Really? Truly? Seriously? No offense, but can anyone really NOT each much & have...

Please no offense to anyone who has posted on this subject I am struggling with 2 people (who keep enlisting my help)  in real life both are 300lbs and better and claim they eat "very little" and don't get why they are overweight. So can this be true?  I've mostly seen them in action at family functions where they pile up their plates like mountains -  always counts as 1 meal or "cheat day" as they hardly ate all day/week.  They won't track their food like I suggest.

I am truly puzzled by the many posts of people who have BMI's in the low, mid-40's and 50's PLUS and state that they "don't eat much".  Is this really possible?  YES, I get that people have PCOS,  thyroid conditions, mobility issues, water retention etc.  that slow their ability to lose weight - but they who are able to lose obviously contribute to their overweight condition IF a restrictive WLS alone helps them lose weight (that proves that caloric intake has much to do with it- right?).

Most times I convince myself that I have a harder time and struggle so bad (well BooHoo) than others with losing weight and have to restrict my calories more than the normal person but I know the truth is when I make the right choices the weight comes off.  Maybe there are people who do not eat much and are obese.  Maybe I am being judgmental.  What is the real deal?  Did you not eat much and have a restrictive only weight loss surgery work for you - how did it work if you did not eat much before?  Most of us - at least me can eat a ton of junk food post-op (I don't but can.  I've enjoyed myself trying). So how could VSG help someone refrain from "junk food" especially once the "sleeve" matures?

What in the world do I know.  Just that it never is easy and harder for some.

So you not eat much pre-op? What were/are your stats?  Is it possible?  

I was 267lbs - I ate too much and had mobility issues that cause the final 30lb gain.

Good day!

Yes I believe it is possible, I have a sibling that says the same thing, I have tried explaining to her many times it is not the quantity it is the quality...if you drink diet sodas all day, you will gain weight, diet doesn't mean it is good for you, if you don't eat breakfast and have a 'large' salad for lunch, once again salad doesn't equate to healthy...when you don't eat it just makes your body retain fat because it thinks you are starving..a balance of protein and carbs eaten at the right time, right amount, right combination will help that...I once did Bill Phillips Eating for Life and lost weight really easy, diet was easy to follow, lots of recipes to use and menus to follow if you wanted in back of the book, could not believe with all the food I was eating I could lose, but it was the three R's mentioned above that worked...I loved it, but over time I went back to my bad habits...I have always been so good at talking the talk, but I have been horrible at walking the walk...and even worse at being honest with myself about what and why I eat what and even worse, making excuses for my weight...Crohn's, years of taking steroids for it, COPD, hard to work out, artery disease, etc., etc.

Haha, I started with Bill Phillips "Body for Life" - I always think about going back to that. Good stuff!  Hmmm on the diet soda - I will never say that it is good for you but it never made me gain weight.  I have also NEVER gained nor held onto weight from restricting calories neither have many on this site who have stayed on 6-1000 calorie diets during their weight loss.  I will not say that there are not some people who immediately go into starvation mode and hold onto fat stores. Most people, it will take a whole lot until they are actually starving and holding onto fat.  I may be cancer stricken or something one day for saying this but I will never give up artificial sugars.  Fat, thin, tall, or short just about everyone in my family is diabetic.  I haven't had table sugar since I was 13.  I use Equal, Splenda, agh the natural Stevia and I don't abuse.  It does not trigger sugar cravings nor issues for me.  We are all different.

And people seem not to have obesity and eating disorders in 3rd world countries which makes me feel guilty for being overindulgent and selfish .

I do believe it and I don't believe it. My DW "eats very little" most of the time. Or so she says. She won't journal to know exactly what she  puts  in her mouth, but she will forget to eat sometimes. I mantain that she is eating more than she says. What she does eat is complete garbage (will make her hard to live with) but not all the time.  She drinks caffeinated sugared soda, usually has Pop Tarts for breakfast, We both eat a lot of meat for dinner and thinks she is being good when she "only" has a milk shake for dinner.

I bet her calories are kind of low  but certainly not healthy.

I am going to doubt that her calories are even kind of low.  Consider that a single 12 oz can of soda will usually have around 180 calories and Pop Tarts clock in around 400 for two because who eats only half of the package?  Don't even get me started on milkshakes.  Remember, a typical Starbuck's coffee drink like a grande cinnamon dolce latte can have 330 calories.  

Keep in mind that a typical resting metabolic rate for a female is around 9 calories per pound.  Personally, mine is 8 and I'm currently running 225, so to just stay alive and not gain weight, my body currently requires 1800 calories a day.  That's 10 cokes or 9 single Pop Tarts.  I don't know about you, but back in the day, I could eat a whole box of Pop Tarts and still want more.

I used to be one of those "I don't eat much" people and then I started tracking and wow, I was eating that much.  And more.  You can lead a person to a tracker, but you can't make them use it.  :(  

Good luck on your journey! :D

Jen

I came here to say the same thing.

I read a post a while back from someone who was considering revision because they'd been gaining and unable to lose weight.  They posted a few days from their food journal. The food part seemed ok-they were nearly meticulous in journalling every morsel that went into their mouth. What got everyone *****ad the thread were the 5 (FIVE) large SWEET Teas she was drinking every single day from McDonald's. Which is well over 200 calories a piece.  So she was downing over 1000 calories day without thinking twice.

I'm sure she didn't start out with 5 a day. And I'm sure it wasn't something she thought about very often. Liquid calories are tricky for a lot of people as they do seem rather sneaky. But the end result was the same a massive weight gain over the course of a year and she was actually considering paying out of pocket for a DS because her RNY "obviously wasn't working".

My point is that I think most people on this website thought at one time or another "Gee, I don't eat that much, why can't I lose weight" because I know for myself, the days I did think about how much I was eating or how much I weighed were the days when I was trying.  But to be honest with myself, the days I was trying I probably was limiting myself to about 2000 calories and eating like a normal person would-a normal person not trying to lose weight.

Very well put.

It's not just about caloric intake, it's about food quality AND metabolism.

At my heaviest, I weighed 345, and I averaged no more than 1,100 calories a day -- and that's when I ate a lot. Most days, I was around 700 to800.Yes, I kept a journal and went over it with a doctor and my nutritionist.

The surgery changes not only what you can eat as far as volume, but how your body uses it. It had to adjust again, which is why you are told lose all you can in the first year, because your body will "adjust" again and it'll be just as hard to lose weight... even when consuming under 1,000 calories a day.

Pre-surgery, eating 700 to 800 calories is starvation to your body. Post-surgery, that's maintenance. Your brain chemistry changes as much as the size of your stomach.

So, to answer your question... yes, it's entirely possible.

And yes, some people have a skewed view of their own eating.

Define "eat much". I once overheard someone order five complete meals at one setting. Eating that much would have been impossible for me, even when I weighed 419 pounds. But (evil laugh) if you choose the right foods it isn't necessary to eat enormous quantities to comsume enormous calories. I just checked the calories in the ice cream I used to buy, the pint size. Each serving contains over 300 calories. The small container contains 3 and a half servings. The container is 1190 calories, and I had no trouble eating two containers in an evening. I never lied to myself, though. I knew I was eating way more calorie and quantity-wise than my body needed.

I'm sorry, but some of these responses above are nonsense. Read jenorama's again, she is right on the money.

Diet sodas have no calories, and by themselve cannot make you gain weight. The box of cookies or two large fries you have with the diet soda have lots of calories. A salad with dressing can have a whole day's worth of calories.

Sarvation mode is utter foolishness. If you are obese, you are eating a lot more calories than you are burning, plain and simple. You are not big boned or have a slow metabolism. You are eating too much. If you don't think you are eating too much, you are completely fooling yourself. I know, because I was one of you.

There have been many studies where people who claim they are eating very low calorie and still gaining weight are put in a controlled eating environment, and they lose weight every time. Every time. Self reporting calories and exercise results in huge discrepancies.

Guessing at how much you are eating will never work. Get a food scale and open an account on MyFitnessPal. Weigh and log all your food. Be honest. If you aren't losing weight, you will see just how much you are actually eating.