BarbaraG

'Scuse me being nosey - but is there anyone here who is several years down the track and maintaining, able to say roughly how many cals they consume a day?

Cos I'm seeing posts by various post-op people, saying they are on 800, 1000, 1200 cals a day..... and I'm wondering whether that's the level they will be on for ever? Cos it doesn't seem enough calories to maintain a full-grown human being long-term.....

Barbara

tracyt84

althougth the calories dont seem a very lot thats all that is needed,most people take vitamin supplements after their surgerys so they are still healthy,good luck with ur decision xx

__________________


OCTOBER 2011~DOCTORS REFEREL
NOVEMBER 2011~FUNDING APPROVED
DECEMBER 7TH 2011~1ST HOSPITAL APP
FEB 2ND 2012~2ND HOSPITAL APP WITH SURGEON,DECIDED ON THE BAND AND PUT ON 6 MONTH WAITING LIST NOW WAITING FOR MY OP DATE
OP DATE 5/5/12 EEEKKK!!





Starting weight-21st 7lbs
1 week post op-20st 6lb-15LBS OFF
2 weeks post ok-20st 1lb-5LBS OFF

angiemason

and we all have to have high protein meals as tracy says the vitamins give us what we are lacking and we all have regular blood checks to make sure we aren't deficient in anything some people on here have had to up their intake because they were still losing after getting to goal weight but as far as i know they are all fine and well

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angie

TwinkleTwinkle

The different calorie amounts are mostly to do with what stage you are at post op. For my first few weeks I managed around 500 but now 5months post op have raised that to 1000 as per my dietician. People further out usually maintain at around 1400 to 1500 which to us seems a feast. Along with the supplement we all take, it is more than enough to maintain good health. xxx

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BarbaraG

Wow.....

The only time I survived on anything remotely like that was in my early twenties, when I went on a low- fat low-cal diet of 1300-1400 cals per day, and started running, building up to 30 miles per week. (That was probably when I knackered my knees, LOL). I lost over 6 stone in 8 months....and I was hungry, and obsessed with food, the whole time. I guess if you've had an op, you don't feel hunger in the same way?

Still don't get how the thermodynamics work, though. Yer average adult woman needing close to 2,000 cals/day to maintain a steady weight, and all that. Are post-opers living in a permanent state of semi-starvation?

Barbara

TwinkleTwinkle

Not at all I have not been hungry once since my op in October & the calories we consume can be increased if need be once goal is achieved. We still need to take in less calories & exercise to loose the weight but once you get to goal it will be trial & error to see what you need to maintain. We take in high protein foods first before anything else but due to the supplements we also have on a daily basis, the 2000 cals needed for a balanced diet in a pre op'er, is kind of mute. xxx

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Miss Tickle

Newish research shows that once you've been overweight and lost it you will need less calories a day than someone who has never been overweight. This appears to be because our bodies learn to use calories more efficiently whilst we are losing weight, as it's'instinct' is to hold on to the fuel. This also accounts for why we put weight on so quickly after losing weight and 'yo-yo'

__________________
Miss Tickle
xx

10lbs lost B4 pre-op.Pre-op diet -15lbs

Post Op Diet:








GOALS:
Christmas 11 17 stone
lose 8 stone15.1.2012.
Under 16st Done 5.2.12
BMI 30-DONE 31.3.2012
Easter Day 2012 Goal 14st11lb
LOSE 10 ST & BE UNDER 200lbs done 5.5.2012
Surgiversary-NORMAL under12st 4lbs

Post op Week:
1:- 6lbs 2:-10lbs 3:-3.5lbs 4:-5lbs
5:- 3.5lbs 6: - 4lbs 7: - 5lbs 8: -3lbs
9-3.5lbs 10-2.5lbs 11- 6lbs 12 -3lbs
13: -2lbs 14: -2lbs 15:-4lbs 16: -3lbs
17&18:-5lbs 19&20:-4lbs
21 -1lb 22 25.12.2011-4lbs: 23-2lbs 24-2lbs
25-4lbs 26-1lb 27-1lb 28-2lbs
29-1lb 30-1lb 31-5lbs 32-2lbs=9 ST GONE!
33,34(hols!)&35:-3lbs 36:-4lbs
37:Easter Day'12-2lbs=205lbs 38:STS 39:STS again! 40:-3lbs(phew!)
41: -7lbs 42: 43: 44:
45: 46: 47: 48:
49: 50: 51: 52:

Sharonimo

Hi Barbara,

Here is a link to an article by a bariatric surgeon which partly explains this phenomenon:

Arya M. Sharma, MD: Fat Chance Rob Ford, Diets Don't Work

This is the reason why most diets fail. For *most* of us restricting our calories to an "abnormally" low amount and trying to combat hunger on a daily basis is often possible for SHORT periods of time (up to 6 months, sometimes even a year) ..... but maintaining the weight then lost and STILL having to stick to less than 1500 cals a day and regular exercise defeats 95% of all but the most dedicated dieters without the assistances of weight loss surgery.

Dr Sharma has written many similar articles on his own blog (I will not repeat all links again) and I wrote a thread about this some months ago (if you use the "Search" facility in the green toolbar and use the "Advanced" option and search for "Threads started by" Sharonimo you should find it eventually! ...... towards the beginning of my posting history, one of my early threads -- titled something like "Science: why diets don't work and weight loss surgery does").

IN SHORT -- THE ADVANTAGES WLS HAS OVER REGULAR DIETS:

1. The drastic nature of surgery promotes a large weight loss in the first six months.

2. After a patient has reached goal weight WLS (whichever version -- band, sleeve or bypass) acts as a permanent appetite suppressant and control on the hunger valve that we all previously found so difficult to fight after previous weight loss attempts.

3. WLS also acts as a permanent "portion control" device, as none of us will ever be able to eat as large a plateful as we did before.

4. Weight loss surgery enables patients to survive on 1400 - 1500 calories a day without feeling hungry, and without feeling deprived. (For many post WLS people getting that many calories in takes some effort.)

In one of his many articles Dr Sharma (having surveyed his patients on their average eating habits) did come up with a figure, suggesting that the average post bariatric surgery patient does survive on only approx 1400 calories a day.

__________________
My condition at referral: Type 2 Diabetes, osteo-arthritis (knees and hips), High BP, asthma, chronic rhinitis, mild sleep apnoea, para-umbilical hernia .................................................. .................... [referred by GP: January 2011]

Pre-op weight loss: 43 lbs (330 lbs --> 287 lbs)

Weight from op date onwards:
Op day ....... 17 Apr ....... 20 st 7 lbs ....... (287 lbs) ....... 130 Kgs
Week 1 ....... 24 Apr ....... 20 st 0 lbs ....... -7
Week 2 ....... 1 May ....... 19 st 10 lbs....... -4
Week 3 ....... 8 May ....... 19 st 7 lbs ......... -3
Week 4 ....... 15 May ..... 19 st 4 lbs ......... -3

BarbaraG

Sharonimo,

Thanks ( I think)..... that explains it, but does rather suggest my current campaign is doomed to failure.

Lots to think about.....

Barbara

Big an Bouncy

The grehlin(hunger hormone)is reduced with the size of the stomach post surgery and you dont experience 'hunger'as we once knew it.I have not felt hungry for a year now,that and restriction keep me on the straight and narrow,literally!
We now eat up to 1400 on average calories per day of good quality food not crap so our bodies utilise it much better.

__________________



Bust:44in

Waist:39in

Hips:42in

Miss Tickle

I think the quality of food is a very good point B&B. Even though today I crave bad things I don't shovel them in like I used to. I really think about the nutrition in my food and it has to be worth my while ( as a general rule lol) for me to make the effort to eat it. Such a change !

__________________
Miss Tickle
xx

10lbs lost B4 pre-op.Pre-op diet -15lbs

Post Op Diet:








GOALS:
Christmas 11 17 stone
lose 8 stone15.1.2012.
Under 16st Done 5.2.12
BMI 30-DONE 31.3.2012
Easter Day 2012 Goal 14st11lb
LOSE 10 ST & BE UNDER 200lbs done 5.5.2012
Surgiversary-NORMAL under12st 4lbs

Post op Week:
1:- 6lbs 2:-10lbs 3:-3.5lbs 4:-5lbs
5:- 3.5lbs 6: - 4lbs 7: - 5lbs 8: -3lbs
9-3.5lbs 10-2.5lbs 11- 6lbs 12 -3lbs
13: -2lbs 14: -2lbs 15:-4lbs 16: -3lbs
17&18:-5lbs 19&20:-4lbs
21 -1lb 22 25.12.2011-4lbs: 23-2lbs 24-2lbs
25-4lbs 26-1lb 27-1lb 28-2lbs
29-1lb 30-1lb 31-5lbs 32-2lbs=9 ST GONE!
33,34(hols!)&35:-3lbs 36:-4lbs
37:Easter Day'12-2lbs=205lbs 38:STS 39:STS again! 40:-3lbs(phew!)
41: -7lbs 42: 43: 44:
45: 46: 47: 48:
49: 50: 51: 52:

BarbaraG

Further to Sharonimo's info, I remembered an organisation called the National Weight Control Registry which I discovered a few years back. It's American, and it collects information about people who have successfully maintained significant weight losses.

The key paragraph for me is this:

"Successful maintainers of weight loss reported continued consumption of a low-energy and low-fat diet. Women in the registry reported eating an average of 1,306 kcal/day (24.3% of energy from fat); men reported consuming 1,685 kcal (23.5% of energy from fat). "

Full report here:

Persons successful at long-term weight - PubMed Mobile

Boo hoo! Looks like there are three choices: 1) stay fat; 2) perpetual hunger; 3) WLS.

Mind you, according to Dr Sharma, The typical WLS patient is still going to be overweight or obese when their weight stabilises.... but will still gain major health benefits.

Still thinking,
Barbara