From May 1 to July 1 I lost 22.6 pounds eating 1700 calories a day... I decided that that was NOT enough of a weight loss and I could do better than that. So I dropped my calories to 1600 a day as of July 4th and started calorie cycling.

From July 1 to today I have lost 14.2 lbs. Eating an average of 1600 calories a day.

The first two months I was in and out of the hospital for my gall bladder and the last two months I was in and out of the hospital and had surgery.

It would appear to me that I actually HURT my weight loss by dropping my calories...

As of today and for the next 2-3 weeks I am upping my calories back to 1700 in an effort to see what will happen. Makes sense?

Wish me luck! And I am also looking for advice Any and all and not just advice that supports my decision either

Good luck!

Lowering your calories too much can actually cause you to gain or at least stop losing weight as your body goes into starvation mode.

I would guess part of it that you have less to lose....you are shrinking GIRL!!

I DO have less to lose but that's a pretty dramatic slowdown and to have it totally correspond with the lowering of my calories... well it's triggering my spidey senses into thinking that perhaps with my activity level I went too low too quickly.

Huh.

Keep the ideas coming ladies!

Well starvation mode at 1600 calories is probably not happening but I think it might have lowered my metabolism...

Let us know how it turns out for you...

I bumped into a very large woman at the grocery store a few times, and I overhead her giving advice to her friend -- get "0 Trans Fats" potato chips, because they're fat free and hardly any calories, and get SOUR ju jubes or SOUR candies because they don't have sugar.

WOW

just thought you like some snackie ideas lol

seriously tho, what could i possibly offer a woman who's lost 140 freakin' pounds ?!!! *** I bow to greatness*** if you say eat 1700, i buy it. If you say eat standing on my head, i buy it

This is funny. I Have a friend who has twice lost her baby weight, and was just recently told by a doctor that she needed to lose closer to 20 lbs. than the 10 she had initially planned on losing.

She was AMAZED that a package of chocolate and peanut butter candies was 220 calories. MY thought was, "hrm...I thought they'd be more!" I've found it interesting to hear her slight misconceptions about healthy/unhealthy eating. And sometimes amusing.

Sorry to be off topic, cfmama. I think that if 1700 was working better for you, stick with it!

any other calorie counters around my weigh? What are you guys eating calorie wise?

I'm eating around 1500 most days. I will be interested in knowing how your change in your calories affects your weight loss. My weight is coming off in a trickle and it's annoying the heck out of me. I exercise 6 days a week for at least an hour of cardio, so I would assume that I would lose more than I am.

I've had an interesting experience the last 10 days or so.

I've been losing about 1.5 lbs. per week consistently on a 1550/cal. plan. But then I read "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" and he recommends eating 5 mini-meals a day, so I started trying that. In doing so, I didn't lower my calories per meal quite enough, so I've ending up averaging about 1700-1800/day instead of the 1550 I was eating.

And I've lost faster in the last 10 days than I have since I started in March! I think I've lost 4 or 5 pounds in this time period which is amazing for me. I haven't changed anything else that I can think of.

I don't know whether it's the higher calories or the 5 mini-meals or just a fluke. To be fair, I am zig-zagging a bit, a few days were lower than 1700 or 1800, and one was 2100 I think.

Do let us know what happens. We all have to work out what works for us but 14 pounds in two months still sounds good to me!

I'm the same way. My weight loss stalls at 1300-1500 calories a day, but I've lost basically 1 lb a week on 1700-1800 calories a day.

You were pumped with so many meds for so long. Then there was the surgery itself. Your body went through A LOT during those months. Truth is there is no way to know for sure what the reason for the difference in weight loss during the 2 time periods.

But heck, if you can lose on 1700 calories, I say go for it. Me, if I ate 1700 calories, ahhh, let's not go there.

Track, track, track. Then evaluate. You can always re-asses if need be.

Trazey, I meet people like that all the time. It's funny, because people love to tell me what they're eating when they think that it's healthy. It's like they're trying to show me just how healthy they eat. And scarily, it's often none too healthy. I hate to burst their bubble, but they are amazed when I tell them that sugar free muffins are loaded with additional fat. Or that fat free cake is loaded with extra sugar. Never mind that flour itself is caloric. It's not pretty.