So let me get this straight....I should eat more calories????

I had VSG on May 14th and came out of the gate ridiculously strong losing a total of 50 pounds my first 6 weeks...including the 2 week liquid pre-op diet.  (Unable to workout besides some light walking as per surgeon's recc)  8 Weeks post op I started working out again.  Since then my weight loss has rapidly decreased, but hadn't completely fell off until last month where I lost a whopping 3 lbs for the entire month!!!  I kept my cals around 800 and I was working out on average 6 days a week at least an hour per session.  I contacted my nut on Monday...gave her my calorie intake, my workout schedule and the estimated calories burned from workouts.  I begged her to tell me what I was doing wrong.  How can someone workout out everyday, get in a minimum 80 grams of protein and 70 oz of water and eat less than 1000 cals not be losing weight!?! 

Her response was to increase my calorie intake.  She said that the amount of calories I was eating was insufficient for the amount of working out I do.  I was terrified to eat more.  I read posts on this website all the time about eating between 600 and 800 calories to have success, but why wasn't I having any??  How can I need to eat more than that?  Decreasing my workouts was not an option for me because I enjoy them and I feel way better when I do them!

On Monday, after my nut's response, I hesitantly increased my daily calorie goal  and magically the scale started moving again.  I don't have my official weigh-in until Monday, but I've already lost more this week than I did all last month.  Could that really be because I'm eating more??  This was just a new perspective and something I tried VERY hesitantly because it felt super counter-intuitive, but I also didn't know what else to try...it seems to be working...at least so far!  Has anyone else had this experience???  For reference my workout schedule is as follows:  Monday - Kickboxing (60 mins) Tuesday - Yoga (60 mins) Wednesday - Crossramp/Stairmill/Treadmill (60-90 mins) Thursday Zumba (60 mins) Friday - Body Pump Free weights (60 mins) Saturday or Sunday Bikram yoga (90 mins) *It should also be noted that I was very active before surgery, worked out with a trainer twice a week and did cardio 4 days a week*

I did have to up my calories temporarily when I started working out more, but that was as much because I was feeling drained as it was for any other reason.  Nowadays I'm back to about 800 calories a day, sometimes closer to 900 or even 1000 depending on the day, and I'm still pretty much losing consistently. 

However, I do want to point out that no two people's caloric needs are identical, so it really does take experimentation on our parts to figure out what works best for ourselves.  Some people find that they cannot lose post vsg without keeping the calories below 800, and some find that they lose just fine at a higher amount.  My advice is to listen to your healthcare providers, consider the advice of the people here if what the doctor and nut say doesn't work for you, and then give yourself permission to modify to meet your needs.  If it's working for ya and you're meeting your goals healthwise, keep going until it doesn't work anymore and then experiment again, since our needs often change as our weight changes.

 Yes! I was going to say pretty much this whole second paragraph.

Our bodies definitely like things to be changed up every now and then.  I try and vary my calorie intake on a day to day basis.  Anywhere from 1000 to 1200 a day and some days higher.  My body likes it.  Not sure why.  But it works for me.  I know there are a ton of people on here that do a very strict calorie restriction.  800 or less and it works for them.  But I already have heart issues and my heart needs the nourishment, so I need to keep my calories a bit higher.  But I am still losing at least 2 pounds a week, so I am incredibly happy at the higher calories for now.

But I know the fear, it freaked me out to increase the calories when my nutritionist said to, but I trusted her and will continue to trust her.  I am way lighter because of her wise advice, so I am sticking with it.