protien still?

It's been a very long time since I have lost even an ounce. I think the last time I lost anything was back in August. Is this normal???? I still excercise, I dont overeat or eat things im not supposed to. My day consists of : (on a good normal day) Breakfast 3 slices bacon, 2 cups of coffee Lunch 1/2 c. salad sm. grilled chicken breast Snack 1 pack peanut butter crackers or couple cubes of cheddar cheese Supper 1/2 c. salad 1/2 pc. of grilled meat, normally chicken or pork or sometimes a small baked potatoe All during the day I drink water, propel, unsweet tea or coffee. I take my vitamins regularly. I take 2 b-12 tablets, 1 Centrum multi vitamin and 2 tums with calcium. I walk normally 3 miles daily. I feel wonderfully, physically. Mentally I'm bombing out because I haven't lost as much as I wanted or as much as I thought I would. I feel like my body has simply stopped. I am seeing my surgeon on the 30th for my last visit with him before seeing the plastic surgeon and I am so scared he is going to say I havent lost enough to go yet. I have lost down from a size 28/30 to a size 10 pants and Medium shirt. My weight is hanging in at 155 and thats down from 260. I am 5'1 and a large frame. I know I have a lot of loose skin and that is partly why I feel so badly emotionally. Its so disheartening to look in the mirror and see all that and know that youve worked so hard to look like that. I know this is a whiny post but I simply needed ya'lls input on this. The one thing I am not doing is drinking my protien still. could this make the difference and if so, how much should I be drinking this far out? Thanks for all of your support in advance. If anyone else is in this boat with me, please let me hear your comments!!! Hugs to you all! Carol

Hi Carol, I've been wanting to reply to your post for some time, but I thought I'd take my time and think about it a while. In my opinion, you have done everything right. By every measure there is, you are a success, except by whatever you are using to measure yourself. What ever you are using to measure your success or failure, you need to throw it out right now. Trust me, you are a success. I also sometimes feel like a failure when I look at a single measure--the scale in my bedroom. But when I look at how far I have come, that WLS is a success if the patient loses--what do they say--50--70% of their EXCESS weight, well, according to that criteria, I am a raging success. I think I could still stand to lose about 30 lbs, but after losing 100 lbs in the first 10 months, well.....that's a success. Okay, I'm not skinny, and I suppose I never will be, but so what? I'm healthier, I feel better, I'm not in pain anymore, and folks don't look at me so oddly now. Okay, so now the honeymoon period is over, and any further weight loss is going to come about the old fashioned way--sweat, moving, and dieting. I think that protein drinks are an excellent way of achieving the minimum amount of protein we need every day with also a minimum number of calories--as long as the drinks are meal substitutes. Good luck Carol, how ever you measure luck! connie

Carol, from my perspective I think your food choices are great. You might want to change your tea/coffee to caffeine free and start drinking more protein. I drink between 3-4 protein drinks a day. I started at 263 and right now I'm at 116. I pretty much bounce between 115 and 119. Also, you need Calcium Citrate not Calcium Carbonate. Tums and Viactive are Calcium Citrate. The protein that I like best is IDS Vanilla-Cinnamon and IDS Cappuccino. I add a scoop and a half of the Van-Cin to a strongly brewed decaf tea and the Cap to 1/2 cup of decaf coffee/ 1/2 cup of ho****er (I'm not a big coffee drinker so the 1/2 strength coffee works best for me). If you try this just make sure you add the protein in after the liquid and make sure the liquid isn't boiling. Good Luck.

Do you still drink that much protein ? That is probably why I am at a standstill. Exactly how many grams per shake are you drinking? Please advise. Thanks. Marie

For the IDS protein a scoop and a 1/2 is about 30grams of protein. To clarify my statement about Calcium I meant TUMS and VIACTIVE are Calcium Carbonate and you should be taking Calcium CITRATE.