Calories per day ?

[Nurse_Lenora 903]

I am scheduled this month for surgery. I have been on my pre op diet ( voluntarily) since January 1st.

Although I log myfood And pay attention to total calories and very day, I never really went back at looked at my total daily intake say over the course of a week. This weekend I received my new Withings scale and after I started syncing it with my fitness pal and other apps I noticed something.

The Withings shows you the total caloric intake our a period of a few days.

It was then that I realized I am eating between 500 and 600 cal a day.

Hmmm.... Not sure if it's good because I'm going to be ready for surgery or not because I'm still pre op.

I did email my nutritionist and am waiting on a return email.

So, about how many calories do you consume a day??

Edited February 1, 2016 by Nurse_Lenora

[OKCPirate 5,323]

Track it, but I will hypothesize that is too low. It will stall your weight loss because you body will think you are in the middle of a famine and slow down your metabolism.

[jj7481 363]

Even with a nutrient dense pre-op diet, 5-600 calories is too low. My preop diet had me intaking at least 850-900 cal/day.

[walkinggirl 90]

My 2 week pre-op had me do 5 shakes per day, so roughly 800 cal/day.

[AvaFern 3,516]

I am 29 months post-op and compared to the calories I probably should be eating, I'm a pig, lol. I can maintain at my goal weight with a fluctuation of 2-3 pounds on 1500-1800 calories a day, however I weigh everyday, so if I see that my weight is creeping up, I pay more attention to what I eat that day. I also have days where I'm just not hungry, which on a day like today where I have no real interest in food, I've had about 400 calories so far and will probably have another 400 before I go to sleep. I enjoy the days when I'm not hungry because they offset the other days where I snack my way well into the 1800 calorie range.

For the first year or two I stayed around 1200 calories a day, and then after that I stayed around 1500. Now that I'm not losing anymore I just change my calories based upon my weight.

[Nurse_Lenora 903]

I was a tad surprised when I saw that day after day I'm under 600 cal.

It's bad but I'm not thrilled to potentially be eating more ! How crazy is that??!??

[jj7481 363]

Not eating enough calories forces the body to go into "panic" mode. Your body stores and hangs on to every last ounce of fat you have, and for energy, it burns up your lean mass. Bone density decreases with calorie restriction (so you are more susceptible to break a bone) and so does the strength of your connective tissue (hellooo, sprained ankles).

[otillie03103 123]

I ate 1200 cals a day preop.

[B-52 7,113]

The question is, how many calories per day will you burn? Above and beyond your daily intake whatever it may be....

You may consume 2000 calories a day, but to lose weight you have to burn off more, making it harder.

Not impossible, professional athletes do it all the time.

But for us mortals it's easier to start with low-calorie intake.

I don't count calories, but it was low when I was still losing weight.

Low calories for me told my body I was in a famine stage, turning to the "Fat Stores" for energy, which as hunter=gathereres are there for times of famine.

For that reason I always work out first thing in the morning on an empty stomach...relying on stored energy in terms of fat.

But now that the fat is gone, I need a little something before a workout.

[Nurse_Lenora 903]

I agree B52. I need to contact the physician I saw a few years ago who tested my resting metabolic rate. I have a slow metabolism. It was something like 900-1000 calories a day. So I need to eat less to lose.

That's my goal today to call and get my chart from that weight loss physician! ????

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

You need to go into surgery as healthy as possible. That is why my surgeon's pre-op didn't limit calories, just starches and sugars. My pre-op diet was designed to shrink my liver but to still be nutritious. Basically, Atkin's Phase I. The last thing he wanted was for us to go into surgery malnourished.

Definitely talk to your NUT.