Regarding calories, carbs, etc.---who do I listen to? Surgeon's Bariatric NP or NUT?

Here's the deal:

When I started this journey, my surgeon's office had a NUT who did all the pre-op stuff. She has since left and for reasons I don't want to go into or I'll get ticked off, they no longer provide a NUT to patients. I've been limping along on advice I got here until I started going to my surgeon's office for follow-up visits. I see an NP there.

The NP has always made me a little nervous as I don't think she seems super-knowledgeable, especially as she's supposed to be a Bariatric NP. During my last visit, I told her I didn't think I was getting enough calories or something because I'm tired and/or hungry all the time. She looked over my numbers (I keep track of everything on MyFitnessPal). I was at around 400-500 calories per day, 70-90 grams of Protein and around 20-30 grams of carbs. I exercise 5 days a week, 30-40 minutes a day. She told me never to go over 75 grams of protein a day, and I needed to keep my carbs below 30 grams per day.

Although I know all surgeons are different, I still knew something was wrong as my lab work came back fine, so I decided to get my own NUT to get this stuff straightened out. The surgeon's office referred me to one. I saw her today, and it was an eye opener! She said my calories were way too low, my surgeon's insistence on fruit being an every-now-and-again, once-in-a-blue-moon-treat was ludicrous, my protein intake needed to be 60-80 a day, and my calories need to be closer to 800 a day.

Even though I'm tired and hungry, I AM losing weight really well despite some health issues that can make it hard (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and medications). Do I listen to the NUT, increase my calories/carbs and start eating fruit, oatmeal and other carby foods? OR, do I listen to my Surgeon's Bariatric NP, and keep carbs and calories super-low?

I just want to continue losing weight, dang it. If adding way more carbs/calories now slows or stops my weight loss, I'll be devastated.

To whom should I listen?

Did your doc supplement or recommend B12 for energy loss and fatigue? I'm thinking of starting that now. They make it in liquid form...??

Did your doc supplement or recommend B12 for energy loss and fatigue? I'm thinking of starting that now. They make it in liquid form...??

Yes. I do B12 chewables.

• VSGAnn2014 Thanks so much for sharing the calories you had eaten and what you are doing now. I haven't had my week before surgery workshop yet so maybe they will tell me more. But if they don't this is great info that I have copied and will refer back to if I don't get any more. I have a very long journey and hope I make it to my goal of 155

• VSGAnn2014 Thanks so much for sharing the calories you had eaten and what you are doing now. I haven't had my week before surgery workshop yet so maybe they will tell me more. But if they don't this is great info that I have copied and will refer back to if I don't get any more. I have a very long journey and hope I make it to my goal of 155

You're welcome.

For me, one of the great benefits of planning, measuring and tracking my food has been that I actually know what and how much I've eaten since I've had WLS and, as a result, I can analyze that data and discover what's working for me -- to lose and/or maintain.

These days I do take breaks from tracking -- to develop my "eating healthy intuitions" (probably not the best way to express what I mean by that). But tracking my food is still a great tool I use to keep me honest when I need that discipline.

The final caveat I'll add is that, fortunately, I can lose weight without going massively low-carb. I also didn't want / need to lose weight super fast. I started at 235 pounds, lost 20 pounds pre-op, and then lost 56 pounds post-op in 8.5 months, then slowly lost another 12 pounds over the next 6 months.

Every one of us needs to discover what will work for us. And then we must find and honor the reasons to get healthy and stay healthy that will motivate us.