Not Losing and Getting More and More Depressed!!

I'm getting more and more depressed about not losing any more weight. The first 50 pounds came off in 3 months and now in 6 1/2 months more, I've only lost another 10. I barely eat at meals and snacking isn't a real problem. I walk at least a mile a day too! I'm not saying I wish I wouldn't have had the surgery, but I do feel like I did when I was dieting! I just can't lose no matter how little I eat!!! The nurse keeps telling me to hang in there, but I get more and more depressed every time I weigh myself. According to the chart, I should have lost about 78 pounds by now. Granted, they only estimated that I would lose about 93 pounds, but that's still another 33 pounds to go and I'm NOT LOSING!!! I drink 48-64 ounces of water a day too, but that doesn't make a difference either. I ask myself if I should have had the RNY instead, but the nurse keeps telling me it wouldn't have made any difference. Any suggestions at all except for joining a fitness center, because that isn't an option for me?

I understand your frustration....I too am loosing slow...I have dr. rupp and i also had the vbg....I've only lost 59 pounds and i'm 10 months out....but i also have sweet tooth..do you?

As a matter of fact, I didn't have as much of a sweet tooth as I do now and that seems so strange! Not that I eat that much of it, but I did go through a phase where I had M&M with peanuts every night. I knew I had to quit that, but it was difficult. I justified it by saying I was getting protein from the peanuts which is STUPID!! I've tried increasing my water and I can see why you lose weight doing that because you are running to the bathroom every half hour!! Hey, if it works, I'll do it!! I see Joyce again in a couple of weeks and I sure hope I've lost because I haven't since my six month check-up! I wasn't satisfied with what they told me my goal would be because it's about 40 pounds more than my "ideal weight", but now I would gladly take the goal weight and be happy! I'm feeling a little better than the last time I posted, but I'm still very frustrated. Thanks for replying! I hope you start on the losing path again soon too. Good luck!

If you're barely eating, that could be the problem right there. Your body might be thinking it's starving so is hanging onto every ounce for dear life. You need to eat enough to let your body think it's ok to release fat in storage. Nancy 394/278/180

Lenore, Have you tried eating more protein? I was able to lose 113 lbs with the vbg. I will give an example of what I ate the first 8 months. Breakfast-either an egg or yogurt, lunch-baby food meat chased down with applesauce. Supper-the meat portion of a lean cuisine, could`nt tolerate the chicken though, and what I could of the veggies. I ate the same thing everyday and the weight dropped off. When I was able to add more variety, I stopped losing. Unfortunately, I added coffee back in and sugar and have gained. I want to go back to the early days and see if I can do it again. It will be hard, but it sure was worth it.

Hi Lenore, I just reached my 6 month anniversary this past Thursday and for some reason my weightloss has slowed considerably within the last month. I looked at your profile and we lost at about the same rate in the beginning, but I think you have less to lose than I do. I was shooting for a 150-175 pound loss, but I have another 75-100 to go and the way things have slowed down I am not sure if that will ever happen. I am doing my best to stay positive and also I am trying to get back to the basics. Maybe you should try varying your routine slightly and see what happens. I heard that a body grows accustomed to a diet and exercise regimen, so it can help jump start weightloss if you shake things up a bit. Perhaps increasing your exercise or just varying the exercise...maybe doing some resistance training along with your walking. You don't have to join a gym you can just buy a video or some hand and ankle weights. Maybe add a snack if you aren't eating that much. I hope this helps Good luck to you! We r in this together and we can do this!!! Hugs, Sara

I also had Dr. Rupp as a surgeon. It was my understanding going into VBG that I would not lose as much weight as I would if I had chose RNY. My reasons for choosing VBG were specific to long-term health benefits had I chose RNY and because I was not a snack or sweet eater by rule. I have however discovered that I do eat more snack/sweets since having surgery than I did before. Here is what I know about VBG from my own personal experience... 1. The weight falls off automatically the first 6 months. 2. The weight comes off painfully slow the next 6 months. 3. The weight comes off only with effort after the first year. 4. If I do not exercise I will no longer lose any weight AND I will gain. 5. Too continue to lose weight I must eat primarily protein and be decidedly diligent about exercising in combination. I had surgery about 18 months ago. I am down 120 pounds. I would like to lose 40 more pounds. I know that the only way that 40 pounds is coming off is for me to kick it into gear and get it off. It will not just fall off. Will it come off? Yes -- because I am determined to make it come off. One recommendation that I would make to you is to increase your exercise. It sounds like you are not over-eating and may even be under eating. However, if you are not hungry and are eating according to your hunger than even if your body is not getting enough external calories theoretically you should be able to convince your body to release the weight by increasing your exercising. I assume that your body has excess reserves that it will consume (in place of external calories) to accommodate increased exercise. I have discovered at 18 months out that I am able to eat enough to maintain my weight. Depending on how one looks at this it can be construed as a "good thing" or "bad thing". I look at this as a GOOD thing. Having surgery was not going to get me where I wanted to be weight wise. Having surgery gave me a head start by "automatically" losing weight the first 6-12 months and then I was left with a tool so that I could get me where I wanted to be by determination. Because I also see Dr. Rupp I know that the one MAJOR failing of his practice is the aftercare portion. It pretty much is non-existent. In place of Dr. Rupp's non-existent support/after care program I see a personal therapist once every 3 weeks to keep me "mentally stable/accountable/on track". Sometimes I am not able to stay accountable/on track. But I am able to stay mentally stable and moving towards accountable/on track. Certainly you do not want to reach a true depression. If you think that you are it is time to get medical help. Lastly... I would like to touch on the theory of "Feel, See, Do, Get". What you See/Feel determines what you Do/Get. If you Feel positive, you See positive, you Do positive, you Get positive. - If you Feel like you can do this, you See your self doing this, you Do what needs to be done then you Get this. - Add depression to that and you will Feel, See, Do, and Get the exact opposite of something healthy and good. So I guess in the end my basic thoughts are that if you feel that you are eating properly you might want to adjust what you are eating/ i.e. more protein or changing when/how you exercise. If you have been exercising in the evening... then change to mornings. Exercising only once per day... change it to twice per day. Only walking? Change it to an aerobic exercise. Etc. Keep trying different combinations until you break the plateau. Best Regards Sharon Chute Open VBG 10.28.03 340 start/ 220 today/ 190 goal 5' 2" tall - 38 years old

Lenore- This is just my opinion, but I don't think you're eating enough. I am not the model poster because I seem to do everything others do not. I don't eat 2 oz, I eat until I am full. I don't monitor protein or water. I drink diet sodas, and sometimes I drink with my meals. My rule of thumb is to try and make good food choices (I don't always), I avoid soft, high caloried foods **** cream, milkshakes, hot chocolate, etc...) but I do have a little bit every now and again, I try not to snack, and I walk about 2 miles a day during the week and on the weekends I walk if I want to. I am a little over six months out and I've lost 93 pounds which my doctor shows is above average so I can't be doing everything wrong. If I didn't eat hardly anything I would be miserable. Try not to put so much pressure on yourself. I have heard (and I hope I'm not misquoting this) that you should take your goal weight and multiply by 10. That is the maximum number of calories you can consume per day and lose weight. Someone please correct me if I have this wrong. Good luck and hang in there. Natalie 281/188/140/125

I'M A VBG AND I CAME TO A STAND STILL FOR TWO MONTHS. THE BEST THING I DID WAS TO GIVE UP MY SCALE. I KEPT DOING WHAT I WAS DOING. AND ONE DAY I GOT ON THE SCALE AT THE SPA AND THE WEIGHT CAME OFF. AND I DO WORK OUT SOME TIMES. I'M TRYING TO LOSS 100LBS. BY MAY 5TH. TAKE CARE ROBIN