Question:
1 yr Post-op and need to lose another 80-100lbs

According to fitday most of my cals come from protein and fats. Although the fat content is up there, the sturated fat content is way low-I tend to eat alot of veggie cheese and cook with olive oil on occasiona-I am exercising at least 3 days a week-I took off this weekend because I pulled some major muscles and was very sore but will be starting again tomorrow possibly today-Basically I eat about 1100-1200 cals and I have already lost 145 lbs -In order to lose my last 80-100 lbs should I be eating less cals or a lil moreI went to thinnerself.com and it says a person my height and my goal wt of 145 should be consuming 2178 cals to maintain their weight-I eat half that-What do u guys suggest I normally average about 60 grams of protein should I up that-My carb intake was like 40-50 but only from veggies and other lo carb items? Thanks for any advice    — TotallyTori (posted on February 29, 2004)

February 29, 2004
Hi, First of all I want to say congrats on your weight loss so far that is great! I am now a year post op too and have lost around the same amount as you, I have about another 20 or so though I want to lose. I am 5'7 and want to be at least 150lbs. with my height and all. I also wonder now on how much calories I should be getting in a day too, I went to fitday.com also and they say I should be eating way too much, but with this surgery I know we can only handle so much at a time and that many calories I don't think is possible for us now, unless we have something wrong, but I am trying to get in at least 1200 calories a day now some less and maybe even some alittle more I really don't count them on a daily basis, but I was told by others that the further you get along post op the more calories you are suppose to consume to maintain your weight or keep losing since we are almost to goal or close to it, I hope they are right! But anyway I try to stay around that calorie intake, it seems like you are doing great so keep up the good work! hope this info helps!
   — Melodee S.

February 29, 2004
I am confused. Did you stop losing?
   — mrsmyranow

February 29, 2004
Victoria, I am assuming you have seen your weight loss slow down, which is very normal. Mine has been very sporatic the past 3-4 months (I am 2 days shy of being 13 months PO). I was extremely fortunate and was able to take off 95% of my excess weight in a year and the rest came off last week with a lower body lift. However, I set a very realistic and maintainable goal and far from what any height/weight chart says I should be. I am 5'9 and my goal weight was 200 lbs. At 224 I was already down to 16 in pants and L tops. I'm fairly confident that I would wear a 12 right now after surgery, assuming the thunder thighs fit in them. I was 216 on the say of surgery and he removed almost 19 lbs of skin so I should be under goal. <p>I typically do 1000-1500 calories in a day, just depending on what my choices are and how hungry I am. Some meals it's like I cannot stop eating and others it's a few bites and I'm done. There are two things that I have done through my process that I believe has contributed greatly to the 227 lbs I lost before PS. 1)I eat a much higher proportion of protein than most, or at least I did for about 11 months. Now it's a little more balance but I still typically try and keep the protein at 50%. I do a lot of boiled or steamed shrimp which is awesome protein and no carbs and very low fat. Steak is another thing I eat a lot. I eat almost total protein for breakfast everyday. If I have carbs it's a piece of high protein (8g) and high fiber, low carb bread (3 grams of carbs after fiber removed). That super high protein meals seems to kick start the day towards proper eating. Not always but most days. Occassionally I will do a large quantity of carbs in a day but it's far from the norm. I have just found for my body that anytime the weight loss slowed or stopped what got it moving every time was pushing more protein, dump som carbs and drown yourself in water. I would drink around 100-120oz in a day. Normally I struggle to do 64oz. I am very inconsistent. It's either tons of water or more like 48oz. But when I slip back to the 48oz range the weight loss stops. I also find it needs to be mostly water when I want to get the weight moving again, instead of the diet snapple I tend to always drink. <p>2)Weight training! I started at 442 lb and had hips and knees and low back that hurt unbelieveable so it took me a long time to get to any sort of meaningful walking program. It took me 6 months to work up to 1 mile continuously. After that greater distance and speed came fairly quickly. However, what I could do was get back to my weight program by 9 weeks PO. Again it took me till 6 months PO to get back to the weights I was going pre-op but I just kept working at it. I didn't do any abdomninal work till around 7 mos PO as I did not want a hernia. Fortunately I never got one. I truly believe that the weight training is a huge piece of this shrinking process. My body shrunk quite well and now with the skin removal I am seeing a body I have NEVER seen in my life. I actually like to look it, which sounds really strange. Building muscle, and I'm not talking bulging muscles as I have none of those, just makes your body so much more efficient and keeps it buring all the time. It revs up that metabolism and keeps it there. <p>Some may tell you to exercise more often and that may be necessary but who knows. I did 30 minutes of weights and worked up to 30 minutes of walking, twice a week, in the first 7 months. Then I went to 3 days a week and increased the walking/biking to 30-45 minutes. I have zero intention of increasing it to more days unless it becomes necessary to maintain. I've lost 200 lbs before and was very exercise obsessed. I lost the weight but was on a program there was no way I could maintain for the rest of my life. The program I am doing now is enjoyable and I feel very comfortable with it. At 43 and with significant Fibromyalgia and other muskuloskeletal problems my body just won't take more. <p>I strongly suggest to set smaller goals along the way and don't focus on the final goal weight as it can drive you nuts. Maybe you have chosen too low a goal weight for your particular body. Be flexible and willing to adjust. The goal here is to get healthy! I should weight 156 according to a height/weight chart. Ain't ever gonna happen. I am very small in the upper body now and there is no way I could control where the weight comes off, so I'm basically done and will trying to find the balance I need for maintenance. I figure if I settle out between 180-190 that is the absolute lowest I want to be. Even my WLS agrees that 180 is pretty much the bottom for me based on how I am built etc. Anywhere under 200 puts me in the overweight category and that's good enough for me. To get to normal I'd have to be like 168 and it's not worth it to me. I do not want to be on a diet the rest of my life to maintain. I want to enjoy life and all it has to offer me. <p>To sum it all up push lots more protein. Based on your numbers you are eating many grams of fat, which might be some of the problem. Assume 1200 calories - 240 (60x4) for protein - 200 (50x4) for carbs that leave 760 calories for fat, which is almost 85 grams of fat - way too high. If you want to stay at 1200 calories then shoot for at least 100 grams of protein (you can do it with the right choices), 60 grams of carbs which leaves 62 grams of fat. We do malabsorb some fat, so that portion should be okay. It may be that your exercise expenditure of calories is too low and you need to beef up the intensity. Every body is different but all I know is for me the more protein I pushed the better the weight loss. I chose to stay in maximum ketosis for 4 months because it was burning fat big time. That's another option - go back to square one and get your self back into ketosis and start the heavy burning process over again. <p>Please do realize you have been majorly successful in losing 145 lbs. That is a huge chunk of weight. Typically the people with larger quantities to loose will take 18-24 months to get there, but that's fine. My weight loss is not the typical, but it is how I dropped the two hundred lbs before, very quickly. For me it seems once I start making decent choices of what I put in my body, then my body decides to cooperate wonderfully. I wish it worked this fast for everyone, but even though your body isn't the same it doesn't mean you cannot accomplish your goals. Just be realiztic about those goals and any time you think you aren't doing well pull out an old picture or pair of pants and remind yourself just how far you have come! AWESOME JOB!! Chris D.
   — zoedogcbr

February 29, 2004
Original Poster here-Thank you all for your posts- I have not stopped losing weight in fact i think I have actually lost 2lbs since last week. I was just wondering what else I should be doing differently-I just started exercising last week and want to combine strength training with my walking.Keep the Posts coming
   — TotallyTori