Question:
How many calories should you take in.

I had surgery on 7/7/09. I wanted to know how many calories should you take in a day. Also are you allowed to eat weight watchers meal and any other reduced calorie meals. I dont eat the whole meal but its easy for me to take to work.    — DonnaRo (posted on August 27, 2009)

August 27, 2009
The amount of calories you eat is based on how far you are into your post op. Usually at 18 months out, 1000-1200 are what you are to eat to maintain your goal weight. Although, double check with your doctor, as I am not sure if it is based on height etc. And I wouldn't eat WW food right now. You are still healing and should still be at the thick liquid or pureed phase. Your pouch is not healed enough to eat food or even a lot of it. So baby your pouch for about another 3-4 months. It is still swollen, and tender. Don't rush putting food into it, other than thick-pureed food. Let it heal slowly. After your pouch is healed, I would say sure take the ww food to work. It is healthy and portion controled but you don't need to worry about that. The reason why people have a lot of problems post op, is because they rush eating real food. Trust me, you want your pouch to heal properly without scar tissue or strictures etc. I can't stress that enough. Some doctors have people eating solid food the next day. But your stomach just had a "Major" surgery and your intestines are different now. But be sure to chew your food to mush, if you are eating the food. I put all of my regular food in the blender with a little water or broth and just ate it like that. So then I took the soupy food and put it in small containers and put them into the freezer for another time. Otherwise you will end up throwing away a lot of food. Right now, you really don't need to focus on calories, per se; your main concern should be getting in your protein and your liquids. But once you more onto solid food, that is when the calories count. I know you got more than you asked for in your question, but the healing process is so important for successful weight loss. take care
   — Kristy

August 27, 2009
I am a year and a half out.. I take weight watchers meals to work every day. I think I keep them in business. lol I don't even eat all of it anyway.. But I think its too soon for you to eat that kind of food. But when you are able, weight watchers dinners have done good for me. I actually can get 2 meals out of them. As far as the calories, sorry I don't know that. But being a year and a half out, I still can't get my calories in,, food to me is very hard to eat. Good luck and enjoy your transformation.
   — okbuffy

August 27, 2009
Every doctor & NUT are different, I would check with yours. It also depends on what type of surgery you have had as well as what stage you are in (how far out you are).
   — Krisican2

August 28, 2009
This is just my surgeons wishes but he doesn't like us to eat WW or Lean Cuisine because that food is all a part of the "fast food" mentality. He believes we should prepare a meal and get away from a quick fix. I think that is an interesting way to look at prepared meals. Don't tell him but I have had a few since my surgery!
   — Muggs

August 28, 2009
I am nearly 6 months out and I take in between 500 - 800 calories per day. My nutritionist wants me to eat 6 times per day, with each "meal" being between 100 - 200 calories, or at least averaging that throughout the day. For instance, I eat one serving of Egg Beaters in the morning with some chopped mushrooms and chopped fat-free turkey breast lunchmeat from WalMart scrambled in, and either half a SMALL banana or a quarter of a cup of sliced strawberries, in addition to my vitamins (which DO have calories and other nutrients in them). My breakfast total is between 135 and 175 calories, depending on the fruit I eat with it). Then, I might have a Weight Watchers String Cheese for my midmorning "snack" - that's 50 calories. And then, for lunch, maybe 2 oz of Lemon Pepper Tuna or Mango Chipotle Salmon with a tbsp of light mayo and some dill relish stirred in (usually have this by itself, but occasionally will eat it on top of half of an Orowheat Double Fiber English Muffin - or half of an Orowheat 100% Wheat Sandwich Thin). I usually don't get around to eating my midafternoon snack, but when I do, it's either another WW String Cheese and a bite of fruit or another high protein item. Dinner is usually 2 oz of chicken with a very small amount of whole grain carbs like brown rice (less than a quarter of a cup) or vegetables that are high in fiber, or 2 - 3 oz of the new "Gardein" vegetarian dishes available at Safeway or Whole Foods, or 4 oz of sushi-stuffing (by that I mean, just the fish-part of the sushi, not the rice and seaweed - it goes down really easy - you might even call it a "slider" food, and salmon is really high in Omega-3 and good fats). Then, for my before bed snack, I almost always have a single serving of Oikos Plain Greek Yogurt with a little vanilla, a couple of packets of Splenda, and two tablespoons of Polaner Sugar-Free Strawberry preserves with Fiber stirred into it. It's delicious. You're barely 6 weeks out... you are probably still eating between 1 and 2 ounces at a time, total, and still drinking protein shakes to supplement, right? Those have a lot of calories in them, too... so make sure you take them into account. My total calorie count is highest when I add a protein shake in at the end of the day to augment my protein count when it's low. Hope this helps.
   — Erica Alikchihoo