Average calories

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, vikingbeast said:

The synonym for buttinsky is Nosey Parker.

I am, in fact, majority Scandihoovian blood, and the part of me that ain't is Scottish and Lithuanian, so all "let's store fat for the cruel Arctic winters and working in the rutabaga fields of the north". Too bad I live in a desert along the Mexican border now 🤣

Bahahahaha! Well, my doctor said 'be glad you're Scandinavian, otherwise you'd have diabetes!' last year. Apparently we're just built for winter (as long as we remember to lose it again, kinda forgot about that one until now).

[Summermoose 193]

On 12/18/2021 at 16:59, MiniGastricBypassDude said:

1400 for the first 6 months, from day 1. Then 1800 for 3 months. Now 2100-2300 a day, trying to find my maintenance intake (it's higher than this, clearly). Subtract 200 from each of these for their women's plans.



My program strongly believes in keeping calories 'high' (lol) from the get-go for all as they say your body will otherwise get too used to living on very, very low amounts, and your new set point isn't dependent on calorie intake. AKA if you go 800 cals a day for a year, your body will get to its new set point, but then you'll be stuck maintaining at perhaps 1200, which for most is wildly unsustainable.

The science isn't clear about this yet, though.

What the science *is* clear about is the shocking regain rates for sleeve patients, and they're usually kept on extreme low calorie diets.

I have been thinking about increasing my calories because of this.
My surgeon doesn’t have me on a set amount of calories. He was extremely happy with my weight loss so far and asked me to stop weighing my food and eat ‘normally’ (three meals with two snacks), and I am at approx. 650/700 kcal per day right now with those three meals and two Snacks.< br /> But HOW on earth can I eat more calories without adding fat and sugar? I am at a loss here 🙁 Any tips or tricks would be appreciated!

[Arabesque 7,240]

6 hours ago, Summermoose said:

I have been thinking about increasing my calories because of this.
My surgeon doesn’t have me on a set amount of calories. He was extremely happy with my weight loss so far and asked me to stop weighing my food and eat ‘normally’ (three meals with two snacks), and I am at approx. 650/700 kcal per day right now with those three meals and two Snacks.< br /> But HOW on earth can I eat more calories without adding fat and sugar? I am at a loss here 🙁 Any tips or tricks would be appreciated!

It does get easier to eat slightly larger portion sizes (not talking more than a recommended portion size though) as you progress. I also added more Snacks & stretched out my meal times more so I could eat a little more. I did feel like I was eating all day though so be warned. I should stress I was trying to maintain when I was doing this. I added some more fat but only a small amount: a few nuts, Salad Dressing (not diet), liverwurst, etc. Added some multigrain crackers for a few more carbs. Added another serve of fruit to my snack rota. Included a Protein Bar. Generally, I kept to nutrient dense food. Took me some time to discover what worked for me.

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Arabesque said:

It does get easier to eat slightly larger portion sizes (not talking more than a recommended portion size though) as you progress. I also added more Snacks & stretched out my meal times more so I could eat a little more. I did feel like I was eating all day though so be warned. I should stress I was trying to maintain when I was doing this. I added some more fat but only a small amount: a few nuts, Salad Dressing (not diet), liverwurst, etc. Added some multigrain crackers for a few more carbs. Added another serve of fruit to my snack rota. Included a Protein Bar. Generally, I kept to nutrient dense food. Took me some time to discover what worked for me.

Literally all of this. I've enjoyed liver paté, grapes, popped cheese (yum!), Quest Protein chips, multigrain crackers with Philadelphia Light, and some low-sugar/sugarfree treats as well. Normal popsicles, oh man, they've come in handy a few times! I was hungry enough for it, though, so it wasn't really a chore.

@Summermoose I wouldn't be too worried about the fat; it's getting hooked on sugar that's the worry here (had to cut myself off from the popsicles at one point), because that really is the way to eat 'around' pretty much any bariatric surgery.

You may already know this, but your body probably won't allow you to go overboard on fat. I had foie gras while out, had saved calories for it, all was good. Until, you know, I realized that much fat with our configuration works like an instant laxative. Not my proudest moment.

[DaisyAndSunshine 303]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

After my dietician's appt today and discussion on phase 3, seems like they aren't very calories centric and want us to focus on getting the needed Proteins and sticking to the recommended serving size for various food items. It's all listed out for us. So, focus will be on getting Protein first and fluids and then the rest.

Hope, things roll well on the provided recommendations.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, DaisyAndSunshine said:

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

After my dietician's appt today and discussion on phase 3, seems like they aren't very calories centric and want us to focus on getting the needed Proteins and sticking to the recommended serving size for various food items. It's all listed out for us. So, focus will be on getting Protein first and fluids and then the rest.

Hope, things roll well on the provided recommendations.

It's actually interesting, and while I definitely benefited from a calorie goal (and from it being high, comparatively), I think this will be the future of bariatric surgery.

I've been sponging up so many scientific studies on this area, because I am a huge nerd when it comes to things that concern myself. I want to know it all. And it does seem like bodies ... end up where they're supposed to end up (with some variation, mind you) after surgery. No matter the program.

What seems to differ is the regain. And this might be where portion sizes and types of food come in, rather than calories.

Maybe our bodies adapt to whatever diet we put it on while going to our new set point? The Biggest Loser study from Harvard is pretty shocking in that regard (bodies can get +700 cals/day more efficient - that's a problem if you want to keep the weight off - it's not just calories in, calories out).

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how it goes for you! And don't go ultra low on food just because you can - that'd be my advice. I had tremendous success so far, and I've had a lot more calories than most here.

[DaisyAndSunshine 303]

1 hour ago, MiniGastricBypassDude said:

Harvard is pretty shocking in that regard (bodies can get +700 cals/day more efficient

Sorry what did you mean by that? As in body can sustain on 700 cals/day efficiently?

And thanks for the advice, I'll definitely go based on how my body reacts. I am not planning to cut down on any specific food group as long as I can tolerate it. Though I also want to make sure I don't overshoot the calories intake. Let's see, may be I'll have a better idea once I am in my phase 3, which is in about 6 days.

Full Fluid phase - 2 weeks over and only lost about 3 pounds on it lol. 12 pounds came off from the clear liquid phase. So it's all weird how body reacts to different phases. One more weeks of full fluids and almost 1 month post-Op.

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, DaisyAndSunshine said:

Sorry what did you mean by that? As in body can sustain on 700 cals/day efficiently?

No, it's worse in a way. They followed the contestants from The Biggest Loser and measured that even when they regained all their weight, they still burned more than 700 calories a day less than prior to being on the show.

Meaning: if you starve your body, it responds by using every calorie more efficiently. Or - if you have dieted enough, your daily burn will be lower, even when you regain.

There's a hypothesis gaining support that people who spend a year+ after surgery on extremely few calories (600-700 a day or whatever) end up having to maintain on 1000 calories a day. And we all know how that would work for most people (some manage, though).

The alternative thinking involved in this is 'what if people *still* lose all the weight on 1200 or 1400 calories a day, will they then be able to maintain on a higher calorie level?'. All things equal, that would make it easier to maintain long-term.

Again, nobody has the right answer here. What we do know is this: it's not just calories in- calories out. The body is a highly complex system.

[DaisyAndSunshine 303]

11 minutes ago, MiniGastricBypassDude said:

Again, nobody has the right answer here. What we do know is this: it's not just calories in- calories out. The body is a highly complex system

That's the scary part, isn't it. And I am sure it's the case for everyone here.

All of us have dieted for years or even decades and have ultimately ruined our metabolism. I am sure many have experienced how they can survive on low calories and after having metabolism affected, high calories become a living nightmare. I personally have experienced the same. And it isn't surprising to see such results in the study. And I do agree low calories do affect your body in a very complex fashion. I had done Dr. Bernstein's diet. And that diet (around 500 calories a day) had wrecked my body for over a decade. It's only now I have up and decided surgery it is for me.

Anyhow, for me personally, I am petrified of going beyond 1200 calories cuz of my past experiences. I don't even know how I can lose weight if I go over 1200. So yeh, this calories fear will always be there. And not sure how it'll work for me in future. Let's see what calorie count I hit at in my 1st month of soft/regular diet phase.

[Queen ApisM 427]

At 2 months out, they wanted me at 1000 calories. I just had my four-month appointment, and they told me at 6 months, I should be at 1200-1400 calories a day. Once I started hitting 1000/cals consistently (which just happened a few weeks ago) the weight just started falling off again after a serious slow down in the weeks prior.

[Arabesque 7,240]

On 12/22/2021 at 6:08 PM, DaisyAndSunshine said:

All of us have dieted for years or even decades and have ultimately ruined our metabolism. I am sure many have experienced how they can survive on low calories and after having metabolism affected, high calories become a living nightmare. I personally have experienced the same. And it isn't surprising to see such results in the study. And I do agree low calories do affect your body in a very complex fashion. I had done Dr. Bernstein's diet. And that diet (around 500 calories a day) had wrecked my body for over a decade. It's only now I have up and decided surgery it is for me.

Anyhow, for me personally, I am petrified of going beyond 1200 calories cuz of my past experiences. I don't even know how I can lose weight if I go over 1200. So yeh, this calories fear will always be there. And not sure how it'll work for me in future. Let's see what calorie count I hit at in my 1st month of soft/regular diet phase.

Oh yeah, my metabolism was well & truely wrecked from decades of literally starving myself to try to lose or maintain. That has been a bonus of this surgery: a metabolism that actually works again. I’m truely surprised by how much food I eat to maintain my weight now which would have resulted (& did) in weight gain at my much higher weight pre surgery.

I am still a believer of calories in & calories out (not that I’m a regular calorie counter by any stretch of the imagination) but temper it with the calories in are what your individual body needs to function. No one’s body is exactly the same as another’s & therefore our bodies have different caloric needs & we process the nutrients we need from the food we consume differently so we also have different nutrients requirements. That’s why one diet/style of eating will work for someone but not for someone else. It’s why so many of us advocate you discovering what works for you. That’s a benefit of this forum, lots of ideas, suggestions, experiences from which you can start to develop your eating style from people who truely understand the struggle.

[learn2cook 576]

Until 4 months out, I ate about 600-800 kcals. Then the hunger signals came and I listened. I just kept logging, but not stressing about it. I eat about 1000-1200 kcals now and the weight still falls off. I’m in Christmas maintain mode until tomorrow but it my goal is to listen to my body. I read the Biggest Looser article too and was shocked/not surprised by the lasting results in long term weight loss for very restricted eating. I don’t want any more fads. My program emphasizes Protein first, Water, veggies, and it there’s still room, fruits, oh and go to group meetings online.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, learn2cook said:

Until 4 months out, I ate about 600-800 kcals. Then the hunger signals came and I listened. I just kept logging, but not stressing about it. I eat about 1000-1200 kcals now and the weight still falls off. I’m in Christmas maintain mode until tomorrow but it my goal is to listen to my body. I read the Biggest Looser article too and was shocked/not surprised by the lasting results in long term weight loss for very restricted eating. I don’t want any more fads. My program emphasizes Protein first, Water, veggies, and it there’s still room, fruits, oh and go to group meetings online.

Sounds like you've got this well thought out. I totally agree. If my body says something, I listen.

Could I have given up EVERYTHING? Sure, for two months. I can do everything for two months. It's saddening to see those that think perfection is the only thing keeping them from failure. If that's the mindset, therapist time!

Edited December 27, 2021 by Guest

[oldandtired 238]

On 12/20/2021 at 12:33 PM, MiniGastricBypassDude said:

They said that to me 30 lbs ago, too. I fortunately know it's all about perspective. I think I look pretty rad now, though And I don't want to lose more mass.

BMI can go f' itself, though. What a useless measure. I'm not overweight, my face looks the best it ever has more or less.

[Arabesque 7,240]

On 12/27/2021 at 10:38 AM, MiniGastricBypassDude said:

Could I have given up EVERYTHING? Sure, for two months. I can do everything for two months. It's saddening to see those that think perfection is the only thing keeping them from failure. If that's the mindset, therapist time!

Exactly! I always say whatever style of eating you chose has to be sustainable. Doesn’t matter if it’s restricted calories, restrictive food choices (or even an excessive exercise routine). If you can’t do it for the long term & you can’t do it without limiting how you want to live & enjoy your life you’ll fail. Find your balance & what’s right for you & no body else.