now that your banded...do you count calories?

I went to see the nut today for the first of my 3 month visits and it got to wondering if we are suppose to COUNT calories or are we just suppose to eat healthy lean cuts of meat, followed by veggies and then starches if necessary. Debbie

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/lapband/a,messageboard/act ion,replies/board_id,5359/cat_id,4959/topic_id,3212177/

 

Do you diet, or not? (I am a VERY big guy! You MUST do what works for YOU!)

 

I count calories and protein grams.  I keep it on a spreadsheet.  It works for some, doesn't work for others. If you aren't into counting and if you are losing weight I wouldn't worry about it. If you stop losing weight for a period of time then you might consider doing it to see if there is something you weren't aware of.

What she said.   :)   If you are losing, then no, don't bother to count.  If you are a slow loser, or stalling, you might want to track your intake. I count calories.  I don't worry so much about protein, as I am always over my minimum, but I struggle to keep my calories low enough to lose steadily - so I count. Donna B

I do not count calories and my dr's office never has asked me too.  But I haven't lost any weight in 3 months so I decided to start writing down everything I eat and come post my food list here at 8pm on jason's thread. Since starting this I have lost 2 pounds.  Jen

I don't count calories, I just eat healthier.

I use a little gadget called a Nutricounter. http://www.nutricounter.com  It is a little pricey, but it keeps track of everything and you can carry it in your purse.  It has helped me keep on the straight and narrow.  I have maintained my weight loss for 6  months now.  You have to do what works for you.  I don't think you can ever let your guard down about the way you eat even after you get the band.  Remember what everyone says it is just a tool, a great one. Laura

So far, I have counted my calories.  I haven't felt much restriction from the band yet and if I don't keep track, I'm afraid I'll go overboard because I do get really hungry sometimes.  I'm hoping the fill I got on Tuesday will help. My goal is to eat healthy portions of healthy food without counting calories, but until I get more help from the band, it helps keep me on track.  Jean B.

Debbie, There are certain  nutritional goals for healthy loss and especially for Bandster loss.  It's far more than simply eating generally less and generally better. There are hidden calories in almost everything that VERY easily sabotage us. WE're trying to learn much better food choices and habits that we will need to continue for life.  With banding, it's essential, imo, to learn the foods and amts that will meet the Bandster goals  -1200-1500 cal a day for most women (1800-2200 for most men) 50-60 gm of protein - no less and no more needed 25 gm fiber 1200-1500 mg/day of calciunm, dpending on your age. I see no way to meet these goals unless you track for awhile and learn much more about foods , nutrition, and calories. None of uf has been so good at calculating calories before - one big reason we all got morbidly obese. So , since what we did before clearly didn't work, we now must do many things different. I suggest we all track daily for a couple months at fiorst, auntil we get a very good feel for foods, and then for a week or two after every fill. Also, for a week or tewo whenever we are stalled out or otherwise not losing - one of the biggest things to know at these times is calories in and nutrition amts in.  I also, for this reaosn, suggest we use only recipes that have the calories, protein, fiber, etc clearly listed. It's just too hard, for me at least, to have to break down every recipe on fitday to figuer out what we have eaten Sure worked for me. Lost over 100 # and got to goal in less than 11 mo this way - byt meeting ALL Bandster nutrition goals pretty consistently, and I don't think i was ever hungry. I KNOW this works, as I have seen it in myself, in all my own patients, and in many thousands of others I have consutled with and advised. In addition to meats and veggies, we also need dairy and cereal grains daily. All these are very impt, since the goal of banding is not simply losing wt. We have all lost wt before - many times, in fact - so THIS TIME, let's do it in a healthy way that will allow us to KEEP the wt off this time. That is the difference with banding. SAndy R at goal x 3+ yrs

I started tracking my calories on fitday.com. Sandy is right sometimes I didn't realize how many calories were in my meals.