Slowing down weight loss

[clifhiker 9]

yeah who knew that losing TOO MUCH would ever be a concern but

I'm coming up on my three-month anniversary of gastric sleeve. Have had no problems really at all ... Started at 280 with the two week pre-op diet and weighed 218 this morning. Never really stalled at all and am starting to wonder what's going to happen when I reach my weight target (190). I eat four meals a day but only 200-300 calories per meal so averaging around a 1000 cal/day. I swim 2-3 times a week and do yoga 2-3 times a week and I make sure I hit my Protein goals every day.

And am never really hungry. In fact my afternoon meals often leave me feeling like I ate too much. When I reach my goal how will I add calories? 1000 cal/day is not sustainable forever ... is it?

[Jaelzion 1,123]

3 months is still pretty early in the process. Over time, many people get some or all of their appetite back. For me, after year 1, I got about 60% of my pre-surgery appetite back. I'm hungry less intensely and less often than I did before surgery, but I do get hungry. As I was approaching my weight loss goal, my doctor advised me to incorporate higher calorie foods like avocado and nuts (more calories but not more volume). And that worked to slow and then stop my weight loss. Ironically, I do eat about 1000 calories per day, but I'm normal weight at this point, I'm older and I'm short at 5'1". So my BMR is pretty low. With all your activity and being a bigger person overall, I'd expect your eventual maintenance level of intake will be higher than mine.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Jaelzion

[catwoman7 10,844]

6 hours ago, clifhiker said:

yeah who knew that losing TOO MUCH would ever be a concern but

I'm coming up on my three-month anniversary of gastric sleeve. Have had no problems really at all ... Started at 280 with the two week pre-op diet and weighed 218 this morning. Never really stalled at all and am starting to wonder what's going to happen when I reach my weight target (190). I eat four meals a day but only 200-300 calories per meal so averaging around a 1000 cal/day. I swim 2-3 times a week and do yoga 2-3 times a week and I make sure I hit my Protein goals every day.

And am never really hungry. In fact my afternoon meals often leave me feeling like I ate too much. When I reach my goal how will I add calories? 1000 cal/day is not sustainable forever ... is it?

calorie levels once you reach your goal vary widely among people. It depends on so many things - height, gender, age, what BMI you're trying to maintain (is it at the low end of normal? In the middle? High end? Overweight (but not obese?), how muscular you are, how active you are, metabolic rate, genetics....yada yada yada).

I know WLS patients (in maintenance) who maintain on 1200 calories (or some even fewer than that), and some who maintain on 2000 calories (this is women - it'd be different for men).

I would expect at 5'9" and hoping to maintain at 190 calories, you'll be able to eat a lot more than 1000 calories once you hit goal, esp if you're active.

I'm 5'6", prefer being at the higher end of my BMI, pretty muscular, pretty active, in my 60s, and can maintain on about 1700 kcal/day, if that helps...

[catwoman7 10,844]

6 hours ago, clifhiker said:

yeah who knew that losing TOO MUCH would ever be a concern but

I'm coming up on my three-month anniversary of gastric sleeve. Have had no problems really at all ... Started at 280 with the two week pre-op diet and weighed 218 this morning. Never really stalled at all and am starting to wonder what's going to happen when I reach my weight target (190). I eat four meals a day but only 200-300 calories per meal so averaging around a 1000 cal/day. I swim 2-3 times a week and do yoga 2-3 times a week and I make sure I hit my Protein goals every day.

And am never really hungry. In fact my afternoon meals often leave me feeling like I ate too much. When I reach my goal how will I add calories? 1000 cal/day is not sustainable forever ... is it?

oh - just so you know - it seems like the majority of us gain about 10-20 lbs after hitting bottom, and then we more-or-less stabilize there. So you might want to account for that "bounce back weight" and shoot for a little lower than your goal before calling it a day.

[Arabesque 6,423]

For a male at your height, no, 1000 calories a day is not sustainable but that it the next struggle. Finding what works for you (activity level, calorie intake) that allows you to maintain at a weight you are happy at & allows you to enjoy your life as you want.

You will find that you can eat more as you get closer to your goal weight. By 6 months, when I hit goal, I could eat a good 1/2 - 3/4 cup of food or about 3oz Protein plus vegetables depending what I was eating & less than 1000 calories a day.

Honestly, I did struggle to maintain & kept losing. I added additional Snacks that were protein rich & fruit. I also added some multi or whole grains though I still am pretty low carb in general. I can eat more like a cup of food or 3-4oz protein + vegetables now. I’ve been pretty stable for a few months now too. Actually my GP told me I was exactly the same weight today as I was in September last year though I sit about a kg more than my lowest weight at the start of this year.

I eat about 1200 calories a day to maintain. Oh, and I’m not very active.

[ms.sss 14,619]

17 hours ago, clifhiker said:

And am never really hungry. In fact my afternoon meals often leave me feeling like I ate too much. When I reach my goal how will I add calories? 1000 cal/day is not sustainable forever ... is it?

From what I have read in the couple years I've been a member of this forum, for a majority of people (mostly women) no, 1000 cals a day is not usually a maintenance calorie level. However, as indicated by @Jaelzion and @Arabesque above, they do exist...but they are already at a low-ish BMI (and on the short side - sorry ladies) so they wouldn't need alot of calories to exist anyway. As a 5'9" male, 1000 cals a day with moderate exercise for an extended period of time will likely put you in the "underweight" category eventually if you were to continue (barring any medical issues).

I've read of many people (myself included) who had a meh attitude about food for months (But there are also others who did not). As people near goal, there are alot who worry about losing too much weight. But I have yet to read of anyone who have been in maintenance beyond a year who continued to lose weight to below a "normal" BMI range, AND struggling to put it back on. Of course they may be some out there who just aren't posting. Though I'm going to assume its on the rare-ish side.

It is a bit of trial and error to figure out your sweet spot AFTER weight loss. I've read alot of folks post about their struggles/efforts to figure it out. It took me 3-4 months and losing a further 10+ lbs to figure it out. Even now, 2.5+ years post-op, I still go through periods of needing to re-figure stuff out, as changes in my activity level has an effect on my established sweet spot.

But at three months out, with another 90lbs to lose, you still have a few months to find out how you will fare, and by then, the extreme restriction and aversion to food will likely wane.

P.S. I went from eating 300-400 cals in the first 3 months to 700-800 cals by month 7 to 2000+ cals 6-9 months into maintenance. I was at 1200-1500 earlier this year (due to injury), but now that I am recently back to be able to exercise again, I am around 1800 a day. I've been within the normal BMI range the whole time. I'm female, 5'2", 110lbs.

P.P.S. I realize BMI is not always the best indicator of health, but its the best we can refer to in an anonymous internet forum.

P.P.P.S Good Luck! ❤️, and congrats on your weight loss so far!

Edited April 14, 2021 by ms.sss

[Jaelzion 1,123]

15 minutes ago, ms.sss said:

...for a majority of people (mostly women) no, 1000 cals a day is not usually a maintenance calorie level. However, as indicated by @Jaelzion and @Arabesque above, they do exist...but they are already at a low-ish BMI (and on the short side - sorry ladies)...

It's okay, at 5'1" I'm at peace with being short, LOL. I'll be at the forefront of the petite revolution, LOL. And it is important to note that my level of intake is nowhere near average. I'm small overall, in late middle age, female, and I have a lifetime history of yoyo dieting (so my body is very efficient at conserving calories). No one should expect to eat the way I do in maintenance.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Jaelzion

[ms.sss 14,619]

3 minutes ago, Jaelzion said:

It's okay, at 5'1" I'm at peace with being short, LOL. I'll be at the forefront of the petite revolution, LOL.

You are obviously much more mentally stable than I am. I would gladly jump ship from the shorty boat for 4 inches.

H*ll, I'd do it for 2.

Edited April 14, 2021 by ms.sss

[mswillis5 127]

This topic is actually very relevant to me. I was just about your statistics when I was at peak weight. When I was on preop I was only 260 but that is what I consider my starting weight. I now weigh 165. Now that I am at a point below my goal weight, I am adding in more calories a day. I recently 1 additional snack a day and if my weight loss continues, then I will add in another. I will continue to add calories until my weight stabilizes and will work on keeping that amount of calories daily when that happens.

[Arabesque 6,423]

13 hours ago, ms.sss said:

However, as indicated by @Jaelzion and @Arabesque above, they do exist...but they are already at a low-ish BMI (and on the short side - sorry ladies) so they wouldn't need alot of calories to exist anyway.

No need to apologise @ms.sss, especially as you’re a fellow shorty. 😆😆😆 Like @Jaelzion I’m at peace with my height. I used to say if only my short legs were in proportion with the rest of me I’d be 3-4 inches taller & very happy but now it’s just who I am. Though, I’m not the shortest in my family anymore as my mother has shrunk about 3 inches putting her just shorter than me & I’ve happily passed that title to her.

[clifhiker 9]

On 4/13/2021 at 10:11 PM, catwoman7 said:

oh - just so you know - it seems like the majority of us gain about 10-20 lbs after hitting bottom, and then we more-or-less stabilize there. So you might want to account for that "bounce back weight" and shoot for a little lower than your goal before calling it a day.

thanks! That's good advice! I may readjust my goal to 175 or so ... just never dreamed I'd ever reach that weight in the first place. I played high school football at 175 haha