Calories vs Net Calories vs Carbs vs Protein

hurricanelena

A few questions for some of the vets:

1. Do you just look at straight calories eaten or MFP "net" calories? I like to add in my exercise (I get my calorie count from my heart rate monitor) just to keep track of how much I did that week but then I get more calores/carbs/etc.

2. Any suggestions on carb counts? My NUT said anything below 100g was good. I went back and looked at my diary from last fall (when I wasn't really watching carbs) and saw that on most days I only ate around 150g anyway as I really loved salad. I've only been tracking over the past week since I went to mushy foods, but I've been averaging 40-60g. I've seen people talk about being as low as 20-30g, and I'm really trying to figure out how they stay that low. Is it something that gets easier when you can eat solid food? I'm not a vegetarian, but meat is usually not my first choice for protein.

3. Does anyone track fat? I've been eating a lot of nut butters this week (no salt/sugar) so my fat has been higher, but my skin loves me. Is that perhaps derailing my calorie/protein ratio?

4. Is it weird that at 3weeks out I have no problem getting in 80-90oz of water and keeping my calories under 1000 is hard?

5. How quickly did people's hunger come back? (if ever) I find myself quite hungry now. Today I was trying to drink water and tell myself that it wasn't really hunger and had a lovely low blood sugar episode.

I wish our local support group didn't only meet once a month

Mangopickle

At 3 wks out my feeling of weakness I was converting to hunger. Of course my blood sugar was way lower than what I was accustomed to. This is where I think the pre -op dieters have an advantage over my 3 day pre - op liquid fast. I went from consuming 4000 cals a day (which I had no idea I was doing- because I did not measure and log my food) to 350-650 1st month post op. this led to some grazing, poor choices and an immediate stall. The nut hooked me up with MFP and I have been a good girl ever since. 3 meals, 1 snack, 750 cals a day. Any hunger no longer bothers me cause I have 50 lbs of fat on my butt that my body can eat any time it wants. So if the thought that i am hungry enters my head i say "why? i ate my breakfast and i had the proper food". If for some reason i was really active I find that if I eat a cheese stick and crystal light I am fine. But this only really occurs if my meal got delayed. I no longer eat out of stress and boredom. I went cold turkey. That's the way I quit smoking years ago. My new food obsessions are developing high protein low carb recipes. I made a fabulous dal makhani this morning. In the old days I would eat on it all day, now I just measure and put away. I wish my support group met more often too. My mentors there say the hunger comes back but it is different for everyone because some people -like me, will just want certain food at a time and place no matter if they just ate. That 1 st month I just wanted to eat stuff just because I was accustomed to it. Breakfast-chik fil a, lunch-Mexican, dinner-sushi. It is all head hunger for me and it was there right after surgery. I've been obese for 34 yrs I don't really know actual hunger. Prayer got me thru. Good luck

hurricanelena

I've been pretty good about not grazing, mostly because I still can't eat very much or most things. My co-workers made the dinner run to my favorite Mexican place last night and I did get a side of black beans (but that's all I ate!).

I've been trying to work on the if I think I'm hungry, drink 12-16oz of water first, wait 20-30 min, and if its still there I really am hungry, especially if its been 3-4 hours.

But yea, I've been having sushi dreams. And even things I normally don't eat have started to look really, really good...

Ksh1055

After reading your comments it hit me that I did not update my daily goals post-surgery and it took me a while, but I finally did it. Now I wonder if I can or should backdate new goals from the surgical date forward to have an accurate record. I just advanced to pureed and crispy today.

I hope to do as well as you are. Nice going.

hurricanelena

When I change my goals, it changes the previous weeks as well. So although I was eating 1200 calories back in Nov, it shows my goal as 700 (my current goal).

DJRonnieLINY

1) At three weeks out you should be more concerned with Protein than calories, but to answer directly: Net is key. Our volume restrictions alone ensure we have a high calorie deficit which means weight loss. Focus: fluid and protein.

2) Way too early to be worried about carb counts. 3 weeks out your meals should be between 4 and 6 ozs of total food. 4 oz protein, 2 oz fruit or veggie. No refined carbs (breads or rices), very low sugar and fat. Did your nutritionist give you an 8 week recovery diet?

3) Fat count: see above. As you progress to 8 oz meals you should start watching fat but if you focus on protein, then veggie/fruit, you will maintain a low fat count by default. Once you set your goals MFP will give you some targets.

4) Not weird at all if you are sipping fluids all day, plus shakes count as fluid. As for Calories; 1,000 plus at this point seems high but that depends on what you are choosing to eat. Once you get to full meats for protein you may see this drop. How are you getting to 1,000? Shakes or high calorie soft foods?

5) Almost 6 months out and still not hungry. Sometimes I do feel "empty" so I drink. You may be experiencing "head hunger" and just need to be patient and teach yourself. Also: how is the protein intake? Eating 80+ grams of protein will keep you feeling full longer and stabilize blood sugar.

hurricanelena

Thanks DJRonnie!

I've been reliably eating 70–80g of protein, still mostly in powdered form (adding extra protein to EVERYTHING). I went back and looked, and it was the nut butters that were upping my calorie intake, all I've cut back. I also had a bad reaction to one, so I'm not inclined to east them at the moment.

We did get a progression diet, but I'm so used to looking at all these things that's hard not to worry about everything. I also want to make sure I'm not starting any bad habits for the future.

Thanks for the help with the calories (net vs actual), I've been back out doing several mile runs on my bike and forgot how much I burn when I do! (I wear a chest strap heart rate monitor).

It's that 4oz by weight or by volume? When I do pureed, I'm generally eating about half of a baby bowl or a wean cube. Not sure exactly how much they are, but no more than 2–oz.

DJRonnieLINY

I tend to use weight rather than volume. Have found it to be easier to list on my food diary. Good job cutting the nut butter, I like to use fresh almonds as a snack. Emerald makes a nice 100 calorie pack that I keep in my desk (4 grm protein).

Mangopickle

I tend to use weight rather than volume. Have found it to be easier to list on my food diary. Good job cutting the nut butter, I like to use fresh almonds as a snack. Emerald makes a nice 100 calorie pack that I keep in my desk (4 grm protein).

Me too, nut butters have way too much fat for the protein. Better to get 18g of protein in a pure protein 100 cal snack shake. love the emerald nut packs, controls that portion for me.