6+ months out ... How many calories do you average per day?

[needtofeelnormal]

My typical day would be;

Breakfast

A banana
Latte with semi skimmed milk (although I've just measured the cup I use and its 400mls ... Which is double the calories I'd been counting!)

Lunch

A wharbatons thin, 2 slices of ham, sliced tomato, 30g of low low cheese or Philly light.

Dinner

Full Chicken breast
Some kind of veg
1 or 2 small roast potatoes

Snacks ... Here's the problem...

Peach
Plum
A few squares of chocolate
Handful of nuts
Babybel Light
Another 1 or 2 lattes with skimmed milk

Other drinks
Large glass of fresh orange juice
1 or 2 glasses (on a good day) of water

God, that sounds so bad when I put it all down ... ? I'm not even counting the Orange juice either and just realised the calories in that ?

 

[ladilindy]

How big is a handful of nuts? I know I could fit quite a lot in my hands and they are high calorie. Can you drop 1 of your lattes? Maybe dilute the orange juice half and half.

It is definitely worth checking how much your cups hold, I was allowing 200mls and mine were actually 300. When do you snack is it grazing during the day or in the evening watching television?

Your lunch and dinner sound quite healthy, could you have slightly more at breakfast to help with the snacking?

Hark at the newbie preaching, but these are things that I am hyper aware of as I start eating "normal" food again

Lynn x

 

[Venture]

I'm a newbie too but have been looking at the nutrient contents of stuff more than ever before in my life!

First off I bet it would help you overnight if you got more water in. The old trick of sometimes hunger signals are hydration signals. It'll do you good as well as help. I find I drink a lot more water when I can have nice cold stuff, so if your work doesn't have a cooler maybe you could bring a 2 litre bottle and put in the fridge? Or a cool bag? Anything to get more down you.

Banana brekky is all carbs and sugar and very little protein so I wonder if that contributes to you feeling hungry mid morning (if you do). All your morning protein is coming from the milk in your latte and that's not very much! Could you talk yourself into something like eggs in the morning?

At lunch you have bread which could be making your afternoons harder work than they could be. Can you invent a work lunch without bread? (I struggle with this too btw!) I know it's thin but apparently it all turns to sugar, goes through you too quickly and leaves you peckish not long after.

Also you have lots of fruit in a day, fruit is obviously good but remember it's still sugar so if you're having trouble with your eating that might be an idea to look at.

In summary I reckon you'll find things easier if you get loads more protein and water in and cut back the carbs and sugar a bit, even natural sugar!

If you haven't already try out the MyFitnessPal app, it tells you the nutrient contents of what you're eating and gives you helpful goals and breakdowns of where you're getting them from (50% of my daily carbs are in one meal, that can't be good)..,

 

[needtofeelnormal]

How big is a handful of nuts? I know I could fit quite a lot in my hands and they are high calorie. Can you drop 1 of your lattes? Maybe dilute the orange juice half and half.

It is definitely worth checking how much your cups hold, I was allowing 200mls and mine were actually 300. When do you snack is it grazing during the day or in the evening watching television?

Your lunch and dinner sound quite healthy, could you have slightly more at breakfast to help with the snacking?

Hark at the newbie preaching, but these are things that I am hyper aware of as I start eating "normal" food again

Lynn x

The handful of nuts are about 20 pisatios, which are 4cals a nut. All of my snacking happens between 5 - 8pm then I don't have my evening meal til about 9.30 - 10 (I know this is late - but family life is so hectic when I get in from work that this is the 1st time I sit down to eat my evening meal).

I need to make all the minor adjustments mentioned and see how I get on.

I just worry that I seem to be able to eat quite big portions ...

 

[Tules]

Kirsty,
your dieticians suggestion is a good one. I do put some of the food I have on the mfitness pal but this is to only check the protein intake -

Like you guys, I do have the "crazy" moments when my eyes can pile on food I want to eat. I believe if I ever go to a all you can eat (devil's work!), I would still pile my plate up and eye up what I can have for the 2nd/3rd round.... awful...

But like Los in It, I can only manage little bit of what I fancy - but how about a few years down the line...that is the worry.

What is good guys, and something we should get our brain to accept, is that : it is OK to have small portions, we do OK with small portions, we do not need anymore. We can also savour and eat a small bit of something and even leave a bit behind...whoever thought that possible.

I took part in a research into over eating. I was giving an Ipod with a video recording to watch every morning, lunch and evening. Basically it was motivating you to think of food as nutrients, vitamins, minerals for your body. You were asked to imagine a certain food going down your belly and all the goodness you are giving your body for wellbeing. Thinking like that, during that trial I did change my lunch time eating pattern for example. There was no mention of calories, just thinking what is this food providing for my body? I guess the idea was to re-train the brain.

NeedtoFeelNormal: do not despair. You have lost 70% of your weight, that is an amazing achievement so you are obviously doing something right. And it is OK to loose weight slowly, get the body to used to new metabolism, food intake. I bet your measurements have been shrinking. You are doing fine, don't berate yourself.

 

[Venture]

The handful of nuts are about 20 pisatios, which are 4cals a nut. All of my snacking happens between 5 - 8pm then I don't have my evening meal til about 9.30 - 10 (I know this is late - but family life is so hectic when I get in from work that this is the 1st time I sit down to eat my evening meal).

I need to make all the minor adjustments mentioned and see how I get on.

I just worry that I seem to be able to eat quite big portions ...

That dinner time has got to be your answer then, you're starving by the time you get to eat properly! Your body is running off of a thin ham and tomato sandwich for 8+ hours and it runs out of steam so you go and start grazing ok stuff to keep you going until you can eat properly, and by then you're ravenous and can put loads away. I suspect if you could juggle things so that you could eat properly at 6-7 you'd be fine for the evening afterward. I know it's a hectic time but think outside the box, there must be a way to fit it in with your schedule. Or if not, maybe it's time to change the household routine to fit it in otherwise you might struggle to keep the weight loss going and that'd be a disaster.
They do say that hunger makes you eat too much and make bad choices when you do...
Just some food (ha-ha!) for thought

 

[ladilindy]

What is good guys, and something we should get our brain to accept, is that : it is OK to have small portions, we do OK with small portions, we do not need anymore. We can also savour and eat a small bit of something and even leave a bit behind...whoever thought that possible.

NeedtoFeelNormal: do not despair. You have lost 70% of your weight, that is an amazing achievement so you are obviously doing something right. And it is OK to loose weight slowly, get the body to used to new metabolism, food intake. I bet your measurements have been shrinking. You are doing fine, don't berate yourself.

I think these two points are very important.

I love vegetables and keep serving myself up nearly as much as I used to...then the dog gets the leftovers. This is one thing that I think My Fitness Pal can help with - if you are going to track accurately you need to know how much you are eating. Yesterday I had 2 slices of ham at lunch time, I estimated them at 40g but when I weighed them they came out at 75g, nearly twice as much.

I am much more focused on getting my protein intake now, rather than calories.

As Tules says don't beat yourself up you have done amazingly well so far

Lynn x

 

[Matra]

Hi, I'm 16 months post sleeve. Luckily I have lost 100% of my excess weight but do struggle now with snacking! I still weight myself once a week and if things are running away from me I head back to MFP and log my calories. Generally speaking Monday thru Friday I stick to 1200 calories and go to the gym 3 or 4 times. Then the weekends are more relaxed. So far this is working for me. I perhaps only drink one a month now but oh my goodness, my hangover munchies are a bi*ch!!
I never feel hungry which doesn't unfortunately stop me from craving 'something fine'? If I do get hunger pangs it down to hydration.

I should add that when I was trying to lose opposed to maintain I stuck to 1200 cals per day 7 days a week.

 

[Caroline jess]

This is controversial so please remember this is just my opinion.
A normal person does not eat 1000 calories a day, their body burns fuel efficiently and therefore they do not gain weight providing they are eating a sensible diet.
After wls our bodies have their metabolism reset generally after years of dietary abuse which has slowed our metabolism and made it inefficient.
I would suggest that it shouldn't be about calorie counting it should be about what you put in your mouth, your tummy is small so as long as you are watching what you eat it's very hard to physically eat enough of a balanced diet to make you gain weight. Also in another five years do you still want to be eating a vlc calorie diet? Does this work long term for any other diet?
Over time we will get hungrier it is inevitable but if you are combating this by eating more veggies with your protein you will be ok.
Maybe sometimes our bodies are holding on to weight or not losing because we are not nourishing them properly, they need more protein or even more good carbs or fats.
Of course we will always eat on the lower end of the calories section and there are those of us whose tummies are so small it is difficult to get more calories in. I am just saying that I think we should not be so focused on low calorie restrictive on carb/ sugar etc diets because that means you are still on a diet!
I also have about nine years experience and to successful wls operations and over that time I have learned some difficult lessons regarding nutrition and lifestyle choices.

 

[valentine]

This is controversial so please remember this is just my opinion. A normal person does not eat 1000 calories a day, their body burns fuel efficiently and therefore they do not gain weight providing they are eating a sensible diet. After wls our bodies have their metabolism reset generally after years of dietary abuse which has slowed our metabolism and made it inefficient. I would suggest that it shouldn't be about calorie counting it should be about what you put in your mouth, your tummy is small so as long as you are watching what you eat it's very hard to physically eat enough of a balanced diet to make you gain weight. Also in another five years do you still want to be eating a vlc calorie diet? Does this work long term for any other diet? Over time we will get hungrier it is inevitable but if you are combating this by eating more veggies with your protein you will be ok. Maybe sometimes our bodies are holding on to weight or not losing because we are not nourishing them properly, they need more protein or even more good carbs or fats. Of course we will always eat on the lower end of the calories section and there are those of us whose tummies are so small it is difficult to get more calories in. I am just saying that I think we should not be so focused on low calorie restrictive on carb/ sugar etc diets because that means you are still on a diet! I also have about nine years experience and to successful wls operations and over that time I have learned some difficult lessons regarding nutrition and lifestyle choices.

Sounds about right ..

After 10 years of having a band and then revision to bypass I have had many different eating habits..
After losing the bulk of my weight ( 9at )
Sometimes I gained a few pounds and sometimes I lost a few ..
Obviously put weight back on once my band had to be unfilled for the last 4 years of being in my body...
The only thing that seems to have helped with my metabolism is regular exercise..
I don't mean slogging weights about about in a gym.....
I am talking about easily accessible forms of exercise...
Brisk walking.., swimming.... Cycling...
Those are the 3 things that are really helping with getting my weight loss moving again after the initial "honeymoon" period....

my metabolism is definately being helped with making a concerted effort to move my body more..
Which in turn is helping me make better food choices ....
I do log my food intake now as I use a FITBIT to give me a good idea of how many steps I do etc and calories burned ...
It's not so much counting the calories ... It's more about keeping an eye on the numbers rather than trying to stay within them...

Works for me

 

[Tules]

I am with Caroline too.
Also remember we do need to eat 150grams of carb a day. My diet sheet mentions that those who consume this level have better weight loss.
I had this operation so that I don't count the calories but eat a little bit of good stuff over the day. Protein rich food (and yes nuts too), healthy carbs, veg, fruit all good for our body. We just need to watch the amount.

Your diet looks healthy to me. Similar to what I eat everyday. I do also start the day with a large latte... love my lattes!

 

[Caroline jess]

I would try mixing the food up a bit, have eggs for breakfast, fur lunch have a salad with protein and a healthy carb like bulgar wheat or quinoa. Have a bit of sweet potato with your dinner. Keep the fruit and nut snacks. Try cutting the lattes down a bit or have one but with full fat milk and then a couple of normal coffees. Cut out the juice a large glass of that is full of sugar and hidden calories. Most importantly up the water, water is so important to jump start the weightloss.
Another really good tip is either try the five day pouch test or mix up the levels of calories you are having for a while. I.e have about 700/800 for a couple of days then 1400/1600 the next few etc. this really helps to kick start a stall.

 

[Flickalicious]

It's hard to say how many calories I have in a day. Sometimes around 700 I guess. Occasionally double that maybe? :/ Im 18 months out and have lost 11st 8lbs (and had a baby in that time!) and im still losing slowly.
I don't sit down and eat at meal times. I eat when I'm hungry and knowing the signs is hard to begin with. I always keep a drink with me but water is too heavy. I have tea with full fat milk or fruit teas. Sometimes flat pepsi max just for sweetness.

The juice is a biggie - well done on being able to tolerate it! A few sips for me and I dump >. < Try eating berries instead. They are brilliant as they contain the least amount of natural sugars. I snack on cheesy triangles, cheese strings, pickled eggs, couple of slices of cold meat etc

Breakfast:
- High protein yoghurt with fresh berries
Or
- Small bowl of rice crispies with full fat milk

Lunch:
- Breadsticks/cracker bread/melba toast with cheese (philli, brie, primula) and fruit usually grapes or a small apple
Or
- 1/2 white baguette with tuna mayo
Or
- Chicken salad

Dinner:
- Roast Meat/Fish, 3 or 4 veg, potatoes
Or
- 'Pasta and all sorts' (diced salad, meat, cheese etc)
Or
- Lasagne, Spag bol etc

I'm no angel either. I sometimes have sweets, chocolate, ice cream, cake and things but in small amounts and not very often.

It's not a diet, just a new way of eating and worshipping this temple of mine haha XD Sorry for looong post!
I have an 'inspirational pics' thread if you wanna have a nosey.

Keep going hun, you're doing brilliantly! xXx