Little help with Fitness Pal Please.

Hi all,

So after encouragement to start using the App, I need a little help to set things up.

Being 3 weeks post op now, I think my target Calorie count should be set to around 600 Calories based on advice I have recieved from our fellow posters,   Right?  To get that (600 cal) I set Protein to 65% , fat to 15% and Carbs at 20%  

My Protein target should be around 100g/day..maybe a tad more.

Is that correct? If not I would appreciate some assistance.

As well, MFP has a great built in DB of foods etc.  I have already cone across a couple , Like Pea Soup where the option for amount does not have the 100ml I want to add in.  Do I need to create one then for the amount I am eating? What parameters are used if the info on the can is for larger portion sizes? 

My protein shakes count for 150 cals, it wont take long to blow that 600 Cal limit once a few yogurts/cheese or blended/pureed foods are added.  

I feel like such a guy,  lol

Hey Wayne I believe you can adjust the serving size of the pea soup ex. if in the data base it says 200 mls you can just type in the serving size to 0.5 and the info should then be corrected for 100mls. I hope that helps. I haven't used this program in a while and it looks like the display has changed since I last used it. 

I'm not too sure on your macros as I really just use it to track carbs, calories and protein.

As for the food database, you can you adjust the serving size once you've selected the item.  So if it shows 1 serving is 300 ml then you would only record 1/3 of the serving to get your amount.  The app will adjust the other numbers based on the serving size you input.

I wouldn't worry about going over 600 calories unless you are doubling it or something.  I take it you are still on full liquids or purees/soft foods.  I know my portion sizes were limited to 1/2 cup after surgery and then increased over time.  if they don't have ml.  use an online calculator to covert your Ml portion into cups.

once you move into soft foods and are eating more dense foods you'll find the restriction will kick in.  Im travelher on MFP.  if you add me as a friend my diary is open.  surgery date was october 4.  so you can look at corresponding dates to see what I was eating...eg I just checked Oct 21.  My calories were set at 800 but only got in 637.  I had 1/2c cottage cheese for breakfast with pureed berries.  Hummus for a snack, tofu and acorn squash for lunch, premier protein for snack and nothing for dinner (was clearly struggling to get food in still at that point).   By November 1 that changed...Calories were up to 700+ breakfast was premier and pb2, snack was 1/2 a stuffed pepper, lunch was salmon sashimi and avocado, snack was 1/2 premier and some cottage cheese (Still no dinner). by the end of that week i was in the top half of the 700 calorie mark and by the following week i'd upped my target to 850 calories.  though they still ranged mid 600s to low 800's.

once I got to 900 calories my aim was to keep it between there and 1000.  My target is now 950.  I don't sweat it as long as i'm under 1000.  before that I didn't sweat the calories at all other than to try and get them up.  my focus was getting enough protein in.  

Your macros input depends on your and your dietitian's philosophy.  many patients are on a keto-like post op plan which is on a high protein low carb diet (post op virtually everyone is on this for at least a short time period to meet protein goals).  from there patients either continue on Keto type plans or move to a more balanced macro plan with the focus on nutritious choices (like high nutrition vegetables and fruits, minimal processed food and dairy etc).    Many people find keto easier to maintain because it doesn't limit fat so they still get to eat foods they enjoy like cheese and nuts.   if you are eating things like cheese you will likely really struggle to get your fat down to 15%

I prefer a balanced macro plan 35% carb 25% fat 40% protein which lands me at around 90+grams of protein a day.  I switched when my dietitian asked me to up my carbs as they were too low.  My carb choices are all high fiber so it offsets the total carb number and I feel better with some carbs in my diet, and my choices do not lead to blood sugar spikes (i actually had a blood test shortly after eating my overnight oats and my glucose levels were normal for someone FASTING  was surprised by that.  

Other people thrive on keto.   Both work for weight loss.  the question i asked myself is what can i maintain in the long term.  if a couple of blueberries will make you crave a bag of potato chips you may want to stick to keto.

Thanks for this.  I will try your Macro settings because II was always told Protein First.

The App we use (Seamless MD) has been telling me I can start Stage 4 which is the soft diet. WLC Guide says around 4 weeks, I have been somwhere in the middle for a few days already and think I will stay here a tad longer. 

I am going to check put the Keto thing. Can't say I have heard about it about until now nut I already know I will be more about the Protein myself.

Thanks again

Aim for 60 to 90 grams of protein. Sugar under 10mg. I didn't really track carbs. Just avoided them as much as possible first year. They come naturally in some stuff but didn't worry about it. You are doing great. Keep it up!

Hi Wayne,

You can add me as a fried too if you like; I'm Shrinking_Kathy on MFP.

I have my calorie goal set at 700 but usually eat much less that that; my insides are healing slowly and I had trouble with purees and had to go off them and back on to liquids.  I'm back on limited purees again now, and can handle things like egg salad, yogurt,  and cream soups. I tried the baked ricotta and it was delish but caused me pain afterward on two servings, but was fine on one serving (in the middle) so I froze the rest and will wait another week before trying it again.  If you like Italian food, I recommend it as it's yummy. 

I'm not sure how important calories are at this stage, as long as we get our protein in and keep our sugars and bad carbs (breads, potatoes, rice, etc.) low.  My booklet says to try to keep sugars down to less than 5 grams per serving. I am not worrying at all about the good carbs in veggies at this point, however, have not had any veggies yet, except in cream soups.  I plan on trying butternut squash puree in a few days.

When I input food, I usually look for some that have the 1 ml option so I can add 30 or 40 or whatever servings of one.  Failing that, I find the one cup option so I can change the serving size to quarter cup or whatever it is I've eaten.  There are often lots or repeats in the food database and I usually choose the one that matches my food, and if I can't find it, put in my own food and stats.

I never click on the words "complete this entry" at the bottom of the food diary so the pages are all still available.

If you eat a lot of the same foods every day the app makes it easy to track it because it keeps track of the foods you eat so you don't have to search for them every day.

I find it helpful for tracking water too.  I need to remember to track my walking better; I usually forget to add it, and I walk almost every day.

I would not worry about about macro ratios or calories at all at this point. Just focus on getting your protein in. I know MFP sets macro targets but you an ignore them and just focus on tracking your intake. Way to go on tracking by the way! MFP is a great tool for this. 

At 3 weeks out, get in your protein, water and vitamins. Everything else will just fall into place, assuming you are following your meal plan. Once you get your protein in, you won't have much room for anything else. 

I have gotten more familiar with MFP since posting and with the help of the two ladies above.  

I feel much better just knowing my cal intake is lower than I thought originally.  Protein is definetly first above all elae

Thank you.