how many cals are you at?

[alley-gator 96]

I am 4 months out & my weight loss has slowed downvin a big way. I searched the threads for this but wasnt really finding what I need. How many cals is everyone eating a day? I was 253 starting weight and now at 192 and totally stalled. This is a typical day for me:

Breakfast: 1/2 c cottage cheese, premiere Protein Shake.

Lunch: 2 emily bites cupcakes ofbone flavor or another.

Afternoon: beef jerkey or cheese for snack, maybe greek yogurt.

dinner is usually chicken or fish.

Some days I end up snacking. Most days I am right around 1200 cals which seems like too many? I can easily do more than that if I don't track though. My nut isn't super helpful so what do you guys think I can do or change?

[SpaceDust 585]

The Emily Bites cupcakes are a nice low-cal treat ONCE IN A WHILE, but ditch them as a regular thing, especially two at a time. You want to stay off the simple carbs as much as possible. If you stick to Protein first for every meal, follow with produce (i.e., leafy greens, healthy veggies and fruits) and do starchy foods last of all, in small quantities OCCASIONALLY, you'll be on the track that most of the post-op diets I've seen suggest is right for the first 6 months to a year.

I suspect you might find yourself less inclined to snack if you had some dense Protein for lunch - it sticks with you much better than even the healthiest cupcake!

I'm not your NUT, of course, but 1200+ cals on a regular basis seems like a lot at 4 months out - it seems to me that most people at that stage are in something closer to 700-1000 calories unless they've started an aggressive exercise regimen.

Finally, you didn't mention how much exercise you're getting. If you aren't getting any, you might try getting out for a 30-45 minutes walk every day, or do an exercise DVD. If you already exercise, change it up a bit - get a new DVD with a different sort of exercise routine, for example. If you tend to do a lot of cardio but no strength work, start adding in strength work - you can do it at home with the bands that are available fairly cheaply, if you don't want to go all out for equipment .

[pinkpeonies 42]

My doc had advised me to stick between 600-800 cals (preferably closer to 600) during the weight loss phase (first 12-18 mos). He thinks my maintenance will be more like 1100-1200.