Calories

[gigiinDC 70]

Tomorrow I'll make three weeks post op and I've been tracking my calories every day in MyFitnessPal. I'm consistently between 800 and 850 cals every day if I have a Protein shake in the morning.

I've started using GENEPRO to cut down on the cals but recently returned to work so added a shake back in for an easy afternoon snack (keeps me away from all the muffins and crazy baked goods everyone in the office brings in all the time!)

I'm getting down almost 100 grams of Protein every day but feel like I'm getting way too many cals.

I keep reading posts of people 3-4 weeks out struggling to get more than 400-500 cals. What am I doing wrong?!

I also find that I can drink A LOT at one sitting... like over a cup. I purée Soups and stay away from other carbs.. even those approved for the purée stage like mashed potatoes and apple sauce... I'm just drinking Water, crystal light, puréed Soups and protein and I'm getting almost 850 cals! Here is a screenshot of my MyFitnessPal food diary from today.. help!

Note-- I ate dinner in two sittings, one at 5:30 and another at 6:30, so all that puréed Soup did not go down all at once. Also-- if I try to eat anything like refried Beans, puréed chicken or anything super rich I get extremely uncomfortable after just two bites so I'm sticking to puréed soups for the time being...  

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[Aggiemae 739]

If someone is getting down the 90 grams of completely fat free Protein and nothing else they are consuming 270 calories a day. This might work for a while if you don't have to do anything but sleep, eat and watch tv but after a while you will have to eat some fat and carbohydrates.

I am about 3 weeks post op and still on puree, or very well mushed "mushy". No matter how well I chew chunky stuff just doesn't sit well yet but of the past week I have managed 2 3-4 oz solid food meals and three, sometimes four shakes. I think most of us consume about 700-900 calories a day once we recovered from surgery and the hang of the what and when and how of it all. I don't know where you started or how much you weigh now but at 850 calories a day you are losing FAT.

In my case it took about 2,600 calories a day to maintain my starting weight.

Here's a link to where you can calculate for your weight/hight/gender:

http://caloriecontrol.org/healthy-weight-tool-kit/assessment-calculator/

My NUT recommends a diet of 2 parts Protein to 1 part carbs for energy, especially once you return to the demands of work. I returned to work on Monday and didn't eat nearly enough but did lots better yesterday with 80 grams of protein and 20 grams of carbs. I do choose lover calorie veggies ( yams and potatoes are a treat) and just 4oz of fruit , that I make into a smoothie with unflavored protein and a cup of ice. It came to about 775 calories and I even had a tablespoon of heavy cream in my (decaf) coffee.

Do you like to cook? I make a yummy COCONUT CURRY and creamy chicken Soup using carrots. you can add 1/2 scoop of protein power to boost the protein. It's about 85 calories for 6- 8 oz depending on how that co you want it. I can post the recipe.

[Nikkinee 94]

Are you hungry, or are you just having the shake in the afternoon to stop you grazing? If so, I would definitely cut this out. It's a matter of learning to control your head hunger now.

My nutritionists plan has stated not to eat a meal over 2 sittings. And to restrict the volume of each meal to half a cup. If I couldn't finish it within 20 minutes I was to stop eating.

I'm now 7 weeks post op. I eat 3 meals a day, no Snacks. But I also don't get hungry. I think if you were feeling hungry it'd be different story.

Do you not have a plan from your nutritionist?

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[gigiinDC 70]

Thank you! I was beginning to think something was wrong with me! I see so many posts where people are saying they can barely get down more than 500 cals and I'm dumbfounded. I do cook but for my son and don't have time--/ my toddler is eating lasagna and Mac and cheese .. stuff like that ... so I would have to make myself something totally different and just don't have time. Soo for the first time in my life I'm eating canned Soups (puréed of course). I will have to find lower cal soups. I did find a great low sodium lentil Soup by Amy's organic which I got from costco. I do bulk cooking for my son on Sundays-- three dishes for the week-- I will try to add in a fourth item for me but time is a huge issue. Please do post that recipe. Coconut curry sounds awesome!

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Edited November 17, 2016 by gigiinDC

[gigiinDC 70]

Are you hungry, or are you just having the shake in the afternoon to stop you grazing? If so, I would definitely cut this out. It's a matter of learning to control your head hunger now.

My nutritionists plan has stated not to eat a meal over 2 sittings. And to restrict the volume of each meal to half a cup. If I couldn't finish it within 20 minutes I was to stop eating.

I'm now 7 weeks post op. I eat 3 meals a day, no Snacks. But I also don't get hungry. I think if you were feeling hungry it'd be different story.

Do you not have a plan from your nutritionist?

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I am hungry by mid afternoon but more for something to give me energy not like a craving hungry.. I drink Protein for Breakfast and eat 4oz of puréed Soup for lunch so by mid afternoon I feel drained and in need of food for energy.. so yes I'm Hungry and don't want to grab the wrong thing to fill that void. I do a lot of walking to and from meetings at work and it's my first week back so I feel extremely drained if I don't eat/drink something by that time.

I do have a plan from my nutritionist and it did not say anything about not splitting my dinner or a half a cup limit. In fact when I asked my doc why I could drink such large volumes she said it was fine .. and puréed soup is pretty watery btw... also it says to eat six times a day, not three, so I'm not going to eat three meals a day like you are. But glad to know that's an option down the road..

Anyway .. the only reason I split the dinner into two sessions today is because I have a toddler who decided to throw a tantrum over dinner so I took some time to clean it up and make sure he ate before getting back to my food so I think I ended up eating more because if that. What you are saying does make sense cause normally I don't eat quite that much soup over dinner. I generally do just four ounces.

Back to my nutrition plan-- it's actually less strict than I am as of this week... Last week I tried to eat puréed fish and refried Beans apple sauce and mashed potatoes which are all in my plan but I felt horrible every time.. plus I felt like some of those items were too high in carbs and definitely not worth the trouble to try to get down. The puréed soup is much thinner. I'm basically drinking it instead of eating.. and works better for me at this stage but I do think you are right about the two sittings.. won't do that again!

Will see my doc on Friday and discuss all of this with her.

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[gigiinDC 70]

If someone is getting down the 90 grams of completely fat free Protein and nothing else they are consuming 270 calories a day. This might work for a while if you don't have to do anything but sleep, eat and watch tv but after a while you will have to eat some fat and carbohydrates.

I am about 3 weeks post op and still on puree, or very well mushed "mushy". No matter how well I chew chunky stuff just doesn't sit well yet but of the past week I have managed 2 3-4 oz solid food meals and three, sometimes four shakes. I think most of us consume about 700-900 calories a day once we recovered from surgery and the hang of the what and when and how of it all. I don't know where you started or how much you weigh now but at 850 calories a day you are losing FAT.

In my case it took about 2,600 calories a day to maintain my starting weight.

Here's a link to where you can calculate for your weight/hight/gender:

http://caloriecontrol.org/healthy-weight-tool-kit/assessment-calculator/

My NUT recommends a diet of 2 parts Protein to 1 part carbs for energy, especially once you return to the demands of work. I returned to work on Monday and didn't eat nearly enough but did lots better yesterday with 80 grams of protein and 20 grams of carbs. I do choose lover calorie veggies ( yams and potatoes are a treat) and just 4oz of fruit , that I make into a smoothie with unflavored protein and a cup of ice. It came to about 775 calories and I even had a tablespoon of heavy cream in my (decaf) coffee.

Do you like to cook? I make a yummy COCONUT CURRY and creamy chicken Soup using carrots. you can add 1/2 scoop of protein power to boost the protein. It's about 85 calories for 6- 8 oz depending on how that co you want it. I can post the recipe.

I started at 271 and as of today I'm at 248. Thanks for the calorie calculator as well! I'm actually feeling much better about my 850 calories now.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Edited November 17, 2016 by gigiinDC

[Aggiemae 739]

carrots Soup base: makes about 5-6 6 oz containers of each soup.

Peel slice and cook 1.5 lb carrots, a hand full of dehydrated mixed veggies (the one I found in bulk bin at my local grocery has carrots, onions, parsley and celery) and (opitional but tasty) a small handful of dried or fresh leeks in 16 oz of chicken stock. Till very soft. Mash with a potato masher the divide in too containers.

Add 8 oz chicken broth to each container.

in one container:

add 1/2 can of unsweetened coconut milk, I table spoon yellow curry, 1/2 tea spoon cumin and a dash of chili pepper flakes (or a dash or two of ground cayenne) stir well.

In the other container:

add 4oz can of mushrooms and 2 oz cooked chicken- fine chopped in a food processor. Mix in 1cup of 1% milk (97 cal) OR cashew milk (25 cal) salt and pepper to taste. Stir well.

AT THIS POINT YOU HAVE "mushy" you can blend each container it into puree if desired do the chicken mushroom first or rinse Soups. (Youbmight need more chicken broth) but it should be thick as you will thin it with Protein powder before you eat it.

Divide into 6oz servings- I use 8 oz mansion jars

When you are ready to eat: mix 1/2 scoop unflavored Protein (10gr) with 1and 1/2 oz of WARM. cow's milk or cashew milk. microwave the soup base to 140 degrees as the Protein Powder will clump up if it's hotter. In a 8 oz glass container this takes 2 minutes.

Stir in the Protein Powder and milk into the soup.

Eat!

I make a different combo every week and. keep 4 containers in the fridge and freeze the rest. My kids really like the carrot coconut.

Later when you can eat chopped up meat it makes a great sauce that counts as a veggie. Two parts meat (i like shrimp) to one part carrot coconut soup.

[higher 966]

I eat as much as 1300 calories a day, never less than 850 and I'm very happy with my loss. I too am often surprised at how few calories many on here report consuming.

I'm almost 5 months post-op.

[Aggiemae 739]

If someone is getting down the 90 grams of completely fat free Protein and nothing else they are consuming 270 calories a day. This might work for a while if you don't have to do anything but sleep, eat and watch tv but after a while you will have to eat some fat and carbohydrates.

I am about 3 weeks post op and still on puree, or very well mushed "mushy". No matter how well I chew chunky stuff just doesn't sit well yet but of the past week I have managed 2 3-4 oz solid food meals and three, sometimes four shakes. I think most of us consume about 700-900 calories a day once we recovered from surgery and the hang of the what and when and how of it all. I don't know where you started or how much you weigh now but at 850 calories a day you are losing FAT.

In my case it took about 2,600 calories a day to maintain my starting weight.

Here's a link to where you can calculate for your weight/hight/gender:http://caloriecontrol.org/healthy-weight-tool-kit/assessment-calculator/

My NUT recommends a diet of 2 parts Protein to 1 part carbs for energy, especially once you return to the demands of work. I returned to work on Monday and didn't eat nearly enough but did lots better yesterday with 80 grams of protein and 20 grams of carbs. I do choose lover calorie veggies ( yams and potatoes are a treat) and just 4oz of fruit , that I make into a smoothie with unflavored protein and a cup of ice. It came to about 775 calories and I even had a tablespoon of heavy cream in my (decaf) coffee.

Do you like to cook? I make a yummy COCONUT CURRY and creamy chicken Soup using carrots. you can add 1/2 scoop of protein power to boost the protein. It's about 85 calories for 6- 8 oz depending on how that co you want it. I can post the recipe.

I started at 271 and as of today I'm at 248. Thanks for the calorie calculator as well! I'm actually feeling much better about my 850 calories now.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

If you've lost 23 pounds in THREE weeks you are doing AWESOMELY well. Keep doing what your doing. Enjoy the soup!

[gigiinDC 70]

carrots Soup base: makes about 5-6 6 oz containers of each soup.

Peel slice and cook 1.5 lb carrots, a hand full of dehydrated mixed veggies (the one I found in bulk bin at my local grocery has carrots, onions, parsley and celery) and (opitional but tasty) a small handful of dried or fresh leeks in 16 oz of chicken stock. Till very soft. Mash with a potato masher the divide in too containers.

Add 8 oz chicken broth to each container.

in one container:

add 1/2 can of unsweetened coconut milk, I table spoon yellow curry, 1/2 tea spoon cumin and a dash of chili pepper flakes (or a dash or two of ground cayenne) stir well.

In the other container:

add 4oz can of mushrooms and 2 oz cooked chicken- fine chopped in a food processor. Mix in 1cup of 1% milk (97 cal) OR cashew milk (25 cal) salt and pepper to taste. Stir well.

AT THIS POINT YOU HAVE "mushy" you can blend each container it into puree if desired do the chicken mushroom first or rinse Soups. (Youbmight need more chicken broth) but it should be thick as you will thin it with Protein powder before you eat it.

Divide into 6oz servings- I use 8 oz mansion jars

When you are ready to eat: mix 1/2 scoop unflavored Protein (10gr) with 1and 1/2 oz of WARM. cow's milk or cashew milk. microwave the soup base to 140 degrees as the protein powder will clump up if it's hotter. In a 8 oz glass container this takes 2 minutes.

Stir in the protein powder and milk into the soup.

Eat!

I make a different combo every week and. keep 4 containers in the fridge and freeze the rest. My kids really like the carrot coconut.

Later when you can eat chopped up meat it makes a great sauce that counts as a veggie. Two parts meat (i like shrimp) to one part carrot coconut soup.

sounds yummy!!! Thanks. Will try it this weekend.

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[gigiinDC 70]

Follow up--- I met with my doc today and she said I can have up to 1200 cals /day which is amazing to me. She said 800-900 is fine too if that's all I can get down. She also told me to stay in this stage for two more weeks since I clearly can't get down thicker puréed foods or foods like eggs, etc., but I should continue to try a few bites once in a while.

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[Ssze1109 163]

Aggie. Thanks for that recipe. Sounds great!

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[Sai 785]

As long as you're meeting your Protein and Water goals, you'll be fine. Things that one eats during the pureed phase, you'll rarely eat once you get to normal foods. For example, 3 oz dense protein... Complete satisfaction, low calorie- high Protein combination.

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[GinaCampbell 434]

I think it depends on what you are eating. The calorie counts in dense Protein cooked without fat are lower than you think. I can't yet eat dense Protein that isn't blended into a Soup. So if I have a beef bone broth and carrot soup, the calories are under 300 cals a serving. By the time I have pushed in 64 oz of Water, all my meds, supplements, minerals and Vitamins, my protein etc. I can still only be at around 600 calories.

I think it is important to track your calories and to bump them up to at least 800 a day whenever possible.

I have a friend in my support group who can eat anything and everything and stopped losing weight 3 months post op. Her calorie intake is almost triple mine in a day.

Every patient is different, plans are different, so as long as you are sticking to your plan and following your team's advice, you should be fine.

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