Interesting relationship to calories and exercise.....

...I was on the LiveStrong.com web site and put in my weight height etc. and they calculated the amount of calories I could intake to lose 2 pounds a week at the activity level I am at THIS week and they said I could eat 2,153 calories a day......so I guess that is the secret....exercise is the answer...I need to for sure keep it up, since I don't seem to be able to control my calories to 1200 or less. Hugs, Marti

Yes, exercise is the answer.  Look at Phelps, the swimmer.  He eats between 8000 and 10,000 calories a day to maintain his weight.   

I was in the current pool with my girlfriend that just returned from her World Championships in Belgium [where she took a Silver medal] and she raced for 4.5 hours.....she also ate all over Europe afterwards with her boyfriend and didn't gain anything.....she is a real inspiration to me.

It is funny she really wanted to talk with me and was also just absolutley beat up from the race [there were high winds and rain during the race] and prefered the more gentle current pool this morning rather than the racing pool....and this guy stopped by while getting into the racing pool and said to her "What are you doing in there?"....he tried to talk her into coming in the pool and pacing him as he is racing an Iron man this weekend....but she wouldn't....said she was still working kinks out of her body, from the long flight yesterday.....you should have seen him...he looked fabulous and she told me he is 52 years old......had that gorgeous swimmers body....you are right.

But th e trick is to do it until you love it and it is such a part of your daily routine that you don't feel right if you don't do something....

Marti
ps She had also gone out and run with her big Malamute before coming to the pool for 45 minutes...just for fun, because she missed him while she was gone.

does that site take into consideration that you have had RNY?

No, but how would that effect the calculation? Marti

size of pouch, new plumbing, mal-absoption.

I'm glad you are asking this Darlene, because I have wondered about this as well.  The on-line calculators have me at a MUCH higher recommended maintenance calorie level -- even when I plug in a sedentary lifestyle.  I can't possibly consume what they say I could consume and maintain my weight.

My surgeon said that many of us that become obese just have resistant metabolisms - we are the folks that will be the last survivors of a famine, since our bodies are experts at hanging on to every calorie we eat.  When I was in a big long stall, he just smiled and said, "The human body is remarkable in its ability to adapt to the situation and your food intake."    My maintenance caloric intake is about 1200 calories....  Unless I shake things up and become a exercise fanatic, guess I'm just going to have to be content with my smaller portions. 

Is that how it is for everyone, or do some folks go back to a "normal" intake after a while?  I'm going to ask my surgeon at my two-year checkup. 

I still don't understand the mechanics of what is different. Excuse me but I may be very dense...Hugs, Marti

Have you seen the graphic on my profile of the absorption? you can see where you are bypassed and what is not absorbed anymore.

I had RNY 75 centimeters bypass, means a very proximal rny. I do not absorb foods like before, hence the need for me (my beliefs) to supplement my protein with shakes. My vits, B12 supplemented. I have a Vit D defeciency, why? because vits ADEK need fats to carry them to the body, not like the B's that are water soluble. I dump of fats, I dump of sugar, I dump on various things, why? because my plumbing is changed.

Did the surgeon tell you about the surgery and the mal-absorption issues before surgery? Most don't  and it's a shame, as people just don't get it and what happens with the  surgery......

Check out the absorption graphic if you haven't before....:)

Thanks Darlene.  I think I understand this for those folks who have a malapsorption component, but I'm wondering about  those of us who have restriction only.  Tthat's the part that is puzzling me....