anyone read prevention magazine?

I have been a monthly reader of prevention before and after WLS. Not all the articles pertain to someone who has had WLS but I use alot of the information in my daily eating and workouts. In the jan 2008 issue they have a chart that suppose to tell you how many calories you need to get and maintain your goal weight. Its based on how active you are. You multiply your goal weight by either 10 if you dont exercise at all, by 13 if you rarely exercise and by 15 if you regularly exercise( 30-60 min most days of the week ). My goal weight is 150 and I workout daily so I need to multiply that by 15 which equals 2250 calories, thats about twice as many as I eat now. Does this make sense to anyone out there. I try to stay within 1200 -1500 calories a day, am I not eating enough? or is this for someone without WLS? I have gained 10 pounds over the last year and have been diligently trying to get back down to my goal weight. How many calories are you eating a day to lose? I eat mostly proteins about 75 -100 grams a day, veggies and whole grain products. Debra

Hi Debra! That's a common mathmatical equation out there to figure out caloric intake. For myself, when trying to lose weight, I eat approx 1300-1500cal and if just maintaining I eat around 1800-2000cal daily. I am 5'9" and try tostay somewhere between 150-159lbs on any given day. I normally work out 4-5x's per week (unless I'm super busy or being lazy). You might want to try upping your calories a bit to see what happens b/c you seem to have a pretty good workout schedule. Here's a couple of links that might help you too~ http://www.thinnerself.com/files/calculator.htm http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ for this one firgure out your bmr and then use the harris benedict equation Good Luck!

I agree with you.  Whenever I see one of those generic 'calculators' it seems like it comes up with a ridiculously large number of calories.  If I should eat that amount of food I'd be back to my starting weight in no time. 

Tracy good job at keeping your weight down in a good range. I am 5'6' and my lowest after wls was 151. I started at 254. I had a hard time staying there and now Im 164 and would like to get back under 160. We just built a new home and we put a gym in the basement I treadmill 2 miles every day and lift weights 3-4 times a week. I was doing water arobics 3 times a week up until october when the health club I was going to shut down. I really miss that extra cardio and need to find something to replace that. My nut recommended the water because the resistance is really good for tightening lose skin. The extra weight I put on is right around my waist and my jeans are snug and I will NOT buy larger ones so I need to lose it. Its amazing how uncofortable that extra weight feels 10 ounds feels like 50. I know its not a good time to try to lose with the holidays I am just trying to maintain and will go full force the 1st of the year. Debra

If weight gain or loss was as simply as calories in/calories out, there wouldn't be a need for wls.  It is so much more complex than that.  How your own unique body metabolizes food, the hormones involved in digestion, and all sorts of other issues come in to play.  Much of this is determined by your genetics.  You need to find your own effective balance between how much energy you need and how much energy you use.  So you migh need to exercise more but keep the same number of calories.  Or you might need to up the calories.  There is no set formula that will be 100% for you.  Start modifying your diet--increase proteins, decrease carbs (especially simple ones)--and see how that works.  Then adjust accordingly.  Also, remember that our body changes as we age (again the hormones), so there is a spell in middle age where we tend to gain.  Best of luck, Sally

I am 53 years old and just started going through my change. Im thinking that may have alot to do with the weight gain and the way my  body is metabolizing food. The hormone thing can really make a differance, thanks for your advise, Debra