How do I get the scale moving again?

hey yal, I have asked this question before I think and got a few responses. I really want to lose the last 30 lbs. I am pretty sure I have the emotional and behavioral pieces about the food in check. I am not perfect but I do pretty well for the most part,

What i am clueless about is, this far out what do we do nutritionally to lose weight? What calories should we stay in? I know excercise is important and I am getting better with that.
I dont want to diet because that did not work before and I dont think it is relevant now. I do try and get my carbs back in check when they get away from me, but for the most part  I eat well.

What do I need to do as a woman post op to get the scale moving again? 

when I was going to a trainer he said for me to eat 1400 calories if I was doing a lot of cardio... if I was doing more weight lifting to do 1250... but up my fat and protein a little that day... like 5g up... nothing huge that would kill us... he also said when doing a workout... warm up cardio- 10 mins light walking... and then lift weights... and then do my normal cardio workout...

So one day was legs and abs and cardio... day off... 3rd day was abs and arms and cardio... day off... 4th day was back and abs and cardio... day off... 6th day was just cardio (if I wanted)...

I tried to make all my workouts an hour to a hour and half... but it was taking my time lifting it might be closer to 2 hours once I added in the cardio lol...

I also ate something protein based after working out... anything from a cheese stick to a protein bar to a protein shake...

But what made the biggest change was just cutting out a carb serving for me... I didn't do it on the days I worked out but I did on the days I was off...

I have no idea what I am going to do after the baby comes in getting things rolling for me again because I don't have the gym membership anymore... but hang in there...

I'm right there with you. I know we still have our tools.

I would have to say protein first, then veggies, fruits and whole grain carbs last. Make sure you are getting in at least 64 ounces of decaf fluids (plus an amount equal or greater to the caffeiene you are having)

Good luck! I am going to be working on this myself - I have 25-30 pounds to go too

I'm no where near that far out, but how about doing protein shakes for one or two meals again? Increase your liquids maybe?

Nicole, I am right there with ya. I have been focusing on losing 20 pounds for 4 months now. I have gotten 10 of it off. But it's been a HUGE struggle. it semms the last of the pounds are quite happy hanging out on my gut, thighs, etc.

I know for me, I cut out all carbs except veggies. No bread of any kind for me. I have also forced myself to keep a daily track of calorie intake on dailyplate.com. It keeps me in check. And it will calculate how many calories you should eat per day to lose the amount of pounds you want.

I have increased my exercise slightly but it's hard. I honestly do not have enough time in the day with working full time and 4 kids. So I do what I can, when I can. I wi**** was more, but family comes before those 10 pounds.

I am curious as to what responses people have because I am stuck in a rut also.

Good Luck.

I asked Kristen about the calorie intake last fall.  She said post op female should stay between 1000 and 1500 per day...but 1500 could make some of us start to gain again.  She said the average was about 1200. 

Have you been tracking everything like on nutridiary or one of the other sites?  I need to start doing that too, because I am right there with  you on the 30 pounds.  Of course, I got up on Saturday and the scale was up 10 pounds overnight...gotta love the mind f*ck our bodies do to us at pms time.  The only upside to that is I also get to see the 10 pounds of water weight fall off almost over night too. 

HG

I try and track it but I often think I am not getting the right info.
I do write down in a notebook what i eat . It is hard because if you want to DIET you really cant because we gain weight on any normal plan like WW.

I think I will call kristen again. Will really work on upping the protein and moving more

I've been seeing a nutritionist for about 5 months now... When I initially started working with her she had me email her my food diary for 3 days... After going through it she saw that I wasn't eating enough.  I was between about 1,000-1,200 calories a day.  I am not taking in about 1,800 calories per day eating every 2-3 hours.  Some days I have 7 meals including protein shakes.  She also increased my protein intake from my "goal" of 68 to around 164 grams.  The most important thing she taught me was to be balanced.  If I have a protein shake I often pair it with fruit... When I have dinner there is a veggie to go with it.  I didn't cut anything out of my diet, still eat carbs... in whole wheat pasta, brown rice, whole wheat sandwich thins etc.. I work out quite a bit as well.  It's taken me 5 months but I have taken off 12lbs of body fat and gained 1.5lbs of muscle.  It's a slow process but it always has been... my whole life.  SO while my tool still aids in portion control,  taking the weight off is difficult.  I'm certainly ok with that because I am really learning to live a successful post-op life this far out... it's definitely different then it was at 2 years.  A lot of insurance plans give an allowance for 6 or 7 visits to a nutritionist and a lot of gyms offer nutritional counseling.  It was one of the best things I decided to do for myself. 

3500 calories = 1 lb weight loss per week. So you either need to cut out 3500 calories a week or up your expercise to burn an additional 3500 calores per week. If you want to loose 2 lbs per week you double the equation.

I know we're all about protein but at the end of the day a calorie is a calorie so if you're eating ice cream or steak it all holds true. Yes it's important to feed out body good quality nutrition but changing up what you eat will not make you lose weight if you aren't cutting back on the calories as in the equation above.

I am so pissed that my freaking appetite is back and I eat way too much. Moral of that stroy is I've stopped losing weight shy of my personal goal. I excercise a lot, but just eat more calories than I burn.

Best of luck Nicole.