Carbs, Calories & Fat, Oh My!

[Sunshine Girl 6]

I had my surgery in Mexico, so I don't have a NUT. I've been trying to find info online, but have only found sample menus. Can you guys please tell me how many Carbs, Calories & Fat grams I should be eating each day? Thanks for the help. I'm almost 4 weeks out & have lost 26lbs, yay me!

[Indymom 132]

I will share what I do, but I'm not a super low-carb person (and continue to lose regardless).

I am almost 7 months out and target calories are between 800-1000/day. I typically eat at least 65-75 grams of Protein, and I try to keep both my fat and carbs below 50 grams. I don't sweat it if I exceed my carb target, but I really try to keep my fat below 50.

Today, for example, I hit 892 calories - 72 carbs - 37 fat - 70 Protein. I ate lots of yummy things including cheese, crackers, tomatoes, french dressing on my salad at dinner, and a small portion of baked potato with butter/light sour cream.

I feel like I'm eating like a "normal" person with appropriate portion sizes, and I'm loving my weight loss. Others will argue to keep the carbs really low but until it starts affecting my weight loss I'm not going to worry about it.

[Sunshine Girl 6]

Very helpful! Thank you. I don't feel like I am getting enough Protein or Water, but I'm still pretty limited. Excited to be losing so quickly! Congrats on your weight loss! Feels good, huh?

[Ms skinniness 3,003]

Have you googled wls diets? They can give you a good example of what to eat.

[Indymom 132]

It feels awesome! You'll be there soon too.

I guess I should have also referenced my eating when I was only 4 weeks out, huh? I think at that time I was not focusing so much on calories/fat because I was eating so little - I believe at that time I was on 2 oz per meal, and typically tried to do 1 oz Protein and 1 oz veg or starch. So for example I would do a small serving of tuna salad, and a small serving of peeled cucumber (that was allowed on my meal plan after the first month). I also ate a lot of scrambled eggs, moist chicken breast, canned fruit (like peaches and pears), and deli meats. I definitely wasn't getting all my Protein from food like I am now, so I would do 2 shakes a day.

[Writergirl 230]

I was sleeved at a bariatric center for excellence, and I've had many appts with multiple nutritionists, so I'll give you the lowdown on eating at this point. I'm at 6 weeks... When I asked about calories per day, I was told they won't even discuss that until we're one year out. At this point, it's about Protein and eating foods with nutritional value. I have to get at least 50 grams of protein each day from two Protein Drinks. They prefer whey protein, but I was intolerant so am drinking soy protein. I am supposed to have 3 meals a day consisting of a total of 4 MEASURED tablespoons of food (1/4 of a cup)--2 T should be protein and the other 2 produce, whether fruit or veggies or both. However, I was told that if I eat mostly protein at this point, that's fine. This is supposed to be the meal plan now and in the future. I do add a protein-type snack before bed because I'm one of the rare unfortunates who is hungry all the time. I'm also supposed to have 1000 mg of calcium citrate each day, 1 Vitamin B12 sublingual, and 2 chewable Centrum Vitamins. If I add fruit to my Protein Drink, I'm supposed to cut back on the amount I have with my meal. I should note that they were very specific about all this stuff, and provided reasons why, such as how the body absorbs protein, etc. They specifically forbade drinks such as Atkins, Ensure, etc., because they said they are full of junk and empty calories. The protein drinks are not to exceed 200 calories each. I use GNC soy protein and add Water, so it's 115 calories per drink. Anyway, hope this helps. I couldn't imagine doing this without a nutritionist.

[Sunshine Girl 6]

Thank you so much for your post! This is great!