3 month

well folks i go back on the 18th for my 3 month follow up. according to my scales i am at 47 pounds....which means they have not moved for almost 3 weeks.....i don't want to fall into the trap of comparing myself to others and don't necessarily think i am a slow loser but i am a little discouraged...i think i am also a little blue today so maybe that it is all hormonal i am putting a sample of what i eat in a day and hope you all will give me some feedback. breakfast: slim fast low carb drink (usually about 6:00 am) at 7:00 to 7:30 i start drinking water and try to finish 25 oz by 9:00. Drinking this while working on a phone and computer is not as easy as it may seem due to constant interruptions. Around 9:30 I have a snack which is usually about an oz of imitation crab or lobster or a serving of peanut butter. I wait 30 minutes and start back with the water and drink it until 30 minutes before i am having lunch....my lunch can be anytime between 11:00 and 1:00 depending on how busy i am. doing the water in the morning like this i can usually get 50 oz in before lunch and take it easy the rest of the day to get my limit in Lunch is usually a couple of bites of a baked chicken breast or deli turkey wrap with cheese or if i didn't bring lunch about 1/2 a container of pintos and cheese from taco bell. afternoon snack might be a few nuts or even a few baked cheese puffs. I get off work at 4:30 and go to job #2 where i don't eat and just drink water until i get home at 8:00. If i am really hungry i will eat a piece of deli turky with 1/2 a piece of cheese on it and/or some steamed veggies like broccoli and cauliflower. If i am not terribly hungry i have a slim fast drink to help get my protein in for the day. My surgeon stresses the protein drinks until 3 months out. i stay away from any sugar, breads of any kind, and carbs unless they are in the vegetables. ok gang what do you think???? am i getting too much of something or not enough of something??? HELP!!!

Kelly I too will be 3 months out on the 26th and I have lost about 44 lbs. I think like you that I'm not losing fast enough. I personally think you are doing great based on what you listed you are eating. One thing that I think slows down my weight loss is not getting in enough protein. I'm trying to do 50-75 gms/day. I'm lucky to get in 40gms. Whenever I have heard people thinking they are at a standstill with weight loss they say up the protein, water, and exercise. That's one thing I didn't see is the exercise. Beleive me I'm telling you all of these things but it applies to me also. I will be interested to know what others think. Tanya

Here's what I think. Your not getting enough calories. Up your food. If you fall below a certain amount your body will go into starvation mode and hang on to any fat it can get. So that will stop your weight loss. Try to get 800-1000 a day and see if that helps. It helped me. Joanne -56

Joanne, i also think that most days i may not be getting enough calories so thank you for the suggestion. you are doing wonderful with your weigh loss! I have to make myself use fitday.com to make sure i am getting enough calories in.

I think Joanne is right. My weight loss also improved when my calories went up. I stay pretty much between 800-1050, but it's very low on the weekends for some reason. I think I just get too busy to eat. Julie

Up your protein, water, and exercise may be the answer. Also cheese is very high sodium and can contribute to not losing weight. Altho the baked cheetos are good, they are high carbs. Just a suggestion, eat protein other than the cheese and switch the baked cheetos to Atkins Crunchers which taste great and are protein and low carbs. You can buy them at GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, Trader Joes, Gelson's grocery etc. Deli meat, cheese, nuts, cheetos are can be high sodium causing fluid retention. Carbs cause our bodies to hold onto fluids too. I think your weight loss is great. I've lost 29 lbs in just over 10 weeks and have been told by my surgeon and dietitian that I am right on track. You've lost 16 more lbs than I have. So if you need to compare, compare yourself against my stats since surgery and you'll see that you have really done well. (smile) I know the plateau can be frustrating. Check out your calorie totals for the day with fitday.com . If they are really low numbers, you may just need to increase your calories. Mary

Thank you all for your replies. I finally broke down and went to fitday and put in what i have had so far today. Here is what it showed me. Total cals as of 11:00 is 496 Fat: 27 gr Carbs 11 gr or 6% Protein: 49 gr or 42% So maybe i am doing ok with the protein and just need to cut back on the fat by eating low fat or no fat cheese when i want it and watching the sodium. ANDDDDD EXERCISING MORE......blechy..OKKKKK Julia and others you were right about using fitday.com....it does put it all in perspective. I still have lunch to eat and my afternoon slimfast and dinner if i can fit it in....thanks for all your words of wisdom.

Kelly, I'm going to highjack this train of thought for a moment to say that I LOVE Missouri. I went to college in Springfield and as I recall, springtime was fabulous there. I hope you're having a good spring THIS year! Julie

Hijack away! I went to SMS! i was there many moooons ago in 82/83ish time. I am about 3 hours away in jefferson city but you are right springtime is beautiful here. a week or so and i plan to be in the water swimming...ok yes it will still be a little cold but oh so worth it.

okay..now you're making me feel really old. I was there in '78 and '79; I went to Central Bible College and my brother went to Evangel so we spent ALOT of time in Springfield. Julie