Hello everyone, I wish I had found this board a while ago. I have been bummin about my plateau as well as needing 3 meals plus 2 snacks and then I read that we are all pretty much in the same boat. I am eating 3 3oz meals and I have 2 snacks in a day. I try to keep my carbs under 10g at each meal. By the way, at what point do you have to start documentation for plastic surgery? I hope to hit the century club by my 6 month anniversary. Nice to meet you all and I'll be back soon. Susan Lap RNY 10/10/03 297/200/140

I go every couple of days... I've had a little trouble with constipation, but not bad. When I was really eating bigtime I used to go 4-6 times a day! This has been a big change. I'd check in with my doc if I was only going once a week... perhaps he/she will tell you it's normal for you, but it won't hurt to check it out.

I find I can eat more now as well. So... to keep my weight loss going I've decided to switch tactics. I was eating 3/4 cup food 3x a day as per my doctor's instructions. However, I was starting to get quite hungry between lunch and dinner. In addition, I have lost so much hair! I have tried to eat as much protein as possible, but it's not enough. I took a tip from Sandra (a member here) and have just started drinking a protein shake for breakfast, 1/2 cup food at noon, 1/2 cup food at 3pm or 4pm, 1/2 cup food at dinner, and another protein shake in the evening. I try to eat good protein, and fill in with veggies or a little fruit. I have not tried anything with real sugar since my surgery. The closest I've come to sweets is a protein bar. I drink the ProPlete Gold protein shake and the flavors are so good... they really do satisfy my sweet cravings. I don't get hungry now at all. I've lost 96 lbs. and I want to keep going. I still have 80 lbs. left to go to reach my personal goal. I was worried about stretching out my pouch-- jeez, I sound like a marsupial!

Karen, I think I would talk to your doctor about this. Once a week doesn't sound often enough to properly remove waste from your body. I go pretty much once a day...sometimes I skip a day. Early on I went about every other day, occasionally skipped 2 days..never as rare as once a week though! By five months post-op you should be eating enough to be going at least every other day I'd say! Call your doctor! Kathy

You are not alone... I turned 5 months on 3/20/04 and all I lost was 3 pounds in one month. I was very saddened by it, but hey, I have gone from a size 22-24 to a size 14!!!!! I talked to my doctor about the plateau and she says that the body does plateau from time to time in order to readjust itself. Hang in there you'll do fine. Cherry 276/207 (-69 pounds lost)