I read on a different topic page about how MFP and other calorie trackers don't take into account the (generally) lower metabolism of WLS people. I know my NUT told me that a year out, most women she sees need 800-1100 calories to maintain. MFP tells me that I'll weigh next to nothing if I keep that up. I wondered if anyone knew of an app that either takes into account our lower metabolism or can be manually tweaked?

I was mulling this over at the gym this morning and it made me wonder further about the accuracy of the "calories burned" on my treadmill and step glider. For my weight, the hour I spend on those two machines, I am told burns 350 calories. I'm curious if anyone knows if WLS changes anything about how many calories we're burning while exercising also? In other words, am I really only burning 275 (for example)?

Thanks for any responses.

Heather

She (your nut) makes sense..

I prefer to bury my head in the sand though and believe the below statement!

How does weight loss surgery effect

your bodies metabolism?

Both gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy are metabolism altering operations. While both operations cause restriction to the amount of food you can eat and to some degree absorb, the true mechanism for how the surgeris work is quite complex and involves multiple gut intestinal hormonal changes. Both gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy cause an increase in multiple satiety hormones while at the same time decreasing multiple appetite stimulating hormones. Gastric bypass will also increase an individual’s metabolic rate even in the face of weight loss. Sleeve gastrectomy prevents the decrease in metabolic rate seen with typical dieting. The net effect of both of these procedures is a re-setting of your bodies set point to a much healthier weight. Your body no longer resist significant weightloss.

Well eff - if surgery lowered our metabolisms, then that just snuffs out hope! I mean, that would explain why, at a mere 650 cals, I am not losing any weight even though I Insanity 5x a week!

Well eff - if surgery lowered our metabolisms, then that just snuffs out hope! I mean, that would explain why, at a mere 650 cals, I am not losing any weight even though I Insanity 5x a week!

I didn't mean to discourage anyone. I was just curious if anyone knew if our metabolism changes (if they exist) also effect our calorie burn count. If it makes you feel better, I'm taking most of what that particular NUT says with a side of self-research or second opinion. She's the one who told me I was wasting my time drinking a double Protein shake over a 4-hour period because "your body can only absorb so much protein at a time". It turns out that is wildly outdated thinking based on an extrapolation that doesn't hold true.

@Globetrotter, and oh, my goodness you look fantastic! I'm 4 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier, I don't look nearly that good! I'm going to have to see about adding Insanity to my schedule!

Sadly Plane I no longer look remotely like the gal in the picture! I don't mean to be dishonest in my photography but the gov't computer I use is restricted and I can't upload new ones. I am currrently 170 lbs and although I am *technically* within 5 lbs of the photo - I am nowhere NEAR as fit and firm as I was then (1.25 yr ago). Then I was doing crossfit, tango, running, and yoga, now I just do Insanity and after 2 wks am still a marshmallow :/ also, I know how to take a photograph and angled my body in such a way that I looked waaaaaay better then really did, even then.

Edited December 15, 201312 yr by Globetrotter

MFP lies like a dog in terms of projected weight loss. Every day it tells me that in 5 weeks, I will weight 20 lbs less, and surprisingly, I never do! But it does a great job logging calories and that's what I use it for. On the computer, MFP can absolutely be manually tweaked to set your total calories and macronutrient goals to custom levels. I've done that, and despite it's dire prognostications that I'm putting myself as risk of starvation, I seem to still be alive.

I know surgery and very low calorie diets do slow our metabolism. But I've never read anything about us burning less during exercise. The most important determinant of that appears to be body weight, not metabolism. I'd be interested to see if others have run into anything about it.

MFP lies like a dog in terms of projected weight loss. Every day it tells me that in 5 weeks, I will weight 20 lbs less, and surprisingly, I never do! But it does a great job logging calories and that's what I use it for. On the computer, MFP can absolutely be manually tweaked to set your total calories and macronutrient goals to custom levels. I've done that, and despite it's dire prognostications that I'm putting myself as risk of starvation, I seem to still be alive.

I know surgery and very low calorie diets do slow our metabolism. But I've never read anything about us burning less during exercise. The most important determinant of that appears to be body weight, not metabolism. I'd be interested to see if others have run into anything about it.

I agree with you GG. MFP is for counting calories and more so for protein intake . The projection for weight loss is for people without WLS. I wish there was something like that specific to our needs i.e for sleeve patients. Less intake of calories will also affect the catabolism in the long run, but as long as we continue with some sort of movement and just don't sit and vegetate weight loss will continue and there will be no effect on the metabolism rate. Thats what my surgeon had advised , in fact he had asked me to concentrate more in core strength exercises than cardio. As long as there are no hormonal issues sleeve should not affect the rate of expenditure of calories.

I ate 550 cals yesterday and am UP a pound today, what the eff. I do Insanity 5x a week and have completely stalled out on my weight loss since starting, what the EFF. Insanity is pure cardio so, am I just shooting myself in the foot? I lift weights afterward.

I ate 550 cals yesterday and am UP a pound today, what the eff. I do Insanity 5x a week and have completely stalled out on my weight loss since starting, what the EFF. Insanity is pure cardio so, am I just shooting myself in the foot? I lift weights afterward.

Globe can you measure body fat with calipers? I'm sure your body composition is changing with all that exercise. At the very least, can you track inches maybe?

Weights first, cardio after.

Fiddleman, what do you think - weights before or after Insanity? If I did them before I wouldn't be able to give 110% at Insanity. @ Gamergirl - nope, I have no way to measure fat, I have just been going by how my clothes fit and I take weekly photos in the same outfit to track my shape change and on both counts, nothin'!!

Fiddleman, what do you think - weights before or after Insanity? If I did them before I wouldn't be able to give 110% at Insanity. @ Gamergirl - nope, I have no way to measure fat, I have just been going by how my clothes fit and I take weekly photos in the same outfit to track my shape change and on both counts, nothin'!!

I would do weights before cardio only so you have the proper energy to lift without insanity draining you. Insanity is designed to drain the glucose in your muscles which will cause you to fatigue prematurely during a post lifting segment.

As for low metabolism, it is most likely caused by lack of caloric intake and the body entering starvation mode. The key is to find the calorie in versus calorie out balance point for your body where you gain the weight loss benefits of insanity without your body going into starvation mode due to net deficit.

For example, I need to eat often to keep my metabolism up when considering daily cross fit 5x a week on average. I have mentioned before I eat every 2-3 hours to exit each day at around 2000-2200 calories. This keeps my weight at around 175-180 for 5'11" and my lean muscle is not being compromised. It is very easy for me to start losing if I miss a meal or add more exercise (an extra day or really push myself to exhaustion daily). There is no way this would work if I were to eat 500-800 calories a day.

Again, to summarize: we each must find our balance points and that comes from trial and error over time. MFP is not always going to give you the answer you need. It is a bit of an organic process to find that sweet spot of effective weight loss from hormonal balance (eating the right foods) versus caloric balance (eating the right amount of food). Add intense exercise like insanity to the mix and it becomes even more important to find balance points for your body and then target a slight deficit to encourage weight loss.

And that is where I feel so helpless, nothing I have done has ever worked! I ate at TDEE while excercising vigorously - nothing. I dropped back to a post-op diet without exercising - nothing. With exercising - nothing. 5:2 with ex - nothing. Without - nothing. My body refuses to lose weight and there is just no effing way that at 5'3" 170 pounds is "right".

As far as participating in the Insanity goes, I'm only doing it now out of pride, not quitting. I frankly do not feel any better than when I started, in any way, and the only thing that is changing is the shape of my butt from all the squats, which I could do without the Insanity. I would prefer to just lift and do yoga, if given my druthers.