I have stalled for about five weeks now...no real weight loss???

Hello everyone from August 2007 surgery board. I haven't checked in with you guys all that often, I always seem to forget about this board. Anyway, I had surgery Aug 21, 2007 and I am down to 187 lbs since early January. I have gone back up and down from 187 to 192 since then. I realize that I have been house bound with the winter weather in Ohio, but I go to work everyday and run around on Saturdays. I have't been to the gym, so I need to pick that back up, it just GOSH, I was really enjoying the weight just coming off without effort. I am not looking forward to working for the rest of this weight loss! In early January I seemed to have had that moment when my stomach didn't get sick anymore, and I could eat little things and not get sick. So I started nibbling on little things like bread, or a bite of cookie or donut on Friday morning at the office, and low and behold I have stalled. I realize that the weight will continue to come off once I get back into gear, its just frightening to realize that all of the same challenges that I had before surgery are the same problems that I am having after surgery! Does that sound NUTS, does anyone else feel panicked that they have already failed at wieght loss, and worried about keeping up with the wieght loss. I feel like I am always going to need a shrink, and that I may never be able to make the "big life change in eating habits that we all realize this takes". I hate being this helpless to my weight. My husband asked me yesterday if I were still losing weight, and I lied! I said yes of course honey I am losing. He must have realized that I haven't comeing dancing out of the bathroom with a big grin in weeks, and so he is asking. The other issue is that I was back to my old tricks with sweets this weekend, I was holding on to cookies, (three from Cheryls cookies at the mall) to eat when I wanted, and not sharing them. What the HELL was that about, I don't need to hide cookies, I dont' need cookies, I need to kick this weight issue in the $*@ if you know what I mean. OK I want the truth...do any of you every get this way...how many of you have stalled or plautued? Do any of you worry that this weight loss is to good to be true and that something is going to happen to make you fat again? I saw Carnie Wilson on Gone Country tv show this past week. She has gained back a lot of her weight, it looked like almost 60 to 70 lbs that she has gained. That frightens me!!! I really don't want to struggle with weight ever again in my life, I really want this to work. I don't want to hide cookies and feel guilty about it! Ok I am NUTTS. Please write back if your a NUTT too. Thanks for letting me go on and on.. Sami Sue

Hello Sami Sue, Like you, I am having a hard time not falling back into my old patterns. Night time eating is becoming a real problem. My pouch allows me to eat far too much dinner and then I crave snacks in the evening as well. I try to keep them low cal but it still adds up of course. Last night I ate three servings of homemade chili for dinner! It was low fat, high protein and very tasty but I should not be able to eat three servings of anything. Even if I can eat three servings, I should be strong enough to resist....that is what got me all this extra weight in the first place. Funny thing is that during the morning and afternoon I have little appetite and can eat only small amounts before feeling full. I don't know what the problem is but I can't afford to fail at this and I am going to speak with my psychologist about it this week. If he has any concrete suggestions, I will let you know. Donna Kay

That's what I am talking about...why do we do this to our selves, eating three servings...I know what you mean...I ate two small squares of pizza my husband made on Saturday, then I ate one more a few hours later before I went to bed and two more Sunday afternoon. Then I was surprised when the scale was back up 4 lbs this morning...Holy Cow Batman... I have done it to myself again! The only advise that I have got that seems to help me is when I watch the clock and force myself to eat every two hours on schedule for up to six times then I can back off and not eat in the evenings. For me it seems to be boredom, it is winter, I am home stuck in the house with my family making each other nutts, bored and eating. On week days I don't do as bad, I eat at 8, 10, 12, 2, and sometimes 4 then again between 6 and 7 and I am done for the night. On the weekends when I don't eat on such a regular schedule then I get into trouble going back to my OLD WAYS. I don't want to be like Clarie Wilson, I feel bad for her being in the public eye and having all of the weight issues, it makes it more difficult I am certian for her. Thanks Donna for responding, let me know what your doctor suggest. Sami Sue - we have a winter storm warning, but I am going to the GYM!

Hello Sami! I know that having gastric bypass has aided us in losing weight, and that's what it's meant to do. There is, however, something that we all must remember: the surgery is ONLY a tool, nothing more. It helps us in many ways, but it can backfire if we don't change our lifestyle PERMANENTLY. In short, they operated on our intestinal system, not our brain. We can still have the same mindset we did before surgery. We had an addiction to food for probably more than one reason. The reasons for our addiction don't go away because we had surgery. Those reasons are why we had to undergo a psych eval and counseling pre-op. The good news is, it's NEVER too late to change the way we think about food. To me, food was my comfort. It was what I turned to when I was sad, happy, miserable, joyful. Food was my way of coping and celebrating. Now, food is to nourish my body. It's sometimes still very hard not to think of food as comfort, but it has to become HABIT to think of food only as our nourishment, and not our security blanket. Just like any other weight loss tool, weight loss surgery can fail. It's not a cure-all or a quick-fix. It's a tool, and if not used properly it won't work permanently. We are all still close enough out from our surgery that our tool will still work for us. Let's commit to following the program and maintaining our health and weight loss. Count me in! We just recently bought a Nintendo Wii gaming system. It might not be equivalent to a 30 minute workout, but it's more exercise than sitting on the couch watching TV (my favorite passtime)! It's wonderful for when the weather stinks and we can't be outside walking or doing other things. It's also GREAT family fun! God bless! Brenda

Hi Brenda, I know that your right, and the tool is only as good as the operator that is using the tool. My problem is trying to get my MIND and BODY on the same page of the book for weight loss and for my health. I am finding it more difficult to keep in mind the tool, when the mental me just wants to go back to eating for comfort. I am not saying that I can't do this, I am just admitting that I am having a more difficult time than I imagined that I would. I guess I am asking everyone else, am I the only one that does this? Are we all really only feeding are bodies what is on the program and not going back to what comforts us. I do stay on the straight and narrow about 70% of the time, I get into trouble on the weekends, when I am bored, or someone brings treats into my office every Friday. I guess that is what I am asking, I want to know what other people are doing to fight this demon. To win this race. I am concerned about how I may behave when life get tough for me again. In my past I would gain 90 lbs in a few months but keep on trucking, just getting fat, but going to work everyday and taking care of everyone else first. Now I have to find a new techinique. Does that make since?

Definitely yes, that does make sense. Don't get me wrong, there are days I still struggle, and days I fail. I just know that each time I'm needing comfort, I'm beginning to see it. I see the pattern there. That's a good thing, because if I can see the pattern, I can avoid the pitfalls, or at least be more aware of them. Kudos to you, Sami for realizing and being honest with yourself (and to those who help you be accountable)! That's the first step in continuing successfully with the mental aspect of our surgery and its outcome. You're doing great!! Keep up the fantastic work!

Thanks Brenda, My husband and I had a deep heart to heart last night. He said that he is worried about how much sweet tea that I am bring into the house. He is right, I am drinking about one gallon of the real sweet tea a week at home. That might not sound like a lot, but right now while I am still trying to lose weight I need to cut back to no sugar in my tea, or just cut out the tea all together for a while. He is worried for me, and concerned about my stall in weight loss. I am trying to encourage him to consider the surgery for himself. He is watching me to see my outcome before he decides. I have an even stronger reason to get this done right. I want him to be health and to be a live for a really long time. Right now he has high blood pressure, type 2 diabetic, and other health issue that cost us a lot of money in medications and doctors visits. He has to make the decision all by himself because this is to important for him to blame me when things get tough for him do to the surgery. So I am doing well this morning. I only have a little sugar in my hot tea at my desk and a large ice water to follow. I am eating my breakfast slowly and watching what goes into my face every moment of the day. Later Sami Sue

We had our surgeries on the same day. I realize that you had the rny and I had the gastric sleeve but heres what I think. I am almost 6 months out and have only lost 65lbs. not complaining but I am realizing that I am not getting enough protein and iron and I think thats why I am slowing way down. My body thinks its starving. So I am having to really work on that protien. I am so picky about food. My coworker says isnt it interesting that all of the obese folks shes ever know are picky about the foods they eat. They dont like this or that but yet we are all fat. Its true. So any way maybe you are not getting enough protien. I own a bakery and would eat cookies for meals instead of taking the time to eat a meal. I have changed this but I still have those issues and have thought that just because I had the surgery didnt mean that I was going to lose those habits. I thought they would go away but they are still there haunting me every day. For the past month I have come to this site and read all the postings daily form everyone. Asked for support if I needed it and am learning as much as possible form others so I can be successfull. so I hope that you will keep coming here learning and posting. It does help. Work on getting that protien in and keep us posted. Amy

Wow you own a babery? That would be the most difficult job in the world for me, I mean I know that my will power would never allow me to just look at the cookies, I would only eat certain kind, but it would be enough to send me over the edge. The strange thing is that I agree with your co-worker about obese people being so picky, I am miss food snob, if it isn't just so-so I will not eat it. I am like the girl in Harry Meet Sally in restauants about what I want, how I want it prepared, what I will eat or not eat. I did really good for a several months, now that the weight loss got so easy I stop trying so hard. I am realizeing that I am going to have to continue to work for this weight loss and that nothing is free in life. SO I will pick up my protein drinks, get my but to the gym (I do enjoy my new gym once I get there, the problem is getting off the couch and going to the gym in these dark winter evenings) and pick up my water intake. I am back down two lbs from yesterday, so that is good. One good day of eating, and I am off to a rough start today, but I can make it up with lots of water. I am going to get a big ice water right now. Thanks Amy for writing back. I always enjoy the support on the boards. I just wonder sometimes how many of us are really honest about what it going on in our lives that make us do crazy things. I am trying to be honest with myself, and I am finding it the most difficult to not LIE to myself when it comes to my body, food and what I choice to but between my lips. Nothing taste as good as being thin feels...I am trying to live by that statement. Sami Sue

Hi! I so understand what you are going through. I started out in the 270s now down to 160. I too had my surgery in August. I feel just like you feel. Sometimes I feel like I am eating too much...but noone can tell me how much is too much. I am scared to death that I am going to blow up again. I know two ladies who had the same surgery as me and five years later they are bigger than they started. I think our brains have not changed, but our tummy has. We need to change WHY we eat, and try to stop it. My Dr. says he wants me to get to 145 and then he will remove my skin. So I have 15 pounds to go, but I am still scared feeling like I overeat. Write me back so we can support eachother. hang in there!!!