I'm 11 months out...March 29th is my 1 year surgiversary and I am exstatic! I've lost 149 pounds so far and have been living the life I've missed out on for what seems like forever. I'm going to be 32 years old have just recently started dating....for the FIRST TIME! Doing things I haven't done since I was a little kid. What I want to know is how everyone else is dealing with the changes and what changes are impacting them the most.

Let me just say thank you for posting this. I haven't been on this forum in a while because I have been so aggravated with this crazy stall. I thought I was the only one since it seems to have started so long ago that I can't remember. I have not lost more than 10 lbs in many months and I have lost a total of 88 lbs. It seemed like everyone else was continuing to lose so I just quick checking in. Well, this morning I decided to do a quick check to see what everyone was up to and here is the subject I really needed to hear. Granted my stall is probably mostly my fault. I have had issues with following the regimen and I haven't been exercising much but it seems that this stall happens to everyone around this time maybe... or at least to a lot of us. I have said this many times- Weight Loss Surgery is not Brain Surgery... I need that brain surgery to force me to make those changes. However, I have resolved that even if I never lost another lb I am thrilled with what I have lost. When I look back at pictures I can see the difference in major ways and that is wonderful. I know I feel better and that is awesome. I am very thankful for this journey. I just have felt so let down because I had this vision of being closer to my goal weight by now and I got so use to losing it so quickly that when the weight loss basically shut down it was hard. Now I am just dealing with it. Either way, life will go on and I will strive to focus on what I have accomplished and try harder to make better choices in the future. Thanks everyone. Jenifer

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

Great news!!! So happy for you! I'm sure everything will be fine. Keep us updated on how you're doing!! --Dave

If you aren't eating enough, your body is going to "shut down" and hold on to whatever you give it. Especially if you are exercising a lot, you NEED to be eating the appropriate amount of food. I would start calculating your calories to find out where you are and try making some adjustments to see if that will help. Wendy