Hey all, I'm still in the research phase and trying to understand what life on the other side looks like. In my first effort at losing weight the Dr. told me I have a BMR of around 2100. Does that factor into my caloric intake post surgery at all? The info from my surgeon seems to indicate that they are shooting for around 1100 calories but I'm not sure if thats to get to goal or after I met goal. Anyway, a little confused and just trying to understand how those may tie together...

Thx!

Mark

After surgery, I was only around 4-600 calories a day and that was hard to meet. 7 months out, I can maybe hit 1000 if I go for fattier or higher calorie foods. But I was told to try and keep it under 800 till I get to maintenance. I would assume the 1100 would be after you lose and you are ready to maintain.

current BMR won't figure into your post-surgery intake as it's based partially on your current weight. They'll start you off pretty low for the first few months and then you'll likely gradually increase as the months go by. Final calorie range (once you hit maintenance) will depend on whatever your weight, activity level, etc are once you get there.

They told us about 400 to 600 first 3 months, then it will increase to 600-800, once we get to goal weight we will stay within 1200 calories

First, your BMR is a bit of a guesstimate, but 2100 isn't unreasonable for a guy. Some calculators/formulas are way off because they simplify things by using body weight, while it is lean or muscle mass that is the important factor (all that extra fat we carry around does little to BMR, though whatever extra musculature we may have to carry around that extra fat does help. There are some tests that they can do (VOx, etc.) that can give a closer reading to your personal BMR, and many body composition scales give an OK estimate based upon their reading of your lean mass. The most important thing is at what caloric level is your weight stable - that gives the best clue as to where you stand metabolically. My BMR was probably around 2100 also, though my stability point by experience and tracking intake was in the 2600-2800 range (consume more consistently and I would gain, consume less overall and I would lose.) BMR represents our resting metabolism, while the extra burn if from exercise and daily activities; most calculators and tables (and ourselves) tend to over estimate the burn from exercise.

After surgery, and you lose what you are going to lose, you will likely have lost some muscle mass, I lost around 10 lb) as you aren't carrying that extra 100, 200 or whatever pounds around with you 24/7, so your BMR will likely decline some, but not a lot (maybe down to 2000). This is why most programs emphasize getting in adequate protein, and doing some load bearing exercise, to minimize the loss of muscle mass, to keep our BMR up.

If you can maintain a diet of 1100 calories (not at all difficult for the first year or so post op) that will yield a caloric deficit of around 1000 calories to your BMR (and likely more considering activity burn,) which will equate to an average loss of around 10 per month (more initially, and tapering off over time) - that's about what I did at 1100 calorie average, and my final few months before goal was a consistent 10lb per month loss; after goal and into maintenance, I settled into around 2100-2200 per day to maintain a stable weight.

Some people, particularly the shorter ladies, may be stable at 11-1200 per day after all is done, so they will need to go much lower to lose their excess weight - this is why we see 6-800 calories as a common intake for the loss phase, and they will often lose more slowly because they have a lower caloric deficit (figure about a pound per month per 100 calories in deficit, on average.)

In short, figure on 1000 calories or so while losing, and probably around 2000 or so, give or take, to maintain, as a quick guesstimate.

Thanks @RickM. That makes sense. Mine was measured using an Inbody body comp scale .

Appreciate you all taking the time to respond!!

Two bonuses of the surgery are a reset of your metabolic rate & of your body’s set point (the weight your body is happiest at). As others have said your pre surgery BMR will have no impact on your maintenance BMR.

Before surgery, I’d struggle to lose a kilogram eating 800 calories & would gain weight eating 1200 calories. Now I eat about 1400/1500 calories to maintain my much lower post surgery weight. I am also an almost 58 year old woman, with a smaller frame, only 5’3” & not very active.

Edited April 5, 20233 yr by Arabesque