Need plateau advice

Help! I know I am whining, but I am frustrated. I have not lost any weight for about 3 weeks. I am 6 months out, and have lost 69 pounds. I am now at 29.7 bmi (yeah! no longer obese!) but I seem to be at a standstill. My body just doesn't want to give anymore fat away! I have not made any significant changes to my diet, am eating around 500 - 750 calories a day. I have been drinking protein drinks in a effort to boost that part of my diet. Could I get some advice (or even just reassurance) from some old-timers? I fear this is the end of my weight loss (which is still ok, I am wearing a size 14 down from 24) and if I were told this is it, I would not freak out, just be grateful for the successful ride I have had. But I would like to get to my goal of 150. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thank you!! Sue F.

HI Sue! Before I start, just let me say congratulations on your amazing weight loss! I think you are doing terrific! Also, I am only about 4 months out, so you may want to get advice from older post ops, but I think maybe you should up your calories just a bit. When I was at a standstill and not losing and posted this same question, I was told to up my protien, up my water, and up my calories. Seemed I wasn't getting in enough so my body was holding on to everything to save me from starvation! I did, and it began to drop off again! Our minds for so long have been told to cut back, you are eating to much, that it is hard to wrap our minds around the fact that we are not eating enough! If that doesn't work, try mixing up your exercise routine. Do something different. Any more advise from the pros out there? Genie

Thanks Genie, You are right. I do have a hard time remembering that we need to eat enough! After years and years of denial, it is tough to start thinking the other way. Well, I am working on more protein and exercise, and I did actually go down 2 more pounds! Yeah! Thank you to you and Cherie for your encouragement. Sue F. 253/182/150

Hi Sue! I wish I had some advice to offer you, but I never really hit a plateau along the way. Around 6 months my weight loss slowed down alot but I never hit one. My weight loss did pick up again after a few weeks and I did manage to reach the goal my follow-up bariatric surgeon had set by my one year anniversary. I just wanted to encourage you and let you know that I think you are doing great. You are right around where I was at 6 months. I don't think you are through losing, your body is just adjusting to what is happening to it. If you have been keeping track of your measurements, I bet you will find you are losing a lot of inches during this slow weight loss time. Genie gave you some excellent ideas and I sure can't add to them. Just hang in there, the weight and inches will come off. It seemed like I stayed in a size 16 forever and a day. Then, I just blew through sizes 14 and 12. I now wear sizes 8 and 10 (mediums and some smalls) but mostly 8P. I just never dreamed I'd be in those sizes. Give yourself another 6 months or so and I bet you'll be seeing results like mine. Keep it up, you're doing great! Cheri bw 259/g 144/cw 136

I bought 6 sessions with a personal trainer after I hit a 6 month plateau. She had me do High Intensity Interval Training. When your body does the same exercise for a long time, it gets used to it and you have to shock it a little bit. I get on the elliptical trainer and try increasing the elevation and resistance and see if I can do it for 2 minutes. It is like taking a walk and running for 2 minutes or walking as fast as you can uphill. That worked for me as I have lost another 30lbs since I started that. I also change my exercise routine by switching between walking, elliptical, Curves, weight training and core strengthening. I keep my body guessing. The weird part is that I am not losing tons of weight, but my size is getting smaller and my lean body mass is going up. I have some awesome muscles popping out too. Remember, when you lose weight fast you lose lean body mass. Your metabolism will run slower with the muscle loss.

Very common - everyone's body is different in how it deals with weight loss. If you were a dieter before, I have a theory that your body tries to acclimate to the lack of food by holding on to the fat as much as possible. After all, we were designed to survive harsh cir****tances. Give it time and mix things up a little. I was stalled for 2-3 months, partially because of my metabolism and partially because I wasn't being 100% good. I'm back on track and on a losing streak again, but sometimes you just have to wait it out. Let your body catch up. And what I meant about mixing it up: One day try just drinking liquids - lower calorie ones. Try it for 2 days. Then go ahead and eat again with emphasis on protein. Then every week or two try the liquids again. Don't let your body know what you are going to do next. It will decrease the chance that your body will be able to acclimate to what you are doing. Good luck - and remember to take a deep breath and know that it's not over by a long shot for you!!! Dina

Thanks, Dinka. I will try this.