Frustrated with the scale!

Hi everyone, Ok..so I'm doing everthing I should be doing....eating very little..getting in protein, walking, fluids,etc. and the scale won't move. With the amount of caleries I am eating, I should be losing weight like crazy. Since Tuesday the scale has only moved aobut 2 pounds...before I was losing almost a pound a day since surgery. I am three weeks out tomorrow and have lost 19 pounds which I know is alot, but I really didn't think I would hit a plateau so soon...anyone else have a similiar experience...I am getting a bit frustrated. Thanks, Adam

Remember Adam you will not lose the weight overnight. You did not put it on overnight. Only since Tuesday! No problem. Your body needs to catch up, it's like hybernation. From the beginning, I only lose weight one week out of the month. The other 3 weeks, no matter what I do, the scale does not move. Do this. Stay off the scale if it fustrates you. Take your measurements. You are not on a plateau if are losing inches. Keep up your exercise, water and protein, and the scale will begin moving again, don't worry. Pam

Hi Adam, don't get frustrated. Remember that during your time in the hospital they load you up with fluids to keep you from getting dehydrated and losing tha****er will make the that scale move pretty fast. Once all tha****er is gone the scale will slow down. Must also remember that as your body loses fat and starts gaining muscle, the weight will seem like its not coming off. I am 2 1/2 months out and from my one month to 2 month I only lost 15 pounds. Was very dissapointed till my doctor explained that it was fine. Have been going to gym from 6 weeks out and am down 8 pant sizes and 55 pounds from my pre op weight. So, don't worry, it will come off! Buy yourself one of those hole punchers for leather because before you know it your going to need more holes in all your belts in no time flat. Good luck and relax! Julio

Adam, What you are going through is normal. You are plateauing at the right time when everyone does. It is frustrating I know, but it will break soon. It's hard to deal with when you finally start losing to just stop, but I promise that scale will start dropping again in notime. Keep the faith. Maggie

Adam- Your posting raises several popular misconceptions that I hope to clear up. First, it is not healthy to be weighing yourself everyday-- we all fall victim to either setting unrealistic expectations or using poor results as an excuse to backslide. Secondly, the typical home scale is just not that accurate-- which when combined with the natural ebb and flow of people's weight over the course of any day can create either a false sense of security (like when you see that you've dropped several pounds in a single day) or a false sense of alarm (like when the scale jumps a few pounds in a few hours). When you discuss how few calories you are consuming, you need to appreciate that consuming too few calories can put your body into starvation mode where your metabolism will slow down (particularly if you are exercising, you probably need at least 800-900 calories a day to prevent this state). Lastly, men do not have to plateua for more than a few days (unlike women whose monthly hormonal changes can result in plateuas of several weeks in length). When your weight loss slows down (which you can tell by the feel of your clothes and not necessarily by weighing yourself every day), you can boost protein and decrease carbohydrates to boost yourself back into ketosis-- this method is particularly helpful early on. Listen, we have all hit these sorts of emotional walls-- whether become anxious that we won't reach some self-imposed unrealistic goal (like insisting that we lose a pound a day) or nervous that a brief respite from rapid weight loss means that we are gaining. It is trite but true that the goal early on is to develop a healthy relationship with food that can sustain you as you work on mainintaining your weight loss-- if you are watching what you're eating, staying vigilent and becoming more active, you are well on your way to developing the healthy lifestyle that will serve you well after you get to your goal.

Plateaus are hell. What can we say. Are you coming to the post-op group tomorrow night?? Peter

Hi Adam, Being the "queen" of the plateau, I can tell you it happens Hang in and don't get discouraged. Everyone loses at a different pace, so don't compare yourself to anyone else. Keep on pluggin' along...you're doing all the right stuff. JA