8/4 RNY, Major Plateau!

Hey there! This is my first post to my official 'group.' I need help! Okay, granted, I went from a 22/24 to a 16/18, people who haven't seen me in awhile don't recognize me, people I have worked with for years do a double take when they see me, I feel sexier and healthier. That being said, I'm on a plateau - at only 8 months out! Meanwhile, my best friend who had surgery in November and was bigger than me has sailed right on past me, and to add insult to injury, we work in the same office and I know people are comparing the two of us when they see us together. I feel like such a failure. Is it my fault? You betcha! I have't been exercising like I am supposed to. I probably eat more carbs than I'm supposed to. And, I'm ready to make a change. I feel like I'm entering phase two of my journey. I've started exercising twice a day (30 minutes each), and am about to go back on Atkins. I know I can keep the weight off (I've fluctuated between 193 and 197 for two months). Has anyone been where I am now? What did you do? I have to go see my surgeon for my 9 month checkup in 3 weeks, and I feel like a failure! Foxy Baby Diva 240/196

Hi, I also hit a plateau. I needed to increase my water and up my protien. I was not gaining but I realized that I was eating way too many carbs. Once I did this, I started to lose again. Don't let people compare you. Did she have more to lose? Most people have hit the century club by now. NOT ME! I'm slow but still going. Good luck, Karin

My surgery was the day before your's. I too hit a plateau when I was about 6 months out. I finally decided to go to the gym 3 days a week on 2/9. They weighed and measured me then and then they do it periodically to track your loss. When I got weighed and measured on 4/14 (a meer 2 months later, and there were times I only made it twice a week), I found out that I had lost 20.5 pounds and 19 inches since February! Starting to exercise really kicked me back into losing. In fact, I lost 3 pounds from last Friday to this past Wednesday! I only wish I had started exercising earlier. I have a feeling that these flappy thighs aren't going to get any smaller. However, it gets hot here and I WILL wear shorts. If folks don't wanna look at my thighs, they can turn their heads! *LOL* Just remember, we all lose the weight at different paces. I know of a woman who had WLS last spring and is only down about 50 pounds. Then you take someone like me, it's been less than 9 months and I've lost 130 of the 148 I want to lose. The best dieting advice I can offer is to definitely stay away from the carbs. I was stunned when I realized I could eat about 3/4 of a Wendy's Single when I was really hungry. I stopped going there. I didn't want to fill up on bread! I now usually get a chicken salad of some sort when I go out to eat. I do go to Subway, but instead of a sub, I get a wrap. I eat about half of it for lunch and the other half for dinner. The biggest thing is to definitely start exercising though. It will jump start your metabolism and you'll start losing weight again. I almost guarantee it. Best of luck to you on breaking that plateau. You can do it!

Ok, first of all you are not alone in the whole I'm-on-a-plateau-and-feel-like-a-failure kick. It's completely natural to hit a plateau now and again. It's your bodys way of trying to catch up with your weight loss. I just got off of an 8 week plateau so I completely understand. I started journaling everything that I put in my mouth at (www.) fitday.com. I cut back on my snacking (especially on high carb things like chips and such), increased my protein (to at least 100g a day) and increased my water (at least 80oz a day). I'm still not exercising...and frankly I just don't have time to right now between work and school. Don't stress...you're not done and your plateau will break. Mine just broke on Wednesday, before then I was fluctuating as well...149.5-150-150.5-150-150.5-149.5-150-150.5-150-150.5....you get the picture. Then Wednesday it broke and I dropped 1.5 lbs...then yesterday another 0.5 lb and today another 0.5 lb. So take a deep breath...relax...increase your protein...increase your water...decrease your carb intake...and journal everything you eat and it will break. Not overnight but it will break. It's taken me about 2-2 1/2 weeks of my new habits before the plateau broke. Chin up...you're doing great. Kristy 254/147/130

Thank you, ladies SOOO MUCH! Okay, I can do this. I'm ready to get off this plateau and take it to the next level. You all have done so AWESOME!

Tanya, Your post sounds just like me. I started at size 32 and now I am at 22. Yes I am happy about that and I do feel so much better. But like you I have hit a plateau. I have not gained any weight but I have not lost either. I feel like a failure because I have not lost anything in over a month. I feel like I am letting this opportunity pass by me. I know that we have a year to lose the most weight and I feel like since I have wasted over a month of this time that I am a failure. I do no exercise on a regular basis and I know that is part of the problem. Somehow I need to get myself back on track. My problem is I snack in the afternoon between 4:00 and 6:00pm which is on my way home from work. I know I need to increase my water. My problem is I get so busy at work I completely forget to drink the water. I have it sitting on my desk and I even have a sticky note on my monitor that says Drink Water. However, I am in and out of meetings all day and I just get busy. Any suggestions would be great. Kristy...how do you get 100 grms of protein in a day? Is is all from food or do you drink shakes? I find it hard to get all my protein through food. Please advise.

I had the same problem with water. I ended up having to actually sit my cup in front of me between my chest and the keyboard! Doing this kept me sipping all day long. And, when I get on the treadmill, I take a 20 oz cup or bottle of water with me and drink it all. The one thing I have also started to do is take bigger drinks of water. It took some time to get used to it without overloading my pouch, but now, as the pouch is healing and expanding somewhat, it's easier to take 2 or 3 larger gulps of water at a time. Funny thing is though, sometimes I get dizzy from drinking too fast, so I try to pace myself. Can you take the water with you to your meetings? I don't go into ANY meetings without my water - even if it's a long meeting. I, too used to snack on the way home from work. I broke that habit by making sure I had an iced down Atkins drink with me. I keep a 12 pack under my desk and pour one over ice about 30 minutes before I get off, and sip on it from then all the way home. This helps too, because by the time I get home, I am not starving and ready to shove food into my mouth. I have time to make dinner and actually eat it and not feel guilty because I ate all the way home. Regarding the protein issue - you'd be surprised how much protein you get just from your food. Add a protein drink to that (I do one on the way home from work and TRY to do one before I go to bed) and you'll be very close to that 100g mark. I just got on fitday.com based on a great tip I got in this post, and even without my shake for the day, I'm at 61g. With my shake later, I'll be at 81, and probably with my snack tonight (cheese stick or turkey), I'll be at 90 or so. Good luck, and just believe!!!!

I never thought about putting the bottle of water between me and the keyboard. That is a great idea and I will have to try that this week. I drink an Atkins shake or protein shake on the way to work every morning. I had not thought about drinking one on the way home. I might try that. I found a snack bar that has 10g of protein and sometimes I eat that on my way home. Snacking on my way home is a very old habit for me. It is funny in a way. You go many months without doing any bad habits and then one day you realize you are hungry on the way home. You have nothing in the car with you so as soon as you walk in the door you start snacking on something. Bang! The bad habit is back. It amazes me how fast it comes back and like always it is extremely hard to stop. This one thing reminds me that this surgery is just a tool. If you don'****ch yourself you can be right back to all your old habits in a very short amount of time. I will not allow that to happen to me. It sounds like most of us have had a few set backs. But we have each other and understand what each other is going through. I think as one of us finds something that works and we share it with the group it might help others. One thing I started last week and I will let you know how it works is drinking water when I am hungry. I heard somewhere that sometimes when we are hungry it is not because we want food but because we are thirsty. So I am going to try this all week and let you know how it works. I always have a bottle of water with me on my way home from work. I am really going to try and concentrate on drinking all the water and see if that helps with the urge to eat. I think I am going to have to put it over some ice. I find on my way home that I have this urge to chew/eat something. Maybe if I eat ice while drinking my water that will help. I will let you all know how it goes. I have tried Fitday before and really liked it. The problem is I get so busy sometimes that I would forget to enter what I ate. I will have to start back on that again. Sounds like it is working for others. Thanks for the advice.

OH...I SO can relate to all of you and I agree that if we continue to support each other and share what we have found that works, we will all be successful AND healthy!! My surgeon told me that if I am really hungry, like really craving a specific thing, to drink water because that is not what true hunger is like. So now that I am plateauing, I have really begun to do this as I too have been into the carbs a little too much lately. I am NEVER buying crackers again!!! They are the devil!!! HA HA HA! If I just drink water every time I am thinking of going to the breakroom and getting into the CheezIts, I do fine. Hopefully we will all be off of this dreadful 8 month plateau very soon. I have just begun to truly excercise by bicycling after work. It is SO much easier than before surgery as I am 141 pounds lighter. I am actually looking forward to going each day. That is SO not like me! Girls, we have a lot of new things to look forward to, so let's stick together and get back on track!!! Blessings Rachel T.

Rachel, That is amazing...141 lbs is great. I am so proud of you. As for drinking water when you feel hungry, I was told or read the same thing. I am trying to do that but sometimes my brain gets in the way. If I could just delete somethings from my brain I think that would be a lot better. Anyway good luck on getting off the plateau. I lost a couple of lbs over the weekend and that is the first time in over a month. And to be honest I have no idea why I lost it. I have not really done anything different. Anyways, I am committing to trying to drink more water and drink it when I feel hungry. Also, I am thinking about joining a gym to help me start exercising. Good luck to all. Elizabeth