Am I eating too much?

Hi Everyone,

I am 11 months post op VSG. I focus on protein and limit my carbohydrate intake. However, I find that I am easily eating around 1200-1400 calories a day. I have a very intense workout regime. Work out for a minimum of 90 minutes 5-6 days/week. 45 minutes of which is cardio. I burn around 700 calories through cardio alone within each workout. I tried staying around 800-1000 calories a day but I get light headed and very shaky. I try to listen to what my body is telling me. I know when I need protein because of how I feel. I admit I eat the occasional cookie. I am getting 60-80 grams of protein a day with ease.

I feel like, compared to others, I am eating more. I have lost 109 pounds in 11 months. I lost 57 pounds on my pre-op diet. The weight loss has slowed down. I haven't lost anything in 2 weeks. I have been training hard for my first 5k also.

I moved half way across the country when I was 3 months post op and was unable to find a new post op dietician that my insurance would cover. Any advice would be wonderful right now!

One of your tickers says your weight goal is reached, but the other says you want to lose 16 more pounds. I will assume you want to lose 16 more. If you are not losing at 1200-1400 calories, that is your maintenance level. You will need to cut back to lose. Exercise is great for your health, but it does not really help you lose more. 

Try to eat balanced healthy diet including all kinds of healthy ingredients. You should eat leant meat, leafy greens, salmon, whole grains, nuts, berries, beans, fruits etc . Workout is important but you need to do both cardio and weight training. Any one of these will cause slow weight loss. Hopefully, you'll loss your extra weight soon. Drink lots of water and the use of super foods like green tea with lemon, lean red meat, cinnamon, avocado, berries can be very helpful for you in losing weight quickly. 

Your workout routine should be enough to keep you in control of your weight. Maybe your body just can't lose any more weight after losing all that weight.

Seems you know the answer on how to move beyond your weight loss plateau - your appetite. Eating 1200 to 1400 for me is still restrictive (I am fat by the way) but with workout rate that you follow, weight loss should be continuous.

Have you tried appetite suppressants? I tried one before but it didn't worked. I would like to try PhenRx (which is not phentermine) which I found on some diet pill sites. You can read this review to learn more about this brand.

Aside from cardio, do you lift weights?

Yes, I lift weight 4-5 days a week, and it is a pretty intense routine. I feel really good about it, but I think when I started lifting is when my weight slowed a bit. It is still coming off...a little at a time now. About 1-2 Pounds a week...I have been keeping myself at the 1200-1400 calories, but it is all quality intake. Protein, Vegetables, Light Greek Yogurt, Cheese, some nuts, etc. The only carb that I really do eat is Oatmeal with flaxseed in the morning. I include cinnamon. This helps me regulate the reactive hypoglycemia that I was recently diagnosed with.

I am actually glad I was diagnosed hypoglycemic because it actually acts as another fail safe for me. I don't want to feel sick, so I won't eat things that aren't good for me. :)

Anyhow...so far so good...slow, but still moving.