1 1/2 y. Post Op. Feeling lost… don’t know how much I should eat!

[SandraBobe 4]

I have lost 60 something pounds in 1 1/2 years. I think I identified why, but not sure. My WLS dietitian insisted on keeping me at 1000k all this time, even when I told her I was lifting weights. So since December, I have been at the same weight. 3 weeks ago I increased my calorie intake because after all my research I concluded that I was starving. Now, I have gained 2 lbs. currently eating anywhere from 1400 to 1600. I workout 4x a week and walk an avg of 8k steps. While I am measuring and I am loosing in inches, the scale is going the wrong direction. I DON’T know what to do or where to go from here!
Don’t get me wrong… I will continue on my journey. I do Celebrate my small wins.. but I am a bit frustrated that I am having such a hard time loosing the last 20.
For reference I am 42 5’7 and weight 204

started at 267 and lowest in December was 198 (So close!!) lol

Anyone else have gone through this?

[catwoman7 11,154]

once you get that far out, you have to play around with different calorie ranges to figure out about how many calories you need to eat to maintain your weight, and how many to lose. That range really varies for everyone depending on sex, age, activity level, metabolic level, how muscular you are, what weight you'd like to be at, etc (e.g., you can eat more if you're fine with weighing 180 lbs as opposed to 130 lbs). I can maintain my current weight by eating about 1600 calories - although I can eat a bit more if I'm exercising a lot. To lose, I have to go below 1600. And since I'm pretty close to a normal BMI, I'd have to eat quite a bit less than 1600 to lose a somewhat noticeable amount each week (otherwise, I'm losing just a couple of ounces - and it's hard to distinguish that from normal fluctuations). There are some women on here who can eat 2000 calories to maintain, and others who can only eat 1200. It's really sort of trial and error given how far you're out from surgery. Maybe start with a range - like 1300-1500 and do that for a couple of weeks. If your weight isn't budging, drop the range down by 100 calories. Rinse and repeat until you start losing weight again.

P.S. if. you're losing inches but gaining weight, it could be that you're putting on muscle. Or if you've recently started doing more and/or heavier lifting, it could be that your muscles are holding on to more Water (since they need water to repair themselves). If that's what's going on, once your muscles are used to that level, your weight should start dropping again.

[SandraBobe 4]

Thank you so much! This helps… It’s so hard with so limited information out there for people that actually workout and need to eat rather than just follow the “plan”

[MrsFitz 369]

If you’re losing inches it sounds like you’re putting on muscle 🙂 The best way to describe it is that a lb of muscle takes up less space than a lb of fat, plus muscle burns calories for longer too so additional benefits - yay! I would suggest carrying on with what you’re doing currently and just keeping an eye by tracking your measurements until you feel comfortable in what you’re doing. Your body is getting used to your current changes in upping your calorie intake and is probably thanking you for adding additional fuel while you work out!

[AmberFL 623]

This whole thing is a science! LOL I am a worker-outer? a gym rat? a gym go-er? well you know what I mean. I work out lol I lift 4 days a week, 1 day only cardio and 1 day F45. I eat anywhere from 1300-1600 calories a day. Depending on the day. One days I do not work out I eat less around 1200 cal. I am only 6.5m out and have hit my goal weight, but there are days where I get scared that I am eating too much. From what I have learned in my very short journey is that our body needs the food in order to grow our muscles, and give us energy for our workouts. Your body will balance out, you will notice your body change now too. I noticed that when I allowed myself more calories my legs and booty got thicker which I have been trying to achieve for months but it wasn't happening lol Just track everything and if you find yourself eating A LOT of not great things then you can look back and see why there is a gain.

P.S I eat a "bad thing" everyday, I am not super restrictive and deprive myself. I have learned that everything in moderation in order for me to keep this as a life long thing. Tracking has really helped me stay accountable!