Are you confused and don’t know what to believe about eating carbs? One friend tells you carbs are evil, don’t eat them and another friend loves carbs and says you need them too. Who’s right? Maybe you fear carbs and think if you do eat them, you’ll regain weight. Let’s cut thru the carb confusion together.
Hi, I’m registered dietitian nutritionist Dr. Susan Mitchell. You’re listening to the Bariatric Surgery Success podcast episode number 56. Most of my career I’ve worked in some type of media, particularly radio where I did morning drive nutrition spots for over 18 years. That’s what lead me to start podcasting and ultimately to you. I created Bariatric Surgery Success to provide you with life-changing information based on science along with simple strategies and tools to help you be successful in your transformation and your entire journey. So happy you’ve connected with me. You’re in the right place and I’m glad you’re listening.
The message that carbs are bad or evil, something to fear and to avoid at all costs is flat out incorrect. To add to this confusion, carb advice varies from one bariatric office to another. Should you be fearful or concerned about eating carbs? No, they’re not evil, not at all when put in the proper perspective. Carbs are one of the three main macronutrients including protein and fat needed by your body. Carbs provide energy to your body and brain and without them, you’ll feel like you’re crawling the carpet? You know what I’m talking about.
During the digestive process, carbs are broken into glucose for energy and are the perfect source for your brain. So if you’re foggy or forgetful, I ask you, have you cut out carbs? The brain is only 2% of body weight but it gobbles up glucose. So a restriction on carb can result in muscle break down to feed the brain. Repeat after me: carbs are an excellent fuel source for the body and brain. If you’ve been avoiding carbs, here’s how to add them back.
And the 50-million dollar question. How many grams of carbs should you eat? As we’ve talked about before, your number one focus is on your protein selection first then add high fiber complex carbs and fat choices. You might be thinking, no way! You want me to count grams of protein now carbs too. Do I really have to do this from now on? No, you don’t. More on this in a minute.
But first, start by choosing high fiber complex carbs that I often refer to as ‘smart’ carbs. Your total grams per day should be somewhere in the 90-130 range depending on how far out from surgery you are right now. Often at 6 months out, the carb suggestion will be around 90 grams a day working up to 130 grams 1 year or so down the track. However this can vary with the surgery so a carb discussion with your dietitian is one to put on your list. As I mention every week, your body, your hormones, and your genetic makeup is different from someone else who had surgery the same day as you did.
Include 1/2 -1 carb serving per meal or snack. This may vary as you may need more if you work out daily. 1 carb serving is 15 grams. If you have a can of beans or refried beans, go grab them so we can be label sleuths together. Look at the Nutrition Facts label here in the US or check the label you have in your country to see what it says. I have a can of refried beans and it says the serving size is 1/2 cup and under Total Carbohydrate there are 23 grams of carbs in that 1/2 cup. If 15 grams is equal to one carb serving, you know that 23 is equal to about 1 & 1/2  carb servings. If you’re trying to stay at 1 carb serving of 15 grams, you would want to cut the portion back from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup or so. But look a little closer at the label. What makes this a smart carb? Notice fiber listed under total carbohydrate. There are 5 grams in this 1/2 cup serving. That’s significant. This fiber slows how fast the beans are digested, makes you feel full and is good for your microbiome. Benefits galore. This is why I call it a smart carb.
What is a smart carb? S