I will be 6 weeks post-op this Tuesday. I saw my Doc on Friday and, while she was pleased with my Protein numbers (75-85g/day), she asked me to up my calories from 700/day to 1000/day.

I don't think I'll have an issue eating 1000 calories a day, but the number itself seems a little high for someone only 6 weeks out from surgery. I'm obviously going to follow my doctor's advice, but I also wanted to ask all of you how far out you are from surgery, and how many calories per day you are eating, or what your Doc recommends for you?

I am 5'6 and 216 pounds. I have lost 26 pounds since my surgery on 6/9. I'm moderately active, and exercise 3 days/week. I am trying to keep my net carbs (after Fiber intake) under 20g.

Thanks in advance!

Edited July 20, 201511 yr by SleevePerry

Thanks for the brain tweak

After reading through this thread, I went back to re-read the information my surgeon gave me to follow; and, as we all know, every surgeon's/NUT's plan is different. That being said, this is where I am at this point in my journey: Calorie range: 1,000-1,300 Protein: 70-100 grams Carbs: 60-100 grams

Exercise: walk 25 mins. on lunch break more days than not; cardio at gym at least 3 days/week; strength/toning at gym 2-3 days/week.

At this point, I feel I've found a "formula" that works for me in balancing food and activity/exercise and just daily life.

PHASE 4: REGULAR DIET

WEEK FIVE OR WHEN TOLERATED

The Second Month After Sleeve Gastrectomy Surgery (Start of Week 5 and Beyond…)

In the second month after surgery, begin to upgrade to regular foods as tolerated. If you do not tolerate regular foods, continue soft foods until you are ready to upgrade. Now, all food textures are permitted.

STILL AVOID CONCENTRATED SWEETS (simple sugars). As a rule, try to keep sugar out of the first 3 ingredients on the food label. The sugars found in milk and fruit are not considered simple sugars.

It is still necessary to take small bites and to chew foods well. Food should be almost liquid before you swallow. Try to chew each bite at least 20 times. Remember, dry or tough textures are harder to digest and may cause nausea or vomiting. Should vomiting occur, switch to Clear liquids at the next meal in order to rest the stomach.

It is recommended that all carbonated beverages still be avoided.

How Often Do I Eat? How Much Do I Eat? What Do I Eat?

Eat up to six ounces (3/4 cup) of regular foods three times per day. This will total 18 oz, or 2 ¼ cups of solid food daily. STOP EATING WHEN YOU FEEL FULL. Each day, 5-6 servings of Protein foods, 4 servings of vegetables, 4 servings of fruit and 6 servings of starch (Cereal, crackers or pasta) are recommended. Use fats sparingly. Try to eat your meals in this order: protein first, then vegetables and fruits, and then whole grains.

• You may now have 1-2 high protein Snacks per day in between meals. High protein snacks include Protein shakes but now you have other options of high protein snacks.

• For optimum weight loss, try to keep your daily calorie intake between 1,000 and 1,300.

Use the soft diet list of foods as a guide to portions. You may now include all foods that were not permitted on the soft diet. For example, raw fruits and vegetables are permitted, as well as rice and bread (toasted bread tends to be better tolerated).

REMEMBER, no fluids (liquids) for 30 minutes before eating solid foods. No fluids 30 minutes after eating solid foods.

I think if I would have followed Ann's plan, I would have been to goal by now. Months 4-7 I was only getting 600-800 calories, and it really slowed things down for me. I was stalling all the time and barely losing. There was one month where I only lost 2 pounds! Not until I took some advice and looked at what she was doing did I smarten up and increased my calories to 1000 and now to 1200. Since then, I've been pretty steady and only had one or two tiny stalls. Now I'm 6 pounds to goal.

But yes, everyone is different too

Babbs, I wish I could take credit for "my plan."

Normally, I'm one of those "harder, tougher, make it hurt more" kind of people who thinks that's how to get the best results. Y'know ... beat the workers until morale improves.

But somehow, this time, I decided to trust my bariatric P.A. who struck me as someone who actually knew more about all this than I did.

As I said, there's no way to know how things would have turned out if I'd continued at 800 calories/day for several more months. Losing faster didn't really matter to me that much. But mostly I'm just incredibly thrilled that my maintenance calories (right now) are as high as they are.

As I said before ... we'll see if this maintenance calorie budget continues long-term. I'm very much aware that things might change. And if they do, I'll just have to adapt.

Ann, do you think I should stick to 850 calories/day until I get to four months, or shall I bump myself up to 1000/day at this current 6 week mark? Not holding you responsible for my course of action, just curious as to what your thoughts are. What do you think your Bariatric Guru would have to say about 1000 calories at 6 weeks for someone of a similar starting weight?

I'm having a hard time on how to count my calories with the food I'm eating. I've started the my fitness pal thing but don't think I'm tracking my stuff right.... Help!!

I'm having a hard time on how to count my calories with the food I'm eating. I've started the my fitness pal thing but don't think I'm tracking my stuff right.... Help!!

What makes you think you aren't tracking correctly? Are you weighing and measuring your portion sizes? Are you reading labels?

99% of what I have eaten is already in MyFitnessPal. I just have to figure out how much I have eaten. For instance if a serving size is listed as 1 cup and I ate 1/2 a cup, I track that. What are you finding difficult?

I am five weeks post op and consistently getting around 700 calories a day. Some days (like yesterday) I get less (around 600). But if I am getting my protein, water and supplements, then I don't worry about it too much.

Me too!

My doc didn't set a calorie range, only a protein range. He figures as long as I'm getting 60-80g of protein, 64 oz of fluids, and all vitamins/minerals, I'll be fine. However, calculating it, I'm typically between 350-500 the past few days (which is better, because I was at zero for six days post-op).