Staying under total calories but right amount of protein

[r6malbear 10]

I am at 5 months out and I notice that I do not stay under the recommended 800 calories per day put keeping my Protein between 60 -80 grams. What do others eat throughout the day to stay where you need to be. I usually eat yogurt and a fruit for Breakfast, tuna fish and salad for lunch, a snack in the afternoon of a Protein Bar and dinner is meat (fish, chicken, pork) and a veggie and a protein snack at night.

I have been stalled for about 4 -5 weeks now and need help. And yes I do exercise 5 days a week walking for about 40 minutes at a fast pace.

[Djmohr 6,965]

I have never ever been told to focus on a caloric intake number. I track it only because I track my food on my fitness pal.

I have been told to focus on my Protein intake and at minimum I must get 1 gram of Protein for every inch I am tall. I usually will eat between 75 to 85 grams of protein. I average between 800 and 1000 calories a day.

I did have a 3 week long stall very early on and at that time was exercising an hour every other day and eating about 500 calories a day. I was told to up my calories at that time leveraging protein and good carbs to get there. I went from 500 calories up to a minimum of 800 and an average of 1000. Within two days of doing that my stall broke. I have since had a week where I did not lose anything but then the next week I will drop 4/5 lbs.

I am now 9 months post op and almost every day I am between 1000 and 1100 calories per day but I really don't focus too much on that number. I focus on the protein. If I don't get to my protein goal, I don't lose.

Also I use the scale as only one metric to measure my success especially if I am really on top of my exercise. When I exercise daily (1hour of cardio), the scale doesn't move but I lose inches and my clothes to really measure my progress. This is because your muscles hold onto to Water and even though you are losing fat your body is changing.

I have been on hiatus from anything but walking slowly at this point due to a recent spine surgery. What has been interesting is how fast I am losing again. I suspect I am losing muscle mass that I had been building. I also don't feel as good as when I was exercising and miss it terribly.

[JamieLogical 8,684]

Where did this 800 calories come from? That seems low for 5 months post-op. I wouldn't be surprised if your stall is due to not getting ENOUGH calories.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I agree with everyone. Why focus on keeping calories so low. Getting your Protein and Water is where your focus should be. The calories will fall in place. You are probably sabotaging your optimal weight loss trying to keep calories so low.

[Bufflehead 6,358]

--switch out the yogurt and fruit for cottage cheese and meat for Breakfast

--switch out the Protein bar for 3 oz grilled or baked chicken breast

Here is a sample menu from when I was under 800 calories and regularly getting over 75 grams of Protein per day:

Breakfast: 2 oz chicken wrapped in romaine lettuce leaf (85 calories/12 grams protein)

Lunch: 2 oz sliced roast beef, 1/2 oz. roasted edamame (137 calories/19 grams protein)

Dinner: refried Beans with an egg baked on top, melted cheese (150 calories/12 grams protein)

Snacks:

hot chocolate Protein shake (110 calories/ 21 grams protein)

chocolate PB2 Protein Shake (140 calories/26 grams protein)

marlin Jerky (80 calories/18 grams protein)

totals including various Vitamins etc.: 768 calories, 107 grams protein

[SoulGlo 75]

I agree with everyone. Why focus on keeping calories so low. Getting your Protein and Water is where your focus should be. The calories will fall in place. You are probably sabotaging your optimal weight loss trying to keep calories so low.

I wish you were my Dietician/NUT, you're always dropping knowledge in every post. What about Carbs and fats? How much is allowed?

I'm 3mths post and I'm about averaging between 300's and 500's in Calories and about 71g to 28g in Protein. Tbh, i seemed to more concerned about the amount of calories than protein amount.I'll freak out if i go over 500 calories. Now that you have confirmed that this is hurting my weight loss, I'm definitely will get that protein number up.

[AfitRN2015 33]

I'm getting sleeved on July 20th and really appreciate all the comments. Seems like three weeks is the magic number for a stall. It makes sense to focus on nutrition and Protein first and how you feel and how your clothes fit second. Just ditch the scale. The human body is amazing. If you flood it with whole healthy foods it will respond in a positive way.

[Veronda 30]

I specifically asked my nutritionist and bariatric coordinator about calories and both said that at this point it's not the focus and they wouldn't give me a number. The BC did tell someone at a support group meeting that she was eating too few calories at 400-600, but they still don't give a number to strive for. I think it's freeing because it gives me more energy to devote to figuring out what I can tolerate and focus on lean Protein. Last night I was really nervous because I had a frozen dinner that was 440 calories, but in the end I didn't eat the whole thing, it had good Protein content, and I really hadn't eaten much the rest of the day. For the most part I eat homemade foods, so having this number in front of me made me all weird. I'm only a month out from revision (my first surgery was 5.5 years ago), so eventually I will start tracking my foods again on MFP, etc, but for this period I'm just going to focus on making healthy decisions. It's making it so much easier to make it a lifestyle without being tied to numbers, etc.

[sparksrn 65]

My doc said get between 800-1200 calories and 80-120 gms Protein.< /p>

[r6malbear 10]

Wow what great advice!!! Thanks @ DJmohr, I have really needed advice in the eating department. It seems they really didn't tell me enough about the food thing. I guess I was told about the 800 calories because I asked calorie wise how much I should be eating and they said around 800 and it stuck in my mind.

Recently I had a stall and they said to make sure I was getting between 60 - 80 grams of Protein a day and lots of Water. I wish they would have focused on the Protein and knocked it into my head so it would stick. They also said if I had to much protein I might stall also.

Thanks @ Bufflehead for the menu idea's. Why do you say switch the yogurt for cottage cheese? And can you give me your recipe for the Protein drinks you listed? Also what is marlin Jerky?

Thanks for everyone's advice!!!

Edited June 25, 2015 by r6malbear

[Bufflehead 6,358]

@@r6malbear mostly I said swap out cottage cheese for yogurt because at least to me, if you are going to swap out fruit for meat, then meat goes better with cottage cheese than it does with yogurt. However, typically cottage cheese is lower calorie and lower carb than yogurt is, for a pretty similar Protein count.

shake recipes:

Hot chocolate: 4 oz. Water + 4 oz. CarbMaster* milk. Heat in microwave until just under boiling, transfer to blender and blend with hot chocolate Protein powder http://www.nashuanutrition.com/store/hot-drinks/healthsmart-hot-chocolate-7-box-sucralose.html and any Torani SF syrup(s) you want. You can also put a dollop of fat free whipped cream on top for a minimal hit to your daily calorie budget. My favorite ways to make this are a gingerbread mocha (add in gingerbread SF Syrup and a couple teaspoons of instant coffee), and a peppermint hot chocolate -- add in peppermint SF syrup.

chocolate peanut butter: 8 oz. CarbMaster* milk blended with 1/2 scoop Syntrax nectar Chocolate Truffle Protein Powder, 1 shot Torani SF chocolate syrup (or a dropper full of Sweet Leaf Sweet Drops chocolate: http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Drops-Liquid-Stevia-Chocolate/dp/B00H4HKNA4, and 1.5 T PB2 chocolate http://www.amazon.com/PB2-Powdered-Peanut-Butter-Chocolate/dp/B0043WOANY

*CarbMaster milk is available at Kroger supermarkets. If you don't have Kroger near you, I believe Fair Life milk is much more widely available and has a very similar nutritional profile: higher Protein, lower calorie, and lower carb than regular nonfat milk.

I love marlin jerky! It is just delicious to me and absolutely packed with protein. However, I only recommend it to people who like strong flavored fish like swordfish and mackerel. If you prefer more bland white fish like tilapia or sole, marlin Jerky may not be for you!

http://www.amazon.com/Hawaiian-Marlin-Jerky-Onion-Pepper/dp/B00B8XOUX6/

[Djmohr 6,965]

Cottage cheese also has more Protein. I eat it every single day for that very reason. I eat 1percent cottage cheese.