Exercise, Nutrition, WLS, and Cooking Q & A - 2/4/2014

Right now that's great! Six weeks post-op I assume you are cleared for full foods by now. Is the 385 range typical for you? The point of having this surgery is to lose weight and the bigger calorie deficit you have, the more weight you will lose. I wouldn't stick to that low of a calorie intake for too long. You will want to get up to around 600-800 calories soon.

Yes, cleared for reg foods.  Today was low calories b/c I didn't take my protein shake that gives me an extra 190 calories b/c BUT of course my protein was only 67 and I would have added 30 more with the shake .... So confusing on the right way to do this.

Keep it simple. Don't be afraid to drink a protein shake whenever, including before bed. In fact I drink one before bed or eat greek yogurt every night. I know they say not to eat before bed but if you are exercising and your calories are under where they need to be eating before bed is not a problem and definitely if it is mostly protein go for it. Your body needs protein 24 hours a day and when you are sleeping when your nutritional protein store gets used up your body will go for your muscle. So to preserve muscle its good to give yourself some protein before you go to sleep. Now if you want to be super technical about it you should give it a slow digesting proteing like casein or a protein blend (which will have casein in it) so that your body will have a steady supply for the whole time you sleep. It takes 5 to 7 hours to absorb casein. You can also get casein from cottage cheese (a bit higher in calories than a casein shake) and I think greek yogurt has some in it too.

But don't be confused just keep it simple and the two most important numbers to focus on are protein and water. Make sure you hit those every day.