I'm almost 8 months out from surgery and I'm trying to gauge how many calories I should be eating. Right now I'm averaging about 1300 a day which feels way too high, and yet I still feel fairly hungry. I'm eating really clean - lean meat, vegetables, etc - and getting, frankly, too much Protein. Where were you guys at at this point?

@@Chrystee it's rather terrifying isn't it?

@@Chrystee it's rather terrifying isn't it?

I get nervous that this is it.. and I'm not ready to be done. Some days I don't even feel like I look any different..

@@Chrystee believe me I understand that panic. But I think most of it is in our heads.

I think it is individual. If you are losing on 1200, then stick with it. I won't lose unless I'm around 900. I'm probably older and have a more sluggish metabolism. I think we each have to figure it out for ourselves.

@@MichiganChic that's probably very true!

@@Chrystee believe me I understand that panic. But I think most of it is in our heads.

I'm sure.. I'm up a couple pounds too.. which I don't know is from my workout this weekend, or what. But annoying.

@@Chrystee that is frustrating. I had my appointment today and while I did lose this month, it was only 1/3 of what I've been losing monthly. So I'm going to drop the calories back to the 1000 - 1100 range and see if that makes a difference.

@@Chrystee that is frustrating. I had my appointment today and while I did lose this month, it was only 1/3 of what I've been losing monthly. So I'm going to drop the calories back to the 1000 - 1100 range and see if that makes a difference.

Good to know.. that's how my last month was.. the least amount that I've lost so far.. so logically I know that its not that much of a big deal, just worrisome.

@@Chrystee indeed! It was a good wake up call for me though.

I am just back from a meeting with my nutritionist. I'm at 1200 calories, as per her recommendation. Today she told me to increase my carbs. Apparently, the reason I am so tired all the time is that my muscles need some carbs to fuel the swimming. I had been eating 50-70 g/day. I'm supposed to increase it to 90-100. I'm a little nervous, but last time I stalled she told me to increase my calories from 800 to 1200 and it worked. I'll give it a try for a week, at least.

@@Madmax68 that's a good idea. Did she suggest what kind of carbs?

@@Indieflickers - Right! I should have mentioned that. Sweet potatoes, peas, Beans (lots of legumes) and squash. They're all great sources of fibre and other nutrients too. She did ask if I could eat rice, but I'm off rice right now - it makes me queasy. I'm making baked sweet potato fries for dinner. (I cut them into fries and spray them with a bit of Pam before putting them in the oven - delish).

@@Madmax68 good to know! I happen to have some sweet potato in the fridge but didn't know what to do with it! I've never really cooked it before.

@@Chrystee gotcha!

I'll never forget when I was listening to a podcast by Jillian Michaels (I know some hate her, but I love her).. and she said, the muscle makes you gain myth is total bunk.. its something people to say to make someone feel better and that its really, really hard to gain that much muscle.

People are explaining it wrong. Jillian is right.

A pound of muscle and a pound of fat weight exactly the same. A pound.

A pound of muscle looks better than a pound of fat because fat takes up a lot more space. Muscle makes you look leaner and harder. Plus, the MORE lean muscle you have, the more calories your body burns. You can weigh the same if you are muscular and look significantly smaller than the person of the same height and weight standing next to you who has half the lean muscle you do.

The part about gaining "muscle" weight while weight lifting being really hard to do is completely true. It takes significant effort to become jacked up or bulked up. Like eat 2 pounds of chicken, 2 pounds of potatoes, etc per day while following a crazy workout schedule. It's like having an extra job.

A very thin person who starts weight training would experience a small weight gain without trying to become bulked up, but anyone else, not really. You would get an increase in blood volume and muscle gain but that would be offset by a much more significant fat loss.

Edited October 8, 201510 yr by JerseyCityGal

My doc put me on 1000 calories a day after 2 months, so I don't think 1300 is necessarily too high. I'm guessing at my 6 month post-op, she'll increase my calories to about that as well.