Sara51692

I am worried that if I eat too little calories now, that my "set point" will be lower later. Or is that just an irrational fear and my body/level of exercise is going to figure out its own set point for cals whether I like it or not?

Thanks! I definitely see your point. I'm trying harder not to focus on those extra calories since either way, it's low enough to lose weight. I've been hitting my protein goal almost every day this past week - so I definitely consider that a win.

Huh! That is very interesting! I could definitely see that being a reason. Plus, if my NUT is saying 62 or so minimum for me and the absolute minimum for females is 50, then mine couldn't really lower that much anyway.

I love the chocolate Premier Protein -- would love to buy them if I was closer! Hope you can return them or find someone to sell to!

That's awesome! Congrats! Hopefully you'll be off full liquids soon!

My nutritionist told me mine would decrease. That proper protein intake is calculated based on your current weight. But if you are weight training you may want to get more. Yeah, I thought it made sense that it would, but we'll see what my NUT says later on. I'm not in any hurry to eat LESS protein.

I'm pretty close to the 50 pound mark from my HW...6 pounds to go! Very exciting.

Right!? I regularly ate multiple meals each with more calories in them than I do in a day. Seems crazy now. Two margaritas yesterday left me with a 900+ calorie count, which has been my highest, but I seem to be more around 500-600. My surgeon just told me to get 1000-1200 which scares me. I'm scared I'll overeat if I attempt to get to that point.

You seem like you're doing amazing! You're only ten days post-op, it'll take time. I gained 6 pounds in the hospital and that took me a few days to get rid of too. You're drinking enough Water so maybe it's water weight? I'm probably losing more because I haven't been drinking as much water. But mine doesn't seem that fast either. Honestly, just keep doing what you're doing and try not to get too disappointed. It WILL work. Have you been taking your measurements? I've heard of people not losing as much but they're seeing their measurements go down.

Hey May 26thers! Congrats on our one month surgiversary! Hope everyone is doing well. =) How's everyone doing? Lets hear some updates! I drank two margaritas last night. My surgeon OKed me for alcohol and my indulgence did put me over 900 calories for the day total, but it was worth it - had tons of fun and workeds some of the calories off while dancing! Nothing bad happened, not even any nausea. Though my tolerance level seemed about the same as pre-op, unfortunately.

Also, eat things in lettuce wraps. Lettuce wraps are a life-saver! If you like tacos or Mexican food - make a little bean, salsa, guac/whatever mix and serve it in lettuce wraps. I love honey-chipotle chicken so I make a sauce and a stirfry of veggies and chicken and serve it in lettuce wraps. Chinese food? Buy takeout and serve it in lettuce wraps to get the same crunch factor as the fried foods they have. Or do a stirfry and serve it in lettuce.

Agreed with all of this! I haven't started cooking any of the recipes I cooked pre-op yet, but I constantly cooked low-carb, healthy versions of my favorite recipes: Use zucchini instead of pasta in your lasagna (you can slice it however you want and don't have to cook the zucchini before putting it in the oven) Use cauliflower for a mac & cheese fix! A nice low fat cheese sauce over cauliflower is soooo delicious! Make cauliflower "rice" (with a food processor) and make faux fried rice Cauliflower steaks (season like steaks and grill) Make a cauliflower crust (it's a mix of cauliflower, cheese, and egg) and make a pizza! Okay, basically I use cauliflower for tons of things. Cauliflower is amazing and versatile. Make zucchini noodles to replace pasta in any of your favorite pasta dishes

Yeah I haven't started an exercise routine yet - just some walking since I do feel like I'm still healing (my abdomen still hurts), which my surgeon was fine with too. I'm hoping switching my calories higher will work in my favor - it's definitely scary!

I need to warm myself up to the idea of trying fish. I hate most seafood but I recently started liking fish tacos (so the fish is fried AND there's tortilla...), so I'm thinking I might be able to make the transition to fish.

@TheRealMeIsHere! Thanks -- you seem like you'd done great! Congrats on reaching your goal (even if it was a few months ago) =) I'm so nervous about carbs. My family gets take out a lot and my friends go out to eat a lot, and every time I've looked at a menu since surgery, it seems like everything is full of carbs. I love cooking, but I commute for almost 3 hours a day so it's difficult to do every night.

Yeah, I'm trying to "undestimate" my portions because I know I'm going to want to finish what's on my plate, even if it's one or two bites, so I'm giving myself smaller portions so I'm able to do that still. It's so weird when I realize my mind is on this mindset that just says "OMG eat everything you can, you are NEVER getting food again - KEEP EATING." And it's like, no, brain, you're fine, you can eat whenever you want later, it's not the end of the world and everything doesn't have to be eaten right now.

I know - I really never doubted my surgeon until this point. I think it just really shocked me and I felt unprepared. I'm very good at following things for a short amount of time and then I stray. I wasn't expecting to be able to eat solids so soon. I mean, my family's doing a cookout next weekend for the 4th...don't know how I'm going to handle that! I was worried about that with the calories...I don't want my body to get used to this amount, and I've heard stories of people increasing their calorie count to get out of stalls, so maybe it'll be good for me to increase my calories a bit and aim a little higher. @@Babbs I've struggled with that concept because I love veggies. I was a vegetarian for several years and don't like a ton of sources of protein, but I'm trying. I've had chicken the last several days and nights and that's how I've hit my protein goal lately. Before, I was doing more veggie purees and they didn't give me nearly enough protein.

I actually posted a similar question - though I'm not as far out as you! Maybe some of the respones will help you? http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/343869-how-many-calories-are-you-getting/

I posted this as another topic, but figured I'd share my update with my fellow May sleevers: So I had my one month follow-up appointment yesterday and assumed I was moving from pureed foods to soft foods for two weeks until my 6-week appointment. But my surgeon shocked me by saying I'm okay to move onto solid foods. He made a few disclaimers, such as trying new things when I'm comfortable and avoiding fibrous vegetables like celery right now. So I basically ended up in Stop & Shop with my sister last night looking around like a person who had never been in a grocery store before because I had so many options now. I felt totally unprepared because I was expecting soft foods first! I only bought cucumbers (to eat with hummus) and crystal light. I ate some chicken last night, non-pureed, and it went down fine. So I don't think he's wrong that I'm ready for solids, but I'm still really nervous! I also asked my surgeon about my calorie intake and I told him I was getting 400-600 a day but the last few days it was more like 700 because I was hitting my protein goal. He told me I needed to be around 1000-1200 which shocked me too, because I've read about people on here who are maintaining on that... And finally, I told him how I wasn't getting nearly 64 ounces of water, and he told me not to worry about it and to keep separating liquids and solids and just drink when I'm thirsty. I'm also allowed to drink alcohol (in moderation, of course) at this point. -------- It all feels so real now! I'm starting to freak out. I'm totally afraid I'll fail. It's a lot easier to avoid carbs when you're limited to pureed foods.

My chicken last night went down well. I think I'm just freaking out because it's a LOT easier to avoid carbs when I'm limited to pureed foods. I'm scared I'll fail. Even though I've already had the surgery, it all feels a lot more real now. I agree about the calories. I have a feeling him and my NUT feel obligated not to endorse any diet under the minimum recommended amount of calories so they say "You should be getting 1000-1200, but do what's comfortable..." At least that's what it felt like!

I just ordered a sample of Genepro for $4.50 -- we'll see how it goes! I'm going to order the nectar sample pack too -- $15 for 15 kinds plus $2 shipping. Seems worth it, but I hate calling places!

So I had my one month follow-up appointment yesterday and assumed I was moving from pureed foods to soft foods for two weeks until my 6-week appointment. But my surgeon shocked me by saying I'm okay to move onto solid foods. He made a few disclaimers, such as trying new things when I'm comfortable and avoiding fibrous vegetables like celery right now. So I basically ended up in Stop & Shop with my sister last night looking around like a person who had never been in a grocery store before because I had so many options now. I felt totally unprepared because I was expecting soft foods first! I only bought cucumbers (to eat with hummus) and crystal light. I ate some chicken last night, non-pureed, and it went down fine. So I don't think he's wrong that I'm ready for solids, but I'm still really nervous! I also asked my surgeon about my calorie intake and I told him I was getting 400-600 a day but the last few days it was more like 700 because I was hitting my Protein goal. He told me I needed to be around 1000-1200 which shocked me too, because I've read about people on here who are maintaining on that... And finally, I told him how I wasn't getting nearly 64 ounces of Water, and he told me not to worry about it and to keep separating liquids and solids and just drink when I'm thirsty. I'm also allowed to drink alcohol (in moderation, of course) at this point. I'm just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience? Would this worry someone? My aftercare there has been great and my surgeon and NUT are both amazing at being available to answer questions at any time, but I totally thought my surgeon was tough and fairly strict, but he doesn't seem to be...

Oh I did use chapstick too! A lot! I couldn't eat or drink anything for the three days I was in there but I was allowed to use these little sponges on sticks in ice water to wet my tongue and such. They were so cute!

Did you do samples? I haven't checked them out yet, but hoping to order a sample first...

Honestly, you don't need too much if you're just going to a local hospital (rather than flying somewhere/abroad, etc.) because the hospital will give you what you need. I brought a book and didn't read it at all. Didn't use my GasX strips in the hospital either. They gave me an ice pack to help with the pain - which helped a lot because it sort of numbed the area. I didn't pull anything out of my bag except a clean pair of underwear (to put them on once I was in my room and settled....didn't want to walk around in my johnny completely naked!) and on my last day, I changed into loose, thin sweatpants, a sports bra, a shirt and flip flops. Of course, I had my cell phone and charger...that kept me busy when I wasn't sleeping.