Stalling weight loss

I'm about four months out from my DS, and up to this point I've lost weight consistently. Sometimes in big lumps, others in much smaller increments.

But for the last couple of weeks I've stalled. I'm stuck between 185 and 189 and haven't gone down from this range. I can't be done losing weight, can I?

I'm a woman, nearly six feet and started at 265. So 80 pounds lost has been a very big deal for me and honestly I'd be happy if this is where I stayed. 170 to 180 was normal for me in high school and college and I looked good and was healthy at that range. The only time I weighed less was a summer of college where I worked two jobs and basically had no time to eat and got down to 150.

When I planned on doing this procedure, I figured I'd end up at about 170 and that would make me extremely happy and would be a good weight for me.

With that in mind, is this normal to be stuck like this so early on? I figured I had the whole year before something like this happened.

I think it's possible I'm not getting enough protein. There's no way I could eat 90 to 120 grams right now. Maybe that's part of the problem? I think I could do it if I had protein drinks, but my doctor's office seems to be really against protein drinks.

First - congrats on the 80 pounds gone (forever). So I'd like to make a couple of observations.

First, how old are you? You're talking about the weight you were in high school? Sometime the images in our head don't necessary match what is realistic. Are you still close to your high school age? If you are, then yes, 170-180 is realistic. If you're a decade or more beyond high school, then you may need to re-think. Your metabolism and hormones change as you age.

Next, you are absolutely not eating enough. What happens when you don't eat enough is that your body simply holds onto everything you eat, hence the reason for the stall (which IMHO is why old fashioned diets don't work). You absolutely need to up your protein. By 4 months post-op you should be getting a minimum of 120 grams of protein. Forget what your doctor says - add a shake a day. I personally hated the shakes but think I drank them for at least the first 6 months until I could get all my protein through food.

How's your carb intake? As you get more comfortable, without even realizing it, you could be taking in more carbs that you intend. Revisit that as well.

Are you getting enough water?

I only use the HS weight number as what I thought would be the absolute bottom for me. I'm not someone who struggled with weight my whole life - I didn't start gaining weight until my mid-20s (as is typical for everyone in my family - no weight issues/normal/thin throughout childhood and adolescence and then we start putting on the weight in our 20s despite our best efforts to exercise and eat right). So since I'm still the same height and given that the lowest I weighed was about 170 I made an assumption that it would be rock bottom for me after the surgery. I have no idea one way or the other; it was just a number I came up with. :)

I do focus on protein and vegetables, but you're right, I probably am too comfortable in what I'm doing and eating more carbs than I should (I just can't resist bites of mashed potatoes, you guys. And I don't care what anyone else says, no other vegetable tastes the same. Especially not cauliflower.)

I am getting plenty of water. I keep track of it on an app. :)

I'm really surprised that this is your first stall, but I assure you that it won't be your last stall. Your body takes these pauses to readjust. They last a few weeks and off you go again. One thing I noticed during these stalls is that I would have dropped a size or two. With that in mind, I used a stall as my cue to go shopping for clothes that fit.

I looked at my weight tracking app, and it has been going on for about three weeks now. So hopefully I'm at the end of it and I will start losing again.

Stalls happen. I'm sure this will pass eventually.

I wouldn't let the Doc not liking protein drinks stop you. It's important that you get in all your protein. The worry for some surgeons and their office staff is that some people (I've never run across any in real life) will do protein shakes instead of actual food. The truth is that the vast majority of people would prefer to get their protein from actual food but use the shakes as a backup if they aren't making their protein goals.

Congrats on your success.

Pete