Transitioning to Maintenance/Training

I'm in the process of transitioniong from 'weight loss' to 'maintenance/training' at 1 year post-op.  My real focus at this point is to continue to get stronger and training.  I'm still working with a trainer and upping the intensity of my workouts and weights used. I am doing cardio (run/bike/elliptical) 5-6 days a week, resistance/strength with my trainer 2x a week and then once on my own. I also walk/ jog around my building at work 2x daily. It's a 2/3 mile loop each time.

My question is about diet.  I have upped my calories, so far, to about 1100-1200/day, and I'm eating 60-70g carb a day, 90-110g of protein including Isopure protein powder in my coffee.  My problem is I basically have to eat continuously to do this without just eating empty calories. I have a lot of restriction, and by the time I eat 2oz of dense protein I only have room for about 1oz of veggies.  I have no hunger at all - and in fact, I couldn't even bring myself to eat everything I had planned today and I barely broke 1000 calories. 

I see my surgeon, nutritionist, and exercise physiologist next week for my one-year visit, but I was hoping to get some ideas before I go.   I don't seem to react badly to complex carbs, so I'm not afraid to add things like pasta. i'm just not sure how to go about that if I'm eating protein first. 

I had this issue when I reached goal and lost a little more weight than I planned. I will tell you that the amount you can eat does increase over time and at two or more years your restriction will seem a little less.

the way to get more calories in without adding empty calories is to add fat/protein items. I stopped my undesired weight loss by eating a gob of peanut butter off a spoon in the evening. nuts, avocado and full fat cheeses are all good for this purpose.

I maintain on fairly low calories since i am not a big exerciser, but i still eat that little gob of peanut butter as I would rather eat that than carbs. diane

Thanks, Diane! I appreciate the feedback. I was feeling a little daunted last night when I got back from the gym and realized I still 'needed' to eat anouther 150-200 calories, and I had absolutely no desire to.

I found I had to break a lot of the rules to get all my calories in. I would drink after my meals, eat a lot of soft foods, etc. I also tried to get in high calorie, low volume foods.

For example, I used to have non-fat cottage cheese for a snack -- 70 calories. Instead I'd have a Luna protein bar -- 170 calories. Same volume, 100 calories more.

Thanks! With the training that you do, what kind of calorie/protein/carb intake are you doing daily?  I'll be having metaboic testing done next week (RMR) to get a better jumping off point; however, I'm still working toward the level of training you do. 

Have there been instances where you've backed off training and then gone back to 'the rules' to avoid regain? 

When I'm heavily working out I eat an average of 2000 calories a day. However some days it's 1800 and some it's 2700 and for races I burn 4000-5000 so I ate a lot for a few days after to catch up.

During the winter, I cut way back on working out so I have to cut back on eating. Generally I do cut back but still gain 5-10 pounds. I do somewhat go back to basics but I never totally leave the basics either and I don't get really strict with myself because I know the weight is going to come off come Spring.

The big exception has been this year. When I injured my head and couldn't work out at all and I found myself horribly hungry. I was eating maybe 1000 calories a day more than I was burning! Of course I gained weight really fast. I think I gained 5 pounds in 3 weeks!

Well I couldn't keep that going without some sort of intervention! So I had to really get a grip on myself an figured out what was going on. I really did "go back to basics" including really emphasizing protein first. As you get farther out, you tend to not be as strict about that. I was eating veggies and meat and a bit of starch all mixed together and when you do that, you can fit more in.

I'm now losing the weight I put on and am close to being where I was when I first hit my head. And I haven't really been dieting at all. As my head heals, my natural hunger level has fallen and as I went back to basics, I became more satified with what I was eating.

Thanks!  That's really helpful. I appreciate it.