not losing weight

Hi, I had my lapband in August 2006. I lost 40 lbs but then i have been stuck. My highest weight was 405 lbs and at sugery time it was 385lbs. I am now about 345 lbs. I just keep going up and down between 342 and 350. A lot of it is water retention but I just never get any lower. It has been this way for several months. My band feels just about right. I eat between 1200 and 1500 cals a day. I have Lupus and fybromyalgia so am in a lot of pain. I swim for excersise but go through periods of too much pain to do anything. I was reading online that swimming isn't very effective for weight loss. I am so discourged. I wondered what you all are doing for excersise and what do you reccomend. Thanks Cathy

Cathy...You have done so well losing weight so far, your exercise must be helping I disagree that "swimming isn't effective"...it's great for you so keep it up sister!! I hit plateus every once in awhile, then I add more protein, keep carbs below 60gm and drink plenty of water....the ol' plateu buster diet ! Keep up on your supplements if you take any. Chin up and take a bow for how wonderfully well you've done so far. Blessings, MaryG

Wow! We can almost be slow loser twins! Of course I started at 427 and have lost 50 pounds in 19 months... It does happen. Sometimes people find that mixing things up a bit can help (increasing calories, decreasing calories, increasing exercise, decreasing exercise). For me? Nothing has really helped. I am supposed to only get 800 to 900 calories a day (I'm usually a bit higher than that) and 60 grams of protein (I have three doctors who tell me to do this and monitor me). Maybe we're just lucky, I guess... Let me know if you find anything that helps! In the meantime, keep trying and keep doing what you've been doing! Lori

Hi Cathy, I just read your post and I know how hard it is to stay motivated when something like this happens. Have you spoken to your surgeon about this? He may know exactly what you need to get things moving again. And, swimming is wonderul. I plan on using my grandkids pool all I can this summer and moving in any way is absolutely positively perfect. Anything that creates movement and increases your heart's function is the best thing you could do for yourself. And be proud, don't get caught up in the numbers game. We have all done that to ourselves and what good came out of it? Well, for me I went right in the kitchen and shoved something in my mouth. 40 pounds is still a significant weight loss no matter what. Go pick up 4 bags of 10lb. sacks of potatos and see how much weight that is. I guarantee you will be suprised how it feels. My doctor told me that my body was very good at storing fat, the one gift nobody wants. But if that's what your body is doing it's not your fault. You occasionally have to trick your body into thinking it's being starved kind of and so the suggesstion of more protein and less carbs is a great one. Sometimes it kind of kick starts everything again. I wish you all the luck in the world and just don't feel like the lone ranger. We're here for you. Talk to you soon, Debbie

I know you are struggling, but you are right the success so far has been going in the right direction. Something I have learned, however, with a stall it could be not enough water and maybe more important too low of protein. The best success stories have used 80-100 grams of protein to get the fat burner furnance running again. SOme have gone back to the liquid protein for 3 days to 14 days to restart and get things moving again. Good Luck!

Hi Cathy, It is really frustrating to not lose after you have undergone WLS. My suggestion is to keep a food log. It was a real wake up call.  I started out at 407#. When I finally started watching what I was eating I started losing. I am currently at 185#. I try to keep remembering what my surgeon said. He gave me a 'tool' Swimming is good. Many pools offer water aroebics. They cause less stress on joints. In addition you may want to contact your surgeon to inflate your ballon.  Good luck, Lora