How many calories

[Sarahj2710]

Hi, I just wondered how many calories everyone is allowing themselves post-op? I am 10 weeks post op today, and am on about 800 calories per day, but I am constantly hungry (who was it that told me I wouldn't feel hungry for the first year following surgery) and this is not head hungry, this is proper 'I could eat a horse hungry'. I have no restriction so can eat practically anything, which is really worrying which is why I am limiting myself to 800 cals. Any ideas/advice would be appreciated.

 

[Sharonimo]

Hthis is not head hungry, this is proper 'I could eat a horse hungry'. I have no restriction so can eat practically anything, which is really worrying which is why I am limiting myself to 800 cals.

I think 700 - 1000 cals a day is about right for the first 3 - 4 months post op.

However, more concerned about the other comments you make about "no restriction" and feeling famished. Do you feel "no restriction" even with SOLID food? (I assume that at 10 weeks post op you have progressed beyond liquid and sloppy food to proper solid chunky food.)

If that is the case, I would be calling your bariatric team and asking for a barium Xray to examine your pouch -- it doesn't sound right.

 

[Sarahj2710]

Thanks for that Sharonimo, I honestly have NO restriction even on solids (have been on solids for a couple of weeks now). I went to the in laws for dinner on Sunday and had 2 slices roast beef, which I ate first, 1 spoon of roast veg, 1 Yorkshire pud, and 1 roast potato. I could easily have eaten that whole thing again, plus the pudding and he cheese and biscuits. (But i didn't) I was thinking of upping my calories to 900. Would they do this barium X-ray if I had my surgery done on the NHS?

 

[amanda577]

I was like you too sarah!! no restriction so I thought and was really worried. I have stopped having any sort of sauce or gravy with meat for instance, and boy do I feel restriction then... for example! If I eat a lamb escallope grilled and dry with no gravy/sauce then I can only manage maybe half of it before I feel totally full, whereas if I have gravy or baked beans or something similar with it, then I can eat double the amount. Maybe try eating something dry and seeing if you feel your restriction then, as that worked for me definitely. Now I avoid moist foods I stay full for longer and never really feel hungry anymore, only in my head now... xx

 

[Sharonimo]

Would they do this barium X-ray if I had my surgery done on the NHS?

Absolutely.

I had a barium Xray swallow test done on my sleeve at 6 weeks not due to any problems with the size of my sleeve but another problem (internal inflammation). However I did get to see my sleeve on the Xray screen and see exactly what it looked like.


You WILL have to be very persuasive with your bariatric team to force them to do it -- perhaps try the cottage cheese test and see how many ounces / grams of cottage cheese you can eat in one go before feeling full?

If it's more than 250 grams (9 ounces) you should DEFINITELY be asking to be seen. 250 grams is often the average size of a small plastic tub of cottage cheese.


Other things that could persuade your bariatric team to see you would be saying things like "I have not lost any weight" -- but obviously you have but only thru your own efforts to put a lid on your own calorie limits -- you will have to be quite firm with them stating:

(1) no restriction -- can eat .......... grams of food

(2) constantly hungry

(3) ............... etc etc


GOOD LUCK !!

 

[Sarahj2710]

Thanks for that, I am going to my support group on Friday and my team will be there so will speak to them about it.

Amanda, hello lovely. Long time no speak. How are you getting on?? Just looked at your reply, and remember you saying before that you felt that you had no restriction. Glad you've found it. Lol. I know this sounds silly, but I am a dry food eater, I can't abide 'wet' food unless its cereal or soup, so generally I don't have sauces with my meals, and definitely don't eat beans!! So, I am literally living on my calories, trying to be good with my eating but starving ALL the time.

 

[amanda577]

It does sound as if something isn't quite right. I only mentioned the dry food as it helped me, but if you still don't feel any restriction eating "dry" then probably best to get onto your team again. Sharonimos idea of the cottage cheese test seems to be a good place to start though.
will look forward to hearing how you get on with that.. You must getting so fed up with it all... I know how down I felt when I thought that the bypass wasn't working for me..
xx

 

[Dinnoo68]

hi Sarah

hi Sarah
Candy and Sheila have told me that at our stage we can have up to 1000 calories. i have about 700 max but i'm not out & about like you.
when i'm hungry I drink more but it doesn't sound like that'll work for you. what about having smaller meals more often, say six small meals a day rather than 3 meals??
dx

 

[Sarahj2710]

I am going to speak to Candy on Friday about it cos it is actually worrying me and getting me down a bit. Only in as much as I thought that having the surgery would restrict what I could eat, whilst in reality this is the same as any other diet where I am having to control the restriction myself, and use my will power to control what I eat, and lets face it, if I had any willpower I wouldn't have needed surgery in the first place. Now that I am back at work it's difficult to eat in smaller portions throughout the day. I don't know...... I'll see what the guys say on Friday. Actually Di, I've never met Sheila, and thought her and Aichen were the same person!!

 

[Dinnoo68]

Aichin & Sheila definitely different people. Sheila is great if you can get to talk to her but she is elusive. Candy is fantastic with advise i found. good luck

 

[Fading Grace]

Damn, this post worries me. I've obviously been overeating! I've been sticking to 1,200 a day for the last 5 months (some days more, some days less) I'm sure somewhere down the line I was told this was my daily goal as that number was in my head.
I've got an appointment with the dietitian in a couple of weeks so I'll speak to her about it. I best drop down to 1000 a day from now on and see how I get on. I need to drink more water anyway so when I get hungry I'll do that.

 

[amanda577]

I'm 10 weeks out of surgery and I never ever consume more than 700 calories.. And that is eating healthy protein and keeping it quite low carbs. But would really have a job to take in 1200 calories a day definitely.. My dietician said to try and aim for 800 calories and for 60-80gms of protein daily

 

[shelleymarie]

I think different teams advise different things but I'm sure that as long as no one is forces too much food in at one time then anything under 1200 calories would be ok. Obviously your own teams advice is the best but everyone is different and some people do better on less or more calories. I know a lot of people don't even count. I do as I find it helpful as I'm learning more about the food I'm eating where as I use to guess all the time. I have between 550 and 800 calories a day depending on how much activity I've done and if I get a hungry day, which does happen occasionally now. Not ravenous though, just mild hunger. I've not seen my dietitian yet but I've based mine on some things I read on sites around the net and the general feel is 800 for the first 6 months, then 1000 after and then 1200 from a year on out until you've lost what you need to lose, you might need to up it then to maintain but there are lots of variations on that and many say anything below 1200 is fine. So again I think it's something you've got to figure out for your self as to what you feel comfortable with, have enough energy etc and of course with your team.

Sarah the only other suggestion I was going to see how fast you are eating? I've noticed recently that I've increased my speed as I'm finding my stomach tolerates it more, because of that I've starting pressing a timer on my phone for 30 secs before I let myself have another mouthful. This is slowing things right down again, giving me chance to pick up signals of being full again easier. You might already do something like that but if not, give it a go and see if it helps. Hope you get some good advice when you go to the support group and get to the bottom of this as I'm inclined to agree it doesn't sound quite right xx

 

[Sarahj2710]

Thanks so much for your help and advice guys, and I am going to do everything everyone has suggested, from smaller and more frequent meals, to counting time between mouthfuls. I am convinced that I could quite easily eat 1200 calories. Hopefully tomorrow will bring answers. Xx

Shelly congrats on your new job by the way.
Xxx