Maintainers, what is your carb level/intake like?

[Jenny12 361]

Hey everyone. I am wanting to increase my fruits and veggies (for more Fiber, sick and tired of severe constipation). I'm so used to doing high Protein and a little bit of veggies. This has served me well. But I'm afraid it is just making my issue worse, so I want to add more fruits and such. Instead of an omelet for Breakfast I'm considering doing Fiber 1 Cereal and a banana. The thing is I am terrified of increasing my carb level. How many carbs are you all maintaining at?

[lsereno 2,525]

Not sure, but I have carbs with each meal. I have whole grain bread, cereal, or oatmeal with breakfast and one small serving of fruit with breakfast or as a snack. At lunch and dinner, I have a starch, such as a few ounces of sweet potato, whole grain bread or crackers, or Beans. I also have a small amount of non-starchy veggies with both meals and another small piece of fruit as a snack.

Lynda

[Butterthebean 8,146]

My carb % is 20%. But I eat 2000 calories a day so that's about 100 grams. I do eat fiber one almost every day. I'll add it to my cottage cheese along with some sliced up strawberries and blueberries. Or just eat it straight.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I want to eat carbs for fueling workouts and for fiber.

Typically, I will have 1/2 cup oatmeal (56 g), 1/2 cup fiber cereal (28 g), 2 scoops Protein powder (28 g), 4 energy squares (24 g) and whatever carbs come from 2 servings of veggies (8 g). This adds up to 148 g. Most of my carbs are eaten when first rising (5:30 am), but I also eat some 2 hours before working out (2pm) and immediately after working out (6 pm).

There may be a handful more carbs I eat from food, but these numbers capture a typical day as a maintaining vet who works out daily (5x a week) doing intense functional exercises in the form of metabolic conditioning and lifting.

I have been able to keep my weight steady @175 (down from 360) with these carbs for about 8 months now.

[feedyoureye 3,087]

Between 60-160 but my success depends more on what kind of carbs, low glycemic index, whole grains, brans, low sugars, lots of veggies, I make big pots of veggie Soups for instance, a little bit of mostly low glycemic index fruits. When I eat 160 gms of sugar, white flour, and such, forget about it... the weight goes up. I do not eat low carb, just lower carb.

[CowgirlJane 14,260]

I have had success making small changes and then monitoring. I eat low/moderate carb but even I find that mixing things up always help. I would be hesitant of adding alot of fruit though because it is quite surgary... so i would slowly add. I think alot of low carb veggies will bring in more fiber too, so maybe slight shift? For whatever reason, I no longer suffer from Constipation.< /p>

[JeanZ_RN 378]

Fiddleman, what is an energy square?

[CowgirlJane 14,260]

oh, and my standard breakfast is a veggie based egg white omelette...

bell peppers, brocolli that kind of thing are great choices for a low glycumic index type food.

I rarely eat bread, Pasta, potato, fruit or rice even now - but don't worry about the low GI veggies

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Fiddleman, what is an energy square?

Here are some energy squares from nuts.com:

http://www.nuts.com/snacks/energy-squares/

My favorite are chocolate paradise:

http://www.nuts.com/snacks/energy-squares/chocolate-paradise.html

It has been a little while since eating some, but I think an order is in the near future.

[JeanZ_RN 378]

Wow, those look fanTAStic! Thanks! I'm going to add that info to my ever-expanding "WLS wisdom" file.

For now I'm trying to stay as low carb as possible, but when I get near my goal weight I'll definitely try them.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I started eating them at 5-6 months post op where I was about 15 lbs from goal and I needed the energy to run 5-10 k at a time. Today I get my carbs more from steel oats and fiber one, but these energy squares work well also.

[Georgia 2,908]

Here are some energy squares from nuts.com: http://www.nuts.com/snacks/energy-squares/ My favorite are chocolate paradise: http://www.nuts.com/snacks/energy-squares/chocolate-paradise.html It has been a little while since eating some, but I think an order is in the near future.

Okay, they look great but is ONE piece a serving size? If so, 130 cals, only 4 Protein and 12 carbs?

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Okay, they look great but is ONE piece a serving size? If so, 130 cals, only 4 Protein and 12 carbs?

I think 2 pieces is a serving size.

[vogue 310]

I lift weights, heavy weights... so I do higher carbs than many... no way I could meet my physical goals without the carbs.... Im scheduled for panniculectomy in 6 weeks but when I go back to training post-op, Im also going to up carbs to over 200 g per day as I try to bulk a bit

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Read the following article titled "Why Lifting Weights Lets You Eat More Carbs and All About Metabolism":

http://www.fitnessbaddies.com/why-lifting-weights-lets-you-eat-more-carbs-and-all-about-metabolism/

It is written in the style of bro science and easy to follow, but I feel it answers so many questions surrounding the dietary consumption of carbohydrates for weight loss and weight lifting.

It is a bit of a long read, but well worth it. I feel it goes beyond all the colloquialisms we love to use when talking about carbohydrates.