Show notes
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? Smart carbs are the carbs that best fuel your body and brain. This mean vegetables, fruit, whole grains, ancient grains like faro and quinoa, beans and lentils. All of these contain fiber and are referred to as complex carbohydrates because they take longer to break down and are more satisfying. When consuming these smart complex carbs, you tend to lose more weight too since they contain fiber and help you to feel full similar to protein.
Plus these complex carbs contain a who’s who list of vitamins and minerals along with naturally occurring phytonutrients that help fight inflammation in the body. But what about those refined or empty-calories carbs which have no nutritional benefit for you? You know the ones. Those goodies we love to hate but reach for when stressed such as candy, cakes, cookies, soda, etc. Never say never. Why? Because when you avoid them totally, you want them more than ever, right? And your desire for a cookie becomes a desire for five or six cookies. Your favorite treats need to be just that…treats. Instead of reaching for treats as an outlet to stress or overeating them because you deprived yourself, plan to have a small portion as part of your menu for that day such as your favorite dark chocolate or birthday cake or dessert on Thanksgiving. If you deny yourself totally, it only leads to deprivation and then potentially overeating and that’s not a win for your transformation. Just remember, less is more when it comes to refined carbs and your health so portion size is super important.
Here’s where the light bulb should go off. Basically you differentiate between healthy and less healthy carbs or treats by the added sugars. How do you know? You got this. You’re a label sleuth. Remember, look at the Nutrition Facts label every time you can in the US or your particular label in another country. Again, look at the serving size such as 1/2 cup, then total the carbohydrate in grams in that 1/2 cup. Look below carbohydrate to see if there is fiber and then look for those added sugars. The added sugars will be listed in grams as well and remember that four grams is equal to one teaspoon of sugar. By the way, coconut sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, honey, agave, and maple syrup all act the same in the body so don’t be mislead to think one is better. It’s a personal choice. If the added sugars says 16 grams for example, how many teaspoons of sugar is that? Right, four. Now, look at the ingredients and see what type of sugar is added. Remember the ingredients go in descending order from most to least.
If there are zero added sugars on the label, then the carbs are coming from natural sugars like lactose in milk and fructose in fruit.
Remember that too many carbs or the wrong type of carbs at a meal or snack can cause havoc in your gastrointestinal track or let’s just say your gut. This havoc is known as dumping syndrome which is rapid emptying of food from the stomach into the intestines and results in very unpleasant symptoms. If you suspect this is an issue for you, go back and listen to podcast #34 on 4 Ways to Prevent Dumping Syndrome from Dumping on your Day.
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Big question, don’t miss this. Do you always have to count carb grams or add up calories? No. What was that? No! But it’s a win-win for you if you learn about carbs, grams of carb per serving, what the serving size is and what that serving size looks like. Once you cement this into that glucose-eating brain, it will be easy for you to choose and eat healthier carbs in the right portions as you live life whether you’re preparing food or eating out or eating with other friends or family in their homes. The more you know the more successful your journey and transformation.
Learn to pick and choose your carbs well. You’re worth it.
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