As some of you may have read in one of my other posts, my weight stabilized at 155 lbs 13 months post-op and that became my "official" maintenance weight goal. I say "official" because my "working" goal is really a window between 153 and 156 lbs. I'm a little more sensitive (OK paranoid - Lol) about going over my goal than falling below it. Fluctuations in your weight are a normal part of life and a fun part as well. Special occasions, dinners for two, family get-togethers with the world's cutest grandson, holidays - all usually result in an increased calorie count.

So I jump on the scales this morning and was a little surprised to see that I was 151.2 lbs. Not that long ago, an unexpected weight loss was the stuff that really put the zippity in my do-da! But when your goal is to maintain your weight, I believe that it's important to take action for losses, as well as gains.

So now that the stage is set, some of you may have noticed that I am a big proponent of food logs. So it occurred to me this morning that I have an opportunity to share with you guys a real-life example of how I use my log. There are a number of good apps but My Fitness Pal seems to be the most popular on this forum and is the one that I have used for about the last six months. I intentionally altered the MFP settings until it gave me a daily calorie goal of 1620 calories.

So this morning I'm at 151.2. I want to be at a minimum of 153. So I want to gain (how weird is that?) somewhere between 1.8 and 3.8 lbs - putting my weight back in my window between 153 and 155. So my plan for today is to try to hit a calorie count somewhere in the 1700-1800 range. Not an earth shattering change, just a minor adjustment. I'm not actually changing my settings in MFP. It would be more trouble than it's worth since I'm confident the increased calorie goal will be needed for only a day or two.

Will he make it?? Can it be that simple?? Place your bets!

I'll keep you posted with daily updates on my progress!!

Good morning! Day two numbers are in and here's the breakdown. Calorie count yesterday was 1702. Carbs 168g, Fat 56g, and Protein was 69g. That's a Carb/Fat/Protein ratio of 46%/35%/19%.

Although I hit the calorie goal I wanted, yesterday was something of a train wreck as far as the ratios go. I seldom eat sandwiches since my pouch is not too crazy about bread. But I was on the run just about all day yesterday and wound up with half of a turkey and cheese sub with mustard only for lunch. And then to add insult to injury, had half of a pastrami sub with mustard and dill pickle for dinner. Hardly the diet I strive for but sometimes life gets in the way.

The good news is that my weight this morning was 153.2 so I'm back in my "working" window with a gain of 2.1 pounds over two days. Now in the interest of full disclosure, this is not my first rodeo. Over the past eight months or so, I have done essentially the same thing on several occasions. I knew what to expect and was confident of the outcome. And of course there have been occasions where my weight creeped above my 156 lb upper limit and I essentially did the reverse of what I've done here - decreased my calorie goal by 100-200 calories for a couple of days to bring my weight back down. So as the result of trial and error, I have a very good idea of how my body will respond to specific changes in the calories I eat.

For those who will hopefully be motivated to use a food log, please do not compare your results to mine (or anyone else's). Everyone is different and there are countless variables. The basic principles of having a "working window" for your weight and then making adjustments in your calories, up or down, apply to everyone. But the only way to know specifically what will work best for you is through a little experimenting. Once you get dialed in to your numbers, it is really quite amazing how quickly and predictably your weight will respond to minor adjustments.

As Kristy would say, "You're gonna love the new you!!"

I completely understand, I'm down 100lbs since surgery 6 months ago, I feel like I don't know who I'm looking at in the mirror anymore, and with all my complications after surgery, the constant pain and everything it feels as if my weightloss is going to continue rapid.. It's worrisome and scary !

Original Weight- 257 pre-op : 240 CURRENT WEIGHT :163lbs GW: 125lbs

Constant pain is always time to call your doctor and it would be a good time to discuss your concerns about the weight loss as well. Feel better!!

Constant pain is always time to call your doctor and it would be a good time to discuss your concerns about the weight loss as well. Feel better!!

Ive spoken to my doctor, I was in the hospital for 5 days two weeks ago they did an endoscopy she did a ct scan and everything is normal she doesn't know where my pain is coming from and doesn't understand why I'm always so uncomfortable when I eat. And I told her about my rapid weightloss and she wasnt too worried about that just about my pain she wants to go in and check my stomach surgically but my insurance was cut off and i am unable to see her until my insurance gets reinstated. I'm stressed out hungry and in pain I can't take it anymore!

Original Weight- 257 pre-op : 240 CURRENT WEIGHT :163lbs GW: 125lbs

I completely understand' date=' I'm down 100lbs since surgery 6 months ago, I feel like I don't know who I'm looking at in the mirror anymore, and with all my complications after surgery, the constant pain and everything it feels as if my weightloss is going to continue rapid.. It's worrisome and scary !

Original Weight- 257 pre-op : 240 CURRENT WEIGHT :163lbs GW: 125lbs[/quote']

We're the same weight... I notice your goal weight is 125... OMG it seems so small. What size are you wearing right now? What size do you want to be?

~Leticia **HW: 259**PreOp: 216**SURG: 3/21/13 **Discharged @: 221** 3 mons post op. CW: 164.0 lbs. --- Only 14 lbs to my goal ---

OK guys, part two of my dirty little secret (my apologies for the delay). So for the reasons discussed above, earlier in the year I decided to stop food logging. I must say it was an educational experience and actually one that I'm glad I had.

The first few weeks were great. Let's face it, logging is repetitive, is another item on an already sizeable to do list and is frustrating at times. So I was enjoying the break. Trouble started rearing its ugly head when I noticed that every time I weighed it was a surprise. I weigh on average about once a week. Sometimes less and occasionally more often. Invariably I play a little mental game - I try to guess in my mind what my weight will be. "I'm thinking this was a pretty good week calorie wise so my weight should be about XXX" or "Tough week with dinner at macaroni Grill Friday night and family BBQ on Sunday so I'm probably going to be up a couple of pounds." You get the idea. Perhaps some of you even do the same thing.

When I am logging my food I'm usually pretty accurate with my "guesstimated" weight. Seldom off more than a pound. When I stopped logging, I noticed (eventually) that the weight I was anticipating seldom matched the verdict delivered by the scales. In other words following what I "thought" was a pretty good week, I would have gained a pound or two. Or vice versa. There were times when what "seemed" like a pretty high calorie week resulted in losing a pound or two. And that pattern was pretty consistent over what eventually turned into a couple of months.

I firmly believe, and often say, that managing your weight is "about control, not denial". After well over a year of exercising control, I suddenly felt a loss of control. It was unnerving to say the least. In fact it was down right scary. Mind you I had not gained (or lost) any significant amount of weight. But my "thoughts" and "feelings" about what my weight should be doing were clearly not matching what my weight was doing. Not good, not good, not good.

I spent the better part of three months getting progressively more tense and irritable (just ask my wife). In hindsight I was scared. What if I start gaining weight? It's not uncommon for folks to gain 20 pounds after the first year. Some gain a LOT more than that. What if all of this was for nothing? What if, what if, what if. Now I'm pretty dense sometimes. It took me almost three months to realize that the question I needed to be asking was not what if, but what changed. LOGGING.

So I started logging again. I no longer was dependent on thoughts or feelings, I "knew" what my calorie intake was for any given day. Or week. And presto, my guesstimates of my weight were suddenly right back on track. I was confident. I was in control. And I was back to my usual charming self - Lol!

To log or not to log? I think it comes down to the age old "cost vs. benefit". On the cost side logging is tedious, sometimes frustrating, and probably takes about 10 minutes a day. For my money, that's a small price to pay for control, confidence and maybe most important of all - peace of mind.

You guys have a great day and remember - you're gonna love the new you!!

Alright all that makes sense, and although I hate to admit when a man is right - just ask my hubby - you are right.

I know you use MFP. My problems are really determining your logical values to shoot for. What should your calorie amount be to just maintain. As a vet we are typically in the maintaining phase of the process. I can log god foods and I am frustrated when I see most of my calories are gone for the day. For example I ate scrambled eggs recently and logged those in. The came to 400 calories.

I feel like I could get to where you are if I had a good starting point on top calorie amount for a typical day.

Music, I wish I could give you a definitive answer but I can't. In fact I don't think anyone, including your surgeon, can answer that question directly. But I can tell you how to determine your number. I'd start by configuring MFP with your height, current weight, goal weight and activity level. You can configure your weight loss goal to anything you think is appropriate but I'd recommend that you initially configure it to lose half a pound a week, even if you're currently at your goal weight. My reasoning is that configuring for that modest loss will result in MFP slightly lowering your daily calorie goal. In other words you have a little calorie "buffer" to work with.

Now maintain your log for a week and see what happens. If you lose weight and you're trying to maintain, you can increase the calorie goal in MFP by changing your weight loss goal to "Maintain weight". Now maintain your log for another week and see what happens. If your weight holds, that's "your" number. If you lose weight again, change MFP to "Gain 0.5 lbs per week". Keep in mind that all you're doing is manipulating the calorie goal in MFP to get the result you want. It doesn't matter that you've set it for "gain" when your goal is to "maintain". MFP applies a one size fits all formula to come up with a calorie number. In reality, there is no one size fits all formula. It's a trial and error process. But it won't take long for you to determine exactly what calorie count works best for you.

Whatever you do, don't forget that the calorie number must, must, must be treated as an AVERAGE. You are not going to hit that number every single day and who would want to? Boring, not realistic and not sustainable. Allow yourself to ENJOY those special occasions when your calorie intake will be well above your goal. Just make a modest adjustment in your calorie goal for a day or two and you're back on track with your average.

Last but not least, I would LOVE it if you would share your experience with us as you dial in your number. You could add it to this thread or send me a message if you prefer. Have a great day!!

Will do. I will start tomorrow and let you know next week!

Dl do you use the exercise portion on calculating calories for the day?? It's hard to go from Protein grams to calories... So may questions... This maintenance thing is a bi*ch!!!

date of surgery 02/21/13 surgery weight 340 lbs. current weight 146 lbs

Kristy, I don't use the exercise capability in MFP. I walked two and a half to three miles a day for over a year post-op (and used the exercise function in another app). But then I started a new business and I'm lucky to get out once or twice a week at the moment. I miss it terribly and so does my black lab!

You probably already know this but calorie counts per gram for fats/protein/carbs are 9/4/4 respectively. I personally don't do the calculations often. I do use the pie chart and relative percentages that MFP does - and does automatically! I have mine set to a goal of 40%/30%/30% for carbs/fats/proteins and I check that daily to make sure I'm in the ballpark. I know that some very good sites often quote the American Heart Association and other reputable sources which have recommended calorie percentages - for example not more than 7% of your daily calories should be saturated fats, 0 for trans fats, etc. It's interesting that you asked this question today because just this morning I did do the calorie calculation on saturated fats for my numbers from last week - just a hair over 9%. I think it's good to be aware of those goals and to check periodically. But honestly, I suspect that doing it every day would definitely be a bi*ch with the potential of being self defeating.

I don't know how much experience you have with Excel but one option would be a spreadsheet with cells where you could input grams of carbs, fats and Proteins (from MFP) and another cell with a formula that would calculate the number of calories for each. You could then add a cell for inputting your total daily calories (again from MFP) with a formula in an adjoining cell that would then calculate percentages based on your total calorie intake for the day. You could have all three percentages in the time it would take you to input the numbers. Sounds complicated when you try to write it all out but if you or a friend have some Excel experience, setting the spreadsheet up would take about five minutes.

You're gonna love the new you!! LOL

DL have you considered writing a book on Rny topics . The info you share is so

Helpful and I love the way you write! You keep it so light hearted and easy to understand. Thank you for sharing with all of us.

DL.... U are my inspiration !!! I am 5 months post op and my nut isn't focusing on calories counted only ounces. She had told me at my 3 month follow up that at that point I should be up to about 4oz per meal 3 times a day with no snacking in between only 2 protein supplements. But as I'd now I can only eat 2.5-3oz per meal. I'm not worried about my calorie intake at the moment.. I only eat protein and if I'm lucky a bite of veggie. I have followed all the rules and don't cheat at all. My concern however, is after I reach my goal. How will I know what I'm doing?? You are very informative and knowledgable about calories and conversion and everything I would like to know! I think u should teach a class to new RNY patients!!! Thanks for helping us newbies learn and succeed !!!

DL have you considered writing a book on Rny topics . The info you share is so

Helpful and I love the way you write! You keep it so light hearted and easy to understand. Thank you for sharing with all of us.

First, thank you very much for your kind words. Secondly, a book (or possibly an e-book) are on the horizon. We are working on a blog which I hope to have up and running by the end of the year. The blog will focus on all things gastric bypass and vertical sleeve - questions, challenges, news, current research, etc. We're also evaluating videos, social media (so out of my comfort zone), and live webinars (much more in my comfort zone). It will not be a forum - it would be difficult to improve on what we have right here. But if Alex approves it, I might be able to post a notification here when it's up and running. Thank you again!

DL.... U are my inspiration !!! I am 5 months post op and my nut isn't focusing on calories counted only ounces. She had told me at my 3 month follow up that at that point I should be up to about 4oz per meal 3 times a day with no snacking in between only 2 Protein supplements. But as I'd now I can only eat 2.5-3oz per meal. I'm not worried about my calorie intake at the moment.. I only eat protein and if I'm lucky a bite of veggie. I have followed all the rules and don't cheat at all. My concern however, is after I reach my goal. How will I know what I'm doing?? You are very informative and knowledgable about calories and conversion and everything I would like to know! I think u should teach a class to new RNY patients!!! Thanks for helping us newbies learn and succeed !!!

Thank you so much - you are too kind. As you can see from my previous post above, we are examining some possibilities for reaching out to folks who might benefit from all of our collective experience. Bariatric surgery is a very broad, very exciting subject. None of us has all of the answers and the ones that we do have are changing almost daily. Each of us makes our contribution and I'm thankful to have the opportunity to participate. You guys have a great day!