So I am in the preop stages of insurance approval etc. I have been doing research and have a strange question and can't really figure out the answer. Sorry if this is a stupid question. So from what I have read a few months after surgery you will be on solid food and eating a maintenance diet (re. calories, protein etc) for the rest of your life. This will be around 800-1000 calories. So how can people still be 200 lbs. etc years later? If the average person burns a lot more than 1200 calories then that wouldn't eventually a year or 2 after surgery a person would be underweight? Do you increase your calories after a year?

4 minutes ago, 2Bsmaller18 said:

So I am in the preop stages of insurance approval etc. I have been doing research and have a strange question and can't really figure out the answer. Sorry if this is a stupid question. So from what I have read a few months after surgery you will be on solid food and eating a maintenance diet (re. calories, Protein etc) for the rest of your life. This will be around 800-1000 calories. So how can people still be 200 lbs. etc years later? If the average person burns a lot more than 1200 calories then that wouldn't eventually a year or 2 after surgery a person would be underweight? Do you increase your calories after a year?

This is such a great question!

You will want to determine your BMR. https://dailyburn.com/life/health/how-to-calculate-bmr/ Talk to your NUT about this.

Once you determine what your BMR is you will want to consume the minimum calories your body burns daily in order to maintain your current weight.

Thanks!!

1 minute ago, 2Bsmaller18 said:

Thanks!!

One thing that I imagine could be challenging during maintenance phase is to balance eating enough calories, but eating healthy food. I'd assume that you will eat more frequently, especially for folks whose restriction is still good years later.

Prior to surgery I had to have a BMR test... it turned out that my BMR was barely 1500kcal. (I should preface this with my NUT used the calculator and told me my cal should be around 1572) So when I thought I was supposed to lose weight, it was slowly creeping on. I was unintentionally over eating daily.


I suppose post surgery it has gone down (my scale says its 1332), but I'm hoping once my weight loss stabilizes I'll be given another test to ensure my final Maintenance calories are appropriately lined for me.

yes, your appetite will be non-existent during the initial rapid weight loss phase.

then, as you get to your goal weight, you will notice that you will experience normal hunger sensations again and can comfortably eat more food. this worries a lot of people because they think they are "stretching their pouch" (not a thing) and are on the road to regain. but that is not the case. rather, your body is saying "okay, i'm at the weight i should be at now, lets eat some more food so i don't waste away to nothing!"

in short, as long as you eat healthy whole foods a good 90% of the time, you can let your new appetite be your guide. if your body is hungry, feed it healthy food until you are satisfied. no need to count calories or portion sizes. if you have no appetite/hunger, don't eat! it's pretty simple.

the danger is if you go back to sugary/processed food. don't do that. fast food, junk food, processed food, alcohol, sweets... all of that should be part of your past. those foods distort your body's natural hunger signals (insulin rollercoaster, food reward balance) and you can very well gain weight in the long-term by doing so.

Edited October 5, 20187 yr by JohnnyCakes

(psssst @JohnnyCakes) Good to see you 'round these parts! Congrats on continued goal maintenance!