It's Been a LONG time

Hi everyone!! It's been ages since I was on here and I realized as soon as I got on how much I've missed this place! But the biggest thing is that I've been very frustrated with my weight and have been wracking my brain trying to figure out what to do...and I thought...gee, why don't you get back to your support network. So here I am And I'll apologize now for the super long post. So much has happened in my life that's it's just been insane. I got dumped (from a six year relationship that I thought was going to last forever), and realized that everything in our lives was his, the house we lived in, the business I've put my heart and soul into, the cars, the money, my job, everything. I had a few months of being terrified that he could just shove me out the door and I would have nothing. Happily I have a lot of supportive friends and family (who were all very happy to see him leave my life) and he mostly did the honorable thing and didn't leave me with nothing. So after about six months of hell I put my life back together, have my own place, an awesome job, and have met someone wonderful. Needless to say I was very happy to have this tool to help remind me not shove myself full of "comfort" during the hard times. Now to my weight frustration. I am stuck at 155 and have been for months. I was a 147 at one point (for probably a minute, but I was there). I started working out six days a week in the beginning of March so some of it could just be that I'm gaining muscle but I can't imagine it would be that much. Then I started tracking the food I was eating. I eat between 1200-1600 calories a day. According to all of the research I've done my basel metabolic rate is just under 1500 calories a day. That's if I literally lay in bed and don't move all day. With the exercise and just normal activity my BMR should be around 2200 calories a day...to maintain my current weight. All diets that restrict calories want you to get down to 1500 calories a day to LOSE weight. I'm easily getting 90-100 grams of protien a day, I take my vitamins religiously, drink lots of water. Last week I had gotten up to 161 and went to low carb out of desperation and am back to 155 this week...of course that was also the week I had my period so the 161 is probably not very accurate. Anyway, that's my life in a nutshell. Any suggestions or whatever would be awesome!!! Corinna Q

Corinna, Well, hello! How wonderful to hear from you again! We are missing so many in the past few months! If you read many of the recent posts, you'll find that many of us are frustrated with slow or no weight loss or even gaining. I just mentioned in a recent post that this is the time we need even more support because it is no longer easy to lose and it's far too easy to gain! I'm sorry you went through such a hard time in your personal life but at the same time it sounds like your sure landed on your feet and may be better off than you were before (especially if your friends think it was good your ex is no longer in the picture!!!). I'm happy for you. Great job on the work outs! I'm sure you probably have built up pounds of muscle but have lost fat as well. I wonder if there have been any good studies on WLS patients as to whether or not we burn calories like others. Can we really take in as many calories as the "normal" person and expect to lose weight? I know I had trouble losing weight prior to WLS if I took in more than 1200 calories a day. If I took in 1600, I didn't lose and often gained. That didn't make sense since I was excercising hours per week but it's what the scale showed me! Right now, I think I probably easily take in 1600 a day but some weeks I lose and some I don't. So, Corinna, I don't really know the answers! Wish I did. It sounds like you are doing well almost all the time. The only suggestions I have for you are the ones I intend to use myself again. That's using the food journal and/or Fitday to really keep a close count of the calories and get back to the basics! I tend to graze and snack and I have to stop!!! Please keep coming back again and let's all help each other through this next phase of our journey! We do need each other because we are hitting that 18 month mark. It's "new" territory again! CeCe

I ditto everything that CeCe said. I'm glad your ex did the honorable thing. That could have been a very bad situation for you. I'm so happy that you met someone wonderful and are rebuilding your life. That's such an exciting time. I wish you and you new guy the same incredible relationship that Randy and I have. It makes life worth living! Wanda

Thank you Wanda! It's certainly been a learning experience and although it was and still is a process to get used to my new life I haven't been this happy in years. So I figure I must be doing something right

Corinna! I am so happy to hear from you! You are the person that I always mention when we think of members that we have missed. I often have wondered how you were doing and how the singing was going. It always impressed me that you had such talent that you could do stage opera! Now I see that your life has been hectic but you are probably far better for it. Please stick around and join in with support. Yes, we have all struggled lately. I think I am probably one of the very few that has quite a ways to go still. I am still progressively losing about a pound per week as long as I really watch what/how I eat. Most of us have hit goal and bounced around a bit. Don't feel alone. I think part of it is just that our bodies become so efficient at conserving energy that no matter how much we exercise, we don't burn the calories like other people. I know for myself, my BMR says I burn about 2300 calories but if I go over 1400 per day, I don't lose and can gain. I try to stay below 1200 per day. Some days a bit more and some a bit less. That keeps me at about 1 lb per week loss. Also, if you plan your day, make sure you plan in your snacks in advance. Try the little 100 cal snacks or something else that is pre portioned. This keeps us in line and not tempted to keep sticking our hand into the bag or box. Glad to hear from you again. I hope to hear more from you soon. Let us know how the singing is going too. We love to hear about your life, not just weight issues. Hugs, Valorie