Am I eating too little? How not to ruin my metabolism?

[Palta 9]

Hi everyone! I'm 4 months post op (RNY) and I'm a little concerned regarding my weight loss journey in the upcoming months. The loss has started to slow down while I'm still very overweight and I'm worried about how to maintain a "normal" metabolism to be successful in long term maintenance. Would love to get your feedback as my nutritionist has not been very helpful in this sense.

Some stats and specific concerns (sorry for the long post but I want to be thorough):

• Age: 28 yo female
• Height: 5'3
• Starting weight: 297 lbs. Starting BMI: 52
• Surgery weight (Dec '19): 259 lbs
• Current weight (4 months out): 191lbs. Current BMI: 34.
• Food: My daily average intake is of about 500 calories (450-650 range) and I get about 60 grams of Protein (eat mostly protein and still use protein supplements). I follow my plan which is based on portion size and not weight or calories, but I weigh and track my intake because "eyeballing" doesn't really work for me. While I'm good in that range of food intake in terms of hunger, I could definitely eat more if "needed". I've been able to stick to my plan during coronavirus lockdown no problem.
• Exercise: Desk job. I do very light weight training about 3-4x a week and short walks on the treadmill 2x a week. I used to swim more often but now that's not a possibility.
• Other: I'm trying to up my Water intake but it's about 40 - 65 oz a day. I take all my Vitamins and supplements. I don't have diabetes or any hormonal issues that I'm aware of.

While I have been consistently losing weight (60 pounds in 4 months), I'm starting to notice a slow down and have hit a couple stalls (one lasting 3 weeks). I want to make sure that I keep a good rate so naturally I thought about increasing exercise and maintaining my current diet (reducing is not a possibility) but I'm also concerned that:

• If I start exercising a lot now to try to speed it up, then as time progresses and I hit more stalls, they will be very hard to break as the exercise would have to be incremental and there is only so much time/energy/will power that I have. So do you recommend adding more exercise at this stage to maximize loss in the first months or should I "wait" until I need the extra kick?
• Same thing with food, by eating 500 calories a day, am I sabotaging future weight loss? It will be impossible for me to cut down on calories if I hit a stall. I'm also worried that as soon as I start increasing the calorie count I will gain a lot of it back or completely stop my weight loss. I know that 500 kcal a day is not sustainable in the long run.

I have read so many threads trying to find an answer but there doesn't seem to be a right one. My nutritionist just tells me to "stick to portion size and allowed meals" and not look at calories when I ask these questions. My surgical team has told me to just follow her instructions and keep the focus on weight training.

Any personal experiences, words of advise, etc would be highly appreciated. I'm starting to obsess over these concerns of balancing maximizing weight loss in the first months (which I understand are were biggest loss is achieved) and mid/long term success. I know comparing journeys is not ideal (it has definitely been a source of frustration as I see people with lower BMIs losing faster than me)

Thanks!

Edited April 15, 2020 by Palta

[Daisyjayne 124]

I'm a sleever, but my surgeon (and I'm quoting) told me to "eat like a cavewoman and lift very heavy things" to maximise the first 6 months post surgery. Weight training will help to raise your metabolism, as will building/ retaining muscle mass. Maybe up the light weight training to heavy weight training and see if that helps. Good luck

[catwoman7 11,274]

weight loss DOES slow down after the first couple of months, so that's normal.

a lot of people seem to eat 600-800 calories/day the first few months, so you're a little low - unless of course your dietitian told you to eat 500, in which case I'd follow her guidelines as she knows you and your history and I don't.. (we were told not to count calories the first few months post-op and to just focus on Protein - but I knew how many calories I was eating because I was tracking every day - and I still do!)

you won't ruin your metabolism. You WILL need fewer calories the lower your weight gets, but that's normal. It takes a lot more calories to run a 300 lb body than it does a 140 lb body (or whatever - I just pulled those numbers out of the blue).

p.s. I just re-read your post. Yes - weight training will increase metabolism (or preserve it). It takes more calories to support a muscular body than it does a flabby one.

Edited April 15, 2020 by catwoman7

[Vsg_irl 1]

Age: 21 (female)

HW: 271

CW: 155 (9 MONTHS POST OP)

In my experience, my weightloss slowed down around 4 months movies normal. That being said, its important to keep your body guessing. Most days I eat between 600 - 800 calories. But I can eat over a thousand if I want to. I go through periods of time where I dont exercise, and then periods of time where I exercise 4 times a week. I noticed that when i was eating lower calories if i exercised a normal amount then i lost less weight. I wasnt eating enough to support my exercise. I switch between yoga, running, full body work outs, and strength training when I do exercise.

[WInston223322 161]

On 4/15/2020 at 12:21 AM, Palta said:

My nutritionist just tells me to "stick to portion size and allowed meals" and not look at calories when I ask these questions.

She is correct - Eat healthy good portions and it will shred the weight. Just finished my journey and never used a app or counted calories!

[Bastian 460]

Your weight loss is awesome! A 3 week stall is pretty par for the course, we ALL stall sooner or later and repeatedly as our metabolism adjusts

I'm 8 months out and only eat around 500 cals most days unless i eat some kind of junk food to up my calories. I just can't eat enough food to get over 500 cals with meat/veg aaaaand I don't wanna be eating junk regularly you know?

I would really try not to worry too much at this point still early days so slowly incorporate weights when ready and adjust your food then

[New&Improved 1,780]

I'm 8 months out from pre-op - 6 months from surgery lost 152lbs was on low calories and carbs for the first 6 months like max 600cal until recently I get around 1000cal most days but still some days I'll use Protein Shake if I need or I'm busy.

Sw 322

CW 170

Male 35yrs.

[Palta 9]

WOW that's an amazing loss. Congratulations!. What kind of exercise routine did you keep?

8 hours ago, Superman84 said:

I'm 8 months out from pre-op - 6 months from surgery lost 152lbs was on low calories and carbs for the first 6 months like max 600cal until recently I get around 1000cal most days but still some days I'll use Protein Shake if I need or I'm busy.

Sw 322

CW 170

Male 35yrs.

Edited April 17, 2020 by Palta

[New&Improved 1,780]

11 hours ago, Palta said:

WOW that's an amazing loss. Congratulations!. What kind of exercise routine did you keep?

To be honest not much except walking and house work.. it seems like the surgery really completely changed my metabolism it's like I can't put on weight anymore...

This morning I'm 169lbs and I've pretty much stabilised around 169-171bs for a few weeks now... I've experimented with a few treats like chocolate for Easter and a few alcoholic beverages as well and I still seem to be able to maintain my weight loss...