Seriously...I understand that you are simply unable to eat that much after having surgery, but eventually when the stomach has healed you're expected to only eat 1200 calories? Any nutritionist will tell you that 1200 calories is not enough for the average person (not average as in average = overweight, but average as in what we should be eating). After finding your BMR (basal metabolic rate) which is how many calories your body burns just in the process of lounging about and doing its normal biological functions, you need to figure out how many calories your body expends during your average day. This is why most people should really be eating 1500 - 2000 for their weight-loss programs. Unless you weigh 120 lbs or are just really tiny (like my best friend, one of those naturally tiny people) then 1200 calories isn't really a lot, let alone the less than 1000 that is recommended for the first few months or so. My current worry is that this weight loss is due to malnutrition.

Are there any nutritionists on the forum here? Does anyone else have any data to support the idea that 800 calories is okay? I am now going over the professional literature to see if I can find anything. This just seems potentially scary. I mean, if I am out hiking in the woods (or across Asia which is a hope after graduation) I'm likely going to need more than 2000 let alone 1200...

Thanks!

DANG! According to those calculations, to lose weight, I should be taking in 1352 calories a day! I average about 800! Maybe that's why I lost so much weight on vacation when I was eating such rich food ...

I think the problem with this calculation is that it just works as long as you are normal to slightly overweight.

From what I understand,pound for pound muscle and lean tissue are what uses up calories. In our bodies the ratio is majorly shifted to fat fat fat.

They should make a separate BMR calculation for the obese

Look at the factors it uses, weight, height and age. Our physique is (at least right now for me) way too out of whack to be used for this. This is applicable if you are closer to goal weight but not yet for most of us.

Like I said above, I know if I eat 1500 calories a day, I'll plump up like a balloon and this actually says I can take in 1700 to maintain...LOL

DANG! According to those calculations, to lose weight, I should be taking in 1352 calories a day! I average about 800! Maybe that's why I lost so much weight on vacation when I was eating such rich food ...

Exactly, which is what I've been trying to say GT, but in us who are/have been obese it's not as straightforward as Sussanne said- I guess that's why WLS is our only solution, because we go on a Very Low Calorie diet (around 800) and when we lose a big bulk of weightn(which even if you don't think yours is a big bulk it it GT) and from there we try and slowly up our calories as we get closer to goal, to, at some point become "normal" people and be able to function on a diet of around 2000 cal and neither lose or put on weight!! (this is what my nut explained) But then again, we're all diifferent and diff things work for different people, sighhhhhhhhhhh

I think the problem with this calculation is that it just works as long as you are normal to slightly overweight.

From what I understand,pound for pound muscle and lean tissue are what uses up calories. In our bodies the ratio is majorly shifted to fat fat fat.

They should make a separate BMR calculation for the obese

Look at the factors it uses, weight, height and age. Our physique is (at least right now for me) way too out of whack to be used for this. This is applicable if you are closer to goal weight but not yet for most of us.

Like I said above, I know if I eat 1500 calories a day, I'll plump up like a balloon and this actually says I can take in 1700 to maintain...LOL

Susanne that's what I mean, we who are/ have been obese have our metabolisms so effed up, that we obviously need/ed a veryl low calorie diet to lose a big chunk of weight. With those 1700 you say you need to maintain, that would be maintaining the weight you are now, and probably putting some on as you say, because of our extreme dieting/binge eating in the past!

Funny last night I was looking at a phase I went thorough on a "healthy" diet, trying to lose weight presurgery a few years ago, and counting the calories that I was eating at the time I was eating 1700-2000 cal a day, so no wonder I wasn't losing, and that was me on a diet, I dread to think how much I was consuming when I wasn't on a "diet" prob near 4000 cal a day, scary

DANG! According to those calculations, to lose weight, I should be taking in 1352 calories a day! I average about 800! Maybe that's why I lost so much weight on vacation when I was eating such rich food ...

If you cut out 1,000 calories per day from your maintenance level, that will add up to a 7,000-calorie deficit in one week. There are 3,500 calories in a pound of stored body fat, so in theory, there should be a loss of two pounds of fat for the week. Actual real world fat loss rarely works out with such mathematical precision. This is because of the "Starvation Response." The Starvation Response is your body's ability to slow down your metabolism when it senses calorie deprivation. The only way to prevent your body from going into "starvation mode" would be to avoid severe calorie shortages...800 cal 6 months out, to little in my opinion...

I just keep looking at someone like Tiffykins though, who ate 800 cals and achieved goal and beyond so quickly. Is there any sleever out there who consistently ate 1000 calories or more during the losing phase - and lost to goal??

Something I have noticed by reading the boards here is that there is a consistent stall around 3 months or so. My assumption has been that this is due to the starvation response. What needs to happen when you hit a plateau and your body becomes adjusted is to trick it into thinking it is getting enough calories again. Continue to exercise, because building up that muscle is going to be one of the best things to help you along your path to weight loss in any circumstance, but just add some more calories for a couple of weeks then drop back down. Again, this is not going to be true for 100% of the people here or in the rest of the world. Why? because we all have different life experiences that can affect how our bodies accept and process energy (calories). And as Chilo said earlier (or someone else) we have done a decent amount of damage over the years with our yo-yo diets which causes our body to act differently than it "should" (notice quotes).

When I was at 275 a few years ago, I ate between 1800 and 2000 calories a day, walked to my classes every day (well, I walked to classes all the time) and had a gym class twice a week where I did cardio and strength training. I averaged between 1 and 3 lbs lost each week that quarter. But when that quarter was done? Yup...you guessed it. Actually, it was more like after the following quarter I started gaining it back, so I kept up some good habits for a while.

I just keep looking at someone like Tiffykins though, who ate 800 cals and achieved goal and beyond so quickly. Is there any sleever out there who consistently ate 1000 calories or more during the losing phase - and lost to goal??

I think BBJ might be having around 1000 cal a day and is nearly at goal, I'll let you know when I get to goal, most days having near 100 these days!

I agree...6 months out 800 is a little on the low side. 1000 calories sounds to me much healthier. I'm also looking at this from the aspect of what our bodies need, as well, with extra physical activity we will need more than 800 calories to feed our bodies well and get in all our nutrients.

I think BBJ might be having around 1000 cal a day and is nearly at goal, I'll let you know when I get to goal, most days having near 100 these days!

I mean 1000 not 100

haha lol, yeah 100 calories is a little too "Black Swan", lol. Anybody see that movie? God it was brilliant and I identified so much with her. Anyway, I'm terrified that by giving myself permission to eat more, that I will abuse that permission to allow for inclusion of junk - salty popcorn, chocolate, extra Peanut Butter, salad dressing, spaghetti! Basically, carbs! I have no control with my trigger foods, that's why they are trigger foods and if it is delicious - it is a trigger food! Quality food doesn't exist out here, so I have to rely on what the difac offers and every day I have to run the gauntlet of corn dogs, ice cream, cheeseburgers, fries, and ranch chicken nuggets to get to my plain baked chicken breasts and steamed veggies. This is why I get a bunch of them to-go once a week, and then eat lunch in my room every day.

So Chilo you have heard of someone eating 1000 during the losing phase? And they still lost? Do you know what their exercise regimen was and what their starting numbers were? I would be interested to know.

I miss butter. And bread. Fresh baked bread. With butter. I think I need to go dunk my head in some cold water!

BBJ has 4 pounds to go and she eats more than 1200 a day but works out a lot, i asked her and this is what she said:

BlackBerryJuice

15 Jan 2011 - 19:10 Hey,

Thanks for the compliment! I don't count calories at all, mostly due to the fact that my boyfriend and I eat out a lot, so a lot of the time it's hard to make an accurate estimate of how much I'm eating. I do know that on days I only eat homemade food, I'll fluctuate between 1000 and 1800, I'd say 1200-1400 is where I'm at on most days? I also work out 4-5 times a week, though

I'm def going to watch The Black Swan!

Being almost a year out, all I can tell you is sit down, put your seat belt on, hold on and LISTEN to your body!! Everything you read and are told is questionable and subjective. My apologies to all the docs but it's true. Your best source of day to day info is probably right here on this board. Yes, you absolutely need your Protein and fluids at the start and have to do everything you can to meet those guidelines. Afterwards, it seems to only get more confusing. I lost the weight FAST by watching carbs and exercising. That said, my cal count was well over 1000 only a few months into the process. BUT I exercise like crazy, we ride our bikes hard over 100 miles per week. It got to the point that my body fat got so low that I had to start adding carbs back in and eating more like a normal person, it's a head twist but it works for me. I've been maintaining since September and just woke up this morning to find I'm down another .4 of a pound; the lowest I've ever been and I had lasagna, nut clusters and a girl scout cookie over the weekend, AND didn't ride my bike due to schedule stuff. Go figure. Enough babble about me, listen. To. Your. Body. You will know if you need more or less. You will know if you are cheating. You will know if you are doing the right thing. The guidelines and especially the calorie numbers to me are a very loose set of parameters. In fact, I quit using myfitnesspal.com after about 8 months because the numbers were always high even though my body was/is perfectly happy. I only followed a few cardinals; protein, Fluid, low carb, exercise. Bingo. There are so many rules that I broke, it's not even funny. I still eat fast, I drink with meals, etc., etc.

Good Luck and don't kill yourself overthinking this, really.

C

LOVE IT!! Thank you Keys, Thank you BBJ, Thank you Chilo!!

Ever since I came back from vacation, (a vacation where I lost 8 lbs in 7 days and ate like a Queen), I have tried to be less of a calorie nazi. I have found that if I get all of my Protein from solid foods then it is difficult to keep the carbs under 35, which is a little distressing.

I exercise 4-5 times a week, 30 minutes cardio, full rotation of weights. Is this active? Or is this light to moderate?

Being almost a year out, all I can tell you is sit down, put your seat belt on, hold on and LISTEN to your body!! Everything you read and are told is questionable and subjective. My apologies to all the docs but it's true. Your best source of day to day info is probably right here on this board. Yes, you absolutely need your Protein and fluids at the start and have to do everything you can to meet those guidelines. Afterwards, it seems to only get more confusing. I lost the weight FAST by watching carbs and exercising. That said, my cal count was well over 1000 only a few months into the process. BUT I exercise like crazy, we ride our bikes hard over 100 miles per week. It got to the point that my body fat got so low that I had to start adding carbs back in and eating more like a normal person, it's a head twist but it works for me. I've been maintaining since September and just woke up this morning to find I'm down another .4 of a pound; the lowest I've ever been and I had lasagna, nut clusters and a girl scout cookie over the weekend, AND didn't ride my bike due to schedule stuff. Go figure. Enough babble about me, listen. To. Your. Body. You will know if you need more or less. You will know if you are cheating. You will know if you are doing the right thing. The guidelines and especially the calorie numbers to me are a very loose set of parameters. In fact, I quit using myfitnesspal.com after about 8 months because the numbers were always high even though my body was/is perfectly happy. I only followed a few cardinals; protein, Fluid, low carb, exercise. Bingo. There are so many rules that I broke, it's not even funny. I still eat fast, I drink with meals, etc., etc.

Good Luck and don't kill yourself overthinking this, really.

C

When you say you exercised like crazy, can you give an example? I do not have access to real bicycles, just stationary. I do 30 minutes of elliptical 5 days a week, raising my heartbeat to cardio zone, weights 3 times a week, full body muscle failure rotation. I average in the mid 800s for calories on a daily basis.