Lost and Need Some Direction

Hi again all,

First off I had my VSG in June '14 so coming up on a year in short notice and I'm having some major issues. Almost immediately after I had my procedure I had an issue with wherein I lost my previous job which was provided my insurance. So long story short I no longer have the support of my surgeon and NUT.

Now I am a nurse and thankfully jobs are not to difficult to come by, unfortunately the insurance that I ended up with this time does not provide support for these services, and financially I cannot afford a NUT out-of-pocket. I do my own f/u with lab work and such and I'm well within the limits, thankfully insurance doesn't fight too much in regards to that.

The information I was given post-op was very limited and had almost no detail as far as what I'm supposed to be doing as far as calories, protein, etc. I was able to find general guidelines but nothing specific. If there is a book out there about it, I probably own it but they skate right around the macros and the really important information as they do not wish to be held liable.

My weight loss had been going fairly well, went from 330 to 244 and I can tell my form is still changing but weightloss had officially stopped almost 6 months after surgery. I've read everything I can get ahold of and nothing is helping. 

I have no limitations on what types of foods I can eat, I have zero intolerances. (correction I have self-imposed limits. I HATE raw tomato and mushrooms) but I've tried using MFP but without knowing what I'm supposed to be getting its a total crap shoot.

I am hoping that the hundreds of folks here can help as far as what I'm supposed to be getting nutrient wise. I feel as though if I don't get this figured out ASAP this will have been a wasted procedure. 

I'm 26 years old stand 5'10" and as of this morning was at 244 lbs.

Thank you in advance for any guidance/suggestions you can give,

p.s. I have been through the recipes here an on countless other sites I and I know my way around the kitchen fairly well, but any guidance outside recipe locations would be helpful. BUT if you have a recipe that you think is absolutely amazing and everyone needs to know about I'm not opposed to giving it a try. I also have my vitamins and supplements all sorted so I don't think those need adjusting.

You should aim for 60g of protein per day to meet your body's needs.  Beyond that only calories matter for the purposes of weight loss.  There's nothing magical about protein that makes you lose weight and there's nothing sinister about carbohydrates that stall your loss.  If you aren't losing weight then you're simply eating too many calories.

My personal plan is centered around whole and minimally processed vegetables.  I eat a lot of salads, grains, beans, and fruit.

What would you say is a realistic calorie goal? 60g of protein seems low for what my NUT had been talking prior to surgery but she never really clarified.

Do you keep food journals or use MFP? that I could look at a "normal" day for you?

Thank You.

There's nothing sinister about carbs other than in general they make you hungry & don't fill you up so it's easy to go overboard on things like nuts & grains, while healthy, will give you a lot of calories in the meantime.

The body naturally wants to get it's energy from carbs rather than working at getting them from the fat stores in your body, it's also much easier to digest carbs & quickly process them, protein however takes more work & thus stays in your stomach longer. I believe that's why most are on a protein forward diet, but it really does come down to the amount of calories you're eating.

There's nothing magical about protein other than it fills you up & keeps you feeling fuller longer than veggies & grains.

Most people while in weight loss mode are on a more protein forward diet, there are those however that lean towards a more vegetarian approach, while not impossible, it is more difficult while you're in weight loss mode., not because of nutrients, but the satiation factor., at least that's what I think.

I'm more satiated eating chicken as the main part of my meal & then I'll fit in veggies if I can, there's usually not much room for that after the chicken. Plus everyone's plan is different.

My plan has me getting at least 80g of protein, preferably from dense protein, then carbs from veggies first, then fruit. My plan doesn't have me counting calories, carbs etc, but I do keep track of them & use them as a guideline. I use an app called my fitness pal, but I don't go by their numbers as to how many calories I can have, those numbers are usually not for people who have had wls. I do however try to keep my calories between 700 and 1000 & carbs below 60. I adjust the numbers as I work my way down., plus I aim for 80oz of water.

I also had my VSG in June 2014! nice to find someone with the same surgery month as me.  It seems that MOST people here with the VSG do very well following a Low Carb or Atkins type diet after surgery.  It gets you to eat the protein you need and keeps you away from the SUGARS had high carb foods.  I still don't each much in the way of raw vegies or salads, I always eat my lean protein first. Keep your carb between 25 and 40 and you should start losing. Try to go at least 2 weeks without going over on carbs or you might not lose so well.

I'm about to have surgery and I'll find out more tomorrow. This is my issue too as I can't find anything that gives enough info on what to eat. It seems to be a very limited diet, boring. How do you count protein? My Dr is awesome one on one, face to face and I love that. But, like any Dr it's a fast visit. I know meat & eggs are protein and I've only bought one protein powdered shake and it's nasty. It is not a meal replacement, at least not yet. If Adkins is a good plan I'd run buy a book. I'll ask my Dr about that tomorrow. I love asparagus and just read that it makes your liquid waste stink for most people. Oh, so that's what it is? I couldn't figure it out. I'm a very picky eater and these foods pretty much are gross to me. But if I only have to get a small amount in each time. I can make it 

There are actually at least 2 books. The Big Book on the Gastric Sleeve and others. Search them on Amazon... I am just beginning my journey so I cannot help you otherwise... good luck to you