I am within 10 pounds of my goal. I adjusted my original goal up from 150 to 160 because at my current weight I am feeling really comfortable and my face is starting to get thin looking. I want to be a normal BMI and I think I will be a size 4-6 at 160.

I have been dropping weight fast the past 2 weeks. This week it I seem to be dropping .5 a day. My question is as I get closer to 160 how do I stop losing weight? I never dreamed I would be this close 3 months post op. My weekly exercise is increasing faster than my calorie intake because I am training to run longer distances. I have switched to a whole foods plant based diet and I think this will be a great sustainable and healthy diet for me. The problem is my stomach is still very restricting and I can only eat so much. I don't want to cut back on my running so my idea is to add an extra protein shake in before bed to give me some extra calories and protein.

Currently I am able to eat 1000-1200 calories with drinking 1 shake and the rest from foods. I honestly don't think I could eat anymore food and I don't want to start eating high fats. I have started incorporating more nuts to add some calories.

Any advice for me?

4 hours ago, Berry78 said:

Oh, and Fruits and Veggies has a bypass, which typically means losing weight faster, but the scale stops moving sooner. It isn't unusual for people with bypasses to slide into maintenance at 10 months postop. So time is more of the essence in this case than with a sleeve patient.

I didn't know that! I just recently realized my RMR has gotten much lower now and I never did any adjustment for that. I was eating like I was still 300 pounds trying to lose weight. Why do you think the bypass means the scale stops sooner?

And honestly, I've only been "stalled" for maybe 3 weeks, I've been losing verrrrry slowly. It just seemed so abrupt to go from losing around 12-15 lbs a month to losing about 3-4 in a month (August). So it could be a normal stall, but also it is likely the amount of calories I'm eating. My NUT doesn't help at all here, she says I don't need to worry about calories or count anything. Which sounds great but I have no idea how I'm supposed to loose weight like that now that I'm much smaller!

Your nut may be used to bypass patients that can only eat 800 calories.

Calories DO matter postop. Case in point, a patient right after surgery on tpo (IV nutrition).. 2000 calories "forcefed" into the vein, and patient didn't lose significant weight.

My theory as to why bypass patients lose for a year and sleeve patients lose for 18 months:

Picture a bypass patient and a sleeve patient (with identical stats) at the start of a race. They share the start line, but each have individual finish lines.. the bypass patients' is a few steps further from the start line.

The sleeve patient runs at 5mph, and the bypass patient runs at 8mph. Even though the bypass patient has further to go, (s)he still makes it to the finish line first.

But, like I said before.. you can pass your body's "finish line" through continued work (you CAN keep losing for more than a year...it just becomes harder).

@Berry78 I like your finish line explanation. The finish line is our new set point, where we become "normal." Most normal people aren't obese, but they aren't at their ideal weight either. They have to work hard and be diligent to be at their ideal weight... pushing past that set point or finish line. Most "normal" women gain a pound a year after a certain age... well that isn't "regain" post WLS, that's "normal."

Jess.. yep, pretty much

For whatever reason, neither surgery gets all patients down to a normal BMI, and it's not because the patients necessarily stray from the program. Average loss for the sleeve is 65% of excess body weight. The bypass is 70%.

That pound a year that people put on is mostly due to falling RMRs and keeping calories the same. "I don't understand where that 5#s came from, doc. I haven't changed anything!"

Menopause knocks ladies' caloric requirements way down too.

The oft-quoted "2000 calorie diet" isn't helping. My 74 year old MIL probably thinks she's supposed to eat that many calories. Try 1200! And to lose weight, she needs to knock it down even more.

8 minutes ago, Berry78 said:

That pound a year that people put on is mostly due to falling RMRs and keeping calories the same. "I don't understand where that 5#s came from, doc. I haven't changed anything!"

Menopause knocks ladies' caloric requirements way down too.

I think this is why we should have a regular exercise schedule. Most people don't. We get up and go to work everyday because it is a priority even a necessity to survive. in our lives. I think taking care of our bodies needs to have the same importance in our lives. I think this is one of the biggest changes for me post-op. I am making my health a priority.

21 hours ago, Berry78 said:

Your nut may be used to bypass patients that can only eat 800 calories.

Calories DO matter postop. Case in point, a patient right after surgery on tpo (IV nutrition).. 2000 calories "forcefed" into the vein, and patient didn't lose significant weight.

My theory as to why bypass patients lose for a year and sleeve patients lose for 18 months:

Picture a bypass patient and a sleeve patient (with identical stats) at the start of a race. They share the start line, but each have individual finish lines.. the bypass patients' is a few steps further from the start line.

The sleeve patient runs at 5mph, and the bypass patient runs at 8mph. Even though the bypass patient has further to go, (s)he still makes it to the finish line first.

But, like I said before.. you can pass your body's "finish line" through continued work (you CAN keep losing for more than a year...it just becomes harder).

Thank you, that makes total sense! And you are probably right about my NUT, plant foods are just much more easy to digest, so I can eat more without getting that uber-full feeling. More likely culprit: I could definitely stop a few sliders I've let creep back in (hello, crackers and chips).

7 hours ago, fruitandveggies said:

Thank you, that makes total sense! And you are probably right about my NUT, plant foods are just much more easy to digest, so I can eat more without getting that uber-full feeling. More likely culprit: I could definitely stop a few sliders I've let creep back in (hello, crackers and chips).

I vote on it being the crackers and chips...hon.

55 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

I vote on it being the crackers and chips...hon.

Nooo...say it ain't so! I know...gotta do the work to get the results. Bye bye, crackers and chips...

Update: it has been a few days of me eating around 1,000 calories (I started a couple days before I posted here) and I'm already down about 8 pounds (and got into onederland!). I guess I really was eating too much. Thanks for all your advice guys!

12 minutes ago, fruitandveggies said:

Update: it has been a few days of me eating around 1,000 calories (I started a couple days before I posted here) and I'm already down about 8 pounds (and got into onederland!). I guess I really was eating too much. Thanks for all your advice guys!

That is awesome ? Congrats on Onederland?

Great job!!

@fruitandveggies Congrats!

Yay, thanks so much!

How exciting...onederland. Congratulations @fruitandveggies !

That is smart.

I know you'd also prefer NOT to eat extra fats but could I suggest that a dessertspoon of extra virgin olive oil TWO to THREE times a day plus, maybe, three to five macadamia nuts or 55-85g cashews would help?

GOOD OILS and NUTS are a help. The evidence is in: people who have 2oz-5oz of olive oil daily diminish their health risks by a huge percentage.

Edited September 11, 20178 yr by Rainbow_Warrior
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