You know that you will never hit your goal weight if you intentionally try to cheat on your diet by sneaking bites or deciding not to log certain foods. But what if you think you are doing everything right and are still not losing the weight you expect? Hidden calories may be to blame. Figure out the sources of hidden calories in your diet, and you just may have a weight loss breakthrough!

Overeating is Possible after WLS

You got WLS so that you could lose weight, but it is important to remember that WLS is only a tool. To lose weight, you need to use that tool properly. If you fall into the trap of thinking that WLS automatically leads to weight loss, you might never hit goal weight. As a reminder, these are how the lap-band, vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG), and gastric bypass can help you lose weight.

• Lap-band: The lap-band creates a small pouch, or stoma, to help you fill up faster so that you eat less.
  
• Vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG): The surgery removes most of your stomach and creates a small sleeve out of the remaining portion. The gastric sleeve restricts the volume of food you can eat and it reduces hunger by reducing the amount of ghrelin, which is a hunger hormone.
  
• Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: The surgery restricts food intake by creating a small pouch, and reduces nutrient absorption by having food from your stomach bypass much of your small intestine.
  

Your weight loss surgery will not work for you if you cheat in these ways.

• You eat more frequently – and take in more calories – than your surgeon suggests without feeling the restrictive effects of the adjustable gastric band.
  
• You eat sugary, fatty high-calorie foods. The lap-band, especially, is unlikely to cause you to develop dumping syndrome. That is good because you will not get the unpleasant symptoms, but it is bad because it does not prevent you from eating sugar, starch or fat. Even with a stoma size of just 4 ounces, or a meager 1/2 cup, you could fit in 400 calories’ worth of M&M’s in with room to spare.
  
• You drink fluids when you are eating solids so that you are able to consume more at a single meal or snack. Drinking fluids while eating solid foods can also cause your stomach, sleeve or pouch to empty faster so that you get hungrier sooner.
  
• You sip on beverages that provide calories but do not fill you up.
  

How Hidden Calories Might Be Throwing You Off

What if you think you are following your weight loss surgery diet diligently? You measure your food whenever you can, you use your dietitian’s food list when you go grocery shopping, and you order chicken and vegetables when you go out to eat. You get protein at every meal, and you drink plenty of water each day.

Hidden calories are the ones that creep into your diet. You might not know you are eating them, or you might think that you eat so few “extra” calories that they don’t matter in your diet. But, they do impact your weight loss. An extra 20, 50, or 100 calories here or there really affects your weight loss. Remember that a pound of body fat equals 3,500 calories. That’s an average of 500 calories per day to lose a pound a week. If you are getting hundreds of hidden calories a day, that could easily be a pound a week that you’re not losing.

Where Are the Hidden Calories?

Good question! They can be almost anywhere.

• Starches are not necessarily unhealthy, but they should only be part of your meal after you eat your protein and vegetable or fruit.
  
• Protein is the first thing you should eat at each meal and snack, but it is also a source of calories. Fatty meats and poultry with the skin can have 100 or more extra calories per 3-ounce portion compared to lean meats and chicken or turkey breast.
  
• Healthy foods can be high-calorie. A handful of nuts or dried fruit or a big spoonful of peanut butter can have 200 to 300 calories.
  
• Condiments can wreck your diet. A tablespoon of mayonnaise has 100 calories, a tablespoon of jam has 50 calories, and a tablespoon of salad dressing has 80 calories. Ketchup, teriyaki sauce, and marinades can have 15 to 20 calories per tablespoon.
  
• Restaurant foods can be tricky. Vegetables that you think are steamed can have butter in them, and chicken, fish and other proteins that you think are good choices can come in sauces with 100 or 200 calories per serving. Portion sizes can be several times what you need: a 12-ounce steak is 4 to 6 WLS-sized portions, and a 3-cup plate of pasta is 6 to 8 WLS-sized portions.
  
  
  o Examples of each of the below. Carbs: toast, crackers. Eat celery. Smaller pasta, more protein meatballs.
  
  
  o Protein. It’s a nutrient, but it’s also a source of calories. Esp. if with sugar/carbs in supplements, or hi-fat protein foods. Bacon
  
  
  o Healthy hi-cal foods: nuts, pb, dried fruit (fresh). Portion sizes. Avocado.
  
  
  o Condiments. Fatty dressings (choose low-fat), use less (use herbs), sugary
  
  
  o Portion sizes. MEASURE. Nibbling without measuring, eyeballing. You get 60 extra calories every time you take a piece of cheese that is the size of your thumb (1.5 ounces) instead of weighing it to make sure that it is only 1 ounce.
  
  
  o beverages
  
  
  o Restaurants: salads, fat added to “grilled” foods or steamed vegetables, beverages, “healthy” bagel instead of low-cal doughnut
  
  
  o Eating too frequently. Tips for if you’re starving (protein, no fluid with meal); tips to make meal smaller (if you’re eating so many meals, don’t need to be big)
  
  

The Good News

The good news is that small changes add up to big calorie savings.

• Have an ounce of low-fat cheese instead of full-fat, and save 50 calories.
  
• Have a quart of regular or sparkling water instead of a quart of a sports drink, and save 200 calories.
  
• Skip the bite of cookie dough after you finish baking for your children, and save 100 calories.
  
• Have 3 ounces of 95% lean ground beef instead of 85% lean ground beef, and save 70 calories.
  
• Rinse the spoon instead of licking it after you serve yourself peanut butter, and save 30 calories.
  
• Spread peanut butter or tuna on 3 large celery stalks instead of 6 triscuit crackers, and save 90 calories.
  
• Have one-third of a cup of pasta with your meatballs instead of a full cup, and save 120 calories.
  

This works for exercise, too. Every little bit helps. When you walk for just an extra half-mile, or about 10 minutes, you burn 50 extra calories.

Start to think about where extra calories may be coming into your diet, and see what you can do to limit them. You’ll be happier with your weight loss results!

I remember early on in my journey where I wasn't losing weight and I had a consult with the clinic nutritionist. She carved out about 300 calories a day that I didn't need and from that point on my weight loss took off.

So, yes, there can be silly calories hiding in our daily meals that can be eliminated.

Great article for everyone to read !!!

Those hidden calories can be so sneaky!

I always have to remember my coffee addiction calories of cream, creamer, etc. I start off my morning with 70+ calories w/out biting the first morsel of good ! But, I'm not giving up the coffee !!!!!!

I love to eat out. It helps me feel somewhat normal on this journey. But.... you're right, it's impossible to know what is really in the food you are getting. We eat a lot of Chinese food. But there is no precise nutritional info. When I do eat out, I feel like my weight loss slows. So I try to make sure I'm really strict the rest of the day or the next day.

Wine...my extra calories

Wine...my extra calories

Same here!

Hmm 8 or 9 cups of water/ lean shake gnc/fruit/chicken/roastbeef/low fat greek yogurt/ egg white/ tomatoes lettuce and whole grain weight watchers bread and hot tea at night anything wrong here I mix and match no more than 1200 calories a day I do physical therapy and workout as much as my body will let me 3-4 times a week. I am strict and an aggravated individual at this point 3 weeks and no results and blood works always great.

At an area support group, the leader, the PhD doctor that does the psyc evals prior to surgery at Baylor Plano had a topic that's stuck with me. A light went off, 'THIS IS HOW I ended up sitting in a bariatric surgeon's office.'

100 calories per day, more than you need, is over 36,000 calories per year which comes out to about ten pounds. That's it, that is how I did it, I didn't wake up one morning, big. It crept up on me, a few pounds one year, five pounds the next.......over the course of 30 years!!!

I could visualize 100 calories and HOW EASY this can happen. 1 TB of Peanut Butter is 100 calories. ONE!!!!! Think of all the little 100 calorie bags of 'whatever'. I know that when cooking dinner, I use to 'taste' more than 100 calories. It is so easy to do. A fourth cup of almost all nuts clock in at between 160 - 200 calories. Yes, they have some Protein, but not enough to justify those calories, not for me. Not often!!!

For me, THIS is how calories can sneak in if I'm not careful. I log it all faithfully!

Excellent article. Those little licks and bites of things can really add up. Even the cream you put in your coffee over the course of day can add up in calories consumed and stem your weight loss.

I'm being more mindful now to see where those things are adding up, and where I can add a little bit more movement to tip the scales literally in my favor.

I was thinking just that the other day...a few calories here and there and how they add up. I was in the doctor's office the other day and made a cup of coffee. (they have a coffee/snack station in the waiting room because alot of people are there for daily treatments) They also had graham crackers in a basket right next to the coffee machine so I picked up a packet and I looked at the calorie count. 60 calories for the package. I thought about it for a moment and decided I really didn't need the 60 calories...and just had the coffee. Felt good to make the right choice.

In all honesty, my success has come from a strictly enforced, plant-based diet. I do eat chicken, but I add it to a 'Raw Foods' based plan. So while I'm not a vegan, or a Raw Foodist..I do base my entire fruits and vegetable life around a raw foods diet. It has keep me stable at 115 lbs for 4 years. I have NEVER felt better and weight stable in my life. At this stage I cant even imagine myself going back to: bread, Pasta, crackers, dairy, or any processed dead foods. I feel to good for that.

I love to eat out. It helps me feel somewhat normal on this journey. But.... you're right, it's impossible to know what is really in the food you are getting. We eat a lot of Chinese food. But there is no precise nutritional info. When I do eat out, I feel like my weight loss slows. So I try to make sure I'm really strict the rest of the day or the next day.

Leepers, I too eat out ALOT..My job demands it..I have learned to NICELY ask the wait staff to please omit any butters, sauces, salts and oils from my foods. I've never had a problem yet. One time, at a chain restaurant I did have a slight hiccup. Apparently the food came from a pre-made frozen bag, off a delivery truck, so it already had butter, salts, and oils upon defrosting, Sorry, had to scratch that place off my list. My family is lovely, they always ask "Can You Eat There"..Loll..I love them.