I cannot believe what I'm doing...don't I get it?

[AdiosPlusSizes 19]

Anorexics have a normal size stomach. People who have been sleeved have had 85% of their stomach removed. So you are not even comparing apples to apples!

I'm sorry, but I don't quite follow what you're saying because the size of our stomach does not determine, to my knowledge, the number of calories a person needs to carry on a normal day of activity.

I'm not really comparing WLS patients to anorexics, I'm just sorta pointing out that this caloric intake level is not considered appropriate even for dieters. Do you know what I mean? Why would a WLS person be asked to intake about 800 calories until they have gotten to goal weight? There must be something that I am missing...

[AdiosPlusSizes 19]

Don't even be thinking of calories until you are on solid foods. Eat Protein, measure what you eat(tablespoons, 1/4 of a cup). You must realize the reason for the strict diet in the beginning: they have removed 85% of your stomach!!! Think of this the next time you have a "head craving" and go watch the sleeve videos on Youtube, this should stop you. How about reading about what a leak can/would do to you, hopefully this will be enough to get you back on track. You will need to change your eating for life, this surgery isn't a magical pill and if you are not careful all the weight you lost will come right back on. Good Luck.

Researching sleeve tears is a really good idea for keeping me away from temptation. Awesome idea!! Thanks!

[No game 14,437]

I'm not tracking' date=' but I suspect I'm well below 600 calories daily. I'm just not able to get that much down. I sip, sip, sip, but, between the Water and the Protein, it takes me too long to finish anything.

My doctor gave me a list of foods but never said how many calories to take in. All I know is that I need to get around 60 grams of Protein or more daily. However, for the last 20 years of my adult life, I've been paying attention to calories and seen many warnings against not getting enough of them, that is, going on crash diets. This is probably why it's alarming for me to be consuming such a low number, and this makes me anxious.

All I really would like to have is some sound medical/scienfic rationale for this caloric recommendation, so that I can put my mind to rest. I hope this makes sense. Do you happen to know?[/quote']

If there is any sound scientific rational for the extremely low calorie thing I have not seen it...

Like many here my surgeon has me a diet plan and I was to build up to 1000 + calories a day.

But spending so much time on this site people hammered it into my head that was to much..

So I kept it to 600 to 700 calories a day for months... Did it help?? Not really then I started reading different posts about metabolism and slightly higher calories so I've been upping a little bit at a time to get me closer the 1000 to 1100

That's my sweet spot now to each his/her own and if the 600 calorie people like it that way great but I will do it my way

Oh and I saw my surgeon a couple of weeks ago,

He was not happy about the low calories

[AdiosPlusSizes 19]

Why not ask your doctor or NUT for the info you want to see then?

I'm like a four year-old when they are in their 'Why?' stage.

I hoped someone in the forum knew the answer, but I guess I just won't know the answer today.

[JolieBug 82]

I am a week out from surgery and my nutritionist and surgeon both want me to focus on getting Protein from shakes and powders, as well as taking my Vitamins. I do track on MyFitnessPal, and I am about 600 calories right now. I will work up to about 800.

The low calorie diet (from the nutrition guides I've read) is safe to maintain for a period of 6-9 months, then one should begin increasing intake to form a 3500-7000 caloric deficit weekly to lose 1-2 pounds a week.

By combining low fat, low carb, low calorie, and high Protein, the body is losing fat and repairing itself without causing damage to muscle groups, including the heart. The protein needs to come mainly from a readily available source, such as easily digested meats, soy, and whey protein.

Anorexia is different because those with eating disorders do not focus on healthful, nutritious eating. They lose muscle mass quickly because there is little readily available protein for the body. This is in general, not a rule.

I hope this proves helpful. I have done a lot of research on the topic, but am by no means an expert, obviously.

[former_vbg 198]

I'm like a four year-old when they are in their 'Why?' stage.

I hoped someone in the forum knew the answer, but I guess I just won't know the answer today.

I don't think you are going to get a definitive answer on here because everyone is a little different. This is because it varies whether you are male or female, 20 something or 50 something, your exercise level, height, etc, etc... The best thing to do is be sure to weigh yourself daily and track what you are eating (carbs/ calories) and your body and scale will tell you what you need to do to continue losing. There is a big debate on whether counting calories or carbs is more important. For me, I have always chosen to count carbs and it has worked for me and I will be 2 yrs out this June. What works for one person may not work for the next.

Just listen to your body, watch the scale and you will figure out what works best for you.

[AdiosPlusSizes 19]

I am a week out from surgery and my nutritionist and surgeon both want me to focus on getting Protein from shakes and powders, as well as taking my Vitamins. I do track on MyFitnessPal, and I am about 600 calories right now. I will work up to about 800.

The low calorie diet (from the nutrition guides I've read) is safe to maintain for a period of 6-9 months, then one should begin increasing intake to form a 3500-7000 caloric deficit weekly to lose 1-2 pounds a week.

By combining low fat, low carb, low calorie, and high Protein, the body is losing fat and repairing itself without causing damage to muscle groups, including the heart. The protein needs to come mainly from a readily available source, such as easily digested meats, soy, and whey protein.

Anorexia is different because those with eating disorders do not focus on healthful, nutritious eating. They lose muscle mass quickly because there is little readily available protein for the body. This is in general, not a rule.

I hope this proves helpful. I have done a lot of research on the topic, but am by no means an expert, obviously.

Okay, so maybe the high protein intake counterbalances some of the negative effects of the extremely low calories, such as losing muscle and compromising certain internal functions. There are other effects, such as hair loss, that we won't be able to avoid, from what I've heard from basically everyone that's over 4 months post-op. Maybe it's something along these lines that make it okay to carry on in what would normally be considered a starvation diet for an extended period of time. Hmm...even so, why would a nutritionist want a person to lose weight so quickly? Could it be because the restriction benefits of WLS tend to disappear after a limited period of time, such a year? I wonder...

[AdiosPlusSizes 19]

I don't think you are going to get a definitive answer on here because everyone is a little different. This is because it varies whether you are male or female, 20 something or 50 something, your exercise level, height, etc, etc... The best thing to do is be sure to weigh yourself daily and track what you are eating (carbs/ calories) and your body and scale will tell you what you need to do to continue losing. There is a big debate on whether counting calories or carbs is more important. For me, I have always chosen to count carbs and it has worked for me and I will be 2 yrs out this June. What works for one person may not work for the next.

Just listen to your body, watch the scale and you will figure out what works best for you.

I certainly am all ears to your recommendations, coming from a successful WLS person 2 years out.

What does VBG stand for? I'm going to guess that is Very Big Girl...am I right?

[SleeveDreamer 383]

Okay, so maybe the high Protein intake counterbalances some of the negative effects of the extremely low calories, such as losing muscle and compromising certain internal functions. There are other effects, such as hair loss, that we won't be able to avoid, from what I've heard from basically everyone that's over 4 months post-op. Maybe it's something along these lines that make it okay to carry on in what would normally be considered a starvation diet for an extended period of time. Hmm...even so, why would a nutritionist want a person to lose weight so quickly? Could it be because the restriction benefits of WLS tend to disappear after a limited period of time, such a year? I wonder...

My doctor said that with VSG our restriction changes after 18 months so you need to lose before 18 months.

[thriving1726 1]

Hi Sleevers' date='

I am in need of some tough love.

I am probably one of the very few that has fallen off the wagon so early on. I am only 11 days post-op and I've already cheated. Today, I had such a giant craving for some bread that I drove down to Trader Joes and bought myself some rolls. My only saving grace, I think, is that I chose the rolls that seemed the healthiest because one roll had 10 grams of Protein and 5 grams of Fiber. Well, I took those puppies home and ate one with a small bowl of creamy Tomato and bell pepper Soup. I did not eat it all at once, as it would not fit, but I did manage to eat it. It did feel somewhat weird in my stomach for a bit but it do not come back up or cause me pain.

What is wrong with me? Why am I already messing up? I am supposed to be on full liquids for 3 more days and then transition to pureed foods, but I'm already eating bread.

I paid for the surgery myself, so I was able to get it very quickly and without any hassel. I did not have to see a nutritionist or lose weight to qualify or anything. Maybe this is why I am being so weak, so early on. I've already dropped a total of 15 pounds since starting my 7 day pre-op diet, and I'm feeling good about how I look. This might also be why I'm veering from my path, or maybe I'm subconsciously afraid to get thin, or something. I don't know what is wrong with me, but if I don't straighten myself out now, then I can be sure that more and more cheating will soon come.

Does anyone have any good words for me? I appreciate your help and support.

Adriana[/quote']

Dont feel.bad your not the only one and dont beat your self up your not able to eat half of what u could befire it will not kill you and the weight will still come of the problem is the surgery makes us not be able to eat so much but the addiction to food we have is never truly delt with it takes time

[swampdonkey 36]

At this stage I would just worry about the Protein and hydrating. With my Proteins iam getting around 500 calories a day. To be honest I didn't think about counting calories yet. I advanced to purée food on Saturday and today I had about 510 calories again I didn't count until I read this thread. We are going thru a lot I think it is more important to make sure you are hydrating and getting your proteins in.This will make your body heal faster and when we get to soft/mushy foods than we will start worrying about it.JMO

[JolieBug 82]

At this stage I would just worry about the Protein and hydrating. With my Proteins iam getting around 500 calories a day. To be honest I didn't think about counting calories yet. I advanced to purée food on Saturday and today I had about 510 calories again I didn't count until I read this thread. We are going thru a lot I think it is more important to make sure you are hydrating and getting your Proteins in.This will make your body heal faster and when we get to soft/mushy foods than we will start worrying about it.JMO

Excellent point!

Are you from LA? My brothers used to have a baseball team called the Swamp Donkeys, lol. We have a swamp across the road from my house.

[Threetimesacharm 1,400]

Where are you getting your numbers from? Hmm...

I just googled anorexica, out of curiosity, and found lots of different caloric values can be considered as this level. One post said that anorexics typically eat between 50 and 800 calories, depending on the severity of their disorder. Another site said that anything below 1,200 calories can be considered anorexic behavior because a person is consuming less than their resting basal metabolic rate.

I would really like, just for my piece of mind, to know why someone would recommend between 600-800 calories post-op bariatric surgery. Does our resting basal metabolic rate change after surgery or does it slow down our metabolism? Does anyone know? I still see no logical reason for going so low, but there might be a key piece of information I'm missing.

Thanks for your input.

You can not physically eat more than 500-600 calories, your tummy is the size of a banana and at best in the beginning can only hold 2 ounces at at time. Doesn't sound to me like you did research before you had your sleeve surgery. Tell us how you will be consuming 1200 calories when you physically can not?

[Fiddleman 4,376]

My doctor said that with VSG our restriction changes after 18 months so you need to lose before 18 months.

Before 18 months? I think it starts to break down at six months. At least that is what happened to me. Hoping it reverses and gives me better restriction.

[No game 14,437]

You can not physically eat more than 500-600 calories' date=' your tummy is the size of a banana and at best in the beginning can only hold 2 ounces at at time. Doesn't sound to me like you did research before you had your sleeve surgery. Tell us how you will be consuming 1200 calories when you physically can not?[/quote']

Amazon... What are you talking about??? How can you say that it doesn't sound like she did any research???

I see your up to your old tricks again!

Way to be supportive of a new person