What Do I Watch?...Carbs/Protein or Calories?

I feel dumb for even asking about this, but I'm struggling...I'm two weeks post op and I've been in a stall for four days. I stayed at the same weight for the first two days, GAINED a pound on the third day, and I'm back down a pound today. I'm getting lots of fluids, walking as much as I can on my treadmill, taking all my vitamins and supplements and can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I'm trying to re-evaluate how I'm handling my diet post op and need some clarification. 

My post op diet is somewhat vague about how I should be determining what I eat. While I know that I'm on a mostly liquid diet at this point, it does say that I can have some soft foods like cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. for my snacks or for my evening meal. What I DON'T know is whether I'm supposed to be paying more attention to carbs and proteins or calories. Is there a certain caloric "ceiling" we should be staying under? What is the recommended ceiling for carbs?

Search "three week stall" on this site and you'll find what you're going through is normal. I stall every other week, actually, I lose 1-4 pounds one week, gain 1-3 the next week and lose it plus another 1-4 and it starts over. It's normal for a lot of us, your body is just adjusting.

I tend to try to stay under 30-60 carbs, myself. 800 calories.

Hi there,
I believe most of the vets on here would recommend the following for optimal weight loss...

Calories between 600-800
Protein between 80-100 grams
Carbs between 20-40 grams
Water at least 10 cups

I know when I follow this plan it works for me. Good luck!!

I follow the same plan as Jenn and Candy.

What Jenn told you is right on and is the plan I followed to goal.  Good luck and remember, the three week stall is totally normal.

First, work on getting your fluids in, then your protein, and then and only then, worry about calories.  (I, personally would not go over 800 until goal as per my doctor's instructions).  I took me many months to even hit the 600 mark and my doctor was fine with this as long as I was meeting my protein requirements and taking my vitamins.

I didn't worry about counting anything but liquids and proteins until I made the move off of liquids and onto food.  Stay hydrated and get your protein.  You don't have room for anything else.

When you hit real foods, the plan others have posted works just fine. 

All of the above.

 

Seriously, what Jenn Said.

 

Through my weight loss I stayed under 600 calories.  I used every technique I could to get every gram of protein out of those calories - only lean meats, no oil, no starches.  On less than 600 calories, I could get >80g of protein on most days.

I tried to not eat a bite that didn't have protein in it.  Now that I am in maintenance i eat a little more flexibly, but still follow the same rules.

Once you optimize protein and calories, theres not a lot of room left in the diet for any empty calories and carbs will be naturally low. Heres the thing about carbs in general, and sugar in particular, it will knock you out of Ketosis quickly.  Your body burns fuel in a specific order - simple sugar, complex carbs, glycogen, fat, muscle.  You need to keep carbs low so that your body goes after glycogen and fat.  You want to prioritize protein so that you have the building blocks to build new cells for growth and repair.  Thats all you really need since we get our vitamins and minerals from supplements.

Hope this helps clarify a little on both what and why.

You are getting great advice on what and how to eat. 

You can also address some of this with how you're thinking.  You will be in weight loss for a while.  You will be much happier during this period if you remember you're not in control of how much you weigh.  Your body is, and it is much smarter than you are.  You are in charge of eating, drinking, exercising.  Period.  Your body gets to decided when and how it will let go of the weight.  Trust your body, trust that it knows what it's doing and focus on the things you can control.

I'm saying this because, even after you settle on the perfect food plan, you won't always be rewarded with amazing weight loss every day. It doesn't mean the food plan isn't working, it means that that's what your body needs to do.  A good food plan followed imperfectly for the long term will work.  Period.  The part of me that wants to "improve" on my plan is usually the monkey trying to get me to eat.

Focus on maximum nutrition for the calories you're eating, especially the carb calories.  There is comfort in following a plan, especially after years of chaotic and compulsive overeating.  Really take time to appreciate the peace of mind that comes from following a food plan, and try to let that be its own reward.  Seriously.  Losing weight is great, but that is only going to last until you reach goal, then you will have to find satisfaction in a sane and peaceful relationship with food because the scale won't be giving you the rush of weight loss.

Ditto what everyone else has said.

Ditto on searching out the three (or more correctly, third) week stall, as you body is still trying to figure out what's happening, and there are lots of things happening bio-chemically at this point.

Protein is your non-negotiable item as too little results in stripping muscle mass to feed the body its essential proteins; 60-80 gm is the typical recommendation for most women (guys often get a higher recommendation of 80-100gm). Calories and carbs are more negotiable with the 600-800 calorie/less then 40g carb being popular but by no means essential as many do well on higher calories and carbs, particularly if they are more active and/or are interested in keeping a better nutritional balance.