Disappointed...

Well I last wrote to you on 10/24 and I was weighing in at 244. Well it's now 11/05 and I havent lost a pound. I dont understand what is going on. My hair hasnt stopped falling out. Everyone I speak to tells me my weight loss is slow. So what could I be doing wrong here? Anyone have any ideas? Whats your usual meal intake/plan? Any suggestions would help. It's just upsetting that my weight WONT budge and here I am at my 6 month point. Please help! Lynn

Lynn, Is hard for me to say or tell you what you are doing wrong . I know what has worked for me . Lots of protein , water and exersise . I eat around 700 calories a day . I do not touch bread or pasta .. or sugar . Have not tempted it yet and will not ever . I can not tell what your starting weight was or how much you have lost .. but I can tell you that uping your protein works .. at least it did for me . I went from 50 grams to 80 and the weight drops off like crazy .. Remember your body will go thru many slow downs .. is natural . Try uping your protein and see if that helps . Take care , Natalie

Natalie, I started out at 307 the week before my surgery and on my surgery day i was at 301. Now I am at 244 and STUCK. I do have PCOS. I dont get in enough fluids per day due to my job, so I dont get a lot of protein in either. It seems I get a plateau EVERY month and I dont understand it. I am getting married in April and I'd rather not be stuck at 220 or anything. Today I am going to start walking. Can you give me an example of things you eat during the day? I think I need to go back and rework my diet plan. Lynn

Yes, Lynn we are all different , but I am grounded to believe that if you do all that you are supposed to .. the weight will come off . plateau... that is a nasty word . Meaning that a true plateau last for about 1 or 2 months .. I am not sure that is what you are going thru . I think maybe your protein and exersise needs to be changed . Firstly - let's get the protein thing out of the way ... Try to get yours up to @ 75 or 80 grams a day ( Check with your doctor on this as well ) It works for me ... I know I have talked to others that have gone thru this and told them what I did and they did it and WAM the weight started coming off again . Second .. Stay on a healthy eating plan . Remember that sugar, pasta .. refined sugars .. white carbs are a hinderance to your loss . I am not saying do not have pasta .. but just keep in mind that those types of carbs turn into sugar .. and our bodies turn sugar into fat .. Third ... Drink your dang water .. Your matabolism will restart it self if you do this .. plus your bodies organs will thank you later .. they will not have to suck off each other to get the much needed water our bodies need . 4th... Exersise .. Move it girl .. ya gotta move to loose . Start out with walking again .. Set a goal ... try one mile .. then do 2 and go from there.. Trust me when I say this .. O you will loose with out the exersise.. you will not have good muscle tone and the loss will be slow .. so dig out those walking shoes and get out there .. If you do not like walking - get in your living room and dance till you just can not dance anymore .. Move and loose that is the key .. As to my daily routine .. I get in about 700 calories a day .. no more than 20 carbs and 20 fat grams .. I do my water .. at least 60 ounces or more .. I do some sort of Exersise daily .. I track everything I eat and drink on FITDAY.COM this is a great tool on the internet to help us .. I eat just about what I want .. minus the bad carbs .. high fats , bread - pasta .. and sugar .. I just can not go back to where I came from now . I am feeling so much better and well ... let's be honest here .. I am looking like I feel and I love it .. I can not ever risk going back .. and it can happen. You just have to be careful and disaplined . I ask that you try to forget the word plateau for now .. You are not in one .. it is just your bodies way of slowing down ... or maybe you just need to get back to basics .. I have tons of literature on protein .. and other wls helpful hints . I will be more than happy to send them to you or anyone else that wants them . Let me know how it goes for you and know I am here to help .. I do not have all the answers and some may say my routine is not what was prescribed for them and that is ok.. I just know what worked for me and is still working ... 103 pounds gone forever .. 8 dress sizes gone .. and I am a totally new person .. both inside and out .. Keep up the great work .. and you can count on me . Natalie

thanks NAT for your imput. i'm going to try to increase my protein. i seen the dietician recently and she said i have almost all the protein i need in a day. but still need a little more. and as for the water thing- its hard for me when i'm at work. i'm a nurse and we can't have any food or drink in the halls or at the nurses station with us, but i'm trying everyday to get it all in. thanks again. jennifer - 103 pounds

Lynn, You're not alone -- many of us May people seem to have come to this stage, struggling with low or no weight loss over the last month. We must all be going through a stage in our bodies' adjustment to living with a pouch where the whole stomach used to be. I've been stuck at 181-185 since early October. The most important thing is to HANG IN THERE and don't get depressed or give up. Protein and water (everyone says), and then more protein and water, and so on and so on. Keep the exercise level up, too. Remember this whole post-surgery weight-loss thing is expected to take 12-18 months, and we were all warned about plateaus. This must be what they were talking about! Keep your chin up, we're all rooting for you. Donna Lap RNY 5/10/04 243/182/135 (I hope, I hope!)

Hey there Lynn! No sad faces! Not allowed. LOL Everyone is different. Don't forget that. If I forgot that, man, I would be in a world of hurt. I am at a stand still as well. Have been for a while now. No biggie! I upped my protein but still at a stand still. I drink Carb Countdown Smoothies to help get in my protein. I haven't lost a pound in two months. LOL I just keep telling myself that my body is getting reajusted to what has happened to it. Also, I have pcos. That also slows your weight loss down quite abit but it will come off. As far as your hair, it is normal. I will grow back sooner or later. I know you want it to be sooner than later. But it will come back. I take in about 55 to 70 grams of protein a day. I try to stay away from breads, pasta, and other simple carbs. Now, don't get me wrong, I do have a bit here and there of pasta or something else I really want but I don't believe it hurts me because I don't eat it all the time nor do I eat alot of it at a time. I have been told by many that doing that it is okay. Including the doctor says it is okay. But every doctor is different. My mom had it done two years ago and she hit major platues for months at a time but now she is skinny. At normal weight. It will come off just keep your head up. Toni