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Is it possible to eat too little



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I wonder if anyone can give me some advice. I am six months after surgery and 50lbs down, but the weight loss really seems to have slowed. I am eating very little. coffee for Breakfast, 1/2 croissant lunch, mouthful of chicken/beef and spoonful of potato for dinner, (if it stays down). Am not drinking much either. Am exercising about 5 hours a week. What do you think... thanks.:lol:

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I wonder if anyone can give me some advice. I am six months after surgery and 50lbs down, but the weight loss really seems to have slowed. I am eating very little. coffee for breakfast, 1/2 croissant lunch, mouthful of chicken/beef and spoonful of potato for dinner, (if it stays down). Am not drinking much either. Am exercising about 5 hours a week. What do you think... thanks.:smile2:

Congratulations on the 50 pounds lost! Way to go! And yes, it is definitely possible to eat too little, and it sounds like you are. If you are having trouble eating solid Proteins and keeping them down, you may need to see your doctor about a slight unfill. Your weight loss will probably improve once you are eating more. I generally lose better when I'm eating in the higher part of my calorie range.

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You're definitely eating too little! Have you talked to a nutritionist? I found that after tracking what I eat for a week or so, the nutritionist could get an accurate picture of how many calories a day, along with grams of Protein I was consuming. You should be consuming at least 6-8 glasses of Water a day (around 48-64 oz) without excuse. This will help keep your body hydrated AND regular. It sounds like you can't possibly be getting the right amount of protein, either. I'm surprised that you can eat a croissant and have difficulty with meat. You should be focusing on eating protein first, then veggies, and after that, carbs. It's time you review the information your surgeon should have given you when releasing you from the hospital after surgery. You're not following any of the guidelines intended to help you lose weight in a healthy, consistent manner....if you don't remember what those guidelines are, then you should make an appointment with your dietician/nutritionist. The guidelines were created to help you lose weight in a healthy way. Good luck!

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I agree with the previous posters. Your body is probably in starvation mode. Try journaling your food intake for a few days to get an accurate count. If you are active I would think you shouldn't be under 1000 per day. I stay between 1200-1500 per day.

Why do you only drink coffee for breakfast? Are you just not hungry or are you too tight in the mornings? Consuming food for breakfast each morning will jump start your metabolism.

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Thanks to all for your replies. I find breakfast in the mornings really hard. I am very tight in the morning, but I will concentrate on trying to eat something. Thanks for the advice on the Water, I am definitely not taking enough there. I will also take the Protein advice on board. :thumbup:

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I have yogurt almost every day for breakfast. It goes down easily, and has lots of good things - Protein, Calcium, "active yogurt cultures" lol. If you haven't tried that yet, give it a go.

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Yes even though we think this helps :eek:...I have not been getting enough Protein either...I have found Protein Shakes are best...my support group said drink 4 oz of protein then try to eat.. I am going to work on that this week...I have also found Protein Shots at Walmart that have 23 or 24 grams of protein in them...they are advertized on this website>> Best wishes...I am down 45 lbs...and it had slowed...I will get more protein from now on.:thumbup:

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I will tell you what my Dr told me. Stop thinking like a fat person and think like the skinny person you now are. If you are eating too little you would be losing weight. She told me this when I asked her to losen my band. I insisted that I need to eat more so she loosened my band. Needless to say in 3 days I had gained back 2 pound and went for a fill.

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Thanks to all for your replies. I find breakfast in the mornings really hard. I am very tight in the morning, but I will concentrate on trying to eat something. Thanks for the advice on the Water, I am definitely not taking enough there. I will also take the Protein advice on board. :)

Yikes! I just read a post that scared me (not yours). You can for sure be eating to little...I agree with CrzyTeacher! If you are consuming less than 900 calories a day, your body thinks it is starving itself. When this happens, you body tries to hold on to everything you put into it. Also, at below 900 calories a day you will start to lose your hair, lose muscle mass, etc.

If you cant eat eat in the morning, you could always drink a dreaded Protein shake. I do yogurt as well. Its a tad boring, but its okay.

A lot of people on the forum talk about if they eat too little their weight loss stalls. Keep your chin up!

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How do these Protein shots taste

Yes even though we think this helps :thumbup:... have not been getting enough Protein either...I have found Protein shakes are best...my support group said drink 4 oz of protein then try to eat.. I am going to work on that this week...I have also found Protein Shots at Walmart that have 23 or 24 grams of protein in them...they are advertized on this website>> Best wishes...I am down 45 lbs...and it had slowed...I will get more protein from now on.:)

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I can only speak from my personal experience which is that I lose more weight when I eat around 1000-1200 calories a day.

In the long term it can't be good for your body to be eating the low amount of nutrition you are.

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Have you considered switching to nutritional shakes like Herbalife? They are working a treat for At least that way you will be getting the nutrition you need. Sounds like your band may be a little too tight.

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I have long heard the myth that eating Breakfast jump starts your metabolism. I say myth, because, if you don't do any physical activity after taking in the calories, there is NO increase in metabolism. It only gives you energy to encourage you to get moving.

In fact all of the theory's about eating too little and it making you less likely to lose weight need to be clarified. The reason you may not lose as much weight by eating too little is because you are making yourself feel tired and less likely to do calorie burning activities. Or you simply don't have enough energy to put in the same intensity of calorie burning into your routine.

Anyone with a calorie burning monitor will tell you these things.

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

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        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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