This is my first post! Hope it's okay.
Today I talked to the dietitian. I'm not stalled out but I wanted to make sure I was correctly on track. She recommended 500 cals/day. I'm 6 months out and I've lost 99 pounds after RNY.
Here's the kicker! The last three times I've seen the nurse practitioner, she's recommended I eat "more" calories, because my activity level is too high for this amount of calories. Also, the last time I went, she told me I hadn't lost enough weight.
So I've seen the nurse practitioner three times. The first time, I was eating 500 cals/day, and complaining of exhaustion and dizziness. She gives me the ok to up to 600 cals.
The second time, I was eating 600. She didn't say anything about my rate of weight loss, but again recommended adding more. She did not mention a specific number.
Third time, I'm eating probably 700, she tells me I haven't lost enough and that again, I need to up more. I ask for a specific recommendation and she says that I need to let my morning weight determine my eating plan. I stopped exercising after this visit since my activity level is clearly "too high."
It's been maybe 6 weeks since I saw the NP, so in an effort to get back on track after Christmas, I called today and asked for a recommended amount of calories. There's a long distance bike ride in my hometown in April that I'd like to train for. After all, part of the reason I had this surgery was to be able to do more things. The dietitian says to stay on 500 cals until I lose 75% of my excess body weight, and then I can up it to 600 MAX.
What??????????????????????????????
In her defense, I didn't mention the long distance cycling or anything but I did mention I was going to the gym 3-4 times a week and riding the bike for 45 minutes. I guess maybe I didn't tell her explicitly enough that I'm actually exercising and not just slowly riding the bike? I don't know. My husband checked the bariatric road map they gave us when the program first started and apparently at six months you're supposed to just be "walking" and not really getting your heart rate up.
I know bariatric recommendations are like the wild west out here and no two programs are the same. I know that I should be listening to my dietitian. But how is it possible that these two people are so far off? I was eating 800-1000 calories because I calculated my total daily energy expenditure, and 1000 should have me losing 2 pounds/week. Why aren't they on the same page???
SW: 316
CW: 217
75% excess body weight: 186
GW: ????
