Help...Hitting the last plateau

Hey Men out there-- I need help/advice from some of the men who have hit their final plateau. I am about 8 1/2 months out from surgery.  Unlike many who struggle to lose weight post surgery hitting plateaus, I hit almost no plateaus.  About 2 months ago, I began to worry if I'd ever quit losing weight. 2 weeks ago I dropped to 188 lbs at 6'4".  Although I felt healthy, and very much better than 8 1/2 months ago I was worried that final plateau would never come.  Then last week I got on the scale, and I had gained 8 lbs.  Although I had not significantly changed my activity level or my food intake I had gained.  I had thought maybe it was temporary/digestion related.  Another week went by and I lost 1 of the 8 lbs I had gained that week. Here is my question:  Did anyone else have a large gain when they first hit that last plateau?  I'm wondering if other men have experienced the same thing as I did.  I'm also wondering if some of my muscle has started to rebuild more now that I've hit this plateau. Any input from you knowledgable guys would be great! Thanks!

I think there's so much random noise in body weight that you can't put too much stock in even a couple weeks worth of measurements.  I went under 224 at the beginning of November then gained seven pounds.  It took over a month to get back to my low weight again.  Because very-complex formulas/tables in my spreadsheet and carefully track body fat, I know neither result was "right."  That is, when I hit 224 the first time, it was a fluke combination of accelerated loss and water loss.  My weight loss had been far more rapid for several weeks than my spreadsheet predicted.  Then I gained and plateaued for a bit because of a slowdown plus some excess water gain, and fell several pounds behind my predictions.  Now I seem to be losing faster, catching up with predictions again. I suspect it was similar for you.  You never "really" hit 188 in the first place, in the sense that this was a weight your body was going to stick to even if you ate exactly your calorie needs.  Which is not to say that you aren't eating less than you need to get to 188, you just hadn't gotten there yet.  I wouldn't expect that real "muscle" (as opposed to the water part of muscle) played much of a role either way.  Our bodies just don't pack on muscle that fast.  The most you can realistically hope to gain is a couple ounces of muscle a week, except in extreme conditions like the beginning of a new workout after long inactivity. My guess is, given the long-run curve of how you've lost weight so far, that if you really haven't changed your exercise/eating lately (and don't change soon), you can expect to 180 or lower in the future.  I typed a few data points into this chart (which uses WLS data to predict results) and despite your recent bounceback you are ahead of even the median pace for those that achieve ideal weight of 181.0 for your height.  There is very little chance you got there that fast unless you still have a significant calorie deficit.  Unless you still weigh 195 (or more) two months from now, I still predict your concern for the next 6-12 months (if not longer) will be that you are eating too little.  Luckily, it's an easy problem to address.

Thanks for your comments-- Cool chart.  I tested it out.  My body fat % calculator puts me between 14-15% depending on the day.  For me this whole thing has been a combination of "relief" and stress.  I'm feel relieved that I won't indefinately continue to lose weight, but a little stressed because I also don't want to gain the weight back.  I probably just need to quit stressin' and hit the gym.

Yep, what he said. I am 56 weeks out and like you I didn't hit many long plateaus. I would slow down for a little but overall the graph line was smooth. I am now at 189 this morning down from 368. Yesterday I was 187.5 and four days ago it was 191. I have been hanging at around 190 for the last four or five weeks with no real change in diet or workouts.

Cal, Thanks for your post.  It's good to hear there's others out there who didn't hit a bunch of plateaus in the initial loss.  I'm thinking maybe I was eating more calories than usual and not being quite as active (it was Thanksgiving week that I gained).  I decided to quit stressing, and rather focus on my next set of activity goals.  (I'm thinking training for a mini marathon) Being just less than 9 months out, I know that realistically I may continue to lose more weight.  I'm having a tough time thinking of myself as alot skinnier than I am now.  I guess time will truly tell.  For now, I'm just glad that I'm slowin down.