Post-VSG Weight Lifting and Caloric Need

[IBSavn 2]

I had my VSG on July 29th, 2020. I lost 30lbs prior to surgery and about 70 after surgery. I went from 330lbs in January of 2019 to 230 in February of 2020. I have been working out since surgery, generally 3 times a week. I was eating 1.4k calories on rest days at 1.6k on workout days. My dietitian advised me to go up to 1.8k calories since I had reached my goal weight and I just wanted a slow steady weight loss. I have increased my workouts substantially over the last month. I lift weights 4-5 days a week and do 30-45 minutes are high intensity cardio 5-6 days a week. My BMR is about 2.1k, so originally, I was eating around that. However, my trainer told me I was going to have to eat above my TDEE in order to put on muscle. So, I have been eating about 2.5-3.2k calories a day. I'm not eating junk, I still eat high Protein foods--I'm just literally eating all day long since I can't eat large meals. I have gained from 230 - 237. I feel fat and bloated most of the time and I stay extremely gassy. My macro split at 3k calories is 40% protein, 30% carbs, and 30% fat. My trainer believes that my 7 lb gain has been related to retaining Water due to muscle building and then some actual fat gain. I really want to work hard on gaining muscle and transforming my body. I'm 6'4" and have a good frame to be muscular. Can any fellow VSG'ers who lift and have been successful at putting on lean muscle help me out?

[sifu_carl 6]

I'm in the same boat as you. I had my surgery in April 2019 and hit my weight loss goal. Then I started to increase my calories by reverse diet so I could gain lean muscle. I was doing a weight lifting routine and was frsutrated like you. The only way I know for sure that I've gained any muscle is I had a few dexascans done which showed a 3lb increase over several months, I also lost a percentage of body fat so I took it as a win. Keep in mind I was still in a large calorie deficit for most of that time. From what I've read there are a lot of variables that go into how fast and how much lean muscle you gain on different routines. I would say get an accurate measure of body fat % and lean muscle mass and track it over time. And keep grinding, my dietician who helped me on this path likes to remind me that a lot of those you see posting on Facebook have been at it for a long time.

[JAKE H 1,230]

Alright, so like you, i started working out working out right after surgery. I chose to do crossfit and running as my main forms of exercise. I do 4-5 days at cross fit and i run 3 days a week. Usually 2 moderate days of 3-5 miles and one day of long distance 6-13 depending. So we are similar in our workouts. But for me i was at 800 cals for months 2-6 and ive recently been trying to get 1200-1300 these last couple months. Some days i can and some days i cant. I try my best. My goal was to lose the weight and try to maintain my strength until i could start eating more and enough to actually gain muscle. Well i definitely have gotten weaker from when i was 386 but im also much more defined now. 215 is my goal weight. But for me that didnt mean i was gonna get to it and then just go straight into maintenance mode. I know im not done losing weight. And im not going to force my pouch or sleeve and my body to be in pain because i want muscle NOW. I always figured id drop below 200 and then level out. And then i can gain muscle back to 215. Right now i want to take full advantage of my sleeve. and yes while im frustrated i cant do all the heavy weights at crossfit just yet, im able to do some many other things that i never could. Pull ups push ups. box jumps. run a half marathon. The list goes on. As much as i want to get back to benching 365, i know thats a pipe dream for a while. I wish you all the luck and keep us updated on everything. Im pretty impressed you can get those many cals in. I feel like i have to eat all day to get 1300. I posted a pic just to show you where im at. 212 currently.