Are calorie counts okay?

[dbanana 0]

I haven't had a lot of the same problems (nausea, stuck-food, pain) that others have had since my surgery (12/28/16) and started to worry that my restriction isn't going to be as effective as I thought it would be... I feel like if I had a good idea of where I should be capping my calories during the various phases, it would help. However, I contacted my nutritionist about this and ask what I should consider the limit for calories during the "mushies" phase, she said they don't want us counting calories and just to focus on getting Protein and Water. While I understand what she is saying, the lack of problems I've had in eating so far makes me worry that I'm not going to lose weight as quickly as I should if I'm taking in too many calories. Does anyone have a range of calories to shoot for in the various stages of post-op diets? I would feel more comfortable if I knew that I was sticking roughly to what other people are since so far my pouch has been pretty easy on me.

[Airstream88 361]

You really have to throw away the old diet mindset which equated low calories with accelerated weight loss. Getting in your Protein and Water is the most important - not fretting over calories. You will feel the restriction once you start eating Protein dense foods like chicken, turkey, shrimp, etc. Once I was cleared for all foods, about 31 days out, 3 bites of chicken filled me up. That's why "protein first" is the golden rule after WLS. You won't have room for anything else!

I would say that about a month out I was getting in about 400 - 600 calories. At 3 months, I'm now up to 800 - 1000 which my surgeon's nurse said is about right. My protein goal is 70 - 90.

Edited January 26, 2017 by Airstream88

[dbanana 0]

Thank you, it's good to hear that it's normal that I'm not feeling the restriction too much yet. I'm not typically a calorie-counter, but I use the Baritastic app to track my Protein and Water so I do know what the calorie number is and wondered if it was normal for where I am post-op.

[Martha Parker-mcneal 166]

you will quickly stop eating so much once you hit solid food stages. the slider food go right thro so the calories really cant be counted as your body does not absorb them much. just keep up the Protein and get the Water so you don't dehydrate good luck to you