I am a sloooooow loser.....not a failure

Last week I was searching for help because of my plateau. When I read how fast everyone else is losing I felt badly. Last night I went to my support group meeting and I am accepting that I am what I am. I had surgery on 10/3/06. I originally weighed 276 lbs and slowly lost and gained weight to 211 before the liquid diet. The morning of surgery I weighed 200 lbs. I now weigh 170ish lbs. I have been around that weight for 12 weeks. I have been increasing my food up to a 1500 calorie diabetic diet because I am hungry otherwise. I swim every day now and am increasing lengths daily. I can't eat less so I am exercising more. I do feel wonderful and am getting used to the snail's pace that I am losing. My diabetes is under control for the first time in 26 years. I just can't eat as little as others. My doctor and dietician encourage me to be patient. It seems that I will be able to live on 1500 calories for the rest of my life. As a diabetic my body needs food and exercise as medicine. I enjoy wonderful meals and feel great. Since the surgery I appreciate what I eat. I take time to arrange my plate and make sure I have an interesting variety of food. I eat at the table chewing and enjoying my meal. I don't feel ravenous and compelled to swallow food without tasting it. I wonder if I will lose more weight or have to accept that this is where I will remain? Thanks for listening again. Linda

Hi linda! Way to go on your weight loss so far. Are you eating enough protein? Protein fills you up and is very good for your body. And you're getting enough water in?? What type of food are you eating? I know you're diabetic and need to eat, but what if you dropped to 1200-1300 cals per day? It might give you a jump start. Or even exchange some of your food your eating for more protein or veggies and keep 1500. Since your diabetes is under control now, it must be getting better. That's great news. And as it gets better, your blood sugars stabilize more and you might not NEED to eat because of the diabetes. Does that make sense. I'm sure there is SOMETHING you can do to break through the platueau. Good luck! Malia

First of all I love your dog. I have a yellow lab who is 1 year old and quite a handful but a dearheart. Thanks for the encouragement. This morning I dropped to 169 lbs. It takes so long to lose a pound! Only 19 more to go. I eat 10 servings of protein and 2 servings of milk each day. I am thinking about skipping one fruit serving because I eat 2 at lunch and I think I could do without one of them. Or maybe leave it as optional for hungry days. My brain tells me that eventually I will get to my goal. I just want it faster. I swim daily and NEVER eat more than 1500 calories. If I can't get to 150 lbs then my doctor is going to have to figure out what the problem is. It was exciting to see 169 this morning. Take care, Linda