So I've been ranting about this for awhile now; I went on "high" calories (800) for awhile and thought I had found the sweet spot, losing a pound every two days like clockwork. Then I finally get in touch with my nut, tell her what I'm doing, only to have her tell me that I really should be at 600 or less like I was. She completely ignored the data in front of her, that I was barely losing a pound a week at 600 and at 800 was losing almost 4 pound a week. But, being the dutiful good girl that I am, I went back to 600. I IMMEDIATELY started to gain weight!! It has been 3 days of around 600 and I have GAINED a pound and a half. I take daily miralax so it's not a BM issue. WTF!!!!!!!! W!! T!! F!!

Now I just don't know what to do. I'm afraid that this is a backlash to my high calories a week ago and am gaining as a result, I just don't know what to do. My surgeon is MIA (in the colloquial sense, not militarily), my nut is not listening to me - HELP ME VST, YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE!!!!

Okay so my average calorie intake for the last 7days has been 600; there was one day when I did 800 so the average would probably be about 650-ish. In that time I have lost just 1/3 of a pound and I think that was the result of a lot of Miralax ...ahem... so starting today AND YOU ARE ALL MY WITNESSES, I am going to start taking in exactly 800 per day while continuing to work out. Today is Monday so by Thursday I should see something; either nothing will happen and I'll know increasing my cals isn't helping, or something will happen (better than what happens during 600 cals) and I will know this is the right thing to do. We shall see!!

Fingers crossed you get the results you want and need ! ! !

Good luck lady! I'm pretty positive you will see good results though - some people's bodies just work better with more calories. I think you're one of them because of the loss you had the last time you did that.

Check in and let us know!

Okay: I chose 800 calories as my new target; when I had returned to + - 600 cals I lost only 1/3 pound in 7 days. I have now been on 800 cals for 48 hours and have lost just under a pound, .9. I will stay on 800, I will weigh myself every day - not that I'm expecting serious movement every day - but if the steady downward trend continues, I think it will be pretty well confirmed for me that my guidance was incorrect for me, and I will stay at 800 calories.

A word of caution though: Weighing yourself daily, you WILL see your weight bounce up and down, sometimes by as much as a couple of pounds from day to day. Don't automatically assume that you're doing anything wrong or that you're gaining, or not losing... the amount of Fluid your body holds on to can fluctuate wildly and what you see on the scale may not be entirely accurate (the low numbers will be... no faking those! ).

Also, I don't know how far out you are, but almost everyone's guaranteed to stall occasionally. Don't let it freak you out... you're still losing fat but the body hangs on to extra Water now and then in an effort to balance itself out. Just keep doing what you're doing with the KNOWLEDGE that when your body decides it's OK to let go of that water, the scale will move quickly again.

Globe, sounds like the 800 calories is working really good for you! I hope it sticks for a long time.

#$%^&*@!#$%^&!!!

There is no sense or reason attached to weight loss. I have not lost an ounce in 6 days. 800 cals a day now, fluids, exercise. It doesn't matter, my body just says, ha, yeah nice try. @$%^%^&**&^!!

Oy. I still think stay the course with 800 c. per day. Give your body a chance to recalibrate.

I find that shocking my body (started doing it not on purpose) like having near 1000 one day and round 600 the next few days seems to do the trick, even though I only weigh every 3 to 4 weeks

You're not going to lose every day -- you're not even going to lose every week. It's NOT a constant, predictable thing... you're not doing yourself any favors by overthinking and stressing out over it!

#$%^&*@!#$%^&!!!

There is no sense or reason attached to weight loss. I have not lost an ounce in 6 days. 800 cals a day now, fluids, exercise. It doesn't matter, my body just says, ha, yeah nice try. @$%^%^&**&^!!

You gotta hide the scale. A stall isn't even a true stall until you go a minimum of 14 days without any loss. You can't expect to lose everyday of the week, it's too much for your body to take on a constant basis. Your stressing over it is just going to make your body produce stress hormones, and your body isn't going to let go of any weight.

#$%^&*@!#$%^&!!!

There is no sense or reason attached to weight loss. I have not lost an ounce in 6 days. 800 cals a day now, fluids, exercise. It doesn't matter, my body just says, ha, yeah nice try. @$%^%^&**&^!!

Globetrotter, I feel your pain! I know it has to be frustrating but try to stay calm. I tend to lose weight around day 11-14 after my last weigh in. I usually weigh each friday but only officially count the weight loss of every two weeks. I know everyone is different and some see weight loss weekly and others dont. Like you said there is no sense or reason or formula other then what you are already doing and that is getting exercise, counting calories and getting your fluids so just be patient (I know you have been frustrated for a while so that could be easier said then done), but just decide to pump up the intensitiy in your exercise...walk some stairs or something for an extra 5-10 minutes and keep doing what you are doing. Maybe only weigh in every other week or every three weeks. Just try to relax and by all means keep us posted!

GT I am sure you're looking fantastic even though you might not feel it. Your family and friends havent seen you in a while, and people who see you everyday won't realise the difference. TAke it from someone who knows. Keep up the good work

Thanks guys, I knew my VST peeps would get it! Yeah Chilo, I too have noticed the good outcome when I "shock" my body. I first figured it out last week when I went from 800 to 600, the day after that I registered a 3 pound loss! So I stayed at 800 following that, intending on shocking again the following weekend (yesterday). Well, I didn't lose a pound in 7 straight days, not an ounce, and this morning after doing only 625 cals yesterday I registered a 1 pound loss. So now I'm trying to figure out how to regulate this shock thing to keep it working yet not totally confuse my system. Maybe ever third day? 800-800-600? I will also force myself to step it up at the gym. I can tell that I am getting lazy; not that I am slacking off, but I am doing my same routine even though it is noticeably not a challenge anymore. Instead of 3&3 on the tread, I think I will go 4&4 and start doing more elliptical and yogilates.

I go by my workweek. When I'm at work I really dont have time to think about when or how I'm eating. I keep it really simple and very low calorie and carbs.

Then on the weekends when I'm out all the time and having fun, I let loose a little more. This really works excellent for me, and I drop big time on Monday and Tuesday following this routine.

Anyway good luck.

I have wondered about eating too few calories causing a stall. I just don't think I get enough in and it is slowing me down.