Hi everyone.

Just reading through several posts how people struggle to eat after WLS whereas I'm absolutely fine with everything.

I'm 6 weeks out now and lost almost 26lbs since my highest weight.

Now to the main point.. I read people eating 500- 600 cal a day. I count each and every calorie I take in and land between 800-1000 cal a day with 1.5 ltr fluids.

I take 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. Without them I can't manage my 90g of protein daily. This is the amount my program suggests.

Even if I would take protein shake only as 3 meals it will still make 600cal.

How does a 500-600 cal a day meal plan look like?

It would be really helpful if someone could share their plan.

I had a stall at 3 weeks which lasted about 2 weeks. I wasn't eating much at that time and didn't have my 90g of protein.

Since I have started to take the 90g of protein daily the scale has started to go down again.

Plus I have lost more inches than weight on the scale.

I feel guilty by reading all these 500cal comments and think I'm doing something wrong. Maybe I will not lose any more weight.

Can anyone else relate to this?

[emoji51]

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That week three stall hits almost everybody - it doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong. It seems to be the body taking some time to adjust to the surgery and the major change in how you eat. I wouldn't worry about comparing yourself to those who are eating less because a lot of things go into how we metabolize food: your age, activity level, previous dieting history (the more you've dieted in the past, the better your body is at adjusting your metabolism to compensate), your overall health, etc. If the scale is still moving downward then your calories are probably fine. As you continue to drop weight, there may come a time when you need to cut calories because the smaller we get, the less food we need. But for now, you're losing weight, you're hitting your nutritional goals and hydration goals, so there doesn't seem to be any need to arbitrarily limit yourself to 500 or 600 calories a day. Just stay the course.

Edit to add: I went back to look at one of my early days when I ate around 600 calories. I'm a little weird in that I rarely eat a full meal, it's usually mini-meals throughout the day. Below is what I ate that day. The Evolve is a protein shake, the Tillamook is a cheese snack pack, the Kitu is a keto-friendly coffee drink and I think the rest is self-explanatory. I wasn't restricting calories, this was just what I could eat at that point (I eat 800-900 calories a day now).

Edited January 2, 20215 yr by Jaelzion

You’re doing great! We are all different in what we can tolerate and what we need to lose weight. Activity levels, lifestyles, metabolism, etc all play a part in our journey.

I am like you, 800+ calories on most days. Making all my protein and fluid goals. At just over 4 months out I am 60lbs down and still losing. Slowly, but losing none the less.

How do you feel? Good energy? Day to day life better than pre-surgery? Is your doctor happy with your results? If you’re answering “yes” then it sounds like “you found a solution” vs “have a problem”. ?

hang in there. It’s difficult when you try and compare to others.

I'm 5 weeks out and averaging 900-1000 calories a day. I'm supposed to hit 1200 but I'm finding that hard and so building up to it.

I see a lot of people eating way less than I am, even years out. People have different needs-perhaps that is working best for them. If you've been prescribed a higher calorie plan then follow it.

I asked my dietician a lot about this because in order to get 1200 calories I need to eat 3 meals and 6 snacks a day. That sounded crazy to me and way too much compared to what everyone else is eating. I basically eat all day long. She explained that it's imperative for me to stay at a higher calorie level because I have a very high muscle mass from years of powerlifting (and the tests she did confirmed that was the case). A very low calorie count for months would just make me lose my muscle mass instead of fat. It also wouldn't leave me any energy to work out and I hit the gym pretty hard. I'm also supposed to eat carbs and I know other people were told not to.

Basically my point is there is nothing wrong with eating more calories than some other people. There is probably a reason you are supposed to do that. Even if we all had the same surgery our bodies have different needs.

The Week 3 stall hits everyone, so welcome to the club. ?

My surgeon and nutritionist don't have us count calories. They won't even talk calories. They just say to get in the 60-70 g of protein each day and eat whole food, 1/4 cup portions at first, then 1/2 cup portions down the road and that's it. That's their full suggestion.

I was 600-800 calories in the first few weeks but quickly grew to 1,000. Now this past week I'm trying to reset my pouch after gaining 10-12 COVID and Christmas pounds, so I have been averaging 650 calories per day.

I skip breakfast. I eat ham and cheese (no bread) for lunch. I snack on peanuts. I drink a protein shake for dinner. And I have a protein snack (Optimum Nutrition Protein Cake bites).

I agree with the others - if you're losing weight at that calorie level, I wouldn't worry about it. You may just have higher metabolism rate than some of us.

Apologize in advance...this is long! LOL, after typing it all out, I see its alot. Sorry!

13 hours ago, sach1 said:

I'm 6 weeks out now and lost almost 26lbs since my highest weight.

< --- >

Plus I have lost more inches than weight on the scale.

< -- >

I feel guilty by reading all these 500cal comments and think I'm doing something wrong. Maybe I will not lose any more weight.

Gonna ask: why do you think you are doing anything wrong? 26 lbs lost in 6 weeks is about average...you are actually doing just fine! Further, losing inches is probably more preferable than losing weight, honestly, lol. I think I may value mobility and looking great in a pair of jeans vs the number on the scale these days.

While these forums are a great source of info (good and bad) and camaraderie, one of the downsides of it is that leads people to compare themselves with others. For purposes of getting info/opinions/options, its all good, but when reading about others journey's makes one feel bad about themselves or towards others, then this is not helpful to you at all, right?

I don't really have an easy solution to this issue, as it is ALWAYS around, but I am in a mood this morning and feel like I need to put it out there. I read too many posts about people feeling bad these days.

Try to be kind to yourself no matter what anyone else is doing. I know, I know, its easy to say....

With that said, to your main question:

13 hours ago, sach1 said:

Now to the main point.. I read people eating 500- 600 cal a day. I count each and every calorie I take in and land between 800-1000 cal a day with 1.5 ltr fluids.

How does a 500-600 cal a day meal plan look like?

It would be really helpful if someone could share their plan.

So....for info purposes, I am posting some screenshots of what a 500-600 cal per day looked like for me. Here are 7 consecutive days of food logs when I was about 6.5 months post-op.

I also want to say that throughout weight loss phase, I probably ate on the lower end of the range of average calories eaten based on what I have read on forums. I also want to say that I did not feel like I was starving at any point. The amount of food that I was taking in was enough for ME. I had tones of energy, all my labs came back with no issue, and I was never struggling mentally with wanting to eat more. I say this because not everyone would be as comfortable as I was at this calorie level (though there are those that are), and if you are not comfy, then by all means, don't do it. Eat at a deficit level that you can handle.

Edited January 2, 20215 yr by ms.sss

Ok,I have mixed feelings about posting my food entries just now...torn between being honest/transparent and fear of influencing someone negatively. I've decided that we are all adults and can make decisions for ourselves. So pls use whatever info you see on here wisely and safely for YOU.

With that said, I thought I would post a food entry for exactly one year after the series above, just to show what eating looked like for me a year later (back in May of this year). I pretty much eat on average 1800 cals a day now (more if I exercise more).

Thank you all for your replies, always very helpful.
I suffer from PCOS, thats also the main reason I decided to have the surgery. My body is insulin resistant and the hormone levels are crazy.
Maybe this is the reason why I'm on the lower side of weightloss.
Honestly I'm glad that I'm losing weight at all because few months ago that sounded impossible for me, no matter how hard i tried because of all the health issues.
Now after the surgery I have lost 26lbs in total, I have started my vitamins regularly and YES I feel much better, energetic and motivated to do more.
I agree losing more inches is better because you can see the results on your body.
I just feel people still put me under pressure by asking how much I've lost and then say "o that's not enough, aren't you supposed to lose more with surgery?"
I'm tired of explaining that everyone is different and losing slowly is as good as anything else.
People must be thinking surgery is like magic and you will lose all the weight within days [emoji849]
As suggested by all of you, I will continue with what I'm doing because it works for me. And maybe just read the posts and not compare myself to others.
All your comments and suggestions are much appreciated [emoji5]

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6 minutes ago, sach1 said:

I just feel people still put me under pressure by asking how much I've lost and then say "o that's not enough, aren't you supposed to lose more with surgery?"
I'm tired of explaining that everyone is different and losing slowly is as good as anything else.
People must be thinking surgery is like magic and you will lose all the weight within days
As suggested by all of you, I will continue with what I'm doing because it works for me. And maybe just read the posts and not compare myself to others.
All your comments and suggestions are much appreciated

Sent from my SM-N960F using BariatricPal mobile app

I think a lot of people's perceptions of WLS are influenced by shows like "My 600 lb Life". Those people lose a TON of weight at first, but you have to keep in mind that they are starting out at a MUCH higher BMI than the average WLS patient. And starting BMI is a major factor in your rate of weight loss (esp during the first few months). Although I have no hardcore research study to back this up, I've been hanging out on these sites for the last six years, and based on my observations, it seems most of us lose in the 15-25 lb range that first month (and it slows down after that). Of course, you will always find people who are above or below that, but I would say most of us fall somewhere in that range. So your loss so far is actually quite normal...

18 minutes ago, sach1 said:

by asking how much I've lost and then say "o that's not enough, aren't you supposed to lose more with surgery?"

Ugh. It certainly does get annoying when people constantly comment on your weight/looks, but even more so when they actually tell you to your face that you are somehow under-performing based on their uninformed opinion. I mean, really. ?

Try changing the subject.

...and then come on here, and we can give you a well deserved high five.

✋?

First of all, if you are following your surgeon's instructions, you are doing nothing wrong. Something I've found eye-opening about this forum is that different programs can vary quite a bit in pre- and post-surgery meal plans, so just because yours is different than someone else's doesn't mean it's wrong!

Second, if you feel comfortable entering some info about yourself in your profile, it would be helpful for context, because a lot of things depend on your starting weight and BMI, your current weight and BMI, and how long ago your surgery was. A lot of people who start at the low end (BMI <40) are disappointed in their weight loss because they compare themselves with people who started with a BMI over 60, but the higher your weight, the faster you can lose it. Also, if you are a tall man, your calorie needs will be higher in general than for a petite woman.

I am 5.5 months out from gastric bypass and I typically eat 500-600 calories per day. The nutritionist for my program told me at my 6-week followup to increase my calories to 800-1000 per day, and although I have followed all other instructions of my program very carefully, this is something I have not done, partly because I don't think that I could. My program says to eat three meals per day and avoid snacks other than protein drinks. I'm also supposed to get at least 60 grams of protein per day (and sometimes I fall short of that). Eating three small meals per day that are focused on protein, I would have a hard time getting 800 calories in a day. I feel that it is important for me to avoid snacking because I don't want to fall back into the old habits that got me to 341 pounds.

I have had two additional followups with my surgeon, and he says that I'm doing great and to keep on doing what I'm doing. I just got my 6-month bloodwork (I did it a little early) and everything is great, so I feel confident that this is working for me. But you are a different person, and you should listen to your surgeon for what will work for you. The caveat to that is that a lot of surgeons seem to have a one-size-fits-all approach, which I think is what happened with me. I'm a 5'3" woman, and I suspect the nutritionist gave me the same advice as she would give a 6'3" man.

Here are some examples from my food diary from the last few weeks (these are not consecutive days -- I tried to pick days with a variety of foods because I tend to eat the same things over and over). Ignore the weird order of meals; I was working night shift for a couple of these, so the timing of my meals was different.

Edited January 2, 20215 yr by BigSue
Typo

I'm eating between 800-900 calories per day - the dietitian says that at my stage (9 weeks post gastric bypass) I should be having between 800-1000. I'm losing weight fairly steadily at that calorie intake. I don't think I could function on 600 cals or less a day - at the beginning when I couldn't physically take in many calories I couldn't concentrate and felt exhausted a lot of the time.

First of all, if you are following your surgeon's instructions, you are doing nothing wrong. Something I've found eye-opening about this forum is that different programs can vary quite a bit in pre- and post-surgery meal plans, so just because yours is different than someone else's doesn't mean it's wrong!
Second, if you feel comfortable entering some info about yourself in your profile, it would be helpful for context, because a lot of things depend on your starting weight and BMI, your current weight and BMI, and how long ago your surgery was. A lot of people who start at the low end (BMI I am 5.5 months out from gastric bypass and I typically eat 500-600 calories per day. The nutritionist for my program told me at my 6-week followup to increase my calories to 800-1000 per day, and although I have followed all other instructions of my program very carefully, this is something I have not done, partly because I don't think that I could. My program says to eat three meals per day and avoid snacks other than protein drinks. I'm also supposed to get at least 60 grams of protein per day (and sometimes I fall short of that). Eating three small meals per day that are focused on protein, I would have a hard time getting 800 calories in a day. I feel that it is important for me to avoid snacking because I don't want to fall back into the old habits that got me to 341 pounds.
I have had two additional followups with my surgeon, and he says that I'm doing great and to keep on doing what I'm doing. I just got my 6-month bloodwork (I did it a little early) and everything is great, so I feel confident that this is working for me. But you are a different person, and you should listen to your surgeon for what will work for you. The caveat to that is that a lot of surgeons seem to have a one-size-fits-all approach, which I think is what happened with me. I'm a 5'3" woman, and I suspect the nutritionist gave me the same advice as she would give a 6'3" man.
Here are some examples from my food diary from the last few weeks (these are not consecutive days -- I tried to pick days with a variety of foods because I tend to eat the same things over and over). Ignore the weird order of meals; I was working night shift for a couple of these, so the timing of my meals was different.

Hi.
Thank you for the reply.
I have updated my profile. Hope this will help others to understand better now.
I just feel I can't coop with 600 cal a day. Thats jot enough for me.
And also lack of energy.


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Thank you for posting this question. I have been in the same moment. 4 weeks post op and 17 lbs down. The scale not moving but my clothes are hella loose. I have always gained muscle first then lose the weight.

Let's hang in there.