male only Hit Goal - now how do I stop?

[axlr8n 161]

The past couple weeks have been hard physically and emotionally - I fell and broke my shoulder and had surgery last Friday to repair it. Luckily, I'm over the worst of it and on my way to a long but what looks very optimistic recovery. I just keep thinking about all of the stuff I can't do likely for the whole summer - golf, biking, etc.

At the same time, I hit my stretch goal weight that I really never thought I would! I was expecting to end up around 220 and thought that 190 was really a pipe dream. I'm excited, but also worried because my weight loss shows no real signs of slowing down! I lost 13 pounds in the last month, and that's after adjusting my calories so I'm eating around 1750-2000 calories most days (always 1500+). Honestly, I don't think I can physically stuff much more in!

In the back of my mind, I know that I will reach an equilibrium at some point and it'll stop... but I'm 6'2+ and wear a size 32 jeans (I can easily fit into a 30) and I really don't want to get any smaller.

Everyone makes it sound easy - just eat more. I feel like I'm stuffing myself to the gills already (3 meals + 3 snacks), and don't want to get into bad habits of grazing all day because I know in the long term that's a strategy for working around the surgery and gaining it all back.

Anyone else gone through this? Any tips??

[BobbyD 211]

I am having the exact same thoughts. People are constantly coming up and telling me to STOP LOSING WEIGHT. I know the drastic change is what makes them say it because I am still technically overweight for another 15 lbs. I do wonder though, how to stall effectively. I'm still at 1300 to 1400 calories a day. Obviously I can't overeat too much at one setting, but I don't want to get in those old stinkin' thinkin' modes that will cost me in the long run. I am eagerly awaiting responses to this thread.

[JamieLogical 8,727]

I had a real challenge in this department as well. Especially once I started half marathon training. I burn a LOT of extra calories through cardio almost every day now. I had to start tracking my food again, but this time to make sure I'm eating ENOUGH. I added more calorie-dense foods. Every day for lunch I have cheese and peanuts, for example. I also added in more Protein bars as "snacks". In order to not lose weight, I need to eat 2300-2400 calories a day which is a challenge. Here's what my day is looking like lately:

Breakfast: coffee with cream followed by a Combat Crunch bar

Morning Snack: something carby, like a piece of whole grain toast with some Peanut Butter

Lunch: 2 oz. of cheese (I like to experiment with fancy cheeses now) and 1 oz. peanuts

Afternoon Snack: coffee with cream followed by a Combat Crunch bar

Pre-workout Snack: Clif Bar

Dinner: Meat! (usually 3-5 oz. of whatever meat my husband is having for dinner)

Evening Snack: Halo Top ice cream sundae (half a pint, plus some kind Syrup and crushed cookie on top)

Bedtime Snack: Coffee with cream followed by a Combat Crunch bar

See, lots of Protein Bars in there and I've had to add back a lot more carbs. But so far so good. I haven't lost anymore weight since about 2-3 weeks into my half marathon training (I'm on week 14 now with the actual race this Sunday!).

[axlr8n 161]

Thanks for the tip on the cheese Jamie - I had already been adding some Peanut Butter and nuts, but I really do like cheese so getting some exotic types is a really good idea.

I changed My Fitness Pal to maintain my weight, being lightly active, and it says I need to eat 2600 calories. I've been trying to be "active" by walking a lot, taking the stairs, etc... but do not "exercise" because I know that will just create an additional deficit. Usually by the end of the day, with my activity - My Fitness Pal adds an extra 300+ calories to my plan. I can only imagine the additional calories needed if I were training for a run like you're doing!

I know these numbers aren't an exact science... but based on the calories I'm eating and the amount of weight I'm losing - it seems likely that I'm going to have to get into the 2500-3000 calorie range to balance everything out. Just a few months ago, eating 3000 calories a day was absolutely no problem, boy have things changed, LOL.

I use 2% milk, but whole milk or cream makes me dump. I haven't been able to tolerate eggs or avocado since surgery... any other suggestions for calorie dense foods besides cheese, nuts/pb?

[JamieLogical 8,727]

It really is so hard, because of the restriction and not wanting to resort to eating absolutely terrible foods. I've just found that the only real way to do it is to eat more times a day. As you can see, I'm up to eating 7-8 times a day now, but there's just no way around it. Since you had bypass and have some dumping, I can imagine it would be even harder since you probably can't do as many carbs as I'm doing now.

[B-52 7,113]

Why stop? After surgery you develop a new lifestyle..something permenent unlike a traditional diet...

I continued on with eating better, healthy, and yes, Less!

Add to that daily exercise, and I am a new person.

And yes, my body did level out where it want's to be...a perfect body fat%

I will be this way for the rest of my life...no more diets...no such thing as maintenance..

If anything, I'm learning to eat healthier all the time, exploring better foods

And I do not deprive myself of life's pleasures...again, for me it is not a diet. I'm enjoying myself.

But that is me, I do not expect people to do things because I do them...everyone has their own life and lifestyle.

[JamieLogical 8,727]

Why stop?

For me, it's about vanity and comfort. I hate hate hate, that I can literally count my ribs through my skin now. I have weird veins popping out of my wrists and arms. My butt gets sore from sitting down. My bones are poking out everywhere. I absolutely refuse to lose even 5 more pounds at this point. I want to make a concerted effort to put on more muscle once I'm done with this half marathon, as my current schedule only allows for two days of strength training right now. But I know gaining muscle will likely mean I need to get even more calories! So that's a daunting prospect too!

[NewAngela 60]

To stop loosing weight doctors usually put people on high calorie shakes. I assume the same if someone gets pregnant during rapid weight loss. Count calories and exercise. You can stop, but ideally you will consult an doctor/nutritionist about your goals.

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Oh, and strength training is a great thing.

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[Ryan TN 348]

Following, I hit goal this week. 175. I've already lost 2 or 3 since then. I am training for a 5k next weekend, and then I'll be starting a triathlon training program, so I am concerned about calories as well. I still have some fat lbs I could lose, but I've got to slow down. I'm at about 1500 calories a day, but as this picture shows, I'm burning way more than that.

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[Ryan TN 348]

I burned more calories in that 1 workout than I consumed all day.

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[JamieLogical 8,727]

I burned more calories in that 1 workout than I consumed all day.

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I have that problem on my long runs for my half marathon training. On a normal day, I only burn 500-700 calories through cardio depending on the scheduled workout, but on my long run days I can easily burn 1600-2000 calories. I'll be interested to see what I burn during the actual race on Sunday. None of my long runs have actually been 13.1 miles yet! The farthest I've gone is 11 miles so far.

[IncredibleShrinkingMan 437]

Be careful what you wish for. I was asking the same questions and then I stalled big time, and still not out of it, with about 40 lbs more that I really want gone. Just saying.

I think the way to stop is easy...just add some more calories from things that aren't going to send you back flying the other way, so high quality, like lean Protein and dairy.

[Ryan TN 348]

I think your missing what we are saying. We are at goal, and stopping is NOT easy. We're speaking from personal experience.

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[JamieLogical 8,727]

so high quality, like lean Protein

Lean Protein is super filling and not at all calorie-dense, so it doesn't help in this case at all. I agree that you want to try to get the extra calories from healthier foods where possible, not from just added sugars and saturated fats, but I have definitely had to resort to a lot more "healthy fats" and carbs.

[Rogofulm 2,440]

When I hit stretch goal, I continued losing for a few more pounds and people started freaking out about how thin I was getting. Then it just sort of stopped. Gradually I regained 3-5 pounds to get where I wanted to be, and have remained pretty much in my "sweet spot" for a year now. I haven't really added much back. Basically I still eat the same as before, except my capacity is a little more. I do let myself have a bite of someone's else's "no-no" food every once in a while. But only one bite. I get on the scale every single morning, and if it starts creeping up, I try to deal with it immediately. Unfortunately (or fortunately) there's no such thing as "taking the weekend off". Good luck! I think your body will help you figure this one out by finding it's comfort zone.