No loss since the middle of May

I feel like an annoying broken record about my plateau, but I thought I'd post here to see if any of my March 2005 compatriots are in the same boat as I am. My surgery was 3/16/05. I lost great in the beginning. About a month out I stalled for 3 weeks. No sweat, it happens, I got over it. I lost about 15lbs really fast after that, but now I've been in a plateau since the middle of May, almost 12 WEEKS! Not one measly pound in 12 weeks! And I'm going to be 22 weeks out of surgery this Wednesday. I have done everything I can to break this plateau. I've talked to the nurse practitioner, nutritionist and exercise physiologist about this and have followed all of their suggestions. I have a personal trainer and I had him give me a new exercise program to change that up. I get in 60-80g of proten a day, and generally 60-100oz of water a day. I do get in a fair number of carbs, the complex variety, on the advice of my nutritionist, who suggested I needed a lot more than I was getting because I exercise so much. I am in the gym an hour a day 6 days a week, and also walk at least 2 miles a day 6 days a week. I also do all sorts of other "exercise", as I'm single and own my own home so I have to do all the lawn and garden stuff myself, as well as the housekeeping (what little of that I actually do). I vary my calorie intake daily, such as 800 one day, 1200 the next, then 950, then 1100, then 750, anywhere between 600 and 1400, per my nutritionist. I've started to cut back on my carbs again just to try anything to move the scale. Most of my carbs come from fruits, though I freely admit that I am so damned depressed about this plateau that I'm having a hard time avoiding old habits, and I've had some days of eating extremely poorly. I weigh myself just once a week, on Monday nights at the gym. My own scale has been banished to the closet. And before any well intentioned person again suggests I take my measurements as muscle is more compact that fat and weighs more, I am definitely smaller than I was. I don't measure myself and will not, but I am definitely smaller. But even that cannot, in my or any one else's mind, account for the fact that I haven't lost ONE DAMNED POUND in 12 weeks when I'm only 5 months out! I've been stuck more than half the time since my surgery. I can be losing all sorts of fat and gaining all sorts of muscle, but that only goes so far. At some point the scale has to change regardless of how much fat I lose and muscle I gain. I weigh 220lbs, and my calories average out to between 800-1000 a day. I'm not bulking up like a body builder, there's no way increased muscle can account for this. I just can't see that there's any way I shouldn't be losing weight again by now. I truly appreciate that muscle is heavier than fat, and appreciate the support I get from all sorts of folks, but that doesn't help my frustration at this situation. Please tell me that someone else has been through such a long plateau this early out????? I have lost about 56lbs since surgery, and I know averaged out over the 22 weeks since surgery 56lbs doesn't seem that bad, but that still doesn't change the fact that I haven't lost an ounce in 12 weeks!!! Any ideas, suggestions, etc? I'm truly starting to think this surgery did not work for me. I would so love to find at least one other person who went through such a long plateau this early out but returned to losing weight and ended up losing most of their excess weight. Thanks for reading this if you made it this far! Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen, Well, my experience has not been exactly like yours, but it's been frustrating in its own way. I stalled for 6 weeks 2 weeks after surgery. Loss since the end of the stall has been slow (but inches have come off steadily). I've had no weight loss for 2 and a half weeks now. I lost 25 pounds before surgery and have lost 41 since surgery. 66 is a good total, but I do feel as if I'm losing much more slowly than most people. I can live with this as long as I do lose weight over time. It's just that the stalling makes me panicky sometimes -- like it's not going to work for me. I suspect you're feeling a bit like this too. I think it's too early for either of us to panic. I think you'll be fine. Me too. I've got to believe this or I'd be feeling nutty! Donna

Thank you so much for your post. I get so discouraged when I read of everyone else's losses being so steady. I have stalled out three times now, the first two were shorter. This one is the stall from hell. I havent lost but 2 lbs since end of April. I'd have to check my wt logs for the exact deal, but I do know that it sucks. Every once in a while, I weigh and see a lower number but it is short lived. My wt is up and down with my menstrual cycle. I've called everyone and their brother and the Dr still isnt worried. He says its because I was a light wt to begin with. I too feel like I've failed the surgery. The good news is that I'm working my butt off at the gym. While I"m not seeing the results on the scale, I am feeling better physically and I'm enjoying *gasp* working out! Yep, me!! I had surgery on 3/1 and have lost less than 50lbs. Amy

I'm stalling BIG time and my surgery was 3/8. I haven't lost any weight since early July. I lost a couple more pounds a couple weeks ago, and I thought my stall was broken finally, but it's not. It's so frustrating. Argggh! You are not alone! We are here for you!! Hang in there. Weight will eventually come off. I wish I could understand how our bodies work. I lost about 90 lbs in 4 months - thats GREAT - I know, but why give me that kind of awesome loss and then ...... STOP! Uhg! Drives me bonkers!! I go to the scale DAILY and it's the same, same, same.......I'd be going even more bonkers if I was to go 12 weeks without losing! HOW FRUSTRATING!! You are not alone!! I am struggling too. Trisha in Arizona

Hi, I am another Marcher who is stalled and have been here now for close to 6 weeks. I have lost 65 lbs since surgery and am also sitting at 220 lbs. The dang scale will not move!!!! I even thought it was broke and had my hubby weigh on it to see if it was stuck on 220! I am with you on the frustration but we have to believe this will work for us! 90% of the time my choices are healthy, I sometimes get too busy and forget to get all my vitamins and protein in but not often enough for it to cause me to be stuck here forever....ARGGGGG! Am getting ready to go on vacation for a week without the scale and it will probably drive me nuts since I am on there everyday. Hang in there....the surgeon told me that people in their 50's and with diabetes will lose slower but will still lose. My primary said that it is better to lose like this and to quit thinking about it. Easier said than done. Now I have an ulcer and somedays don't want to eat since it hurts even with meds. You are not alone. Sounds like there are several of us who are struggling together! We will make it thru it! Roxi

Me too! I had my surgery the end of March. I lost 50 lbs in 2 months. Since then I've been stalled. I am sooooooooooo frustrated!!! I could have lost 50 lbs in 4 months without having surgery. Sometimes I wonder if my surgeon did anything. My pouch feels no different that before. I have no problems with any kind of food. I thought I'd lose about 70 or 80 lbs by now. Everyone thinks I am cheating. I don't know what to do. My surgeon left and the new guy says "the surgery only goes so far, you have to do the rest yourself". Maybe you should try all protein shakes for a week? I may do that myself.

Stella, I read your post and it seems like you are doing all the right things, you exercise, drink your water, eat your protein etc. I then wondered what could you do different. It seems like you are exercising a great deal. Six days a week in the gym and walking 2 miles a day 6 days a week is a considerable amount of exercise. Don't get me wrong I think exercise is great, I was just wondering if perhaps your body is burning up so many calories that it has thrown itself into starvation mode and thinks it can't release any extra fat because it is going to need it. Don't get out of the habit of exercising but what about for 2 weeks just go to the gym 4 times a week and walk maybe 3-4 times a week. Hey I'm certainly not an expert, just thought I would throw something out there. I stalled for 3 weeks back in July and I can imagine how frustrated you are. good luck, corgimom

Thank you all SO much for your replies. This is the first time I've heard of this happening to other people and while it breaks my heart that you are all going through this too I am so relieved and hopeful now because I know I am not alone!!!! That was the hardest part for me, the my friends from the program are losing weight right and left, one of whom has dropped 100lbs since March with pretty much no effort. It's so hard on my head! I almost cried when I read your posts. Can I beg that we keep up regular posting here and keep each other updated on how we're doing? I think it will help not only us (especially if/when one of us and/or ALL of use finally starts losing again) but will help those who come after us who might hit this kind of endless plateau and feel so alone. As for the gym, I had a very long, detailed conversation with my exercise physiologist about my exercise. At one point I had to miss the gym for 4 days because of a medical procedure and I lost 10 lbs. Within 3 days of going back to the gym I had gained them all back. This happened another time I missed 3 days at the gym. I lost 6lbs then gained them back. So I hysterically called the exercise physiologist, convinced that exercise was keeping me heavy. LOL. She was so thrilled with my amount of exercise and told me not to stop. She said in the long run I'm going to be WAY better off than those who don't exercise so much since, by building muscle, I'm increasing my metabolism a lot, so I'll burn food much more efficiently in the future and, ultimately, will be able to eat more (will HAVE to eat more) because of the muscle. Sounds good to me! That's when I called my trainer and changed up the program. I know do upper body weights one day, lower body weights the next,a nd 60 min of cardio the third. I do each day twice a week. I am under strict orders to not be in the gym exercising more than an hour a day, which I abide by completely. If I have time after my weight routines I'll do a cardio machine till I get to my hour, then I shower and go home. My body is definitely smaller and more compact, and I know I look like I've lost way more than 50lbs. I weigh 220 and wear size 14 now. Size-wise if I stopped her I'd be ok with it. I'm have a very big frame and am very muscular, much more so than the average woman (which I love but most women probably would hate LOL) Not a great size but I could live with it. My big concern is that at some point the sheer poundage I'm hauling around with me is unhealthy. It's for that reason alone that I'm worried so much about the plateau.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I thought I was alone in the stalled/slow weight loss department. Not that I'm happy that others are experiencing the frustration that I'm feeling, but I'm so relieved to know that I am not alone! I guess it's a matter of hanging in there and letting our bodies go at their own pace. Cheryl