gained a pound?

Interesting. I found a lot of hype and very little science on the topic. What little research I did find on zigzag or calorie-shift dieting (CSD) noted that it did not affect subjects' metabolism, though that study was done on a very small sample. (Source)

Another review, written for a lay audience, suggested that there's not much science to back CSD. (Source)

Bottom line? I remain highly skeptical.

The notion that one's metabolism "shuts down" after a relatively short period in a WLS scenario is also unsupported. A few weeks or months at 400 calories per day, particularly in someone who is obese to start with, is not going to produce results like those shown in the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. (Source) A short-term very-low-calorie diet immediately after surgery is NOT going to cause metabolic damage.

Yet this site is full of tales about folks eating minimal calories and not losing weight. OP is eating 400 calories a day and the scale moved the wrong way. I'm assuming she's still well north of 200 pounds. She probably burns 400 calories just by breathing. Even the brain needs a couple of hundred calories a day just to do its thing.

That starvation study was pretty funny. 1,500+ calories a day and a 3-mile walk ? That would be a day of absolute shame for many of us in here. An old trainer I used to see told me about zigzag eating after I complained about plateauing. It seemed to work for me. I did it to the extreme. General rule was to eat 1,200 cals a day over a 12 hour period but on some days I'd eat it in one meal. Other days I'd go down to 600 cals. Other days much more. The idea was to never let the body think it's was starving for too long. Of course no one diet trick is going to surpass good old fashioned calorie deficit over time but human physiology is strife with anecdotal evidence of adaptation. All of us in here go from machines that were used to receiving a lot of daily fuel to machines that barely receive any fuel. It's not hard for me to believe that our bodies react to that by conserving energy despite the fact that we're gorged with the stuff.

The OP would definitely benefit from additional activity but she should be losing weight at double the calories. But we're all a bit different. Some unlucky folks have a genetic defect that makes them always feel hungry. Some eat 3,000 cals a day and are thin as a reed. I think the science of obesity it still in its dawn. And believe me I'm definitely a nerdy "science first" type of guy. But if someone told me in here that the solution to weight loss stalling was to stop starving myself... I wouldn't dismiss it.

After almost 5 years on OH, I've seen updates to a LOT of those stories from folks "eating minimal calories and not losing weight" where the loss resumes after a week or two.

If someone on OH told me that the solution was to "stop starving myself" without any concrete proof, I would check with a legitimate medical professional first. None of us here are experts.

I think a lot of legitimate medical professionals would tell ya " Whatever works!"

The only diet plan that is useful for metabolism is intermittent fasting. The rest of this crap is utter nonsense.

There have been medical studies of those without WLS who could not lose on low calorie diets. The studies intended to see why their matabolisms were faulty. When those people were put in a controlled environment and given a carefully measured 1200 calories per day, they lost weight. Every last one of them. There was no metabolic damage. Just obese people eating a lot more than they thought they were.

The OP's only problem right now is impatience. She's lost 32 pounds in 6 weeks. That pace was not going to last, and she was due for a stall. She hasn't, and won't, screw anything up.

Hey I'm the first to admit my advice and $2.75 will get you on the subway.

But it I didn't invent this zigzag thing. Somebody told me about it. There is stuff online about it. I tried it. I thought it worked OTOH I haven't done it since surgery. No need to. I weigh in monthly and urge others to do the same.

That's probably my best advice.

Starvation mode was my favorite myth when I was MO and SMO.

OP, I have been weighing daily for more than six years. Even while actively losing, my weight sometimes fluctuated depending on hydration, constipation, time of cycle (when I had one), and salty food. If your weight is consistently trending downward and you are eating on plan, you will lose.

Just a suggestion to the OP.

When someone posts "information" that is actually only opinion (for example, "IMO") , please weigh their advice accordingly.

Is an opinion on opinions also an opinion?

I have treated anorexics that live on 400 calories a day. I assure you their weight loss is not halted in any way whatsoever. I have seen them have to be on TPN due to this.

There is no scientific evidence for what you are expounding on. The only time when someone does not lose weight on 400 calories a day is when there are hormonal issues in evidence, or other severe metabolic disorders which are rare.

Correlation is not equal to causation; meaning eating more may correlate with weight loss, however they are not necessarily related other than casual observation.