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?

I actually used to be taller. All of my adult life I was telling people I was 5'9", and then about 3 years ago my gp measured it and said 5"8. I made the nurse do it twice because I didn't believe her. So I either shrank or was just always mistaken lol..

I think we literally lose weight from the bottom of our feet. I think I was exaggerating my height for years saying 5'7.5" but when my doc measured me at 5'6" a year out from surgery I was floored!

I gained 7. I usually hear 10lbs quoted. I lost 140 and gained back 7 for net loss of 133, so that's right at 5%, right?

1 hour ago, jess9395 said:

we literally lose weight from the bottom of our feet

Good thinking! I'm sure it's true, too, possibly not an inch and a half.. but the concept is sound.

We also (obviously) lose from our rumps. Now, I always thought the impact of it shrinking would be a visual thing.. sure, you can SEE it's smaller, and of course, you can wear smaller clothes.

What I hadn't really thought about was how much lower I would sit in seats! It's like I had a booster seat attached, and now that it is disappearing, there is more head-space in the car, chair arm rests seem higher, etc. (And I can fit between arm rests! Lol!)

Good thinking! I'm sure it's true, too, possibly not an inch and a half.. but the concept is sound.
We also (obviously) lose from our rumps. Now, I always thought the impact of it shrinking would be a visual thing.. sure, you can SEE it's smaller, and of course, you can wear smaller clothes.
What I hadn't really thought about was how much lower I would sit in seats! It's like I had a booster seat attached, and now that it is disappearing, there is more head-space in the car, chair arm rests seem higher, etc. (And I can fit between arm rests! Lol!)

Yeah not an inch and a half part of it was me fudging

On 2017-08-23 at 6:07 PM, Apple1 said:

What makes you think my new set point will be 130? That is what I weighed the year I graduated high school ?.

for some reason I think it will be higher but closer to 150. That is the weight that I maintained most of my adult life in between having my kids. I was still very skinny at that weight a size 2-4. I think i look too skinny when i see old photos, but maybe my perceptions have changed?

Uh yeah, if you were ever that low then I would say odds of getting there or lower are high. My lowest ever was 142 (at lowest weight in high school and briefly in my 20's) . I'm 140 right now and I'm not sure I've stopped. I thought I had stopped at 148 end again 144. And yet here I sit at 140

I am getting a dexa scan and my RMR tested next Thursday. I think this will help me determine where my calories should be in maintenance.

I am a bit obsessive with tracking my food intake and I was hoping I could start to eventually wean myself from having to do this. I don't overeat. I can put 5 oz of food on my plate and I still only eat 4oz.

I think I need to keep tracking until I have reached goal and maintained for a couple of months and then re-evaluate. I am more afraid of not eating enough.

On 2017-08-25 at 11:27 AM, Apple1 said:

I am getting a dexa scan and my RMR tested next Thursday. I think this will help me determine where my calories should be in maintenance.

I am a bit obsessive with tracking my food intake and I was hoping I could start to eventually wean myself from having to do this. I don't overeat. I can put 5 oz of food on my plate and I still only eat 4oz.

I think I need to keep tracking until I have reached goal and maintained for a couple of months and then re-evaluate. I am more afraid of not eating enough.

You will love the Dexa scan. I do it every 3 months since April. I've dropped from obese to healthy since then and gained a bit of muscle. Next one in September.

Ok so I just got back from my RMR and body scan. Believe it or not my RMR is

1970 ? I was quite surprised at this, but the technician was not. He told me that people who run 3-5 days per week tend to have faster metabolism even at rest.

so now the not so great news. My % body fat was 34 ? Which sucks, but I am hoping to get it under thirty in the next 6 months continuing with my diet and exercise plan.

So the take home message is that with my running I will probably need to consume somewhere close to 2300calories per day to stop losing weight. I am not sure how, but I am going to start by adding in an extra meal per day and see where that gets me.

Ok so I just got back from my RMR and body scan. Believe it or not my RMR is

1970 ? I was quite surprised at this, but the technician was not. He told me that people who run 3-5 days per week tend to have faster metabolism even at rest.

so now the not so great news. My % body fat was 34 ? Which sucks, but I am hoping to get it under thirty in the next 6 months continuing with my diet and exercise plan.

So the take home message is that with my running I will probably need to consume somewhere close to 2300calories per day to stop losing weight. I am not sure how, but I am going to start by adding in an extra meal per day and see where that gets me.

P.s. I do intend to get to my goal weight first before I worry to much about adding in more calories.

1970???!!! That is outstanding!!!

I'll say that having the higher body fat is a good thing, so when you dip down below 150lbs, you aren't gonna panic.

Shoot, now I need to go get me done! (Have to wait a couple months to have the money though... maybe for my birthday in November).

Ok, so.. difference between % body fat and BMI.. your BMI is 25ish, percent body fat is 34 (I actually thought there was a closer relationship between the two).

Healthy for women is considered 21% to 33%.

20 minutes ago, Berry78 said:

1970???!!! That is outstanding!!!

I'll say that having the higher body fat is a good thing, so when you dip down below 150lbs, you aren't gonna panic.

Shoot, now I need to go get me done! (Have to wait a couple months to have the money though... maybe for my birthday in November).

Ok, so.. difference between % body fat and BMI.. your BMI is 25ish, percent body fat is 34 (I actually thought there was a closer relationship between the two).

Healthy for women is considered 21% to 33%.

Yea, I'll be happy to move into the average category. This just means I need to build some more muscle. I knew going into this that I am weak..lol

The surprise was how fast my metabolism was. I guess my thyroid meds are at the correct dose. It will be interesting to see how accurate this measurement really is once I start trying to maintain.

@Berry78 I just wanted to thank you for always being so helpful to everyone on these forums. You are always offering encouragement when people need it and you go way beyond in posting great information.

Aww.. thanks! I'm happy to help! I'm learning so much by being here too!

I also asked the technician about calories and healthy metabolisms. He said you should never stay below 1200 for any length of time. Now he was not super experienced with WLS patients, but he felt that as soon as you could eat more healthy foods and get your calories up you should. I am glad that I have been able to eat in the 900-1200 range for the past few weeks. I am definitely going to make an effort to hit 1200 everyday.

This is a big question mark for me. I think we can get away with it because of the protein shakes and vitamins.. but most of us can still lose effectively eating 1200, so why not? Better safe than sorry.

3 minutes ago, Berry78 said:

This is a big question mark for me. I think we can get away with it because of the Protein Shakes and vitamins.. but most of us can still lose effectively eating 1200, so why not? Better safe than sorry.

My thinking is I would rather lose slowly and preserve my metabolism then stay at starvation levels of calories and end up needing to eat 1200 calories for the rest of my life to maintain.

I know there are people that gain weight at those levels, but I always wonder if they have un-diagnosed issues, like thyroid, adrenal, ect...

On 8/24/2017 at 3:51 PM, Berry78 said:

What I hadn't really thought about was how much lower I would sit in seats! It's like I had a booster seat attached, and now that it is disappearing, there is more head-space in the car, chair arm rests seem higher, etc. (And I can fit between arm rests! Lol!)

Omg I'm rolling here!!!!! Hahahahaha