Calorie ranges?

Did anyone receive any guidance from their surgeon or their nutritionist regarding calorie ranges to shoot for? All I was told was to eat at least 60-80 grams of protein and no more than 200 grams of carbohydrates and 60 grams of fats -- nothing about calories.

I've been using SparkPeople.com since long before my surgery to track my food, nutrients and exercise. According to their calculations, I should consume between 2100 and 2470 calories a day based on my current weight and exercise schedule. If I were to eat the maximum amounts of fats and carbs my nutritionist recommends, that would only total 1350 calories leaving 750 to 1130 calories to be made up of protein (or 187 to 282 grams of protein) -- I don't think that's possible! (Of course, SparkPeople has much higher amounts of carbs and fats than were given to me by my nutritionist.)

SparkPeople also recommends that men eat at least 1500 calories per day to avoid going into "starvation mode" where the metabolism slows way down to preserve fat reserves because the body thinks there must be a famine. I think that is what has happened with me. I've been exercising regularly (60 minutes of strength circuit training and 30 minutes of cardio 3 times per week) and keeping my calories way below SparkPeople's recommendations (this was before I read about the 1500 calorie minimum) and my weight loss has slowed to a crawl. I'd be happy with a pound a week but I've been between 222 and 223 for weeks now. I aimed for 1500 calories today but wasn't able to do it -- stomach's not big enough any longer -- I feel bloated right now.

I plan to call tomorrow morning and make an appointment to see the nutritionist and go over all of this with her. I was just curious what kind of guidance everyone else has received.

Thanks for your input.

My nutritionist specifically said NOT to count calories. She said the for WLS calories are not important. The important parts are carbs, protein, and sugar. I would think that 2100 cals is alot though. The recommended daily calorie intake from the FDA is 2,000 and you are trying to create a caloric deficit, so I would think you would need closer to the 1500 or less.

I couldn't find anything on the FDA website about recommending 2000 calories per day for everyone. The nutrition labels on food products do use a 2000 calorie per day value to calculate percentages but that's not really a daily recommended calorie intake. Many labels also show the percentages based on 2500 calories per day. The amount of calories needed per person depends on many factors. Weight, height, age, gender and activity level are the major ones. A 90 year-old, 4' 10"  woman in a rocking chair weighing 100 pounds is going to require far fewer calories than a 20 year-old, 6' 3" lumberjack weighing 220.

There is a set of equations called the Harris-Benedict formulas which are used to calculate caloric requirements. The one for men is different from the one for women. If you search the Internet you can find calculators which will take your weight, height, age and gender as input and give you your approximate basal metabolism rate (the calories your body uses just staying alive) and then apply a factor for your activity level to the BMR to calculate a rough value for the number of calories per day needed to maintain your current weight. Subtract 500 calories from that and you have a value for daily calories required to lose 1 pound per week.

Based on the Harris-Benedict formula for men, I require 2682 calories per day to maintain my current weight of 222 pounds or 2182 to lose 1 pound per week. As my weight drops my BMR will lower and my caloric requirements will be less. With or without WLS, calories do count. Take in too many and you will gain weight; take in a little less than you need and you will lose weight; take in way too few calories and your body will defend itself by lowering your metabolism to the point where weight loss is extremely difficult. My belief is that that is what I have been doing.

I realize many people don't want or need to be this analytical but that's just the way my mind works. I apologize if I'm cluttering the message board with stuff that's not helping anyone else. I'm just curious about what other nutritionists have told their patients.

P.S. I just did some further searching and it turns out the values on the nutrition labels are average values needed: 2000 for women and 2500 for men. Here's a link: dwb4.unl.edu/Chem/CHEM869P/CHEM869PLinks/www.heartinfo.com/n ews97/foodlabel71697.htm These are just averages; more accurate values are achieved through the Harris-Benedict formulas.

I'll go back to being a science nerd now.....

I am almost 5 months post-op and was told to stick to around 1200 calories and 89 grams of protein per day.  Of course, I am a woman and am 5'6".  I would def. recommend meeting with your nut. to go over what a good eating plan for you would be.
Best of luck and let us know what the nut. recommends.
-Heather

** DISCLAIMER ALERT ** EVERY DOCTOR/NUTRITIONIST HAS DIFFERENT STANDARDS !! TALK TO THEM BEFORE INCREASING /CHANGE YOUR INTAKE !!

 

My Doctor/Nutritionist told me in the beginning don’t be too concerned/worry about “calories, fats, sugars, carbs, etc". Make sure you are getting your 60 to 80 grams of protein. THIS IS IMPORTANT TO WEIGHT LOSS. In the future you can worry about all those other things, but for now - WORRY ABOUT THE PROTEIN. Now don’t get me wrong - I don’t want you to eat a bag of chips, or whole cake or drink tons of ice cream shakes in order to get protein in. You need to use some common sense :) !!

 

When I first had the operation I noticed if I ate 4 ounces of protein I didn’t feel full - however if I ate 6 ounces I did. I spoke to my Doctor about it. FOR ME he said that those “numbers" are somewhat guidelines. He went on to explain there are some folks who feel full on 2 ounces of protein while some need 6 or 8. He also explained that the calories intake should not be too much of a concern in the beginning. The way he explained it to me was: Prior the operation I may have been taken 3,000 calories per day. After the operation, with the amount of food I was taking in - I may have been taking in 1700 calories. While that’s 500 calories more then the “recommended daily allotment" for bariatric patients - it was actually 1300 calories less then what I normally took in. So not only was I loosing weight, but was also feel full. We need to worry about calories when out weight slows downs/stops or starts going up. ADVICE WARNING: TALK TO THE DOCTOR BEFORE INCREASING YOUR INTAKE

Thanks, Tom. I'm convinced I was taking in too few calories. I'm now shooting for at least 1500 calories every day and I've actually lost a couple of pounds since my original post. This is after 3 weeks of bouncing between 222 and 223. I don't think I can eat enough healthy food to meet SparkPeople's recommendations but if I keep my calories between 1500 and 1800 I think I'll be OK. (I emphasize healthy because I'm sure Ben & Jerry's would be happy to help.)

I've called my nutritionist and she was out of the office but is supposed to get back to me tomorrow (Monday). I'll try to post back to this topic and let everyone know what she says.

Well, it's taken 2 1/2 weeks but I finally talked to the nutritionist on the phone today. She's going to pull my chart and work up both a weight-loss calorie range and a maintenance range for me. I see the surgeon tomorrow and she will try to make time to see me then & go over it but, if she can't, she'll still give the ranges to the surgeon to give to me. She says she uses a different formula from the Harris-Benedict formula which she feels is more appropriate to bariatric patients.

She does agree, though, that I was getting too few calories. Since I've raised my calorie goals, my weight loss has started up again but I'm still hoping to get a fill tomorrow. I still don't have good restriction and can overeat if I allow myself to do so. I really would like to reach the point where I get negative reinforcement if I eat too much. The whole reason I had this surgery was that I couldn't maintain any weight loss I've achieved in the past. Little by little, my relationship with food is definitely changing but I'm not there yet.

I'll check back in after my visit to the surgeon tomorrow and let everyone know what both he and the nutritionist have to say.