arussnfl - you're certainly welcome. I log everything I eat in in MFP which requires some kind of measurement (serving, ounces, count, etc.) in order to calculate calorie and nutritional info. I then use the calories and nutritional info for managing my weight. For example, my calorie goal is 1610 calories (keep in mind that I'm at the maintenance stage of my journey and have been for about a year and a half). That is a "daily" goal in MFP but it's much more powerful, realistic and sustainable to treat that number as an AVERAGE. It is self-defeating to expect to meet any specific calorie goal every day for the rest of your life. That's not only unrealistic and unsustainable, but who the heck would want to? Life is supposed to be fun. There are always going to be special occasions and most of them involve food. When you treat your calorie goals as an average, you know that there will be days when you exceed your goal. They are the exception rather than the rule but I have had 2500 calorie days and I've had 1200 calorie days. For days when I'm over, I just make a mental note to reduce my goal by 100-200 calories for a day or two and I'm right back on track with my average. And vice versa for days when I'm under.
coachchic - carbs definitely matter! I have MFP configured with a 40%/30%/30% goal - 40% of calories from carbs, 30% from fat and 30% from Protein. Since I eat very little in the way of simple carbs (e.g. white bread, white rice, white potatoes, etc.), I very seldom hit the 40% carb average. I just checked my weekly totals in MFP back to the beginning of the year and have not been above 36% for carbs in that period of time. On the other hand I usually exceed the fat goal with the average being somewhere around 35% for the same period of time. The upper portion of the intestine that is bypassed after the surgery (the duodenum) is primarily responsible for fat absorption. I don't worry too much about fat because of the resulting malabsorption. Protein is very consistent (goal set by my surgeon is 100g per day which I rarely fail to achieve) and I hit the 30% average with very few exceptions.
With a little math it's easy to convert these numbers into grams and calories. My daily calorie goal is 1610. So I'm shooting for 644 calories of carbs, and 483 calories of fat and protein. Carbs and protein have 4 calories per gram, fat 9 calories per gram. So my 40%/30%/30% translates into 161 grams of carbs, 54 grams of fat and 121 grams of protein daily. But again, keep in mind that I'm in the maintenance stage.
There is nothing magical about the 40/30/30 goal that I use other than it works for me. One of the reasons that I am such a strong advocate of maintaining a food log is that doing so allows you to determine YOUR goals for YOUR body and YOUR lifestyle. Doctors and nutritionists make recommendations for calories but the best even they can do is an educated guess. There are simply too many variables from one person to the next. Using a food log, you can experiment a little and find the exact numbers that give you the results you are looking for. Very powerful tool.
For what it's worth, 500 calories a day at six months out seems pretty low to me. You might want to consider upping your calorie goal by 100-200 calories a day. Try it for a week or two and see how your weight responds. You may find that your weight loss will increase with a little higher calorie intake. If not, increase it another 100-200 and see what happens. You can easily adjust it up or down until you find YOUR number.
I lost 130 lbs in fourteen months averaging just under 1300 calories a day. My weight stabilized at 155 (Lol - and my surgeon ordered me not to lose any more) and has not been below 151 or above 156 since December of 2012. I gradually increased my calorie goal until I found MY AVERAGE goal - 1610 calories. Logging works.
You guys have a great day!
Well I had my surgery earlier today, I guess it is yesterday now, LOL, I am doing great! This hospital is awesome. My nurses are taking wonderful care of me! I had some nausea and pain right out of surgery when I woke up but I can honestly say as of now, I have NONE! I have not been using the pain pump for awhile, I received Toradol in my IV earlier and it is all I seem to need for pain. I have had zofran for nausea and that has done the trick too. I will get my cath out later this morning and probably get to go home early afternoon. All my labs and vitals are perfect. . Thanks to everyone for helping me to not chicken out.
4meonly got a reaction from Eroper6 in Any January 2014 Surgeries?