Eating too much?

Hi there! Im new to this website/forum.  I am 2 years out from my DS, and am stuck with 40lbs still to lose.  I have lost 70 lbs in the 2 years but it was helped along by the fact I got an ulcer and literally couldnt eat for months.  Now i can, and bearing in mind I am 2 years out, I was wondering if there are any fellow DS'ers out there who could comment on my daily diet, as to whether this is why I am not losing:

BF: - 3 med eggs scrambled with tomato and button mushrooms.

Lunch:- 200g tinned salmon, tomato, cucumber

Dinner: 3 baled chicken drums with broccoli, carrots

Snacks:- a little plain unsweetened yoghurt, a small handful raw walnuts

I only drink water, tea and coffe with no sugar.  I walk the dog for 40 minutes a day but the rest of the weight wont shift.  I am facebook friends with 2 ladies who had the same op with the same surgeon who live close by me and they literally lost 4 lbs a wee****il they reached maintenance.  I grilled them on what they ate and it wasnt much different to me.  Started gaining weight at 5 due to kidney op so I have always believed i have a harder job than most to lose weight but i was hoping the op would negate that.

Your eating looks perfect to me. Do you have a long common channel? Perhaps longer than 150cm? 

--gina

Your diet looks perfect, almost too perfect.   All the thoughts here are just brainstorming - YMMV.   Just a thought, you may not be eating enough, and not enough oils and fats.  I found I was stuck not losing weight when I was being too good a month out.  Once I added copious amounts of fats, I pooped a lot more, and lost weight.  Since we malabsorb proteins and fats, you have to make sure to eat enough of both to make the magic of your DS work for you.  Some suggestions include adding mayo to the salmon, olive oil with pesto to the chicken, maybe a rich hollandaise to the eggs, or adding some fish oils. Are you drinking enough water daily?  That can be a culprit in your body losing weight as well.  Do you have protein shakes, too?   Don't worry about eating too much, the only concern is when you are not eating enough.  Good luck!

Thanks so much for your help.  I don't go crazy on the fats, because thanks to my diabetes I had a triple bypass 2 years ago so chowing down on fatty things feels wrong!  I know it is ok thanks to the op and occasionally I might have a bit of cheese on my salad, I don't have protein shakes any more as I eat plenty of protein throughout the day, there is nothing i cannot eat, steak etc.  I log every single mouthful on myfitnesspal.com so I can see I get enough protein and my calories usually add up to 1300 a day,  I should drink more water a day, but I do hve about 4 large cups of tea a day, and maybe 4 glasses of water.  How does water help weight loss?  I have been avoiding my surgeons catchup appt because the weight has not come off and i feel like i have failed him and myself but if I am not overeating something is wrong. 

IMHO, I don't think you're eating enough!

If it isn't working, and you have stalled for more than 6 or 8 weeks, then you need to change the variables.  Either drop your calories or increase them.  Increase you fat, or cut your fat.  Start exercising.  You just have to experiment because all of us are unique.  None of us have the answer for you - you have to make some changes and start experimenting with your diet. 

First - add fat (and therefore calories) to your diet for the next 2 weeks.  See any results?  If not, try the next experiment.

Try lifting weights.  You will increase your muscle mass, therefore burn more calories all day long.

Log everything so you can see slight movements up or down over 2 weeks to a month.  Change it up and see what works, and what makes you gain weight.

Good luck.  I know how frustrating it is to be close to goal but can't get the scale to budge.

I like your meal plan but if it isn't doing it for you I agree that throwing some diet changes at your body may help. Some extra fats for sure. There is a section on the DSFacts web site about DSMath. Take a look and recalc your calories taking into account your malabsorption. It can be pretty amazing.

As for the liquids, I have two thoughts. First, 8 cups sounds OK but if 4 of those cups are diuretics (coffee and tea) you may need to increase your liquids just on general health guidelines. Usually the base line on liquids is 1.9 liters.

The second thought, and I am not sure I have all the science down correctly but here goes. You are essentially on a high protein-low carb meal plan. This should put you in ketosis enabling you to burn more fat. Extra liquids allows you to flush the byproducts of the fat burning out of your system better allowing for more fat burning to take place?? This is where my understanding starts to break down but it works.

Good luck. Don't give up.

PS - I've seen some people advocate having a "high carb" day as a way to reset your body so you get the full effect of your usual DS meal plan. This is used primarily by people that do heavy weight lifting but some other DS'ers have found it helpful. I haven't tried it myself yet.

If what you are doing isn't working, change it!  First thing I would try is get rid of the veggies(carbs).  Do the eggs with cheese and bacon.  Put some mayo on the salmon and add some dill pickles.  Snacks, jerky, cheese, and nuts.  Add fat for 2 weeks and see what happens.

If you like plain mint tea, start drinking lots of it.  Don't know why it works but it does.

Thanks so much everyone for all the really helpful answers, I will try them all and let you know how i get on!!

What's up with the mint tea?  Is it a magical elixir?