Energy Balance Tips After Weight Loss Surgery

Energy Balance Tips
I recently watched a webinar on obesity and energy balance and wanted to share these take home points with you since they are worth thinking about.
• When you lose weight, you need to keep eating fewer calories to continue losing weight. If you lose 10% of your total body weight, you will need to decrease your calories roughly by 190-200 calories per day. If you lose 15% of your total body weight you will need to decrease your calories by 280 – 300 per day. This is why I repeat your resting metabolic measurement 6 and 12 months after surgery. Your caloric needs change based on your weight loss and exercise level. A measurement is more accurate than the above estimates. If you do strength training and add muscle mass, your caloric needs won’t decrease significantly. In fact, I’ve had some patients who increased their metabolic needs, even with a greater than 100 pound weight loss, because they got involved in exercise that added muscle mass.
• Eating 100 calories a day less can prevent weight gain in 90% of people. Most people tend to gain weight gradually over the years and this small change can prevent that gain.
• It’s easier to prevent weight gain than to treat it. If you’ve been dieting forever you might have already figured this out. If you’ve been gaining weight, try maintaining your weight before you go in the opposite direction of weight loss.
• Physical activity makes you more responsive to know when you’re hungry and when you’re not. A lot of times we eat when we’re not hungry and exercise keeps you in better touch with your body.
• Instead of eat less and move more, try eat smarter and move more. Eating smarter means better food choices and coupled with moving more can prevent weight gain.
Eat Smart…
Vicki Bovee, MS, RDN, LD

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