Wow.... Nutrition

[maggie409 765]

I think my brain my explode. It is amazing to me what I did not know about Nutrition and how much I have learned through this process. It's no wonder I have been obese for so long. I realize a lot of you may already know this stuff or have learned it from your nutritionist but I have had to figure this stuff out on my own. So, I am going to impart some of what I have learned on the assumption that I am not the only clueless person here ????. And if I am the only clueless person, please be gentle lol.

1. Balanced nutrition - Protein, carbs, and fats. An emphasis is certainly put on protein. It is the priority. However, Carbs and fats are also important. The balance of nutrition should be as close as we can get to: carbs - 40-50% of daily calories; protein - (women) 46% - (men) 56% of calorie intake; this doesn't leave much room for fat. The reason is fats contain 9 calories per gram whereas Proteins and carbs contain 7 calories per gram so less is required.

Carbs - this is your body's main source of energy. If you don't consume enough carbs, your body will then begin to burn protein (which is vital in WLS). Get healthy sources of protein from Apple juice, apple sauce, Potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruits, legumes, oatmeal, milks, etc. This is where I was making my mistake. Because Of this I was weak and tired and losing slowly.

Protein - this is our priority during WLS. You will be pounded protein protein protein. One important thing to keep in mind.... The human body can only absorb 20-30 grams of protein per hour. Anything consumed above this amount is converted to glucose. So if you pad your protein intake by adding protein to a Protein shake, you are actually drinking a high glucose Protein Shake. In addition, you are falling short on your daily protein requirement because some has been converted to glucose.

Fat - there are so many hidden fats in our foods even if you eat healthy. If you eat a banana to get your carbs, they have fats. Avocados have fats. If you wisely choose 3 ounces of grilled salmon it contains 10 gr of fat and at a low calorie intake that could be close to your total allowance.

If you use MyFitnessPal, you can go into your goals and nutrition. You can put in your daily calories you expect depending on your phase. Mine is set at 700 right now 5 weeks post op. Earlier phases will have less calories. Once you have your calories set, you can adjust your daily allowance of proteins, carbs and fats. When trying to decide how to calculate your percentages, never let your proteins get below 60 gr per day.

PLEASE.... If there is any other vital info that anyone has, share it here as well. I am really enjoying learning about nutrition and heathy eating.

[tcon 305]

Very informative!!! Thanks for sharing!!

[Chrystee 838]

Personally, I believe that carb intake percentage is much too high. Post-op patients should focus on Protein first. Good quality fats are important.. olive oil/avocado type fats are important for us. Most PO should be at a much lower carb level. Less grain type carbs, and more veggie type carbs.

[maggie409 765]

Personally, I believe that carb intake percentage is much too high. Post-op patients should focus on Protein first. Good quality fats are important.. olive oil/avocado type fats are important for us. Most PO should be at a much lower carb level. Less grain type carbs, and more veggie type carbs.

I would be inclined to agree with you but everything I have read and researched eventually indicated otherwise. Here is a link to a study that was done and the results showed better weight loss after VSG for patients that maintained at least 90 gr of carbs per day based on an 850 calorie diet. That is between 40-45%.

http://bariatrictimes.com/recommended-levels-of-carbohydrate-after-bariatric-surgery/

Personally I have set my daily goal at 40% carbs; 45% Proteins and 15% fats. I absolutely agree that Proteins are the priority. The major problem with getting too few carbs is that once the body runs out of our daily carb intake, it starts to burn up our Protein intake which is counter- productive.

It's definitely very interesting and quite the learning experience

[RNsleever715 117]

Actually, when the body doesn't have enough carbs to burn for energy, it turns to fat and burns that instead. That's ketosis.

[Chrystee 838]

I also believe that many bodies are different.. 90 grams of carbs a day isn't bad.. but say 150.. and you may stall.. its 40% now, but if you were eating 1300 a day and at 40% that may be too much. I keep my carb level around 40-50 a day, and I do heavy workouts..

I know some friends who do high carb diets and lose fine.. (no wls).. but my body isn't that fortunate. I also have PCOS. I just don't believe its a one-all nutrition thing.

Bodies are crazy! Even my surgeon and Doctors said they don't understand why some people lose weight eating higher fat and carbs, and some people can't lose on 1200 calorie diets..

Edited July 16, 2015 by Chrystee

[RNsleever715 117]

By the way - from my understanding (disclaimer I'm a RN not a nutritionist so I certainly don't claim to be an expert), Protein has a minimal effect on glucose levels as long as you have adequate insulin levels. I think the process you're reading about/referring to (when you say protein is changed to glucose) is gluconeogenesis, which is a pretty slow process. Your body will not react to a high Protein Shake in the same manner it would if you added Syrup to it. Just tossing that out there ????

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I am only an expert on one person - ME - but I can assure you that if I get carb sources from things like "apple juice, potato, milk" I get hungry, crave more and fatten right up! I recognize we aren't all the same, I recognize that since I am going to be 4 years post op in December that I am more prone to hunger than people in the early weeks/months/years post sleeve.

I am most successful if I have Protein first, followed by veggies (the all have carbs - some are just lower and lower glycemic indicator), minimize fruit, avoid fruit juices and other sugary things, don't worry about fat... oh,and now that I am in maintenance, I definately get carbs from wine too!

I was shocked to find that some people don't know that there are just 3 macro nutrients - sources of calories. Everything you eat that has calories, the calories are either from:

Fat

Protein

Carbs

so people who say they "don't eat any carbs" must not be eating fruits and vegetables, dairy products etc because they all have carbs in them to a varying degree.

[maggie409 765]

I am only an expert on one person - ME - but I can assure you that if I get carb sources from things like "apple juice, potato, milk" I get hungry, crave more and fatten right up!

That is good to know! I will start paying attention to the types of carbs I get. I was avoiding anything that had carbs other than my Proteins and shakes. I had no energy. I have added oatmeal and Greek yogurt and legumes. I will pay close attention how my body reacts. I am in my 5th week post-op and I am still learning. It's like an information overload! Lol

[gpmed 623]

so people who say they "don't eat any carbs" must not be eating fruits and vegetables, dairy products etc because they all have carbs in them to a varying degree.

Even meat has carbs in limited quantities. It's nearly impossible to find a food that contains one macronutrient exclusively. Usually at least a trace amount of one of the others is present.

[gpmed 623]

The reason is fats contain 9 calories per gram whereas Proteins and carbs contain 7 calories per gram so less is required.

Actually Protein and carbohydrates each contain 4 calories per gram. You might be thinking of alcohol, which contains 7 calories per gram.