Been gone too long.....tired of worrying

   Hey everyone!!!  I have  been away from the board for too long.  Things have been a bit hectic.  My grandma that lives with us fell and hurt herself and now we have PT, OT and nursing help coming in to get her back to where she was before the fall.  Not to mention, I still have Dad's dialysis every day. 
   I have been working out.  I started seeing a trainer.  I've doing good.  I was BAD and didn't do much working out until the last couple of months.  But I am still frustrated.....
  At 6 months my weight loss just stopped.  I have been struggling to lose EVERY pound.  I know I shouldn't whine b/c I have lost 130lbs in 9 months.  But I have 55lbs to go.  YIKES!  Now, with the weight training I the scales is NOT moving at all.  I know it is muscle mass etc....but it 's in my head that that number has to move DOWN.

  I have one thing that I am worried about.  I am still  freaking out all the time that I am stretching my pouch or that there is something WRONG with it.  I read about the people that have stetched their stoma and then when I over eat just a little I FREAK and feel like I have RUNED my opportunity.  I am still staying around 4oz instead of bumping up to 6 b/c of my fears.  I know I eat a little too fast and so I freak when I eat and think I have stetched it out.  I am worried that I am going to have to FRET about this damn pouch for the rest of my life.  Then I get really down and I think.....why didn't I get the DS? 
I'm tired of worrying.

Hi Jenn
Sorry to hear your gmal fell and hurt herself,i need to see a trainer i would problaey have heart failure if i had to pu****It is hard after you have a stall  i always think ive eatin to much but i didnt its just me hang in there sweetie the rest will come off/ you done wonderful 130 pounds in 9 mths is great.
huggs

I don't have any advice, but I wanted to let you know that you are not alone in feeling this way.  I lost weight very consistently for the first 6 months and then for months 7-8 it slowed WAY down and then all of the sudden I haven't lost a pound since March.  NOT ONE STINKING POUND!!  I guess I should be happy that I haven't gained any either, but I feel like a failure because I'm supposedly still in the "honeymoon stage" and the scale isn't moving!

I too am a fast eater and Dr. Cacucci and I talked about that before I even have surgery.  I still struggle with that and have to remind myself to slow down all the time.  I often worry that I've stretched my stoma or pouch because the foods that used to get stuck or cause me problems just a few months ago are no longer causing any troubles at all.

I'll admit that I haven't been exercising like I should.  I know that is a big part of my problem because I did really well with exercising on a regular basis until the Christmas holidays and since then I haven't been able to get myself back into a good routine.  So I'm sure that's why my weightloss has come to a screeching hault, but I just can't seem to find the time like I did before.  I don't know why.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone in the way you feel.  Hang in there.  Hopefully things will get better for the both of us real soon!

Melissa

Yes, you are not alone in having these feelings.  My weight loss has slowed down, too.  I am getting a lot more excercise since the weather has warmed up so I keep reminding myself that muscle weighs more than fat.  It also helps me to take my measurements.  My measurments keep getting smaller so that encourages me.  Best of luck to you. 

Angie

You must remember if you don't eat enough calories and you exercise, your body will go into a starvation mode and hold onto every calorie it can get!    You should be eating your 6 ozs now!   If I were you, I would make an appointment with the dietician.  Write everything down.  Take it with you.  Be sure to log your exercise as well.  They are very good at helping you and reassuring you where you are in your weight loss experience. 

I am just shy of 4 years out and I continually worry about my pouch being stretched but then I realize I still cannot eat a whole large plate of food and am truly lucky if I can get 8 ozs in a meal.   When I am exercising a lot, I eat a lot of small meals and that helps me get the calories in.

Hope that helps...

Lois K. :)

 

Lois, good advice!  I agree totally!  I found out from my NUT that one reason for my stall was that I was not eating enough calories and my body refused to let go of any weight at all.  I am one year out today and I stalled for a full 4 weeks when I hit about 9 months out.  After some fine tuning, I got it figured out and got back to losing again.  It is normal to have a much slower weight loss at this stage.  I lost 2 lbs and 5 inches last month.  But after the 5 day pouch test, I got a kick start and now I am losing 2 lbs a week again.  I know it is frustrating because we took off weight so quickly at first but the body has to slow down and make its change to maintanence mode.  Think of it as coming to a stop sign... you cant just go up to it 90 mph and hit the brakes... it causes all kinds of problems!  You have to apply the brakes in a safe distance and slow down to ease up to the stop sign... that is what our bodies need to do as well.  So, just fine tune what you are doing and make sure you keep up your protein and supplements!!!

Jen, 130lbs in 9 months is amazing!!!  Don't beat yourself up over a stall.  Focus on the positives!  You have done great so far!!!

Huge hugs,
Tracy

Thanks guys!  I KNOW that it's bad to not get the calories.....like my head knows it, but then I freak out.  I have bumped it up though.  No need to go from one eating disorder to another!  I am getting about 70-100 grams of protein and 1000 calories a day.  I have also added the extra 2 ounces.  Now I just eat my four ounces and add a slice of cheese or a few grapes/prunes/cherries with it.  I've lost another two pounds!  I've been losing by the OUNCE lately...which is still loss.  But I got on the scales this morning and it was down 2 lbs since about Wednesday.  Not bad.  Thanks again, Everyone!