How did you know that you were done losing?

[Fazzini Bee 76]

I am 10 months PO. Haven't lost weight in a month or two. I don't know if I am done losing or if I need to dial in my eating more.

I get around 1000-1200 Cal's a day 60g protien and 30g of sugar. I try to shoot much lower for sugar than that, but that's just an average. I've lost 96 lbs total but would like to lose 20 more.

[Hop_Scotch 1,625]

You are not done, you can still lose some weight.

Though you are at a lower BMI now, and with your height (and without now your age or incidental activity level) your maintenance calories (before adding in any exercise calorie requirements) would be quite low, and wouldn't leave a lot of scope for slip ups. If you haven't already determine your calorie requirements for maintenance based on your age, gender, current weight, height...from there you can deduct an amount to allow for weight loss (maybe 500 per day?).

If you aren't already make sure you are weighing your foods, eyeballing volumes doesn't cut it, and don't rely on 1/2 cup or cup volumes as calories will vary greatly as contents settle etc. Weigh everything, buy some food scales if you don't already have some.

My fitness pal site can help calculate weight loss calorie requirements, you could also track your current food intake for a week see where its at and where it can be tweaked. If you prefer not to use MFP, start with determining daily calorie requirements. https://tdeecalculator.net/

[Recidivist 1,141]

My original goal weight was arbitrary, since I hadn't been anywhere near that weight in more than 30 years. Once I got to my original goal weight, I decided to lose ten more pounds based primarily on a gut reaction (how I looked and felt).

That turned out to be my ideal weight--but I kept losing after I reached it and had to try to gain eight pounds (which was such a strange concept). Since then, it has been a process of trial and error to find the find the right number of calories and types of foods that will keep me there, and I'm still tinkering with it.

[summerset 5,261]

8 hours ago, Fazzini Bee said:

I am 10 months PO. Haven't lost weight in a month or two. I don't know if I am done losing or if I need to dial in my eating more.

Hmmmmmmmmm, IMO I think this is a tough question to answer because one has to take several things into consideration, "desired weight" (can you hear this little voice of vanity in the head?) is unfortunately just one. When I look at BMI 30 my gut reaction is: "You're not done and there is wiggle room!" - but this is just gut reaction and looking at the weight/BMI only.

IMO one should keep several things in mind, e. g.:

- how do you feel physically at this weight?

- how healthy are you now?

- do you like yourself when looking into the mirror? (loose skin being out of the equation)

- does the possibility of having to exercise more sound appalling or appealing?

- do you want to restrict your diet even more?

- you you think you could be happy at the weight you're now?

An interesting concept is that of "best weight". https://obesitycanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Best-Weight-Book.pdf

I think the whole PDF is worth a read but the concept of best weight is explained on page 12 and I think it can be applied to WLS patients as well:

Quote

A patient’s best weight is therefore whatever weight they achieve while living the healthiest lifestyle they can truly enjoy. There comes a point when a person cannot eat less or exercise more and still like their life. The weight they attain while still liking their life is thus their “best” weight, [as without the addition of pharmacotherapy or a surgical intervention, no further weight loss will be possible].

[BayougirlMrsS 3,933]

I know when i got the band my body stopped losing at 143. I am 5'2" and my SW was 232#. There i stayed for 7+ years. Until i had to get her out 3 years ago in 2017. Over the last few years, i put back 30#. I decided to do a revision and got sleeved 8/28/19. SW 173.5, today 129. My weight loss is slowing and currently only losing about a pound a month.

Your body will definitely decide on where it wants to be. But, you have to be doing everything you can to make sure you are doing your part. Continue to portion out your food and exercise. You will benefit greatly from logging in and weighting/portioning what you eat. Exercising in a different way will help also.

If you simply cut back your cal to 1000 per day and up your exercise... you will start to lose again.

[AJ Tylo 1,398]

Just posted this a week ago, You can blow past your doctors guess and reach any healthy weight. Mix up your calorie intake One day go 1000 next go 500. Also Fasting works do a 10 hour fast then eat healthy then go to bed and fast another 8 while sleeping, You have to trick your body back into burning instead of storing.

Its rather easy to do- For me the fasting broke it loose again.

[catwoman7 10,846]

7 hours ago, summerset said:

Hmmmmmmmmm, IMO I think this is a tough question to answer because one has to take several things into consideration, "desired weight" (can you hear this little voice of vanity in the head?) is unfortunately just one. When I look at BMI 30 my gut reaction is: "You're not done and there is wiggle room!" - but this is just gut reaction and looking at the weight/BMI only.

IMO one should keep several things in mind, e. g.:

- how do you feel physically at this weight?

- how healthy are you now?

- do you like yourself when looking into the mirror? (loose skin being out of the equation)

- does the possibility of having to exercise more sound appalling or appealing?

- do you want to restrict your diet even more?

- you you think you could be happy at the weight you're now?

An interesting concept is that of "best weight". https://obesitycanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Best-Weight-Book.pdf

I think the whole PDF is worth a read but the concept of best weight is explained on page 12 and I think it can be applied to WLS patients as well:

I agree with all of this.

I knew I was done when I could see every rib and I would have been embarrassed for people to see them. There were some tops I couldn't buy or wear because the collars were too low and people could see a bunch of bones (I'm fine with my collarbones showing - but my ribs, no - that was a bit too much). Plus I had a DEXA scan once which showed a fat percentage of 22% (which is considered lean for a woman) - yet I lost another 15 or so pounds after that -- meaning my body fat was probably WAY too low when I was at my lowest weight. I wanted to at least get back up to a 22% body fat range. Also, I wanted to be at a weight that I could maintain without too much difficulty. I was totally fine with having to watch what I ate and counting calories - as well as getting regular, moderate exercise - but anything where I'd have to take extreme measures to maintain a low weight - no, I didn't want that.

that said, one can always lose more weight. But at some point, do you want to continue doing so - for all those reasons Summerset listed?

Edited March 25, 2020 by catwoman7

[looly 361]

This is an interesting question, because I thought I'd finished losing weight after 19 months. However, I recently had to do another liver-shrinking diet in anticipation of another operation (subsequently cancelled). I had to diet for 5 days and lost 4 lbs. I ate about 600-800 calories a day. I was surprised that I could manage this and it made me think I could use this again in the future....I could lose weight for 5 days, then just carry on maintaining my weight the rest of the time. Hmmmm….could work!

[looly 361]

…..However, as regards when you know you've lost enough weight - it's when you're happy with your loss and feel good surely?

[summerset 5,261]

12 minutes ago, looly said:

…..However, as regards when you know you've lost enough weight - it's when you're happy with your loss and feel good surely?

I think this can be a slippery slope. Too many people think of themselves as "failures" because they don't manage to reach and/or maintain a normal BMI but "only" a BMI of maybe 27 or 28 and are therefore not happy with what they've accomplished.

They only focus on "these last 10 lbs" and make themselves miserable, sometimes almost completely ignoring (or so it seems) the fact that they've maybe lost over 100 lbs.

They cry a river over the fact that they "gained 15 lbs back" despite having lost 150 lbs and now maintain a weight loss of 135 lbs, again feeling like failures.

It makes me sad how people sometimes sabotage themselves this way. And yes, I believe that this is some kind of self-sabotage, too - they're self-sabotaging in regards to "being happy".

Edited March 25, 2020 by summerset

[looly 361]

That's an interesting point of view, summerset: I hadn't considered that possibility.

I suppose there's a fine balance to be struck between feeling contented with your weight loss and avoiding significant regain. Life's complicated, innit?!

[New&Improved 1,780]

Yeah I hear you... I started at 322 and thought it would be nice to get under 200 maybe 185 but here I am 7 months later at 172lbs and still seem to be losing but very slowly of course..

I've upped my calories lately but still seem to be stable sometimes for a week other times I'll lose a lb a week..

I'm not sure exactly if I'm done losing weight it seems the bypass has really changed my metabolism I have added some carbs lately but still seem to be losing or maintaining not gaining..

I've lost 150lbs in 7 months without even really exercising.

it's amazing to see 172lbs on the scales and people starting to call me skinny or to tell me to stop losing...lol

[Neversaynever 268]

I stopped losing weight around the 1st year mark and felt disappointed. If I had known that would happen, I think I would have tried a lot harder while in the losing phase. I didn't try hard at all, it just fell off me to start with. I lost close to 7 stone/100lbs in total but wasn't happy with the loss, I wanted to lose another stone if possible but it wasn't to be. I put about half a stone on around Christmas and couldn't move it but then I had a major operation in mid March that had the same effect.

After surgery, I was too poorly to eat and my appetite disappeared. I have lost another stone/14lbs in the two weeks since surgery so I am now within grasp of being very happy at the weight I currently am. My appetite is still low so I think I may still lose a few more lbs, fingers crossed

[catwoman7 10,846]

1 hour ago, Neversaynever said:

I stopped losing weight around the 1st year mark and felt disappointed. If I had known that would happen, I think I would have tried a lot harder while in the losing phase. I didn't try hard at all, it just fell off me to start with. I lost close to 7 stone/100lbs in total but wasn't happy with the loss, I wanted to lose another stone if possible but it wasn't to be. I put about half a stone on around Christmas and couldn't move it but then I had a major operation in mid March that had the same effect.

After surgery, I was too poorly to eat and my appetite disappeared. I have lost another stone/14lbs in the two weeks since surgery so I am now within grasp of being very happy at the weight I currently am. My appetite is still low so I think I may still lose a few more lbs, fingers crossed

you can still lose - it's just harder after the first year. I kept losing until month 20. That second year was REALLY hard, but I was still able to lose my last 30-40 lbs.