The Maintenance Thread

[sillykitty 10,787]

6 minutes ago, AZhiker said:

Ok, my calculated BMR is 1534. I will be expending about 1000 calories on my bike tomorrow so that means I need to eat 2500 cal. Sheesh, that's a lot.

My online calculator BMR is 1380. My BMR from my Dexa scan is 1282.

I maintain averaging 2000-ish calories (Doing practically no exercise)

[ms.sss 15,817]

56 minutes ago, AZhiker said:

Ok, my calculated BMR is 1534. I will be expending about 1000 calories on my bike tomorrow so that means I need to eat 2500 cal. Sheesh, that's a lot.

You are right, it does seem like alot doesn't it? Especially if you are used to eating 700-800 cals for the past several months.

I packed in almost 3000 cals just yesterday, half of which came from snacking out of a mixed nuts canister all day, hahahaha. They were candied nuts, so probably not the best choice, but I probably still could have reached the same caloric intake if I ate the same weight in plain macadamia nuts. I would never have thought i would be able to do this 5 months ago (I've long since realized, it's really quite easy to do, intentional or not, LOL)

IF you want to up your cals, you totally can (again, only if you reeeeeaaaaaallly want to) and are willing to put in the effort to tweak your diet. Though it sounds like you are quite ok going at your own pace you've set for now, and accept any collateral weight loss over immediate diet changes. And that's totally OK. Actually, its awesome because you understand the choices and their consequences and you made one. And that is waaaay better than wringing one's hands in despair, and made impotent of making decisions, right?

You know yourself best, and what you are willing to do. You are doing great!

[Sheribear68 3,201]

Thanks so much everyone for the positive feedback and the sensible advice.

I’m still not sure which way I’m going to go yet.
My addictive personality, perfectionism and type A persona some days wants to see how far I can go.
My science-brain and logic centers counsel against getting carried away.

Honestly I’m leaning toward the 80/20 rule and seeing if I can IF and keep carbs under control 5-6 days weekly and then allow myself a little flexibility the rest of the time and see where my body settles.
If I gain weight, then I know how to get back on track. If I lose weight, then I’m wearing looser clothes
If I lose A LOT more weight (over 10-15 pounds more) then I’ll really start to get worried and will have to come up with another plan.

I truly feel like another 5-8 pounds of fat being lost wouldn’t be the end of the world and my skin is already hopeless in places.
Then of course is the question of if/when my body settles into a different shape.
Good news for me is that the first place I would have plastics would be some kind of facelift so I still have more time to see where everything’s gonna settle.

[AZhiker 2,253]

10 hours ago, ms.sss said:

You are right, it does seem like alot doesn't it? Especially if you are used to eating 700-800 cals for the past several months.

I packed in almost 3000 cals just yesterday, half of which came from snacking out of a mixed nuts canister all day, hahahaha. They were candied nuts, so probably not the best choice, but I probably still could have reached the same caloric intake if I ate the same weight in plain macadamia nuts. I would never have thought i would be able to do this 5 months ago (I've long since realized, it's really quite easy to do, intentional or not, LOL)

IF you want to up your cals, you totally can (again, only if you reeeeeaaaaaallly want to) and are willing to put in the effort to tweak your diet. Though it sounds like you are quite ok going at your own pace you've set for now, and accept any collateral weight loss over immediate diet changes. And that's totally OK. Actually, its awesome because you understand the choices and their consequences and you made one. And that is waaaay better than wringing one's hands in despair, and made impotent of making decisions, right?

You know yourself best, and what you are willing to do. You are doing great!

I am also trying to tweak the best way to get in calories on high exercise days, without upsetting my intestines. So far, it seems to be working to eat a big bowl of cooked Cereal (today it is oats, quinoa, teff, flaxmeal, amaranth) with Protein Powder and soy milk - at least an hour before exercise. Then use RX bars during the exercise. I will be riding for about 3 hours today, so we'll see if this continues to work well. My 50 miler is in 2 weeks, and I don't want to run into issues with diarrhea along the route - worst nightmare. Thanks for all the input.

[ms.sss 15,817]

12 minutes ago, AZhiker said:

I am also trying to tweak the best way to get in calories on high exercise days, without upsetting my intestines. So far, it seems to be working to eat a big bowl of cooked Cereal (today it is oats, quinoa, teff, flaxmeal, amaranth) with Protein Powder and soy milk - at least an hour before exercise. Then use RX bars during the exercise. I will be riding for about 3 hours today, so we'll see if this continues to work well. My 50 miler is in 2 weeks, and I don't want to run into issues with diarrhea along the route - worst nightmare. Thanks for all the input.

My Mr. is also an avid rider. He's told me before that he can lose up to 8lbs during a single ride (mind you he rides stupidly long distances at stupidly high speeds). I see him packing his tool kit with these before every ride. I've never tasted them, but he seems to like them, and so does the Kid who packs a couple in her swim bag for meets.

368 cals per serving total with less than 1g of sugar.

I know you aren't a vegan, but it says "Suitable for Vegans", LOL. He orders them from Amazon

   

[mousecat88 2,281]

16 hours ago, sillykitty said:

How did you figure out your BMR?

The Tanita Body Composition Analyzer from the bariatric surgeon's office.

[mousecat88 2,281]

16 hours ago, GreenTealael said:

Are you taking those fancy carb blockers you (or someone) posted about awhile ago?

I think I remember reading it helps with the effects of how carbs react in your system.

I wasn't taking carb blockers - the only supplements I take that aren't traditional Vitamins are pre-workouts which do (allegedly) have a fat burning component. But I haven't been taking those since I haven't been to the gym in 2 months now.

[GreenTealael 25,590]

4 minutes ago, mousecat88 said:

I wasn't taking carb blockers - the only supplements I take that aren't traditional Vitamins are pre-workouts which do (allegedly) have a fat burning component. But I haven't been taking those since I haven't been to the gym in 2 months now.

Rats... Thought that might help with eating carbs again 😔

[sillykitty 10,787]

15 minutes ago, mousecat88 said:

The Tanita Body Composition Analyzer from the bariatric surgeon's office.

Got it.

Might want to take that with a grain of salt. My Dexa scan put me at 1282, which is somewhere close to 2/3-1/2 of what I maintain at.

[mousecat88 2,281]

7 minutes ago, sillykitty said:

Got it.

Might want to take that with a grain of salt. My Dexa scan put me at 1282, which is somewhere close to 2/3-1/2 of what I maintain at.

Either way, I am eating about half that anyways. This is very challenging.

[Gundy 139]

Very successful surgery. Normal BMI and had settled in at 151 and normal BMI. This lasted many months until I got careless and started grazing and adding sweets. My weight increased 4 pounds in a short amount of time.

I’m getting back into my plan, 3 high Protein meals per day and two healthy Snacks, not drinking with meals, and at least 60 ounces of protein and fluids per day. I refuse to allow myself to negate all my hard work.

[GreenTealael 25,590]

1 hour ago, Gundy said:

Very successful surgery. Normal BMI and had settled in at 151 and normal BMI. This lasted many months until I got careless and started grazing and adding sweets. My weight increased 4 pounds in a short amount of time.

I’m getting back into my plan, 3 high Protein meals per day and two healthy Snacks, not drinking with meals, and at least 60 ounces of Protein and fluids per day. I refuse to allow myself to negate all my hard work.

I can gain 4 lbs overnight no lie but i understand the fear

[Cheeseburgh 3,084]

My BMR was calculated at 1250, I believe it’s correct. I’ve been eating 1000-1300 calories a day for about 2.5 months now and my weight is stable. I’m not working out as hard as I should be, once I get motivated to jump back into that I’ll probably be able to up my calories.

My metabolism seemed like it just switched off at menopause. Prior to that I could eat whatever I wanted and I never gained weight.

So far I’m finding this range easy to stay in, I know that won’t last forever.

[FluffyChix 17,418]

Here's mine. I think cuz of the drug I'm on for cancer, I have to figure I'm sedentary rather than light activity. That is about right with my average.

I'm maintaining between 1100 and 1200 average.

[AZhiker 2,253]

4 hours ago, ms.sss said:

My Mr. is also an avid rider. He's told me before that he can lose up to 8lbs during a single ride (mind you he rides stupidly long distances at stupidly high speeds). I see him packing his tool kit with these before every ride. I've never tasted them, but he seems to like them, and so does the Kid who packs a couple in her swim bag for meets.

368 cals per serving total with less than 1g of sugar.

I know you aren't a vegan, but it says "Suitable for Vegans", LOL. He orders them from Amazon

They are pure carbs, which I fear could lead to dumping with me. I am using RX bars which have 210 calories, 24 gm carbs, but also 12 gm Protein. My hubby is also a rider, but he does the 100+ mile events, while I am just shooting for a 50. He also uses similar pure carb goo on his rides. I have been eating 1/4 - 1/3 RX bar every 6-8 miles and it seems to be working. However today I ate the last 2/3 of a bar all at once, and I got cramps in my gut and had to stop at a park restroom 30 minutes later. Soooooo...... it's all a grand experiment to see what and how much and how often to use these dense supplements. BTW, my ride was 3 hours today and besides 2 bars, I sipped down 50 oz of Water. I was 3 pounds lighter when I got back. I know that is all water loss, but gee whiz, I was drinking the whole time and my pee stayed light colored. Amazing how much Fluid is lost with activity.