to overindulging some foods while others have a weakness for overall volume. The ketosis game may induce some additional inefficiencies to ones metabolism that may help in burning fats quicker, or it may not - it's certainly worth a try, particularly if one is losing slowly or is starting out at a very high BMI and need to get the most from their sleeve, but there can be costs to driving one's metabolism down too low thru starvation. For me, assuming that the ketosis diet worked as advertised, it wasn't worth making goal in six months versus seven; however it may be worthwhile if made a difference between meeting goal or not given the year or two that we typically have to work with our WLS.

[lyndynojo 140]

My personal motto is " all things in moderation ". This has worked very well for me so far and I feel normal as can be.

[Tlmiller2971 10]

Last night my NUT told me to quit worrying, focus on my calories, Protein, and making good choices and the rest will fall into place. The limits she has put me on in those areas will take care of my worry about carbs. I love my NUT!

[sleeve 4 me 910]

My personal motto is " all things in moderation ". This has worked very well for me so far and I feel normal as can be.

AMEN SISTER!

[sleeve 4 me 910]

Last night my NUT told me to quit worrying, focus on my calories, Protein, and making good choices and the rest will fall into place. The limits she has put me on in those areas will take care of my worry about carbs. I love my NUT!

I TOTALLY AGREE!!!!!!!