I just had my 3rd fill this week, so I'm at about 2.5cc. Since my fill, I've dropped my calories from 1200 to about 1000. If this doesn't work, if I don't lose any weight, I'll get another fill so I"m eating about 800 calories.

Jessie said that I'll need to go down to 800 calories or even 600 calories to lose weight.

Is it possible to be restricted to the point where 600 calories is enough? Restricted but not too restricted?

Call me crazy, but do you think that maybe you should eat MORE calories not less....your body might be living off stored energy. Some people loss more if they eat between 1300 and 1500 calories a day.....just a thought??!!! And, what the hell, eating more calories?!! Sounds good to me!!

Crystal, how much protein are you getting a day? How much more restriction do you have now verses before your last fill? Rae

Vines, check our www.room42.com and enter your stats. I found it very helpful.

BTW, you are NOT insane. Maybe a little crazy but not insane LOL

my basal rate (not to be confused with my basil rate) is 1252

No less than 1251.2 calories per day recommended for safe consistent Weight Loss.

At this safe consistent Weight Loss Caloric Rate,

you will lose 1 pound every 7 Days

well, 1200 calories a day for 4 monts netted me 4 pounds lost, not 16 pounds or so.

I don't know how the differences in the rate for men and women are calculated. If I was a man then my projected consumption would be 1400 calories a day to loose 1 pound every 7 days.

I currently have 150 FFM, so there is no way I can ever weigh the 125 pounds Jessie thinks I should weigh. not unless I lose 50 pounds of lean muscle mass. (that aint' gonna happen if I can help it)

I have good restriction since this newest fill a few days ago. We shall see what happens when it settles more. My protien hasn't been very good since the fill, at least not according to fitday. closer to 40grams than not.

Vines,

I know you are very experienced and knowledgable as I have read many of your posts, so please forgive me for asking some obvious questions. Like could you be over or under esitmating your activity level when calculating your BMI? I know that I tend to under esitmate my own and that really can throw the numbers way off.

Also, I have just been through my first, and hopefully last, overfill and believe me you don't want to go there. It is the most miserable feeling in the world and very painful. I know you understand how the band works, and I have no doubt you are extremely self aware of how you are doing, how much restriction you can handle, etc. But it can really sneak up on you.

Perhaps if you change your diet around a bit, as well as your exercise routine. I have heard when weight loss stalls, that you should make sure you are not eating the sames exact foods day in and day out, and the same applys to exercising. By changing these things around it might give you the jump start you are looking for.

Hope you can resolve this without ending up in a painful situation or by making yourself sick. 600 cals a day, I don't know how you could possibly meet your nutrional needs with that. Just my humble opinion.

Cindy

Thanks for the input Chichigirl. You ask some very good questions. I've considered my activity level, and I don't think I qualify for couch potato, since I work out 2 days a week doing both pilaties or yoga and belly dancing (aerobic and anaerobic); plus I walk all over campus, take the stairs and hardly drive anywhere.

As far as I know, you only measure BMI strictly based on height and weight, which is why these charts are useless for athelets.

My first fill was over filled, and no, I don't really want to go there. Not really. It isn't my idea to get such few calories. Jessie told me that I might have to go that low. I think that is insanity, but gee what do I know?

I've added another day working out to my schedule, so we shall see what kind of results I end up with. I also do eat a wide varity of foods, but that will be intresting to watch too.

And yes Margo, I have considered going higher, but the last supervised program I was on had me at 1200 and I lost 50 pounds. Of course, I couldn't keep it off, which is why I'm banded..

Well, I know you're going to find out exactly what you need to do to get the weight moving again. Could it be that you have gained a lot of muscle mass, you of course know that it weighs more than fat, could that be it? Sounds like you are very, very active and I wouldn't be surprised one bit if that was the issue. Have you had your total body fat % done? If not, maybe you should be having that checked out as well and weighing and measuring yourself. I know that you have a ton of NSV's, so I know good things are happening to your body.

Just a thought.

Cindy

Hey whats up! Up your calories i was at 800 for three weeks lost weight then stoped!!

you should try 1200 1500 because your body will go into starvation mood where it fight it self for the calories and you will hit a wall.....also try a small work out first thing in the morning to burn off stored fat from the day before.that does work.

I have been having trouble with a few pounds up because I have been hitting the weights and to much exercise six days aweek. not giving my body proper time to rest & heal.

well my friend take care...good luck!JOHNQ

600 calories a day will never be adequate for you - there is no way on earth you can get all the nutrients you need on that level of intake.

If it were me and that was what was required to get thin, personally I'd choose to stay fat and relatively healthy.

I think people often find they inexplicably start to lose when they eat more.

Have you checked out whether there's any reason you are not losing? What about your thyroid or insulin resistance/PCOS, that type of thing? Has that all been investigated?

Inevitably as you lose, you will lose some muscle, your job is to minimise that. And my surgeon told me part of the reason bandsters lose only 2/3 or so of excess weight as because they usually have an abnormally high amount of lean body mass (bone, muscle) for a person of their height because of the extra weight they were carrying. So 125 might be a good weight of someone of a certain height but 135 might be just as lean for someone of that height who had previously been overweight. And that's all good - protects you against osteoporosis and fat gain as you age.

I haven't had any tests, I will have an appointment to do that when I get home. I have PCOS and my thyroid is low, but normal low.

I test my body fat percentage, and I'm down .9% for the month of September, down 3.3% since May. I'm down from 45% to 41.6% total body fat.

I have lost 4 pounds in a week since my last fill. 8oz of that was muscle. I don't know, 4 pounds in a weeks sounds highly suspicious, considering that is what I've lost in 4 months. The first half of the week I was eating closer to the 1500 range, but after my fill, closer to the 1000 mark. I just don't know.

I do know that 600 will not be reasonable. I know this. I will do what I can to not get talked down to a super tight fill, just because Jessie says too. I know she gets results, I know this. But I don't know that the cost of those results are resonable for me. I just feel desperate enough to so something crazy because I haven't had any movement on the scale. I'ts driving me off my nut. To have weight loss surgery, but no weight loss.

I think I need to go to the chiroporacto, I've had a nagging headache since I got my fill. I don't know if it is from not enough Protein or just my neck being out. Why can't I do things the easy way???? Why?

I really appreicate all the input. This is a puzzle I just haven't been able to figure out myself. With your help, with your wonderful insight, I will be able to puzzle this out.

Oh, and as far as not eating enough calories to lose weight, that's just a myth. Sure, the body may kick in and "TRY" to hold onto your fat when you are in true starvation mode, but people starve to death all the time. It's just a temporary state of being. If you eat 800 calories, the weight will eventually fall off.

Vines -

Okay, I am no good example (except for eating more calories and gaining weight... lol), but HONESTLY - do not even consider lowering your caloric intake! As has already been pointed out, you cannot possibly get in all your nutrients in regular food in so few calories.

You are losing inches like mad - STEP AWAY FROM THE SCALE!! Who cares if you weigh 300 lbs if you're a size 4??? Okay, your ankles and knees care, but you know what I mean.

Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING I have read from the people who know best - bodybuilders/trainers - say that you HAVE to eat enough calories for your activity level. They will also tell you that you cannot build muscle and lose fat at the same time. I don't know if I agree with that part, at least not when someone is a great deal overweight.

Yes, people starve to death every day - eventually starvation mode gives in to the real thing - but you know what you're going to be burning? Fat AND muscle - 50/50. And... the heart is a muscle. AND... the less muscle you have, the slower your metabolism.

In order to keep your metabolism high, you need to build lean muscle mass and FEED it - your body has to have enough calories to keep your muscle mass healthy.

I would suggest you hunt down and read whatever you can about metabolism and effective body building. I'm sure you don't want to become a body builder, but at least learn and understand the techniques for what really works for people who are truly living it (unlike myself).

An analogy: Let's say your body is like a car - your food is gas, and your muscle is the battery. Your car WILL run off the battery if it doesn't have food, but eventually your battery will DIE. Uh, get my drift?

And believe me, if you ever become one of the unfortunate to lose your band, you do NOT want to be relying on a 600 calorie diet to keep your weight off. Trust me - it AIN'T going to happen.

So do yourself a favor, and do it the healthy way and let your band help you.

JMHO...

xxoo

Vines -

When I hit a 6 week plateau, my doctor told me to call my nutritionist and talk about my eating habits. I did. At the time, I was getting in mostly Protein, some veggies for a total of 900-1100 calories a day. I was walking, lifting, step aerobics (any combination) about 5 days a week. My nutritionist told me and then proceeded to call my doctor to tell him that I was OVEREATING!!! He said that I should be eating 700-800 calories a day, and ideally 600. My nutritionist said that most gastric bypass patients lost so much weight because they could only get in 600 calories a day. I told him, "No, it's because they have malabsorption and even if they eat something bad, it doesn't get absorbed."

I hung up the phone, frustrated with my doctor for chewing me out because I was eating too much and convinced that my nutritionist was a total QUACK!! I started eating 1200 calories or more a day, and walk/jog 6 days a week and I have lost 12 lbs. without eating 600 calories a day. Good luck!!!

Tricia H

The thought of medical professionals telling people to eat that little is just astounding!

Yes, if you eat 800 calories a day they weight will eventually go. But you will be malnourished, sick and can expect to spend your old age with all your bones breaking every time you move! And with the metabolism of a slug. You'll be malnourished, you'll look ghastly, your hair will probably fall out, not to mention your teeth.

It is simply not worth it. You'll lose your beauty completely so its not worth doing it for looks and its way more risk to your health than accepting your weight is.

Vines you're obviously battling metabolic issues like many people with PCOS do. Have you looked into a low GI way of eating, which is what they're currently recommending as treatment for insulin resistance, PCOS and infertility? I dont know all that much about it and if you're focussing on Protein you're probably pretty much doing it anyway, but I think it sounds like its got more to do with the way your body is functioning, not how many calories you're eating. It must be so frustrating and demoralising.

If by low GI, you are refering to low glycimic index? Yes, I've been using this method of eating for several years now, fat lot of good it has done me...

It is frustrating and demoralizing! The only thing I changed, besides getting a fill and dropping my calories for half a week was to actually increase my carb intake.

1200-1500 calories wasn't doing any good, so that's why I dropped to 1000.

Thanks Donali, I will start researching body building techniques. I may have to turn into one if I want to see results, or the results I think I want anyway.

I think dropping my calories down to the sub-1000 range is insanity. I know that some people are losing weight rapidly, but you are right, at what cost in the long term?

I know that most people would be calling up Jenna for a Booty Shaking Dance but I"m suspicous of the loss. I don't think it's real. I don't trust it.

Someone get me a huggy jacket!