JanetF

You know that you will never hit your goal weight if you intentionally try to cheat on your diet by sneaking bites or deciding not to log certain foods. But what if you think you are doing everything right and are still not losing the weight you expect? Hidden calories may be to blame. Figure out the sources of hidden calories in your diet, and you just may have a weight loss breakthrough!


Overeating is Possible after WLS

You got WLS so that you could lose weight, but it is important to remember that WLS is only a tool. To lose weight, you need to use that tool properly. If you fall into the trap of thinking that WLS automatically leads to weight loss, you might never hit goal weight. As a reminder, these are how the lap-band, vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG), and gastric bypass can help you lose weight.
Lap-band: The lap-band creates a small pouch, or stoma, to help you fill up faster so that you eat less.
Vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG): The surgery removes most of your stomach and creates a small sleeve out of the remaining portion. The gastric sleeve restricts the volume of food you can eat and it reduces hunger by reducing the amount of ghrelin, which is a hunger hormone.
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: The surgery restricts food intake by creating a small pouch, and reduces nutrient absorption by having food from your stomach bypass much of your small intestine.

Your weight loss surgery will not work for you if you cheat in these ways.
You eat more frequently – and take in more calories – than your surgeon suggests without feeling the restrictive effects of the adjustable gastric band.
You eat sugary, fatty high-calorie foods. The lap-band, especially, is unlikely to cause you to develop dumping syndrome. That is good because you will not get the unpleasant symptoms, but it is bad because it does not prevent you from eating sugar, starch or fat. Even with a stoma size of just 4 ounces, or a meager 1/2 cup, you could fit in 400 calories’ worth of M&M’s in with room to spare.
You drink fluids when you are eating solids so that you are able to consume more at a single meal or snack. Drinking fluids while eating solid foods can also cause your stomach, sleeve or pouch to empty faster so that you get hungrier sooner.
You sip on beverages that provide calories but do not fill you up.

How Hidden Calories Might Be Throwing You Off

What if you think you are following your weight loss surgery diet diligently? You measure your food whenever you can, you use your dietitian’s food list when you go grocery shopping, and you order chicken and vegetables when you go out to eat. You get protein at every meal, and you drink plenty of water each day.

Hidden calories are the ones that creep into your diet. You might not know you are eating them, or you might think that you eat so few “extra” calories that they don’t matter in your diet. But, they do impact your weight loss. An extra 20, 50, or 100 calories here or there really affects your weight loss. Remember that a pound of body fat equals 3,500 calories. That’s an average of 500 calories per day to lose a pound a week. If you are getting hundreds of hidden calories a day, that could easily be a pound a week that you’re not losing.

Where Are the Hidden Calories?

Good question! They can be almost anywhere.
Starches are not necessarily unhealthy, but they should only be part of your meal after you eat your protein and vegetable or fruit.
Protein is the first thing you should eat at each meal and snack, but it is also a source of calories. Fatty meats and poultry with the skin can have 100 or more extra calories per 3-ounce portion compared to lean meats and chicken or turkey breast.
Healthy foods can be high-calorie. A handful of nuts or dried fruit or a big spoonful of peanut butter can have 200 to 300 calories.
Condiments can wreck your diet. A tablespoon of mayonnaise has 100 calories, a tablespoon of jam has 50 calories, and a tablespoon of salad dressing has 80 calories. Ketchup, teriyaki sauce, and marinades can have 15 to 20 calories per tablespoon.
Restaurant foods can be tricky. Vegetables that you think are steamed can have butter in them, and chicken, fish and other proteins that you think are good choices can come in sauces with 100 or 200 calories per serving. Portion sizes can be several times what you need: a 12-ounce steak is 4 to 6 WLS-sized portions, and a 3-cup plate of pasta is 6 to 8 WLS-sized portions.

o Examples of each of the below. Carbs: toast, crackers. Eat celery. Smaller pasta, more protein meatballs.
o Protein. It’s a nutrient, but it’s also a source of calories. Esp. if with sugar/carbs in supplements, or hi-fat protein foods. Bacon
o Healthy hi-cal foods: nuts, pb, dried fruit (fresh). Portion sizes. Avocado.
o Condiments. Fatty dressings (choose low-fat), use less (use herbs), sugary
o Portion sizes. MEASURE. Nibbling without measuring, eyeballing. You get 60 extra calories every time you take a piece of cheese that is the size of your thumb (1.5 ounces) instead of weighing it to make sure that it is only 1 ounce.
o beverages
o Restaurants: salads, fat added to “grilled” foods or steamed vegetables, beverages, “healthy” bagel instead of low-cal doughnut
o Eating too frequently. Tips for if you’re starving (protein, no fluid with meal); tips to make meal smaller (if you’re eating so many meals, don’t need to be big)

The Good News
The good news is that small changes add up to big calorie savings.
Have an ounce of low-fat cheese instead of full-fat, and save 50 calories.
Have a quart of regular or sparkling water instead of a quart of a sports drink, and save 200 calories.
Skip the bite of cookie dough after you finish baking for your children, and save 100 calories.
Have 3 ounces of 95% lean ground beef instead of 85% lean ground beef, and save 70 calories.
Rinse the spoon instead of licking it after you serve yourself peanut butter, and save 30 calories.
Spread peanut butter or tuna on 3 large celery stalks instead of 6 triscuit crackers, and save 90 calories.
Have one-third of a cup of pasta with your meatballs instead of a full cup, and save 120 calories.

This works for exercise, too. Every little bit helps. When you walk for just an extra half-mile, or about 10 minutes, you burn 50 extra calories.
Start to think about where extra calories may be coming into your diet, and see what you can do to limit them. You’ll be happier with your weight loss results!

I get the carb rush and crash. I really do. I used to go all day without eating, just running on coffee, coming home and having two servings of a nice Pasta and feeling so happy after. Or I'd get a huge nacho at lunch, crash mid day at he office. Order the plate of pancakes or French toast for weekend brunch and not get a damn thing done the rest of the day because I had no energy.
Now, I sleep better than ever before. I never get sick. I have more energy on most days than I know what to do with. I love exercise. I haven't had a headache in over three months other than some mild PMS related things that were a blip on the map). I'm happier and everyone notices. The first month was the hardest. I think I craved pasta and Mexican food everyday. I knew I was in trouble when I started "sneaking" in a teaspoon of salsa just to taste it. But guess what? All that goes away. Now what I eat is my new normal and I'm loving it. And when my husband cooks a pasta for his pre-hockey dinner, I sneak a single bite. I eat it after I've had my pan seared scallops and veggies. When I'm at a friend's house for dinner and they make oatmeal choc chip Cookies, I eat 1/4-1/2 of one and I'm satisfied.
As for those other questions:
Three servings of Protein in the morning? Never heard of this. In the first month, I had a Protein shake and maybe some SF Jello made with unflavored whey protein. Now, at three months I have a very normal Breakfast of either Greek yogurt with some berries, eggs and turkey bacon, cottage cheese then a protein shake an hour or so later.
Drinking with meals. I thought I'd have a hard time with this, but it's actually been the easiest. I keep a glass of Water near me, but only for emergency. I'm too fearful of choking or needing to clear my throat. It's not that we CAN'T drink with the meal, it's that we shouldn't. But I had my doctor and nutritionist telling me that long before surgery. Soda bloats you, watery liquids (teas, juices) just dilute the stomach acids that are trying to break down foods for further absorption. Now, it's more like I know I won't be able to eat as much if I drink more -- I'll get too full too fast.
Foregoing club soda and the mini scone. Eh, they advise you don't drink carbonated drinks because the stomach is too sensitive the first few months. I would agree. But I had a sip of my husband's Orangina not long ago and nothing major happened. You don't really crave it. And I think after 3-6 months or so if you really want a non-calorie, non-sugar bubbly water apart from a meal it would be fine. As for the scone, I see treating yourself to a few carbs/sugars here and there (like once a week) is OK. You won't be able to eat it comfortably for the first few months, but you also won't miss it. And if you do miss it, have a single bite. Get the taste without eating the whole thing.
Heating anything substantial in the first three months. WTH? I eat hot foods all the time and have since four weeks post op. And even when I was on liquids and mushies the first month, I heated Soups and the like up to the allowed 130 degrees (so protein could be added without clumping). I enjoy baked fish, steamed veggies, all kinds of chicken now. It's great!

I was exactly where you were in the months before my surgery. Very afriad at never enjoying the foods I loved again. But I know I will again one day, this time in much healthier portions. When I go home late this summer, I will enjoy hamburger night at my brother's -- but bunless and skip the fries. When Thanksgiving rolls around, I'll eat all the stuff but on a small plate. And my new smaller stomach will let me know when I'm full. I totally thought I was going to regret this in the first month post-op, but know I have to say I wish I'd done this years earlier. Best decision ever!!

I am one-week post op. You must follow the post-op diet to be successful and not damage the surgery site as it takes time to heal. I won't say that I don't crave foods that I can't have, but I am not having hunger pains at all. In fact, I can't really believe how wonderful and filling that chicken broth and sugar-free Jello can be.
There are things that my family is eating that really look delicious to me right now, but I am not about to screw this up.... it wouldn't just be cheating but would be medically damaging at this point.
One day, I will be able to eat reasonable portions of the foods that I love.
As I have seen said many times before, "Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels." There is no way that I would call this an easy process. Those that say that you are "cheating" by having this surgery must think that it's not difficult. ANYONE would lose weight following this structured diet. It is the reduced calorie amount that is causing the weight loss--- not that your smaller stomach makes you magically lose weight.
The surgery changes your hunger which will give help with your willpower to accomplish what you couldn't on dieting alone.
Don't give up! I almost backed out of the surgery myself because I kept thinking "i should be able to do this on my own", but I've never been able to. Now that I have had the surgery, I have the strength and willpower to stick with the plan.
Good luck!

Love it! That alone makes it worthwhile, doesn't it?