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It depends, are you planning on eating back those calories you burned? If so then you really want to use a heart rate monitor as it's much more accurate than my fitness pal. fitbit or a pedometer. If you aren't eating back any of your exercise calories than you can really track whatever you like to track because it doesn't really matter on the accuracy.

Just feeling weirdly out of sorts. Not even sure why. I had a good experience at my rheumatologist today. I went for a cortisone shot in my knee, and I have not been there since April. The last time I was there, I weighed over 50 pounds more than I do today. So it was good to get the positive affirmations from his staff. It's also the first time that I only had a shot in one knee instead of both knees. But I don't know. Something weird happened to me when I got on the scale there. I have been weighing myself only on Sundays. I had a nice weight loss last week. I feel good this week, and I was sure I've lost some more. Sure enough, I'm 1 pound down since Sunday, at least according to the rheumatologist's office scale. Logically, it shouldn't even matter to me. Every scale is different, and hey, it's a loss, right? It's not like I could realistically expect 3 pounds down since Sunday right? So what's going on? After the shot, I was excitedly telling the doctor about my trip to Italy this summer, which he was quite interested in. I told him how easy it was for me to walk all over the hills of Italy. Suddenly, he cut the conversation short, said goodbye, see you next time, and almost ran out of the room. Now, normally I would understand that obviously something outside of my appointment caught his attention and made him quickly move along. After all, he was finished with my procedure. And he is a very nice man. It's not like him to be rude. So why did I feel so unsettled? I returned to my office and finished up my day at work, and came home to a bizarre supper. Celery sticks and hummus. Not too weird, but not exactly a full sit down meal. I just felt like eating a lot of vegetables. A lot. So I sat there and munched and crunched and munched and crunched for about 15 minutes. I never did get the stop signal. I'm pretty sure it's because celery just doesn't do that for me, and hummus is really a slider. So I actually had to tell myself to just stop eating. None of this is very dramatic, and I have only eaten slightly over 1000 calories today, but I just feel so weirdly out of sorts. It just occurred to me why I might have taken that emotional plunge in his office. I can't believe I forgot about this until just now as I type this, but I did tell him that I had a very stressful summer. I mentioned about filing for divorce, and that my arthritis went into a severe flare about a month after I moved out. I told him all of that because I have found that my joints have been reacting badly from time to time over the last couple of months. So seeing this written down in front of me now, I guess it's not a mystery anymore. I spoke of something very emotional during the appointment, moved on to get my knee injection, was happily chatting about Italy, and then was told "see ya" fairly abruptly. What the hell. No wonder I wanted to eat. So there you have it. I'm glad it was only celery and hummus. And still managed to stay under 1100 cal today. And oh yeah, I'm down that pound. Woot woot. I'm glad this board is here. It's a sounding board actually. In case you haven't noticed, I've been working on addressing my emotional eating triggers. You lucky bystanders you.

I never counted calories post-op. We also never were encouraged to count calories. Strategies vary.

Wow 1400 calories from postoperative day 1? That tells me why I am hungry. Clearly not eating enough calories. I think once I'm able to eat solid foods I will have no problem with my hunger. Thanks for sharing

Day 2 of my pre-op liquid diet. I'm already sick of Protein shakes, pudding and broth. This is miserable! I had a headache that lasted 16 hours and I'm cranky as hell! My poor daughter is a saint for putting up with me. She made me laugh last night as she was chasing me around with a potato chip, taunting me. She's lucky I love her! I must confess I thought about throwing in the towel, but then I realized, I won't allow food to win. This time I'm going to succeed. I will power through this, like anything else I've encountered in my life. I'm stronger than the food!

This time of year I am always yearning for sweet, warm food so I made this up last weekend. 6 slices of country kitchen bread (210 calories) 1 cup of egg beaters (120) 1 cup of skim milk (100) 3/4 cup of splenda 1 can of no sugar added apple pie filling (210) 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional) 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg Preheat oven at 350 Use 8 x 8 pan or similar sprayed with pam. Tear bread into small cubes and place in pan Mix everything else in a bowl Pour mixture over bread Bake for about 30 minutes Makes 6 servings for a little more than 100 caloires each.

It doesnt sound like you need more. I've taken a long long time to creep up on good restriction too and I'm not there yet, but I'm where I want to be for now. With so little to lose, it is hard, I know as I'm in the same boat. It just doesnt fall off anymore. But the payoff is that small amounts of weight now make a big difference on your body! YOu just have to dig in and live the traditional diet behaviour, watch what you eat closely, perhaps count calories now if you havent before and exercise exercise exercise!

My surgery was 12/29. I have been stalled for 15 days and thinking this is going to last a bit longer. I have pushed myself the past two days to eat more so I'm up to 800-900 calories. Are you walking also? I'm a bit tired still but got 7k steps in yesterday, which is about 2k more than normal. Sent from my SM-G973U using BariatricPal mobile app

Congrats on your surgery. Yep, stalls are frustrating. You’re dropping pounds then nothing. Look at it as your body playing catch-up. It’s going through a lot & is taking a break. My longest stall was 2 1/2 weeks when I was 1 kg from goal. Grrr. It was right there ... I never changed a thing & my stalls still broke. There’s a lot talk about starvation mode & upping calorie intake. The term starvation mode is actually incorrect. The correct term to describe what is occurring is adaptive thermogenesis. This is the body reducing the metabolism rate (calories burnt) in response to a reduction in caloric intake. Weight loss will reduce the number of calories you burn but studies show it’s only about 6 calories per pound lost. But a high protein diet can boost your metabolism by 80 - 100 calories per day. So I guess the take away is make sure you’re meeting your protein goals each day to keep your metabolism up & counter balance any metabolic slow down from a reduced caloric intake. Good luck. This too will pass.

Thank you all for the encouraging words! I will try upping my calories. My nutritionist said that they didn't want us to snack during the day, just 3 meals per day. But I can only get 1.5 to 2.5 oz of food in per meal. And I've noticed that I am getting hungry 2 hours later but I don't eat. I usually just drink a little bit of my protein shake. I try not to drink a full premier protein between meals because then I don't want to eat during meals time and I get even less food in. I'm starting see how tricky this balance is going to be lol. I will be email my nutritionist and see what she says about small snacks.

I am over six weeks out and somewhat active (Zumba, working with a trainer, 1-2 hours of walking) is 1050 calories too much?

http://www.netrition.com/healthsmart_chocolite_protein_shakes.html I have been drinking these since I had my lap band surgery in Feb. They are awesome. My favs are Peanut Butter, banana & chocolate which I mix together at times to make a pb & banana or pb & choc. Also instead of using Water I use 2% milk and for a 12 oz shake I use 6 ozs milk & 6 ozs water with 2 scoops of powder. Gives you 247.5 calories and 30 grams of Protein. Love these. Good Luck.

I can tell you this much - I am post-op about 9 months out and I track with My Fitness Pal - I often have a difficult time making the 1200 calories but I have been stuck at the same weight now for weeks. I also get the warnings and it is sooooo frustrating!! I am working my butt off, I'm eating healthy - no cheating and my weight won't budge. I'm ready to tear my hair out. So pre-op I wouldn't worry about it too much - just do what your surgeon asked you to do. Post-op (once you are back to solid foods) I'd really try to get as close to 1200 as you can. Has anyone else experienced this??

There is actually more Protein in 100 calories of romaine lettuce then there is in a steak. You'll get more than enough protein eating green vegetables. Protein levels in 100 calories of: Broccoli has 11.2 gm Romaine Lettuce has 7.5 gm Kale has 11 gm Sirloin Steak has 5.4 gm

How many cups of romaine lettuce equals 100 calories??? I'm pretty sure that would be hard to eat, at least in one day!

Some times the body needs a break. 15 lbs is a good amount of weight, maybe your body is saying WHOAH! Stop! I need time to catch up. Its weird, I'll lose one week and gain the next w/out changing anything. If your at 1200 calories just keep it up and give yourself some time to heal, and remember, its not a race. Good luck !!!

No... 1200 calorie and liquids the day before surgery

http://www.livestrong.com/article/309453-how-many-calories-do-i-burn-a-day-by-just-existing/ You will burn at least 1,300 calories a day just existing. What's my point? It is physically impossible for you not to lose weight if you burn more than you eat. What you are lacking is patience. You question is the most frequent one asked here, I think. We think that bodies will give up the fat like a vending machine gives up a can of pop. The body is a very complex mechanism with many safety features. Security against starvation is over-zealous for sure but we have to deal with it. Give it time, it will get the picture. I had many stalls and gains throughout my drop. Don't be a slave to the scale. Stress brings on appetite, ignore the scale for a while.

Yeah, all kinds of little things can affect your weight. When did you last eat? When did you last have a BM? Are you retaining Water? How much have you had to drink? I also weigh myself every day, because I just can't HELP myself. :C But I try to always weigh myself at the same time of day: first thing in the AM, before eating, before showering, after peeing lol. That helps even SOME of the variables out. And if it goes up a little...well, it happens. Take a look at how little you're eating. Tally up how many calories you're consuming. You'll realize there's basically no way you CAN'T be losing, whether it be pounds or inches!

Do you ever feel like somedays you fight as hard as you can against yourself to keep yourself from eating everything in sight... And then other days... You are fighting to get enough calories in in one day?

Yes, they (stalls) definitely seem to be common and sometimes for no reason at all. I just came out of a 4 week stall and I believe this time it was due to water retention. Not sure why as I haven't eaten off plan or anything different. I thought it was maybe due to my period but that wouldn't explain it lasting all month long. Make sure you're on plan, eating enough protein, enough calories, and drinking enough water (think lack of water was partially my problem this time around.......before I had a stall and I think it was due to lack of protein so always check yourself). Best of luck! Hang in there!

Also, keep in mind that as our bodies adjust to weighing less, our caloric needs have changed. I know this isn't the perfect example, but think of the point system for weight watchers diets. As you lose weight, your allowable points decrease. I think that's also true for sleevers. We are told to decrease calories to 600-800 to lose (or whatever your surgeon has instructed for you) but then when we maintain to up it to 1200-1500ish? Your body will probably wonder what the hell is going on and need to adjust itself again. Of course, this is all just my postulation since I'm not in maintenance mode yet, but it makes sense in my head Most importantly: At almost a year out, I eat whatever I want. I just downed two Ghirardelli squares and could easily eat another few. Diets are a lot more lax at this point for me BUT I'm still losing because I've started exercising so much more than I had been. So if someone is saying it's taking them a lot longer to lose weight from overeating, they're probably not scrutinizing their diet as well as they did a year ago. There are probably a lot more 'hidden' calories in there than you'd think.

I food HCG too. You are in for a world of difference. I thought more about food with HCG because I was hungry, not satisfied, weak, no energy. With the sleeve, you are not hungry. And I am using this time (I have not had any hunger pain yet) to try to deal with head hunger. You are on the right path by thinking about it now. I have learned that you prepare ahead of time for weak moments. Each person I am sure has their own "fixes" but here is mine: I only keep one package of 100 calorie pack choco covered pretzels that will take away my sweet tooth (I usually eat 3 pretzels maybe 2x's a week) but when I get depressed I have my Ipod, work out shoes, nook and some "before" pics in a bag. It's my "sanity kit" I am sure I will continue to add things as I find them. You are being smart, this will help you be successful. Congrats and good luck

Hey All, I got a question about the MFP profile setup process: I am about 3 weeks away from my surgery date and have been researching like crazy and it seems like a lot of people are using MFP to track their food and exercise so I thought I would sign up and try it as well. I just set up my profile but it seems like the profile questionnaire is seriously lacking in options for people who are having/have had a VSG. When I entered my weight, goal weight, lifestyle, and 2 lbs weight loss per week (highest weight loss option to choose from) it said I should be taking in 1370 calories, 188 carbs, 46g fat, and 51g Protein per day. I know these numbers are way off for VSG patients so I guess my question is, how can I change the daily goal calorie, fat, and carb intake to reflect the recommendations given by my NUT? I am not computer illiterate but I must be doing something wrong since I haven't seen any one else on here mention the same problem. Please help! Thanks, ericarae11

Hello all, I am currently thinking about getting banded. I am going to my 3 month initial evaluation i guess it's called in a couple of weeks to the surgeon. My doctor has put me on a 1800 calorie siet for now, i have been on it for the last 2 months in 2 weeks it will be 3 months and i am coping very well. I am learning to limit myself to those 1800 calories, at first it was very hard to adjust becasue i was not feeling full, sometimes i still dont always feel full. i have lost 12 pounds so far on this diet. I am very new to all of this. I have no idea what i am doing. I know for sure i want this done. after discussing with my fiance of 10 years i finally am ready to do this. I am like some others on regards to who to tell, who to not tell, I told my fiance of course, and my sister which i already regret and didnt even have the surgery yet, she wanted me to talk with someone about all of this. she wanted me to talk with someone who had the band already, but i did not want to put my personal buisness out there like that. So deep down inside i have lots of questions and worries but cant bring them out, i dont want to freak out my fiance....after the surgery how long will i need to be out of work? i see some people have been out for just a couple of days and were fine... others a week....i am trying to schedule this around some vacation i will have but only about 7 days. I dont know if that will be enough? i work in a hospital and have to lift people....not sure if that will be ok? and what do you have to do before surgery? do you have to go on a 2 week liquid diet before surgery? i will probably have all my questions answered in about 2 weeks when i see the surgeon, but just in case i forget something i thank all that replies...i still think i have no clue what i am doing...exept for running on the treadmill almost everyday like crazy my doctor keeps telling me what speed to go up to and what incline to go up to every time i go to her....it is always a challenge and i think im going to die when im on that thing...but i do it. any advise to what food will make you feel full or not hungry in 1 hour? i have been breaking my meals up as much as i can..B L D is 400 cals each with 200 cal snacks in between each one...sometime i have to eat the snack with the meal other times i can break it up...i have already lost 12 pounds they saif i cant gain any weight at all....