Upping the Calories Again

I'm going to try upping my calories again, for at least two weeks. The new calorie goal is 1,000 calories a day, which I've hit maybe once or twice since surgery.

I'm trying this because, in talking to other post-ops and comparing plans, I hear most often that people think my calories are too low. My surgeon's office doesn't establish a calorie goal, so I've been following the low-calorie end of the BariatricEating.com plan, which says that post-ops should eat 800-1200 calories. However, I've also heard that several nutritionists, including a nutritionist I met with in DC, recommend at least 1,000 calories a day. I've stuck with my goal of around 800-900 nonetheless, but I often see earlier-outs eating more calories than I do. Maybe I should learn something from them?

The scale is STUCK even though I'm doing everything I'm supposed to as far as I know. I'm nowhere near a healthy body shape. My body is still covered in fat. Like, no muscles are detectable anywhere. I'm not talking just skin; I mean fat. I'd bet my body fat percentage is like 50%. Because I'm lacking lean muscle, I've recently decided to build my strength and muscle mass. Building muscle will boost my metabolism and help me shed this last 40-50 pounds.

I'll be increasing my calories by adding one small-volume protein shake a day, in the morning. I didn't want to increase calories in a way that might set me up for failure in the long run, such as adding carbs/fat or eating larger meals. I already skew a lot of my calories toward the evening, so I definitely want to put this additional shake in the morning.

This brings me up to 7 meals a day, 3 solids and 4 supplements. I will try this for at least two weeks. It's a lot of meals, akin to grazing even perhaps, but I really, really don't want to develop a taste for fattier foods or add unnecessary volume to my solid meals. They are already pretty big - my nightly omelet is huge as it is.

I am also thinking about purchasing a body fat analyzer, specifically the Omron HBF-306, which has been recommended by folks on ObesityHelp.com. It will give me more important information than that silly scale, which this morning weighed me once at 181.0 (yeah right - thanks for the false hope), then weighed me 191.0 five minutes later.