frustrated me

hi everyone...i need to vent. my last 6 months has been so smooth. and mid january till now not so much. first of all i have been stalled out at 104 pounds lost for almost a month now. can't get down below that. i am still eating well and getting my protein and my water. the only difference is that i am working out with a trainer and not just doing cardio....which i thought was a GOOD thing. i know i know that it could be muscle gain....BUT i still have 60-80lbs to lose damnit!!! and i don't want to stall out when i am still in the "good window of opportunity" do you think i should cut back on the weight training and stick with more cardio? and now...yesterday i had my wisdom teeth pulled (and i am currently on vicoden...weeeeeeee) and i stood on the scale just now and i have GAINED 3 LBS! what the heck is going on??????? i can only eat soft stuff right now...yesterday i ate healthy choice chicken soup, more healthy choice chicken soup, a slice of deli turkey, a stallone pudding and a cheese stick. i know that i didn't eat a lot of food but i spaced it out good and was drinking water all day...and i gained 3 lbs!!! any insight? please help. one thing in my defense.....i didn't lose any thing in the last month...but i dropped a size of clothes in a month. i am now in "regular" sized clothes. xl!!!! yay me. but really, any suggestions with what i can do to get out of this rut i would love to hear them. thanks, brandy

STEP AWAY FROM THE SCALE!!!! Your getting paranoid LOL Your only 6 months out girly, and 104lbs is amazing. You still have plenty of that "window of opportunity" left to lose your last 60-80lbs!!!! Stalls happen, it's so normal!!! Working with a personal trainer you are probably building muscle--- DONT stop that and go back just to cardio, because muscle is a fat burner. It may see like it is defeating the weight loss, but it's helping more than you will know!!! One day you'll weigh and will have shot down a few lb's and be losing again. Just give your body some time. Stalls are a natural part of weight loss, whether through WLS or just regular dieting. If you go to an Atkins, or South Beach Diet message board Im sure you'll see people with the same concerns!!! To gain 3lbs you have to eat like 12,000 calories. I can guarantee you didnt eat that much! Weight can fluctuate so much during the day, water, whether you've poop'd hehe and all sorts of things decide that. I know I can weigh like 5lbs difference between weighing in the morning, and weighing at night. Your doing amazing!!! Have your man hide the scale for a while so you don't obsess over it, and just do what your doing Darlene EJ: 520/396/200 Me: Pending In.s Approval 5'10", 336lbs

thank you counselor darlene. i needed that. i know everything that you said is true but you are right i am getting paranoid. BUT you are wrong on one thing.....i am 7 mos out...not 6. hah! thanks for your post and your positive affirmations and such. by the way when you have surgery do you have an angel appointed yet? i would like to volunteer to be your angel...unless your hubby or someone else is. let me know. brandy

Hey not my fault!!!! In your above post you said and I quote "my last 6 months has been so smooth..." I saw that, the whole, month after not so smooth part must have totally skipped by when I saw the "6 months" LOL. Anyway for 7 months your still doing awesome. I know you know what I said is true--- it's just hard when it's you, and you have every worry in that world that for some reason you are the exception and it's not going to work for you! LOL Im sure I will have similar worries.. I don't have an AZ angel!!!!! Cassie Taylor from UT on the main board was gonna be my Angel there, but I don't have anyone close by to be my angel!!! I had actually thought of asking you, cause Ive been watching your whole trip---I remember your surgery day--- wow, that was 7 months ago??? hahaha I swear it seems like yesterday!!! I'd love you to be my AZ angel!!! If all goes well Im hoping to get scheduled for around March 20th. Darlene

ok, i am your arizona angel then! my only scheduling conflict would be if you have surgery on the 9th or 10th of april....or the last week of april and first week of may. my house will be full of 4 and 5 year olds and my mother in law will be in town for my daughters 5th birthday the weekend of the 9th. and i will be out of town the end of april and beginning of may. other than that i am free and willing! how fun...i have never been anyone's ange before. yay us! and pretty soon i will be the one giving you pep talks instead of you giving them to me! haha brandy

When you can..........with those teeth hurting all. Dense protein first...then veggies...then one or 2 bites of carbs like rice...potatoes...etc... Make protein first always....do not be fooled cheese and peanut butter are not good protein choices...they have more fat grams than protein in them. I personally never eat potatoes-rice or bread-or pastas. My choice because I want optimum weight loss. Everytime I hike say 5-6 miles with a 1,000 ft of elevation gain...I loose weight...bec it is alot of cardio. I believe any movement is good...I rarely moved before surgery....well I work so I did move..but never any extra movement. But, I have noticed when I sweat...pant...breathe hard for long periods of time like 2-3 hours when I hike...I loose weight...I have noticed there is alot of nice hiking trails in the Superstitions...I want to hike those trails before the heat sets in. Everyone has there exercise of choice. I started with deep water aerobics last summer...with the parks and rec...it was at a local park...you could not touch the sides of pool...the class was called Cardio Blast--it nearly killed me. I lost a lot of weight in that class last summer...they worked my butt off. Now, I hike or bike for cardio. I hope you find the right combo of movement to keep the weight coming off. Diet control.....takes most of the weight off.....then you got to move to loose. Sandy in Tucson 347/176/150

Brandy, I take a different twist. Paranoid is GREAT! Seriously, you are right to want to make the most of your honeymoon window. It does get much more difficult at 18 months or even sooner. My one reget in my journey is that I didn't push for more of weight loss faster! I reached my goal but I doubt I"d be struggling with regain right now if I would have dipped a little lower. Weight training is great! It increases your BMR (resting calorie burn)... But, the cardio makes the biggest difference in the scale. .... It's a fine line...you need to tone the loose skin while losing (as much as possible anyway) but lose that fat. Based on your example of food choices...I would bag the "soft" foods as soon as possible and while your teeth/mouth is healing; I would increase my protein drinks. Protein loading is not only a plateau buster but it jump starts a good weight loss, gives your health and energy a boost and ditches the carb cravings. The protein is absorbed immediately whereas the protein from food is questionable as to it absorption with us RNyers. You have had a great weight loss! Celebrate it! Enjoy the journey but continue your hard work to find the best means of getting to goal for YOU! Joyce 2/11/03 Dr. Zahn -143

I agree with you Joyce....paranoid is good with this WLS thing. I am not settling for some of the weight off...I want it all off. I wish I would pushed myself more in the honemoon period, too. Now I regret it. But, I was very fat and I just did not feel like moving until I got about 100 lbs off....what a mistake. Like Joyce said....cardio.....sweating...panting....is a fat burner. If I could tell anybody anything about WLS is to do a pre-op diet.....get 10% or so of the weight before surgery....it makes the whole journey easier. I ate until the last second...big heavy meals...what a mistake. I would be at goal now......But, looking back and seeing what I did wrong is just in the past...now I need to work on the future. I am hiking this am with the hiking club....6 miles to Lime Falls in Eastern Tucson in the Santa Rita Mtns. About a 500 ft elevation gain....so not to much cardio. Determination is a assest to getting to goal. My g/f is a self pay with Dr. Fang...she was at goal in 11 months 150 lbs off and she was no spring chicken--53 yrs old...she feels when you pay cash and it is your $ involved...She did everything by the book to insure success.....something to think about......if it is our hard earned $ that pays for this surgery....I am sure there is higher success rates in losing and keeping it off forever. Sandy in Tucson 171 lbs down.....yeah another 1 lb off

Do you feel when we eat protein...it is not as benificial as a good protein shake for absorbation levels? I just know I spend a fortune on Unjury---liquid Isopure and Profect protein...about $120 per month...every month...I do believe it is a key to my sucess so far.....I am thrilled to see someone else agrees with me on protein supplements. But, I was not aware we might not be absorbing protein we eat very well.....kinda scarey for people *****fuse to drink protein shakes or to cheap buy them like they should. Opinated me. Also, not all protein shakes are good for weight loss....you got to be sooooooooo careful on the ones you drink. Sandy in tucson

I am guessing that you are dealing with water weight from the canned chicken soups and also pain meds may be affecting you. Hang in there Brandy--you are doing good. I can't wait till I get mine.