I had my surgery on 2/23/21. I have a really physical job so i am trying to take advantage of this to maximize my weight loss. I feel like I am missing something in my diet. When i go to work I take a water, vitamin water and a Gatorade zero. For dinner, i will take maybe 2/3 bites of salmon or some soups i have in the closet. so far i have had more misses than hits. I feel like im not getting out of the 340s as quickly as I thought because of what i am consuming throughout the day. Do we have like a minimum calorie intake we need to meet or A certain amount of proteins i need per day? I just want to make sure I make the most of this.

I was 372 the day of my surgery. I have only lost 32 lbs since surgery.

Edited April 1, 20215 yr by mzlove10

First congratulations on your surgery.

In weeks 5 & 6 post surgery many of us on on soft food (minced meats, fish, eggs, rolled oats, slow cooked casseroles/stews, chunkier soups, etc.). But there are many different programs. What did your surgeon recommend you should be eating at this stage?

Do you have a nutritionalist? If you don’t, ask your surgeon for a recommendation to one who has experience with bariatric patients. They should be able to recommend foods you could be eating for breakfast, lunch & dinner & offer guidelines for a healthy, balanced eating plan.

At weeks 5 & 6 I was eating about 1/4 - 1/3 cup of soft food three times a day & a drinking yoghurt. I was advised to aim for 60g of protein each day. Again some surgeon’s recommend more. I wasn’t given a caloric goal either just the portion size recommendation & that was a plenty big enough serving size.

It can be challenging to find foods that taste nice & your tummy will tolerate the first couple of months. I worked out a fairly simple rotation of food I could eat & then slowly added new things. Plus if you’re like I was & you aren’t hungry or interested in food it can be even harder. I just made myself have something. Two bites is better than none in regards to getting your nutrients in.

32lbs is not an ‘only’ amount. That’s averaging about 6lbs a week. Pretty darn good. Celebrate every pound you lose.

1 hour ago, Arabesque said:

First congratulations on your surgery.

In weeks 5 & 6 post surgery many of us on on soft food (minced meats, fish, eggs, rolled oats, slow cooked casseroles/stews, chunkier Soups, etc.). But there are many different programs. What did your surgeon recommend you should be eating at this stage?

Do you have a nutritionalist? If you don’t, ask your surgeon for a recommendation to one who has experience with bariatric patients. They should be able to recommend foods you could be eating for Breakfast, lunch & dinner & offer guidelines for a healthy, balanced eating plan.

At weeks 5 & 6 I was eating about 1/4 - 1/3 cup of soft food three times a day & a drinking yoghurt. I was advised to aim for 60g of Protein each day. Again some surgeon’s recommend more. I wasn’t given a caloric goal either just the portion size recommendation & that was a plenty big enough serving size.

It can be challenging to find foods that taste nice & your tummy will tolerate the first couple of months. I worked out a fairly simple rotation of food I could eat & then slowly added new things. Plus if you’re like I was & you aren’t hungry or interested in food it can be even harder. I just made myself have something. Two bites is better than none in regards to getting your nutrients in.

32lbs is not an ‘only’ amount. That’s averaging about 6lbs a week. Pretty darn good. Celebrate every pound you lose.

I too am a 2/23 surgery. I started at 302 and down to 278 so 24 lbs. You are doing great! You have lost almost a pound a day!

1 hour ago, mzlove10 said:

I had my surgery on 2/23/21. I have a really physical job so i am trying to take advantage of this to maximize my weight loss. I feel like I am missing something in my diet. When i go to work I take a Water, Vitamin water and a Gatorade zero. For dinner, i will take maybe 2/3 bites of salmon or some Soups i have in the closet. so far i have had more misses than hits. I feel like im not getting out of the 340s as quickly as I thought because of what i am consuming throughout the day. Do we have like a minimum calorie intake we need to meet or A certain amount of Proteins i need per day? I just want to make sure I make the most of this.

I was 372 the day of my surgery. I have only lost 32 lbs since surgery.

What are you consuming during the day?

Talk to your surgeon's office about protien and calorie targets. Protien is super important because if it's not available your body will still eat protien....only it will be your muscles and organs. Eating less than 1000 calories a day (even if it is rich in protien) will also cause your body to eat your muscles and organs to make up the difference. Very low calorie diets can also shut down your weightloss because your body will think you are starving to death. (you'll still eventually lose weight, but you could disproportionately lose muscle rather than fat...which can cause your metabolism to slow) Talk to your dietician or support people at your surgeon's office for the best diet for optimal weight loss. I know it seems like eating as little as possible should produce the best weight loss result....but the dieticians will tell you this isn't necessarily the case. Sometimes the better strategy is to eat a little more, so you feel strong enough to exercise and support your muscles....because mucle supports a robust healthy metabolism. Might sound like pretzle logic, but it's worth discussing with your dietician. Best wishes!

32 lbs in one month is A LOT. Most of us "normal" WLS'ers (i.e, not the ones you see on "My 600 lb Life") lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range that first month. Of course there are always outliers, but they're the exception. So you're definitely an exception.

we were told to focus on meeting our protein and fluid requirements the first few weeks and not worry about other things (although it does sound like you might be taking in too little...). We were told to shoot for 60-80 protein grams per day.

Edited April 1, 20215 yr by catwoman7

Am I reading your post correctly? What are you eating while at work? If I'm reading it correctly, and you're not taking any food to work other than water and gatorade, you're not taking in nearly enough especially if you have a very physical job. Maybe I'm not reading the post correctly though...

4 minutes ago, njlimmer said:

Am I reading your post correctly? What are you eating while at work? If I'm reading it correctly, and you're not taking any food to work other than Water and gatorade, you're not taking in nearly enough especially if you have a very physical job. Maybe I'm not reading the post correctly though...

NJ...How much have you lost since surgery? I see 65.8 overall. You must have lost a lot prior to surgery

1 minute ago, Tim C said:

NJ...How much have you lost since surgery? I see 65.8 overall. You must have lost a lot prior to surgery

I lost 46lb before surgery from Oct 2020 and my surgery was 3/3/21.

you are reading it correct. Well right now protein shakes dont really sit well on my stomach. Nothing really does but im making myself eat a little chopped chicken or salmon. i just am not sure how much i'm suppose to be having because if i listen to my body i wont be having anything anytime soon, but i feel myself getting weak and tired at work.

On 4/1/2021 at 11:11 AM, njlimmer said:

Am I reading your post correctly? What are you eating while at work? If I'm reading it correctly, and you're not taking any food to work other than Water and gatorade, you're not taking in nearly enough especially if you have a very physical job. Maybe I'm not reading the post correctly though...

On 4/1/2021 at 8:08 AM, catwoman7 said:

32 lbs in one month is A LOT. Most of us "normal" WLS'ers (i.e, not the ones you see on "My 600 lb Life") lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range that first month. Of course there are always outliers, but they're the exception. So you're definitely an exception.

we were told to focus on meeting our Protein and Fluid requirements the first few weeks and not worry about other things (although it does sound like you might be taking in too little...). We were told to shoot for 60-80 protein grams per day.

i dont see how i can though. food isnt sitting well and neither are protein shakes and i get so tired at work which slows me down. Honestly, i would be surprised if i dropped alot this week because of how i feel. i guess i thought i would feel more energy but i am feeling less.

Edited April 2, 20215 yr by mzlove10

oh goodness. i am going to have to talk to someone because that might explain the weak feeling and being tired.

On 4/1/2021 at 7:36 AM, Creekimp13 said:

Talk to your surgeon's office about protien and calorie targets. Protien is super important because if it's not available your body will still eat protien....only it will be your muscles and organs. Eating less than 1000 calories a day (even if it is rich in protien) will also cause your body to eat your muscles and organs to make up the difference. Very low calorie diets can also shut down your weightloss because your body will think you are starving to death. (you'll still eventually lose weight, but you could disproportionately lose muscle rather than fat...which can cause your metabolism to slow) Talk to your dietician or support people at your surgeon's office for the best diet for optimal weight loss. I know it seems like eating as little as possible should produce the best weight loss result....but the dieticians will tell you this isn't necessarily the case. Sometimes the better strategy is to eat a little more, so you feel strong enough to exercise and support your muscles....because mucle supports a robust healthy metabolism. Might sound like pretzle logic, but it's worth discussing with your dietician. Best wishes!

On 4/1/2021 at 12:29 AM, Tim C said:

What are you consuming during the day?

just liquids mainly. i just bought cartoned egg whites to try, but i tried a whole egg and puked it up. I saw somewhere that i should have eggwhites only so i was going to give that another try in the morning.

On 3/31/2021 at 11:06 PM, Arabesque said:

First congratulations on your surgery.

In weeks 5 & 6 post surgery many of us on on soft food (minced meats, fish, eggs, rolled oats, slow cooked casseroles/stews, chunkier Soups, etc.). But there are many different programs. What did your surgeon recommend you should be eating at this stage?

Do you have a nutritionalist? If you don’t, ask your surgeon for a recommendation to one who has experience with bariatric patients. They should be able to recommend foods you could be eating for Breakfast, lunch & dinner & offer guidelines for a healthy, balanced eating plan.

At weeks 5 & 6 I was eating about 1/4 - 1/3 cup of soft food three times a day & a drinking yoghurt. I was advised to aim for 60g of Protein each day. Again some surgeon’s recommend more. I wasn’t given a caloric goal either just the portion size recommendation & that was a plenty big enough serving size.

It can be challenging to find foods that taste nice & your tummy will tolerate the first couple of months. I worked out a fairly simple rotation of food I could eat & then slowly added new things. Plus if you’re like I was & you aren’t hungry or interested in food it can be even harder. I just made myself have something. Two bites is better than none in regards to getting your nutrients in.

32lbs is not an ‘only’ amount. That’s averaging about 6lbs a week. Pretty darn good. Celebrate every pound you lose.

thank you so much. I am trying to celebrate but i just feel so tired.