How are people staying under 1000 calories?

[rick_ron 1]

Hey folks, it's super nice having this community as a resource. First time I'm asking a question so apologies if it's on here somewhere already.

I keep reading about people taking in less than 700 calories or so. By the time I have my 3 cups of skim milk plus the Protein additive, I'm already at 400 cals. Add to this my usual lunch of jambalaya (250ish) and dinner of hunk of chicken (300) and I'm pushing 1000. And that's if I can avoid a snack in there somewhere (string cheese or something - 75 cals). All said and done, I'm dang near 1200 calories.

I've just been stuck in a little bit of a stall for like 2+ weeks (I know, embrace the stall) but I want to make sure it's my body catching up and not me being an idiot and eating too much. Anyone have any suggestions here? Just worried since we only have a year where we're really losing quickly and I don't want to screw it up.

Thanks for your help and patience!

Rick

If it matters, I'm a 33 year old guy and walk about 10k steps a day. 3 months post surgery.

Edited October 27, 2016 by rick_ron

[rebcal 32]

Hey, rick. It's definitely normal to up the calories 3 months out, however I'm about 7 months out and still can't make it to 1000 calories. Did you speak to your nutritionist? Maybe he/she can help you figure out a daily goal/plan to stay with if you're having trouble with calories. You're definitely on the right track with walking a lot and eating a lot of Protein. I still struggle with not even getting close to my Protein goal so I think you should continue what you're doing and talk to your nutritionist! Everyone is different there are many different types of people on here regardless of all having the same surgery!

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[heidikat72 935]

What is your Protein level and target? Did your medical team give you a calorie target?

Once I started eating solid food, I started phasing the Protein shakes out. At most I'll have one a day now (4 months out) and even that is rare. How big is your "hunk" of chicken? 300 calories seems pretty high

does your jambalaya have rice? if so, that is a lot of added calories without much nutrition value so that's another place you could cut back

If you are still within the calorie target on your plan and are meeting your Protein goals and are losing, then talk to your team but you can probably stay where you are.

If you want to reduce your calories - look at where you are on your protein target and I would probably look to cut back on the number of shakes

[sc101071 398]

If you're eating 300 calories of chicken breast then you're eating about 10 oz unless it's fried. I don't think that's possible.

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[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Why do you feel like you need to stay under 1000 calories? What is your Protein target? Mine is 100 grams so 1000 calories is unrealistic and unsustainable. What does your NUT advise?

[Bufflehead 6,358]

Here's a standard menu of mine from when I was in weight loss mode:

2 Protein Shakes =340 calories total (each Protein Shake is 1 scoop Protein Powder + 1 cup Carb Master milk, not regular skim -- could make it even lower calorie by using unsweetened vanilla almond or cashew milk, 25 calories per cup. Carb Master is 60 calories per cup).

Breakfast - 3 oz grilled chicken breast, 100 calories

lunch - 2 oz grilled chicken breast, 65 calories, 1 oz grilled asparagus, 10 calories

dinner - 2 oz grilled salmon, 120 calories, 1 oz broccoli, 10 calories

Total: 645 calories (approx.), 90+ grams Protein

I couldn't possibly eat 300 calories worth of chicken breast. Are you eating deep-fried, breaded chicken breast or something like that?

[JamieLogical 8,710]

Why are you even trying to stay under 1000 calories? Did your surgeon or nutritionist instruct you to do so? My nutritionist just wanted me to get 100 grams of Protein per day in and not worry about calories at all.

I did start worrying about calories once I was at goal and trying not to LOSE any more weight during my marathon training. I started tracking calories to make sure I was eating back all that I was burning. Turns out, I need a good 2400 calories a day to maintain at goal because of how much exercise I do.

During my weight loss phase, once I was all healed up and eating solid foods without issue, I would guess I was eating about 1400 calories a day? And I managed to lose all the weight and keep it off. Not sure why you would need to stay under 1000 unless you are completely sedentary. Too large a daily calorie deficit can have a permanent impact on your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight and keep it off in the future.

[rick_ron 1]

Holy smokes, thanks for all the quick responses

Talking to the NUT makes sense, why didn't I think of that, apparently teaching special ed uses up all my brain function.

I've been doing a scoop of Protein supplement with each cup of milk (3) so maybe I can cut back on that a bit to save some calories.

Hmm, I googled "how many calories in a 4 oz piece of chicken" and it said 300...Now that I looked harder maybe I messed something up. Sorry, eesh, 10 oz of chicken and I'd explode.

@JamieLogical you're right, I don't know why I was thinking less than 1,000. I guess I was just being a panicky fool after reading about people eating so little and thinking, "Dang, I'm nowhere near that. This must be why I'm stuck."

And thanks for the breakdown Bufflehead, I'll check out that brand you mentioned.

Very grateful for all the quick help and the patience. This site and the people who make it up are fantastic.

Rick

[Raynbolite 302]

I was stuck...same every morning, down to the ounce. I go to the gym 5xs a week. So I'm very active, and follow the program. My dr said 800 cal. I was really frustrated. I was talking to a person 1.5yrs out. She told me to increase my calories because I'm active...so I increased by 100cal...2days later the scale moved, only 2lbs, but hey it moved again. I've been loosing a few ounces each day which adds up. This is my experience, we are all different. I don't think 1000cal is anything to stop you from loosing. But always consult the NUT....but don't stress yourself out. You are doing great following the program. Hang in there. 10000 steps is awesome!

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[rolosmom7 740]

Yeah I think your chicken calorie count is off! For sure ????

[ella37 455]

What type of chicken is it?

I second the unsweetened almond milk idea. Ive been using it for everything and it's only 30 calories a cup.

[Nikkinee 94]

I'm guessing a lot of comments you read about low calories were from women? As a male your BMR is naturally higher than a female, and you burn more calories than we do just standing still. (Not cool btw).

Depending on your weight & the walking you're doing, I'd say you're at least 1000 calories in deficit per day. Which is still really really good.

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[Dairymary 533]

I'm a female and over 60 and I haven't been under 1000 calories since I was 4 months postop. As a young, active man, I would think under 1000 calories would be way too low for you. Actually sounds like you are doing really well.

[Joy@boman 151]

I dont think really restricted caloric intake is good for long term weight loss and the medical research back this up. Its great for rapid weight loss but your body will hoard calories later. On the other hand I know it is hard to get calories in on such a small sleeve

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[rick_ron 1]

Awesome, thanks for easing my worries. I did not realize that too much of a deficit can be a bad thing. I'll talk to the NUT about that. Thanks for the almond milk idea, never even heard of it before.

As far as my inaccurate chicken count, I've been eating about 4 oz of NOT FRIED (eek) chicken breast or thigh. In the Jambalaya, I use crumbled up and cooked cauliflower. If you haven't tried that before, it is amazing. Can't tell it's not rice when it's mixed in.

If anyone sees this in the future, I'm still doing Protein drinks because my goal for Protein is like 80+, and since I can eat about 4 oz of chicken or a cup of greek yogurt for a meal, it doesn't cover much. So, I've been drinking 2 glasses of milk with a scoop of GENEPRO (30 grams/scoop). Hoping it gets me up over that 80 grams of protein I'm shooting for. Is it ok that so much of my protein intake is in this powdered form? Quick question, if I'm more active than normal people (coaching football + normal exercising+vball) should I up my protein goal a little to help with recovery? It's something I'll ask my doc, but that isn't for like 3 weeks, so I'll put it to this group first.

Thanks so much, I feel a lot better that I'm not screwing anything up. Sounds like it's just my body taking its sweet time.

Rick