Hey friends, I am 5 months out from VSG surgery. I just recently, for the past 4 months, have been lifting pretty heavy. The issue is, that I have stalled to 1 pound lost in last month. Has anyone actually lifted weights, and saw a continual decrease in lbs?

My calories daily are around 1300. The way I figure it, I HAVE to have the calories to replenish the muscles, but I don't want to consume too many. According to the calculator for Basic metabolic rate for someone my age and lifestyle, I would need 1500-1800 cals just to allow my body to function with its core requirements, like breathing, heartbeat, digestion, etc. Obviously I'm not going to go that high with calories, but I also know it takes calories to build muscle. I'm kind of stuck in this thought pattern. Some have suggested just doing cardio, but I have lost so much muscle tone, and maybe that's just the nature of this journey until maintenance, idk. Anyways, your thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.

Adam

I've always been under the impression that weight loss and muscle building didn't go together. I would say go with cardio and muscle toning (light weights, high reps). Then once you get close to goal, then you can go back to focusing on muscle building.

I thought Protein is what builds muscles not calories ?

I know I have been told to keep my protein up so not to lose muscel while the weight is coming off.

I never lose weight while building muscle. I agree with the other. Lose to where you want and then work on muscle.

I thought Protein is what builds muscles not calories ?

I know I have been told to keep my protein up so not to lose muscel while the weight is coming off.

There are actually 4 calories per each gram of protein. So to get plenty of protein in takes some good calories. Thanks for your response friend i appreciate it.

I've always been under the impression that weight loss and muscle building didn't go together. I would say go with cardio and muscle toning (light weights, high reps). Then once you get close to goal, then you can go back to focusing on muscle building.

You may be right, i think im going to cut wayyyy back on lifting and replace most with cardio. Ill wait until i get to goal and then i will get back to lifting.

Muscle burns more fat, keep lifting. Lifting will help you keep your muscle mass and lose fat. You may see the scale increase, because muscle weighs more than fat, so as you build, the scale may not move as quickly as you would like. I recommend Sean10mm's stripped 5x5 to start. http://newbie-fitness.blogspot.com/2007/01/stripped-5x5.html. Increase your protein/water, lift. Also, read this. http://fitnfly.com/learn-about-food/lose-weight-lose-fat

I have been lifting heavy since about 6 weeks out. I also do cardio. I keep my calories between about 800-900 (not the past week b/c I've made some off choices, but in general. I have been consistently dropping weight & body fat %.

I am careful to get lots of Protein -- I have a whey shake every morning, and cottage cheese at night. Cottage cheese is great for at night b/c it has lots of Casein protein in it which is a slow release protein. This helps feed your muscles all night long.

My weekly workout schedule is usually something like this:

Sunday: 2 mile run & yoga

Monday: spinning

Tue: Longer run

Wed: full body lift (60-90 mins)

Thu: ice hockey

Friday: 2 mile run & yoga

Saturday: full body lift & HIIT

I think the combo of lifting and cardio is great! Plus I get a hit of endorphins most days!

My immediate thought was protein, protein, protein.....good luck!

I've just started back on weights also and my numbers have slowed down,at first all I did was cardio and now it's a combination of both. I don't lift heavy weight like I did before the Surgery but high reps low weight,I'm losing inches but the scale is moving slower.

If you are building muscle, you will gain pounds. But could be losing fat and inches. Are you taking measurements? Are your clothes getting loose? Do you have any way of measuring body fat/lean muscle mass? These would be better indicators of what's going on with your body than just the scale.