Hello all my LBT homies,

I was wondering if anyone could answer this question for me ? I am 3.5 weeks post op. My caloric intake has been ranging each day around 800 calories or less. I have already started working out 3 x a week . Next week I will progress to Stage 4, and will bump up my workout regime to 5 days a week.

My hubby (who's an avid weight lifter and runner) feels I am not consuming enough calories. He insists that my body is going to soon go into starvation mode and my weight loss will stall. I have lost 18lbs so far. And, honestly this week I have avoided getting on the scale for fear that he may be right.

What do ya'll think, should I be eating a little more?

My Nut. says to be around 1200. She made this recommendation knowing that I exercise 1 hour a day.

I was told 1000-1200. During the post op phases I only lost during the first week. After that I stalled for 3 weeks. Finally when I started on real food again and I got my calories back up, I started losing again.

I was told 1200 to 1500 calories a day. I actually stalled on my weightloss while I was only eating about 900 cals a day, once I was able to bump that up I started losing again. Weird I know.

I think it all depends. With you doing exercise you may need more, but I'd test the waters first. I'm eating 900-1000 a day doing P90X and losing just fine. It really depends on your body; everyone is different. The fact is, however, that obese people do not need to eat as many calories as a normal person does.

It depends on the person. I know that I have a slow metabolism and lose weight more slowly. So I can decrease my daily intake by 1000 calories and lose only 1 lb (instead of the 2 the 'experts' say I should lose by that decrease) per week. At 1200 calories I lose 1 lb per week. At less than 1000 calories, I lose maybe 1 pound per month. Some people do well at less than 1000...some lose more than 2 lb per week even when the caloric difference is only 1000 calories.

It's why we shouldn't compare our weight loss with others.

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It definately depends on the person...I know one person who consistently eats around 650-700 calories per day and has lost 100 lbs in 6 months (her doctor is aware of her low caloric intake and monitors it closely). On the other hand, I reached a point where my weight loss stopped for over 2 weeks until I upped my intake to 1,000 per day (I was around 750-800). I have found that if I don't make sure to be at that level then I don't lose at all...I never thought I would ever say that I have to work to get to 1,000 calories a day but there are days when I have to have a protein shake at night to make sure that I hit my target.

Hey homie!

My nutritionist says that I should try and get at least 1200 in per day. Not happening. Sometimes I make it but most times I do not.

I think that you are going to have to play around with the numbers a bit. For the past 3 weeks I have been at the gym buring no less than 500 calories per workout. I stayed on the elliptical for at least 45 minutes per day. I did not lose a single pound (or inch for that matter) in 3 weeks. I have not been to the gym in 6 days and have lost 4 pounds. Go figure.

I have decided to ride this out, try to eat more and then get back into the gym. I would get back on the scale and pay attention to what your body is telling you.

It doesn't sound like you're getting enough. I was told to have 300 cal per meal 3x a day and that I could save 100 cal for drinks that I consume. SO, that would mean I can have 900-1000 a day.

I average about 900-950 calories a day (sometime a little over 1000 and sometimes a little under 900). I burn between 850-1400 calories a day at the gym (6-7 days a week). I've lost 60 pounds in the last 5.5 months (over 10 pounds a month, consistently). But thats what works for me, and we're all different.

Some people will get extremely slow and sluggish (your metabolism begins to slow down) if they eat less than 1000 calories a day. Despite the feel-good opinion on LBT that its not about calories in vs out, it is. If you have a slower metabolism, you may only be burning 1500-1700 calories a day (without any exercise, that's probably about where I'd be). So if you eat 1200 calories a day with a slow metabolism that only burns 1500-1700 a day, you'll have a 2100-3500 calorie deficit a week (which is 1 pound or less a week). If your metabolism can't function at under 1000 calories per day (you'll know if this is the case...you'll just want to sleep all the time), you body may adjust itself so you're not burning more than 1000 calories day (which of course would lead to hardly any weightloss...if you're eating 900 calories a day and only burning 1000, thats 100 calorie deficit per day and about 3000 calorie deficit per month, which is just shy of 1 pound per month).

Anyways, just figure out what works for you and your body, and then do that. And if your body changes and requires something different, revamp your strategy to accomodate.

Update: I increased my calories to 1000-1200/day.....lost 2lbs

Yeeeyah !

I plan on eating as many calories as I can to still lose weight. No way in hell would I want to eat only 800 calories a day for the rest of my life. I don't want my body to get used to that. I'm shooting for 1400 a day during the weight loss phase. <br>

I plan on eating as many calories as I can to still lose weight. No way in hell would I want to eat only 800 calories a day for the rest of my life. I'm shooting for 1400 a day during the weight loss phase.

Owww, I feel ya there....800 calories WHAT ???