Eating less than 850 cals per day...help!

So I have been trying to do my best and eat as much as I am told. However I am still scared of eating normal soft foods mainly because it hurts a bit to eat. I am eating baby food, youguer and also I am drinking 1-2 protein shakes per day. I have started walking 30 mins a day- and according to Fitness Pal I am under my caloric intake by approx 300 calories. My max caloric intake is 850. Should I lower my intake? I dont know what to do. I do not want my body to go into starvation mode and mess up my weight loss.
Not sure what to do help!

How far out from surgery are you? What does your doctors plan say you should be doing?

Deb

I had surgery on march 18th.
I am supposed to be on soft foods and pureed foods.

Ok, this early out, you're not going to mess up your weight loss. When you say it hurts to eat, is it more discomfort or pain? I had some pretty gnarly discomfort, but as I got more used to eating, it went away. I have my max caloric intake at 800 a day. MFP doesn't account for those of us who've had surgery, so it will yell at you that you're going into starvation mode. I would ignore that. Usually, on a daily basis, I get 600-700 calories. Don't panic! It sounds like you're doing the right thing. Just slowly introduce soft foods, one at a time to see what your sleeve can handle. The pain WILL go away!

The pain is right at my chest and my stomach hurts or has a weird reaction once I eat. I tried eating some tuna/avocado with a teaspoon of mayo- that is very mashed and Oh Wow...that was sooo painful I stopped eating. I only had 2 Tbsp, I couldnt do it again- so I stopped and ended up drinking a protein shake...

Ok that sounds about right. I was only able to get a TBSP or so of food at one time. It's because you're still swollen. Take it very very slowly. I had to start using my daughter's toddler spoons and forks to keep myself in check on how big my bites were. Take it easy when you eat. If you are in a serious amount of pain after this week, it's best to talk to your doctor about it.

Oh my goodness!! Thanks soo much!!
I will have to go get baby spoons and really take my time... Hopefully this goes away soon.
How many teaspoons would u consider ok to have per meal? Is my calorie intake ok or do you think I should up it?
Lastly, what about carb per day? I am aiming for less than 30 per day-
I can eat soup like no ones business! No pain there. But anything else, not so much.

No problem! I would say to start at 2 TBSP. Just put that in a little bowl or saucer and take your time with it. If you start feeling crummy, definitely stop. Make sure to wait 30 minutes after you eat to drink anything. Remember, you're teaching yourself how to eat and learning what your sleeve can handle. Make sure you chew chew chew! It needs to feel like baby food before you actually swallow it.

You said your max intake was at 850, I would keep it at 800. This early out, I would be more concerned with getting your fluids and proteins in than counting your calories. For carbs, stick between 20-40 a day. We generally try to keep it under 20, but it's ok as long as you don't go over 40. Some people can handle that, but carbs are a big downfall for me. The more I have, the more I want. So I keep that monster at bay by keeping it low.

You can have soups because it's a liquid. Typically, we have no restriction when it comes to liquids. Also, since you're still healing, you won't really feel restriction until you've hit 3-4 months out. That's when the nerves and everything are healing up. Also, I don't know what kind of soups you're eating, but be careful of the ones with chunks and stuff in them. It's best to blend those up and eat the broth separately. :)

If you feel pain in your chest, hiccups, runny nose, sneezing, etc, that's a sign that you've had too much food. It's going to take you a while, but you will learn to stop eating before you get to that point. Basically eat until you feel satisfied, not stuffed. :)

Here's what I did the first year in terms of what I ate, in what ratios, how much I exercised and what I lost:

http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2010/07/calories-protein -carbs-exercise-weight.html

Ignore what MFP says about "starvation mode". It's nonsense and not backed up by science.

Listen to your baby belly. It will tell you when enough is enough. I feel like I graze all day due to my restriction. I can only get in about half of what my NUT originally said for my intake. After talking with her she told me to continue on the plan just eat more smaller meals. I more or less eat snack size meals throughout the day. Keep the conversation going with your NUT and Doctor as you heal and move on to other foods. MomofMarch is right your belly is swollen still and needs time to heal slowly.