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1500 Cal Diet...Really??



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Believe me.....I KNOW it's not easy! My doctor put me on a 1200 calorie per day diet for two weeks prior to surgery. I didn't even stick with that; ate more like 1400-1500. And THAT was a stretch.

All of this WILL be much easier once banded (after you go through bandster hell), and 1500 calories will seem like a lot. After my little meltdown yesterday, I felt like my 1500 calories was 4000 calories! That is the beauty of the band (and plication....for me). 1500 calories on a bad day will not cause weight gain, and my need to add those extras got me through a difficult day. Today......back to my usual 1000.

I hate "diets" too, but really, I feel like I still AM dieting. The difference now is, that I'm able to comfortably stick to a lower calorie plan, and not feel hungry all the time.

1200 calories!!! Sheeesh! No wonder why you made the comment you made the first time! I'm sure those 2weeks were indeed hell!! I'm glad to hear that you were strong enough to make it through and look at you now in ONEDERLAND!!! Yaaay you! My 6 mos feel like torture sometimes but with kind words and support like yours and others I'm sure I can do this! Thanks tons and keep up the great work!!

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Wow! But by being banded, are you even able to handle 1500 cal??? Even with fills and all I had no idea that anyone would struggle with whatever caloric amounts they were given. Please lmk! I appreciate your honesty!

Any calorie is possible on the band but in all honesty, that would require one of the three: 1) cheating the band through liquid calories (think icecreams, shakes, liquor or things that dissolve quickly like cake, Cookies etc), 2) eating excessively. The rule is 3 meals, however, if you wanted to eat more meals or snack continously you can get excess calories or 3) having a band that is not filled to green. Without restriciton, it's like being preband. Not even men are on 1500 cals typically with the band. Once you are banded and at green you should not feel as hungry nor should you be capable of eating large meals thus restricting caloric intake.

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I had no idea but thanks for the advice! I see your ticker and Congrats!! on the loss (and gain I'm sure;0) I wish you more good days than crappy!!

Thanks Sweets :-) Since being banded, I haven't gained any weight; not even on days like yesterday. But I've only had three days like that since surgery. I pray that this is how it will be for the rest of my life!

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1500 is a lot to me lol The 6 month insurance mandated diet I had to do before my surgery was 1200 calories with 100 carbs and 80+oz of Water a day. It get's easier to adjust as you go along. I ate pretty much what I wanted, just in much smaller portions, and if I knew I was going to go out to a restaurant or whatnot, I'd look at their menu ahead of time to plan what I would get. I also fell in love with the 100 calorie packs and Special K stuff. But when it came to regular meals, I just ate whatever. Drinking a lot of water helps with the hunger pangs in between meals, and negative calorie foods help for a snack too (blueberries, apples, etc are all negative calorie because they burn more than they're worth and are high in fiber). Then 2 weeks before my surgery, I had to do 800 calories and 60 carbs a day. Since I was on the mostly liquid liver shrinking diet, that wasn't so bad. I just spread my Protein Shakes out so it seemed like I was getting more. I'm more than willing to help if you have any specific food questions! Good luck!

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When I was told I needed to complete the 6 month pre-op diet program, I had the girl in my office who does insurance billing to call and get an explanation.....

What I found out, from my insurance anyway, was this.....

They said the patient simply stating that was indeed the fact, was not good enough to go into your medical record......it had to be a supervised medical program, with a MD, for 6 months, complete with weigh ins, accurate progress notes, counseling, graphs, charts, etc......, all signed off by a Physician.....

Like every diet I ever been on, I started out good, lost weight...then leveled off too soon, then began to gain the weight back.....

I felt bad, but was told by my surgeon that if I were any good at dieting, I would not need WLS.....the 6 month program proved the point....I am a failure at dieting, even with a Dr checking me weekly.....

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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