Calories vs Macros

Hi all,

im still in pre-op phase, so maybe I'm skipping ahead. But I am trying to visualize my diet for life post rny. 

Do those of you with a bit of time on your side, focus on calories? macros? Both? 

I know protein first is the rule, but beyond that?

my handout from the Bariatric clinic has a few sample menus which work out to 700 calories ish. Is that representative of your experience? 

Thanks so much!

Maximize protein, minimize carbs. 600-700 calories is about right.

In the end, calories are king.

Great, thanks! I can see what to aim for!

Is 600-700 for pre op?

What about post op?

600 calories preop might drive you certifiably insane. 1200 preop might be all most people can do, for an extended periods.

600 postop for the first month or two, then 600 to 800 for several months after that.

If you keep your carbs low and protein high go over the calories is this still ok?  I'm told with low carb calories is not the priority, but I see calories for bariatric surgery stay low.

Calories are king. If you ate enough calories of celery and cauliflower, you WILL gain weight.

The fat stored in our bodies is energy. Energy is measured in calories. The more calories you eat, the less fat you will burn.

Calories are always, and will always be, a priority.

As an aside, if you are eating really, really low carb, you will not eat enough protein to gain weight. Very, very few people can eat that much protein. You could eat enough fats to gain weight -- nuts, nut products like peanut butter, and dairy products like cheese, in particular, are mostly fat calories, and you could eat them all day, even a few months after surgery. Carbs, in the form of simple and processed carbs, is what got every single one of us to morbid obesity.

So yeah, if you are getting 20 grams of carbs a day, your calories will MOST LIKELY be really low. But in the end, it's still the calories that matter.

Thank you.  I'm doing the low carb that they give you for weight loss before surgery and I'm really really low carb with meat and cheese and I do Isagenix greens for my veggies and I ffeel great and have already lost weight and my calories are way up. I guess I'm going to have to work on this.  I have also had my shakes I don't think I can give up and see how I can work them in.  Who ever says surgery is the easy route what a joke.  I do know this is just a tool to help us lose the weight that is for sure :-)

Exactly. My pre op is 900 -925 calories, and is only sustainable because I know it's temporary. 14 days to go! That last hour before the next shake can sometimes involve a little white knuckling! But at this point, it's only the time between the 8 am shake  and the 12pm one I find difficult now. (Hence, I log in here to distract myself)

And I have to say, even though I've spent quite a few months working on changing behaviours to prepare for surgery, removing food completely from my days has been eye opening.

the number of times my instinct has been to grab something from the pantry between meals, or pick something up at the gas station or drive-thru, or think I'll have some of that when company leaves, is shocking. I mean, some of it is hunger for sure, but a lot of it is just my instincts around food. 

Its allowed me to see where my trouble spots will be post surgery!

I'm 8 months out and average about 780 calories a day. It is meats, veg, and low carb yogurt mostly.

I do calories, protein and carb counting.

carbs under 50 for the day (or as low as I can get).