I think my calories are too low....

Hi,

As crazy as this sounds, (it may be because I am a revision) I think my caloric intake is too low. I have 37 pounds to go to get to 165 and my highest weight was in the 340's . My goal is to lose it in the next 6 months. I have already lost and maintained 2/3 of my weight for many years, regained some due to GERD, hiatal hernia, menopause and chronic illness as well as some bad choices but still within the guidelines of successful weight loss. So I am down 132 from highest weight with 37 to go.

I realize that the goal is to get it off as fast as possible and then give myself a 10 pound buffer, but it seems based on my tracking food, protein, water and carbs diligently over the last 8 weeks, that I lose better when I eat more than 600 calories, add veggies ( greens, lettuce and tomato, spinach, zucchini, carrots, green beans) and keep my protein intake high. Getting in 75 to 95 grams a day and less than 20 carbs. I just don't want to get to the point where my body gets used to only eating 600 calories forever. I think that kind of low carb dieting really messes with your resting metabolic rate and the minute you eat a carb again, you gain three pounds and all you do is fight with the same three pounds when you eat with carbs in it.

I do believe in starvation mode and metabolic reset with the right foods although I do not think starvation mode applies at a BMI of 55. Not sure at 202 pounds and a low 30 BMI if the same rules applies which is where I currently am at the moment. It seems like I break stalls when I eat an extra protein snack and get my calories to 700.(eating 5 times a day)

My NUT did not talk about calories at all rather eatingmore frequently and focusing on protein. I have read extensively on the internet what other nuts and surgeons recommend and it is so vastly different that a lot is up to interpretation.

. However, no one really spoke about calories and of course my NUT's handouts included a bunch of carby foods like grits, cereal, oatmeal , farina etc as well as lots of fruit which for me is a no no. Since sweets are off the table and see no reason to eat SF snacks, I really don't want to live a total Atkins lifestyle forever. I like veggies and salad a lot. Do you think it is worth a try? I know all of us are different and can tolerate different amounts of food to maintain or even lose.

Your body won't "get used to" anything. Low carb does not mess with your metabolic rate. Starvation mode is a steaming pile of crap. Just utter nonsense.

Hey, we were all morbidly obese. The lure of plans that tell us we can eat more food and lose more weight are enticing. But ultimately wrong. You can go there if you want. it's your choice. But I've seen a million people here do that, end their weight loss, and disappear forever. Probably to regain city.

You don't have to eat like this forever. But you really should eat like this now. It's a sprint, not a marathon.

There are a lot of surgeon's and Nut's plans out there. but the fact is, most of them suck. They are designed to reach their PROGRAM goals of 60 to 65 percent weight loss. If you are happy with that -- you are likely there already -- then by all means, follow those plans.

I decided to look at people who had lost 100 percent of their excess weight, AND kept it off for a long period of time. Those were the plans that I wanted to emulate. Not a crappy 60 to 65 percent EWL plan. And all of those people said essentially what I'm telling you now.

I stayed super low calorie until I hit goal. I weigh less than you do now, and I'm probably close to a foot taller. When I was done losing, I increased my calories until I hit maintenance, which is currently about 2600 calories a day. I didn't mess up my metabolism. My body didn't "get used to" 800 calories a day. It had, before surgery, gotten used to 6 or 7 thousand calories a day.

Get rid of the weight. Hit goal, and figure out what you can eat to stay there. Veggies and salads are great, if that's what you like. But keep in mind that a lot of people reach obesity eating salads. It's because of the crap they pile on top, though I have yet to see someone admit that's what they were doing. Look at any chain restaurant like Applebees, and you'll see several salads in the 1500 calorie range. That's more calories than TWO McDonald's double cheeseburgers.

Get rid of the weight. You won't break your body. You'll have little stalls, little stair-steps in your loss all the way to the end. But eating more is NOT going to get you there faster, if at all.

Howdy,

I agree with most everything you said.

The additional calories are all protein that I am eating, so not junk food. And as far as salads, totally agree that it can get out of hand if you add dressings and fruit and all the really fattening stuff. a salad can be the worst thing you can order on a menu.

I just love grilled veggies and lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers so I feel it is important to eat these things along with my protein.

WOW, 2600 is a lot. Glad you have that kind of metabolism! That is awesome.!!

as long as I limit my carbs and eat proteins +fat and then some carbs from non starchy veggies, i lose weight.

Fats that are rather difficult for our bodies to store - but easy to burn are short and medium chain fatty acids like in olive, avocado, coconut, goat milk, even some nuts.

for me - variation diet - calorie cycling - one day 700 another 900 or 1000, with average around 800 daily during a week, was the way to lose weight. Even my regain. That way I had days with lower calories - and days I could eat more.

Even now - i have to be careful not to eat too little or I start losing. Like right now. I have a stomach virus and I can't eat enough. Plus I can't retain much, when I eat. I am keep losing, and I am below my personal goal by 3-4 lbs, keep losing.

FYI: low carb diet is good for my very sensitive gut, but when I see that my weight is at the very bottom of my range I know I need to re-carb.

Low carb diet causes our body to use any stored glycogen and as we are using glycogen - we also lose the water taht is needed to keep the glycogen in. I read somewhere that for every 1 gr of glycogen we need 8 gr of water. The water "retention" is the cause of rapidly "gaining"or "losing" weight when we stopped eating carbs or start them again.

When I follow a really low carb diet to lose some regain - I try to get at least 3-4 lbs below my "mark" so when I am in maintenance I can add some carbs and not freak when the scale goes up.

I like fast results when i am trying to lose couple of lbs . Going low carbs not only allow that but also limits my appetite and craving. It is much easier to adhere to plan when you have to remind yourself to eat and you are not hungry..

>> I do believe in starvation mode and metabolic reset with the right foods...

You're welcome to believe what you like, but there is no scientific evidence to support either of these.

Hi ,

There are studies that substantiate that if you eat only once a day or a really low calorie diet for sustained periods that they do affect metabolism:

Major and Doucetin the international journal of obesity called, "clinical significance of adaptive thermogenesis."

Here's a quote from study:

"Adaptive thermogenesis is described as the decrease in energy expenditure beyond what could be predicted from the changes infat mass or fat free mass under conditions of standardized physical activity in response to a decreased energy intake, and could represent in some individuals another factor that impedes weightloss and compromises the maintenance of a reduced body weight."

Off of the Weigh****chers website:

It is unclear as to whether the relationship between reduced caloric intake and a lower metabolism follows a straight path or becomes more pronounced the greater the caloric reduction. Some studies have found no significant reduction in metabolism until the caloric restriction is quite large (e.g. 800 calories or less per day).² Others suggest a linear relationship with small reductions in metabolism accompanying small reductions in caloric restriction, with the gap increasing as the caloric deficit is enlarged.

My NUT was concerned based on my eating patterns where I would eat once or twice a day rather than 4-6 times a day like I am eating now might be a problem post op. She felt that I needed to be eating more protein. I was having trouble getting 90-100 grams a day unless I had protein shakes all day.

Yes, adaptive thermogenesis exists. Is it as big a deal as many make it out to be? Have those of us following a post-op low-calorie eating plan suffering irreparable metabolic damage? Doubtful.

"Despite the fact that many of these studies demonstrate the existence of an adaptive component of energy expenditure, the quantitative importance of the documented differences or experimental effects has not reached a level that would have led clinicians to believe that adaptive thermogenesis might be a factor which may influence the success of a weight-loss intervention." (Source; "Role of Adaptive Thermogensis in Unsuccessful Weight-Loss Intervention")

This article has some great insight on the notion of a supposed starvation mode.

I believe that studies were done on normal not WLS people.

see what is happening for group of people on Biggest loser shows.

That was me before RNY. Post op - things changed. Like really changed.

I can lose on low calorie diet and I can maintain or relatively "normal" calorie diet now. Normal for a normal skinny woman my age. My BF is over 6F and close to 200 lbs, some days I can eat more than he does and I do. But most days - I eat less or different foods. We both maintain. But - if I start eating carbs from grains or starches - the calorie does not matter anymore, I start gaining.

Find a good plan that works for you. if you are hungry and want to eat more - do it, jus****ch the scale, the average weekly weight. You are not losing - you eat too much. Then change. Losing 1 lb a week is a lot or a little. Depends who you are talking to.

My body fastest loss was when I was modifying my calories every day - not having "routine" but cycled foods and calories, trying to reach my "average" in a week. I would have days "eating" 400 cal then 800 or even 1000..

But my average while losing was app 600-700 cal per day. or 4200-5000 cal per week. I had days that I was not really hungry, or my gut was upset and I only could drink protein shakes or eat yogurt. The next day I would try or wanted to eat more. And I did.

FYI: when my GB failed and I also had hernia (twisted intestine) I was 6 months post op. I could only eat very little food, very low calorie diet for app 3 weeks. because when I tried to eat more - I would end up in excruciating pain.

In that 3 weeks I think I lost 15 lbs. Then 5 more the next 2 weeks after I had the surgery. After that I continued losing. I reached my goal of losing 110 lbs in 8 months post-op RNY. 9 months if you add the month (4 weeks) for pre-op diet I was on before my surgery.

I was also a lightweight revisioner. Losing a lot when you are a revision and when you have less to lose is waaay harder than the people who are starting at 50+ BMI because you need to restrict a lot more to get a bigger result.

I agree that sometimes our bodies need to "shake things up a little" which is how you can see a scale drop with a higher calorie intake, but it is temporary. Science and math tell us that eating more calories cannot result in weighing less long term. It just can't.

My advice: stay with the low calories and get to goal as quickly as you can. Then you have the rest of your life to play around with maintenance calories and adding in carbs, etc.

Follow the advice of all of these vets! That's what I did and I am also a revision person. I got to my goal in a bit over 8 mos. eating 600 or less calories and I'm now up to around 800 as I work on losing a few more pounds. I followed their advice and it paid off big time for me. You won't regret it.