Not Losing anymore PLEASE HELP

Hello I am new to this board, but am always looking on but finally decided to become a member and ask for help. The thing is I was 186 before I got preggo and now I'm not preggo any more 8 months ago and I have been tring to lose weight and nothing but gaining a few pounds and I think I stretched my pouch when I was preggo trying to make sure my baby got enough of food and now I still eat alot and can't seem to get the full feeling and not to say the chocolate that I started craving when I was preggo. I started walking 2 to 3 miles 5 to 6 times a day and increase water and protein but still nothing. If anyone can help I would be greatfull. Mel

Melissa, welcome aBoard! You are amongst friends and we all relate to each other's trials on some level as we move further and further away from our surgery dates. You are living life! Congratulations on your baby; it sounds as if you and the little one are doing just fine. What a blessing! Here's my advice on the "numbers" game - you are doing the right thing by shifting your focus and energy on moving your body, staying well hydrated, and upping your protein intake. If you stay away from empty calories, white flour-based foods, and enjoy your fruits and veggies, you will not only start losing weight again, you will regain and maintain optimum health. None of this is easy! The hard truth is we are way beyond our surgeries, going on three years! Our task these days is to learn to live with food in our lives, and embrace life joyfully and with great passion. Take a moment to look into the eyes of your baby and feel that love wash over you; that's how you must feel about taking care of yourself. I view this entire journey as being newly born - from not knowing how to walk, to pulling myself up, to taking a few, tentative steps, to gaining confidence, and to moving forward with great purpose and determination. I hope this helps. You're making good decisions and if you are true to yourself and your program (whatever works for you...), you will get, be, and stay healthy - the numbers are secondary to how we feel, physicall and emotionally, about ourselves and our lives. Take care, and please stick around. We need you! Reenie

Melissa - Perhaps a little more info can give us a clearer picture as to how "bad" it is for you. You mentioned you were 186 before you got pregnant. What are you now? And your baby is 8 months old? Are you breastfeeding? How much can you eat in a sitting? If you don't really know, do the cottage cheese test and report back what it is. I do know that you can shrink your pouch again if you don't eat much for a couple days. It's tough if you are really hungry, but a couple days of a liquid diet could do the trick for you. Main thing is that you came here for help and support, and if you keep coming back and sharing, that will be 9/10ths of the battle. Hang around! Dina

HI Melissa, Been There, Done that type answer here. We can all eat more these day. It is all about having to re-measure what you do eat. It sounds like you have changed your thought pattern & that will help in this battle. Go back to measuring 4 to 6 oz of food & just eat that 3 times a day with a snack, maybe being protein based & see if that helps. There is days I can eat all day long (if I let myself) then there are days that are just fine. It is all about those darn choices we make. So yes, it's a fight now that we are 2 plus years out. It is how we choose to make those choices that keeps the fight going. Hang tough & hope this might help a little. How much did you gain while being Preganant? Have you had your Vit's checked lately? That all plays a part in this, too!! Marilyn, the Bearlady

I am not breastfeefing anymore I only did that for 4 weeks. I am now at 204 and was at about 198 a few weeks ago until I started to increase protein and am still not eating the right kinds of food. It depends on how much I can eat at one sitting sometimes like a whole piece of small chicken breast and some greenbeans and then some times just a few bites and I'm full. But I am trying to start on eating better food and even thought about going on liquid for 2 to 3 weeks and see what happens. I've had blood work checked and everything is ok so I just need to get on the right track. Thanks Melissa

See my post on protein from last week. Make sure to count your grams every day and make sure you're eating 9g for every 20lbs you weight. I was on a major plateau and lost 3 lbs in 2 days when I starting eating the right amount of protein. It kicks your metabolism into gear. As far as craving of sweets, that's all mental. I have a HUGE sweet tooth. I started buying berries and fruits and eating a TON every day. Once I got my palate used to natural sugars, refined sugars taste nasty to me now. I tried eating an oreo and couldn't fini**** Try to get past the mental craving. Once you are, indulge every once in a while. It's not so bad!!! GL sweetie, and keep coming back. We can all support each other!!! Jill

The thing is, you don't have very far to go to get it back off again. You can do it, and you need to get it in your head that this is EASY compared to what it was before. So maybe a new approach would help. Consider filling up on veggies...raw veggies, then eat whatever you like after you've eaten quite a bit of those. Thing is, you mainly fill up on something like raw carrots, and you leave little room in your pouch for the yummy but calorie-laden stuff. You kill 2 birds with one stone. First, you are eating things that are healthy as an appetizer, plus you get to eat the things you might normally deny yourself on a diet. You just won't be able to eat as much of them. Try playing with different techniques until you find something that works for you. But try to get out of the defeated mode you are in. Use your pouch to help you through. Even if it is stretched out a little bit, it's still smaller than your old stomach and it wouldn't take much to lose some weight if you incorporate a few little tricks. Keep coming back here and posting. It really helps to have folks who understand the struggle to listen to you and provide feedback. Dina

whats the cottage cheese test?

Thank all of you for all of your advise. I will try your ideas and hopefully start losing again. Melissa

Melissa, how are you doing? I'm trying to get as many Marchers 2004 folks as possible to post a four-year anniversary update. Listen, those of us still active on the board are all struggling and we need each other to figure out how to keep this weight off! Please post and let us know how you're doing. Hope to hear from you soon. Maureen