LOSING TOO MUCH WEIGHT!

[tptacnik 3]

My sleeve surgery was done Oct 2014 and I am now roughly 15 months post-op. My starting weight the day of surgery was 272 and as of today I am 117.6. I am 5 feet 4 inches tall. My original goal weight was 145lbs...after 15 months I still have not hit a plateau with my weight loss and I am starting to get concerned. I have consulted with the PA at my surgeons office several times since November and have had multiple blood tests ran and everything is coming back normal. I feel wonderful and have energy to burn but that doesn't change the fact that I physically cant stop losing weight. I was running 5 days a week and have cut the running out completely and am only exercising 3 days a week now. I am also eating 6 small meals a day, up to 1400 calories with roughly 90 grams of Protein and between 100-150 grams of carbs and its making no difference. If anyone has had this problem or anything similar I would love to hear from you. I am hoping and praying this will sort itself out soon because no one, not even my doctor, seems to have an answer.

[SmilingBeauty 223]

Maybe you should up your calories to 1600 -1800 for the amount of exercise you are doing. Also, the more muscle you build, the more calories you burn. So you could be burning more calories just sitting than you were when you were heavier combined with the exercise and you have a huge calorie deficit.

Just a thought. I am 7 months out and have not reached goal. I am just going on what I have been told about losing.

Good luck

[Healthy_life2 8,324]

_{Again I'm no Dr. I do not diagnose. I'm careful to trust anything I read on the internet. Just shooting some information for you to look at. It may or may not fit. It might be worth mentioning to your dietitian}

https://www.acsm.org/docs/brochures/the-female-athlete-triad.pdf

[AvaFern 3,516]

I don't have a problem with continued weight loss- I hit goal, went down 3 more pounds, and then stopped, gained those 3 pounds back and have floated at the same weight 1-3 pounds either direction ever since. I notice though that if I run and eat less I start losing again. Since my clothing all fits me at this size, I'm fine being lazy, not running, and not losing. Lately I've been being more careful about logging calories and I am up to almost 1800 calories a day some days. Anymore than that and I start gaining, but if I was running 5 days a week and eating 1400 calories I'd probably keep losing too. You can add a Protein shake that easily adds an extra 400 calories, or another snack or two and you will likely stop losing. 117 is a healthy weight for someone your height, so now you can focus on figuring out the input/output levels that keep you there.

[natnat919 165]

I am 7 months out and having a similar issue....I am at my goal and keep losing. The only way I can maintain is to have a cheat day every 3 days. I don't go crazy, but might have a piece of bread or a potato. That's enough to keep my metabolism in check and not gain or lose. I am now able to maintain......and it hasn't really launched my cravings too badly. I eat high Protein and low carb for 3 days, then add in some carbs on day 4, back on low carb for 3 days, cheat on day 4, etc. I'm still exercising a lot as well....

[tptacnik 3]

Thanks everyone for the words of wisdom. Obviously a new body and essentially new life take

a little while to figure out. I'll keep you all posted and good luck on your own journey!

[vsghealthymom 16]

Sounds familiar, although I can admit I don't work out like I should. I've thought about my weight too wondering when my set point will hit. I'm one year out, started at 248 and last Saturday I was 121 and I am 5'5. I don't know where my calories should be to maintain.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Congrats to those who've lost all they want to lose. But if you're still losing beyond that point, to solve your problem you simply have to eat more than you're eating. Some of us are eating 1700 - 2000 calories a day and still having trouble stopping the weight-loss machine (raising hand here)

It's a strange problem for folks like us to have. But that doesn't mean it's not a real problem.

Some suggestions:

* Drink whole (not skim) milk -- or even half and half

* Add some high-carb Snacks

* Make one of your Snacks a handful of nuts

* Eat dessert every once in a while (and by that, I mean the real thing)

* Add some breads to your daily menu

Keep weighing daily or weekly to see how these (and other changes you want to make) affect your weight.

After dieting for so long (and that's indeed what we've done) we can get into a place where we permanently *restrict* too much what we eat. We have trained ourselves not to eat until we feel full, and some of us have learned that lesson very well.

However, the truth is that some of us CAN lose too much and can find it hard to turn off the feel-good switch when we see the scales dropping. I'm not sure that's anorexia so much as it is just finding it hard to change direction.

And when this does happen, consider that it's just a new problem we need to learn how to solve.

Good luck to us all! The goal is to lose what we need to lose -- and then learn how to MAINTAIN (neither lose nor gain).

[bdcsail 72]

I would just increase your calorie intake and add carbs back into the diet. I had lost too much but seemed to have found a healthy balance between eating limited carbs but high Protein, and an occasionally sweet treat.

[jess9395 5,449]

Eat more.

Don't stop the running.

That is all ????????

Seriously though, I dropped below where I anticipated ending up. You are still at a healthy weight for your height. Maybe your body hasn't hit its new set point yet, mine was lower than I imagined pre op.

I did have to up the calories more to maintain. The health benefits of the running were not something I wanted to give up. Good suggestions on upping calories above.

[jess9395 5,449]

I am 7 months out and having a similar issue....I am at my goal and keep losing. The only way I can maintain is to have a cheat day every 3 days. I don't go crazy, but might have a piece of bread or a potato. That's enough to keep my metabolism in check and not gain or lose. I am now able to maintain......and it hasn't really launched my cravings too badly. I eat high Protein and low carb for 3 days, then add in some carbs on day 4, back on low carb for 3 days, cheat on day 4, etc. I'm still exercising a lot as well....

I hate the idea of calling this a "cheat." It's the plan that works for your body. Embrace it!

[Sophie74656 1,572]

Oh to have that problem...

[Mrs.Grace 9]

I'm eating between 2,000 and 2,400 calories a day with absolutely zero exercise ( by zero I mean I literally don't get out of bed) and still am not gaining. I'm eating Hershey's chocolate pie, chips, fries chicken, extra Protein Shakes with 40 grams of carbs daily, and still nothing. I never cut out carbs even from the beginning. My blood pressure never gets above the 80's/50's anymore and often bottoms out much much lower. Doctors say I need to gain 20 lbs and tell me to eat French fries with extra salt and other junk. I am eating. I'm not gaining. They are super unhelpful. I figure I'll either stabilize eventually or I won't. It is what it is. Sure never thought I'd be in this position.

[lauraellen80 855]

I haven't gotten to the point where I'm underweight, but I am under my goal and still losing. My surgeon said at my 6-month follow-up not to listen to anyone who said I was losing too much. And then I immediately went into my session with the dietitian, who said she didn't want me to lose any more than I had. She amended that to saying that she didn't want me to go below 115 lbs. Technically, at my height I would have to be 103 lbs or below to be classified as underweight, so I dunno why she picked 115. I'm 122 right now, and I see her again in 6 weeks. Part of me would like to get down to 115 so that even if I have that bounce of 10-20 lbs later on, I won't go over my goal of 135. But I'm also noticing lately that I'm just not always satiated with the amount that I'm eating and end up adding in some more nuts, or cheese, or a Protein bar. The dietitian told me to stay between 1000-1200 calories a day, and I'm near the top of that range most days lately. I'm torn between feeling like this is normal and my body is trying to level things off, and feeling like I'm getting into dangerous territory and on the verge of gaining it all back!

[bellabloom 2,467]

Your not eating enough calories by a long shot. You'll likely need around 2000, as much as 2500+ if your running. Everyone's metabolism is different. You need to raise your calories by 100 or so a week until your loss stops.

We are so used to dieting and being told to eat less and as little as possible to lose weight- it's hard to wrap your head around that most people eat around 2000 calories and that is regular thin people! Athletes eat even more. You have to shift your perception of yourself as a dieter to that of an athlete if you are running 6 days a week.

I agree, don't stop running. Eat more if you can.

Technically your at a healthy weight still for now but I agree you need to slow it down. I'm sure you look great. You've lost an incredible amount of weight and you should be so proud!!!

Edited January 27, 2016 by bellabloom