What is going on?

Hey everyone how is it going? I need some help! Is there anyone here who is having trouble with the weight coming off? It seems like my weightloss slowed down after the third month. I lost 29, 18, 16, 7, 10, 5, 5, and a big fat 0 last month. I have to admit I have not been exercising the way I should. Is anyone else having these issues. I started out at 370 and now I am down to 280 but I feel like since I had so much to lose that I would lose faster than this. I still have 130 to go. Any suggestions how many calories a day are you eating? How much exercising are you doing.......help help help!! Thanks, Cathy

Cathy I started at 360 9/17/03 and am currently 248 which I feel is slow because I go to the gym atleats 4 times a week usually 6....have 2 protein shakes a day 60 gram + Food & 100 ounces of water...I do eat whatever I want though including desserts...I try to be good but it just doesnt seem to be in me..so thats why I try the gym so hard...I can tell you that when i push water & the gym the weight does come off better... good luck girl....90 pounds is still alot

I started at 322 and now weigh 240 I don't exercise as I should I eat small meals get my protein in first and drink about 64oz of water daily. I too, get discouraged and wonder what is going on. but, I've come to realize that for some of us the weight stops coming off for a while, I bet in a few weeks all that excess weight you've been holding on to will go. there is just no way you will stop losing completely at this point. even if your eating more than you did last month it still is not enough to cause permanent weight gain. I retain water very easily and this is my trouble with the scale from one day to the next there can be a 3 to 5# difference. So just hang in there, try to exercise a little and drink water or a diet something. you'll get there soon enough.

Cathy, I totally understand where you are coming from. I just had a check up with the Doctor yesterday and I am only down 97lbs. I don't know why but in my mind before surgery I thought I would be down soooo much more than that. I have to keep reminding myself that 97lbs is really something to be proud of and not ashamed about. I lost 97 lbs!!!! I must admit that when I am diligent about the water and exercise I loose faster, but sometimes I slip up on both of those. I hit a "major" plateau the past couple of months where my weight loss since the end of March was only 18 lbs. My surgeon was really quite happy with my progress when I saw him yesterday...he used the phrase that "slow and steady wins the race". I just keep trying to remember that this is a lifetime commitment for me and YES...I will screw up from time to time and NO, I will not always feel like hauling my butt out of bed at 5 am every morning to walk or exercise...but life will go on and YES...I WILL MAKE MY GOAL!!! I am looking forward to ditching these last 3 blinkety, blankety pounds so that I can FINALLY be down 100 lbs!!! That is my mini goal for now. Keep on plugging away Cathy...you can do it!!! We all can, just don't loose sight of the big picture...we are all "Loosers", we all did something very positive for ourselves and we will get there in our own time! Keep me posted...I care. Carolyn Sue

Cathy, First off, congratulations!!! Thats over a 100 lbs that you have lost! You be proud of what you have done so far because that is a GREAT accomplishment! If you have doubts about your post op nutritional program, go back to your doctor/nutritionist and request help! I think that everyone's body has it's own pace and all we can really do is try our best to do the things that will help the pounds come off. My friend and surgery buddy has gotten to goal, (same body size surgery within days of each other) I am still working to get there. Not long after surgery we went to a local mexican fast food place to eat...she ordered about 6 different items, and damn near ate all of them! I nibbled on a couple of chips and queso. I have watched her stuff down a Lil Debbie Zebra cake and drink a whole regular coke without a second thought while I sat and ate a couple of slices of cheese. I don't think she has even exercised! I have been very adamant about getting in my protien, doing my water and taking my vitamins, and I don't think she even thinks about any of that or what she is eating really. We started at the same weight...yet her body just dropped the weight very fast while mine has clung desperately on to each pound. When I have lost the will power I have eaten a very small amount of some forbidden food (for instance half a reese's peanut butter egg at easter). I have pretty religiously stayed away from bread, pasta, rice and only just the other day allowed myself the first tablespoon of mashed potatoes since surgery. I have tried to focus on watching carbs, but allowing myself some natural carbs, like fruit. I have not exercised everyday. At my surgeons visit last week he said now is time to up my exercise routine. I have been on several looooong plateaus where I have lost only an average of 6 lbs a month. But in the past week and a half I have lost over 10 lbs. I have done nothing different than I was doing before. It was just time for my body to let go of those pounds. I think some of our bodies are just very efficient at thier survival skills...holding on to what they have stored against a famine. Well the famine has come in the form of this surgery and the body is just trying follow its natural programming...you just gotta be strong and outlast it. Just the simple logistics of it will tell you that you will be successful...think of how much food it took to just maintain your preop weight and then of how much you are getting in now. Work you program and you WILL eventually get there. Don't let someone else's fast loss make you feel bad or guilty. Hang in there! You can do it! {{{{BIG HUG}}}} Mary Beth

My weight did a big slow down when I hit 6 months, but then I quit smoking too, and gained some weight! Yikes! But after a month, it has started coming off again. It can be scary, my first thought was , oh no! I've stopped losing! I still have 100 pounds to lose I can't stop now!!!! But it's okay, it will start back up again. There must be something about the 6-7 month mark.... I recently started doing slim in 6, the exercise program, and I alternate that with Leslie Sansone walk away the pounds, and I have taken up belly dancing, lessons once a week, and I practice a litte every day. I try to listen to my body. Last week, my allergies really got to me, and I felt overly tired, so I took a few days off from exercising. Guess what? That is when my loss started up again! I went to the nutritionist when my weight loss first stopped and I chart on fitday.com. She told me that I should shoot for 1000-1200 calories, and i usually eat less than that. She also told me to try for 70-90 grams of protein, and I usually make it there, grabbing a shake if I come up short. Hang in there Cathy! The plauteau won't last I promise!!!!!