Veteram Help Please

I know I am only 11 months out and shouldnt be posting here yet.. but I lurk all the time till I get to graduate in May.. But I have a question I think you all can help me with if you wouldnt mind..

Ok.. so I am confused. Does your body tell you when to stop loosing.. when your weight gets to low what happens. You get sick.. what.. how do you know when you have reached the point where you are too skinny. Has anyone experienced this. I know when I was too heavy my body told me.. but how does it tell you when you are too small... My wls doc says I'm fine.. my gym trainer says stop and my pcp says stop.. and I would like to loose maybe 10 more pounds to see how I feel. I have never been this small before..

Height 5'5
Age 46
Starting 264
Current 134
Total lost 130


Current BMI 22.4
Body Fat 21.8
I work out at least 10 hours a week spread over 5 days.

Of course they all say something different when you check them..

11 months post op..

If I recall correctly, 22.4 is right in the middle of the healthy BMI ranges.  I guess it comes down to what YOU are comfortable with... ~~Sherry

I don't think there are any weightloss cops around keeping track........lol  Anyways, I am still in the loosing phase so I don't know personally but in our local wls group, folks have met their goal and many of them say that their bodies just sorta stop at whatever it decides is it's "right" weight.  And some folks say that they actually lose more weight than they really wanted so they ask for advice on how to regain some weight.  Seems like what one has to do is figure out how many calories a day it takes for them to maintain their weight based on how active they are so if you're exercising that much, then I would imagine that your caloric/carb needs are going to be much greater than say mine since I am not able to do much activity.  Do you know how many calories and carbs you take in a day?  If so and you're continuing to lose then consider increasing them (protein is better than carbs in my opinion, although the body will convert/store both as fat if it's more than it needs for fuel) Don't know if any of this helps or not, but hope it works out for you. Carol J

I take in about 1000 to 1200.. usually the lower number but I do try to get up to 1200 a day. I burn about 700 to 1000 calories a day when I work out..

Then I would say that if you take in 1500-1800 calories, being sure that it is mainly protein,  natural carbs (fruits and veggies) and whole grains for the rest, you would probably do very well controlling your weight.  But what I would do when you feel you've hit your goal weight?  Measure your inches and re-check them monthly, and weigh yourself once a week if that doesn't mentally upset you to do so.......that way you will know if what you're taking in equals what you're expending on energy.  You know, calories/carbs in = calories/carbs out.  That's what I would do.  And then if you're still loosing I'd increase up until you find a good balance for yourself.  I truly believe that people need to know exactly what works for them and the only way to do that truly is to know how much one's body really  needs to do it's job each day.  I figure I only need around 900 calories a day, I get that in the form of a protein shake each morning with a piece of fruit, (about 200 calories) and then 4 oz of some kinda protein for lunch and dinner, along with a natural veggie and another piece of fruit thoughout the day.  I also have an oz of nuts if I feel hungry in the late evening.  Or toasted pumpkinseeds, I like those too.  I am not very active right now, I'm a nurse but currently working a desk job due to health problems.  Fibromyalgia doesn't let me walk alot or work out but I do everything I can tolerate each day to get my activity in in short bursts thoughout the day.  But I figure when I hit my goal weight which will be in the next couple of months I hope, I will increase my calories to around 1100-1200/day and then watch it from there.   Won't it be nice when the day comes that we don't think about our weight from the moment we get up to the minute we fall asleep?  lol Carol J

Wow, I would have to run on my treadmill for about 3 hours to do that - definitely not enough hours in the day for me to keep up with you  - well done! Kim

It's not really that hard and I think I go higher in calories burned. that is the low estimate. the elliptical will burn 500 calories in 40 minutes at level 7 for an rpm of 65. I do higher most of the time.

Step areobics for an hour.. high impact.. esticmated colors burned is 700.

This is according to sparkpeople. I also do superset for an hour and they keep your cardio up as well. I dont count them in my daily calories burned.

I'll be 5 yrs post in may, had open RNY proximal. What I can tell you is this...our families and everyone in our lifes get really freaked out when ..oh hey! this surgery WORKS!! Plus I think that for the most part, no one realizes how small most women's bodies are supposed to be. You're doing a very high rate of exercise and having been there done that I can tell you...you will stay that small as long as you keep that up..once you slow down your body will settle anywhere from 15-30 lbs UP from that to an easily manageable place with little effort. It's really up to YOU what you can handle for the rest of your life on the exercise level. Sometimes life steps in, you get an injury or someone dies in your life and suddenly you aren't doing what you were and you get a 'slow' weight gain to what's called a 'settled out' weight. If you absolutely LOVE the level of exercise you're at...my only advice is eat to support it! and KEEP IT UP GIRL! ---bree (check my pics in my profile)