1200 calories 6 months out

[mercy96 20]

Am I eating too much? I am averaging 1100-1200 calories a day, mostly high Protein, no carbs. I go to crossfit twice a week, running twice a week, working out at home. I am training for a half marathon and ran 9 miles last saturday. Most people I ask seem to say 800-850. I try to eat less but I am not sure I can. After a 4 mile jog a week ago I almost blacked out....so I added an extra Protein shake a day and feel better. I guess I am terrified of stretching my sleeve

I was stalled but seem to be losing again, this week I went from 181 to 178

What do you guys think? My next doc appointment is in a couple weeks and I just want others opinions.

[Recycled 2,182]

You pretty much answered your own questions. You're still losing and you added in what your body felt it needed.

The things you eat pass thru the sleeve quickly, so you are not going to stretch the sleeve. You can eat a lot of food throughout the course of a day, just not very much at once. That being said, you do have to be aware of how much you are eating daily and keep it in check so you can continue to lose the weight.

As time went on and I lost more weight, I found myself doing longer and more vigorous workouts which demanded more energy and fuel.......so I was constantly adding in more Protein and subsequently more calories. And just as you found, I still continued to lose weight. Now at maintenance, I am in the 1600-2000 calories a day range and can still drop a pound or two easily if I need to.

You're doing great......keep it up....

[AngelaE 104]

Hi there. there is one thing I have learnt throughout this process after going to the gym 4-5 times a week and burning around 300-500 calories per workout is my body needs extra calories when I workout. I too started to suffer from blackouts or feeling light headed. I increased my calories from 800-1300 per day and god I feel so much better. I have an extra Protein Shake after my workouts, almond nuts or a banana. I did stall for a couple of weeks at first and decided to up my Water intake and bingo the scales started moving again. It seems the body goes into starvation mode, especially when the body's working out at high intensity. I would suggest drinking more water and make your body has a little but if carb or too - but don't go crazy....

[mercy96 20]

@@Recycled thanks for the response! when I get cravings or a snack attack my body asks for a Protein Bar or a meat and cheese rollup. I seem to have stopped craving junk!

[mercy96 20]

@@AngelaE thank you!!! I'm trying to add more Water...I find getting enough harder than eating. I am a little scared of carbs right now, I dont think I can trust myself around them lol

[JamieLogical 8,684]

I think with your level of activity, if anything, you aren't getting ENOUGH calories. I just recently got up over 1000 calories a day now that I am doing cardio and ST 5-6 times a week and I still feel like it's too low. If I were doing crossfit and marathon training, you can bet I would need far more than that!

[jess9395 5,448]

I have to eat more because of my activity level too. Your body seems to be speaking loudly and clearly, listen to it!

[mercy96 20]

@@JamieLogical @@jess9395 Thanks, Ive been listening to my body and it asks for more protein!

[JamieLogical 8,684]

@@JamieLogical @@jess9395 Thanks, Ive been listening to my body and it asks for more protein!

How much are you getting? I am getting just about 100 grams a day. I had to add in some carbs when I started doing Couch to 5k, so I put some granola in my afternoon greek yogurt now, since that's the last thing I eat before my workouts. Seems to have helped a little, but I avoid carbs the rest of the time.

[bikrchk 1,313]

I think you're right in the zone! I lost on 1000-1200 calories per day while exercising 5x per week, (about a 500 calorie burn each day), and I bet you're burning more than that if your training for a 1/2. Know that the more calories you can consume now and still lose, the better place you'll be in when you get to long term maintenance. Athletes eat and train. They do not diet and exercise.

[mercy96 20]

@@JamieLogical I was getting around 70-80grams a day but after that almost fainting spell I am up to 120grams. Glad to hear you are incorporating carbs but truly I do not trust myself to add a carb like granola. Overeating on things like carbs are a couple of the reasons I had this surgery, I am not ready to trust myself. And thank you

[mercy96 20]

@@bikrchk thanks, I just needed to hear it. It seems on some on line weight loss surgery forums people post pictures of themselves eating bird sized portions. Anyway, awesome profile pic btw

[JamieLogical 8,684]

@@JamieLogical I was getting around 70-80grams a day but after that almost fainting spell I am up to 120grams. Glad to hear you are incorporating carbs but truly I do not trust myself to add a carb like granola. Overeating on things like carbs are a couple of the reasons I had this surgery, I am not ready to trust myself. And thank you

I hear you on the not trusting yourself! I carefully weight out 13 grams of kashi go lean Cereal into a small plastic container and I bring that with me to work to mix in with my yogurt. I know if I kept the whole bag here at work and just "eyeballed" how much to add to the yogurt, it would slowly creep up to an unreasonable amount!

Edit: Of course I only do that on my workout days. No cereal/granola on my rest days!

Edited March 6, 2015 by JamieLogical

[mercy96 20]

 

progress shots! my arms are sagging bad though!

Edited March 6, 2015 by mercy96

[mercy96 20]

@@JamieLogical well, good job on portioning those out and saying no on your off days. I want my brain to be cooperative, I am getting there