Hi all,

I am 3 weeks post-op, and I don’t have any calorie guides from my nutritionist. She only focuses on protein intake and low carb options. In the past I have used calories as my main indicator and am struggling a little with diet conceptions now and after the transition periods without them. I have a goal of 60 g of protein a day and 1-1.5 l of liquids for hydration.

I was just wondering if anyone has daily calorie guidelines that they can share??

Tia!

Not everyone is given calorie goals. I wasn’t. There are some discussions about calories & a push to concentrate more on the quality of food you are eating. 500 calories is 500 calories regardless of wherever it’s a meal of steamed fish & vegetables or a burger & fries. However the nutrient difference is significant.

However, if you would feel more comfortable with some caloric guidelines for as you progress, you have every right to ask for them. Beware though you may not be able to meet the caloric goals for a while & that’s okay. As long as you’re hitting those protein & fluid goals & slowly incorporating some vegetables you’ll be fine.

I was given portion size guidelines: 1/4 - 1/3 of a cup from purée slowly increasing to a cup at 6 months slowly increasing again to be about accepted recommended portion sizes. So for example 3-4ozs of protein & a cup of vegetables which is where you likely will be around maintenance. Your advice may be different but our needs are likely different too. But it may be a starting point until you get a more definitive response from your dietician.

PS Congratulations on your surgery.

8 hours ago, reennnee said:

Hi all,

I am 3 weeks post-op, and I don’t have any calorie guides from my nutritionist. She only focuses on Protein intake and low carb options. In the past I have used calories as my main indicator and am struggling a little with diet conceptions now and after the transition periods without them. I have a goal of 60 g of protein a day and 1-1.5 l of liquids for hydration.

I was just wondering if anyone has daily calorie guidelines that they can share??

Tia!

My dietician only gave me protein and carb guidelines. She told.me not to worry about calories. She has me at 100 grams of protein and 59 grams of carbs per day. I also workout everyday. Even if its as simple as walking. So I always go over the guidelines But it's not enough to say im over doing it. 100-130 is where I normally stay 50-65 carbs. Depending on what food I eat the calories range from.1200-1400. Again, calories aren't the important issue. Getting your protein and carb goals in is what you need. Along with staying hydrated. I'm 3 1/2 months post op.

this early out, most of us don't get calorie guidelines. You're eating far too little to really worry about calories. Most of us just get protein and fluid goals (and some get carb goals, if their clinic's plan calls for ultra-low carbs - mine did not). I didn't start considering calories until I was a few months out and could eat enough that there was a risk of consuming too many calories.

I also didn't get any calorie guidelines -- even fat/etc. I got protein goals, and was just told to keep my sugars and carbs as low as I could for the first month. When I started on soft foods, they gave me a bit more advice for carb/sugar limits and fibre goals but it was a pretty broad range. My team basically said it was because every 'body' is different and will react/thrive/etc with different levels, but that while still technically in 'recovery' it's more important to focus on protein and nutrients that you need as opposed to the fats/carbs to limit.

I mostly did my own research, put a limit in my food tracking app, and am making my own notes on what amounts I can have over a day and still be on track. Like for me personally, my targets are 80g+ protein, and under 45g carbs & 25g fats per day. I can go over one or the other by 5-10 grams without it seeming to affect my weight loss, as long as it's not both on the same day. (Most days it's not even an issue but I'm still only 2 months in myself. Early days!)

I agree that you may not need a calorie goal especially this early on. My office did not have a strict rule on calories but I was like you and wanted that structure so they told me that they recommended 600 calories by month 2 and 800 calories by month 3 and then 1000 by month 6. Not to go over 1000 until goal weight after that. Protein was always the most important but I was encouraged to eat some carbs too. You have to watch yourself later on though and set your own guidelines. Probably around month 3 you will start to see how you lose or not lose with the calories you take in. I found out that if I was under 800 I would stall and if I ate over 1200 I would stop losing. Other people can't eat over 800 and still lose and some, especially those that exercise a lot can't eat less that 1200 or stall. So your calorie needs may be different but I hope this helps. Good luck!

My surgeons office cared about protein, fluids, carbs, and healthy fats for the first 6 months. Then they said to watch calories, but not really before then. They said to keep calories between 700 - 900 on non work out days and 1000 - 1100 on work out days. I did that for a while, but now I have that increased a bit since I'm farther out and do heavier work outs and have a job where I'm on the go all the time (clinical medical assistant at an infectious disease office).

Same here my guidelines are focus on protein and fluids. Calories are mute at this point because I am not really eating a whole lot of anything and its better to just focus on the basics. I was told that later on discussions around calories may happen if I need the help from my nutritional team but somedays I get like 600 calories and somedays I struggle to get 300. I am having a bit of trouble eating more than a few bites at a time of some foods. But I am about a month post op

I got calories guideline from my doctor, he expected me to just consume 600 - 1000 calories a day max, with minimum 70gr-100gr of protein. I'm on the first day of my 3rd week today, hope this helps and oh he said to prioritize protein over everything else, good luck for both of us!!

On 5/23/2024 at 9:08 AM, Hope4NewMe said:

I agree that you may not need a calorie goal especially this early on. My office did not have a strict rule on calories but I was like you and wanted that structure so they told me that they recommended 600 calories by month 2 and 800 calories by month 3 and then 1000 by month 6. Not to go over 1000 until goal weight after that. Protein was always the most important but I was encouraged to eat some carbs too. You have to watch yourself later on though and set your own guidelines. Probably around month 3 you will start to see how you lose or not lose with the calories you take in. I found out that if I was under 800 I would stall and if I ate over 1200 I would stop losing. Other people can't eat over 800 and still lose and some, especially those that exercise a lot can't eat less that 1200 or stall. So your calorie needs may be different but I hope this helps. Good luck!

This is pretty much what I was told except I'm 10 months out and still being told no more than 800 calories per day. When I mentioned being hungry still they were very hesitant to raise it to 1000..stating I could if I wanted to raise my intake, but to be very careful IF I did...again being hesitant with "allowing" more than 800.

32 minutes ago, BlondePatriotInCDA said:

This is pretty much what I was told except I'm 10 months out and still being told no more than 800 calories per day. When I mentioned being hungry still they were very hesitant to raise it to 1000..stating I could if I wanted to raise my intake, but to be very careful IF I did...again being hesitant with "allowing" more than 800.

It sort of makes sense? A nutritionist I saw years back (not program related) told me that she often starts people on higher calorie counts and then as the weight loss slows down, that's when she restricts them further to keep the momentum going. These days, I take it all with a grain (or seven) of salt because everyone reacts differently to foods / calories / etc. Different strokes.

Edited June 22, 20242 yr by JennyBeez

3 hours ago, BlondePatriotInCDA said:

This is pretty much what I was told except I'm 10 months out and still being told no more than 800 calories per day. When I mentioned being hungry still they were very hesitant to raise it to 1000..stating I could if I wanted to raise my intake, but to be very careful IF I did...again being hesitant with "allowing" more than 800.

It's weird to see how different some of the advice is from different bariatric doctors/clinics. At 800 calories, your body would think it's starving and you would be hard pressed to lose anything because it would hold onto every calorie. Did they give you any guidelines for Protein grams per day or carbs per day? Right after surgery they had me on 90 grams of protein per day and 30 or less grams of carbs. That put me around 700-900 calories per day. Once I started the soft foods phase they bumped it to 100 G protein and 45 G carb. At my 3 month check in it's still 100 Protein but they raised the carbs to 59. I do workout everyday and I'm constantly wanting to eat/snack on some kind of protein or carb. No garbage snacks, mainly veggies & fruit.
I would definitely follow their guidelines. But ask questions about meeting protein and carb goals. You definitely need protein, if they didn't give you a guideline for it you should ask how many grams min/max should you be eating. Every body is different, so the 800 calories maybe something you need. I wish you the best!

5 hours ago, RonHall908 said:

It's weird to see how different some of the advice is from different bariatric doctors/clinics. At 800 calories, your body would think it's starving and you would be hard pressed to lose anything because it would hold onto every calorie. Did they give you any guidelines for Protein grams per day or carbs per day? Right after surgery they had me on 90 grams of protein per day and 30 or less grams of carbs. That put me around 700-900 calories per day. Once I started the soft foods phase they bumped it to 100 G protein and 45 G carb. At my 3 month check in it's still 100 Protein but they raised the carbs to 59. I do workout everyday and I'm constantly wanting to eat/snack on some kind of protein or carb. No garbage Snacks, mainly veggies & fruit.
I would definitely follow their guidelines. But ask questions about meeting protein and carb goals. You definitely need protein, if they didn't give you a guideline for it you should ask how many grams min/max should you be eating. Every body is different, so the 800 calories maybe something you need. I wish you the best!

I agree with your statement and probably why I've been in a holding pattern at the same weight now for 2+ months and I'm not happy about it. As far as macros:

Protein: 80 grams was 70 until 3 months post op

Carbs: 50 or less -

H2O: min of 45oz but prefer 80+-

JennyBeez:

"It sort of makes sense? A nutritionist I saw years back (not program related) told me that she often starts people on higher calorie counts and then as the weight loss slows down, that's when she restricts them further to keep the momentum going. These days, I take it all with a grain (or seven) of salt because everyone reacts differently to foods / calories / etc. Different strokes. "

These are what they've had me at since I went to solids about 8 weeks post op. I've had no change oin calories since then..your idea makes sense tho!

Edited June 22, 20242 yr by BlondePatriotInCDA

2 hours ago, BlondePatriotInCDA said:

I agree with your statement and probably why I've been in a holding pattern at the same weight now for 2+ months and I'm not happy about it. As far as macros:

Protein: 80 grams was 70 until 3 months post op

Carbs: 50 or less -

H2O: min of 45oz but prefer 80+-

The 80 protein and 50 or less carbs is probably on par for you. However if you workout, walk or move a lot. It could be a little low. I can see the dilemma.