How many calories are too many?

[Sara Ann 0]

I am currently a little over 6 months out from surgery and went to see my NUT and she freaked out on me that I wasn't eating enough! I was eating between 800-900 calories per day and low carb.

She upped my calories to 1200-1500 calories per day, 180 grams of carbs max and 70-80 grams of Protein.< /span>

She said that I am never supposed to eat less than 1200 calories per day and she is telling everyone at our support group meetings the same thing.

I could maybe agree with her on the calories, but 180 grams of carbs per day? Doesn't that seem a little high?

If you are also 6 months or more out, how much do you usually eat on a regular basis?

[Foxbins 625]

I'm eating about 800 a day, sometimes a little less. My labs done last week were perfect except for Iron (taking supplements). I don't know what extra calories would do for me except slow my weight loss and I'm not ready to do that just yet. I also low-carb and believe me, I cannot stuff anything healthy in me to reach 180 carbs a day plus my Protein goals. If I were eating starches, sugars, and a boatload of dairy, maybe I could reach 180.

I take what my NUT says with a grain of salt--there is not a lot of science done in bariatric nutrition so mostly what is taught is cobbled from "normal" requirements and adapted to what they think bariatric patients need. If someday a nutritionist who has had VSG surgery and lost 100% of their EW tells me what I'm doing is wrong, then I'll pay more attention.

[New start 4]

I'm eating about 800 a day, sometimes a little less. My labs done last week were perfect except for Iron (taking supplements). I don't know what extra calories would do for me except slow my weight loss and I'm not ready to do that just yet. I also low-carb and believe me, I cannot stuff anything healthy in me to reach 180 carbs a day plus my Protein goals. If I were eating starches, sugars, and a boatload of dairy, maybe I could reach 180.

I take what my NUT says with a grain of salt--there is not a lot of science done in bariatric nutrition so mostly what is taught is cobbled from "normal" requirements and adapted to what they think bariatric patients need. If someday a nutritionist who has had VSG surgery and lost 100% of their EW tells me what I'm doing is wrong, then I'll pay more attention.

Very interesting perspective! It had not thought about NUT this way, but I believe you are right!

[Sara Ann 0]

I think I am going to aim for between 800-1000 calories per day max and stick to low carb. I have 50 lbs left to go and don't want to slow down my weight loss by eating more

[Escape_Pod 358]

I ran into the same issue with the nutritionist my surgeon sent me to. She didn't set a calorie goal, but she recommended a minimum of 100 grams of carbs daily. Like you, I thought that just didn't sound right. Now, I'm only 3 months out, but I'm averaging 800-900 calories/day, but burning 300 or so of those with exercise. My carbs are generally under 30g (total carbs, not net carbs), and I aim for a minimum of 80g Protein daily. I've been losing steadily - 2-3 pounds/week except for that time of the month.

I'd guess your Nutritionist is getting 180g carbs from a percentage of the calorie intake she's recommending. Mine said 100g was necessary for healthy brain function, but from what I read, your brain can get what it needs from the fat stores you're burning, just not as efficiently. I know some people here low-carb religiously and find it to be key, others don't and lose the weight just fine too.

Honestly, I don't know what to think. Is she not as in tune with WLS practices? Is her knowledge dated?

I've prepaid for a series of meetings with her, and I'm thinking I need to look for someone else once I've used up my prepayment.

I tried to ask my surgeon a couple of times about nutrition questions, and it was pretty clear he really doesn't pay attention to that side of things, he leaves it up to the nutritionist.

I know I've seen services on the web that do WLS-specific nutritional phone consults nationally. Maybe I need to find me one of those??

[carolina girl 56]

My NUT is part of the package with my bariatric surgeon. She deals specifically with bariatric patients. Not saying that what she recommends is the "gospel" but at least she is familiar with our kind.

At 6 months her recommendations are:

Calories- 800-1200/day

Protein- 70-90/day

Carbohydrate- Less than 100 grams/day

Fat- about 35 grams/day

Hydration- 64oz /day

[Escape_Pod 358]

CarolinaGirl, do you have guidelines from her for earlier stages? (I'm at 3 months out, and I'm curious). Thanks!

[Sara Ann 0]

My NUT is part of my bariatric package with my surgeon & coordinator also. I can see her as many times as I need FOR LIFE. I'm pretty sure that she knows what she is talking about since she deals with only bariatric patients and nursing mothers.

Carolina girl, I think I am going to follow sorta what your NUT said and see how it goes. I am currently losing about .5-1 lb a week and that just seems way too little for being only 6 months out.

[carolina girl 56]

Glad to help Escape Pod,

Guidelines for months 1-5

Calories- 800-1200/day

Protein- 70-90/day

Carbs- Less than 50 grams/day

Fat- about 35 grams/day

Hydration- 64 oz/day

Pretty much the same as months 6-9, only thing that changes is the carbohydrate content. For months 9 and beyond the guidelines are the same as 6-9.

I am almost 8 weeks out and have consistently lost 3 lbs or more per week with no stalls. I do exercise at least 3 days a week, usually 5 days. Walking for 30 to 45 mins 3 to 5 x's a week and lifting weights 3 days a week. Hope this helps.

I'm sure once I hit the 4th, 5th&6th months things will slow down more than I want them to!!! But I guess we gotta' be "In it to win it" and just keep charging on!

[Escape_Pod 358]

Thanks!!

I think I'm still ok on carbs, but I realized today that the entry on MyFitnessPal I'd been using for my morning powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury shake included the calories, but not the carbs from the milk! UGH!! So apparently my carbs haven't been as low as I thought...

I'm really on the fence about milk vs. almond milk. I'm ok with the taste of the almond milk, and it's lower in calories and WAY lower in carbs, but has almost no Protein. I'm debating whether the carbs/protein tradeoff is worth it for skim milk.

[carolina girl 56]

Escape Pod,

You were sleeved exactly one month before me and have lost more than 60 lbs!!!- I'm sure you're doing things right! I use soy milk vice skim or almond milk. I prefer the vanilla soy milk - it makes my Protein Shakes so much more bearable, actually it makes them yummy. It's almost equal to skim milk in calories, carbs and sugars. If I had to give up carbs somewhere, it wouldn't be my soy milk. I have a Protein Shake every morning that I love- It's 8 ozs. vanilla soy milk, one scoop of nectar Protein (either chocolate or vanilla) one scoop of click espresso protein (either vanilla latte or mocha) and lots of crushed ice. It has 260 calories, 15 grams of carbs, and 36.5 grams of protein. I know that seems like a lot of carbs and calories but I swear it is worth it! I have yet to get close to the recommended 800 calories or less than 50 gms of carbs in a day, so it works for me.

[Escape_Pod 358]

Thanks! To be fair, only 34 of that loss is post-op, but I appreciate your confidence in me!

I'm not that fast of a loser, but it does come off pretty predictably - I think that's a lot less stressful than long stalls alternating with dramatic drops.

Mmmm... that shake sounds yummy! I'm stuck on Protein hot cocoa in the mornings. I'm tempted by some of the pumpkin shake recipes I've seen - I'm just not so sure about cold pumpkin. Maybe a warm vanilla pumpkin latte kind of thing?

Well, at least I know I can quit worrying about my carbs being too low!! (I went through a spell with a lot of headaches, but I seem to be past it). Actually, I take a lot of my supplements as gummies - a Gummy probiotic, Calcium chews, and gummy Fiber. I've been noticing that really does add up to quite a few calories and carbs over the course of the day. Might have to drop that...

[AutumnLily 77]

That seems like alot of carbs. I know when I have my binge weeks with carbs I lose maybe a pound if I am lucky and the other weeks when I am following my carb intake and keeping it low I lose more.

Just because they are a nutritionist does not mean they know what is best for everyone.

[Tippy2us 11]

This post is SO helpful to me! I'm stalled big time and only 3 months out. Some of my VSG friends have lost more than me in half the time! I have been eating less than 800 calories a day, and shooting for 40 carbs a day but had no energy and my thinking is kind of foggy. On Friday I googled calorie intake and dieting and found a lot of information about metabolism, or lack there of. It's very interesting stuff. So just this weekend I decided to up my calories to 1,000-1,100 per day with a few more carbs. I HOPE it works. I'm going to try it for a week or two to see if maybe I've been in starvation mode and therefore hanging on to my fat. I have all of the symptoms!

Wish me luck!

[J.e.t. 0]

My surgeon recommends not going over 600 calories a day until you've reached goal--or as long as you can hold out at that level.