Am I getting enough calories?

Hey Ladies (and the occasional gentleman)! I'm about 4 1/2 months out and I'm starting to lose a lot slower and was looking for some advice.  I'm wondering if my slower weight loss is because I'm not getting enough calories in during the day? (or possibly too many?)  I eat between 700-900 calories a day.  Does that sound about right to you all?  I would ask my NUT but she doesn't ever return my phone calls or emails..I think she may not even be with the practice anymore, but if she is, it is totally unprofessional!  Anyways,  do y'all think that sounds right?  Thanks for any advice you can offer!

Hi Carrie -

I have a couple of suggestions. Call your surgeons office and let them know that you are unable to reach your dietician and you need to have access; hopefully they can intervene on your behalf. Second, if you haven't done so already, check the Diet and Nutrition forum. It's moderated by Registered Dieticians and I've found them to be very helpful.

While I can't tell you what is in your medical best interest, I can tell you that in my experience my Nut. wanted me to be consuming about 900 calories/day. It sounds like it's on target with what you are doing. He said that when you fall below that threshold, your body really moves into a starvation mode and starts holding onto your fat stores even more. So I guess in my experience, the message was not to skimp on calories. As a matter of fact, I noticed that when I did skimp my weight loss seemed to suffer.

It's normal for your weight loss to start to slow a bit at around 4 months. Personally, I found it kind of alarming because I was nowhere near where I wanted to be; however, if you check my profile you will see that I'm very close to goal now and about 9 month post op. I guess what I'm saying is to stay with the program. Be sure that you are getting plenty of protien and hydration. Be sure you are taking all of your supplements and get out there and move. The weight will come off.

I think I was about 3 or 4 months out when I found www.thinnerself.com. It was a huge help to me because it helped me see that my rate of loss was actually on target for someone my age, weight, height who had had surgery about as far out as I was. It allowed me peace of mind and also made me focus on those things I needed to do keep the ball rolling.

Barb

If you have been trying to reach Christine Wooten she got a promotion and is no longer seeing patients - she was suppose to be passing off her phone calls to another NUT who was calling patients back - thats what happened when I called in November. That NUT now has an office set up at DrMelkonians office and sees paients there - you can call his office or the main number for Lake Norman Nutritional Assoc to set up an appt. If you were dealing with Anju I believe she got a promotion and/or switched to a different hospital (from what Ive heard thru the grapevine) and I am not sure what happened with her patients. At 4.5 months out you are right on track... I was told around that same range, at 6 months out you will go up to 900-1100 calories or so.  Its not only a matter of how many calories you are eating but where they are comming from - make sure you are balancing the protein out with fruits, veggies, dairy and whole grain/starch. The breakdown should be something like cal 700-900 fat 30g protein 60-80g carbs 60-70g (not 100% sure on this, may even be 70-80g) should be mostly comming from at least 2 servings of veggies, 2 servings of fruit, some from your dairy and limited to 1-2 servings from bread/starch... I think more around 1 serving at this point until your calories are upped but dont quote me.  Many people experience a stall around month 5, I ended up losing only 1lb my 5th month out and it picked up again the 6th month. You definately are not undereating as long as you are staying above the 700, just make sure you are eating balanced.... watch the protein so its not too high as well as the fat intake.

Thanks ladies!  Jennifer, it was actually Anju I was seeing and I seem to have been dropped like a hot potato...no letter about her changing, no phone call, no email, no nothing!  I'm really disappointed in the way that's been handled.  Anyways, thanks for the advice.  I REALLY appreciate it!!

Yeah I dont know the full story of what is going on there... just heard little bits here and there - sorry she never got back to you :-( DrMs office should be able to get you all set with the new NUT they are working with!

Hey Carrie...when i went to Dr. Melkonian, he informed me that you should lose 60% of your excess baggage in the first 6 months so if you were 100 lbs overweight to start, you should lose 60 lbs.   It would appear from your wt loss that you are right on target.   Keep up the great work and don't get discouraged. Take care, Pam