AM I EATING ENOUGH??

[muffin56 0]

Good morning I guess is what we should call this.. I have a call into my drs office but I am concerned if I am eating enough. I had surgery Dec 13th 2010. I had lost 22 lbs since surgery...but I am pretty much stuck. not losing and getting less energy. Now I seem to be tired easily. i wrote down a few days what i was eating i found myself to be having an average of 600 calories a day, I think I drink plenty. A friend suggested maybe my body is shutting down from not enough to eat,,,anyone got any ideas on this feel free to let me know.,..I have had no nausea since surgery and lately i have a sick feeling and dont know what to think....am i feeling hunger??? thanks for all replies.....muffin56

[Beachbunny 5]

My surgeon said about 1100 a day and i struggle sometimes to eat that much ...last night i came home and ate something at 9 pm to get the calories in and bam my weight came down this morning.

[Jess55 97]

I think you are eating to low of calories. I had sx the 20th and I had been eating 600-700 calories last week and going to the gym. I stalled at a week out. I think the combination of the two, eating so low calories and trying to work out) is what did it. I upped my calories and skipped the gym this week and the scale has since moved. Yesterday I managed to eat 1100 calories and so I am going to go to the gym today. Unfortunately I ate a bunch of the calories at night and I think I found out what happens when I over eat, I started having back pains for no other reason (I had been watching TV), so I figure it was from eating to much and not listening to myself. So I will try to spread out the calories more today.

So, yes I believe if you are stalled, definitely try to up your calories. My goal is to get to at least 1200 calories per day. Be easier next week when I can start eatin normally, the 3 oz Protein, 1/2 cup veggies and maybe 1/4 cup starch

[vickyd 24]

I agree with the others that you aren't eating enough. Also, you didn't mention how much Protein you are eating...my NUT wants me eating between 80-120 grams per day. If you are tired, chances are you aren't eating enough protein. I don't know how you are tracking your food but I found that using an app on my iPhone really helps. I use fitday.com and enter everything I eat as I eat it...it tracks calories, fat, carbs and protein for each day and you can see your daily totals at a glance which I really like...just a suggestion...

[JoMi 5]

Good morning I guess is what we should call this.. I have a call into my drs office but I am concerned if I am eating enough. I had surgery Dec 13th 2010. I had lost 22 lbs since surgery...but I am pretty much stuck. not losing and getting less energy. Now I seem to be tired easily. i wrote down a few days what i was eating i found myself to be having an average of 600 calories a day, I think I drink plenty. A friend suggested maybe my body is shutting down from not enough to eat,,,anyone got any ideas on this feel free to let me know.,..I have had no nausea since surgery and lately i have a sick feeling and dont know what to think....am i feeling hunger??? thanks for all replies.....muffin56

Hi I think you are for sure not eating enough calories a day. Have you tried adding more Protein to your diet? I am new at the band but in the evening I get that sick feeling in my stomach and go straight for a Protein Drink.

Also, you should be logging your food daily it's a pain in the neck but it helps you realize where you aren't getting enough nutrients. I use myfitnesspal.com it's a super simple site and has nearly every food you can think of. It also allows you to track your exercise and has an Iphone app.

Good luck!

[muelle 64]

I have a bit of a different perspective than everyone else. My surgeon says everytime I see him, "Don't eat if you are not hungry." So I stick to that, pretty much. I am 6 1/2 weeks post op and still don't have any hunger pains yet. When I do eat, I stay away from carbs and only eat lean meats. I do this every couple of days to get protien. I only drink Water, crystal light, and light vanilla soy milk, so my daily calorie intake is less than 200 on most days. If I am feeling tired I eat some Greek yogurt or cottage cheese and that helps tremendously. I also make sure to take my Vitamins. I saw the doctor for my 2nd fill Wednesday (I'm now at 4 ccs) and told the nurse practitioner that I am only eating every couple days and she said, "That's fine, don't eat if you are not hungry". She asked me if I am having any problems with being over tired or lightheaded, and I'm not. She said as long as I am not having any lack of nutrition side effects then I am ok with my diet. I have noticed that most doctors do not follow this approach though, and give their patients a certain amount of calories to take in, but I thought I'd add my experience to give a different insight. Good luck and I hope yo find what works for you

[Momto3redheads 18]

You definately need more calories - especially if you are excercising your body will go into storage mode with so little fuel to go on. Also try adding a high Protein shake to your diet - to boost your Protein count. I found the more protein I got the better I did on losing weight, too.

You shouldn't be eating if you aren't hungry, persay, but you HAVE to have enough calories so your body won't store everything you eat. Ask your doc/nurse what the minimum calorie/protein amount they recommend is for you - it depends on a lot of variables.

Hang in there - you will find what works for you!

Kim

[CheckYes 46]

It differs for everyone. I rarely break 700 calories a day and I am losing weight. Would I lose more if I was eating more calories? I wonder! I do know I was a week late in starting my period - which never happens to me - so I wonder if my body isn't working as well as it should be. I have my next doc appointment on Feb 2. I'm going to speak to the nutritionist then.

[muffin56 0]

My surgeon said about 1100 a day and i struggle sometimes to eat that much ...last night i came home and ate something at 9 pm to get the calories in and bam my weight came down this morning.

[muffin56 0]

hi and thanks for your reply,,,,,,certainly does help..I am so new to this site but i have a feeling i will be hanging out on here a lot....thanks again

[dlynn1635 1]

I was also told that if I am not hungry not to eat. But I was also told to make sure that I get my Protein everyday. Since it is hard for me to get in enought solid Protein everyday, I drink a whey Protein Drink in the mornings that has 60 grams of protein and since I have been doing that I have noticed a tremendous increase in energy and I have been averaging 7-10 lbs loss per month... Like someone else said, we are all different and what works for one may not work for you. It is a lot of trial and error until you find yours. You have to learn what you can eat and cannot eat because of the band and it changes with each fill.

Talk to your surgeon and your nutritionist to see what they feel is best for you and listen to your body. Make sure you are getting enough protein daily and remember to take you vitamins!

Good Luck!!

[Jachut 487]

I think everyone's different and at a few weeks out, I really wouldnt worry at all about how few calories you're eating in a day, you're still healing, you'll have post surgical restriction due to swelling that will go away eventually, etc. Judge it more in a couple of months time.

Personally, I do think very low calories will result in a lowered metabolism and that you can lose weight just as well on 1000 or 1200 a day, but then you know your own body and there's plenty of people on here who have found they DO have to eat barely anything to lose weight. Your body has plenty of energy stores to get you through that, that's the whole point of it, to burn up your fat.

But the one concern I would have is that long term, I simply cant believe anybody will be properly nourished eating 600 a day. supplements absolutely do not make up for lack of nutrients in the diet, they're insurance but not a replacement. Nobody would convince me to do that to my body over time.

[LanceBijeaux 6]

I am 1500-1300 cals a day ask your dietitian about your body style and they should be able to tell you what you need to intake for proper weight lost ....it goes by your age height weight good luck