What have you eaten today???? Need help

I am just over 16weeks and my weight loss is really slowing down. I am wondering if I am eating too much, too little, not enought protein?? I have lost 53lbs and I am wondering if I could be doing something a little different to get "speed up" my weight loss. I wonder what some of the other post-ops eat??

Well, you can expect to experience stalls from time to time. I went through them on a frequent basis, but eventually the weight will start to come off again. It took me between 9-10 months to lose 100 lbs and I started at 325. One of the things I tend to bristle at slightly is the concept of eating too little. Yes, your body will go into starvation mode, but it can only hold out for so long before the weight loss has to start again, otherwise, people in 3rd world countries wouldn't be starving to death. The whole POINT of this surgery is that our pouches are created so small that we have to lose weight. Eating more often and pushing more protein drinks defeats the whole point of the surgery. This was a concept I found fault with when I was dieting, and I still find fault with it today. Plain and simple, your body will give up the goods when it's ready. Some people respond quicker that others. I have an unsubstantiated theory that I've come up with, and it seems to me that the folks who did the most dieting in the past tend to lose slower than those who never bothered. It seems this is something the body has grown accustomed to and it responds accordingly. Also it seems that women who have PCOS or insulin resistance tend to lose slower as well. But eventually it does come off. Protein is important to get in first and foremost because it is the most important thing your body needs to survive. You can live longer and healthier on protein alone than you can on fat alone or carbs alone. Packing in protein also helps burn fat faster. Carbs are extremely easy for the body to process into fat. Protein and fat have to be converted into carbohydrates in order to be used as energy. So if you cut down on your carbs, your body has to work to get the protein and fat converted, and by the time it has done this, it has burned off the energy and cannot store it as fat. This is why low-carb diets are effective, although they can be difficult to follow long term. The whole point of this is to illustrate the importance of protein over other forms of nutrients, especially for bariatric patients. This doesn't mean that you should necessarily eat more...but just stack your meals heavier on protein than carbs. Most of all, just understand that for most of us, the weight comes off slower than the ones you see melting away at 100 lbs every 4 months. What you will find is that those who are losing at su*****redible weights are excited and pleased and want to share. So you will see those who are losing quickly posting more than those who aren't. People who lose slower tend to believe they are in the minority and they shy away from sharing. So you hear more about those who lose quicker than those who don't. Keep those things in mind. Take care and hope you see your stall end soon! Dina

Dina, I always find your posts so interesting.......and encouraging. I don't post much but I DO read all the news posts on 3 forums everyday. Just felt like saying that I'm scheduled for Lap RNY on August first. I'm extremely nervous. I have never had any type of surgery except having my girls, but they are all grown so I'm sure things have changed

I wonder if you could give us more details? What are you eating? Starting BMI, how many extra pounds you had etc. What is a typical day's eating like for you? Are you eating carbs? Supplimenting protien? My feeling is that your body is just taking a time-out to adjust itself. Did you take measurements before surgery? If so, take them again. Often when the lbs. aren't coming off, we are losing inches. My own losing pattern is typical of lots of peoples pattern, I stall for three weeks of the month, and then lose for one week. I do tend to lose more weight when I am faithful in supplimenting my protien. I don't really know why that is, since I am actually getting more calories per day during that time. Maybe I don't reach for the carbs as much if my protien is up? Could you just be retaining more fluid? The heat will do that to you, so will hormones! If all else fails, staying off of the scales, except at doctor's visits is often very helpful! Then when you get on, there will be sure to be a change! We can drive ourselves crazy watching for the numbers to move. Watch how things are fitting instead of watching numbers on the scale. Diana