Ready21

On 05/28/2022 at 19:40, ms.sss said:

Beat way to see if a low carb diet works for you is to try it out for several weeks and see? If you see/experience what you like, then yay! If not try something else.

Everyone will respond to different types of carbs differently.

I went ultra low carb during weight loss phase, and lost the weight I wanted.

BUT…I discovered later in maintenance that my carb intake made little to no difference in weight loss/gain/maintenance for ME. All that mattered was total calorie intake, whether these cals came from bread or steak or Cookies.

What carb intake DID make a difference for ME, was physical appearance. When i am low-carbing i look more lean and defined. When I’m not, I look more puffy and full.

So while low-carbing makes my body (in my opinion) look nicer, my face gets gaunt-er…so its a win-lose lol. (AND i am basically still the same weight either way, eating basically the same amount of calories).

But again, try it yourself and see (and also speak to your NUT of course )

Good Luck! ❤️

Thank you for your input! I am experimenting now and I’ll have a better indication of how things are going this week. It’s great that your body responds like that. You’ve found your formula!

On 05/28/2022 at 09:30, Tufflaw said:

1200 calories is pretty low. Have you considered increasing your caloric intake? It's not intuitively obvious, but sometimes eating more calories can increase your weight loss - your body may be in starvation mode and conserving due to low calories. Increasing the calories, even to 1400 or so, might kickstart your body into burning fat again.

😊 Yes, thank you…I started that a few days ago and will wait until the end of the week to weigh myself. I increased calories by 150 or so.

On 05/28/2022 at 09:30, Tufflaw said:

1200 calories is pretty low. Have you considered increasing your caloric intake? It's not intuitively obvious, but sometimes eating more calories can increase your weight loss - your body may be in starvation mode and conserving due to low calories. Increasing the calories, even to 1400 or so, might kickstart your body into burning fat again.

😊 Yes, thank you…I started that a few days ago and will wait until the end of the week to weigh myself. I increased calories by 150 or so.

On 05/27/2022 at 20:59, Arabesque said:

Yep, the closer you are to your goal the slower your rate of loss & yes, it can get so slow you think you’re not losing at all. You’re eating more, which you should be, and eating nearer the calories your body needs to function. Generally the first year is the honeymoon time when most weight if not all your weight is lost.

Unfortunately, not everyone reaches their goal. It depends upon many factors including where your set point has reset to after your surgery. This is the weight your body is happiest at.

If it is a long stall, sometimes a small tweak to your diet or activity can help. Do you still have appointments with your dietician? They may be able to make suggestions on what you could adjust & they’ll be best able to advise on an appropriate caloric goal for you. But consuming 950-1250 should still result in weight loss.

I’m one of those unusual people who kept losing weight well into their 2nd year. I reached goal at 6 months & continued to lose, albeit extremely slowly, for another 11 months. I struggled to get to the 1300 or so calories I found I needed to stop me losing. BUT I’m not very active, am short & more finely built & in the downward slide end of 50. I eat a few more calories now. Many eat a lot more than I do to maintain at their weight.

PS - Are you able to update your profile information on the left side? It can be very helpful if others can see that information about you.

Thank you for sharing that. I used to weigh everyday…very toxic. Now I weigh once a week and it’s taken a lot of stress always. Great that you continued to lose past the year mark!

On 05/27/2022 at 20:57, DaisyAndSunshine said:

I am the worst person to ask this question 😂

I am always petrified of upping my calories. Though after the last stall, upping my calories did help (currently consume around 800 to 950 calories). But I can't imagine going beyond 1200 during the weight loss phase. But that's just me and my past experiences speaking. Many here vouch on having lost weight by increasing their calories. So no harm in giving it a shot.

Try increasing to 1300 for a week and see how it goes. If that doesn't work, next try reducing it by 100. If even those don't work, then body will do its thing and all you can do is continue working your diet and exercise hoping for the scale to move.

Lol!! I’m going to up it a little and see if that assists in my weight loss. It is scary though! I see you mentioned that upping your calories during your last stall was helpful. I believe that it may work for me too. I’ll report back!

On 05/27/2022 at 16:44, DaisyAndSunshine said:

Probably could be a stall. My last stall was when my BMI was about 33ish (last month, my month 5). Lasted 3 weeks or so until scale started moving yet again this month, month 6.

Since you're month 10, I am sure weight loss slows down too closer to a year of surgery. Like the above poster suggested, try play around with calories and exercises and see if it makes a difference. It can get frustrating when you still haven't come close to the goal but hang in there and hope scale starts cranking again.

Thank you for your input. It’s so frustrating. I see so many things about weight loss and how some still lose way past a year and then some don’t. I’m going to up my calories a little. Right now on average my total calories per day fluctuate between 950-1250. What are your thoughts on that?

On 05/27/2022 at 17:13, Spinoza said:

You mean you don't know what your BMI is? Try this link.

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html

Thank you

On 05/27/2022 at 14:04, DaisyAndSunshine said:

What's your BMI? I guess it depends how close you are to your normal weight. Closer the goal, more the stalls from what I have read out here.

I need to find out. Right now I’m 173, my goal is 150

On 05/27/2022 at 12:57, ShoppGirl said:

You will probably get mixed responses on that one. I did not ever cut them out completely but some people do. Some find eating them on occasion is too difficult and some nutritionist think they should be cut out completely during the weight loss phase. Mine said if you can eat them in moderation they are okay.

Yeah, just wondering if I’m consuming too much. For instance, for the past few months, I make it a point to eat about 1.5 or 2 oz of tostones along with some Protein. They’re so good, and it doesn’t seem like too many carbs, but I may experiment and go without for a week and see what happens. Thanks for the input!

On 05/27/2022 at 13:19, fourmonthspreop said:

I stall everytime I get my period. Then when it stops 5 days later I drop 4-5 lbs. This has happened every month lol but I know non menstrual related stalls are super common. Just keep eating in a deficit and drink a bunch of Water. Sometimes I stall too if I'm constipated. I take some laxatives and continue on the losing streak.

Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

This is true for me too, in fact, mine is coming on in a few days. I’ll see what happens this time. Upping my Water also. Do you think upping my overall calories would help? Thanks!

On 05/27/2022 at 10:36, catwoman7 said:

it could definitely be a stall - mine tended to be more frequent and lasted longer the closer i got to a normal BMI. Every time I'd think "well, i guess this is it...", and then the weight loss would start up again.

if you're doesn't in another couple of weeks and you still want to lose more, about the only thing you can do is cut calories (or increase activity - or both).

Thank you kindly. I’m hopeful it will break soon!!! My clothes are fitting looser and I look slimmer, but the scale hasn’t been moving for awhile. Do you think carbs could be the culprit? I may try to cut cals. Thanks for sharing your experience.

On 05/27/2022 at 11:12, ShoppGirl said:

How tall are you? If you are close to a normal BMI the weight loss does slow down considerably and it eventually stops. I am 5’8” Mine stopped at 169 and after staying there for several months I gained 10 back over the next few. I have been at 179 ever since. I wanted to get much lower but had to accept that my body is happy here. I could probably lose a bit if I incorporated more exercise Though. You may just need to be a bit more patient, but you also may need to add more movement to lose more.

Thank you. I’m 5’3 so I feel reaching 150 would be ideal. I recently started incorporating more exercise, I’m also wondering if I need to completely cut out carbs.

Hi All,

I’m 10 months post op from gastric sleeve and have been at a stall for about a month. I’m at 173 from 250. I eat about 1,200 Cals a day and have about 60-80 ounces of Water per day. How can I speed up my weight loss? What has worked for you? Thanks!
at a stall for about a month. I’m at 173 from 250. I eat about 1,200 Cals a day and have about 60-80 ounces of water per day. How can I speed up my weight loss? What has worked for you? Thanks!

Hi All,

I’m 10 months post op from gastric sleeve and have been at a stall for about a month. I’m at 173 from 250. I eat about 1,200 Cals a day and have about 60-80 ounces of Water per day. How can I speed up my weight loss? What has worked for you? Thanks!

On 01/03/2022 at 19:36, ms.sss said:

5’2” female. At the 6 month mark, I was at 97 lbs lost. But this includes ~12 lbs lost during my 2 week pre-op diet, so really it was more like 85 lbs lost in the first 6 months immediately after surgery.

FYI, during weight loss phase i went with volume and calories measures way to monitor intake (cuz there is a huge diff between 1oz of steak and 1oz of salad or 1oz of almonds in terms of “eat-ability” AND calories)

With that said, at my 6 month mark, I was averaging about 700-ish calories a day, with each “meal” coming up to no more than 1 cup in volume (if I remember correctly). I use the term “meal” loosely as I was (and sorta still am) a grazer.

But I’ve read enough on here to learn that my experience differs from many (and is similar to some). I have also learned that while everyone loses at their own pace and implements their own strategies, we all end up in the same place eventually so long as we stick with our plan and make adjustments as necessary.

Good Luck! ❤️

P.S. I am 3+ years out now and have maintained below goal weight the entire time. I average about 1800 cals a day with moderate exercise. …. Though, full disclosure, I was 2lbs outside my “happy weight range” a couple days ago, which has since been lost (a couple good poops did it, I think, lol…that and I cut down on the copious amounts of Xmas chocolates I’ve been porking on). This morning I was 119 lbs even, but I feel better when I’m closer to the lower end of my happy weight range so am gonna shoot for 115 and see if I can get back down there without too much discomfort, ha!….we shall see.

Thank you for the feedback. It’s all helpful to my peace of mind. You’ve done very well to maintain. My doc said months ago I should increase my cals to 1000. I can’t seem to bring myself to it 🥴

On 01/03/2022 at 09:27, FLPhoenix said:

I am three months out and already have increased appetite. Its no where near the hanger type hunger pre-surgery though. I am still eating around 3-3.5 oz and have lost about 45 lbs. I had a VSG.

Sent from my SM-G998U1 using BariatricPal mobile app

You’re doing great!

On 01/02/2022 at 21:35, Arabesque said:

As we progress we are all able to eat more & many find their appetite & hunger starts to come back at around 6-9 months. It’s when the next lot of hard work happens - when it’s up to you to control & manage your eating as you can’t rely on the diminishing benefits of the tool (your sleeve) anymore.

At 6 months I’d reached goal & had lost 26kg (57lbs) post surgery so about the same as you. My surgeon was very happy with my rate of loss. I was eating almost 900 calories & almost a cup of food depending on what it was. I was slowly eating more but it did take another 10/11 months for me to be able to physically eat enough to stop losing.

I eat about 1300 calories to maintain now & that includes 3 or 4 Snacks. My serving size is a good cup or about the recommended serving size of most foods. To give you an idea I can eat 1.5 eggs, 3ozs steak, 2 lamb cutlets, a serve of rolled oats, 1/2 - 3/4 cup steamed vegetables, a tub of yoghurt. I take 30-60 mins to eat a meal. I should stress I’m not tall, have a small frame, am almost 57 & am not very active so hence my lower caloric intake.

Congrats on your weight loss. You’re almost there. Whoo hoo!

Thank you. Sounds like you’re doing well too. Right now I’m getting in about 8-900 cals a day. About 3 months ago at one of my follow ups, my doc said to try to get to 1,000 a day. I have yet to do that partly because I’m anxious about the increase and because between eating and trying to reach my Water goals, it’s a challenge once evening hits.

On 01/03/2022 at 04:05, GradyCat said:

Keep in mind that you can't compare yourself to others who may have started at a higher or lower BMI or weight and have different bodies or may or may not be exercising more or less than you are.

That being said, it sounds like you're doing GREAT! Way to go! Good job! Keep up the good work!

Thank you, this is true. I’ve been experiencing a little anxiety about it wondering if I’m on the right track.

On 01/02/2022 at 16:55, ShoppGirl said:

I am almost nine months out and have only lost 66 pounds so I would venture to say you are doing fine. It actually would be helpful if you filled in your profile. I can eat almost a normal serving size now. I am a little early to be able to eat this much but my team says it’s okay and there is nothing wrong. I am 9 pounds from goal and still losing very slowly.

Thanks for your feedback. I think 4-5 ounces might be too much at this point for me, but I’m not sure. Let me try to figure out how to fill in my profile. Keep up the momentum, being only 9 pounds from your goal is great.

I’m almost 6 months out and have lost 60 pounds. I’m trying not to compare my situation to others, but I’m curious on how much some of you lost around the same timeframe. Also…my appetite is definitely increasing. I stick to about 4.5 ounces per meal, but feel like sometimes I can eat more. How much are you eating per meal? Thanks.

On 09/03/2021 at 14:53, vikingbeast said:

Stop and think about this for a second.

Before you had surgery, before you started losing weight pre-op... how much were you eating? 2500 calories a day? 3000? 3500?

Now you're eating 500-600 and wondering if you can do 800-1000.

If you were at 2500 calories before and you're doing 800 now, that's still a cut of 1700 calories, or an AVERAGE (notice the capital letters!) of half a pound a day. Now, it doesn't work that way, because our bodies are not machines with standard inputs and outputs. A lot of things can change that calculus, like sodium content and bloating (hello hormones!) and your brain and even the weather.

Vigorous exercise at 6-7 weeks out seems a bit much... but are you getting out and moving? Walking? Running if your body permits it at this point? Climbing hills?

One other sense of perspective. Back when you were your pre-op self, if someone had said, "Ready21, I have a diet that will make you drop 30 pounds in 8 weeks," would you not have absolutely jumped on it?

As long as you're losing, you're good... and even if you stall, as long as you're not gaining overmuch!

Before surgery/preop etc, I was averaging about 1500-2000 a day…my metabolism was shot though. I’m hoping this surgery has corrected that metabolically. I totally get your point. I’m working on becoming more active! Thank you for your input!

On 08/30/2021 at 06:20, Soon2bFit21 said:

You’re not going to stretch your stomach with Water, it’s in and out too quickly for that. I’m in the same boat with being able to drink a relatively large amount after surgery. Don’t ever drink to the point of discomfort and you’ll be fine.

Thank you!

On 09/02/2021 at 05:15, catwoman7 said:

that rate of weight loss is very normal, unless you're the size of someone on "My 600 lb Life". Most of us "normal" WLS patients lose somewhere in the 15-25 lb range the first month, and then about 8-12 lbs a month for the next six or so months after that (and then it drops down even more). So you're fine.

as for 1000 kcal/day at this point, a lot of us are eating somewhere in the 600-800 range for the first several months post-op, but I've heard of more clinics lately that are recommending more like 1000 kcal/day...so yours isn't the only one. They'd know more than I would, and as long as the patients are continuing to lose weight.....

Thank you for your input! When you eat between 600 and 800 calories are you satisfied or do you have hunger?

On 09/02/2021 at 18:27, RickM said:

I would be careful about moving your intake up too quickly, simply because it is very difficult to cut back once you get used to a higher intake. I have seen many who have done well in the 6-800 calorie range during their loss phase, so this doesn't seem to be too low metabolically.

That said, I settled fairly quickly in the 1100 range, but I am a guy, with a guy's metabolism that remained fairly intact. (as ms.sss noted, this isn't a one size fits all game.) Prior to WLS, my weight was stable in the 26-2700 calorie range, so I had a fair margin to work with. Do you know what your metabolic stability point was before surgery (real world for you, here, not some online calculator that's appropriate for someone else)?

Your weight loss rate will trend lower over time, simply because there is less of you to move around 24/7 so, on average, you burn fewer calories per day, so you won't, on average, lose as much per week or month after six months as you did after two, and fewer still after nine or twelve months. It is not unusual for some to go into "early maintenance" because they increased their intake at the same time as their caloric burn decreased.

When I finished at goal, I was stable at around 21-2200 calories per day, or about a 1000 calorie deficit that I had to make up from my 1100 per day that I was consuming during the loss phase; most don't have much margin, particularly most smaller (shorter) women. Another reason to be careful about increasing intake too quickly (or at all)

On doctors advice on these programs. Some doctors advise their patients that they will typically lose around 60% of their excess weight (an overall average for the industry,) while others will push their patients to lose 100% of their excess. Guess which programs advise increasing calorie levels over time and which advise overall low(ish) stable levels while losing?

Thank you for this. There’s so much information on calories! It’s like I’m going to have to experiment to find out what makes me lose more sigh. What you said makes perfect sense especially the end about either losing 60% or 100%

On 09/02/2021 at 12:35, ms.sss said:

You will find a whole slew of caloric recommendations across the board, from you team, from the people in this forum, to the person on some Instagram account doling advice.

There IS NOT a one size fits all program that will work for EVERYONE.

Find out what works for you. If you cant reach the calories as prescribed, just do the best you can. If you are going over, do the best you can. Try to get your Protein and Water in. Unless you labs come back indicating so (which i assume you would be getting regularly), you don't need to worry about undernourishment in the few months between labs. I mean, most of us have got ALOT of fat storage to rely on in the first couple months.

Exercise is good, but not necessary for weight loss. But of course I would highly recommend exercise for physical and mental health and well-being benefits.

P.S. I know there is a few different camps of opinions on this, but I am NOT on team "up your calories to lose more weight". But I know there are many BP members on here that swear by this method, so there you go. I did not purposefully up my calories save for the natural progression of upping calories as time goes on. I did not stall once and I lost more than all my excess weight in 6 months..

P.P.S. I also know that there are different views on this: I also think that losing 30 lbs off of 241lbs in 6 weeks in NOT in any way "slow". But that's just my opinion, which doesn't matter. All that matters is YOURS.

Good Luck!❤️

Thank you for your detailed response! So…I lost about 9 pounds during the 2 week pre-op diet. So at my surgery date, that put me at 241…then now, 6/7 weeks later I’m at 220, so it wasn’t 30 pounds after surgery, but 20. I will say that now being 6/7 weeks out (surgery was on 7/15) that I’m hungrier. My doctor totally said that 5-600 calories was too low and that “could be” why I was stalled or not losing. I know this will work when I find what my body wants. I am hungry enough to eat the 800-1,000 calories a day, I just question if I should. I need to lose 70+ more pounds. I appreciate your feedback!