Is this the end????

I am new to this board (I just found it) and I am 14 months out from surgery today.  I have always been a "slow loser", and have not lost anything since mid-August.  I have lost 90 pounds since my highest ever and 61 since surgery itself.  My highest ever BMI was 48. I have been exercising regularly since mid-September.  I am now up to almost an hour a day at LEAST 5 days a week.  I do half cardio (stationary bike) and half stregnth (resistance bands).

I have to say that I am getting more discouraged by the day.  Maybe I should just "buck up" and realize that I am one of those who will never get to goal and this is the end.  I am thankful for the weight loss that I have had and the more active lifestyle that I now enjoy.  I am just very disappointed that I am still "obese" and probably will stay that way.  It is really hard to keep getting up at 4 am, especially in this horrible winter weather. The nutritionist said that if the scale did not move by this time, that I should log my eating and exercise and contact her.  I will do so, but I am very confused with the eating advice that she gives as opposed to everything I read everywhere else.  She says I should be doing "about 1200 calories with 45% carbohydrate, 25% protein and 30% fat" as a healthy diet.  My stats for yesterday were 26% carbs, 36% protein & 38% fat with about 1600 calories, according to FitDay.  That shows me that I ate too much fat yesterday, which if lowered, will bring the calories down too.   Also according to FitDay, I burn approximately 2450 calories a day.  So, even if I did eat 1600 calories, I am STILL at a deficit of 850 for the day------if this is average, shouldn't I still be dropping SOMETHING?????? Please don't flame me, but help in a positive way if you can.........I will probably cross post this to other boards also.  I just don't know where to turn..........

Congrats on losing 90 pounds and on exercising regularly for four months; way to go!!!  Do not allow yourself to get discouraged; you're at the point in your journey where you need to fine tune what your doing if you want to continue to lose weight.  I was in the same place about a year ago, and seem to have moved past it; I'm sure you can do the same.   First, keep getting up at 4:00 a.m. to exercise (I'm assuming that's why you rise so early!).  I've read over and over and over again that regular exercise is key to keeping weight off, even for WLS patients.  So keep it up; you'll be glad you did.  Second, continue to log what you're eating on a daily basis.  Your nutritionist seems to be on track in terms of her percentage recommendations, but I think you may actually be eating too few calories in light of how much you exercise.  If you are not eating enough calories, your body will not lose weight; it adjusts your metabolism downward to meet the number of calories you're taking in.  I know, I know, I know - it seems counterintuitive that you may actually need to eat more, not less.  But it worked for me and it's working for one of my co-workers (not a WLS patient).  We each added 100-200 calories per day to our food plan and both started to lose weight again.   Third, the calculator at Fitday about how many calories you burn per day is a really, really, really rough estimate.  Our metabolisms can vary greatly from these calculators based on skeletal muscle mass, daily exercise, how often we eat, etc.  So I would take that 2450 figure with a grain (or entire lick) of salt.  If you really want to know your resting metabolism, have it tested by some place like New Leaf Fitness (you can google them).   Fourth, if your schedule permits, try eating small meals/snacks every 2-3 hours.  That can also help bump up your metabolism.  I eat 175-250 calories every 2-2 1/2 hours throughout the day.   Finally, I'm not a registered dietician or nutritionist; I'm just talking based on my own research and personal experience.  I'm 26 months out from surgery, started at 396 pounds, currently 193 pounds, and still losing 3-5 pounds per month.   Good luck on your continuing journey; it's slow at this point, but still worth it!!! Kellie

Dear Kellie:

Thank you so much for your reply.  I will try your suggestions, something is bound to help.  I was wondering about the "too few calories", so I think I will try the every 2-2.5 hours plan.

Thanks again!

Good luck, Dawn!!!  Let us know how adding a few calories works - I think it's helpful for folks to see that sometimes more is better, when done knowingly and purposefully... Kellie