I'm stuck

I had the lap-band surgery in March 2007. I have hit a stale mate. I have lost 63 lbs since surgery. My weight was 247 lbs. I am at 184 right now. The only problem is I have been at the same weight for 2 months now. I try to eat right, I exercise every day for any where from an hour to hour and half. I am faithful to my workout routine. I have only missed 3 days in 4 weeks. If anyone has any ideas to jumpstart my weightloss again, please let me know!!

Judy, It sounds like you're being REALLY consistent. This may be part of the problem. You likely need to "change things up" to really get the results you want. Professional athletes constantly deal with plateaus, and they all know the only way to beat them is to do something different. Here's some ideas, but you're going to really have to be honest with yourself in how you're doing. 1. Track/review your total caloric intake. You can use notebook or something like fitday.com. It is possible that you're getting too few calories, or possibly too many calories (from what you wrote it sounds like maybe too few calories). If you are working out 1 to 1 1/2 hrs per day, your body may need more calories to lose weight. Not eating enough calories can cause your body to go into "starvation" mode, in which you will make no progress regardless of how much you work out. Some people will adjust how they consume the calories throughout the day (breaking calories up throughout the day), and sometimes having more calories early in the day to kick start the metabolism. Our bodies "get used" to what we are doing, so changing things up can cause a change. 2. Review your protein intake. I, and many people I know tend to increase their protein/calories when they are working out heavily. Sometimes even a temporary increase in the amount of protein intake can get you through a plateau. 3. Review your pre-surgery bad habits-- We all know what our bad habits related to food and exercise were before our sugeries. Make sure your habits reflect your new Healthier self, and you're not slipping back into pre-surgery habits. 4. HYDRATE. Make sure that you are getting enough WATER into your system for your body to void the fats you're trying to get rid of. With your workout intensity you may need much more H20 than your doctor initially recommended. I know it's kind of gross, but urine color is a good indicator of how hydrated you are. Dark urine is bad, almost clear urine is very good. 5. Don't forget to have fun, and enjoy your life. Too many of us can focus on how much we feel we "still have to go" and don't get the satisfaction out of life now that we should. With what you've lost, you HAVE to be enjoying increased mobility and activity. Let your past successes convince you that you CAN continue to have more successes. You have alot to be proud of, and give yourself credit. I'm sure there are alot of us reading who could benefit from the 1-2 hours of effort you're putting in at the gym. Take care, and keep us updated as you bust through your next plateau by changing things up. Don't be afraid to set an appointment with a nutritionist to review your food journals and activity patterns. --Dave from AZ