"Slow losers"/Plateaus/Stalls - Repost

Some Wise Words on Plateaus (April 2004 - from Suzy C., reprinted with her permission) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Plateaus are common and occur at every stage of this "journey." Some of us have one as early as two or three weeks out. Heck, some people come home weighing more than when they went in for surgery, from iv/fluid gain! With all the emotional adjustments going on with the surgery, the high/unrealistic expectations ("I am a slow loser, I've only lost 20 pounds this month!"), the impatience to get RID of the weight already!, and the whole world watching, this scale-watching thing is tricky. If you change your exercise and eating habits, you will be healthier, and the weight WILL come off in its own time. Especially when you are still a relatively new post-op. The hardest thing about this journey is to break the "dieter's mentality." As if we are painting a house, or some other specific chore with a beginning and and ending, based on a schedule over which we have control. That's not how the surgery works. And no matter how fast or slow you lose the weight, it will still be faster than the time it took for you to gain it in the first place, and will definitely take less time than all the years you lived with excess weight. Perspective's important here. Plateaus are natural. It is a "dieter's mentality" that leads us to react angrily, or with depression or frustration, at the sign of a plateau. We act as if something is unfair, or "broken," about us or the surgery. It is soooo illogical. Yet, most *all* of us have that reaction to a plateau. After a lifetime of being ruled by weight, and take-no-prisoners dieting, it is a very hard habit to break, this business of defining success of failure by a number on the scale, instead of by how well we're now eating and exercising every day now. My suggestion is that, rather than being so focused on the scale, use fitday.com to track your food and exercise every day. That gives you a truly useful "touchstone" for tracking the really important, lifetime aspects of this "journey" -- changes in eating and exercise. And those things will change over time -- for instance, walking, and eating x number of pouch-friendly foods at five weeks out, won't be exactly the regime you're following at four months, seven months, or a year out. You'll be retooling things constantly. Retraining yourself after a lifetime of habits that led to M.O. status does not end when one reaches "goal." Again, that is the dieter's mentality. Which, as we know, is a passport to failure every time. Please consider weighing in once a month, at most, at this stage. (It'll still be an emotional event, but at least it'll only happen once a month. We're used to wacky, once-a-month emotional events. ) I know some folks prefer weighing in every day, but the *moment* you find that a plateau, or some other factor, is causing you to feel bad about your progress, it's time to get off the danged thing, because it's a self-destructive act to weigh yourself when that's the result it produces. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Suzy's profile: http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/profile.phtml?N=C1017791171

Thanks for the wise words. I know all this already but need reminded constantly!! I just broke a plateau this morning after being at the same weight for a week(big deal as I have lost almost 48 lbs in 10 weeks) and found I lost 4 more lbs like overnite!! Not really overnight, but ya know? Anyway, We are so conditioned to think things are broken or we are not doing it right that we fall into that mentality about this surgery. I am always amazed at how many post they are afraid the surgery won't work for them!! Like dah!! That is me every time I hit a plateau. "It's not working" or "It's stopped working" when I know I am doing all the right things!! Thanks again for you words. J

I can't tell you how glad that I am that you posted this. I was feeling particularly down this morning. I have been very good about what foods I have been taking in, but I have been on a plateau for over a week now, and last night I ate a chocolate chip cookie. I figured what the hell I am eating the good stuff and it isn't getting me anywhere, so I might as well eat what I want. This is exactly how I gained all my weight. As you can tell I don't dump either which I was actually hoping I would becasue I am addicted to soda and I figured that I would only be able to stay away from it if I dumped. I haven't had any yet. Anyway, thank you again I feel a little better. Christine