Calories? To many to few?

[Chezlee 0]

Hi, I've had the lap band for almost 2 years and my weight loss has been pretty slow. I started at 350 and am down to 270. I lost weight easier in the beginning but after I broke the 300 mark I had to fight to get off every pound. I am desperately looking for a reason and a way to help me get the weight off. I am very active and work out vigorously at least 5 days a week and on days that my band does not rebel I consume 600-900 calories. On bad days I get 300 or less. I drink lots of Water. I don't know what I am doing wrong it doesn't make sense that I am not losing weight and some weeks I gain a few pounds. Is starvation mode a real thing? If anyone has any tips or has experienced the same thing please let me know!

[Southern Missy 1]

Starvation mode is very real and sounds like to me that you are in it. I have found that bouncing back and forth from 900-1200 seems to work well for me; what I mean by that is alternating highs and lows of those numbers from day to day which keeps your body from becoming accustomed to the same amount of caloric intake.

Also, your muscles will also do the same thing when it comes to exercise so if you are doing the same thing 5 days a week, you may be spinning your wheels. If you haven't already, incorporate at least a small amount of weights so that you are burning fat even when you aren't working out and I think you'll see a substantial improvement. You might even drop back to 4 days a week until you are able to improve on your caloric intake; 300 calories is okay on a very limited basis but certainly not something I would strive for regularly. Which, if you are doing that because of the band, you may be too tight and need to have some fill taken out. It is definitely worth talking to your MD about.

Keep up the good work -- you're definitely on the right track!!

[megster27 1]

Totally agree!! I find when I eat around 1000 calories a day- that works best for me. If I eat around 700, which I was doing for a long time, I would loose, but only about 1 pound every 7 days. However, now that I eat a little more, I loose more like .5 pounds a day equaling to about 3 pounds a week! Try to get a few more good calories in and see if that works a little better for you.

[Chezlee 0]

Thank you for the advice, it sounds good except I upped my calories a couple of months ago to 1200 with high Protein of 100g or more and I gained 5 lbs in two weeks instead of losing. needless to say I freaked and dropped it back down. Did I stop to soon because the weight gain was initial?

[malissa 0]

Each person's body requires a different amount of calories, but I'm thinking yours is waaay to low.

Personally, I have to consume about 1,200 to lose weight. I try to switch it up a little bit: 1,100 on 1 day, 1,400 the next, etc.

I would suggest speaking with your doctor's office and see what they recommend.

Good Luck!!