Question:
Am I eating enough?

232lbs; exercising 5-6 times/wk 45-60min; burning about 350-400 cal and 35-40 carbs ea session; 80g protein/day or more, less than 700 cal/day, less than 30carbs/day. I am only losing 3-4lbs/wk at 8wks out. Am I eating enough or could my body be in starvation mode b/c all the exercise?    — Iris W. (posted on March 6, 2007)

March 6, 2007
That is a normal weight loss for a lightweight. I have been losing an average of 3 lbs a week for the past 16 weeks. I'm down 53 lbs and I'm very pleased. I am only on 50-55 grams of protein now.
   — Sheri A.

March 6, 2007
You might be building muscle which weighs more than fat so there is going to be a slight makeup from the REAL weight you are losing. Mickey.........
   — MCraig3

March 6, 2007
Are you getting all of your water in daily? Muscle weighs more than fat? How are things fitting? And, remember pace yourself girl... don't want to burn out. You are losing just fine... stay away from the scale and focus on your shrinking size...
   — Kari_K

March 6, 2007
that is normal.i was dropping 20 lbs a month.
   — deb44m

March 6, 2007
My doctor told me to expect to lose 2lbs a week . You cant compare yourself to someone weighing much more than you. I am 13 weeks out and have lost a bit over 40lbs. I was 246 the day of surgery and I am 203 now. I used to feel discouraged at how much less a week I was losing till I realized that the folks in my support group that were losing so much more also weighed so much more. Does this make sense? Hope so! Dont stress, we all lose at our own pace.
   — robinmarra

March 7, 2007
Iris, I had to smile when I read your question. You are very much like me. I knew all the numbers and had a plan and stuck to it! It sounds like you are doing really well. You are losing very well. I was only losing 1-2 pounds a week on average. I am 3 years out, and even though it seemed slow to me, I have kept it off for 3 years now (just weighed this morning, I don't do it often). During the first year I only weighed once a week. Be consistant, and go for the long haul. You have a tool not a miracle, so you will have bumps in the road as your body fights what you are doing. Our bodies are very used to gain, regain, so it fill fight you all the way. I did lose every week though during the first year. Kept on the water, no soda or caffine. Stuck with the program and hung in there! It sounds like you are doing the same. You can over exercise, so be sure you vary your routine and if you are working out 7 days a week, it would be better to work out 5 for a while, and just have abrisk walk on the other two. If you beat your body too hard it will respond by stalling. Even if you do everything right, you can have some stalling, so work with your body and be patient with it. Also be gentile but firm about your program. You have to stubbornly stick to it without beating your body up. Best to you. Patricia P.
   — Patricia P

March 7, 2007
You say you are eating 80g of protein and less than 30g carbs a day. A gram of protein = 4 calories and a gram of carbs = 4 calories. You didn't say how much fat you are eating but I'm guess it's pretty minimal. A diet of 80g protein and 30g of carbs a day is only giving you 440 calories. If you are exercising 5x a week, according to your numbers, you are burning somewhere between 1750 (350 calories x 5 days/wk) and 700 (35g of carbs x 4 calories per carb x 5 days/wk) calories each week. There is a big difference between burning 350 calories per exercise session and burning 35g of carbs.... I'm not sure whether you are saying in addition to or one or the other. There's a big difference between burning 350 calories per exercise session and burning 35g of carbs per session (140 calories). So here's what you've got... a daily caloric intake of 440 calories x 7 = 3080 calories per week and you are exercising away between 700 calories (burning 35g of carbs x 5 a week) and 1750 calories (350 calories x 5 a week). In a week, you are consuming 3080 calories and I'll go with the lower exercise figure of 700 calories per week (35g of carb = 140 calories x 5/week).... over all, you caloric intake less exercise would be 2380 per week. That averages out to 340 calories a day. I don't know if 340 calories a day is right for people who've had RNY. As someone who has not had WLS, it sounds like you are consuming way too little. Your doctor or nutritionist may be able to help you on figuring out what needs to be done to lose more. I think that the starvation part is more about what you're eating (or not, in this case). Increasing your caloric intake is going to be a whole lot better for you than quitting/less exercise. Best wishes.
   — mrsidknee

March 7, 2007
Please realize muscle does NOT weigh more than fat!!!!!! I see this way too often. They both weigh the same amount, however because muscle is more dense than fat it takes up less room than fat. You're doing fine. Like the other posters said, because you are not as heavy as some others that lose a lot fast, you won't lose it as fast. Keep up the great work!
   — crystalsno

March 7, 2007
"only 3-4 lbs per week" means you are bruning off 14,000 caolries which is AMAZING... a lb of fat is 3,500 calories. You cannot keep up that pace for very long and your body will tkae breaks. You are doing just fine... this WLS thing is like the tortoise and the hare....slow and steady wins the race...good luck!!!
   — SteffieBear15

March 9, 2007
I weighed 233 when I had my surgery and had my one-year checkup today: 135.5. I had the same concerns at the beginning, even though I knew that I was not expected to lose as quickly as someone who weighed a lot more than me to begin with. I lost about 25lbs the first month and maybe 12-15lbs. the second. I never could predict how much I would lose from month-to-month. For the last few months I thought I had pretty much reached the end because my weight just continued to fluctuated by a few pounds week-to-week, but it has started to come off again these last few weeks (even though I haven't changed my routine or diet.) Keep up the good work and remember that, with the reduced calorie intake and absorption issues that come with this surgery, it's just about impossible for your body to NOT go into starvation mode at the beginning. Just try to get at least the minimum in that your nutritionist has advised.
   — packrat

March 13, 2007
Very normal. I weighed much more, and still only lost at less than that! You are doing great!!!!
   — Novashannon

Click Here to Return