I need some help ya'll

I'm 2 yrs post op and my weight has completely stalled. I haven't lost anything in a yr and in the last month have gained 5 lbs! I'm not doing anything different than I have since I had my surgery. I'm at a loss. I exercise at least 30 min a day. Maybe I need to step it up I guess. Any ideas would be very much appreciated.  Thanks  :(

It's really hard to maintain the enthusiasm and momentum you had as a new post-op as the years go by. Weight loss plateaus are very common, I think partly because our bodies go through such enormous changes as we lose weight and need time to adjust.

I think the answer to your question is right there in your own words:

I'm not doing anything different than I have since I had my surgery.

For me, a weight loss plateau is almost always a sign that I need to do something different. Fitness experts say that the body gets accustomed to doing the same exercise over and over and becomes more efficient at doing it so that we burn fewer calories at it. I suspect the same is true for how our bodies metabolize food. At first, the body's in shock - it was used to 3,000 calories a day and now it's only getting 1200! Then it goes to work on conserving energy (calories are energy) and gets more and more efficient at using the small amount of fuel it gets, because it's been programmed since the beginning of the human race to anticipate scarcity and irregularity of the food supply. Well, that's my theory, anyway. Some things you can try are:

> different exercise - if you've been walking, try bicycling; if you've been doing cardio classes, add
   in some strength training (muscle burns more calories); if you work out alone, get yourself a
   workout buddy
> vary your food - if you eat basically the same thing every day, change it up - try one new food a
   week (a healthy one, please! like a fruit, vegetable, complex carb, or a protein you've never eaten
   before)
> drink more water
> decrease your sodium intake
> keep a food and exercise log so you know exactly what you're putting in your mouth and how
   you're burning it off (studies show that people who keep logs lose more weight than people who
   don't)
> plan your meals in advance so you're less likely to make poor food choices when you're
   pressed for time or too hungry to make a good choice
> talk to your surgeon and/or nutritionist and ask for ideas for how to get the weight loss going
   again
> don't skip breakfast (breakfast eaters eat less calories during the day than people who skip
   breakfast)
> get at least 8 hours of sleep a night (people who sleep less tend to weigh more)
> make sure you're having some FUN every week so life doesn't begin to look like an endless
   treadmill

Jean

Thanks Jean.  I did used to journal my every bite and you're right that did make HUGE difference! I will definitley start that again. I do walk daily so you're idea of switching it up sounds like a winner!  It's funny I was just sitting here pondering on what I could do to get tha scale going again and thought maybe it's been my lack of sleep that's caused the weight gain and then I read what you wrote! This girl is gonna get her 8 hrs in for sure!  lol  Thank you for the ideas you're a great help. I will try these things and see my surgeon to make sure everything is ok with the band too. It's been about 4 months since I had a fill so that might help too. And to think there's some out there that say the band is the easy way out?  whew that is so not the way it is. Thanks again!  

What Jean says!

If you are eating less than you are using, then over a year (unless you have a medical condition or are taking some types of meds), the weight simply must go. So somehow you can't be doing that.

You say nothing is different. Are you sure portions haven't just crept up? Just a tiny bit but enough? Are you "cheating" a little bit more than you did in the first year? So easy - yesterday i got carried away and had three large lattes - skinny ones but still about 100 cals each. So that was 200 extra cals (i'm maintaining so that is fine for me!).

Is it worth having your thyroid checked?

I don't coutn foods (never did) but my suggestion for you would be measure, weigh and record every mouthful for a while! Just to check it out.

Kate

I just came off  3 to 4 month plateau. Sometimes it just takes a minor change in routine. My change was just a tweak to my carb intake. I was doing low carb but flirted in and out of ketosis. I was eating 50~60 carbs a day and decided to restrict it to 30~40 carbs a day and the weight started to come off again. In the past when dieting low carb I always had best results when I really restricted my carbs to an almost atkins like induction amount.

I can totally relate to what you're experiencing but I gained almost 20 lbs!  I decided that I needed to find a new passion since the "excitement" of losing 115 lbs had died down and I wasn't getting all that positive feedback any more.  (People forget really quickly what you used to look like).  The scale slows down, you get tired of eating the same old foods that helped you lose the weight in the first place, etc., etc.

I actually did something I never thought I'd do again.  I joined WW.  It's not so much for their food plan or points system, but I like the weekly accountability on the scale and I love the praise!  Give me a star for losing 5 lbs and I'm happy!  It's an all-around positive environment and since I started in January I've lost 16 lbs of the 20 I gained over the holidays.

Whatever you decide, think about and identify what your next passion will be.  Maybe your goal is to run/walk a 3K or more.  Maybe you want to get a personal trainer.  For me, I found that giving back to the program that saved my life is my new great passion.  I started my own support group through OH by inviting local OH members to coffee and then it just grew into a band only support group.  I volunteer for my surgeon to speak at his introduction seminars and he just recently asked me if I would take over their support group!   I'm passionate about what the band has done for me!

While I still have 22 lbs to get to my goal I know I'll get there eventually, and if I don't, that's o.k. becuase I'm not longer dying from obesity.

Shake it up OH Sister!  You can do this!

Lisa O.