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Like the title says. I’ve lost 110 pounds and have another 20 to go to be a ‘normal’ BMI. 14 months post op. However my calorie intake has shot up as I’m hungry again. Now eating between 1300 to 1500 a day. I’m tall (5ft 9). I guess I’m panicking that the days of 1200 calories and lower are gone and from here on in it’s about slow weight loss and/or maintenance. I feel like I’m heating so much at 1500 calories but logically I know I’m not. But it’s frightening. I work out two to three times a week and walk loads. Am I eating too much now? Did anyone else panic as more calories came into your eating habits.

Really having a hard time not falling back into my old way of thinking and eating (or not eating, as it were). My husband pointed out today that I'm restricting again. He said he noticed it Friday and all through the weekend. I've been in a lot of pain because I pulled 2 muscles in my back, have had a lot of stress the last week, and instead of going to over eating like I used to, I fell back into my new "old" habit of restricting. I was worrying I would overeat, and I guess I went right back into my new "fall back" habit of just not eating much of anything. My husband made notes on what he saw me eating and I had 450 calories and 18 carbs on Friday, 413 calories and 14 carbs on Saturday and 344 calories and 10 carbs on Sunday. I honestly didn't even notice it, and that really freaks me out. I can fall back into it that easily and it doesn't even faze me. I drink so much water now (flavored only, because plain water is EW) that I honestly didn't even feel hungry. I hate that I swapped one disordered way of thinking for another. PLEASE pay close attention to your feelings, thoughts, and habits. DO NOT tell yourself that because you're fat/obese/overweight or whatever that you can't develop an ED. Trust me, you can. And it can sneak up on you and smack you in the head when you don't expect it to. I thought I was doing so well. Been logging my food, not cheating, not restricting, doing my therapy, and then BAM. Here we go again. Be kind to yourself, but be mindful and aware.

I just got my invite to my cousins annual cookie day. I didn’t go last year because of COVID but this year I’m a little anxious about it. Everyone brings the recipe and ingredients for whatever they want to make. As long as I bring an healthy snack I will be able to resist them while I am there but of course at the end of the day there are SOOOOO many cookies and everyone pressures you to take some. I was thinking maybe I would just go and help and not make anything for myself so if I took one or two of the others it wasn’t too bad But, if I could find a descent recipe that’s not too difficult It may be fun to try it. Does anyone have any good cookie recipes that are lower calorie and carb. I am in maintenance.

plans differ. My clinic's plan was balanced and they didn't give a hoot about carbs. Never mentioned them at all. Although honestly, you take in so few calories the first few months and the protein requirements are so high, that if you follow the plan you can't really take in that many carbs *anyway*, due to the protein requirements. The first few months I rarely went over 80 carbs a day - and I don't think I ever went over 100 (I do now...but then, I'm several years out from surgery)

Sorry for the novel folks, but maybe before getting to tips and tricks, let's talk a bit about what causes plateaus: First, the most common reason for any stall, including the dreaded 3-week stall is simply that you are retaining more water. There are a few reasons this happens, but around the 3-week mark it comes down to the fact that your body is adjusting to a low carb intake after converting from glycogen to ketones for energy. More water is needed to burn glycogen, so you were retaining more water pre-surgery than you are now that you're using primarily ketones for energy. At about the 3-week mark, your body eventually recognizes that the water loss is long term, so other mechanisms have started kicking in to start holding on to more water. This water loss due to the change between glycogen and ketones is the primary reason for "keto flu", and something that increases your risk of dehydration early after surgery. The other "reasons" for plateaus really don't apply as much at the 3 week mark, but will become more important later in the process. Let's cover those too though so you're prepared: As you lose more weight, your overall metabolic rate will slow down. People sometimes think fat is not metabolically active, but that's not true. Less fat means your metabolism slows down, even if you retain the same amount of muscle. As you lose weight, it takes less effort to move, so the amount of calories you burn from activity also drops quite a bit. As you progress, you'll be able to eat more and especially if you're not tracking intake closely by weighing and measuring your food, you can easily be eating a lot more than you think. This one may be TMI for some, but you may simply be retaining more stool. This is going to be hard for some people to hear, but I can tell you one thing it's not, and that's hormones. Yes, various hormonal processes negatively impact weight loss in a myriad of ways, but they don't overcome basic physics: if you eat less than you are burning, you'll lose weight. What these hormones can do if they're out of whack, is not good things like slowing your metabolism, increasing your hunger, screwing with water weight, or even fooling you into thinking you're eating less than you are. So, with all that sciency stuff out of the way, what do we actually do if we're in a stall? Well, I think it depends on when it happens and how long it lasts: If it's early (a.k.a. the 3-week stall), just keep doing what you're doing and you should be fine. I know people don't like that advice, but as I said, it's just water, so don't worry about it. Later on, especially if the stall is lasting longer than 2-3 weeks. that's when I think it's important that you look closely at what you are actually burning, as well as really tracking what you are eating. If you don't know your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), you should. The closer you are to goal, the harder it is to get the balance right between intake and output to make sure you're not eating too much, so fixing this starts with knowing your BMR and accurate food logging. There's a lot of anecdotal advice thrown around about "ways to break a stall", but there seems to be little scientific evidence for any of it. Most of it certainly won't hurt to try, e.g. breaking up your routine in terms of diet or exercise, but just understand that this change may or may not have had any impact. If it makes you feel better to be proactive, go for it. Longer term, there is one piece of solid advice that's backed up by lots of research: Even if you don't really like working out, do it anyway. Those WLS patients that make a regular habit of exercising for 45 minutes to an hour most days a week are significantly more likely to reach their goal and maintain the weight loss. (One caveat here: significantly changing your exercise routine can make you retain water and possibly even add muscle, so don't freak out if you see a stall or even a gain.) I'll take that exercise advice one step further and say you really should be doing some form of strength training. This is also backed up by lots of studies, but the great thing about strength training is that it makes your burn more calories even at rest (in other words, it increases your metabolic rate). There are lots of other benefits, but the metabolic benefit is the most germaine to the stall question. Those that do strength training are less likely to stall during weight loss.

I can tell you what my dietitian and exercise guide told me. There are 3 things to try, eat more calories, eat more protein and make sure you are getting enough vitamins. I seem to stall and even gain weight when constipated, so usually my stalls have been fixed by doing a laxative. Not every day though, like once a week. Good luck and if you find something that really works well, please share!

Maybe go for a walk when you get your snack attacks? Do anything else to take your mind off of food? Or, just eat something super low calorie that won't effect your day too much? Good luck, you can do it!

Libby- I struggled with food staying down. I had to stay on liquid and slops longer. The most I can have in one sitting is 150ml. This helps. I’m on soft diets still. I also am on medication I take before I eat to help. shorty- that is fantastic news. Glad you got to enjoy your time suzi- I have to set a time every 2.5 hrs to eat. Otherwise I don’t eat. denise- that is great news about your walking. I am managing to walk without getting worn out or feeling sore back. kiky- try senior exercises. They are low impact low mobility. I use to do these a few months before surgery. myself- my weight stalled for almost a month. But with being sick and all I wasn’t able to exercise or eat well. This last week the weight has managed to start to fall off slowly. I have lost 33pds since surgery. I’m also keeping a diary on my sleeve journey with all the food and protein, calories. As mentioned above, we have worked out my stomach intake is actually smaller then the gastric recommendation. I can tolerate 150mls. So I have to fit in another 2 feeds per day. Still on soft diets and meal prep every Sunday evening. I’m also walking an hour a day without back or feet pain. But sitting in my office for 6-7 hrs a day is hurting my buttocks.

Thank you so much. I was so scared I was crying. It's been a couple days and I'm down 8 more pounds, putting me at 190lbs. I'm dropping so fast it doesn't seem to feel real. My body temp is finally up from 92F to 96F which I think is contributing a lot to things, and I don't always feel cold now. As everyone has said, I think you all are right. I'll change my PCP and find someone else. I really feel like he may be fat phobic and I'm not sure if the surgery will be good for me since my daily calorie intake is around 1200kcal normally. He said if I got the vsg I could get my calories down to 500kcal, and things just sounded off to me. I guess in my heart I felt like I had no hope and I couldn't get my PCP to take my concerns seriously because he would always say I needed to lose weight before I was allowed to discuss hormone problems with him, which turned out to be the case. I really appreciate everyone who replied. I'll update the thread with my progress. However, at this rate I may not qualify for a vsg. At least when I reached out to my nutritionist, she said I probably wouldn't qualify by the time my hormones equilibrate. Thank you so much everyone. Sent from my M2007J3SY using BariatricPal mobile app

Oops pic forgot to add the pita chips with the soup… +25 calories 😂

What i’ve eaten so far today: Cheese and oven baked (leftover) pita with hummus: 269 calories. Homemade creamy potato and mushroom soup, and a couple of the aforementioned pita chips (omg so good, lactose pills def a requirement beforehand!): 245 calories. Ate it all. Also, i had some beef jerky and pistachios in between (270 calories)

Congrats on your success and thanks for sharing! Though I never played any sports at your level, I was very active when younger until sidelined by a serious injury. Continuing to eat like I needed to when i was burning through 5-6k calories a day had a pretty detrimental impact on my health. Glad you finally found something that worked for you!

Those leftover two ounce disposable cups are good later on to measure hummus and sauces/ dressings and stuff. One tablespoon is 0.5 fl oz. Most sauces use two tbsp as a serving so half that cup is one serving. I carry a cooler with me when I am out and about and I always have my salad dressing so if I stop for lunch I have my own which is the yogurt dressing so it’s quite a few less calories. Now I actually carry it in a different container and I eyeball it but that is after measuring it in those containers many times first.

Feeling really discouraged today as I have my egg retrieval tomorrow and they said there only seems to be 2 follicles that are the right growth. 2 more (finally) started responding to the FSH & LH meds on day 13 but it was too late. As it was, they had predicted I would only get 4 eggs. I have another cycle planned at the end of November giving me about 6 weeks to lose weight. I was told that even a 5-10% loss of my weight (10-20 lbs) would improve my chances. It seems daunting to lose that much weight in 6 weeks though given that I have just managed to maintain for so many years rather than to lose. I did the math and if I have been eating about 2000 calories and maintaining then I should be able to lose about 15 lbs by eating 800 calories/day for 45 days. If I continue to walk as I have been for the past month, I may be able to lose even more before starting the next round of injections. Someone tell me if this sounds crazy, please!

Cool! Congratulations on your weight loss! This is very good information. I appreciate your update and response. How much are you trying to lose? For the past month I did a complete overhaul of my diet to do very low carb and low calorie diet, and high protein. I’m so glad I was able to lose 15 lbs. I have 35 lbs to go. I might put the surgery on hold until I can get my diet under control. I didn’t know that the bypass will cause anemia. Surprisingly, my GERD went away with the diet changes. 😃

The Kid took home a doggy bag from her meal out so I helped myself to it! Chicken wings & Crispy Riblets: 382 calories for whats shown. Leftovers went into the trash.

Yes, this happened to me. I had to keep going back to well-cooked minced meats and trying whole meats every two weeks or so. Lamb is a little rich for me and I have found that I can eat it one day but the day after my stomach says a definite no. I have struggled so much that it's only the last few months that I can incorporate vegetables into my diet. With me the vomiting is not immediate, it happens later. I feel a pressure in the middle of my chest that I know will not go away until I vomit. Its only saliva and foam that comes up. On here it's called the foamies. I cannot drink until its gone. Things are much better now almost 11 months out, but I still have days when my petulant tummy will not accept chicken, eggs or cooked salmon. The biggest bonus to this is I do not have any hunger pangs. I have to drink milk to help with my energy levels and push my calorie count up to an average of 1000 a day. My team are not bothered, they know everything is getting better with time. I am overjoyed with my weight loss, I only ever dreamed of such a big loss. Go back to your team and ask them for help, just in case you have a stricture. If you do it's easy to remedy

Wow! Your weight loss has been incredible! I am 1/2 an inch shorter than you and started at about the same place (328 lbs) but have stayed at 215 lbs for years now. I haven't been happy with that weight but am only now REALLY motivated to do something about it since I really want to have kids. I think I need to adjust my thinking about all of this though. I've been eating way more calories (2000 or so!) and maintaining where I am at. I never adjusted down further. I also started at about 1500 or so after the initial liquids stages. I now realize that I really need to be more restrictive if I want to drop more weight -- the malabsorption can only do so much!

I'm not tall nor super active. I stayed around 800 to 900 calories to goal (about 6 to 7 months), been adding 100 calories every month or two till I get to maintenance. I lost 3 lbs. last month so I upped it another 100 at the beginning of this month. I calorie count (monthly average) and my diet consists of the required protein (mainly from seafood, legumes, soy, dairy) and then 6-7 servings of fruits/veg a day.

How many calories each person needs is going to be different. There is no amount that fits everyone. If only it were that easy! It's going to depend on how much exercise you're getting, what medications you're on and what illnesses you may have. It also depends on your height and weight. For instance, a heavier person will burn more calories just sitting still than a lighter person. And someone with more muscle mass will burn more calories just sitting still than someone with less. Also, certain foods make me gain weight. If I eat two low-carb tortillas, I will gain two pounds that day. It never fails. I reckon certain foods cause me to retain water and LC tortillas are one of them. LOL! But everyone else I know can eat them and still lose weight. You need to experiment and see where your specific body is successful. Write down everything you eat or drink. Weigh yourself regularly. If you see that the scale is going up, review what you've been eating since you last weighed in and make the appropriate changes.

Thanks so much for all the feedback everyone! It's super helpful. I know that I have not been making high enough caloric deficits so I am going to heed your advice and try to play this by ear/do some trial and error. I know now that my numbers were way off (too high!!) though. I think I will try to focus on 1000 calories max each day comprised of protein shakes, eggs, milk, salads with chicken, and lots of fruit this week and will see how it goes!

This is awesome advice, thank you! I think I do need to more dramatically cut my caloric intake for sure, as I am basically able to eat normal sized meals now. I've easily been eating 1800-2000 calories a day and not losing at 215 lbs. I think I am losing a bit now as I have been exercising a lot more now but even still, my progress has been quite slow. I am going to take your suggestion and try to do protein shakes for the next few days and see if that helps with my stall! Thank you!

Y’all I made a vegan no bean chili after forgetting I had cans of it. The calories are for the whole big bowl of which I maybe ate 1/3. But then I looked at the can and yikes!

Salad! With a side of…chicken and gravy! Lol. Remember, don’t judge me…haha 264 calories for the bowl, will eat the rest in a couple hours.

Have you talked to your pcp about your weight and what is healthy for you? increasing your calories with nutritional food will l help get a few more pounds on. Keep sometimes foods sometimes but feel a little freer with them until you reach a better weight.