How to stop losing weight and start maintenance

[Lela Clark 41]

Hello. I was sleeved Dec 28, 2021. I have reached my personal weight goal. I had been eating about 800 calories per day. I talked to my nutritionist on Wednesday and she said go to 1200 calories per day. I will say this is really hard. I didn’t realize how hard it would be. It seems all I do is eat and then I’m trying to get fluids in. It is so uncomfortable. I have never been able to get 64oz. Of fluids. Probably 40oz. My nutritionist is ok with it at this point as it has been such a struggle and hard to get to that point. I weighed myself and down 2 more lbs since Wednesday. I honestly don’t want to lose anymore. Any suggestions and meal plan ideas would be greatly appreciated. Also, any idea how long it should take before the loss will stop? I don’t have another appointment until 2 weeks. I am 5’9 and 190 lbs. this is comfortable too me. I was previously banded and it malfunctioned and had to have it removed and then sleeved. I looked healthy and was good here. Thank you in advance for any suggestions

[catwoman7 10,863]

my loss eventually stopped on its own. Don't forget that most of us have a 10-20 lb rebound from our lowest weight, so I wouldn't panic too much if you go a few lbs below goal.

[ShoppGirl 3,359]

You don’t have to eat more to slowly increase your calories until you find your maintenance amount, just add in some healthy fats such as avocado, nuts, nut butter or a small amount of olive oil. And as catwoman said you will most likely gain a little weight back so keep that in mind when you decide if you really do want to stop losing.

Edited May 29, 2022 by ShoppGirl

[Spinoza 1,175]

You can add more calorie dense foods like butter, cream, oils, cheese, nut butters etc. to your cooking if you need to immediately halt your weight loss. Then longer term maybe you can think about your protein/good fat balance? I cannot wait to eat avocados without having to balance the entire rest of my day around that. My stats are very similar to yours although I had my surgery a month earlier. I for one am riding this train as far as it will take me but I know we all have our personal goals!

[Arabesque 6,476]

I experienced the same thing. Was eating less than 900 calories when I reached my goal & struggled for a while to physically eat more at any one time too. I had to snack & increased them until I was snacking 5 times a day. And yes I felt like I was eating all day long. My weight loss continued albeit very slowly & finally about 11 months after goal. I was still seeing my dietician through the first 6 months of this 11 months (Covid hit).

For my Snacks I added a second sometimes third serve of carbs (multigrain crackers), hummus, nuts, 1or 2 serves of fruit, Protein Bar, cheese, liverwurst, peanut paste, chia pudding, & used salad dressings. My dietician also suggested adding milk powder to my milk but I found it too sweet except in chia pudding. I eventually reached about 1300 calories.

It can take a little time to sort this out in a way the best suits you. While you may lose more initially, you may also have a bounce back in your 2nd/3rd year as @catwoman7 said as you settle into a way of eating that complements how you want to live & enjoy your life.

I eventually was able to eat about a recommended portion size of most foods (& I do eat slowly) & reduced my snacks to three a day. I am careful about what I eat 90% of the time. At my lowest I was 48.2kg but settled at 49kg for a good year. I put on 2 kgs a few months ago after I went on a higher dose HRT med & I had to add more Protein to my diet due to an absorption issue (from my gall removal last year not my sleeve). I made some small changes to my diet but I still eat more calories as a result of the extra protein so the weight gain is understandable.

All the best.

[ms.sss 14,670]

It may take a few months to get used to eating more…both in volume and in calories. You are not even 6 months post, so you may be limited in your volume ability.

You dont need to eat 1200 cals today…just aim to get there eventually (and trust me, you will).

I reached goal at 7 months, and it took me 4 months and an additional 15-ish lbs lost before i found my maintenance balance. For me, this was about 2000 cals a day at that time. Which honestly was a Herculean effort as I too was sub-800 cals throughout weight loss phase.

I got full really quickly back then (and still do today, but to a lesser degree) so i relied on chicharron (i.e., pork rinds/cracklins). I know, I know, its really high in fat so it may not be everyone’s bag, but for ME it was high in Protein, zero carb, and did not stuff me like meats did/do…and its SUPER high in calories.

Im 3.5 years out now and pretty much have been maintaining my weight ever since (+/- 5 lbs), and average about 1800 cals these days (eating all sorts of food, both healthy and not-so-healthy, and yes, i even eat bread now, lol)

Do what you can, a little bit at a time, and you and your body will get used to more calories AND volume eventually.

Good Luck! ❤️