Increase protein or decrease calories....need advice!

So, I am struggling with my last 10 pounds (a guess on my part). I have been a relatively slow
loser and I think this maybe due to some comorbidities that I have (PCOS and lipedema). I also
am hungry a lot and the addition of prilosec helps some. I decided to get a body media device to help me decipher how much I am burning (estimate in day). I am burning more than I eat usually
by 300-1000 a day yet still do not lose weight (and this does not include any that I am supposedly malabsorbing). So, I am wondering if I should start taking out some of my protein to help decrease calories more. I started this by drinking only one protein coffee in the AM instead of two (this has
not caused more hunger surprisingly altho I drink two none protein coffees too). I often have
protein pudding as a snack and could reduce another 100 calories that way. But then I think
maybe I should keep increasing my protein. I easily get 100 grams or more of protein a day and
also low carb it pretty well. I am pretty active and work out 40 min 4-5 days a week )walking,
jogging, spinning) plus take 2 mile walks at work usually 3 or so days a week. I do struggle
with emotional eating so this is something I am spending some time on too. I also feel like I
obsess about all of it and then feel badly about myself.

Any ideas??

Thanks!

Jennifer

hi Jennifer.  Are you in a normal BMI range yet?  I don't put a lot of store in BMI because it doesn't take into account body type but that may be helpful in figuring out if you are where your body wants to be. 
When I really slowed down, I always upped my protein and cut my carbs.  That has kind of been my mantra.  Even when I was eating the same # of calories, that seemed to make a difference to my body.  I know you are already doing that but I got my protein up around 150, carb around 30 for it to work.  Are you that extreme?
Maybe you need to eat more?  Maybe your body thinks you are in starvation mode and is hanging on.
I'm hoping Lee will see this and write in.  She amazed me at her ambition in trying to get her last pounds off.  Very much like you, she was high protein, low carb and intensive exercise.  I bet she will have some ideas for you. 
I guess my only other thought is to forget trying to lose and just keep on keeping on.  If it was meant to come off, it will.  If not, you can learn to be happy where you are?

What is your BMI now?  I wouldn't decrease your protein. If you're getting around 100 grams of protein a day, that's optimal. Look for other issues...salt, not enough clear fluids, not enough vitamins, too many diet sodas, too many carb calories or as you said it may just be your particular comorbidities that are holding you back and that would totally **** me off too. Keep in mind it could take several months to get the last 10 pounds off as well. I had months where I only lost 1/2 a pound or 1 pound as I was approaching goal. What else do you think, other than protein, could you change?

--gina
 

I would eat more protein before I'd take some out.

Also, don't forget that all these numbers are estimates. You may very well be losing fat, for example, but gaining muscle. So the scale doesn't budge. Or maybe there's something you eat that you don't record properly (like I just found out I was using heaping scoops of protein when I should have been using level -- so every protein shake had about 75 more calories than I thought)!

This is probably why I maintain when my BodyMedia FIT tells me I have around a 50 calorie deficit. I must miss around 50 calories a day on average from my logging efforts.

I am 5 pounds from a normal BMI which is where I am aiming (I have to be 144 for "normal").
I am still very curvy and have a lot of fluid in my legs from the lipedema. This may be where
I land and I am okay with that except for my TERRIBLE fear of regain. I think this board makes
it harder as so many of you lightweights get to such a low #/BMI. I try hard to not compare
so this is also why I wanted to know an estimate of what I was possibly burning. The good
thing is I have good restriction from my RNY and am able to be so much more active than I
have ever been before EVER in my life. I try to focus on this but my fears get in the way. The
100 grams of protein is a low for me and I have been as high as 150 a day. My surgeon
last week said that I was fine and that I shouldnt be too concerned about getting to a
normal BMI (says the skinny man...LOL).

Thanks for the input!!! I also think I need to work out longer and do more weights but I don't
love it and work long days so just trying to maintain what I AM doing.

p.s. I seem to stay at one weight and bounce around a pound or three for about 6 weeks
and then the scale will move down a few pounds. Been at my current 149ish for about a
month.
I do not weigh daily due to this. I cannot handle the aggravation.

I bet you look great!

Some more things to keep in mind:

You've got around 1 pound of loose skin for every 10 pounds lost. The only way to lose that is PS so you need to kind of mentally subtract it. (And even PS won't get it all as some of it is in places that can't be fixed.)

Frame size is *very* important. A lot of lightweights have really small frames. The bigger your frame, the higher up you need to be in BMI or you get too scrawny. (And vice versa -- for me, just being in the normal BMI range doesn't mean I'm not overweight.)

Add these in with the lipedema and you can not have a normal BMI yet still be skinny! BMI is such a rough measure and it doesn't account for everything.

Most recent cruise pictures (my first on OH if I have done this right) and my before picture (yikes!)...this is just as I started my pre-op process May 2010).

Jennifer

OMG, you look fantastic!

I honestly can't see where another 10  pounds  could come from. Another 5 maybe just to have some room for bounceback. But even that might be hard.

Jennifer, you look wonderful.  OMG, the transformation is amazing.

Swelling and water weight could certainly be part of it.  I after my knee surgery when I had so much swelling, I started doing a homeopathic water pill sometimes so I could bend my knee.  It worked well and may help with your edema.  Maybe not indicated with your co-morbidities but I felt like I had to get some fluid out of my body.

Your losing pattern may just be what it is, as frustrating as it is.  I got down to 111 but really didn't like how I looked there.  I seem to stablize around 115 and that is ok.  But it is the top of where I said I wanted to be so any anything pushs me over and starts the mental anguish, oh my regain.  Maintainance seemed easy in the beginning but seems harder the further out I get.  It's for sure, a journey.

Jennifer

Have you tried including some weight training into your routine?  That may help you with a little more muscle, which speeds up calorie burning.  I've found it to be very effective, and also helps with body shape as well.  I now have fantastic abs underneath all that skin!

I agree with every one else not to reduce your protein.