One Month Post-Op Advice Please!

[LBDucky 6]

Hello! I just hit my one month post-op yesterday. I lost 32 pounds so far! I need some advice from the veterans. This has been a very stressful two weeks for me. I have anxiety and I really really want this surgery to be successful so I have been hyper focused on whether or not I am doing the right thing. My biggest problem is numbers! My diet plan doesnt provide what my macros should be and I dont see the nutritionist for another week or so and to be honest I dont really trust her - she just reads the papers to me and doesnt really know the answers to my questions. I can read them on my own! Its driving me crazy with worry that I am not making the most of time I have to lose weight!

My diet progression: Oz are by volume.

Weeks 1 and 2 - liquid (Premier Protein Drinks only.)

Week 3 - 1oz Puree

Week 4 - 1oz Soft Foods (I moved up to 2oz the last couple of days.)

And now on week 5 I am doing 2oz soft and regular food mixed.

I eat the same thing everyday because its easier for me that way so on week 5 I am eating the following:

Half of a Premier Protein shake.

Breakfast - Scrambled Egg w/Greek Yogurt (No butter.)

lunch - Thin n Trim Sausage w/Greek Yogurt Ranch and Mashed Sweet Potato (Using greek yogurt not milk and butter.)

Half of a half Premier Protein Shake.

dinner - BBQ chicken w/Cheese and Mashed Sweet Potato (Using greek yogurt not milk and butter.)

Total Counts: Calories - 420

Protein - 59.8

Carbs - 15

Fat - 11.5

What are the opinions on this? I feel like maybe I should have more carbs but I dont know where I would get them unless I wanted to drink more protein drinks for the protein instead of eating and eat some fruit but I really want to get away from the drinks. Before this week I was only getting around 7 carbs. My plan says to not snack if I can help it so Id rather not add another meal. Plus that would make it even harder to get my Water in. They have me on a 30/60 water plan. Also I try to stay in an 8 hour eating period and 16 fasting. I usually end up going to 9 or 10. I am still working on that.

Sigh. This is all so overwhelming and stressful. I know I am losing weight and its natural for it to slow down when starting eating and switching phases. I just want to make the most of it.

Also do I HAVE to move up in food volume? Can I stay at 2oz volume of food if I feel full and good? My plan is supposed to be a total of 4oz (half a cup) when I am done transitioning the stages. Wouldnt I lose more weight if I keep the calories where they are?

Thanks for reading this long af post. And for the advice if you have any!

Edited September 28, 2018 by LBDucky

[Matt Z 4,138]

@LBDucky you've lost 32 lbs already and you are worried that you aren't doing something correctly? Why? You've lost 32 lbs, that's more than a pound a day.


400 calories a day is low. Your body will eventually slow down more and focus on storage over fat removal.

I'm seeing a MASSIVELY important thing missing from this long write up.
Your Water intake.
Water is *REQUIRED* for fat processing. If you don't give your body enough water to meet your daily minimum requirements, fat loss *will* suffer. Personally I would increase the Protein intake, increase the water intake and reduce the starches and fats.

I don't worry about macros at all.
Never have. Was never advised to.

Even still, you've lost just over a pound a day, that's a great thing, do not overlook the progress because you expected something else. ****NEVER**** compare yourself, your surgery and your loss rates with anyone else. Because absolutely no one is going to lose the same way.

Even if we put identical twins though the same exact surgery on the same day by the same surgeon, they would not experience the same things post op.

Edited September 28, 2018 by Matt Z

[LBDucky 6]

5 minutes ago, Matt Z said:

@LBDucky you've lost 32 lbs already and you are worried that you aren't doing something correctly? Why? You've lost 32 lbs, that's more than a pound a day.

Its more about moving forward now that Im approaching eating more and what not. I want to continue the good progress Ive had.

[Matt Z 4,138]

Just now, LBDucky said:

Its more about moving forward now that Im approaching eating more and what not. I want to continue the good progress Ive had.

Be ready for a stall and a slow down. It ***WILL*** happen. When you move from liquids only to food, you will stall. When you start changing up your intake... you'll stall.

Not sure why you are looking to eat more, while you are also stating you don't want to eat more. That's a bit confusing.

You really want to be upwards of 128oz of Water a day. Not sure what a 30/60 water plan is.


I see you are from Rhode Island, who are you seeing for a nutritionist and where?

[MargoCL 677]

12 minutes ago, LBDucky said:

Its more about moving forward now that Im approaching eating more and what not. I want to continue the good progress Ive had.

I just saw my Surgeon's PA and she only stated that right now I should be focused on my Protein and Water intake. I told her I was concerned about my carbs (30-40 Net) per day and she asked me where they were coming from. When I responded with Cottage cheese, Beans, Nuts, etc... she asked if Pasta, potatoes (white and sweet), rice were in that mix and I responded with no. I'm only eating non-starchy foods. She stated that's all that mattered. Stay away from starches and focus on Protein and water. Your goal is to work up to 90g of Protein per day and as @Matt Z said get upwards of 128 oz of water a day. In this early stage, stay focused on the 60g protein and more than 64oz of water. You will work up to increasing your portion sizes as your belly lets you. Listen to it. Chances are (and from what it looks like) you are still at a 1/4 cup per serving.

[LBDucky 6]

19 minutes ago, Matt Z said:

Be ready for a stall and a slow down. It ***WILL*** happen. When you move from liquids only to food, you will stall. When you start changing up your intake... you'll stall.

Not sure why you are looking to eat more, while you are also stating you don't want to eat more. That's a bit confusing.

You really want to be upwards of 128oz of Water a day. Not sure what a 30/60 Water plan is.


I see you are from Rhode Island, who are you seeing for a nutritionist and where?

Ok... My water could definitely be better. I am not hitting what I should. I will for sure focus more on that. The 30/60 is no drinking 30 minutes before and 60 minutes after.

My original plan didnt have any starches like potatoes but I got caught up in the macros and didnt know if I was too low. Bah. Ok so I guess I need to just go with my instincts. Focus on Protein and water. This is what I was doing.

Thanks for the bit about the low calories vs storage. I will just do the volume that I am supposed to be at according to my plan and try to not stress about the macros. I wont even look anymore!

Anxiety is a witch. For real.

Riverside too. Weird eh? I go to Care New England Wellness Center at the Healthtrax in Warwick. They are really nice but...

Edited September 28, 2018 by LBDucky

[S@ssen@ch 745]

I'm with Matt. 32 lbs in 1 month is awesome! Why fret about something before it happens?

I also was never advised to monitor my macro nutrients. Here's what I was told:

• Get 45-60g of Protein every day. *Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I don't sweat it.
• Try to keep complex carbs "low", but they didn't specify what that is. From others, I set my own threshold on that at 25-30.
• Get minimum of 8 glasses of Water per day. *again, sometimes I hit that, and sometimes I don't.

Matt's also right about 400 calories being mighty low. Aside from my immediate post-op recovery, I don't think my caloric intake was ever THAT low. Eventually your body will think it's in some sort of starvation mode and stall your progress.

I try to NEVER compare myself to others. My journey before, during, and after has been my own and unique to me. Comparisons only set me up for emotional distress and lead to failure.