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So, I am almost 2 months post-op, and I am due to have my 8 week check-in with a bariatric nurse. My friend also had the same surgery as me, just the day prior, and she has had this check-in already. She was told that at the current stage we are in post-op, we should be eating 900-1000 calories a day!! 🫠🤯 I genuinely don't think my body is capable! I think I eat around 400-500 on a good day, and I mean a REALLY good day (which is rare), and around 300 on a normal day. Maybe I need to have more protein shakes? I don't know. The prospect of eating that much seems so daunting, and I really get full on what I am already eating!

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!

How many calories should I be eating 3.5month post op gastric sleeve? Keep seeing different amounts online. Had surgery abroad so the after care isn’t the best either. Also macros? I don’t know weather I’m eating too much or too little I’m a slow loser and have stalled for 4 weeks.

Hello! I had the sleeve gastrectomy 9.5 months ago. I've been working on exercising and eating right, but I've been in a bit of a stall these past 5 weeks. I went down from 290 to 170 pounds, but I've been stuck at 170 for 5 weeks. I've been eating 1200-1500 calories a day and still not losing weight. I've done some research, and apparently, your body adjusts to low calories after a while of eating at that rate. At the beginning of my post-op phase, there were some complications on my end. I didn't eat ANYTHING for two months straight, not even protein shakes, and I was only hitting about 20oz of water daily (which landed me in the ER, but I'm fine now lol). I've looked online, and it says for my height, age, and weight, a good maintenance level would be 2100 calories. I'm eating well under that in a deficit and heavy weight lifting, so I don't know why my body won't drop anything. I'm worried that my body adjusted to the 0-calorie few months I had, then the 500-1000 calories three months after that. I've only started hitting my 1200-1500 calories in March when I joined the gym. I know the stall is not due to "muscle gain" because I'm not eating in a surplus, and I'm only eating 65-80 grams of protein in hopes of simply maintaining while I drop fat. I also read online that apparently people who go through rapid weight loss have even lower calorie maintenance than the average person, and that makes sense, but surely it cannot be under 1200, right? The majority of bodies need 1500 to operate. I'm so confused! When I ask my surgeon about calories, he says not to worry about them and eat healthy, which I'm doing. It's just frustrating because I want to work on building muscle, but I want to lose some more fat before that. I guess my question is, does anyone know anything about calories after surgery, and/or how many calories are you eating after surgery to help lose weight?

Has anyone done a low calorie diet and not lost weight, but had success losing all the weight with VSG? I’m curious how it works if eating low calorie didn’t work out. Even though I’m getting VSG, I’m scared it won’t work since I have not lost weight with the low calorie diet.

Hi can someone please help me . I have 1 stone 4lbs to lose still and I am 1 year post op (gastric sleeve ) how many calories should I be having and anyone else in the same boat ? When I put my details on a calculator to get to goal I need to eat 1200 per day which I find too less 😔 any tips and advice will be apperciated. Thank you x

Anyone else told their stall was probably caused by not eating enough calories I am 6 months out from bypass and eat about 700 calories a day. Have been in a stall for 3 weeks. My surgeon said I needed to start eating more not sure how I can barely eat what I do now

Hi all! I am not scheduled for VSG yet, as I am still waiting to get my mental health clearance. That’s the last thing I need before getting the surgical team approval and insurance approval. I met with my dietician recently and she’s encouraging me to start immediately on 1200-1300 calories a day. My surgery could be MONTHS away (who knows because there’s pieces to fall into place before that?) I’m already on 1500-1700 calories a day, which is fine and works ok. However I feel very nervous about going to 1200 calories and being able to function properly at work (my job is semi physically demanding), and being able to maintain a vigorous exercise schedule. I asked the dietitian if I can eat a little more on days when I work out and was emphatically told “no”. With no idea when I’m going to have surgery, it feels risky to my body that I could hurt myself if I’m not eating enough. I understand after surgery that I will have to take time off from exercise. For reference, I am hoping to participate in a four hour swim event on January 1, 2025 and have been training for it. Does anyone have thoughts on my concerns? Is this normal to go this low on calories without surgery even being scheduled yet? I could be waiting for several months.

I am a little over 6 months post op, how many calories are you eating now? I am getting about 900-1000 calories, 80g of protein, 50g of carbs. Anyone else have a starting weight at 360ish at 5'9", how much did you lose at 6 months? My surgeon doesn't offer an aftercare support team and the nutritionist (had to get a referral from my primary) that I am seeing doesn't like giving numbers. I also don't feel I can ask him as he will just refer to the paperwork he gave me at the start, which just says under 1200 calories and 60-80g of protein. I am very happy with the weight that I have lost so far, 100lbs since surgery, but it has been very slow the last 2 months or so. I still feel that I should be losing at a faster rate than I am which is only about 1-2lbs a week. Is this just an average weight loss when I weigh 263lbs at 5' 9", haven't been down to this weight in over 15 years.

Hi Team! I realize that stalls are inevitable, but I am having some trouble determining if I am in a stall that I need to just wait out, or if I need to change something up. Background: I just hit 8 months post-op. Stats are in my info box. I have been sitting at 174 pounds for three weeks. I had been losing a pound or more per week at around 900 calories per day, Protein at 100G and carbs under 100 g. That is around the time I hired a personal trainer, upped my weight training (free weights now and four days a week), my steps, and my calories (1200 or so per day). The increase in calories was at the recommendation of the trainer, who also recommended increasing carbs to 138 (most days I don't get above 110). I know the level weight is not due to increase in muscle mass---too soon. So....what are your thoughts? Stick with calories or go back down to 900-1000? Thank you in advance for any reassurance or guidance. (And I emailed my surgery team three days ago...waiting to hear back).

I had VSG (2015) to RNY revision on January 18th due to GERD. I also had regained almost 70 pounds from my VSG post-op low weight. I've so far lost about 20 pounds since the pre-op diet & surgery. I need to lose another 20 pounds (for normal BMI) to 50 pounds (for calculated ideal body weight). I'm now on unrestricted food textures, and per my program's dietician, I'm supposed to be on my "maintenance" diet now. However, they refuse to discuss any calorie goals or macros other than protein. I'm someone who needs very clear goals and guidelines (thanks, long-undiagnosed ADHD), and I'm feeling very lost about what my diet should look like moving forward. The lifelong guidelines for my program, as I understand them: 60-80g protein per day Up to 4 oz. (1/2 cup) per meal, consisting of: Up to 3 oz. protein per meal Up to 1 oz. (total) veg, fruit, or starch per meal 3 meals per day 1 snack per day (the program guide I was given says 1-2, but per my surgeon I'm only allowed to have 1 snack per day and it has to be between lunch and dinner) - I have no guidelines for the amount I'm allowed for the snack. I assume it's not supposed to be as much food as the meals, but I don't know. Protein shakes/powders are frowned upon The only sample menu provided in my program guide is as follows: Breakfast: Egg omelet with sautéed peppers & onions Snack: Protein shake OR Greek yogurt with berries [removed per my surgeon's instructions] Lunch: Lettuce wrap with turkey and avocado/cheese [it is not clear to me if the / means avocado OR cheese, or avocado AND cheese, but I assume the former] Snack: Apple slices with 2 tablespoons nut butter OR carrots with hummus Dinner: Pesto chicken with spaghetti squash, sautéed spinach, and cherry tomatoes I plugged this menu into the Baritastic app to try and get a sense of what the calories and macros are supposed to look like. The sample menu gave no amounts other than the nut butter, so I used the 3 oz. protein + 1 oz. veg/fruit/starch rule. With the carrots & hummus snack option, here are the macros for the day: 593 calories 62g protein 32g fat 17g carbs (13g net carbs) 4g sugar 4g fiber And here are the apple & nut butter (I used natural peanut butter) macros for the day: 739 calories 67g protein 43g fat 21g carbs (16g net carbs) 8g sugar 5g fiber So from that, I'm extrapolating that I should be aiming for the following daily: 600-750 calories 60-80g protein 30-40g fat less than 25g carbs less than 10g sugar I have a few concerns... I have already been going well over those amounts at just over a month post-op. I've typically getting around 800-900 calories per day. It seems like a real struggle to get to the upper range of protein daily while sticking to the allowed amounts and without using any shakes or protein supplements. Even then, 80g seems low for a protein goal. I have never been a big meat eater (I was vegetarian through most of my teens and 20s), and I absolutely cannot stand any fish or seafood. I do eat a lot of dairy, eggs, and beans, but it seems like that's not going to do it. The standard daily fiber goal I've always heard is 25g per day. I've been getting about 12-15g per day right now, but knowing that I'm overeating and already having too many carbs means even that's not sustainable. I've struggled with post-op constipation... I have gotten to a much better place recently, but if I need to cut back to 4-5g of fiber per day to be within my other limits, I'm afraid of going backwards. That I'm limited to 1/2 cup of food per meal for the rest of my life came as a shock to me, as a revision patient. I knew that my pouch would be smaller than my sleeve, and like with my original surgery, the amount I'd be able to eat at one time would be very small initially. But with my sleeve (which was done by a different surgeon in a different program), there was definitely not the expectation that the amount I could/should eat at 1 month post-op would be the same as what I could/should be eating at 6 months or 1 year out. My bypass surgeon also told me that she left my pouch a little larger than normal so that I wouldn't lose too much additional weight, so my pouch is already larger than a regular bypass patient's. Do these amounts seem in line with other people's experiences? Or am I way off-base?

How many calories are you eating? "5-8 oz" is not a meaningful measure of the number of calories you're eating. 5-8 ounces of peanut butter is a lot more calories than 5-8 ounces of cauliflower. If your weight is stable over a long period of time, you're eating a maintenance level of calories. The smaller you are, the fewer calories you burn just to operate and move your body, so if you're eating the same number of calories at 195 pounds as you were eating at 273 pounds, you're not going to lose weight as quickly, and maybe not at all. If you want to keep losing weight, you will have to reduce your calorie intake. Calorie intake is much more important for weight loss than exercise. Exercise is certainly beneficial, but as you have noticed, it makes you hungrier, and it's very easy to eat more extra calories than what you burn from exercise -- especially if you're not monitoring your calorie intake. Also, don't get too hung up on the number on the scale. There's no magic in reaching your goal weight. You might need to reevaluate your expectations. It's quite possible that your goal weight will be too low for your body, especially if you are building muscle. And don't be in such a rush to get plastic surgery, either. Your body will redistribute itself over time, so some parts of your body that you don't like now may improve on their own without plastic surgery. You may still want to get plastic surgery eventually, but there's a reason most surgeons want you to have a stable weight for a while before you get it.

then i wanted something crunchy. a bowl of Harvest Cheddar SunChips: 190 calories, ate it all!

Sorry you're feeling this way. Did you try upping your protein and calories?

Hey, i do have a question about Maintenance calories in general, I lost around 135kg's in weight in the first year, and im "slowly getting there" and even considered recreational surgery now, but i have problems with the idea of Maintenance Calories and goals. So thats why i ask here now. Is the General Maintenance kcal after the surgery lower than the ones for a normal "person" ? or do we kinda "slip into" that?. i know all the math about calculating it, but is the normal Calorie intake calc. for people with a rny Bypass even a thing?

Fixed myself a snack: Spicy Halloumi and Zataar flatbread, which chili paste. Before: After: No idea of the calorie count 🤷‍♀️

I struggled to eat enough to slow my losing though not as much as you are. I reached goal at 6 months and was barely eating 900 calories. It took another year to get to about 1300 calories and for my weight loss to stabilise. To increase my intake I was eating all day long or it certainly felt that way. I had three meals and 5 or 6 snacks, predominately in the afternoon and evening. It took another year +/- to get to around 1600 calories which is about what I eat now to continue to pretty much maintain that initial stabilised weight.. And yes I still snack but only 3 or 4 times a day now to meet my caloric needs. So, yes, some of us do take time to get those calories up. But you are a more extreme case. If this has happened in rare other cases, what did they say what treatment was used in those cases? Can they stretch your pouch via an endoscopy or balloon? Have they suggested you incorporate those nutrient dense, high calorie smoothies like Ensure used for those with digestive and eating issues?

Nope there’s no normal. You have to work out what you need in regards to nutrients and calories to maintain & your body to function effectively. Gender, height, age, weight, activity levels, how your body functions, etc. all play are part. For example 2000-2400 calories is the recommended calorie intake for a woman. If I ate that I’d be as big or bigger than I was before surgery. In fact I never ate that much when I was obese. When my weight first stabilised I ate about 1300 calories yet a year or two later I began consuming about 1600 & still maintained - my needs obviously changed or stabilised. If I weighed more, was taller, younger, more active I would need to eat more. As to working out what I needed, I just slowly ate more as I was able until I stopped losing and my weight stabilised. A basal metabolic rate calculator can give you an idea of what you may need calorie wise but much like BMI calculators they’re not perfect - don’t consider genetics, health needs, muscle mass, etc. I found the one below pretty on point for me but … https://www.calculator.net/bmr-calculator.html

Really you need to toe the line in the first 6 months to give yourself the maximum weight loss. This way we learn how we should eat. Our bad habits need to be changed. This is the theory. 0-6 months is the sweet spot for the easiest weight loss. This of course does not allow for real life BUT if you have too much life, you will struggle with this surgery. You can't do what you did pre surgery. That will only lead you back to where you started pre surgery. You need to find a midline you can live with. If you are truly on 1200 calories a day then you will loose weight, especially if you are exercising like you are. Do you log your alcohol calories, your non alcoholic calories ? Some mixers can hide serious calories. And if you drink a lot and log your calories, you are not getting the nutrients you need on such a calorie deficit, How many grams of protein do you need per day ? Every surgeon has different guidelines.

This is good advice. Not everyone knows this, but calorie estimates in food, even prepackaged ones are not super accurate for a couple of reasons: The USDA allows manufactured foods a 10% variance. In other words, if a packaged food states the calorie content is 500 kcal, it can be anywhere between 450 and 550 and still be within the allowed variance. The USDA simply does not have the staff to check that every pre-packaged food even meets that 10% standard, so manufacturers are given wide latitude here. They can be a lot further off and it's extremely unlikely anyone would know. It's even less likely anything would be done about it. Setting aside processed foods for now (those with nutrition labels), it's not all roses for unprocessed or minimally processed foods. Even these calorie counts can be way off due to the simplistic way we estimate calories. I'm simplifying a bit here, but to get calorie counts, we traditionally use something called a bomb calorimeter. Basically we burn the food in an enclosed space and measure how much heat is given off. Obviously, this is not how our bodies process food, so saying a particular amount of a food has "200 calories" as measured by a bomb calorimeter does not equal how many calories our bodies actually get from that food. Obviously I'm being a little US specific here, but I'd guess most of the above applies to other countries as well. In short, don't get in the habit of thinking calorie counts are as accurate as they might seem. They just aren't. Use the calories as a tool if you need to, but don't get overly dependent on them.

I'm really going to have to look into that, I think. I need to build muscle slowly without losing too much fat or burning too many calories.

sushi takeout for a super late lunch (actually this first meal of day...got distracted by errands and realized we were hungry at like 3pm...oopsies (1) the takeout box - so pretty, right? (2) my before and after (3) calorie count: 261 cals for all of it, ate almost all of it!...also had an espresso martini beforehand (146 cals) and almost ½ a chocolate dip donut afterwards (95 cals)...so approx 502 calories for what i just ate/drank.

not american, so no thanksgiving pics to share, but here are some thingsn i've prepared/eaten the last week or so (NOTE: i'm currently in an effort to gain weight - the horrors! lol - so my food choices may be a little off-the-bariatirc-norm...) 1) bbq pork and seasoned rice one-pot-rice-cooker-meal. my portion: 266 cals...ate almost all of it 2) homemade chilli topped with cilantro and feta cheese, home focaccia and sliced avocado sprinkled with sumac: 599 calories for whats shown. ate everything except the foccacia (too chewy for me!!...mr ate it instead) 3) more of my homemade chili, some cheddar cheese, more cilantro, and some Tostido's Hint of Lime Tortilla chips (my fave!!!) 276 cals...ate it all! 4) homemade guacamole with the above mentioned focaccia that i slow toasted to make crisps with cheddar & cilantro & sour cream: 370 cals...ate all except 2 the focaccia crisps. 5) homemade crispy pork belly...omg THE. BEST. CRISPY. PORK. BELLY. EV-AH!!! this pic is of the entire slab. i had roughly 1/2 cup volume of it. ate it all!! 250 calories! 6) junky snacks: - 2 walkers mini shortbread cookies + 1 chocolate : 123 calories - 2 walkers mini shortbread cookies + 3 sour keys candies 103 calories yep, ate all it ta-da!

not american, so no thanksgiving pics to share, but here are some thingsn i've prepared/eaten the last week or so (NOTE: i'm currently in an effort to gain weight - the horrors! lol - so my food choices may be a little off-the-bariatirc-norm...) 1) bbq pork and seasoned rice one-pot-rice-cooker-meal. my portion: 266 cals...ate almost all of it 2) homemade chilli topped with cilantro and feta cheese, home focaccia and sliced avocado sprinkled with sumac: 599 calories for whats shown. ate everything except the foccacia (too chewy for me!!...mr ate it instead) 3) more of my homemade chili, some cheddar cheese, more cilantro, and some Tostido's Hint of Lime Tortilla chips (my fave!!!) 276 cals...ate it all! 4) homemade guacamole with the above mentioned focaccia that i slow toasted to make crisps with cheddar & cilantro & sour cream: 370 cals...ate all except 2 the focaccia crisps. 5) homemade crispy pork belly...omg THE. BEST. CRISPY. PORK. BELLY. EV-AH!!! this pic is of the entire slab. i had roughly 1/2 cup volume of it. ate it all!! 250 calories! 6) junky snacks: - 2 walkers mini shortbread cookies + 1 chocolate : 123 calories - 2 walkers mini shortbread cookies + 3 sour keys candies 103 calories yep, ate all it ta-da!

How many calories are you eating wondering if I am eating too little.I am eating on average 400 a day. I am 3 months out from gastric bypass.