Calorie goal?

[pkron 10]

I'm a month post op VSG and if I eat 3 meals a day I usually hit just below 1000 calories. Weight loss has slown down dramatically since my thin liquid stage, and I was wondering if 800-1000 calories is somehow too much? The info packet my nutritionist gave me doesn't really even mention. Calories. Thanks!

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[ms.sss 15,861]

Hmmm...at my one month post-op mark, I'd be lucky if I got over 400 calories. Nutritionist said whatever I could get in was good enough at that point.

I was however given literature pre-op that months 2-6 I should be at 800-1200, though I was nowhere near that.

But really, it varies from person to person. How tall are you? And are you male or female? How much to you weigh right now? Are you active (or plan to be)?

The folks on here could give you better advice if you provided this info...

[pkron 10]

I'm a 20 year old male. I'm 5'9 1/2 and I weigh 411 lbs. I started at 480, lost 20 on my own, 20 on pre-op, and 30 since the operation

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[GradyCat 3,697]

My nutritionist told me 600-800 but my surgeon said she doesn't talk calories, just to eat Protein first, eat 3 times a day and that's it.

[Sandra Nuelken 419]

4 hours ago, pkron said:

I'm a month post op VSG and if I eat 3 meals a day I usually hit just below 1000 calories. Weight loss has slown down dramatically since my thin liquid stage, and I was wondering if 800-1000 calories is somehow too much? The info packet my nutritionist gave me doesn't really even mention. Calories. Thanks!

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using BariatricPal mobile app

How much Protein are you getting? I'm pre-op and have 80 -90 g. and I' only eating 800, just can't eat more. Get your Proteins in first you have a new way to eat. If you're eating 1000 bad calories, carbs, sugars, and not proteins you will gain weight.

[RickM 1,753]

800-1000 probably isn't too much for you, but I would be cautious about going much above it. The 6-800 level that GradyCat mentions seems to be something of a sweet spot for many - low enough to provide enough caloric deficit to get the desired weight loss for most, but high enough not to trigger any major metabolic problems from being too low - and is fairly common in many programs that specify calorie levels. Many patients, particularly average to below average height women, will find that they maintain in the 1000-1200 calorie range, so it pays not to go too high unless one has better info on their personal metabolism. Being a guy, and young, that implies a higher metabolism so you can tolerate higher calories in you loss phase; starting at close to 500lb may work against that some. Another consideration is that your overall metabolic rate will decline some as you lose weight (your resting metabolism, in theory, shouldn't change much assuming minimal loss of muscle tissue), as it takes fewer calories to move 400lb around all day than 500, and fewer still to move 300, and 200, etc. So avoid the temptation to increase calories as you lose, or you may come up short of your goal.

That said, I settled fairly quickly at 1100, (no set calorie goal in our program, either) and that worked well for me, though I only had about 100lb to lose, but did so in about seven months or so (and that was intentionally slowing things down some in the last couple of months) Do you have an idea what your calorie level was when your weight was stable (not gaining, not losing) before surgery? That can provide some guidance in estimating what you need to do. I was stable in the 2600-2800 range before surgery, and now maintain at around 2000-2200.

A slow down at this stage is to be expected, as most go through a bit (or more than a bit) of a stall at around three weeks. There is usually a fairly quick initial loss of mostly Water weight as we burn off our short term energy reserves of glycogen (basically stored carbohydrate) and then a pause as the body shifts gears to burning our fat reserves, which burn more slowly than the glycogen. I, likewise, lost about 30 lb the first month, then 15 each of the next two months. Completely normal.

[2ndTimeFreedom 104]

7 hours ago, ms.sss said:

Hmmm...at my one month post-op mark, I'd be lucky if I got over 400 calories. Nutritionist said whatever I could get in was good enough at that point.

I was however given literature pre-op that months 2-6 I should be at 800-1200, though I was nowhere near that.

But really, it varies from person to person. How tall are you? And are you male or female? How much to you weigh right now? Are you active (or plan to be)?

The folks on here could give you better advice if you provided this info...

I am so happy I saw this as I just realized I am only getting 500 calories a day. .

[pkron 10]

On 7/19/2019 at 8:16 PM, Sandra Nuelken said:

How much Protein are you getting? I'm pre-op and have 80 -90 g. and I' only eating 800, just can't eat more. Get your Proteins in first you have a new way to eat. If you're eating 1000 bad calories, carbs, sugars, and not Proteins you will gain weight.

All I can say is not enough. I really dislike the Protein Shakes, and I always have. I am trying out different high Protein waters, looking for one that I like. I just bought two cases of Protein2O, which isn't bad. It's just harder to constantly sip than Water. Other than that I try my best to get in proteins first. The only meal that I've had in which there was no protein was about 1/3 cup of penne Pasta on the first day I was allowed to have soft foods/noodles last week. It didn't settle in too well, so I'm going to wait on that again. Thanks so much for the response!

[pkron 10]

On 7/19/2019 at 9:08 PM, RickM said:

800-1000 probably isn't too much for you, but I would be cautious about going much above it. The 6-800 level that GradyCat mentions seems to be something of a sweet spot for many - low enough to provide enough caloric deficit to get the desired weight loss for most, but high enough not to trigger any major metabolic problems from being too low - and is fairly common in many programs that specify calorie levels. Many patients, particularly average to below average height women, will find that they maintain in the 1000-1200 calorie range, so it pays not to go too high unless one has better info on their personal metabolism. Being a guy, and young, that implies a higher metabolism so you can tolerate higher calories in you loss phase; starting at close to 500lb may work against that some. Another consideration is that your overall metabolic rate will decline some as you lose weight (your resting metabolism, in theory, shouldn't change much assuming minimal loss of muscle tissue), as it takes fewer calories to move 400lb around all day than 500, and fewer still to move 300, and 200, etc. So avoid the temptation to increase calories as you lose, or you may come up short of your goal.

That said, I settled fairly quickly at 1100, (no set calorie goal in our program, either) and that worked well for me, though I only had about 100lb to lose, but did so in about seven months or so (and that was intentionally slowing things down some in the last couple of months) Do you have an idea what your calorie level was when your weight was stable (not gaining, not losing) before surgery? That can provide some guidance in estimating what you need to do. I was stable in the 2600-2800 range before surgery, and now maintain at around 2000-2200.

A slow down at this stage is to be expected, as most go through a bit (or more than a bit) of a stall at around three weeks. There is usually a fairly quick initial loss of mostly Water weight as we burn off our short term energy reserves of glycogen (basically stored carbohydrate) and then a pause as the body shifts gears to burning our fat reserves, which burn more slowly than the glycogen. I, likewise, lost about 30 lb the first month, then 15 each of the next two months. Completely normal.

My calories before surgery varied highly. I had been using intermittent fasting fairly successfully for a few months and had lost weight, but I am diagnosed with BED, so every once in a while there was a day that had an extremely high calorie count from one meal alone. I really appreciate your long and thoughtful response. Congratulations on your success!!! It makes me feel better that your experience was similar to mine. I have also realized in the past few days that I had been eating meals just because it was time to eat (e.g. Breakfast in the morning, lunch at lunchtime, and dinner at dinnertime) even if I wasn't hungry. I am going to try to use those times to drink something that is high in Protein rather than eating just because it is the societal norm to eat at those times. Again, I really appreciate the response!

-Peter

[ms.sss 15,861]

2 minutes ago, pkron said:

I really dislike the Protein Shakes, and I always have

Are you drinking the pre-made ones? I find these to be too thick and too sweet.

If you haven't already tried them, maybe get some powders instead and mix with Water, I find they go down much better.

My go-to concoction was (and still is 8.5 months later when I'm low on Protein on any given day): 1 scoop Isopure Dutch chocolate powder + 400 ml water + 2 tsp of Decaf instant coffee + 2 tsp Benefibre + a few cubes of ice.

I used to also use the Isopure Unflavoured Powder and mix/sprinkle it on different foods (don't use it so much anymore though).

9 minutes ago, pkron said:

I just bought two cases of Protein2O, which isn't bad. It's just harder to constantly sip than Water

Yeah, I've read lots of posts where waters were more people's taste that the shakes. Good Luck! ♥️

[pkron 10]

5 minutes ago, ms.sss said:

Are you drinking the pre-made ones? I find these to be too thick and too sweet.

If you haven't already tried them, maybe get some powders instead and mix with Water, I find they go down much better.

My go-to concoction was (and still is 8.5 months later when I'm low on Protein on any given day): 1 scoop Isopure Dutch chocolate powder + 400 ml Water + 2 tsp of Decaf instant coffee + 2 tsp Benefibre + a few cubes of ice.

I used to also use the Isopure Unflavoured Powder and mix/sprinkle it on different foods (don't use it so much anymore though).

Yeah, I've read lots of posts where waters were more people's taste that the shakes. Good Luck! ♥️

I agree that the premade shakes are too thick and sweet. I have some unflavored powders as well as some chocolate and vanilla powders, but I've just never been a fan of stuff like chocolate/vanilla milk, and they taste to me like that but even faker. Also, the unflavored ones can't be heated up to the point where I like my Soups and stuff or it gets all clumpy. I'll take a look at the isopure chocolate and see if maybe it tastes better than the one I am trying, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. I'll find what works for me eventually though! Thanks for the response!

[Sandra Nuelken 419]

52 minutes ago, pkron said:

I agree that the premade shakes are too thick and sweet. I have some unflavored powders as well as some chocolate and vanilla powders, but I've just never been a fan of stuff like chocolate/vanilla milk, and they taste to me like that but even faker. Also, the unflavored ones can't be heated up to the point where I like my Soups and stuff or it gets all clumpy. I'll take a look at the Isopure chocolate and see if maybe it tastes better than the one I am trying, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. I'll find what works for me eventually though! Thanks for the response!

I use Ensure plus, fairly new on the market, I put ice cubes in it and sip it in the morning. I prefer Chocolate but they have cafe mocha which has a hit of caffeine. The Premium peach Protein Drink (clear) I mix with caffeine-free ice tea to make peach tea. One of each and I've met the Protein goal. The tea I drink all day with just a shot of peach protein. I find it far too sweet. The powders I have to go with the vegetarian protein powders and they are expensive. The others just gas me up.

[mousecat88 2,281]

I was told I should be at 1000-1200 calories at a year out. I am averaging 600 calories (no more than 700) now at 9 months out.

Edited July 22, 2019 by mousecat88

[pkron 10]

17 hours ago, mousecat88 said:

I was told I should be at 1000-1200 calories at a year out. I am averaging 600 calories (no more than 700) now at 9 months out.

I finally got ahold of my nutritionist yesterday. She told me at most 1100 calories. I also realized that I had been eating just because it was "time to eat" like breakfast, lunch, and dinner, rather than when I am hungry, so I am eating less, but making sure to eat more Protein when I do eat. I've noticed a change in weight loss already!

[ruthalbert21 5]

I'm a month post op VSG and if I eat 3 meals a day I usually hit just below 1000 calories. Weight loss has slown down dramatically since my thin liquid stage, and I was wondering if 800-1000 calories is somehow too much? The info packet my nutritionist gave me doesn't really even mention. Calories. Thanks!
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I didnt get a calorie intake either from my nutritionist or my surgeon everyone says just get your 64 oz of Water in and your 60-80 oz of Protein. I am 2 months post op and I'm barely hitting 800 calories with 3 meals a day.

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