So I am coming up on my 1yr mark. While I am happy that I've lost 142lbs from HW in Feb 2018, 93lbs since sleeve, my weight loss has virtually been stalled. My macros are have been on point(1200-1400 cals, 90-125g protein, 50-60g carbs per day) while walking 4mi six days per week plus 1.5hrs lifting at gym 4-5 days per week. Per Apple watch, I am burning 4500-5500 cals per day depending on workouts but yet scale has not moved in more than 2lbs in two months. Frustrated as heck but I haven't let off the gas pedal. My personal goal is to lose another 35lbs while getting by BF 15-20%. Definitely have much more noticeable definition in arms, shoulders, and legs but yet scale not moving. Could overtraining be the reason for my stall??? Am I just not able to get enough calories in to keep metabolism burning?? Have I reached my loss period??? I am afraid if I lower cals, I'll start to lose my muscle gains. Any trainers out here with experience in bariatric surgery? Anyone go through this??

Edited May 23, 20197 yr by GansettRam74

On 5/26/2019 at 3:22 PM, AngieBear said:

On the high end, depending on his actual muscle mass. Which is FAR different than the 4500-5500 his watch is claiming. 800-1800 cals a day different. Also of note is that your body will become more efficient at certain exercises - like walking, lowering your calorie burn while doing it.

Unfortunately, adding muscle does not increase your rmr like what we would like. This article by James Fell breaks it down pretty well. https://www.latimes.com/health/la-xpm-2011-may-16-la-he-fitness-muscle-myth-20110516-story.html

I think this article both makes and misses a couple of great points.

What it gets right:

1. Muscle mass does not increase RMR as much as people believe it does.

2. It is not easy to add significant amounts of lean mass - especially in a calorie deficit - especially with age - especially with other comorbidities.

What it get's wrong:

1. The goal for us post-op should be to reduce muscle loss as much as possible. It is far easier to keep what was already there supporting our greater pre-op weight than it is to lose the lean mass and then try and get it back.

2. The contribution of muscle mass to RMR does not have to be that large to be beneficial. Rough numbers of course but assuming 3500 calories in 1lb of adipose tissue and a 50lb weight gain over 5 years is a 175,000 calorie excess over 1825 days or an average daily excess of just 100 calories. Could preserving 20lbs muscle during during a 100lbs weight loss be beneficial? Using the article's 6 calories per pound of muscle per day that equals an additional 120 calories per day.

3. The best way to maintain muscle mass is lifting weights. The benefit is not only during the actual exercise but also in the post-exercise period where metabolic rate and protein synthesis remain elevated. This along with HIIT gives you 'twofer" as far as calories burned and also maintains muscles mass. I know people's abilities here vary greatly but resistance training has been shown be beneficial across the board for those who can tolerate it.

The fact is many of us gained weight over a sufficiently long period of time that while in a calories excess (and yes I know there are compensatory changes to metabolism both in a calorie excess and deficit but let's keep it simple) that actual excess was not huge. Just 100 calories per day over 10 years will give a 100lbs gain.

So my point...I think maintaining muscle mass during weight loss is absolutely important to longterm weight loss and maintenance...evenif the contribution to RMR is not as high as what that charlatan Dr. Oz claims.

Edited June 25, 20197 yr by PWMDMD

OP...I don't think you're eating nearly enough. Over-training is real and counter productive and there is only so much the human body can do on a 3600 calorie per day deficit before it shuts down non-vital processes and goes into extreme preservation mode.

Even if at my greatest weight loss rate I was at a 3500 calories deficit it was in the beginning during recovery sitting on the couch and doing almost nothing. As my activity level increased I had to increase my calorie intake. At the moment I'm at my lowest weight....I've been stable for 5 months...lifting heavy and consuming 2500-3000 calories per day and I'm battling the beginning stages of over-training. At 1400 calories per day....forget about it....I wouldn't be able to get out of bed in the morning with my currently workout routine.

On 6/1/2019 at 12:48 PM, insta_adventurer said:

Just chiming in as a fellow post-op fitness fan... I’ve personally noticed that as the weight has dropped and training has made me fitter, I actually need to train harder to get the same results that I used to get. Why? It takes a lot more effort to get my heart rate up and keep it up now. I really need to push myself to get to 140bpm during a workout. What’s your heart rate at during your workouts?

However, building muscle is supposed to increase metabolism, so whether or not you’re burning calories during the workout, your metabolism should see a boost from the muscle mass you’ve built up.

Good luck!

The gains of beginner vs intermediate vs advanced are real and very predictable. The farther you go in fitness the more difficult it is to see any gains/increases (in what ever you're measuring - strength, running time, exercise capacity, distance, etc).

I think your calories are way too low for the way you are working out. I am over a year out, exercise 5 days a week, and I am eating 1500-1700 calories a day. Since getting back to my regular exercise schedule with burning an average of 400 calories per workout, I am back to losing 2 pounds a week. I am 3 pounds from my personal goal, but I think I may try and lose about 10 more to give myself a few bounce back pounds in the future, so I may have to actually increase my calories eventually.

I'm not going to give diet advice on bariatrics and fitness level. It's not as simple as a one size fits all.

I've used my bariatric and a sports medicine dietician. Problem is bariatric dietitian had no idea of what to do with my fitness level. Sports medicine had no education in bariatrics but, they were great resources. Much of my diet changes with distance running has been trial and error. I've had some advice/opinions came from vets that are bariathletes. It's a learning curve to fuel your body to stay healthy an reach your goals.

https://www.google.com/search?q=bariathletes&oq=bariathletes&aqs=chrome..69i57.5198j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Another person I've been following is @NurseMichael

Some posts of his.