Caloric Intake

Banders,

Can a few of you tell me how many calories you take in in a typicla day, while losing weight and then maintaining. I have not been very successful and went and sought a second opinion and he said that I need to be taking in around 800 calories to lose.....Can you also include a typical menu for your day?


Thanks

Medeering,

 

Since you’re a veteran to the band, my advice to you is different to the newbies. For you, I would strongly suggest “journaling" what you’re eating to see how many calories you’re taking in. Do this for a week, and get an average. Once you know that, then you can figure out from there what your daily intake should be.

 

Remember it takes about 3,500 calories deficit to lose 1 pound. Of course we can’t do that all in one day, so you want to reduce your current calorie intake by 500 calories a day if you want to lose 1 pound a week. Please note, the average healthy weight loss it 1 to 2 pounds a week, so if you aim for 750 calories LESS a day then you should be ok.

Of course if you add in exercise, then your numbers will change.

 

There are a lot of great on-line journal websites. I recommend: Realizemysuccess; the Daily Plate; Fitday; Lapband.com; just to name a few.

 

Now for the “newbies": In the beginning don’t be too concerned/worry about “calories, fats, sugars, carbs, etc". Make sure you are getting your 60 to 80 grams of protein. THIS IS IMPORTANT TO WEIGHT LOSS. In the future you can worry about all those other things, but for now - WORRY ABOUT THE PROTEIN. Now don’t get me wrong - I don’t want you to eat a bag of chips, or whole cake or drink tons of ice cream shakes in order to get protein in. You need to use some common sense :) !!

 

Last year when I first had the operation I noticed if I ate 4 ounces of protein I didn’t feel full - however if I ate 6 ounces I did. I spoke to my Doctor about it. FOR ME he said that those “numbers" are somewhat guidelines. He went on to explain there are some folks who feel full on 2 ounces of protein while some need 6 or 8. He also explained that the calories intake should not be too much of a concern in the beginning. The way he explained it to me was: Prior the operation I may have been taken 3,000 calories per day. After the operation, with the amount of food I was taking in - I may have been taking in 1700 calories. While that’s 500 calories more then the recommended daily allotment - it was actually 1300 calories less then what I normally took in. So not only was I loosing weight, but was also feel full. We need to worry about calories when out weight slows downs/stops or starts going up. ADVICE WARNING: TALK TO THE DOCTOR BEFORE INCREASING YOUR INTAKE.

 

I know a lot of doctors tell patients to eat 800 calories a day to lose weight...and I don't want you to go against your doctor's recommendations.  I just think anything less than 1000 is a starvation diet.  I think to keep calories that low you are slowing your metabolism down to a crawl.  There by creating a situation where you will plateau sooner.  Again I'm not saying you should listen to me.  I'm just saying read a few books and talk to a nutritionist. 

I think it's more about what you eat, not how much you eat.  What I mean is if you have one person eating 1200 calories made up of lean proteins and complex carbs and free of processed foods that person is more likely to sustain an ongoing weight loss than a person that eats an unhealthy 800 calories.  I eat approximately 1400 calories a day but I also workout 90 minutes a day.  So I can eat more and lose weight.  When I get to the maintaining part of my journey I will probably go to 1800 calories a day...and still workout.  I don't plan on ever cutting my workouts. 

B- one egg, slice of low fat cheese, wheat tortilla
L- chicken sausage, one cup cottage cheese, one cup strawberries
S- apple, one table spoon peanut butter
S- 12 oz protein drink (post workout drink)
D- 5oz ground turkey, two table spoons salsa,  one table spoon refried beans, one pita

This is what I am eating today.  This is 1395 calories.  I plan my meals and I measure everything.  Everything I eat is either a lean protein or a complex carb.  I don't eat frozen processed foods.  This is what I mean by quality foods. 

WOW..I am eating a LOT less than that! NO WONDER I do not feel satisfied after a meal. I was just told , depending on the type of meal, I am to eat 1/2(including 2 oz of protein), but if I am having, say, soup, 1 cup is the right portion because it is liquid. No wonder I am obsessed with food..I AM SO CONFUSED!!!!

See every doctor is different about caloric intake or diet restrictions.  Your doctor says 2 oz of protein and a 1/2 cup of veggies.  My doctor says 4-6 oz of protein and 1 cup of veggies.  That's why I say there really is no definite right or wrong.  First I would say how can someone feel satisfied with only 2 oz of protein and I would imagine it's hard if not impossible to get 60 grams of protein every day.  I eat more than what my doctor recommends.  He is against snacks in between meals, I eat snacks now.  Well in my workouts every day I was having problems with stamina and endurance (I am training to run in a 5k).  On the advice of some avid runners on the exercise board I decided to add a before workout snack (4 slices of apple and peanut butter).  Now I can run faster and longer.  Then I was reading about working out and how it's important to get some protein within 30-60 minutes after your workout.  So I added the after workout protein drink.   

I say if you are eating healthy it's ok to eat a few more ounces...especially if it will keep you from eating something worse later on, because you're so hungry.