Gastric bypass

I'm nine years post-op and still can barely get 1200 calories. (This is what my surgeon/dietitian recommended.) How many calories did your surgeon and dietitian recommend at this stage. That is first an foremost what you should be following.

But here are the guidelines from the University of California.

Recommended Meal Plan For Weeks Two to Eight Until Two Months Post-Surgery

At this time, your caloric intake will probably be no more than 500 calories a day, divided into six to eight small meals. Recommended portion sizes are 1/4 cup for solids and 1/2 cup for liquids.

Sample Menu

This sample menu includes different foods that are safe for you to eat. You may adjust the menu to fit your tastes and tolerance.

Breakfast
1/4 cup hot cereal made with non-fat milk

Mid-Morning
1/2 cup nonfat milk*

Late Morning
Two scrambled egg whites

Lunch
1/2 cup low-fat chicken noodle soup

Mid-Afternoon
1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese

Late Afternoon
1/4 cup sugar-free, nonfat yogurt

Dinner
2 ounces lean ground meat
1/4 cup puréed or well-cooked vegetables

Bedtime Snack
1/4 cup non-fat milk

* Add 1 tablespoon non-fat dry milk powder to each 1/4 cup nonfat milk for additional protein.


Remember to drink 1 cup of water or other non-caloric fluids between meals. It is important to take a multivitamin and mineral supplement every day, plus additional iron if required, and calcium and vitamin D supplements two to three times per day.

Recommended Meal Plan for Two to Six Months Post-Surgery

Consume 900 to 1,000 calories and at least 65 to 75 grams of protein a day. For balanced nutrient intake, your daily servings should include:

•3 servings milk and dairy products (nonfat and low-fat)
•3 servings meat or meat alternative (lean and low-fat)
•3 servings starch (limit bread and rice)
•1 serving fruit (avoid dried fruits and fruits with skin)
•2 servings vegetable (well-cooked only)


Recommended portion sizes are 1/4 cup for solids and 1/2 cup for liquids.

Discontinue taking high-protein liquid supplement drinks or powders if possible. We recommend meeting your protein needs with food.

Sample Menu

This sample menu includes different foods that are safe for you to eat. You may adjust the menu to fit your tastes and tolerance.

Breakfast
1 egg or 1/4 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup hot cereal

Mid-Morning
1/2 cup nonfat milk

Late Morning
1/2 cup chopped melon

Lunch
1/2 cup low-fat chicken noodle soup
Two Saltine crackers

Mid-Afternoon
1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup canned fruit packed in water or juice

Late Afternoon
1/2 cup sugar-free, nonfat yogurt

Dinner
2 ounces lean meat or fish
1/4 cup mashed potatoes
1/4 cup pureed or well-cooked vegetables

Bedtime Snack
1/2 cup nonfat milk


The sample menu offers eight small meals per day. You may wish to eat more or less often, but be sure to eat at least six times each day.

Remember to drink 1 cup of water or other non-caloric fluid between meals. It is important to take a multivitamin and mineral supplement daily, plus additional iron if required. In addition, you must take calcium and vitamin D supplements two to three times per day.

Good luck on your journey! I can tell you from experience that it is one hell of a ride!!! Feel free to friend me and we can support and motivate each other.

jkwolly wrote: »

MarciBkonTrk wrote: »

I'm nine years post-op and still can barely get 1200 calories. (This is what my surgeon/dietitian recommended.) How many calories did your surgeon and dietitian recommend at this stage. That is first an foremost what you should be following.

But here are the guidelines from the University of California.

Recommended Meal Plan For Weeks Two to Eight Until Two Months Post-Surgery

At this time, your caloric intake will probably be no more than 500 calories a day, divided into six to eight small meals. Recommended portion sizes are 1/4 cup for solids and 1/2 cup for liquids.

Sample Menu

This sample menu includes different foods that are safe for you to eat. You may adjust the menu to fit your tastes and tolerance.

Breakfast
1/4 cup hot cereal made with non-fat milk

Mid-Morning
1/2 cup nonfat milk*

Late Morning
Two scrambled egg whites

Lunch
1/2 cup low-fat chicken noodle soup

Mid-Afternoon
1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese

Late Afternoon
1/4 cup sugar-free, nonfat yogurt

Dinner
2 ounces lean ground meat
1/4 cup puréed or well-cooked vegetables

Bedtime Snack
1/4 cup non-fat milk

* Add 1 tablespoon non-fat dry milk powder to each 1/4 cup nonfat milk for additional protein.


Remember to drink 1 cup of water or other non-caloric fluids between meals. It is important to take a multivitamin and mineral supplement every day, plus additional iron if required, and calcium and vitamin D supplements two to three times per day.

Recommended Meal Plan for Two to Six Months Post-Surgery

Consume 900 to 1,000 calories and at least 65 to 75 grams of protein a day. For balanced nutrient intake, your daily servings should include:

•3 servings milk and dairy products (nonfat and low-fat)
•3 servings meat or meat alternative (lean and low-fat)
•3 servings starch (limit bread and rice)
•1 serving fruit (avoid dried fruits and fruits with skin)
•2 servings vegetable (well-cooked only)


Recommended portion sizes are 1/4 cup for solids and 1/2 cup for liquids.

Discontinue taking high-protein liquid supplement drinks or powders if possible. We recommend meeting your protein needs with food.

Sample Menu

This sample menu includes different foods that are safe for you to eat. You may adjust the menu to fit your tastes and tolerance.

Breakfast
1 egg or 1/4 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup hot cereal

Mid-Morning
1/2 cup nonfat milk

Late Morning
1/2 cup chopped melon

Lunch
1/2 cup low-fat chicken noodle soup
Two Saltine crackers

Mid-Afternoon
1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup canned fruit packed in water or juice

Late Afternoon
1/2 cup sugar-free, nonfat yogurt

Dinner
2 ounces lean meat or fish
1/4 cup mashed potatoes
1/4 cup pureed or well-cooked vegetables

Bedtime Snack
1/2 cup nonfat milk


The sample menu offers eight small meals per day. You may wish to eat more or less often, but be sure to eat at least six times each day.

Remember to drink 1 cup of water or other non-caloric fluid between meals. It is important to take a multivitamin and mineral supplement daily, plus additional iron if required. In addition, you must take calcium and vitamin D supplements two to three times per day.

Good luck on your journey! I can tell you from experience that it is one hell of a ride!!! Feel free to friend me and we can support and motivate each other.

The reason you can't get past 1200 calories is because you're eating low fat/reduced fat items.

OP - If you're allowed to eat normally, calorie dense items like cheese, peanut butter, oils, nuts, fuller fat milk, etc will help you reach your calorie goals

Continue to fit them into your macros for health reasons and hit your calorie goals for weight loss (if you need to lose more), and you'll be golden.

The sample menu I posted was for patients under one year post surgery. That is not my diet as I am nine years out. I can't get more than 1200 per day because A. We're advised not to exceed 1200 calories. B. My stomach is now the size of an egg. And you are spot on about calorie density. Post-ops need to get the most bang from their buck in the food they eat but it has to be a gradual process with what you eat. The foods that I eat are very calorie dense. I always calculate density when deciding what to eat. I even created a spread sheet to calculate density and when I am going to add a new food to my list on MFP I calculate the density. The OP is only one month out and is actually eating more calories than most one month post-ops. Early post ops need to follow the guidelines set by their surgeon/nutritionist very closely.

spfldpam wrote: »

You need to contact your surgeon and find out what you can have at this post op stage. They should have given you guidelines for each stage and when to move up to the next stage. Did you attend the classes required by most WLS programs on this?
My program gave me a huge binder of information and I had to attend classes pre op about what I could have post op before I could even be approved for surgery. This along with other team approvals were done before even being considered for WLS.
I sure hope your surgeon has a program like that and doesn't perform the operation and then let you go it on your own. You should have 1 week, 1 month, 3 month, 6 month, 1 year post op appointments with the surgeon, psych, nut and labs taken and then a post op year appointment with all these people with yearly labs done too.

Good luck.

Absolutely!