Nutritionest/P.O'Neil/W Dr. Pohls office

I just saw the Nutritionest & i asked her how many calories we should be having I am almost 4 mo out, she told me NO MORE than 500-600 cal a day !!!!!!! Until u reach goal, it doesn't matter how long it takes u can't have any more calories than that !!!!!! so if it takes 18 mo to reach goal thats all your allowed (Dr. Pohls orders) she says.. Which SURPRISED the HELL out of me !!!!!! On the main message board ALL i read is that if we don't up our calories our bodies go into starvation mode & we WON'T LOOSE weight, she says thats all UNTRUE !!!!!!!! So what i am asking is have any of u who have P. O'Neil heard that???? So basciially everyone on the main board who talk about this on a daily basis is all WRONG I mean u can't read a post without this problem being discussed Soooo confused....

I don't have Dr. Pohl so I can't comment on what his belief on this is. I have Dr. Roye who has never told me how many calories I can't eat in a day and I never had to meet with a nutrionist after the preop visit so who knows if I'm doing things right other than that I am happy with how things are going. I was told by Dr. Roye to eat more though. Over the winter I was so cold all the time, (I had to sleep fully clothed with 2 blankets and the heat cranked all during the day) He told me that I wasn't eating enough calories to produce adequate body heat and that was probably why I was also on such a long plateau. Sure enough I ate more calories (in the form of protein) and I felt better and started losing weight. I don't count my calories but almost every time I feel like I haven't been eating enough I don't lose any weight until I add more food to my routine. I think there isn't any easy answer to this. Everyone says follow your doctor's orders. And that is a good motto but I think as intelligent people we should make our own informed decisions. If the majority of weight loss doctors out there are saying something I usually decide to go with that train of thought rather than something that sounds weird from my own doctor. They may be great doctors but they are only human and may not always make the best judgements. And all doctors and nutrionist seem to say something slightly different from the next one, don't they? Good luck to you! Megan

Deb, I am seeing Dr Pohl today and will ask him. I have Kathleen at Healthway, I love her to death. Very smart lady and she never mentioned such a calorie restriction, she focused on the protein intake though and not the calories. I will keep you posted Stephanie

Thanks sooo much, I really appreciate it not going to see him until July 1 was way too long for me..P O'Neil was really comcerned about the calories saying i was having way too much (sometimes 700-800 a day) depending on the day,not so much on the protien MOSTLY the calorie intake...I left there feeling VERY DEPRESSED !!!!!! I thought i was doin pretty good but got a SHOCK when she mentioned the cal intake & also said my excersice at Curves 4X a wk for 30-45min wasn't good enough either b/c i am a lt wt i have to WORK HARDRER!!!!!! She said if i hit a plateau I would have to up the excersice NOT the calories to a WHOLE LOT MORE than what i am doin now !!!!!!!!! Just CAN'T WIN... Deb

Ok my Deb, Here is the answer I got today. We need to focus on the protein amounts (60 - 80 grams). When you choose the higher protein foods, they should also be on the lower carbohydrate side (mostly avoidng sugars). So when you do this, if you follow the plan, the chances that you will get over the 700 calorie mark would be harder to obtain. So if your calories are on the higher side, just make sure it's not because of higher carbs or fats. And if your getting in all your proteins and taking your vitamins, plus doing the exercise your doing, you should be good even if your calories are higher. This is the only part I hate is the conflicting reports on what should be done and what shouldn't. I just graduated to Stage 3 and going back on my weeks journal, I have only gotten in a maximum of 400 calories. Now being a nurse lol, I have sent people into the hospital for only getting in that many calories !!!. The difference is I am taking in all the protein I can. As far as upping the exercise good God almighty, your doing fabulous !!! Hope this helps a bit, your doing marvelous Ciao bella, Stephanie