Plateau HELL!

I cannot get past this plateau that I have been at. I have lost a grand total of 3 pounds since 5/17. Those three lbs came back plus 2 more. I'm back to 285lbs. I eat nothing! It's so frustrating! I don't care if I am in starvation mode there is no reason I shouldn't eventually lose weight. For god's sake i'm 285lbs not 100lbs. Is it possible this surgery will not work? Will I never lose more weight? I lost more weight dieting on my own. Did I go through the pain and frustration and the inability to eat just for 35lbs in 2 months. AND oh yeah! I've lost more weight than that on my own in 2 months. I've tried everything. I even increased my calories and protein. What are the odds that I will not work for me?

Donna, I'm pretty sure the odds are infitessimally small that this will not work for you. Some questions that pop into my mind are: 1. What type of surgery did you have? 2. Do you have access to a nurtritionist? 3. Have you perhaps lost inches or gained muscle? It is very important to eat to lose weight, and to drink lots of water. I'm sorry I can't be more help - I'd like to be - but I do want to encourage you to speak with your surgeon about this. Please keep us posted. We need to hear struggles as much or more than successes so we know we are not alone. Jaime

That doesn't seem right (or fair!) Donna. Since all of us on this board had surgery around the same time, why don't you post this same message on the main message board. A lot of people who have been in this longer than us can probably offer some help. Good luck.

Donna.... Hi, I can sympathize with you as these thoughts often run thru my head. My goal is to lose 45 by the end of the month, but my time is running out b/c my PMS is going to start probably in the next 5 days and my scale won't move, at least it didn't last month. So far i am at 38 lbs at 6 weeks. One thing I have noticed is that my scale does not make significant movement unless I exercise. Are you getting any physcial activity? Good luck... Hillari

I had open RNY on 4/12 - My incision is still opened a little after a seroma developed 4 weeks post-op. My exercise was limited for awhile due to this, however I can now freely exercise. I exercise on my eliptical in 2 minutes intervals (because I'm normally about to collapse from heart attack if I do more) probably twice a day. I can't do loads of walking because of osteoarthritis and the orthopedic Doc advised the eliptical for less impact. I was advised to do water aerobics but don't have access to a pool for now. I do get in 64 ounces of water these days. Protein is a little tougher because for some reason my body rejects it and I puke. Meat, protein drinks, pasta, etc.. make me puke. I eat approximately 500 calories a day. Normal day would consist of: Breakfast:4 oz of Nectar Protein. (I can now tolerate about 3 ounces of it, if i do more I puke) Lunch:Deli Ham with Cheese about 1 large slice and about 4 small cubes of cheese. snack :dill pickles usually 2 of these (that is the best thing in the world to me at this point). Sometimes watermelon as this does well for me. Afternoon when I get home from work:4 oz. of nectar protein again I only get about 3 ounces down. Dinner: 1/4 cup of chicken salad and 3 baby carrots and small amount of ranch dressing. I usually alter this with either 1 hard crunchy taco from taco bell or a small chili from wendys. On occasion I forgo the meat and eat a salad with mayonaise with lemon juice on it. I realize my activity level is not what alot of peoples are but I'm severly overweight still with the arthritis. 5' 1" tall and weigh 285 as of today.

I understand how you feel. I am 71/2 weeks post op and have only lost 36lbs. I lost 25 in the first 2 weeks,so my weight loss has stalled significantly. I think you should try to increase your protein intake. I have started mixing my own protein shakes and they taste better than any you can buy. Try 8 oz skim milk, Add 1/4 cup nonfat dried milk powder,1 scoop whey protein powder ( flavorless), 2 packets splenda,1- 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder and 1 cup ice. Mix in blender. It takes a few hours to drink it all, but I actually lose weight the day after I drink it. Unnfortunately, I have few evenings at home,so I don't get to do it often enough. This drink will give you about 250 calories and 30 gms protein.

Donna, How frustrating it must be for you. I personally am staying off the scale. As far as the odds of this not working for you, the same question came up in my support group. The psychologist said that she has never known anyone to not lose weight (though I have heard of a staple line breaks allowing an opening to the old stomach). She also said plateaus can last months and if you are on a plateau, try doing something different in terms of diet and exercise. Oh yeah...and measure yourself. I lot of times are bodies are rearranging...get smaller, but not reflected scale wise. I wish you the best of luck! Hugs, Rachel

Donna, How about cottage cheese and scrambled eggs? They are both good protein sources and pretty gentle on the stomach. I am 7 weeks out and usually have a 1/2 c. cottage cheese with a little bit of fruit for breakfast. Keep experimenting. Your body has just been through a huge trauma and needs to adjust to it's new piping! Good luck! Dawn

Donna, I am so sorry that you are having such a rough time of things right now. ~~Internet Huggs~~ The best advice I have is keep following your surgeon's rules, and the weight will come off. The surgery can't fail you, but you can fail it if you don't follow your half of the agreement you signed up for when you let your surgeon operate on you. I wish you nothing but the best now and on the rest of your lifelong journey, ~Lara

Donna, I looked at your profile and you're down 54 lbs since surgery! That's amazing!!! Don't get discouraged. It sounds like your body is in the OMG (Oh My God!) phase. My body is going through that right now and I've only lost 37 lbs. If you haven't done so, take your body measurements and then take them again in 2 weeks. You are probably losing inches right now. I didn't take my measurements before surgery but did last week. I just took my waist measurement and I've lost a half inch. I know it's not much, but it sure feels good. Since I'm at work, I didn't have time to take anything else, but I'd bet that I've lost inches elsewhere too. Sounds like you need to find a pool (try a YWCA, Park District). Don't worry if they don't have water aerobics. Just do some swimming, dog paddling, backstroke, whatever. It's all no impact to your legs and so it should help. Do as much as you can. If it's only 5 minutes, it's 5 minutes. Gradually, you'll be able to go longer and longer. I also have a better time at riding the stationary bike because I too have arthritis in my knees and left ankle and have 5 surgeries on them (left knee once, right knee twice and left ankle twice). Although my knees feel considerably better, my ankle still hurts so bad that at times I want to chop it off. But I have found that the more I exercise lightly (meaning something other than walking) the better it feels. Keep your chin up. THIS SURGERY WILL NOT FAIL YOU. As long as you get your protein and water in, and limit your carbs, you should be on your way to a healthier, happier you.