Question:
How many calories should we stay under? How much sugar? Protein? Carbs?

I'm one month post op and realized that I dont know if we are suppose to stay under a certain amount of calories in a day. Also, how many grams of sugar can you have in a day? Protein? And do we have to watch our carbs? How about fat grams? If you have any idea, please help me out, thanks! Figure this could be why my weight loss has slowed a bit :(    — Cherie K. (posted on October 8, 2001)

October 8, 2001
I limit myself to 6g of sugar per meal, natural or synthetic sugars. That includes all the pieces of the meal. Personally, I am a protein-a-holic. I shoot for 180g of protein supp per day in 30g increments. That might be a little high for others, but surely 60g minimum in supplement, plus whatever you manage in foods. I do not count calories or carbs, have held goal wt (about 110# for 6 yrs now).
   — vitalady

October 9, 2001
Hi Cherie! My doctor told me to eat every 2-3 hours for the first 6 weeks then after that to eat when I am hungry. I average 5 mini-meals a day. I try to eat as much protein as possible and as few carbs as I can without feeling deprived. I watch the carbs, especially bread and sugar which make me dump, but do not worry too much about fat. I am happy with my weight loss so far and have only had the one plateau. Your doctor may have some guidelines for you but I do this because I know that it is sustainable. If I had to count calories or grams for every meal I would not do it. I feel very satisfied on 800 to 1000 calories a day (I check every few weeks to make sure I am still on track). As for slowing down at a month I think that is pretty normal while your body catches up with itself. It has finally realized that you are in this for the long haul! :)
   — ctyst

October 9, 2001
The reason I had this surgery is because for me diets don't work. Counting calories or carbs sounds too much like a diet to me so I don't do it. I eat healthy and concentrate on protein rich foods. So far it's worked for me. I'm 13 months post op, have lost almost 130 pounds and am holding steady. I do limit the amount of sugar I consume to approx. 6 gms at any one time to reduce the chance of dumping.
   — georgiacarol