Scheduled to have VSG in one month, and currently going through the "am I doing the right thing" phase. Just lots of reading right now.

I'm 44, 6'6" tall, BMI of 34.5, so low side, but with lots of orthopedic problems these days, went from playing college Bball to barely being able to walk.

One question Ive been wondering about, is after two years of this very low calorie diet with sleeve, do people feel like their metabolism is slower yet than it was when they started the journey? All that research from the biggest loser contests, and my own experience with losing so much over and over only to put it on again, is a big part of why I went ahead with scheduling the surgery, the numbers don't look good for me ever being able to do this with just diet and exercise (though I know I'll need those in addition). But wondering if it will be slower yet once I reach a steady state?

I've had a similar experience to the other guys here. My metabolism doesn't seem to have really dropped off a lot. I'm try to gradually stop my weightloss now and have incrementally upped my calories to do it. I'm at 2000 calories a day now and am still dropping about 2 lbs per week most weeks. I workout about an hour a day 6-7 days a week with a combination of rowing, walking, and weightlifting.

Outsidematchinginside. Thanks so much. I just Googled and found that University of Illinois does it for only $75.

I didn't know a Dexa scan would also tell me lean muscle mass. I just got a referral for one from my primary to get a baseline bone density to watch for osteoporosis Insurance is covering that. I feel like I won lotto!

Oh, one more question...with the RMR is it better to do right away after surgery (I'm only a week out) or after a while of losing?

Thanks!

One thing I'll add, based on my experience, there is no one size-fits-all approach for anyone. For a good while, I worked with a nutritionist who insisted that bariatric patients should NEVER exceed 1000 calories, 60 grams of carbs at any point post-surgery, including in maintenance. That might work for some, but that was not a great recommendation for a 6'3" male who exercises a decent amount. I've found information from my family dr, people on this forum, and trial and error to have been my best guidance.

3 hours ago, OutsideMatchInside said:

@Newme17

Well it seems like a lot of people that never boost their calories fast enough have to maintain on 800-1000, because they keep their calories low for a whole year or whatever. So their RMR, maintence level is 800-1000 and they don't have anywhere to go to run at a deficit. By keeping a normal metabolism, you have some place to go. I'm eating 1400 and losing slowly on purpose (easier on my body at this point), but I could do to 1200 for a couple weeks if I wanted. I ate at 1900 for weeks and didn't gain anything and lost 2lb I think. So keeping your metabolism up, gives you wiggle room. If you ruin it you have no where to go later on, and will regain no matter what.

I agree with it all. Just wish I was born with a high metabolism! (Then I wouldn't be here.) but alas, my gracious God doesn't want me to be lazy so I must pay attention to the numbers at very least until I've got it down for what my body needs. Thank you for your input. I need to check in to the RMR tests

Your metabolism might be higher than you think, unless you had it tested you never know.

Wanted to update on getting RMR testing. I had my 2 week follow up visit with the surgeon and nutritionist today. I mentioned to the NUT that I wanted to get RMR testing done. She said they do it right there in the office, and I could do it right then. I went ahead and found out my RMR is 1615, which is in the middle of the average range for women my size. I am pretty pleased with that. The best part is that she said we can do it at every visit to watch for changes. Also, it was free as it's included in the follow up services. She had never mentioned it, and I don't think she would have if I hadn't brought it up. I don't know if the testing is something a lot of bariatric surgery offices offer, but it can't hurt to ask!

I am 7 months post-op. I find that lately I get nauseous when I eat. I don't think this is normal. Anybody else have this problem recently ? I do however not drink my protein shake anymore.

About a month after reaching my goal weight, I had my RMR tested and it was 1430. With daily exercise (running, hiking, stair mill machines), I have been able to consume in the 1900 to 2100 calorie-per-day range while maintaining tight control over my current body weight of 118 pounds.

[mention=308374]Newme17[/mention]
Well it seems like a lot of people that never boost their calories fast enough have to maintain on 800-1000, because they keep their calories low for a whole year or whatever. So their RMR, maintence level is 800-1000 and they don't have anywhere to go to run at a deficit. By keeping a normal metabolism, you have some place to go. I'm eating 1400 and losing slowly on purpose (easier on my body at this point), but I could do to 1200 for a couple weeks if I wanted. I ate at 1900 for weeks and didn't gain anything and lost 2lb I think. So keeping your metabolism up, gives you wiggle room. If you ruin it you have no where to go later on, and will regain no matter what.

I'm curious. How soon should we try and up our calories so we don't reset our metabolism? That is the last thing I want to do. As it is my resting metabolism is 1500. I'm preop and want to have as much knowledge as possible.

How are they testing RMR on you all? I stood on a machine and held the handles and it came back with 1500 ish. I have no idea how accurate that was.

@Joann454

How soon you can up your calories depends on how you are healing, the faster you can get to 1000-1200 the better. The point isn't to race to higher calorie but not to stay at 600-800 for like 6 months because people feel that is the best way to lose weight. People just stall out like that.

I don't know how accurate that RMR testing is. Most clinics and doctors test your by having you lay on a table with a tent over your head and you have to lay there perfectly still without falling sleep for about 30 minutes, they measure your breath and average it out. RMR is supposed to be when you are at rest, like if you were in a coma being a slug, these are the baseline calories you burn just existing, Standing alone seems like that would throw it off. I also had to fast before my test for it to be accurate.

Edited April 17, 20179 yr by OutsideMatchInside

This discussion has been a great find for me, as I've been concerned for a while now about how to maintain a decent metabolism after surgery. My nutritionist told me I'd only be eating 3 oz 3x a day, which added up to less than 1000 calories in my head. If that were so, how would I not eventually be in starvation mode, where my body just hoards its energy and fat? I'm pre-op now, aiming for surgery in August, so this is all still ahead of me. I'm relieved to hear others state that the goal is to get to a reasonable caloric load as soon as possible, but I'm curious -- does that become possible because you can eat more volume in one sitting, or do you increase the number of meals/snacks? I"m being told my sleeve will be rather small and all I'll be able to eat is about 3 oz at a time. What have others experienced?

This discussion has been a great find for me, as I've been concerned for a while now about how to maintain a decent metabolism after surgery. My nutritionist told me I'd only be eating 3 oz 3x a day, which added up to less than 1000 calories in my head. If that were so, how would I not eventually be in starvation mode, where my body just hoards its energy and fat? I'm pre-op now, aiming for surgery in August, so this is all still ahead of me. I'm relieved to hear others state that the goal is to get to a reasonable caloric load as soon as possible, but I'm curious -- does that become possible because you can eat more volume in one sitting, or do you increase the number of meals/snacks? I"m being told my sleeve will be rather small and all I'll be able to eat is about 3 oz at a time. What have others experienced?

I'm still in the full liquids phase but when I start eating, if I can't hit minimum calorie goals at first, I'll supplement with protein shakes etc. I truly fear screwing up my metabolism long term. Eventually eating all of our calories seems very doable.

2 minutes ago, Joann454 said:

I'm still in the full liquids phase but when I start eating if I can't hit minimum calorie goals at first I'll supplement with Protein Shakes etc. I truly fear screwing up my metabolism long term. Eventually eating all of our calories seems very doable.

Did your surgeon or nutritionist give you a timetable for getting calories to certain levels?