Too few calories??

Ok...so I've been doing really well with my diet for the last 3 or so months since surgery, very few sweets, carbs under 50, staying mostly between 600-800 calories a day and NEVER going over 900 calories per day (without excercise), exercising at least 3-4 times a week...and my weight loss is crawling.  However, I have noticed that those times where I have eaten higher calories and/or carbs, I lose weight.  Like this weekend...I had a couple bites of mac & cheese on Sat and a few oz of frozen yogurt on Sunday, and Monday I'm down 3 pounds.  That's as much as I lost in the last 2 weeks being "perfect".  What gives?? Should I be eating more calories?  Anyone have this issue? 

There are lots of theories about this.  There are certainly people who will tell you that eating more calories or changing your food plan up will promote weight loss or break a stall.

I have this really addictive relationship with food, and I *hate* giving back food or calories.  So it's hard for me to change my plan too much. 

I also think of it like trying to game the stock market.  The best mutual funds, with their super-smart fund managers and research, etc. rarely outperform the market in the long-term. 

I'm not saying I don't change my plan - I have - and I'm not saying I haven't made food choices that were not so great - I have.  But, I am striving for peace of mind around food, not X amount of weight loss in Y months. 

I am in the camp that having a plan and following it imperfectly over the long term is better than trying to switch it up or trick my body with some extra carbs in hopes of losing a little faster this week.  Cause it isn't about this week, it's about the long term, right?

 This might be the best post on this topic I have ever seen.  Amen!

I am having some great victories and some frustration about not losing fast enough or being impatient to get to my goal.  Evry time I have those thoughts and feelings I try to hear my surgeons voice in my head "Keep doing what you are doing, you are doing great.  Never break 600 calories and the weight will come off".  I also hear my NUTS voice in my head when I get tempted - "No EMPTY Calories".

Don't know if I'm Motivated or Schizophrenic, LOL.


The plans work, you just gotta work with em.

You eat under 600 cals a day?? I would say that's motivated!! How do you do this?

 I manage the numbers and make sure that practically every calorie I take in is protein.  I keep my protein usually in the 70+ g/day range and fat and carbs below 20-30.  I read every label and don't put anything in my mouth that I don't know the nutritional info on.  I weigh all of my food if I am eating at home or guestimate if I am in a restaurant.

A day recently looked like this:

B:  2 boiled eggs and a Sargento Mozz Cheese stick (190 calories, 10.5 g Fat, 18 g Protein, 3 g Carb)
Lunch:  226g Kroger Fat Free Cottage Cheese (160 Cal, 0g Fat, 30g Protein, 10g Carb)
Dinner: 4 oz Chipotle Chicken Breast (190 Cal, 6.5 g Fat, 32 g Protein, 1g Carb)

Totals:  540 Cal, 17g Fat, 80g Protein, 14g Carbs)


I have a great NUT at my doctors office that will review my food diary on request and provide pointers.  For example yesterday she mentioned that she thought that the sodium in the powerade zeroes I was drinking regularly may be too high and suggested using MiO flavorings to add to my water that was alos zero calories and zero sodium.  Early on she reviewed my diary and suggested changing some brands of Cottage Cheese and Greek Yogurt to reduce both calories and carbs.

 

First let me this... our bodies are weird.  The formula to determine weight gain or loss is extremely complex.  It isn't simple calories in/calories out.   There are complex metabolic processes at play, hormones, water weight, and many many other variables that are literally impossible to account for. 

Now, it does seem counter-intuitive that you would eat more (especially more carbs) and lose weight.  Some might say the carbs "revved up" your metabolism.  You have no way of knowing if this is true, though.  The weight you dropped could have been water weight, and more determined by hormones and hydration levels than calories consumed.   Or it could be that you wouldn't have dropped those 3 pounds if not for sticking strictly to your diet the the 2 weeks prior to the weekend.  There is just no way to know.

I would stick to the 600-800 calorie range so long as you are in the losing phase of things.  Only up those calories if you truly feel unwell at that low range.  Upping calories and carbs in the hope of losing weight may provide some short term loses, but there is no way to know if they were just coincidental or truly to result of the increased calorie intake.  So, again, I think the safest bet is to stick with your surgeon's prescribed diet while losing weight. 


(BTW - I broke a stall but upping my carbs for one day, but I went right back down to 650 calories a day and less than 40 carbs a day.  Even so... I don't know for a fact that the carb bump was the cause of the stall breaking or not.  I'm of the opinion, after reading about many success stories here, that the highest chance of success comes when eating the lowest calories and carbs that you can within your surgeon's parameters.  There will always be people quick to point out exceptions to this rule, but I'm going to assume that I'm not an exception.  Almost everyone (if not literally every overweight adult) will lose weight eating 650 calories of lean protein and low carbs a day.) 

 I feel too hungry for the next several days after eating too many carbs.  I am trying my hardest to stay away from them.  Right now I'm having some vegetable beef soup and not eating the potatoes floating around in there :)  

want to hear strange, for the last 2 months I only saw a drop in my weight during TOM and a few days after.  So I don't know why I get on that stupid scale twice a day because I know it's not going to change.

I think carb cycling works for sure...but my problem is once I start I can't stop.  It's sad I'm like a meth addict for carbs hahahha....sad sad sad...so I have to stay away!!!