Question about post-op calories

Hey all, my surgery is coming up December 7th, but my question is about my husband who had his surgery November 2nd.  Between October 18th and November 17th, he has lost nearly 40 pounds.  (he started out at 5'6" and 405 pounds). The nut told him he's not getting enough calories and should be aiming for 1000-1800 a day (He's barely getting 600).  He just gets to the start the purees on Monday and solids not until 2 weeks later.  He is allergic to whey protein and finds all the other powders/shakes disgusting.  He's pretty much subsisting on yogurt (which he's sick of) and pureed soups and refried beans.

I guess I thought in the beginning, getting in a max of 600 or 700 calories was typical.   I would like to hear others' experiences please.

Thanks!

Becky

Your NUT is out of his/her mind!  First of all, there's no way your hubby could be eating that much right now, just not possible.  And more importantly, he shouldn't be eating that much now! 

A lot of people have problem****ting 600-700 until they are a couple months out.  Regardless of your husband's size, if he wants to get the weight off as quick as possible, he needs to track his food and never go above 800 calories per day.  His body will pull everything else it needs from all his stored fat (of course he needs to take any additional vitamins the doc suggested). 

You can wait until other people on this page chime in - but they'll tell you the same thing: stick to the 800 calories per day max.  You can't go wrong! 

The quick weight loss after surgery is because we eat so few calories and burn stored fat.  Increasing calories now will just keep his weight on.  It took me about six months to get to 800 calories a day.  I felt great and lost weight steadily.

The NUT is treating him like a person who did not have surgery.  This is common and there are many people who listen and do not lose their excess weight as a result.

Try a canister of Beneprotein from Walgreens.  It is unflavored and not too bad mixed in with other foods.  Getting in lots of protein does contribute to better health during the weight loss stage.  It is hard to get in enough on 700 calories a day without a supplement.

Thank you!  I knew that information was wrong. 

He's being really diligent about the protein.  He did buy a soy protein but I think its flavored.  I'm going to encourage him to pick up some unflavored as well.

Monday he can start purees, whi*****ludes scrambled eggs.  Doctor also said he could start trying soft meat as well. 

GET A NEW NUT NOW! That is total BS! 1000-1800 calories per day, my a*&! 

I'm just a tad taller than your husband with what my doc called a long stomach and I had very little swelling, so no trouble getting anything down and I still only managed about 450-600 calories per day the first month. I didn't hit 800 calories a day until month 5 and stayed there until goal.

Your husband is SMO and needs to lose as much as possible as quickly as possible to get the most bang for his VSG buck. Get the protein, get the water, leave the extra calories! 

My program says 900 or less at six months out.  I usually fall between 5-700 which she says is totally fine for me.  As long as he gets protein in that is the big thing.  Purees will make that way easier.  They are more complete proteins than many shakes, anyway.  My nutritionist told me to not even worry about calories for the first few weeks and to focus on hydration first, protein second.

I don't think I can eat even over 1000 calories a day now almost six months out from surgery.  Maybe if I literally ate every single hour of the day, or ate a ton of junk food?

Fire the NUT. Help your hubby find protein sources he can tolerate better. It is just a matter of time before yogurt will be too much to bear if that is all he is doing. A couple of things that worked well for me is to put protein powder in my morning coffee, unflavored protein powder in things like yogurt or soup. I cannot recall what type of protein is in the cream of chicken soup that is high protein, but that hid the protein taste well. I used to use a soy protein available at Sams or Costco- the chocolate one and put that in the coffee. You can turn it into hot chocolate too if that is more palatable. He isn't too far from being able to eat soft meat, so tell him to hang in there. Once he is cleared for meats it will be a whole lot easier for him!

My surgeon told me the same thing at my 2-week post-op checkup -- eat 1000 calories/day or my "metabolism would shut down." Just not true or doable for at least the first 4-5 months post-op. At 10 months post-op, I can sometimes eat 1000 calories, but that's when I eat stuff I shouldn't. At 1000 calories, my weight loss stalls, so I know that's too many calories to effect weight loss (I'm female; the numbers would be slightly higher for a man).

Remember, the sleeve is a relatively new procedure. There are as yet few standardized protocols regarding post-op nutrition. Surgeons' and nutritionists' advice varies wildly, and a lot of it is just plain wrong.

It sounds like your husband is doing just fine.

psychoticparrot