I am going along fine and not hungry. I eat because I know I need the nourishment. I feel okay on what I am eating but I am afraid that my metabolism will be ruined if I do not eat a little more and then I will have to stay at this calorie level the rest of my life or gain weight?

Here are yesterdays stats which is a typical day:

Calories - 510

Protein - 65

Fat- 17

Carbs- 24

What do you guys think?

Toby

Hi!

Are you losing weight? I am no specialist on this, I just feel if it is working for you, why change it!

For me, I was told to keep my calories around the 1000 - 1200 each day. I got a little greedy in wanting to kick in my weight loss back the end of April and I reduced my calorie intake to around the 700 - 800 mark and at the same time I stepped up my excersise... I thought I would see a big weight loss.... I was wrong, totally wrong... I did it for 2 weeks and during that time I did not lose one single pound.

It was explained to me that by increasing my activity and lowering my calorie intake I through off my metabolism, slowed my body down into a starvation mode. Once I bounced my calories back up, I started losing again... it is odd to explain or make sense out of, but it is what worked for me... I know I have to keep my calories around the 1200 - 1000 mark, and I really have to watch my carbs.... I am a carb freak, give me more, more, more

Good luck...

My plan calls for 3 meals a day and NO snacking. I am 8 1/2 weeks out. When I do this, I only get about 300-400 calories a day at the most!!!

This worked fine for me for about 3-4 weeks and then I stopped losing and lost nothing for 2 weeks. My dr. told me that if I wasn't losing I was "EATING TOO MUCH"!!! OMG!! are you serious???

I took it upon myself to experiment and snack!! LOL I found that I have to have more calories, fat and carbs or I don't lose! As soon as I upped my caloires between 650-800 daily, I started losing again! And I can only get in those calories by snacking. I can not consume 200-300 calories a meal just eating 1/4-1/2 c of protein! That will NEVER happen!

So, don't tell my dr. but, I snack! Everyday! LOL and it works for me!

Kelly

I am losing weight but I am only 3 weeks out. My concern is for ruining my metabolism in the long run if my body gets used to eating 500 calories each day and thinks it is in starvation mode. I think maybe when I hit the one month mark I will try to up to 600-700 calories if the sleeve will let me. Just still trying to figure it all out.

Hey there! I was exactly in your shoes--in fact, let me see if I can chart this out. I'm just guesstimating, mind you, because I really don't keep track of calories or carbs or anything on a daily basis, but I know my husband and I were concerned at the beginning that I wasn't getting enough calories because my energy level was really low. I found that the more "regular" food I ate, the better my energy level, and I am still losing.

Weeks 1 and 2 didn't make it to 350 calories per day.

Weeks 3-4 around 350 calories.

Weeks 5-6 between 350-500 calories.

Weeks 7-8 right around 500 calories.

Week 8 and on, bouncing between 600-900 per day, depending on how my sleeve is feeling.

I went back to yesterday's food and counted up; I ate 875 calories yesterday, and I don't think I could have eaten more if I had wanted to and still kept to relatively healthy foods. Yesterday's food intake: Milk, Protein bar, 1/4 c. Soup, 1/2 c. air-popped popcorn (first since surgery), cheese, turkey, Gatorade, oatmeal cookie. I knew I would be eating the cookie, so I didn't eat any crackers yesterday--that kind of thinking is easy for me and seems to make sense in my "menu-free" world.

I would probably have eaten more in the beginning if I could, but I have a small, picky sleeve (someone called their sleeve a "tyrant," and I have one of those, too) and had problems with acid, so I was really not enjoying eating at first. It has gotten MUCH better with Prilosec and I feel almost normal in my eating pattern now, just tiny amounts.

From 6 - 12 weeks post-op, my nutritionist said to eat about 800 calories per day and 60 grams of Protein. At my 12-week session this week I was told to up the calories to 1000 per day and the protein to 80 grams. Also....no grazing through the day. Three meals of 300 calories each and one snack of 100 calories. She wanted me to add fruit/vegetables to each meal but NOT to eat "empty" carbs like crackers, rice, potatoes, chips, Cookies, etc. I know its going to be a struggle to eat 300 calories at each meal since I can't fit more than 1/2 cup in my sleeve but we will see what happens. The only liquid calories are Protein drinks and those only until the 6 month mark.

She told me I should see my weight loss accelerate at this calorie amount. I have been losing an average of 3 lbs per week to date. We will see what happens.

My plan calls for 3 meals a day and NO snacking. I am 8 1/2 weeks out. When I do this, I only get about 300-400 calories a day at the most!!!

This worked fine for me for about 3-4 weeks and then I stopped losing and lost nothing for 2 weeks. My dr. told me that if I wasn't losing I was "EATING TOO MUCH"!!! OMG!! are you serious???

I took it upon myself to experiment and snack!! LOL I found that I have to have more calories, fat and carbs or I don't lose! As soon as I upped my caloires between 650-800 daily, I started losing again! And I can only get in those calories by snacking. I can not consume 200-300 calories a meal just eating 1/4-1/2 c of protein! That will NEVER happen!

So, don't tell my dr. but, I snack! Everyday! LOL and it works for me!

Kelly

Kelly,

I can not believe he said you were "eating too much"! Good for you for listening to your body and doing what works best for you! My Doc did not give any calorie recommendations. Just 60-80 grams Protein is all he advises.

Kaiser Fremont guidelines are 400-600 calories per day for the first six weeks and then 400-900 up to three months. Three months to the end of the first year is 600-1000 per day. They also recommend exercising 30 minutes or more most days. At 7 weeks I'm averaging 600 calories a day and I exercise 5 days a week. My BMI is currently 31 and I am losing 2-3 lbs per week.

Lynda

Kaiser Fremont guidelines are 400-600 calories per day for the first six weeks and then 400-900 up to three months. Three months to the end of the first year is 600-1000 per day. They also recommend exercising 30 minutes or more most days. At 7 weeks I'm averaging 600 calories a day and I exercise 5 days a week. My BMI is currently 31 and I am losing 2-3 lbs per week.

Lynda

Those guidelines sound good! According to them I am eating right in the middle of the range they suggest at about 500 calories each day! Great Job you are doing BTW!

Hey there! I was exactly in your shoes--in fact, let me see if I can chart this out. I'm just guesstimating, mind you, because I really don't keep track of calories or carbs or anything on a daily basis, but I know my husband and I were concerned at the beginning that I wasn't getting enough calories because my energy level was really low. I found that the more "regular" food I ate, the better my energy level, and I am still losing.

Weeks 1 and 2 didn't make it to 350 calories per day.

Weeks 3-4 around 350 calories.

Weeks 5-6 between 350-500 calories.

Weeks 7-8 right around 500 calories.

Week 8 and on, bouncing between 600-900 per day, depending on how my sleeve is feeling.

I went back to yesterday's food and counted up; I ate 875 calories yesterday, and I don't think I could have eaten more if I had wanted to and still kept to relatively healthy foods. Yesterday's food intake: Milk, Protein bar, 1/4 c. soup, 1/2 c. air-popped popcorn (first since surgery), cheese, turkey, Gatorade, oatmeal cookie. I knew I would be eating the cookie, so I didn't eat any crackers yesterday--that kind of thinking is easy for me and seems to make sense in my "menu-free" world.

I would probably have eaten more in the beginning if I could, but I have a small, picky sleeve (someone called their sleeve a "tyrant," and I have one of those, too) and had problems with acid, so I was really not enjoying eating at first. It has gotten MUCH better with Prilosec and I feel almost normal in my eating pattern now, just tiny amounts.

Well maybe the metabolism does not shut down then. You seem to still be losing!

From 6 - 12 weeks post-op, my nutritionist said to eat about 800 calories per day and 60 grams of Protein. At my 12-week session this week I was told to up the calories to 1000 per day and the protein to 80 grams. Also....no grazing through the day. Three meals of 300 calories each and one snack of 100 calories. She wanted me to add fruit/vegetables to each meal but NOT to eat "empty" carbs like crackers, rice, potatoes, chips, Cookies, etc. I know its going to be a struggle to eat 300 calories at each meal since I can't fit more than 1/2 cup in my sleeve but we will see what happens. The only liquid calories are Protein drinks and those only until the 6 month mark.

She told me I should see my weight loss accelerate at this calorie amount. I have been losing an average of 3 lbs per week to date. We will see what happens.

Wow hard to imagine 3 -300 calorie meals per day right now but in the long run I think that sounds like a really healthy way to live long term! 3 Pounds per week is a great average! Keep up the good work!

Well maybe the metabolism does not shut down then. You seem to still be losing!

Put simply: if your metabolism has shut down, you are dead. You cannot live without metabolizing.

Your metabolism is also elastic. You can slow it down by reducing calories and being sedentary, but you can also speed it up.

The two best ways to raise your metabolism (and they're related - even better) are exercise, and adding lean muscle mass. Aerobic exercise, specifically.

Frequent small meals (although I understand not usually advocated post-op), making sure not to skip a morning meal, etc. all help too.

Medically speaking, starvation mode may or may not exist. It's heavily debated, and more people disbelieve than believe. Or they use it colloquially (just like we use the term "socialist country" even though I doubt there's really a completely/truly socials country out there). E.g.:

For example, if an individual needs 2,000 calories per day to maintain weight, reducing intake to 1,500 calories, assuming exercise stays the same, should provide a 1 pound per week weight loss (Note: 1 pound of weight is equivalent to about 3,500 calories). Furthermore, reducing to 1,000 calories should result in a weight loss of 2 pounds per week and going down to 500 calories a day should result in a weight loss of 3 pounds per week. However, if an individual actually reduces their intake to 500 calories, the weight loss would not likely be a steady 3 pounds per week because of the reduced metabolic rate. It would likely be around 2¼ to 2½ pounds. This "lower than expected" rate of weight loss is a lot different than "no" weight loss as the "starvation mode" notion proposes.

I know right???

Well in his mind, without seeing what I am eating that is probably what one would think!! If you don't lose you eat too much! I would think that too!! But not when you eat 300 calories a day!! I think he forgot for a second that I had surgery!! LOL

I have Kaiser and they do not make us count calories, carbs or Protein. They say you are dieting if you do that. This is not a diet, it is a lifestyle. They just want us to eat 3 times a day a certain amount and that is it. Well, that criteria can not work for everyone! And it doesn't for me! I can not just eat 300 calories a day and I WONT!! Maybe at 6 months out when I can eat 300 calories at a time, I will, but for now, I am not.

Kelly

Kelly,

I can not believe he said you were "eating too much"! Good for you for listening to your body and doing what works best for you! My Doc did not give any calorie recommendations. Just 60-80 grams protein is all he advises.

I haven't been able to get in more than 300 calories a day and it's making me very sick! I'm throwing up frequently and nauseous constantly. For the past two days I've be upping my calories and trying to add in a little more food and it's starting to make a difference. I've also been losing slowly for the past few weeks, I think it's because I'm simply not getting enough calories and my body thinks it's starving.

My doctor's plan mandates 600-800 calories a day though six months, longer if you continue losing well and have a ways to go to goal- as well as <40 carbs. Then you go to 1000-1200.

I rarely am above 700 and often am challenged to get to 600 with my 1/4 cup capacity. I have two Protein drinks a day, one of them30 grams and an powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury chicken Soup that is 21. I have to have four high density protein meals to get past 600 and I can't always fit that in! I do the best I can, and people often recommend I eat more to boost things along but I can't- not without adding carbs- and I have figured out I am carb sensitive and I had best avoid them.

I can tell you that I low carbed (no more than 30gr a day), and ate between 600-800 calories per day for my entire losing phase which lasted 6 months. Close to 600 for the first 2-3 months, and then was up to 800 by my 4th month because I had already lost 80lbs.

In maintenance, I HAD to consume 1300-1500 calories per day to NOT lose weight. So, in my humble opinion, and based on my experience, my nut's advice, my surgeon's experience, and guidance, my metabolism has not been shot by being on a low calorie, low carb diet for 6 months of my life.

I had plenty of fat stores, I also do not believe at all in starvation mode, I think the body is a miraculous, well-adapting thing that will adapt to your nutritional and weight needs as time progresses. I think our body holds onto weight in responses to stress, and sodium intake and the inevitable stalls because of rapid weight loss initially which is a lot of Water weight. I never experienced a true stall which means no weight, and no inches lost for a minimum of 14 days. Not once did my scale not move, or drop a couple of inches and I can assure you I was rigid, and strict in my losing phase. But in maintenance, and especially in pregnancy, it's a different story.

Your BMR will change as you lose weight, you're body fat % will decrease while your muscle mass increases, and your body will adjust.

You won't be eating 500 calories a day forever. I honestly do not know of one single VSG'er that is 2-5 years out that eats below 1200-1500 calories a day in maintenance, and have been able to stabilize their weight. Now, some of them still restrict carbs pretty strictly, but I do not. I still eat Protein first, and then I eat green veggies and starches.