No loss in 4 weeks -

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. I'd been losely steadily for the first 8 months, and now the loss seems to have stopped. I've been around the same weight for the past 4 weeks now. I reviewed what I've been eating for the past 2-3 months and noticed that my daily carb consumption has slowly been creeping up from around 120 grams per day back in May to closer to 200 grams/day now!!! So my plan to see if I can get myself losing again is to bring the daily carbs back down to around 100-120 grams. I've been getting 80-100 grams of protein per day, so will try to keep that number consistent. And although I get in the minimum amount of water/liquid each day, I'll bump that up too. I've been good about exercising so will keep up with what I'm doing, plus try to add some new activities as well. This is the first point since my surgery where I feel like my new habits and control over food will be tested. I'm working hard to not let my thoughts devolve back to the place that says "it doesn't matter what you eat, you're never going to lose weight." Intellectually I know that's not true, so I'm forcing the intellect to take control of the emotions and the old thought patterns, replacing them with new, healthy ideas. Anyway, I knew you folks would understand like no one else quite seems to, so wanted to share where I'm at. Best of luck to anyone else out there that is having the same struggle. Hopefully we can all handle it, one day at a time. Kellie Lap RNY 10/25/2005 396/253/155-165??

I too feel like I'm at the place where I really have to work at losing. I really can tolerate fairly large portions and almost all food except sugar (and sometimes too much fat). It's easy for me to eat 1500 calories a day and I think that is not much less than I am burning. I am trying to be happy about what I have lost. Your loss has been amazing! 143 pounds in 9 months! I wouldn't be surprised if your body was just taking a breath to catch up! Carbs are trouble for me too. They are the most comfortable and least work to eat. I have been pushing vegetables (my new love is grilled green beans), and portion controlled carbs. I love those 100 calorie bags of popcorn! I do that instead of using my airpopper because I could easily eat 6 cups while watching television or reading. I also like many of us, enjoy beef jerkey. I portion it when I first open the bag so I can keep the sugar under 5 grams. Best of luck to you! Julie 330 highest/318 surgery/190.6/159

Yeah, I think the honeymoon is finally over. Like you, I find that it's easy to eat 1500-1600 calories per day. I think if I want to continue to lose, I'm going to have to find a way to pare that back to 1000-1100 calories per day. I think I can do that if I really back off on the carbs, and up the veggies. I am very happy with the loss of 143 pounds in 9 months, but I really want to lose more. Hopefully if I buckle down by cutting back on the carbs, increasing the water and continuing to exercise, I'll keep losing. I don't even mind losing slowly at this point, but I would still like to keep losing! Best of luck to you as well - Kellie

Kellie.. It is nice to know I am at a similar stage as others. I have lost 150 and tomorrow is nine months. My problem is not calories..but this past week I discovered I could eat at Taco Bell...and when I went on the web to check the nutrition information...boy was I surprised....so this week it is back to eating at home. No meals out unless I use more caution. My fear is becoming obsessed with losing weight and what I eat and I think I am trying to lighten up...still lost a pound last week...but I know it could have been more. We can do this...yes we can get up this hill. Failure is not in vocabulary anymore. I try new things every day and find that I can do a lot of things I never would have tried before. One is being kind to myself and my body. I use this nice vitamin e oil on my face every nite...not that it will erase the sagginess but I like the way my skin is so soft and vitamin e oil rocks. My cat loves to lick it from my chin...lol...so I realized the other day that I enjoy shaving my legs now. Oh, how I dreaded it before...now I like the feel of soft legs. Silly huh? Keep going...we are gonna win this battle. Jenn

Jenn, Thanks for your words of encouragement and empathy! It helps to know that others are in the same position I'm in! I know we can do this; if I've come this far, I will make it the rest of the way. Like you, I don't want to become obsessed; I just want to live a normal life (whatever that may be****ep working on it every day and that's okay. I find myself trying new things too. It's nice to be comfortable doing things that I would not have even contemplated at my pre-surgery weight. I do take better care of myself now; I realize that I'm worth pampering! Best of luck to you - and you're right, we WILL win this battle! Kellie

I think many of us are in the same boat here. I am at yet another stall, but I feel it is my own fault. I have added more calories to my diet, less water and less exercise (not so much in the mood with the hot weather). I am grazing more and am hooked on nuts, which is good protein but high fat and salt. I did the plateau buster plan once and lost 10 lbs in 10 days, but that was about 3 months ago. Our weight is slowing more each month. Let's try to hang in there, find out what works and go for it! Lori 276/176/140

Thanks so much for your support. Like you, I feel like my stall is my fault because I allowed my carbs to creep up to close to 200 grams per day. I'm working hard to cut that back to 100-120 grams per day, which is what my nutritionist suggests. Some days that's hard because carbs add up fast! I'm back to snacking on beef jerky, low-fat cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt and an occasional protein bar. I was adding about 1/4 cup of granola to my yogurt and am going to stop doing that. It adds another 140 calories and 15 grams of carbs, so I can live without it for now. I'm not desperate enough to try the plateau buster yet, but am seriously cutting back on the carbs. Hopefully that will be enough for now. Perhaps I'll save the plateau buster for the month right before the anniversary of my surgery, so I can give myself a good push before hitting that anniversary date! Good luck to you as you try to find what works for you. Kellie