Should I up my calories?
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jrnguyen
Posts: 92 Member
I am 4 months post op and still doing 600 cals a day. Lately, as in the last 2 weeks, I have been insatiable! I have been drinking coffee every morning which I know can create a false sense of hunger, so as much as it pained me to do, I cut out the caffeine. No change, still feel like I want to eat ALL THE FOODS!
I'm hitting my goals, staying under macros, and cardio 5-6 days a week. Restriction is still definitely there, and I'm getting full on the usual amounts, but literally starving (not head hunger) within a couple of hours. With my low calorie limit, I have no wiggle room for snacks. My loss has also significantly slowed, stalling every couple of days for about a week. I feel like 800 cals a day would be perfect, and give me enough room to work in a protein boost mid afternoon. Any thoughts?
And before anyone suggests I call my NUT, I don't have one with my program. I have an appt with my surgeon in February, but I'd really like some input before then.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go rock in a corner until lunch. ...
I'm hitting my goals, staying under macros, and cardio 5-6 days a week. Restriction is still definitely there, and I'm getting full on the usual amounts, but literally starving (not head hunger) within a couple of hours. With my low calorie limit, I have no wiggle room for snacks. My loss has also significantly slowed, stalling every couple of days for about a week. I feel like 800 cals a day would be perfect, and give me enough room to work in a protein boost mid afternoon. Any thoughts?
And before anyone suggests I call my NUT, I don't have one with my program. I have an appt with my surgeon in February, but I'd really like some input before then.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go rock in a corner until lunch. ...
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Replies
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I am surprised that you are still so low at four months out. I would have a hard time getting in the 60-80g protein at only 600 (I aim for 100g and 900-1000 calories) without most of it coming from supplements. I think, however, that this is one where my opinion is not relevant if your program is telling you 600. I would contact someone in your program and ask if you missed a memo somewhere about a step up in calories when you reintroduce real food. It doesn't have to be a NUT, someone must have a post-op plan for your program.
Hope you figure it out!
Rob0 -
The nurse for my doctor always helped to clarify questions I had like this. I would just shoot her an email about it and she would get back to me. My doctors was a fan of being really ambiguous in our meetings and wouldn't tell me a calorie goal, but would discuss my daily goals for protein and such. The nurse is the one who would clarify things for me. At four months, I was definitely in the 800-1000 calorie range. I probably stayed in that range for 2-3 more months and then moved up to 1000-1200 calorie range. Since month 9, my daily goal has been 1200 calories.0
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I am four months out too and my NUT has me shooting for 1200 a day. I generally get in about 800 and I am still seeing pretty consistent results without too much hunger. Good luck!0
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I am 4 weeks out and eating 600-800 calories. I try to hit a min of 70g protein. My dietician said that when I get to "real food" I will be eating more than this. If your body is truly hungry, it is telling you something.0
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Like Janet, my NUT has me (at 8 wks out) in a range of 600-800, preferably more like 600-700 range, with an understanding I will work out 3 times per week. My guess is since you are working out more than that, you would probably want to be more in the 700-800 range at least, if not a bit more. I think its worth a call to your NUT to discuss.0
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So what I'm going to say, many of you may disagree with and maybe this doesn't apply to everyone, but I thought I should mention... I'm 9 months out at my goal weight which puts me in the normal range for my height (153), but I want to lose another 15/20 lbs so I've been trying to keep around 1200 calories. Also, I speed walk about 60 minutes a day as part of my commute.This definitely has me losing about 2lbs a week and I do not see a reason to go lower. In fact, once I start running/ lifting I will most likely have to up my calories.
Since I started my journey, I was following a low carb diet but included full fat cheese, milk, etc. which makes it difficult to keep calories low. I think that this might have helped me to not mess up my metabolism during the weight loss process. I only ate under 1000 calories for the first 2-3 months and I started as a "light weight" and I have a very small frame. Maybe I just have a great metabolism, but I think not sticking to the super low calorie amounts for months on end helped me. Mind you, this also includes heavy drinking this summer and times I'd let myself indulge.
Incase any of you watch fat kings phil on youtube, I think he did one video where he talked about metabolism post wsl. He says that he keeps his calories at around 1200 for maintenance- you'd think that as a male that works out several days a week, he'd be able to eat more to maintain. It's very bizarre how this varies from person to person, but I think a study should definitely be done! I can't imagine eating 1200 calories a day for the rest of my life for maintenance...0 -
vsg_joanna wrote: »So what I'm going to say, many of you may disagree with and maybe this doesn't apply to everyone, but I thought I should mention... I'm 9 months out at my goal weight which puts me in the normal range for my height (153), but I want to lose another 15/20 lbs so I've been trying to keep around 1200 calories. Also, I speed walk about 60 minutes a day as part of my commute.This definitely has me losing about 2lbs a week and I do not see a reason to go lower. In fact, once I start running/ lifting I will most likely have to up my calories.
Since I started my journey, I was following a low carb diet but included full fat cheese, milk, etc. which makes it difficult to keep calories low. I think that this might have helped me to not mess up my metabolism during the weight loss process. I only ate under 1000 calories for the first 2-3 months and I started as a "light weight" and I have a very small frame. Maybe I just have a great metabolism, but I think not sticking to the super low calorie amounts for months on end helped me. Mind you, this also includes heavy drinking this summer and times I'd let myself indulge.
Incase any of you watch fat kings phil on youtube, I think he did one video where he talked about metabolism post wsl. He says that he keeps his calories at around 1200 for maintenance- you'd think that as a male that works out several days a week, he'd be able to eat more to maintain. It's very bizarre how this varies from person to person, but I think a study should definitely be done! I can't imagine eating 1200 calories a day for the rest of my life for maintenance...
I ama female 3 yrs out, and now (after weightlifting for over a year, increasing calories consistently every month while being more active, and being at goal 130 pounds (5'5") and a confirmed (DEXA) body fat of 17% - I maintain on 2000 to 2200 calories a day.
The biggest issue WLS patients have is the loss of muscle due to such rapid weight loss. Exercising (especially weight lifting/bearing and resistance) early on and not sticking below 1200 for too long (adaptive thermo) will keep that from happening and you can end up being "normal". But most WLS have a higher final body fat % than their same weight counterparts, so their base metabolism is lower...0 -
Joanna,
I am looking forward to getting back to a deficit that is more in line with MFP's sensible recommendations. For me, though, I am happy to have the larger deficits during the 'honeymoon period' when the hormonal benefits are at their highest. One of the driving factors in my pre-surgery work was to get my post-surgery weight loss needs to a more reasonable 80-100 pounds so that it could be accomplished in the 6-9 months post surgery.
I definitely want to get out of the massive deficit numbers as soon as I can. Aiming for maintenance in late spring/early summer.
Rob0 -
These posts are a perfect example of how every physician prescribes something different and that each one of our bodies are completely unique. My recommendation: increase your daily calories by 50. See how that works for a week or two. Then increase again by another 50 and see how that works for a week or two. Keep doing that until you get it right for you. You may find that your body reacts better to an extra 100 calories or that where you are currently may yield a better result, but whatever you decide make sure your decision and your hunger isn't based on emotion. Make small adjustments that fit in the guidelines provided by physicians until you find that perfect balance that works for you and will yield the long term results that you desire.0
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I am in month 5. I was moved up to 1000 calories in month 3---and told by month 6 to go up to 1200. I am doing great at 1000 calories a day hitting my protein everyday and even higher a lot of days. I will move up when i feel that 1000 is not working for me.0
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The biggest issue WLS patients have is the loss of muscle due to such rapid weight loss. Exercising (especially weight lifting/bearing and resistance) early on and not sticking below 1200 for too long (adaptive thermo) will keep that from happening and you can end up being "normal". But most WLS have a higher final body fat % than their same weight counterparts, so their base metabolism is lower... [/quote]
Wow! This is impressive - great job! I'm a 37 year old woman abt 5'4. At almost 9 months out I've lost 80 lbs. I plateaued hard for about 2 months. After seeking help from a new nut, I went from 800 cals a day to 1200. I see some movement on the scale but overall the most impact is that I feel better. I just started exercise. My gym is very supportive and also really sells weight training. Since learning more abt metabolism changes I'm looking towards the future and I don't want to have to maintain on 1200 cals a day. I have been trying to research and contemplate how to increase my metabolism so I can be in maintenance at a higher range. At the same time I'm still struggling to get the last 20lbs if Fat off. Even though the weightloss resistance is so hard I want to try to get my percent body fat from current 40 to at least 30. What do you recommend for a fitness newbie like me?0 -
I sent you a PM
TLDR - lift weights. Keep upping them. Muscle is everything - keep what you have, work hard to get more. Enjoy the results - both aesthetically and physically. Protein requirements for WLS patients are woefully low... Double whatever they tell you. Minimum 100g for anyone trying to keep/gain muscle. 0 -
Thanks for the input everyone! I'm going to try upping my calories to 800 a day and see what happens. I did yesterday which gave me just enough room for an afternoon snack, and I was able to get through the evening without feeling hunger for the first time in weeks. Really hope this helps!0
