....A nutritionist who specializes in weight loss/management after VSG.. I was wondering if people who have a nutritionist could please share what the guidelines are during the first 6 months. I had surgery in Mexico so a nutritionist wasn't part of the package. I really would like to see what a professional recommends as far as carb grams, fat grams, amount of protein needed, etc.

Thanks in advance

I met with the hospital dietician post surgery and she would not give me a number for carbs. But her slogan is "Protein then produce". When I asked her about carbs she looked at me like I was an idiot...and said that my carbs should come from produce. At least 60 grams protein, and less than 10 grams of fat and sugar per meal. She also recommended at least 1200 cals per day but my surgeon stongly disagreed with this aspect and just told me to focus on protein and fluids. What would you recommend? I would like to get your opinion on this!

Kaiser Fremont guidelines are Protein first, followed by vegetables or fruit. If there is room after than, a small amount of starch, such as 1/2 slice of bread or 1/4 c. potato. I never have room for the starch. Sometimes I don't have room for anything but 2 oz. of protein. We are to try to get our protein from food, but if that's not possible, then a Protein Drink in the evening to get the protein in.

65 grams of protein per day, at least 64 oz. of fluids (caffeinated coffee does not count towards total because it's a diuretic). 400-900 calories per day weeks 6-12. 600-1200 calories per day 12 weeks to 1 year. I get in around 600-800 calories per day.

Lately (4 months and a few days), my diet looks like this:

Breakfast: 16 grams protein, 120 calories: greek yogurt smoothie with 3/4 C. yogurt, 1/8 C. OJ, 2 strawberries, 1/4 C Water and 3 T Splenda

Midmorning: 8 grams protein, 90 calories: Soy Latte with 1 cup light soymilk, 2 shots of espresso

Lunch: 15 grams protein, 150 calories: 1 lite string cheese and 1 oz. light salami, 1/3 C. melon

Dinner: 14 grams protein, 170 calories: 2 oz. dense protein (chicken, pork, fish, or beef), 1/4 C. mixed vegetables

After dinner: 8 grams protein, 90 calories: Soy milk with a little sugar free caramel syrup

That puts me at 60 grams of protein and 620 calories. I settle for that even though the program wants us to have 65.

Lynda

My nutritionist gave me guidelines for maintenance, so it isn't for the first six months. This is what she recommended for maintenance:

Calories post-op: less than 1,000; for maintenance for women, 1200-1500 and for men 1600-1800.

Protein - meet your personal goals (mine is 70). If you consistently exceed protein intake by more than 15 grams a day, you can develop gout.

Carbohydrate - suggest 100-150 gm carbohydrates per day, which is about 30 gm per meal. Limit to 15 gm sugar per meal or snack

Fat: reduce intake of fat to control calorie intake

She recommended toast over bread or trying crackers and tortillas since they don't ball up like fresh bread can.

I hope this helps a bit.

I did not ask about carbs. I was told at least 1000 calories a day. 80 Protein (but then I was in there complaining about my hair falling out so maybe that is why he moved it up from60-70?)

That sounds like alot of carbs to me......do you mean maintenance like after you have lost all the weight?

I don't loose weight (and never have) if I eat alot of carbs....but that might just be me.

I will be interested to see what others post.

Thanks for posting....I learn something new everyday here.

I still want to loose at least 30 more lbs so am not at "maint" yet.

I've had 3 different nutritionist, and clashed with 2 of the 3. I have zero issues with guidelines, or suggestions, but what I found is that the suggestions from 2 of them were based on what "normal" people need to lose weight. I'm NOT normal. If I were, I wouldn't have had 85% of my stomach removed. My body is carb sensitive, and it doesn't care what carbs I eat, I won't lose eating them. Good carbs vs. bad carbs, total carbs vs. net carbs, it doesn't mean anything to my body. So, I stuck to what my surgeon told me and had great success. 600-800 calories, 60+ grams of Protein and no more than 40gr of total carbs. During the first 6 months, I didn't have room for anything other than protein so staying low carb wasn't difficult if I wanted to hit my protein goal. I ate 4 meals per day, each meal consisting of 15gr of protein, no Snacks. I did not have a fat guideline and since I was low-carbing it, I needed the fat grams and ate full fat through my entire losing stage, and still do to this very day. My cholesterol was normal, and didn't change eating full fat. My good cholesterol actually improved through my losing stage and has maintained a normal level through maintenance. I don't do the whole eat good carbs minus the Fiber to get net carbs, 1) I didn't feel like dealing with the math 2) I didn't want to justify eating off plan, or not eating enough protein just because I could get away with subtracting fiber grams. It's just what worked for me and my weight loss goals. Maintenance is completely different, and is very individualized. I eat more in maintenance than others, and do not count anything but calories and protein in maintenance.

I also was fairly sedentary/not extremely active through my losing stage so this plan worked perfectly for my needs.

Thank you for helping me out I always appreciate the advice and support xoxox

Hi everyone!

I'm really interested in this topic. Thank you all for your help.