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I wonder if calorie wise it would be the same to buy the Velveeta cheese sauce packet separately like they sell at dollar tree and just put that with cauliflower because that’s basically all it was was cauliflower and a cheese sauce pocket. I just thought of that because that would be cheaper and also taste better to me I like the Velveeta cheese sauce flavor.

Okay so I can’t get them to post in the correct order but I found cauliflower Mac and cheese and new cauliflower breadsticks at Publix and that and grilled chicken breasts was dinner. Not bad for weight loss phase the entire plate was about 410 calories which was dinner and some left over for snack. I mostly wanted to post to tell y’all about the breadsticks though because to me they tasted just like the real thing

I naturally fluctuate between 189 and 196 lbs and I can make that full swing in a day or two. I entered maintenance around the ten month mark as well (at the request of my wife and mom despite the fact I know I have around 10-20lbs to go) but changes in my diet, and particularly water intake/output (sweating or urine frequency) can really change the scales quite a bit. Small regain is typical though as our bodies adjust. Keep an eye on it, if it’s constantly going up slowly you’ll want to consider making adjustments to calories or exercise as needed. Maintenance is a tightrope and it’s so far from our previous “normal” it can be hard to find that perfect balance right away… just be mindful and open to the idea that you may have to keep making small changes until you reach your happy middle ground. Congratulations on your success already though, it’s a great accomplishment!

Height: 5’ 4.75” Pre-surgery: 256 Surgery day: 241 6-mo weight: 162 I hit a one-month stall in month 5. I increased calories and saw weight start to drop again. I hope that helps!

Hello all. So I've gained a 6 lbs back. I'm not really doing anything different. No bad carbs, and at around 1500 calories a day 10 months out, after losing 120 lbs in 7 months. I feel like I've leveled out, but am worried about this sudden gain. Is this normal? Thanks, Joe

I agree with @NovaLuna.You have to work with a nutritionist and therapist and get support from whomever is bringing you food. I think you mentioned in another post that you were limited to your bed, so someone must be bringing you food. Try to track your food by weighing/measuring everything you eat and limit carbs and increase protein to keep you full on fewer calories. Don't drink regular soda and if possible, stop diet soda because after surgery you won't be able to drink carbonation. Try to only have drinks with no calories (except maybe drink a protein shake for breakfast or something). But really, even if you work with a nutritionist and therapist, it's a life long commitment and it's not easy! Best of luck and keep us posted!

happens to most people after weight loss surgery. It's actually a potential side effect of ANY major surgery, but I think it occurs more often after weight loss surgery than some of the others because in addition to the surgery itself (surgery causes a lot of stress and trauma to the body), we're also taking in very few calories those first few months. some people swear by supplements like Biotin, but others say it does absolutely nothing. So the jury is out on that. The best thing you can do is keep on top of your protein and vitamins so it doesn't get any worse than it will anyway. But know that for most of us, even though WE notice it, others don't, and it'll stop falling out after a couple of months and will grow back in. It's very unusual for it to fall out in noticeable clumps (happens to some - but again, very unusual). More often, it's just a lot of "shedding" and isn't really noticeable to others. I lost hair between months 5-8. No one else noticed it - and it all grew back.

I am a 50-year-old man who struggled with my weight most of my life, starting with being an overweight kid. No diet or exercise program produced tangible, good results. At my annual physical in March I weighed in at 405 pounds. I take no meds, and up to this point, my most serious health issue has been sleep apnea that I was trying to handle with CPAP (mostly unsuccessfully). Given my alarmingly high weight, my doctor recommended that I look into the bariatric surgery option. I eagerly started the process, looking at it as a once-in-a-lifetime chance for getting back to normal body weight and gaining a quality of life I have not enjoyed for a long time. The bariatric program I joined requires that patients lose 10% of their weight before even being scheduled for surgery. Insurance also requires at least 3 months of engagement with a managed weight loss program. I was determined that despite my past struggles with diets, I will do whatever it takes to make the cut. I met with the program's nutritionist and had a very nice discussion with her. Then I went home, and threw out the materials she gave me (calorie counting book, etc), and ignored all her directions and advice. I dove into reading and research and started implementing a diet largely based on Matthew Weiner's A Pound of Cure vegetable-focused program. I had immediate success, losing 20 lbs in the first month (guaranteed, a lot of that may have been water weight held onto by insulin). I kept reading and experimenting, incorporating advice from Sten Ekberg (Master Your Health), Eric Berg, Dave Asprey (Bulletproof Diet), Jason Fung (fasting strategies), and many others. At this point, I am three months into my pre-op personally directed diet. I have lost a total of 70 pounds have a current weight loss rate of 1 lb / day feeling great COMPLETE resolution of my sleep apnea issues 120/80 blood pressure (was somewhat high at the beginning of the program) went from a size 4XL to wearing 2XL (depending on cut of clothing) 48 inch waist to 42 inch waist not counting calories no hunger or craving issues I am just starting to discover the research (a recent Nobel Prize-winning one) regarding Autophagy and its related health benefits brought about by intermittent fasting, and many other possibilities. Next week I am scheduled to meet with the bariatric program's PA, do my weigh-in, and (pending insurance approval) schedule the surgery. I am torn and in doubt. The last few months have been some of the most exhilarating experiences in my life. Gaining control of my body and my overall health in the way I have done in such a short period of time is amazing. The bariatric surgery option, which just a short while ago seemed like a Holy Grail lifesaver to me, seems full of pitfalls and restrictions on the methods I can do to manage my body weight and health. I was looking forward to trying out possibilities with time-restricted eating, and using longer fasts (triggering autophagy) to eliminate loose, hanging skin that might come about otherwise with significant weight loss. On the other hand, I still weigh 335 pounds and am nowhere near my goal of a healthy 200. What if my weight loss stalls out well short of that goal? The sensible answer might be to simply wait, see what happens, and re-engage with the program if it seems necessary to keep pushing past a stall point. However, for reasons I do not want to detail, I might not have this option after this year. Under these circumstances, if this was your only chance to move ahead with a Gastric Sleeve operation, would you do it? Any other thoughts? Your help is greatly appreciated.

It will allow you to put in whatever calorie limit you want in the free version. Go to "more", "calories, carbs and nutrition" and you can enter in your calorie count as you desire. The only thing it will NOT do at that low calorie level is give you automated projections. It works well enough for what I need and again, you can manually input your goal numbers.

Try to cut your calories down just a touch and get out and walk every day atleast for a half hour, even if it is in 15 minute pieces at a time. It sound almost impossible to take in that few calories and not lose more weight. Are you closely counting?

If you are taking all your protein as recommended, you should be seeing an increase in energy. That said, you are probably like me on an 800 calorie diet so it is not like there is a whole lot of energy to be had in there. Keep taking your protein and vitamins and you will start to feel better.

Similar to the warm water, I have had good luck getting things moving with bone broth. It is warm and also has a decent amount of protein and pretty low in calories.

There are many, many plans about with different recommendations & expectations. The best advice is stick to your plan unless it’s not working then develop a new plan with your medical team. We have different needs. Our bodies absorb, processes & burns nutrients/calories differently so one plan does not fit all. Discovering what works for you is important not just while losing but also into the future when maintaining. I wasn’t given a calorie goal just protein (60g) & portion size recommendations (1/4 - 1/3 cup slowly increasing as I was able). I was advised low carb but not given any amount to meet or stay below. I did occasional calories checks out of my own curiosity. By goal I was eating just under a cup & less than 900 calories a day but now (28 months) I eat just under recommended serving size of most foods. I maintain my weight eating about 1200/1300 calories. I don’t exercise. I was encouraged to add snacks a couple of months out & still snack (nutrient dense foods) about 4 times a day to get my protein & essential nutrients in. I remember at my first appointment with my surgeon, he drew a picture of a plate & marked a section as protein & another as vegetables & said that’s how much you’ll be eating in maintenance. It stuck with me & he was right. Scales & measuring cups are vital tools during the weight loss stage. It’s so easy to under or over estimate portions when just eyeballing as you seemed to have discovered. Don’t worry we’ve all been caught by this at some time. I don’t weigh or measure frequently anymore - just random checks & when I introduce something new to my diet. And I study the nutrition panels very carefully of any food stuff I buy pre prepared though I generally make a lot of what I eat from scratch. Hopefully your nutritionalist will be of help. Ask that she sit down with you & go through a week or two of what you’re eating. Ask what is missing from your diet, what you could reduce or drop from your diet, what you need to add & alternative foods you could include. Make sure she understands your lifestyle as well not like the one who gave my pescatarians a diet full of meat as the protein source! Good luck.

Didn’t want to eat what I made the fam for dinner (spaghetti…no pic, it wasn’t very pretty lol), so i just steamed up a bowl of edamame. 240 calories. Ate it all.

Following the advice of your bariatric team. Every person and program is different. What suits one of us doesn’t suit everyone. Like for myself- I’ve also had 3ft of my small intestines removed because of a hernia so I malabsorb calories and their nutrients. So sticking to what you’re saying I would end up with malnutrition issues and be sick.

Lunch was gardien sweet and sour porkless bites with mixed veggies and brown rice. Total 307 calories. Ate all of it (and made 2 others like it for lunches later this week) Dinner is a very tasty yet super filling burrito bowl from HotHead- Double steak on lettuce with banana peppers, pineapple, fajita veggies, cholula, sweet teriyaki sauce, and pico. Total calories for the whole thing is 397 (46g protein!) so I’m guessing (and tracked) 139 calories. I might go back to it later before bed as a snack…. Or eat a mini Godiva roasted almond dark chocolate bar (found them at Walmart)….

I am also discouraged about my lack of weight loss. I'm 64, so I'm wondering if age has something to do with it. That and total irregularity (no movement at all, in spite of multiple laxatives being taken!) My surgery was September 1. Before the surgery, I had lost 15 lbs. The first 10 days after the surgery I lost 10 lbs, but not a pound since (11 days). I am increasing my activity and up to walking /or stationary biking 40 minutes a day. I hit all my protein grams and water goals, and consume between 400-600 calories. I know people say this will get better, but I'm afraid my age and digestive woes are working against me. Any older people have trouble making this work? I'm not going to give up, but I started at 288 and should be seeing more progress.

Hmmmm...it was always my understanding that dietary fibre (specifically insoluble fibre) is undigestable and just passes through ones body, therefore does not contribute to calorie intake? I wonder if the fibre component in nutritional labels refer only to insoluble fibre? ...time to Google!!

@vikingbeast is correct. The paid version allows you to set goals based on macros thus sets a calorie goal based on those macros. Yep - I've been using MFP for 3 years and not once have I ever "completed" a diary entry in the sense that I have never pressed the COMPLETE DIARY button at the top right-hand corner. Honestly I don't even know what it provides, lol. I am still able to get data and trends without it.

MyFitnessPal paid version here. Make sure you turn off the setting that "adds" your calories from exercise to your food allowance unless you are firmly in maintenance, though. (Sadly, this is a paid feature.)

You can force it to your macros, but it just won't let you complete your diary. To the OP: the 25g of sugar is included in your 70g of carbs, so your total is: ( 70 g protein + 100 g carbs ) x 4 = 680 cal 26 g fat x 9 = 234 cal Total 914 cal Here's one thing, though: a LOT of products have started trying to cheat on their nutrition labels. One example is Mission brand "Carb Balance" tortillas, which claim to be 70 calories per tortilla. If you look at the nutrition facts, they have 5g protein, 3 g fat, and 19 g carbs of which 15 g is dietary fiber. (5 x 4) + (3 x 9) + (19 x 4) = 123 cal. However, they're not counting the dietary fiber, so they come up with 70. Dietary fiber still counts as calories! So make sure you do cocktail-napkin math before you take the nutrition label as gospel!

I tried My Fitness Pal but it costs $20 per month & will not allow me to go below 1460 based on parameters it asked me to enter. How do you get it to allow you to put in your own calorie intake?

I added up the calories the nutritionist recommended in my last visit: 865. Now I am trying to find a nutrition or diet app that allows you to go that low. All the ones I have seen so far stop at 1,200.

Hi! I agree this is a good idea. Its very easy to underestimate when one is eyeballing and guessing. You would be surprised how fast uncounted calories add up!